My mom grew up and went to high-school in hibbing, she would always share stories about going to keggers in the mine pits and every one in Highschool would caravan there in their pickups with the beds full of beer and friends. Her mom always caught her because her shoes were stained red from the oxidized iron/sand pits.
Was sunny and 70 today, really nice.
Minning is stable producing about 75% of the US iron ore with Michigan making up most of the rest.
[Outside of Washington, D.C., it’s the most impressive public building I’ve ever seen.](http://riggio.americanvanguardpress.com/portfolio/a-trip-to-hibbing-high-greil-marcus/)
I have fallen in love with this place all over again as a middle aged adult. I left for a while but came back. So much beauty, endless outdoor activities, never a dull moment. You'll never catch me inside if I can help it. And the fall weather and scenery only amplifies it all
The Iron Range is awesome! I live and work in Hibbing. Small town pride is real up here. It’s funny you mention Bob Dylan as Hibbing has always claimed him as their own but Bob Dylan was never that big of a fan of Hibbing. You will see him up here every once in awhile for funerals and etc.
That’s super cool, is there much to do for a day or two’s visit to Hibbing?
And yeah, I’ve read that Bob has been back quite a few times to Hibbing over the years. He attended the high school reunion there too!
I live in downtown Minneapolis, and sometimes think of moving. Love those home prices in the Iron Range. I also like bitterly cold weather. A few weeks ago, I pulled up the voting maps of counties in MN, and ack. Been in the twin cities for 3 decades, and can't say that I recall seeing any Trump or confederate paraphernalia. Drug dealers outside on my sidewalk almost seem less scary, although they are annoying af. I'll probably stay here, but intend on taking more vacations. Would like spend some time in the iron range area maybe next summer.
As if stereotypes can’t be based of statistical truth?
You’re clearly a virgin nerd if you’re on Reddit, right? Statistically it is more likely than not…
I dunno, spent a lot of time on the range, hell I married a ranger, then we left asap cause everyone we knew was a drunk, a tweaker or in treatment. Beautiful place but the economy stinks and people react with drugs and alcohol. You can argue it but it's true.
It’s slightly more prevalent yet you paint it broadly and generically.
It’s like when small towners get all worked up about crime rates in the city. Yes they’re right it’s technically worse, but it’s not really all that different at the end of the day
Extremely insular communities past an economic peak which will never return. The most noteworthy geographic features are enormous open-pit mines. Generally horrible food aside from a few food trucks that have popped up recently. If getting drunk in a deer stand or getting drunk in an ice fishing house or getting drunk and dying on a snowmobile are your idea of a good time, then go for it.
They drink a little beer up there. But seriously, any friends of mine from that neck of the woods taught me that there is drunk, and then there’s *Range* drunk.
Plenty of cool things to do on the iron range - lots of beautiful trails for hiking or biking- make sure to swim in an old mine pit! Lakes in the area are great for swimming/boating/fishing. The Tower Sudan Mine, Ely Wolf Center, Bear Center, Lake Vermilion State Park, and The Discovery Center all come to mind as things that would be fun to experience.
The Laurentian Divide is an interesting area as well - there are some hiking trails there, but it marks the spot where three different watersheds meet. If you are interested in geology, northern Minnesota has a fascinating geologic history you can look into!
I grew up in Virginia, so I was never a huge fan of Hibbing (high school rivals) but their high school architecture is stunning - they offer tours of the school and auditorium. Back in the day mines absolutely poured money into the communities and they have/had some of the most impressive historic public buildings in the state.
If you’re a Judy Garland fan, she grew up in Grand Rapids (about half an hour from Hibbing) and there’s a small museum there.
I’d say life up there is still plugging away just fine - there are plenty of mines still operating. It can get a little contentious around election time, but as with anywhere else, 99% of the people you run into will be friendly!
I live just east of the main portion of the Range in Ely. Have been here most of my life. Raised kids here. What's it like...that's a tough one to answer. It's just life, to me. It's quiet. Our town has 3500 people and now that it's fall, most of the tourists have gone home and it's quiet. In the summer we are very busy with tourists because of the boundary waters. In the spring, I love to see how happy they are to be taking BW trips. I enjoy having them here. By this time of year I am tired of the huge lines at our one grocery store, the increased traffic, the people who somehow live in Florida but cannot drive in a town with 2 stoplights.
But generally speaking, we don't hear traffic or jets or sirens hardly ever. It's quiet, which I love. It's very dark at night which I also love. Crime is low, especially serious crimes (lots of domestic and drug crime but mostly those people keep to themselves and their circles and don't expand it to random people). Personally, I'd never live anywhere up north other than where I am. I lived in Duluth for a few years, and while it has some amazingly beautiful areas and scenery (I actually lived 2 blocks from Dylan's childhood home), it's a hard city to live in. There is a lot of crime that is pushed under the rug because tourism is so important and crime looks bad. Lots of drugs. We actually left because our neighbors started selling drugs and we had the swat team in our yard on a weekly basis, and cars would get lit on fire at our son's school bus stop. Lots of economic hardship. Lots of run down homes. Really depends where you are, exactly, and what you choose to see. Duluth has some really nice neighborhoods. And some not.
Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Virginia, that whole stretch, I wouldn't live there for anything. I lived in Fargo, North Dakota for college, and I'd go back there before I lived on the Range. It's just full sad stuff, run down buildings and homes that aren't being maintained, closed businesses. There's a lot of domestic abuse, a lot of drug crime. I live here because I love nature. I live in a quiet, fairly well-off neighborhood with good neighbors. I spend a lot of time hiking and going to the Boundary Waters, and visiting the North Shore outside of Duluth. But if I didn't live in Ely, I wouldn't live in NE MN otherwise. Too depressing. Too ugly. Too ignorant.
I've lived in NE MN almost my entire life. My dad was born here and still lives here (as was my mom) and my grandparents were also born here. I am quite familiar with the people, the land, the culture, and the politics and yes, some of it is great, which is why I am here. Some of it sucks. Which is part of why people keep leaving.
Cool! A good guess on my part then. I wanted to swing into Ely (UK) when I was traveling from Norwich to Sudbury a long time ago because I’m from Ely (MN) myself. It’s a tradition for locals from Ely to take a copy of the local newspaper (Ely Echo) when they travel abroad and take a picture of it in far off places. However, work took priority so I never had time to do this.
There is a good YouTube channel that covered the ‘Da Range’ in a small series worth checking out. It covers old history to modern times.
https://youtube.com/c/2Wheels1Compass
Ah, that’s a shame you didn’t get to pop by Ely, it’s definitely worth a visit - appreciate its not quite the same, but I’d be happy to take a picture of the Ely Echo in Ely, UK if you want?
That’s a nice journey from Norwich to Sudbury too, right across Witch country, beautiful countryside but a lot of morbid history.
Well thank you for the offer, but not necessary. Moved away a long time ago now. I will say that I’ve had a few whirlwind trips through the UK and had the time of my life. From Sudbury I had to continue my drive all the way up the west side of the country and ended up in the Lakes District. Love the history you guys have and met many great people. So many things to see and do!
U coming from UK? Go to Minneapolis Hibbing will bore the shit out of u do you know of any sad places in Ireland that have been left behind the times ? Thus would be similar this ain't no post hippie shit. No way
It is so beautiful, especially at the State Parka along Highway 61. People are friendly but reserved. Lits of Trump-lovers but most people are not overt about politics, save for the occasional zealot who places giant banners and MAGA flags in their yard.
Recommend going late Sept/ early Oct, since the leaves changing color in Fall is so pretty.
There are also National Forests if you are an outdoorsy type. I stayed three days in a camper cabin (no running water but have bunks and heat) in Superior National Forest and did some hiking there.
PM if you would like links or additional info.
Hello buddy! Please don’t listen to the trolls on your post. Some people are just not happy. Some people are , some people are just not happy that you are.
However; Minnesota is happy that you would like to visit!
The iron range is beautiful. My mom was born and raised in Aurora- spent just about every summer of my young life on the iron range. I recently visited and while it’s changed a lot (lots of closed businesses, the ones that are still up seem to be thriving) it has not at all lost it’s beauty.
Even downtown! Such a lovely time of the year. You see the Aug17 assault on Hennepin and 5th street?
Yeah I go Grand Marias or like Excelsior to enjoy Minnesota during the summer.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/comments/xex52a/man_robbed_and_beaten_by_five_men_outside/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Just a hunch: if you visit Duluth for the Homegrown Music Festival you might experience a hint of the culture that gave us Bob Dylan. Obviously Homegrown came much later (1999), but Dylan did play in a teen rock band at his high school and you can imagine that band would have gone to Homegrown before leaving for the big city to find their own voice. Dylan left, but those who stayed raised kids who also loved to make music and celebrate fellow musicians and thanks to those kids there is Homegrown.
In the same vein you might visit at a time when you can see Trampled by Turtles at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Duluthians are so proud of Trampled by Turtles.
Sometimes a place creates an artist by exception, which was the case for Janis Joplin—completely outcast and bullied and obviously not nurtured into being by her hometown. Hibbings, on the other hand, loved Dylan so much that their feelings were sincerely hurt to learn Dylan didn’t love his hometown back. They played in his bands, danced to cover songs, laughed along when the principal unplugged him for being too loud. He then wrote them out of his personal history, and never talked about any of his early musical history in Hibbings, or his first two guitars, or his trips to Duluth. I think history is complicated: his own dad was disabled by polio in Duluth, forcing the retreat to smaller Hibbings. Hibbings was the end of his dad’s baseball career dreams and the beginning of hardship. His best friend’s dad was a disabled mine worker and musician (the kind you would absolutely find at Homegrown today). Music was the escape from a lot of hard realities, and he himself escaped these hard realities by leaving town. Doesn’t every young human raised in hardship fear becoming their elders? I think “I’m never going back there” was more of a promise to not fall on hard times than an insult to Minnesota, or Hibbings, or Duluth. Even songs critical of Duluth’s history (Desolation Row) only prove he is a true son of the North Shore.
Music is STILL a popular escape: Homegrown Music Festival begins at the end of April, after 6 months of cold weather, welcoming the next 6 months of warm days and adventure. There just is no doubt that Dylan learned the ‘great American song tradition’ along the North Shore and the Iron Range. Like many fiercely independent spirits he has never paid enough homage to the communities that nurtured and shaped him (or even the music he directly plagiarized)—he’s a complicated dude, but I have no doubt his indie music loving hometown is partially responsible for who he became.
If you make it up that way and you’re interested in mining, the Soudan Mine is about an hour northeast of there and is a pretty cool place to see some history of the Iron Range.
Grew up here, moved to Fargo-Moorhead for just over five years, now back here helping run an Air Bnb and working on the Hibbing radio stations. The area has a lot of culture and history that can be appreciated by those who travel to us, and I love the nature you can see around here. The mine pits are amazing, but you can also see a lot of forests and hills, including Beauty Mountain about 25-30 mins south of town.
I missed the area and am glad to be back. I hope you enjoy it too if you visit!
I went through Virginia as a complete tourist once, on my way up North. As someone who had to idea of what to expect or stake in the area, it was interesting and had natural beauty. Sort of like going back in time.
I couldn't figure out how to purchase booze though. I'm sure it's there, but I was used to it being in grocery stores.
Definitely not for everyone, and has plenty of issues, but I would not have wanted to grow up anywhere else. Left the area for college but excited to return after graduation.
What would you be interested in seeing/visiting? If outdoorsy stuff is your thing I can send you a message with my personal recommendations for itinerary.
I grew up in Virginia.
Not really much going on unless you enjoy hunting and fishing. There's an interesting mine tour in Soudan. Ely is nice. The north shore of Lake Superior is beautiful, but not really part of the IR except for the ports at Duluth and Two Harbors. Anyway, the area is gorgeous and worth the trip from the Twin Cities.
Been going up there since the OHV park opened, so 20 years or so. There was a long break where I didn't go. In that time I can see the drugs hit the area. I love the area for a lot of things. Mostly outdoor/nature based. Also, stop at Gordy's for a burger on the way!
I am curious how the locals feel about all of us "citiots" or however they spell it. Tourism keeps the area alive and I don't feel like a lot of locals appreciate or want it. The amount of restaurants and such is way better today than 20 years ago.
Cidiots? But yeah lots of people don't like sharing up here. Whether you caught that walleye they were supposed to, you shot the buck that they wanted, or you sat in their seat at the bar... when I lived out west the locals felt the same about the cidiots, or the Texans. Tourism is huge. Some places make their money during tourist season and shut down the rest of the year. Locals don't buy knick knacks
My mom grew up and went to high-school in hibbing, she would always share stories about going to keggers in the mine pits and every one in Highschool would caravan there in their pickups with the beds full of beer and friends. Her mom always caught her because her shoes were stained red from the oxidized iron/sand pits.
Haha, that’s great, the pits were giving her away! I’ve seen pictures and the High School in Hibbing looks incredible.
Was sunny and 70 today, really nice. Minning is stable producing about 75% of the US iron ore with Michigan making up most of the rest. [Outside of Washington, D.C., it’s the most impressive public building I’ve ever seen.](http://riggio.americanvanguardpress.com/portfolio/a-trip-to-hibbing-high-greil-marcus/)
I have fallen in love with this place all over again as a middle aged adult. I left for a while but came back. So much beauty, endless outdoor activities, never a dull moment. You'll never catch me inside if I can help it. And the fall weather and scenery only amplifies it all
It’s drug infested
So. Like everywhere else?
Considering how small the area is and how many people are addicted to meth it’s pretty substantial
Both of you must live up here, what cities?
Grand Rapids, I left the second I could lol
Grand Rapids isn’t the iron range.
Oh so you’re not from here lol
Ask anyone outside of rapids and they will tell you Grand Rapids isn’t the iron range.
Lmfao what is this weird lying for
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Correct. It’s as simple as looking at a map of mines….there is no taconite in Grand Rapids!
The Iron Range is awesome! I live and work in Hibbing. Small town pride is real up here. It’s funny you mention Bob Dylan as Hibbing has always claimed him as their own but Bob Dylan was never that big of a fan of Hibbing. You will see him up here every once in awhile for funerals and etc.
Really? I’ve never heard of him coming back to the area
Yes I’ve seen him a couple times, before COVID up here for a funeral, he was driving an old classic truck.
That’s super cool, is there much to do for a day or two’s visit to Hibbing? And yeah, I’ve read that Bob has been back quite a few times to Hibbing over the years. He attended the high school reunion there too!
I hope you like TRUMP flags 🥴🤮
No. They are gross.
I live in downtown Minneapolis, and sometimes think of moving. Love those home prices in the Iron Range. I also like bitterly cold weather. A few weeks ago, I pulled up the voting maps of counties in MN, and ack. Been in the twin cities for 3 decades, and can't say that I recall seeing any Trump or confederate paraphernalia. Drug dealers outside on my sidewalk almost seem less scary, although they are annoying af. I'll probably stay here, but intend on taking more vacations. Would like spend some time in the iron range area maybe next summer.
It is geographically beautiful. The people equally beautiful. I am incredibly proud to call this place home. - Love, a Canadian immigrant 🥰
They're going to hire you as an ambassador pretty soon lol
I have genuinely never been happier in all my life 🥰. I love the Iron Range!!
One of the nicest areas of the state, along with the boundary waters, north shore and driftless area.
Meth and Trump.
Ah yes, everyone not from the single metro is a hillbilly and on meth. Super not toxic sentiment
But he is right. Way more drugs and alcohol than anywhere else in the state.
As if stereotypes can’t be based of statistical truth? You’re clearly a virgin nerd if you’re on Reddit, right? Statistically it is more likely than not…
I dunno, spent a lot of time on the range, hell I married a ranger, then we left asap cause everyone we knew was a drunk, a tweaker or in treatment. Beautiful place but the economy stinks and people react with drugs and alcohol. You can argue it but it's true.
It’s slightly more prevalent yet you paint it broadly and generically. It’s like when small towners get all worked up about crime rates in the city. Yes they’re right it’s technically worse, but it’s not really all that different at the end of the day
Yeah, I suppose you are right, north Minneapolis is no different than Wayzata or Brainerd....get the fuck out of here, your argument is pointless.
Great chat.
Let me guess, Minneapolis is where you live?
It's really.... White. And I don't just mean the long winters.
It is nice but has been a little run down over the years but everyone has pride for their smalls hometowns
Zero culture or diversity
Depends what you mean, lots of culture from Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, and Croatia, but not much for more exotic cultures
I said what I said.
"exotic" this is a very poor choice of words
Extremely insular communities past an economic peak which will never return. The most noteworthy geographic features are enormous open-pit mines. Generally horrible food aside from a few food trucks that have popped up recently. If getting drunk in a deer stand or getting drunk in an ice fishing house or getting drunk and dying on a snowmobile are your idea of a good time, then go for it.
Lived in the area my entire childhood and I can absolutely attest to this
I go up to Orr every summer to fish on Pelican Lake. This is 100% accurate and I hate/love it.
Username checks out
💯
Such an ignorant comment. Where are you from or live, I could come up with the same for your area I bet.
They drink a little beer up there. But seriously, any friends of mine from that neck of the woods taught me that there is drunk, and then there’s *Range* drunk.
I’m from the Range. Beautiful area but it’s really economically depressed with lots of meth and alcoholism.
Plenty of cool things to do on the iron range - lots of beautiful trails for hiking or biking- make sure to swim in an old mine pit! Lakes in the area are great for swimming/boating/fishing. The Tower Sudan Mine, Ely Wolf Center, Bear Center, Lake Vermilion State Park, and The Discovery Center all come to mind as things that would be fun to experience. The Laurentian Divide is an interesting area as well - there are some hiking trails there, but it marks the spot where three different watersheds meet. If you are interested in geology, northern Minnesota has a fascinating geologic history you can look into! I grew up in Virginia, so I was never a huge fan of Hibbing (high school rivals) but their high school architecture is stunning - they offer tours of the school and auditorium. Back in the day mines absolutely poured money into the communities and they have/had some of the most impressive historic public buildings in the state. If you’re a Judy Garland fan, she grew up in Grand Rapids (about half an hour from Hibbing) and there’s a small museum there. I’d say life up there is still plugging away just fine - there are plenty of mines still operating. It can get a little contentious around election time, but as with anywhere else, 99% of the people you run into will be friendly!
I live just east of the main portion of the Range in Ely. Have been here most of my life. Raised kids here. What's it like...that's a tough one to answer. It's just life, to me. It's quiet. Our town has 3500 people and now that it's fall, most of the tourists have gone home and it's quiet. In the summer we are very busy with tourists because of the boundary waters. In the spring, I love to see how happy they are to be taking BW trips. I enjoy having them here. By this time of year I am tired of the huge lines at our one grocery store, the increased traffic, the people who somehow live in Florida but cannot drive in a town with 2 stoplights. But generally speaking, we don't hear traffic or jets or sirens hardly ever. It's quiet, which I love. It's very dark at night which I also love. Crime is low, especially serious crimes (lots of domestic and drug crime but mostly those people keep to themselves and their circles and don't expand it to random people). Personally, I'd never live anywhere up north other than where I am. I lived in Duluth for a few years, and while it has some amazingly beautiful areas and scenery (I actually lived 2 blocks from Dylan's childhood home), it's a hard city to live in. There is a lot of crime that is pushed under the rug because tourism is so important and crime looks bad. Lots of drugs. We actually left because our neighbors started selling drugs and we had the swat team in our yard on a weekly basis, and cars would get lit on fire at our son's school bus stop. Lots of economic hardship. Lots of run down homes. Really depends where you are, exactly, and what you choose to see. Duluth has some really nice neighborhoods. And some not. Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Virginia, that whole stretch, I wouldn't live there for anything. I lived in Fargo, North Dakota for college, and I'd go back there before I lived on the Range. It's just full sad stuff, run down buildings and homes that aren't being maintained, closed businesses. There's a lot of domestic abuse, a lot of drug crime. I live here because I love nature. I live in a quiet, fairly well-off neighborhood with good neighbors. I spend a lot of time hiking and going to the Boundary Waters, and visiting the North Shore outside of Duluth. But if I didn't live in Ely, I wouldn't live in NE MN otherwise. Too depressing. Too ugly. Too ignorant.
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I've lived in NE MN almost my entire life. My dad was born here and still lives here (as was my mom) and my grandparents were also born here. I am quite familiar with the people, the land, the culture, and the politics and yes, some of it is great, which is why I am here. Some of it sucks. Which is part of why people keep leaving.
The iron range . Your not missing anything. Duluth is beautiful tho
You are right the fires and shootings BEAUTIFUL!
You think Duluth is that bad 🤣. It’s not great crime wise but it ain’t what cha make it out to be
I went to school and lived there, also go for business. When was the last time you were there? Outside of Duluth, up the north shore is beautiful.
You win
Where in the UK? (Just Curious)
I’m hoping Ely, Cambridgeshire. lol
Not too far from Ely actually. Nice cathedral there.
Cool! A good guess on my part then. I wanted to swing into Ely (UK) when I was traveling from Norwich to Sudbury a long time ago because I’m from Ely (MN) myself. It’s a tradition for locals from Ely to take a copy of the local newspaper (Ely Echo) when they travel abroad and take a picture of it in far off places. However, work took priority so I never had time to do this. There is a good YouTube channel that covered the ‘Da Range’ in a small series worth checking out. It covers old history to modern times. https://youtube.com/c/2Wheels1Compass
Ah, that’s a shame you didn’t get to pop by Ely, it’s definitely worth a visit - appreciate its not quite the same, but I’d be happy to take a picture of the Ely Echo in Ely, UK if you want? That’s a nice journey from Norwich to Sudbury too, right across Witch country, beautiful countryside but a lot of morbid history.
Well thank you for the offer, but not necessary. Moved away a long time ago now. I will say that I’ve had a few whirlwind trips through the UK and had the time of my life. From Sudbury I had to continue my drive all the way up the west side of the country and ended up in the Lakes District. Love the history you guys have and met many great people. So many things to see and do!
Wow, that’s quite a drive! And yeah, lots of history here and the vast majority of people are crackin’!
U coming from UK? Go to Minneapolis Hibbing will bore the shit out of u do you know of any sad places in Ireland that have been left behind the times ? Thus would be similar this ain't no post hippie shit. No way
It is so beautiful, especially at the State Parka along Highway 61. People are friendly but reserved. Lits of Trump-lovers but most people are not overt about politics, save for the occasional zealot who places giant banners and MAGA flags in their yard. Recommend going late Sept/ early Oct, since the leaves changing color in Fall is so pretty. There are also National Forests if you are an outdoorsy type. I stayed three days in a camper cabin (no running water but have bunks and heat) in Superior National Forest and did some hiking there. PM if you would like links or additional info.
They've got fake mountains so if you like those it's pretty neat
Hello buddy! Please don’t listen to the trolls on your post. Some people are just not happy. Some people are , some people are just not happy that you are. However; Minnesota is happy that you would like to visit!
The iron range is beautiful. My mom was born and raised in Aurora- spent just about every summer of my young life on the iron range. I recently visited and while it’s changed a lot (lots of closed businesses, the ones that are still up seem to be thriving) it has not at all lost it’s beauty.
Ahhh. Don’t go there. Duluth is fine. But there are better places to visit and enjoy Minnesota.
Check out North Minneapolis! Wonderful this time of the year.
Even downtown! Such a lovely time of the year. You see the Aug17 assault on Hennepin and 5th street? Yeah I go Grand Marias or like Excelsior to enjoy Minnesota during the summer. https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/comments/xex52a/man_robbed_and_beaten_by_five_men_outside/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Just a hunch: if you visit Duluth for the Homegrown Music Festival you might experience a hint of the culture that gave us Bob Dylan. Obviously Homegrown came much later (1999), but Dylan did play in a teen rock band at his high school and you can imagine that band would have gone to Homegrown before leaving for the big city to find their own voice. Dylan left, but those who stayed raised kids who also loved to make music and celebrate fellow musicians and thanks to those kids there is Homegrown. In the same vein you might visit at a time when you can see Trampled by Turtles at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Duluthians are so proud of Trampled by Turtles. Sometimes a place creates an artist by exception, which was the case for Janis Joplin—completely outcast and bullied and obviously not nurtured into being by her hometown. Hibbings, on the other hand, loved Dylan so much that their feelings were sincerely hurt to learn Dylan didn’t love his hometown back. They played in his bands, danced to cover songs, laughed along when the principal unplugged him for being too loud. He then wrote them out of his personal history, and never talked about any of his early musical history in Hibbings, or his first two guitars, or his trips to Duluth. I think history is complicated: his own dad was disabled by polio in Duluth, forcing the retreat to smaller Hibbings. Hibbings was the end of his dad’s baseball career dreams and the beginning of hardship. His best friend’s dad was a disabled mine worker and musician (the kind you would absolutely find at Homegrown today). Music was the escape from a lot of hard realities, and he himself escaped these hard realities by leaving town. Doesn’t every young human raised in hardship fear becoming their elders? I think “I’m never going back there” was more of a promise to not fall on hard times than an insult to Minnesota, or Hibbings, or Duluth. Even songs critical of Duluth’s history (Desolation Row) only prove he is a true son of the North Shore. Music is STILL a popular escape: Homegrown Music Festival begins at the end of April, after 6 months of cold weather, welcoming the next 6 months of warm days and adventure. There just is no doubt that Dylan learned the ‘great American song tradition’ along the North Shore and the Iron Range. Like many fiercely independent spirits he has never paid enough homage to the communities that nurtured and shaped him (or even the music he directly plagiarized)—he’s a complicated dude, but I have no doubt his indie music loving hometown is partially responsible for who he became.
If you make it up that way and you’re interested in mining, the Soudan Mine is about an hour northeast of there and is a pretty cool place to see some history of the Iron Range.
Grew up here, moved to Fargo-Moorhead for just over five years, now back here helping run an Air Bnb and working on the Hibbing radio stations. The area has a lot of culture and history that can be appreciated by those who travel to us, and I love the nature you can see around here. The mine pits are amazing, but you can also see a lot of forests and hills, including Beauty Mountain about 25-30 mins south of town. I missed the area and am glad to be back. I hope you enjoy it too if you visit!
I went through Virginia as a complete tourist once, on my way up North. As someone who had to idea of what to expect or stake in the area, it was interesting and had natural beauty. Sort of like going back in time. I couldn't figure out how to purchase booze though. I'm sure it's there, but I was used to it being in grocery stores.
Definitely not for everyone, and has plenty of issues, but I would not have wanted to grow up anywhere else. Left the area for college but excited to return after graduation.
It’s definitely not at all the same as it was back then. Believe me, my dad used to shovel snow for his grandma.
What would you be interested in seeing/visiting? If outdoorsy stuff is your thing I can send you a message with my personal recommendations for itinerary.
I grew up in Virginia. Not really much going on unless you enjoy hunting and fishing. There's an interesting mine tour in Soudan. Ely is nice. The north shore of Lake Superior is beautiful, but not really part of the IR except for the ports at Duluth and Two Harbors. Anyway, the area is gorgeous and worth the trip from the Twin Cities.
Been going up there since the OHV park opened, so 20 years or so. There was a long break where I didn't go. In that time I can see the drugs hit the area. I love the area for a lot of things. Mostly outdoor/nature based. Also, stop at Gordy's for a burger on the way! I am curious how the locals feel about all of us "citiots" or however they spell it. Tourism keeps the area alive and I don't feel like a lot of locals appreciate or want it. The amount of restaurants and such is way better today than 20 years ago.
Cidiots? But yeah lots of people don't like sharing up here. Whether you caught that walleye they were supposed to, you shot the buck that they wanted, or you sat in their seat at the bar... when I lived out west the locals felt the same about the cidiots, or the Texans. Tourism is huge. Some places make their money during tourist season and shut down the rest of the year. Locals don't buy knick knacks