comers to revel in the prosperity found |
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right outside their front doors . |
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One recent season we trailered a |
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2020 Yamaha SRViper L-TX GT and a |
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2020 Polaris 850 Indy XC to this rural |
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utopia to spend a week riding throughout |
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the region , guided by members of |
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the Ely Igloo and Vermillion Penguins |
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snowmobile clubs . We found expertly |
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maintained trails with clear signage |
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and beautiful scenery , rode on marked |
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lakes akin to snowmobiling super highways |
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that were lined with picturesque |
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rocks , and enjoyed a winter wonderland |
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that would leave nothing to argue about |
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throughout an entire week . |
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If The Times They Are A Changin ’ |
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north of Hibbing ( to paraphrase Hibbing |
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native Bob Dillon ), one thing still |
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remains certain – you can find an ideal |
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snowmobiling getaway in and around |
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the towns of Tower and Ely . |
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Iron Range Mentality : Environment Balancing Economy |
ing – when Minnesota became the largest producer of iron ore and taconite in the United States . According to the |
the decades through the early and mid 20th century . The population of Iron Range towns boomed , and there was |
and steel products elsewhere . Extraction operations declined starting in the mid-1970s but rebounded again in |
To fully understand the area it helps to |
Minnesota Department of Natural Re- |
good money to be made in the mines |
2005 due to China ’ s growing demand for |
learn why the region is known well be- |
sources , the first ore was shipped from |
but also in all of the businesses that |
iron , along with the falling value of the |
yond its residents , and why it ’ s been a |
the Vermilion Range in 1884 , the Mesa- |
catered to the mines and the people |
U . S . dollar versus other world currencies |
hotbed of debate for decades . |
bi Range followed in 1892 and then the |
that worked in them . Yes , there were |
( which made taconite production profit- |
For nearly a century the communities |
Cuyuna Range in 1911 . |
downturns , but in 1996 alone roughly |
able again ). Previously closed mines were |
of Virginia , Ely , Hibbing and more were |
Economically speaking , the times |
44 million tons of taconite pellets were |
reopened , while currently operational |
made economically viable due to min- |
were good – really good – in many of |
shipped from the state to make iron |
mines expanded . |