Hibbing Area (Duluth, Virginia, Grand Rapids: how much, lawyers, house)

[WILWRadio]

Howz the job market in the Iron Range these days? On the upswing? I hear the mines are in full production and I am wondering if this good fortune is starting to have ancillary benefits for local restaurants, retailers and other service industries in the area.

[601halfdozen0theother]

Well, periodically someone from one of the mining companies goes on TV to say that they're desperate for more new miners over the next decade, as the current miners are aging out. But when I looked into this for a young man who lives in another part of the country it wasn't easy to figure out the best route for someone interested in becoming a miner to take. There are a variety of 2 year programs at Mesabi Range CC and Hibbing CC that will lead to jobs which should start at $19/hr, they say. Seems like there aren't just "miners" anymore, but specialists in a variety of types of work.

I rented a house out to a new Mesabi Nugget hire coming in from 4 years in the Navy, and he's starting at $52,000.00.

For about the past 3 years we've been counting on Mesabi Nugget doing more hiring, and nothing has happened. I talked to an engineer there who said that very few will be hired at the laborer level - most jobs will be skilled technical workers.

Beyond that, all I know is that the guys who were laid off are working now.

[Dr.drew]

How much longer can the mines support the local economy? One day, all the stuff they are digging out of the ground will be dug up. Then the ecenomy in the area will really be hurting.

It would be good for northern Minnesota to find other ways to create better paying jobs in the area.

[WILWRadio]

What kind of rocks or minerals are they mining in the Iron Range? I would guess that some kind of geological survey could determine the depth of the rocks and minerals being mined and project how long it will be before the mines dry up.

[twinswinmh]

Iron. Making taconite pellets to be shipped out in Duluth. The entire Northland (Wisconsin and Upper Michigan too) are sitting on this rock with low-grade (or percentage) iron, which is all that is needed with today's technology. The mines are actually just humongous open holes in the ground with gigantic dumptrucks hauling the ground away to giganticker piles. There aren't general jobs for a "miner" because they don't hold pick axes and go into a tunnel anymore. You actually have to have a job now, which often requires training.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by twinswinmh

Iron. Making taconite pellets to be shipped out in Duluth. The entire Northland (Wisconsin and Upper Michigan too) are sitting on this rock with low-grade (or percentage) iron, which is all that is needed with today's technology. The mines are actually just humongous open holes in the ground with gigantic dumptrucks hauling the ground away to giganticker piles. There aren't general jobs for a "miner" because they don't hold pick axes and go into a tunnel anymore. You actually have to have a job now, which often requires training.

Thanks. It sounds like the iron ore will not be going away anytime soon then, at least not in our lifetimes. As long as we are still a steel making country and produce Fem Iron tablets, then I guess there will still be a market for Iron Range Taconite.

I'm just trying to get an idea of what drives the local economy in the Hibbing area and the overall economic health of the region. I am thinking about moving there and while I would not work in the mining industry, it's the lifeblood of the area and will directly impact other industries in the area.

[601halfdozen0theother]

I love Hibbing - it's one of the nicest Iron Range towns. The two dominant economies in the area are still mining and logging. There's some small manufacturing too, but not a lot. Then there's the typical school system/hospitals/small business jobs. I was talking with a young man from Hibbing who commutes from there to UMD for Engineering - he said most of the kids leave because there are limited opportunities, and most of the new businesses are nursing homes/retirement centers. The local CC is pretty good for those going into technical work - and actually has a pretty good theater!

The locals can seem rough and tough, and if you have issues with alcohol you might be disturbed by the predominance of bars in local daily life. It is pretty lily White, although there are a sprinkling of other ethnicities. Racisim is very alive and ugly on the Range - among the older folks, anyway. The local weathy are the professionals - doctors and lawyers. Then there are the teachers and office people and folks who work for the Feds or the State (DNR, etc.) Everyone else is very proud of being a Working Man - Unions are EXTREMELY dominant on the Range.

There's a fair amount of hositility towards the wealthy from other places who move to the region for summer or retirement homes. On the East Range (Virginia and eastward) among the locals there's some degree of contempt for the summer tourists. Going Westward towards Grand Rapids there are more Crunchie Granola types living in yurts in the woods and whatnot. If I were picking a homeplace on the Range now I'd pick someplace in the woods south of 169 between GR and Hibbing.

[WILWRadio]

^Thanks for the response. You've given me a number of things to consider...

[601halfdozen0theother]

Oh - and most of the mining companies are multinationals - China and India have a very big finger in America's iron ore deposits - much of what is produced here is shipped to Asia for THEIR steelmaking.

[twinswinmh]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

^Thanks for the response. You've given me a number of things to consider...

I would second all of what halfdozen said. What are you hoping to do? Grand Rapids is definitely a town moving in the right direction, and is growing in all directions. They are just a little over an hour away from Duluth, too. The real "Rangers" would say that Grand Rapids is not technically in the Iron Range, but it is close enough to have the "feel" but with a little more opportunity in a variety of areas.