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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.
Then it gets shipped back to the States with a 'made in China' sticker.
The iron ore is being shipped to China? That's not good news. The Middle East is about ready to blow up into the next world war and China is siding with Iran and Syria. If a war breaks out, then I suspect that all exports and possibly imports and and from China will cease since China has already allied itself with Iran and Syria. It sounds like the Hibbing area economy will come crashing down immediately into a pile of rubble unless they can find a way to ship the ore to other countries or find a market in the USA or Canada.
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.
I plan to start a puny little AM radio station once I pick a place to relocate. I have a friend in radio that thinks the Hibbing area is a good choice since there is no real local programs to speak of and has not been for years. Apparently the local stations air nationally syndicated shows for the most part and don't have any local voices. Since the broadcast radius is only about three miles during the day and less at night I need a population density to find listeners and advertising.
Grand Rapids is probably too small and I already took a quick look at the local radio in that area and they do have live and local on air talent. I doubt I could make a dent into that market since the established stations are already offering local programs.
I plan to work any job that I can find to keep a roof over my head and fund the radio station until it can generate enough advertising to stand on its own two feet. If that means retail or restaurant work or even manufacturing then that works.
One other thing that really concerns me is the apparent class warfare taking place in the Hibbing area. I come from a fairly wealthy background in New England and I have run into this same attitude in the Kansas City area. I have to wonder if the same problems I am having in KC will follow me to the Iron Range? I did not have very many problems when I lived in the Twin Cities and other parts of the country but KC has been a nightmare and I don't want a repeat again.
Oh - KAXE out of Grand Rapids is ALL local programming - it reaches from Bumij to Cotton, Effie to Aitkin. Take a listen at kaxe.org. It mostly plays folk/folk rock/blues/historic country, though. If you wanted to do modern pop or rap or whatever else is modern you might do ok. Actually, I bet the folks at KAXE would be happy to talk with you about your dream of a new little radio station in their neighborhood.
If it were me I might go Westward and try to find a market in the rapidly growing population of oilfield workers in North Dakota.
And yes, my experience has been that Class issues are probably greater on the Range than anywhere else I've lived in America - and I've lived in every part of the country except New England.
But don't give up on your dream - come up and visit, talk with people, and get a feel for the place. Things are changing, even on the Range. You might find a happy home here.
Oh - KAXE out of Grand Rapids is ALL local programming - it reaches from Bumij to Cotton, Effie to Aitkin. Take a listen at kaxe.org. It mostly plays folk/folk rock/blues/historic country, though. If you wanted to do modern pop or rap or whatever else is modern you might do ok. Actually, I bet the folks at KAXE would be happy to talk with you about your dream of a new little radio station in their neighborhood.
If it were me I might go Westward and try to find a market in the rapidly growing population of oilfield workers in North Dakota.
And yes, my experience has been that Class issues are probably greater on the Range than anywhere else I've lived in America - and I've lived in every part of the country except New England.
But don't give up on your dream - come up and visit, talk with people, and get a feel for the place. Things are changing, even on the Range. You might find a happy home here.
I rub elbows with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds less Billionaires. I try not to judge people solely upon their income, net worth or heredity. Sad to see this is such an issue there.
My station will be geared towards people over the age of 30 years old up to the elderly population. Adult Contemporary music, local talk and information, news, weather and high school sports.
I did have a very positive meeting with the Chisholm Chamber of Commerce Director and then with the City Administrator a number of years ago. I certainly was made to feel welcome there if I did move there. I will probably come back up there to get a feel for the town itself this time around. I did not have a chance to visit any stores or restaurants during my last visit and that seems to be the best way to get a real feel for the area.
I plan to start a puny little AM radio station once I pick a place to relocate. I have a friend in radio that thinks the Hibbing area is a good choice since there is no real local programs to speak of and has not been for years. Apparently the local stations air nationally syndicated shows for the most part and don't have any local voices. Since the broadcast radius is only about three miles during the day and less at night I need a population density to find listeners and advertising.
Grand Rapids is probably too small and I already took a quick look at the local radio in that area and they do have live and local on air talent. I doubt I could make a dent into that market since the established stations are already offering local programs.
I plan to work any job that I can find to keep a roof over my head and fund the radio station until it can generate enough advertising to stand on its own two feet. If that means retail or restaurant work or even manufacturing then that works.
One other thing that really concerns me is the apparent class warfare taking place in the Hibbing area. I come from a fairly wealthy background in New England and I have run into this same attitude in the Kansas City area. I have to wonder if the same problems I am having in KC will follow me to the Iron Range? I did not have very many problems when I lived in the Twin Cities and other parts of the country but KC has been a nightmare and I don't want a repeat again.
Speaking as someone in Duluth and not the Range, I would be wary of your concerns, especially if you are looking to create a following through the radio. I guess my thoughts personally...when I listen to talk radio (and I do...if the radio is on, its on talk) I would love to hear someone local before someone national. However, I'm not sure I would take to a guy who moved here in the last month, as local talk infers that you're talking about local issues, and a lot of that means a lot of history and a lot to take in before you publicly talk about your own opinions, again if you want a following, you know? My concern is that the Iron Range feels this way much more strongly than I do; they believe what they believe and to hell with you if you believe something different, especially if you just came here. I could see them rallying around Joe who lives down the road and has lived there all his life, but I'm not sure I see them supporting someone outside. Halfdozen or someone else in the area might disagree and I would certainly bow to their judgement, I am just trying to help you out.
If I were you, especially with the talk about a three-mile radius, I would look at smaller towns and areas. I'm not sure about Hibbing etc in general because I would assume many of the guys would be out of range when at work or at the cabin for the weekend, sledding, fishing, and everything. Also, many choose to live up there because they can live out in the middle of no where, and drive the fifteen or twenty miles to work or to run errands. There is some population in these smaller towns, but a lot is spread out. Depending on what sort of talking you're planning on, I would look at Ely, Grand Marais, or Two Harbors. I don't remember if you have stated a particular reason for targeting the Range, but those are nearby towns that in my stereotypical mind, would be more welcoming to something new. I think they would support more of the local aspect. They also have the benefit of being huge tourist booms in the summer (at least by Northland standards) and if you could find a way to market to folks coming into town (signs, pamphlets in lodges and cabins) you might get interest, since they are not tied to a radio station anyway and are just hitting scan. But I think even from the local perspective, you would have better luck in one of these towns over a Range town, and still be feeling the Northland.
The other idea I had was a college campus here in the Twin Ports. You could reach the vast majority of students 24/7 if you were to find a place near campus, and the rest of them would be able to listen during their time on campus. UMD does have a local radio stations. I believe it is completely music, but it does have a very devoted following, which would give me confidence that they could also support a talk station, especially if you could balance it for both sides and really give the students a forum to speak. If you chose UMD, you would also get many of the students from St. Scholastica, just down the road, and maybe even Lake Superior College students, though from personal experience those students spread out more, like to the West End where you likely wouldn't be reaching. There is also UW Superior across the river, and I'm not sure if they have a local station or not. Bayfield, WI, and Ashland, WI, would also fit the bill of the other cities I listed in the prior paragraph...Ashland might even be a bit bigger than any of those.
Speaking as someone in Duluth and not the Range, I would be wary of your concerns, especially if you are looking to create a following through the radio. I guess my thoughts personally...when I listen to talk radio (and I do...if the radio is on, its on talk) I would love to hear someone local before someone national. However, I'm not sure I would take to a guy who moved here in the last month, as local talk infers that you're talking about local issues, and a lot of that means a lot of history and a lot to take in before you publicly talk about your own opinions, again if you want a following, you know? My concern is that the Iron Range feels this way much more strongly than I do; they believe what they believe and to hell with you if you believe something different, especially if you just came here. I could see them rallying around Joe who lives down the road and has lived there all his life, but I'm not sure I see them supporting someone outside. Halfdozen or someone else in the area might disagree and I would certainly bow to their judgement, I am just trying to help you out.
If I were you, especially with the talk about a three-mile radius, I would look at smaller towns and areas. I'm not sure about Hibbing etc in general because I would assume many of the guys would be out of range when at work or at the cabin for the weekend, sledding, fishing, and everything. Also, many choose to live up there because they can live out in the middle of no where, and drive the fifteen or twenty miles to work or to run errands. There is some population in these smaller towns, but a lot is spread out. Depending on what sort of talking you're planning on, I would look at Ely, Grand Marais, or Two Harbors. I don't remember if you have stated a particular reason for targeting the Range, but those are nearby towns that in my stereotypical mind, would be more welcoming to something new. I think they would support more of the local aspect. They also have the benefit of being huge tourist booms in the summer (at least by Northland standards) and if you could find a way to market to folks coming into town (signs, pamphlets in lodges and cabins) you might get interest, since they are not tied to a radio station anyway and are just hitting scan. But I think even from the local perspective, you would have better luck in one of these towns over a Range town, and still be feeling the Northland.
The other idea I had was a college campus here in the Twin Ports. You could reach the vast majority of students 24/7 if you were to find a place near campus, and the rest of them would be able to listen during their time on campus. UMD does have a local radio stations. I believe it is completely music, but it does have a very devoted following, which would give me confidence that they could also support a talk station, especially if you could balance it for both sides and really give the students a forum to speak. If you chose UMD, you would also get many of the students from St. Scholastica, just down the road, and maybe even Lake Superior College students, though from personal experience those students spread out more, like to the West End where you likely wouldn't be reaching. There is also UW Superior across the river, and I'm not sure if they have a local station or not. Bayfield, WI, and Ashland, WI, would also fit the bill of the other cities I listed in the prior paragraph...Ashland might even be a bit bigger than any of those.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into these places.
I don't plan to do any of the talking. I will find local people to talk about local issues and the air one or two national talk shows. There are better people out there that will be suited to hosting shows. I have good management skills and know how to run a small business. I may host a music program and provide news and information during the show but that is all.
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.
I'm not sure about this...I do hear that rhetoric all the time so I checked a little, six mines in the Mesabi, two are owned by US Steel, Minntac and Keetac, Cleveland Cliffs runs North Shore Mining, and it looks like the rest of the area mines are also run by American companies. I believe the big bad is Rio Tinto, based in America in the Southwest...they are the evil foreign corporation. They are the ones who want to come up here and to the UP of MI and do the acid mining and such with no regard to the people or the environmental. I can assure you that the current operations up there (with more in construction and planning phases, like a plant to make both taconite pellets and fully processed steel, are all American. My wife and I are pretty avid "boat nerds" here in town, and I can assure you that no more than 2-3 out of the couple hundred ships that load up with taconite pellets are headed for foreign lands (though many do go to Canada, our Great Lakes partner). I did read that part of the reason things are getting better is because of the demand from China though, so hopefully things won't come to a crashing halt if a war begins. World Wars of course in the past have meant the absolute mind-blowing peak of all steel production in both Marquette and Duluth. I have some neat pictures of Marquette's harbor with ships simply lining up waiting for ore from the trains..of course the ships were largely still the wooden sailing vessels.
The touristy towns would not be affected as much if steel production goes down, if those sound possible to you.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into these places.
I don't plan to do any of the talking. I will find local people to talk about local issues and the air one or two national talk shows. There are better people out there that will be suited to hosting shows. I have good management skills and know how to run a small business. I may host a music program and provide news and information during the show but that is all.
Sounds great. Good luck in everything. I will always welcome local radio options, and I am surprised how little of it is even available here in Duluth. Most "local" comes from the Twin Cities, which is often appropriate, but still not really "local". Even here there is only about six hours of local AM talk on one station, and maybe a few hours on one other station. As I said, I think you'll be more welcomed in the more progressive and touristy towns outside the range, as they are open to new, but I think done right (especially as you talk about getting actual locals to do the talking), you might be able to do just fine anywhere, if you can find enough population density. Good luck!
I'm not sure about this...I do hear that rhetoric all the time so I checked a little, six mines in the Mesabi, two are owned by US Steel, Minntac and Keetac, Cleveland Cliffs runs North Shore Mining, and it looks like the rest of the area mines are also run by American companies. I believe the big bad is Rio Tinto, based in America in the Southwest...they are the evil foreign corporation. They are the ones who want to come up here and to the UP of MI and do the acid mining and such with no regard to the people or the environmental. I can assure you that the current operations up there (with more in construction and planning phases, like a plant to make both taconite pellets and fully processed steel, are all American. My wife and I are pretty avid "boat nerds" here in town, and I can assure you that no more than 2-3 out of the couple hundred ships that load up with taconite pellets are headed for foreign lands (though many do go to Canada, our Great Lakes partner). I did read that part of the reason things are getting better is because of the demand from China though, so hopefully things won't come to a crashing halt if a war begins. World Wars of course in the past have meant the absolute mind-blowing peak of all steel production in both Marquette and Duluth. I have some neat pictures of Marquette's harbor with ships simply lining up waiting for ore from the trains..of course the ships were largely still the wooden sailing vessels.
The touristy towns would not be affected as much if steel production goes down, if those sound possible to you.
Thanks. Much of our manufacturing has been shipped abroad. I suspect you already know this. And this even holds true about our military hardware manufacturing. If we end up in a war in the Middle East, unlike past wars I don't know if we even have the capability to produce parts for our tanks, guns, jeeps etc. Most of those apparently are imported from China and Germany or so I am told. Thus, I suspect the mines would see a great reduction in orders from their existing customers unless somehow our manufacturing plants could be retooled (just like in World War Two) to quickly build our own parts again.
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