The Times They Are A Changin'

News from the North:

May 16, 2006 --Posted 10:19 a.m., EVELETH--The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth has closed for good.

The Hall of Fame, which has been open since 1972, shut its doors last Friday.

Iron Range Resources Commissioner Sandy Layman said its startling news, but that she understands how this could happen.

"It's very difficult to operate a stand alone museum, or even a hall of fame like the Hockey Hall of Fame, in an area that's not highly populated," said Layman.

Layman said Hall of Fame Board members have a mission to honor inductees and they plan to reopen in another location, probably the Twin Cities.

No more driving past the Hockey Hall Of Fame, sitting up on that hill, on the way to Marty's, I guess.

And, apparently, the border may be getting harder to cross, after all:

May 17, 2006--Do you want to buy a bridge? There's one for sale in northern Minnesota. It's the bridge over the Rainy River that links International Falls with Fort Frances, Ontario. The toll bridge has been privately owned by paper companies on both sides of the border since the first span was built in 1908. Now, those companies want to get rid of the bridge.

That has folks in both border communities concerned. They worry that if the bridge is sold to a private developer, the tolls could rise. Local officials are pushing the state of Minnesota and the province of Ontario to buy the bridge.