Iron Range journalists to launch independent reporting project, Iron Range Today

DULUTH — Jerry Burnes left his job in mainstream media wiped out and in need of more family time, but 15 months later, the former editor of the Mesabi Tribune can't kick the need to ask important questions in his Iron Range community.

Burnes, who left journalism for a job in communications, announced recently that he and partner Leah Ryan will launch the online-only Iron Range Today — an independent reporting project that eschews the fast-paced churn of daily journalism in favor of in-depth reporting focused on that region of Northern Minnesota.

Burnes said he knew when he left the Mesabi Tribune that he would return to reporting someday — but on his own terms.

"I wanted to do something, and this idea started coming up," he said. "Why don't you do something yourself? What would that look like? How would you do it?"

Iron Range Today kicks off Nov. 1, intentionally just more than a week before Election Day. Burnes' favorite areas of coverage are politics and mining. He has already begun reporting, he said, but wouldn't reveal details. Ryan will cover the arts, books and human interest stories. Content will be available on the Iron Range Today website, via newsletter and on a podcast — all free for consumers.

There is no paycheck, for now, though Burnes is considering a nonprofit model in the future — after they have shown what they can do.

"Right now it's just about getting a solid product out there," he said.

The Iron Range runs from Ely, Minn., to Crosby, Minn., — 175 miles from tip to end. It is north of Duluth and west of the North Shore. Beefing up news coverage in that part of Minnesota and beyond is also on the agenda at Grand Rapids, Minn.-based Northern Community Radio KAXE/KBXE. The public radio station recently received a $500,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation, payable over three years, to build a staff of reporters, editors and producers.

The station's news director, Heidi Holtan said Iron Range politics is hard for outsiders to understand, and people who live there are often mischaracterized in media. She said applicants don't necessarily need to be from the Iron Range, but must have a curiosity about it. She said she hopes to build a sustainable news system in three years.

"We've been around since 1976," Holtan said. "We have the reputation to expand what we've been doing — telling the stories in Northern Minnesota."

Burnes spent six years at what is now the Mesabi Tribune — a consolidation of the Mesabi Daily News with the Hibbing Daily Tribune and Chisholm Tribune Press. Ryan worked at the newspaper, too, but left to run their home. They have adopted two foster children and plan to adopt three more.

"There were definitely projects we didn't have the time or manpower to really dig into," Ryan said of their time at the daily newspaper. "There are things we had to pass up, but we know they're out there and not getting covered."

Fellow Iron Range journalist Aaron Brown followed a path similar to Burnes, which Brown describes as the "digestive system of a young journalist in this market": wide-eyed news reporter to editor to realization that it is hard to balance the job with family and life. Brown is a teacher at Hibbing Community College and maintains the blog Minnesota Brown, which combines news and columns. He has backed off on news coverage while working on a book.

"I like Jerry and Leah doing this," he said. "It doesn't hurt to have someone else asking around about the big stories in a region like this. There's a lot going on."