Iron Junction, MN Local News and More

Woman injured in sideswipe crash north of Virginia; vehicle fled

VIRGINIA, Minn. (Northern News Now) - A 69-year-old Soudan woman was injured in a sideswipe crash north of Virginia after another vehicle fled the scene, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. The crash happened shortly before 6 p.m. on Highway 169 in St. Louis County. The patrol said a southbound...

Virginia, MN · 2d

Mesabi Tribune

Drivers transported following two-vehicle crash near Mountain Iron

MOUNTAIN IRON—Two individuals were transported to a local hospital following a crash on Monday on Highway 169 near Mountain Iron, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Around 12:14 p.m. a vehicle driven by a 75-year-old male from McKinley was traveling southbound on Hwy. 169 approaching Nichols Avenue, when a vehicle driven by a 78-year-old female from Mountain Iron stopped at the intersection then turned southbound onto Hwy. 169 and collided with it, according to the report. Both drivers were transported to Virginia Regional Medical Center to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. Road conditions were dry at the time of the crash, and both drivers were wearing seatbelts. Alcohol is not suspected for either driver. St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Ambulance and Essentia Paramedics assisted at the scene.

Mountain Iron, MN · 2d

FOX 21 Online

Damiano Center donated showers to Faith United on the Iron Range

DULUTH, Minn. (KQDS-TV) -- The Damiano Center has donated its mobile shower facility to a church on the Iron Range. The Hygiene Unit Mobile Facility is now on its way to Faith United Lutheran Church in Iron, Minn. The Damiano Center originally received the outside show unit through a grant from St. Louis County during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Iron Junction, MN · 22h

Mesabi Tribune

Two injured in hit-and-run

VIRGINIA—Two individuals were injured on Monday when the vehicle they were riding in was sideswiped along Highway 169 near Virginia in St. Louis County. A pickup driven by a 77-year-old male from Soudan was headed northbound on Hwy. 169 shortly after 5:45 p.m. on Monday, near mile marker 371 when another vehicle headed southbound passed a vehicle in a no passing zone and sideswiped the northbound vehicle. The suspect vehicle of unknown make/model fled the scene, according to authorities. The driver and a 69-year-old passenger, also of Soudan, were transported to Essentia Health Hospital in Virginia to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. Road conditions were dry at the time of the incident. The airbag on the vehicle was deployed, and both the driver and passenger were wearing seatbelts. Alcohol is not suspected for the driver or passenger of the pickup.

St Louis County, MN · 1d

Mesabi Tribune

Buhl bar owner convicted of fraud charges

BUHL—A 59-year-old Eveleth woman, Carla Dee Dombrowski, was recently convicted of gambling-related offenses, taking place from August 29, 2024 through March 20, 2025, according to court records. On November 4 of this year, Dombrowski, the owner of Billy’s Pit Stop Pub ‘n’ Grub was convicted of one count of lawful gambling fraud-claims prize by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, lawful gambling fraud over $2,500, a felony-level offense; one count of lawful gambling fraud-false information, lawful gambling fraud over $2,500, a felony-level offense; and one count of organization/employee/volunteer may not participate in electronic bingo/pull tipboard/, a misdemeanor-level offense, according to court information. Dombrowski was released on $5,000 bail. Conditions of release include: remain law abiding, no same or similar offenses, make all future court appearances, make and maintain contact with attorney, and other conditions of release. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Bill’s Pit Stop Pub N’ Grub announced they are open for food only, and are in the process and awaiting a new liquor license to be approved. “This will take a few weeks. We apologize for this and hope you will support us for food,” reads the post. “We can however sell non alcoholic beverages during this time.” A sentencing is

Buhl, MN · 1d

Mesabi Tribune

Virginia sets special meeting to review forensic audit

VIRGINIA—Councilor Liz Motley let the public know (at Tuesday night’s regular meeting) the forensic audit of Virginia’s finances has been received by the city. After some debate on the timing, the council set a special City Council meeting at 3 p.m. Nov. 24 to discuss the findings from the firm Perry Forensic. Engaging in a forensic audit was approved in July after the city discovered $3.7 million missing from a dedicated sales tax fund earlier in the year. The action came after the city had a cash flow problem and discovered about $3.7 million was spent out of a restricted special sales tax fund designed to repay a General Obligation Revenue Bond issued about six years ago for the Iron Trail Motors Event Center. The extra 1% sales tax was approved by the Legislature in 2019 and its proceeds were specifically restricted to pay back the ITMEC bonds, not the city’s general fund expenses. The council wanted to determine what, exactly, those funds were spent on and decided on the audit. Motley was hoping for the meeting on Nov. 17, but the timing didn’t work for the others on the council. “I do believe we owe it to the taxpayers

northernnewsnow.com

Iron Range community rallies around family after deadly crash near Minong

HIBBING, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Three children were waiting for their father to come home from work. But Nick Groszbach never made it home. Groszbach was killed in a wrong-way crash near Minong last week. The other driver also died. Now, friends, neighbors and strangers are coming together to...

Hibbing, MN · 2d

myfamilytravels.com

An Abandoned Minnesota Iron Mine Is Now A Stunning Outdoor Park With 38 Miles Of Trails

The water in these old mine pits is hundreds of feet deep, and it shines a startling shade of blue. Right above it, mountain bikers zip along trails carved through red rock and past towering cliff faces. For more than a century, crews dug iron ore out of this ground....

Chisholm, MN · 22h

northernnewsnow.com

Fire destroys garage near Cook, homeowner treated for hand injury

COOK, Minn. (Northern News Now) - A fire destroyed a garage in northern St. Louis County, leaving the 70-year-old homeowner with a minor hand injury. The garage on Highway 1 near Cook was fully engulfed shortly after 1 p.m. The homeowner was treated for his hand injury at the scene.

Cook, MN · 2d

northernnewsnow.com

City by City: Jacobson, Virginia

JACOBSON, Minn.- The Volunteer Fire and Rescue Team is putting on their Chili Feed Fundriaser. That will kick off at 5p.m. on Friday, November 13 at the Jacobson Fire Hall. The event will host a chili feed, silent auction and a variety of raffles. The feed will be $15 per person. All money raised will go back to the Fire and Rescue team. The Chili Feed Fundraiser will wrap up at 9p.m. that night.

Mesabi Tribune

Wilderness split weekend series with Blizzard

EVELETH—The Minnesota Wilderness NA3HL hockey team split their weekend series with Alexandria, dropping the Blizzard 3-1 on Friday before falling 8-4 on Saturday. In Friday’s win, William Wadlington led the way for the Wilderness with one goal in each of the first two periods. Antony Eertmoed had the first goal of the contest for Minnesota, scoring with just 1:14 coming off the clock. Alexandria got on the board late in the second period but neither team found the back of the net in the third, leaving the Wilderness’ 3-1 lead intact. In goal, Hudson Smith stopped 35 shots to lead Minnesota to victory. Adam Holien kicked out 36 for the Blizzard. Saturday, Alexandria and Minnesota went into the first intermission tied 3-3, but the Blizzard out-scored the Wilderness 5-1 in the second and third periods to put things away. Four different Minnesota players found the back of the net in the loss with Nick Bogert, Neil Elsmore, Evan Brown and Joey Gabardi all scoring. Ethan Jacobson led the night in assists with two. Wyatt Mineheine had a hat trick for Alexandria while Ehren Anderson added two goals. In net, Bode Ekblad stopped 36 shots for the Blizzard. Calum Keating got

Eveleth, MN · 2d

Mesabi Tribune

Second Chance home revealed in Chisholm

CHISHOLM—A house located at 214 Second Street Southwest is the first of four former tax-forfeited homes on the Range to be given “a second chance” through a new pilot program. On Tuesday representatives from the partnering entities, along with elected officials from Chisholm and Hibbing, among others, stopped by to get their first look at the newly renovated home along with displays that included before and after photos. Launched in fiscal year 2024, the Second Chance Homes Pilot Program is a partnership among Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR), Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency (AEOA) and St. Louis County to rehabilitate formerly tax-forfeited homes and preserve to help meet a need for housing. Phase 1 includes three other homes, two in Eveleth and one in Aurora that are expected to be completed soon. The approximate $1.2 million investment is Phase 1, according to information provided by the IRRR. The work preserves existing housing, revitalizes neighborhoods and creates homeownership opportunities while helping prevent deterioration that could eventually require demolition. AEOA Executive Director Mark Page said the three bedroom, two bath home in Chisholm took about 12 months to complete. Before and after photos of the project were available for people to view

Chisholm, MN · 1d

Mesabi Tribune

Rock Ridge to keep discussing possibility of 4-day week

VIRGINIA/EVELETH—After a lengthy discussion, the Rock Ridge School Board will hold a working session at 5 p.m. Nov. 23 so board members can talk out the parameters of possibly going to a four-day week. While the board has not authorized going to a four-day week, Superintendent Noel Schmidt brought up the idea of studying it as a possible budget reduction. Any possible decision on going to a four-day week would have to be made by April. According to Schmidt’s rough draft timeline, a series of community meetings would be held next month to gather feedback and advice from the public. Meetings (three at each school) would be held at Laurentian, North Star and Parkview elementaries, along with Rock Ridge High School. Schmidt said once all of the information is gathered from the public, it will be “clustered’’ into big themes/big concerns. That is better than deciding what the themes are before the public meetings. He estimated there would be three-five clusters, and committees would be formed to look at them and come up with potential answers and recommendations before bringing it back to the full school board. The different clusters could possibly be on transportation, academics or athletics, he added.

Mesabi Tribune

Wolverine girls hockey preps for road trip to open season

VIRGINIA—The Rock Ridge girls’ hockey team is only a few days away from their first game of the season and with just over a week of practice and three scrimmages under their belt, third-year head coach Kassie Strand is seeing plenty of signs from her players about how things could shake out this year. The Wolverines hit the road this weekend, taking on St. Paul/Two Rivers on Friday before battling Westonka/Southwest Christian on Saturday. Given two weeks to prepare for games one and two, Strand said the first few days of practice brought about plenty of excitement as a new crop of skaters entered the program, looking to replace the three seniors that graduated in 2026. “We had nine new girls come up, including one goalie, so we’re looking forward to seeing some added depth on the team this year,” Strand said. Her first look at her players in a more competitive setting came this past weekend when the Wolverines competed in three scrimmages against Owattona, Park and Hastings. “We skated well down there and I think it was really promising,” Strand said. “It was fun to see the new girls in the mix and we got to play around

Mesabi Tribune

County Board approves petition allowing portion of Greenwood Township to join Goodwill Township

The County Board approved a petition to allow a portion of Greenwood Township to become part of neighboring Goodwill Township. The involved area includes 435 parcels on the northwestern side of Greenwood Township, of which about 10% are primary residences, a county news release stated. Much of the conversation focused on property tax impacts as well as emergency response services. In voting in favor of the petition, Commissioner Paul McDonald noted that the decision was about more than those issues, “This is about sense of community,” said McDonald, whose district includes both townships. “When people don’t have that sense of community, they lose something. Goodwill Township and Cook align with that end of Lake Vermilion,” Commissioners approved the petition during Tuesday’s meeting, which was held in Gilbert. The vote came following a public hearing, which originally was held in September, but then continued when it was learned that not all affected property owners had received communication. Details on when this change goes into effect will be communicated to the respective townships at a later date.

Gilbert, MN · 1d

kaxe.org

East Grand Forks, MN · 2d

Volleyball: 2 teams from EGF make first-ever state tourney; Chisholm makes 2nd

ST. PAUL — The state volleyball tournament begins Wednesday, Nov. 11, with four Northland teams set to take the court at Grand Casino Arena on Thursday. Two teams from East Grand Forks will play in the tourney for the first time in their schools' history. The East Grand Forks...

Mesabi Tribune

Remembering Hibbing, Chisholm World War II centenarians

HIBBING/CHISHOLM—On this Veterans Day 2026, thoughts turn to World War II, which ended 81 years ago. About 16.4 million Americans served in the armed forces during World War II. Fewer than 0.2% of those original service members—approximately 30,607 American World War II veterans—are still living. Six years ago, it was my distinct privilege to interview then-99-year-old Joseph Berklich at his home in Hibbing. He lived to age 101, and his Chisholm friend William Loushine lived to age 102. — William “Bill” Loushine was born on February 3, 1921, and died on February 26, 2023, in Chisholm. He was 102. Joseph “Joe” Berklich was born on February 24, 1921, and died on May 31, 2022, at his home in Hibbing. He was 101. — In 2023, someone shared these heartfelt words on the Rupp Funeral Home website: “God bless you, Mr. Loushine! You were a great person.” The words were in tribute to William “Bill” Loushine, age 102, lifelong resident of Chisholm, who died February 26, 2023. Mr. Loushine had lived more than a century, and his mind remained active until God called him home. A year earlier, another shared these words on the Dougherty Funeral Home website in tribute to

Hibbing, MN · 1d

Mesabi Tribune

Join musician Pajunen on area ALS tour

MOUNTAIN IRON — The Arrowhead Library System will present free concerts at participating ALS libraries November 17—December 18, 2026. This music event, presented by musician Sara Pajunen, is titled Music Then and Now: a Solo String Concert. Join Pajunen on a tour of classical, folk, and original music on violin and hardanger d’amore, a ten-string bow instrument. According to the ALS news release, “This concert showcases Sara’s musical repertoire and original compositions, inspired by travels abroad and grounded in her childhood on the Iron Range.” This program is 50 minutes long and suited for adults and children of all ages. These free programs are being offered at the following locations: Tuesday, November 17, 1:00 p.m.—Ely Public Library Friday, November 20, 10:00 a.m.—Mountain Iron Public Library Friday, November 20, 3:30 p.m.—Buhl Public Library Saturday, November 21, 10:00 a.m.—Eveleth Public Library Wednesday, December 2, 10:00 a.m.—Calumet Public Library Wednesday, December 2, 3:30 p.m.—Marble Public Library Thursday, December 3, 1:00 p.m.—Virginia Public Library Friday, December 4, 1:00 p.m.—Hoyt Lakes Public Library Friday, December 4, 3:30 p.m.—Aurora Public Library Monday, December 7, 1:00 p.m.—Grand Rapids Area Library Tuesday, December 8, 10:00 a.m.—Coleraine Public Library Monday, December 14, 10:30 a.m.—Cook Public Library Monday, December 14,

Mountain Iron, MN · 1d

Mesabi Tribune

Referendum result dampens mood in St. Louis County Schools

Bummed. That might be the best way to summarize how teachers, staff and administration are feeling after two St. Louis County Schools referendum questions were voted down in the general election. “I’m sure everybody is kind of bummed out that it didn’t pass, but what do you do,” Lynn Hilde, St. Louis County Schools board chairman said. “I imagine it was about raising taxes.” An operating referendum that would have raised $5.8 million per year for 10 years and a $1.5 million capital project referendum, were aimed at helping the rural school district regain its financial footing. The measures were voted down 5,814 to 3,442. Had both referendum questions been approved, the state would have kicked in about $2.65 million. However, approval would have still increased district residents’ property taxes. Not one of the more than 60 polling places within the district recorded more yes votes than no votes. “For me it was surprising,” Brian Masterson, St. Louis County Schools superintendent said. “I hadn’t heard a lot of negative comments.” Of the more than 9,200 people who voted on the referendums, about 3,000 were parents whose children attend schools in the district, Hilde said. That probably left about 6,000 votes

St Louis County, MN · 2d

WDIO-TV