The New Iron Age: Niron Magnetics and the $1.8 Billion Quest to Transform Minnesota’s Iron Range
ST. PAUL, MN — For over a century, the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota has been the backbone of American industry, fueling the steel mills that built the nation’s cities and won its wars. However, as the taconite industry faces a long-term decline…
The Evolution of Grindr: George Arison’s Quest to Build a "Gayborhood in Your Pocket"
When George Arison assumed the helm of Grindr in 2022, he didn’t just inherit a dating app; he inherited a corporate puzzle. The company had spent years in a state of geopolitical and operational flux, moving from Chinese ownership to a forced…
The Cathedral of the Forest: A High-Stakes Quest to Save the American Elm
For over a century, the American elm (Ulmus americana) has stood as a ghost in the American landscape. Once the defining architectural feature of town squares, university campuses, and rural floodplains, the species was decimated by the arrival of Dutch…
The Sovereignty Struggle: Europe’s Quest for Autonomy in the Age of AI
At this year’s TechBBQ in Copenhagen, the atmosphere was a curious blend of Nordic pragmatism and existential anxiety. While the annual conference is traditionally a celebration of innovation, the conversation among the investors, founders, and operators…
The Resurrection of Jeddah Tower: Inside Saudi Arabia’s Resumed Quest for the World’s First Kilometre-High Skyscraper
For years, a massive concrete monolith stood frozen on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, serving as a silent, stark monument to interrupted ambition. The unfinished core of the Jeddah Tower—even while stalled—loomed higher than the completed skylines of…
The New Iron Age: Niron Magnetics and the $1.8 Billion Quest to Transform Minnesota’s Iron Range
ST. PAUL, MN — For decades, the narrative of Minnesota’s Iron Range has been one of industrial decline, defined by the slow erosion of the taconite industry and a bitter, multi-generational tug-of-war between mining interests and environmental…
Decoding the Future: Minnesota’s Ambitious Quest to Overhaul Literacy Instruction
This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2026 Capitol Reporting Workshop for Minnesota youth, with financial support from the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. For Hennepin County Commissioner and former Minnesota State…
The Cathedral of the Forest: The High-Stakes Quest to Resurrect the American Elm
In a quiet, fenced-off grove in rural Vermont, a team of scientists is performing a deliberate, calculated act of destruction. Dressed in field gear, Gus Goodwin—the director of science and technology advancement for The Nature Conservancy in…
Beyond the Iron Range: Niron Magnetics’ Quest to Revolutionize the Global Supply Chain
While the contentious debate over copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) dominates national headlines, a quiet, technological revolution is taking shape in Minnesota that could fundamentally alter the state’s industrial identity.…
The Quest for Silicon Sovereignty: Google’s “Frozen v2” and the High-Stakes Race for AI Efficiency
In the escalating arms race of generative artificial intelligence, the battlefield has shifted from software algorithms to the very bedrock of computing: the silicon chip. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is reportedly intensifying its efforts to…
