Coordinates: 47°30′36″N 93°37′48″W / 47.51°N 93.63°W / 47.51; -93.63

The Mesabi Range (upper center) is west of Lake Superior, north of Duluth, and far north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Nearby towns include Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Virginia, Minnesota.

Miners at work on the Mesabi Range 1903.

The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in Itasca and St. Louis counties. It was extensively worked in the earlier part of the 20th century. Extraction operations declined throughout the mid-1970s but rebounded in 2005. China's growing demand for iron, along with the falling value of the US dollar versus other world currencies, have made taconite production profitable again, and some mines that had closed have been reopened, while current mines have been expanded.^{[1][dead link]}

Name[link]

Mesabi Range was known to the local Ojibwe as Misaabe-wajiw : "Giant's Mountain" or "Big-man's Mountain".^[2][3] Throughout the Mesabi Range, "Mesaba" and "Missabe" spelling variations are found along with places containing "Giant" in their names.

Formation[link]

Most of the world's iron ore, including that contained in the Mesabi Iron Range, was formed during the middle Precambrian period. During this period, erosion leveled mountains. This erosion released iron and silica into the waters of a new sea. Marine algae living in this new sea raised the level of atmospheric oxygen. This oxygen catastrophe caused the eroded iron to precipitate into the banded iron formations found in the Mesabi Iron Range and other members of the Animikie Group.

Mining operations[link]

Iron ore is currently mined only from open pits, although some mines operated underground early on.^[4] The mined ore is then transported away, primarily by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway to the ports of Two Harbors and Duluth. In the early years of mining from the late 19th century until the 1950s, mining focus was on high grade ore (hematite) that could be processed into steel without much change. However, when that supply dried up, focus shifted to lower-grade ore (taconite), which requires extensive processing at large mining-processing facilities before moving to port. At Duluth, trains of up to eighty 100-ton open cars are moved out on massive ore docks to be dumped into "lakers" of up to 60,000 tons weight for movement to steel mills in Indiana and Ohio.

Much of the softer ore was formed close to the surface, allowing mining operations to be conducted via the open pit mines. The world's biggest open pit iron ore mine is the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine in Hibbing. Open pit mines that are no longer worked are a common feature along the iron range. Some of these sites have been redeveloped for other uses. For instance, the Virginia Pilot is a project which focuses on redeveloping the grounds adjacent to the old mines into low- to moderate-income residential space. The Hill-Annex Mine is now a state park and offers tours to visitors who wish to learn about mine operations. Tours are guided by former mine workers.

Currently, there are six mining-processing facilities in operation on the Iron Range. Cliffs Natural Resources owns and operates Northshore Mining, which has mining operations in Babbitt and crushing, concentrating (grinding) and pelletizing operations in Silver Bay, along with United Taconite which has mining operations in Eveleth and crushing, concentrating and pelletizing operations in Forbes. Arcelor Mittal owns and operates the Minorca Mine and Plant with mining operations near Biwabik and Gilbert and a crushing, concentrating and pelletizing facility near Virginia (47°32′34″N 92°31′01″W / 47.5428°N 92.5169°W / 47.5428; -92.5169). United States Steel owns and operates both KeeTac (47°23′57″N 93°04′33″W / 47.3992°N 93.0759°W / 47.3992; -93.0759) and Minntac (47°29′50″N 92°36′50″W / 47.49730°N 92.61401°W / 47.49730; -92.61401) with mining and processing facilities in Keewatin and Mountain Iron respectively. The last facility is Hibbing Taconite which operates a mine and plant between the cities of Hibbing and Chisholm. Although Arcelor Mittal owns a majority stake in Hibbing Taconite, the operating agent is actually a minority owner, Cliffs Natural Resources. United States Steel is also a minority stakeholder in Hibbing Taconite.

In addition, Essar Steel is building a mine/plant near Nashwauk that has plans to not only mine and process the taconite, but eventually to produce steel on-site ready for shipment around the world. Steel Dynamics and Kobe Steel own Mesabi Nugget (47°31′41″N 92°07′18″W / 47.5280°N 92.1216°W / 47.5280; -92.1216) near Hoyt Lakes which does not yet mine its own material, but does produce high-iron content nuggets. Magnetation, Inc. is another company currently working the Iron Range, but their focus is reclaiming leftover iron from ore dumps with company-designed high-power magnetic separators to produce concentrate to sell and ship throughout the world.

Notable people[link]

Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin McHale was born and raised on the Mesabi Range in Hibbing; Robert Allen Zimmerman, later to be known as Bob Dylan, was raised in Hibbing. His song "North Country Blues" is about the decline of mining in the Mesabi Range, and its effect on miners and their families.

Popular culture[link]

The Mesabi Range was brought to public attention by the 2005 film North Country, which depicts a fictionalized version of the events surrounding Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., a sexual harassment, class-action lawsuit that female miners brought against a Mesabi Range mining company.

The range is also featured in the song "Youngstown", by Bruce Springsteen, from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad:

From the Monongahela valley, to the Mesabi Iron Range –

To the coal mines of Appalachia, the story's always the same.

Mesabi is the title song of a 2011 album by Tom Russell: "Some things never change on the Mesabi iron range . . . Bethlehem of the Troubadour Kid (Dylan - see above)"

References[link]

• Leith, Charles Kenneth (1903). The Mesabi Iron-bearing District of Minnesota. U.S. Geological Survey Monograph 43. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.
• Stacy, Francis N. (September 1904). "The Iron Mines That Give Us Leadership: The Most Extraordinary Deposits In The World In The Mesabi Range". The World's Work: A History of Our Time VIII: 5235–5243. http://books.google.com/?id=AYbNAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA5235. Retrieved 2009-07-10.  Includes numerous photos of c. 1904 Mesabi iron works.

Further reading[link]

• Beck, J. Robert. Well, Here We Are! The Hansons and the Becks. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, 2005. ISBN 059535725. A history of a Swedish-Finnish immigrant family from the Mesabi Iron Range, which details the social (and socialist) conditions of the area during its heyday.

External links[link]

• Hill Annex Mine State Park: Minnesota DNR

Jamie Walker
Pitcher
Born: (1971-07-01) July 1, 1971 (age 40) McMinnville, Tennessee
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 2, 1997 for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
May 30, 2009 for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	19–21
Earned run average	4.13
Strikeouts	318
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1997–1998) Detroit Tigers (2002–2006) Baltimore Orioles (2007–2009)

James Ross "Jamie the Cat" Walker (born July 1, 1971 in McMinnville, Tennessee) is an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously pitched for the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and Baltimore Orioles.

Biography[link]

Walker with the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

Walker graduated from Warren County High School in McMinnville, Tennessee in 1989. He attended Austin Peay State University between 1990 and 1992 and ranks fifth all-time in school history with 17 wins and first with three career shutouts. Walker was drafted in the 10th round, the 265th pick of the 1992 MLB draft.^[1]

Walker participated in spring training during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.

In 2006, Walker nearly broke the major league record for most appearances in a season without a decision (no wins or losses). The record was held by Scott Aldred (a former Tiger, coincidentally), who made 48 appearances for the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays while accomplishing this feat. By September 29 (with three games left in the season), he had pitched in 54 games without being credited with a win or a loss. However, he would surrender four runs on three home runs against his former team (the Kansas City Royals) in the top of the 11th inning and was charged with a loss. However, Aldred's record would only hold for one more season, as Trever Miller of the Houston Astros set the new mark with 76 decisionless appearances.

Honors and awards[link]

Walker was named Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1992. He was inducted into the Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame on February 8, 2003, and into the Warren County, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on December 19, 2006.

Personal life[link]

Walker is married (wife Natalie) and has two sons (Ross, born 1995; James Leyland,^[2] born 2007) and two daughters (Harlee, born 1999; Hannah, born 2004). The family resides on their Kansas ranch in Smith Center. They have a second home in Overland Park, Kansas.

See also[link]

• LOOGY

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jamie Walker

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Jesse Taylor
Taylor in 2009
Born	Jesse Marcus Taylor (1983-01-02) January 2, 1983 (age 29) Poway, California, United States
Other names	JT Money
Residence	San Diego, California
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	169 lb (77 kg; 12.1 st)
Division	Middleweight (2006-present) Welterweight (2008-present) Light Heavyweight (2011)
Reach	73.5 in (187 cm)
Style	Wrestling, Greco-Roman Wrestling, Boxing
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Murrieta, California
Team	Team Quest
Rank	NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active	2006-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	29
Wins	20
By knockout	5
By submission	10
By decision	5
Losses	9
By submission	8
By decision	1
University	San Francisco State University, Cal State Fullerton
Notable school(s)	Poway High School
Website	http://www.yojtmoney.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Jesse Marcus Taylor^[1] (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, winning his entry, preliminary, quarterfinal and semi-final matches, and then became infamous for being the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred after filming was completed (see Removal from the Finale below). Taylor has fought for top promotions such as: Ultimate Fighting Championship, Strikeforce, DREAM, Maximum Fighting Championship, Impact FC and Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Taylor holds notable victories over Tom Watson, Chris Camozzi, Murilo Bustamante, and Denis Kang.

Early life[link]

Jesse Taylor graduated from Poway High School in Poway, CA, where he was a wrestler. After high school Jesse attended San Francisco State university. He took Jiu-Jitsu classes but decided to stick to wrestling. When things did not work out in San Francisco he moved back down to San Diego, where he then attended junior college. In junior college, Taylor became a two-time All-American, state runner-up in 2003, and state champion in 2004, only losing three matches. Taylor was then rewarded with a scholarship to Cal State Fullerton. After the birth of his son, it become harder for Taylor to concentrate on wrestling and school while adjusting to the family life. Taylor still managed to qualify for the Division 1 NCAA Tournament and was 3rd in the Pac-10's.

After realizing there was no money in wrestling after college(a sentiment echoed by many former collegiate wrestlers, including Matt Hughes, Randy Couture, and Bobby Lashley), Taylor tried to think of a way to still compete and make a living for him and his son. He then decided to give mixed martial arts a real try. An old wrestling friend of his invited him for a Team Quest workout, where Taylor was able to spar with fighters such as Dan Henderson, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Jason Miller.^[2] He picked up Jiu Jitsu quickly, and worked to improve his striking. After only about a month of training, Taylor took a fight against a much more established fighter and was victorious. A few years later Jesse got the chance to be on the seventh season of the hit reality television series The Ultimate Fighter.

Mixed martial arts[link]

The Ultimate Fighter[link]

In the second episode Jesse Taylor won his entry match against Nick Rossborough by rear naked choke. After all entry matches were done the teams were to pick the fighters that they wanted. Taylor was picked sixth overall by Forrest Griffin. With Quinton Jackson getting the first pick for fighters, Forrest Griffin was to choose the first preliminary fight. Griffin chose Taylor to take on Mike Dolce; In the second round, Taylor won the fight again via a rear naked choke. Taylor's quarterfinal fight was against Dante Rivera, which Taylor also won, this time via unanimous decision. Taylor had now advanced to the semi-finals against his close friend Tim Credeur, a fight which Taylor won by unanimous decision, putting him into the finals.

Removal From Finale[link]

Taylor was removed from the finals after a security recording was presented to Dana White. He was shown kicking out one of the side windows of a rented limousine. The staff of the hotel where the incident occurred reported that a drunken Taylor had frightened female patrons and confronted hotel security by acting aggressively and screaming that he was a UFC fighter.^[3] Dana White told Taylor that this type of behavior was unacceptable, and that he believed Taylor did not possess the mental discipline to deal with the pressures of fame and popularity that being in the UFC would put on him. White told Taylor that because of his actions he had forfeited his place in the final match, a decision that an emotional Taylor did not try to protest. However, White went on to thank Taylor for his efforts in the show, and advised him to "go home, get your life together,call me in a few months." Later, in the July fight promo footage for UFC: Silva vs. Irvin Dana White recounted a conversation he had with Taylor:

Ultimate Fighting Championship[link]

At UFC: Silva vs. Irvin, Taylor lost his UFC debut against the TUF 7 Middleweight runner-up CB Dollaway by submission via Peruvian Necktie

Release From UFC Contract[link]

On July 29 the Wrestling Observer reported that Jesse Taylor had been released from the UFC. The likely reason for this was his loss to C.B. Dollaway, which many had expected would lead to Taylor being dropped by the organization. There are also rumors circling that some negative comments made about the UFC by Taylor - along with doubts by the UFC management if he was following through with his Alcoholics Anonymous meetings - contributed to him being let go by the organization. The negative comments involved Jesse Taylor accusing the UFC of using a double standard when it comes to fighters getting in to trouble - referring to the arrest of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.^[5]

Post UFC[link]

Since being released from the UFC Taylor has gone 14-5, In his first fight since his release from the UFC, Taylor fought Drew Fickett at a catch weight of 175 pounds.^[6] Taylor upset the more experienced Fickett, winning by TKO due to strikes in 1 minutes and 42 seconds.^[7] After the fight, Taylor then dropped down from middleweight to welterweight.

He later fought on January 15, where he was set to fight unbeaten Pat Minihan, instead Taylor fought Rico Altamirano, he defeated Altamirano via rear naked choke in the second round.^[8] Taylor fought on February 14, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was set to go up against Esteban Ramos.^[9] Taylor ended up fighting and beating (1-0) fighter Gert Kocani. Taylor again won via rear naked choke in the second round.

Jesse fought on March 28, 2009 in Colorado. He took on Chris Camozzi, defeating him by decision. Jesse won the belt in Colorado at K.O.C. held by Camozzi.^[10][11] On May 2, 2009, Taylor defeated MMA veteran Eric DaVila at Shark Fight 4. Taylor then won his sixth straight fight since being released from the UFC after defeating Rubén Darío at Total Combat 33. The fight was for the Total Combat middleweight title.^[12]

Dream[link]

One day after his win over Darío, Taylor was offered a fight for Japan promotion, DREAM. He made his debut on July 20, 2009 at Dream 10 against Korean Judoka, Dong Sik Yoon.^[13][14] Taylor won after Yoon injured his ankle and was not able to continue.^[15]

Strikeforce[link]

Nick Diaz was slated to face Jay Hieron for the Welterweight Championship belt. However, Diaz missed a pre-fight drug test mandated by the California State Athletic Commission and was denied a license to compete. Diaz was replaced by Taylor, who moved down to welterweight, and the fight was changed to a non-title bout.^[16] Taylor lost the match via unanimous decision.

Taylor had his second fight for the Strikeforce promotion on November 6, 2009 on the main card of the Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista event. He lost to Luke Rockhold (5-1) in a middleweight contest.^[17][18]

Maximum Fighting Championship[link]

Taylor signed a two fight deal with Canadian based promotion, Maximum Fighting Championship. His first fight was on the MFC 25 card against Thales Leites, losing in the first round by submission.

Before taking another fight with the MFC, Taylor fought former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante. In the second round the fight, referee John McCarthy stood the pair up and as the fight was about to continue, Bustamante seemingly lost equilibrium and could not continue, giving Taylor the TKO victory.

His second fight for MFC took place on the main card of the MFC 26 card against Tom Watson. Taylor won via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).

Post MFC[link]

Taylor was signed to fight Australian knockout artist, Dylan Andrews, at the inaugural Australian Fighting Championships event. The fight took place in Melbourne on November 12, 2010. Taylor won the fight midway into round one, choking Andrews unconscious from a guillotine choke.

Taylor was scheduled to fight Pride, UFC, and DREAM veteran, Denis Kang at Battlefield Fight League 7. Kang later pulled out of the fight, and Jesse moved up to Light Heavyweight to fight Clay Davidson, defeating him in a unanimous decision. The fight with Kang was rescheduled for May 28, 2011 at Battlefield Fight League 8.^[19] Taylor won by submission in the first round, getting Kang in a rear naked choke.

Taylor fought Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard on September 3, 2011, in the main event at the Australian Fighting Championships.^[20]

KSW[link]

Taylor replaced an injured Paulo Filho at KSW XVII and faced Mamed Khalidov. He lost the fight via kneebar submission early in the first round.

Cage Warriors[link]

Taylor faced Judo black belt Gaël Grimaud on May 24th, 2012 in Isa Town, Bahrain at Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 for Grimaud's welterweight championship. Taylor dominated the first two rounds by utilizing his wrestling to take Grimaud down and control him throughout the round while also peppering Grimaud with short strikes. Early in the third round Grimaud took Taylor's back, as Taylor was attempting to escape back control Grimaud trapped Taylor's arm and transitioned to an armbar forcing Taylor to submit. Thus retaining his welterweight title.

Personal life[link]

Jesse Taylor has two sons, Alexander, and Nikolaus.^[21]

Mixed martial arts record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Jesse Taylor from Sherdog