http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/us/from-hibbing-minn-a-plea-for-planes-to-keep-flying.html?_r=1
From Hibbing, Minn., a Plea for Planes to Keep Flying
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Published: October 4, 2011
Delta Airlines recently announced that it would probably drop or reduce commercial air service to 24 smaller cities in the United States because the flights are often half-full — or even less — and lose millions of dollars a year. Delta, under an agreement with the federal government, is the only carrier to serve the cities, which rely on the flights to stay connected to the rest of the country. Without the service, they fear isolation, and in some cases, economic calamity. Butte, Mont.; Muscle Shoals, Ala.; Waterloo, Iowa; Pierre, S.D.; Greenville and Tupelo, Miss.; Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.; and Hibbing, Minn., are among the cities where the flights are threatened. Residents of Hibbing, population 16,000, and the heart of Minnesota’s Iron Range — where iron-ore mining is the predominant industry — are particularly concerned. The city’s mayor, Rick Cannata, and Patty Shafer, a city councilor, discuss:...
While the article is about the reaction of the town to the pullout of air service, I did get a chuckle out of this line "Hibbing is a beautiful town. Hibbing has the largest open-pit mine in the world. It’s beautiful. " How proud they must be.