New Normal In 8th: Battleground District
In the chilly curling hall-turned-community center, hundreds of iron miners gathered on a September afternoon to celebrate five decades of feeding America's thirst for steel. Some on walkers, some still wearing hardhats, they listened and cheered as a procession of speakers recounted stories of mining's trials and victories through the years until one — state Rep. Jason Metsa — cleared his throat and stepped back to the microphone.