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Forest Service reorganization throws vital research into chaos
Today’s column (gift link) is about the reported reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service, and specific impacts on forestry research here in Minnesota. Again I find myself lamenting a decision by our present administration, which I realize is tiresome to some. But my argument speaks not to partisans, but to the practical: the people who…
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Build Quack Better: Housing and ducks
Today’s column (gift link) is about housing. And ducks. I’ve now written about housing several times. I didn’t start from a position of expertise, but I’ve had the opportunity to learn from a lot of experts. You could say the same of my knowledge about birds. Even 12 years ago, I actively resisted interest in…
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The nadir of social media’s neurotic era
Today’s column (gift link) is about recent legal and political blowback against social media companies. But here I’ll start a little further back. In middle school, I wrote a humor column about the injustices of hall pass policies on a piece of notebook paper. At the time, I did so for my own reasons, mostly…
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The mystery boxes that will shape our future
Today’s column (gift link), like many of mine lately, is about the friction between technological advances and human well-being. For all the talk of innovation in business and political circles, you see precious little of it on any given day. We humans love our patterns and, to paraphrase George Carlin, half of us are of…
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We’re not out of the woods, but hope grows
Today’s column (gift link) dives into a surprising, and very welcome, piece of good news for those of us who live in rural Minnesota communities. The Center for Rural Policy and Development issued its “State of Rural 2026” report last week, which shows a slight increase in population across most rural Minnesota counties, along with…
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The divergence of humanity and productivity
As I share today’s column (gift link), I confess trepidation. After all, how much more does the average person want to hear about artificial intelligence? Here’s the thing, I already know the answer. I’ve seen statistical evidence. Most people don’t want to know about AI, talk about AI or click on AI-related articles. (Indeed, a…
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Ironically, war in Iran shows feasibility of Minnesota’s green tech
Today’s column (gift link) introduces three new Minnesota industries that could relieve some of the economic chaos caused by the war in Iran. Shortly after the first bombs of “Operation Epic Fury,” prices for anhydrous ammonia used for fertilizer, helium used in medical and tech sectors and minerals used in everything else quickly increased. Like…
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Shining a light on townships
It’s been busy here at MinnesotaBrown World Headquarters. I wrote a column about Kristi Noem’s ouster at DHS that ran Saturday and forgot to post about it. Oops! (Here it is, if you’re still interested). Today’s topic is decidedly more local. If you didn’t know, today is Township Day. Local elections will be held in…
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Making it harder to vote will hurt more than help, and that’s the point
In today’s column (gift link), I warn against new federal voter laws using a local example of why we should be wary. I rewatched “Goodfellas” the other day and mused over Henry Hill philosophy about life as a gangster. He points out that the only records of his life were his birth certificate and his…
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High demand turns abandoned public buildings into new housing
The very moment a school stops being a school, with students running through its halls and janitors mopping the floors and oiling the furnace, it become a bologna sandwich rotting in the sun. So many small rituals go into keeping our human artifices intact. We only notice them when they’re gone and reality comes calling.…
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Welcome to our big wet water funding crisis
Today’s column (gift link) is about water infrastructure. One of civilization’s greatest secrets is that we, as individuals, are much more necessary to its continuation than we might think. Have you ever seen the show “Life After People” on the History Channel? It uses digital effects to imagine what would happen to cities and other…
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Talking immigration and literature for WGN ‘On Books’ podcast
Listen to my “On Books” interview with Steve Bertrand from WGN Chicago. *** The most enjoyable book I’ve read this month is one I probably should have read a long time ago. “Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill” is part of the “Betsy-Tacy” series by Minnesota author Maud Hart Lovelace. Written in the…
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The Supreme Court strikes back
On Friday, Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s signature trade policy. Justice’s found Trump’s blanket executive branch tariffs on most foreign goods to be unconstitutional. I wrote a quick column (gift link) in response that fell back on some of the issues caused by tariffs in Minnesota and specifically on…
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Handling the sheer scope of coming change
My latest column uses an antique car to explain the human impact of today’s changing technology. You should check it out (gift link). And, if you’re interested, let me explain the sobering reasons why I wrote it. I knew a forester who saw climate change in the trees before most in northern Minnesota would acknowledge…
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Minnesota’s immigration story never ended, we just lost the plot
Today’s column (gift link) tells a story of a beloved children’s author from Minnesota, but not the one that most people know about. Of course, like many, I grew up hearing the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her semi-autobiographical “Little House on the Prairie” series. It was practically required reading. My mom read a…