Below is the host press release for my Monday brown bag (no pun intended) lunch discussion at Hibbing Community College. (“Brown bag” is a nice way of saying we have no money to feed you). This is part of the tour for my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” available now at bookstores around Minnesota and online at Barnes and Noble. The discussion begins at 11 a.m. in Room B-202 of the college, which also happens to be where I work. Everyone is invited.
The discussion should be interesting because things are changing very quickly in the local economy. The area’s volatile job market is part of what I talk about in the book. However, I must stress that this is not an economics book, nor is it a history book. It’s a book about the humorous quirks of life on the Range and what the future might bring.
The Hibbing Community College AQIP Wellness Committee will be sponsoring a brown bag lunch with Aaron Brown on Monday, December 8, from 11:00 a.m. to Noon in room B-202. Aaron will be discussing his book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range,” which highlights the Iron Range of today, where the area has been, where it’s going, and how it all fits in the big picture, told from the perspective of someone under 30. In stories that range from the global to the deeply personal, earnest to humorous, light to bold, Aaron seeks to share the story of his people and family while charting the history and future of the Iron Range and places like it.
Aaron is a fifth generation Iron Ranger, currently helping raise the sixth generation of Browns on the Iron Range. In addition to teaching at HCC, Aaron is also a columnist and past editor for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, a commentator for 91.7 FM KAXE radio, and has worked in northern Minnesota media since he was 16. He also runs a blog from his home in the woods of northern Minnesota (MinnesotaBrown.com).
In his words: “The Iron Range is a string of blue-collar towns along an iron formation in northern Minnesota, many of which formed in the early 1900s with an influx of immigrants who came to work the iron mines. As the Iron Range gets older, change approaches. Today’s generation of Iron Rangers must bridge the gap between then and now, what we know and what will one day be.
“From the global economy to climate change, this unusual place and its unique people represent an important part of the next century. The generation that will enact this change, however, faces many difficult contradictions.
“ What’s it like to be a blogger in a place where most people still don’t use the internet? What do you do when you love where you’re from, but see an outside world full of possibilities? How can you shape the future when the people of your town can’t stop talking about the past?”
Stop in, bring a lunch, and enjoy the conversation!
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