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OK, Gen X, this is it. You’re on. Do something
Today’s column (gift link) is about the economics of generational transition. I’ve always had a funny relationship with my generation. Officially, I’m a member of Generation X, the cohort born between 1965 and 1980. But I’m on the young side of that equation (’79, a Carter Baby), and relate closely with my elder millennial friends.…
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Blood simple
My latest column (gift link) describes my first time donating blood. Some of you already do that, and that’s great. But for everyone who doesn’t, for whatever reason, you should consider it. Perhaps you’re like me, squeamish about blood draws. Maybe you have a history of going floppy at the sight of blood. Nevertheless, you…
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Ely is open for business, but wildfire threat to tourism economy won’t go away
My latest column (gift link) looks at the devastating impact of this summer’s wildfires on the tourism economy of places like Ely, Minn., and other towns surrounding the BWCA. This wasn’t the first wildfire in the BWCA and it won’t be the last. But the lengthening fire season is already changing northern Minnesota in many…
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College costs creep upward while federal financial aid declines
For several years I’ve been observing a rapidly accelerating crisis in higher education. Twenty-one years of teaching and serving in leadership roles at a college gave me one side of the story. Having three kids in college at the same time gave me the other. It’s much harder to go to college than it was…
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Star light, star bright, you’re no star at all
What do you see when you look up at the night sky? For an increasing number of people, that view includes the dull glowing haze of light pollution from within the atmosphere and without. Today’s column (gift link) looks at the price of progress. Humans undoubtedly benefit from technology and satellites. The words on this…
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People live here
The internet is doing some funny things to time, space and relationships. Our perspective is warped. We feel close to faraway things and far from nearby things. But the world — the real world — is bringing us closer together whether we like it or not. Smoke from Canadian fires is again turning Minnesota air…
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Weighing risks and rewards in Minnesota’s copper-nickel debate
Today’s column (gift link) takes you along on my first trip to the wild rice stand at the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Aitkin County. I went there to meet with leaders from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, whose reservation borders the federal reserve. Rice Lake is one of the state’s most bountiful…
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Cost conflict hits home in one of state’s longest strikes
Today’s column (gift link) takes us to my home away from home, Chisago County. People sometimes think I moved to the Cities after I became a columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune. Not so. I stayed right here at MinnesotaBrown World Headquarters in Itasca County. But it is true that I travel to the Cities…
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The polka cure for people in need of joy
Today’s column (gift link) is a recent favorite, mostly because I got to hang out with one of the most entertaining people I’ve met in the last few years. Rosanne Omersa recently-retired as an administrative assistant at the Eveleth campus of Minnesota North. She was there when it was Mesabi Range College and started back…
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Making mental health care standard for rural communities
Today’s column (gift link) returns to a topic I explored last year: mental health care in rural Minnesota. My 2025 series of columns covered the gamut of mental health issues. I explored the availability of care, changing social norms about seeking help and the relationship between emergency rooms and law enforcement agencies and those in…
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The thing everyone gets wrong about Hoover
Today’s column (gift link) is, as I put it in our editorial meeting, “for the fans.” Once again, and certainly not for reasons of algorithm, the state’s largest newspaper has allowed me to write about history. History is like a washing machine. You throw all the dirty laundry in there and something just a little…
