Critical thinking for automated times
I like to watch old black-and-white movies. In these films you see several scenes involving jobs that no longer exist. People appear very skilled at these jobs. We are led to believe they made a decent living off them. But practically no one makes the same living in the same jobs today. In most cases… Read More →
With final permit, PolyMet project enters ‘prove it’ stage
Today the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the last required federal permit for PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. With this permit, the company now enters the next phase of its development: proving that it has the capital and ability to execute its mine plan. Local news and Northern Minnesota social media… Read More →
Bankruptcy claims remaining ShopKo stores, including Duluth
ShopKo announced today that bankruptcy would force it to close all its remaining stores, including six in Northeastern and Central Minnesota, by June 16. Stores in Duluth, Ely, Two Harbors, Aitkin, Mora and Moose Lake are among those that will close. ShopKo’s woes are nothing new, and are in keeping with general problems in the… Read More →
Great Northern Radio Show returns to Bemidji April 13
Spring slowly seeps into Northern Minnesota. Celebrate with the April 13 broadcast of my Great Northern Radio Show at the Chief Theater in Bemidji, Minnesota. Get your tickets here. I always tell you these things are good and that you should come. I suppose by now you either believe me or you don’t. The Latelys… Read More →
Study shows rural ‘recreation counties’ holding population
In real terms, the biggest factor in most of the challenges facing Iron Range communities is population loss. The economic contraction of the late 1950s and 1980s sent people away from core Range communities. This impacted local businesses, school enrollments, housing values, and myriad other issues. There are other factors, more to consider, but basically… Read More →
Hot Off the Press
Great Northern Radio Show returns to Bemidji April 13
Spring slowly seeps into Northern Minnesota. Celebrate with the April 13 broadcast of my Great Northern Radio Show at the Chief Theater in Bemidji, Minnesota. Get your tickets here. I always tell you these things are good and that you should come. I suppose by now you either believe me or you don’t. The Latelys… Read More →
MinnesotaBrown.com is an independent website by author and journalist Aaron J. Brown. It covers Northern Minnesota news, culture and politics with an authentic back woods voice and award-winning experience.
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POWER: A new book project about Victor Power by Aaron J. Brown
Victor Power
For a time, Victor Power was the most powerful small town mayor in the United States. Nevertheless, his short yet extraordinary life fighting the steel trusts from his office in Hibbing slowly slips into obscurity. Aaron J. Brown is working on a book about Victor Power and his early 20th Century world, which stretched far beyond a little boom town in the forests of Northern Minnesota, from the ganglands of Chicago to the ivory towers of New York. Contact Aaron with any Hibbing-area stories from 1900 to 1926 even remotely related to Victor Power or his family, labor unions, the Oliver Mining Company, Al Capone, bootleggers, politicians or any first-hand material about what life in Hibbing was like then. This may be the last chance for many longstanding family legends to become part of permanent history.
