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 ways. Tourism brought new economic hope to the a region dominated by the ever-automating mining and logging industries. Increased fires and smoke threaten everyone in northern Minnesota, but tourism jobs are uniquely endangered.
Read “Summer wildfires reveal vulnerability of Minnesota’s tourism economy,” in the Thursday, July 30, 2026 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
