The other morning I slept in. It was the weekend and a good time to rest. As I lazed in half-sleep, half-contemplation, I looked above me to see something I hadn’t seen before.
My wife loves owls so we have owls all over the house. On the top shelf of the bookcase near my side of the bed stand two ceramic owls that I see every day. If you’re standing in the bedroom, they are looking out toward the window in a traditional owlish way. But in bed that morning, I learned that their painted eyes actually cast downward, directly at my spot on the bed. The owls stare at me, every day.
I never knew. Now I can’t unknow.
I had this same experience preparing my latest column when I flew over the Iron Range with mining engineer Chris Baldwin on July 1. I’d seen all this stuff before: mines, dumps, tailings basins and processing plants. But I’d never seen the puzzle pieces all at once. When you do, you can finally start putting it all together.
Read “At 5,000 feet, the legacy of Iron Range mining is clear, but its future is hazy,” in the Sunday, July 13, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune. This is one of the most ambitious columns I’ve written since joining the Strib. It comes with a collection of photos taken by yours truly from the skies above.
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.
One response to “The Iron Range from above”
Growing old is mandatory… growing up is optional.
Mining is a one-time harvest. The end of a mine is mandatory… planning for the future is optional.