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After Carter, decency is up to us
Jimmy Carter was president when I was born. As a squishy infant with limited cognition, I knew nothing about inflation, gas shortages or the Iran hostage crisis. My memories of American politics begin with Ronald Reagan’s steely eyes glinting at me through our color TV. But I heard Carter’s name time to time, sometimes confusing…
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Another plot twist in U.S. Steel saga
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “Blocked Nippon deal leaves fate of U.S. Steel in question,” is out now. In a widely expected move, President Biden officially blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Friday morning. Though expected, this move could prove a seminal moment in the timeline of the American steel…
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MinnesotaBrown Top Posts of 2024
Like a cookie from the jar, another year has disappeared with startling speed. As such, it’s time to compile some of my favorite and most popular writing from 2024. We’re now well past the era when I blogged daily in hot pursuit of the elusive viral clickstorm. Like I mentioned last year, I’m no longer…
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Which came first? Polarization or brain rot?
A quiet afternoon spreads before me like a workaholic smorgasbord. These are the mother lodes. Without classes, meetings or interviews to occupy my time, I can accomplish anything. Grade papers. Edit the book. Write. I might even finish this column. And I will, just after I watch another video. A tanker truck turned in front…
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A very special Bob Dylan Christmas
Today, you can read my latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “In Hibbing, Dylan biopic taps the unknowable.” The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” opens Christmas night. Last Friday, Searchlight Pictures authorized a special advance showing of the film at Mann’s Cinema 8 in Bob Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing. In a rare twist,…
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The hope in counting birds at Christmastime
For me, the holidays really start with the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. This year, my local event took place on Dec. 15. Despite sharp winter winds, last Sunday proved a good day to hoof through the snow to spy on tiny dinosaurs. I started participating in this annual event in 2017, mostly because of…
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Rural economic diversification is happening: it’s just complicated
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “Reforming broken economies in greater Minnesota,” is out today. Check it out. Covering economic development in a politically-connected rural place like the Mesabi Iron Range is a little like following celebrities in the tabloids. Over time, names rise and fall. Every little twist and turn invites speculation, often…
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‘A Complete Unknown’ in Bob’s hometown
What were you doing two years after you graduated from high school? Going to college? Raising kids? Turning a wrench? Perhaps you were fighting a war in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. Or maybe you were fighting one of 22 wars in the Call of Duty video game franchise. Me? I was commuting from Hibbing, Minnesota,…
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Let’s not be weird about regular winter
Henceforth, we are left to wonder whether each of the upcoming seasons on our meteorological calendar will be “regular” or “weird.” For instance, this past fall was weird. Warm and dry. Last winter? Really weird. Far warmer and much less snowy than usual. We had a completely brown Christmas and a dismal season for winter…
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Local Cold War connections remind that some wars never end
When the red flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics first snapped in the cold wind above St. Petersburg, Russia, the world changed. Though some 7,000 miles away from the Iron Range, this event altered life here more than most American towns. First of all, the Iron Range was, in 1917, a land of…
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Small town musicians make rural life worth living
Happy Thanksgiving! And it is a week for thanks. Thank you for subscribing to my website and for reading my work. My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune is out Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27. Entitled “The music scene is alive and well in rural Minnesota,” his one connects a happy time in my…
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Life exists within a thin candy shell
We live in a world of Dairy Queen Blizzards, smooth fabrics, heated seats and cars that cover a day’s walk in less time than it takes to watch your favorite TV show on something called Netflix. Heck, we can watch that show in the car if we so choose. We live soft and easy compared…
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After years of rejecting hunting traditions, acceptance brings unexpected connection
Minnesota’s firearms deer hunting season has one more weekend to go, but I’ve already achieved my goals for the year. No, I didn’t shoot a deer, but I engaged in two weekends of forest walks, patient vigil, wide-ranging conversation and family rituals. Last Friday, I did a segment on KAXE talking about a recent column…
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For whom the skunk sprays
We’ve lived in the fetid heart of skunk country our whole lives — without incident, until recently. My wife Christina grew up north of Nashwauk and I was raised in the swamps of the Sax-Zim Bog, each of us well acquainted with skunks. In my case, the family junkyard was overrun with the striped stinkers.…
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Rightward swing will impact Iron Range projects, prospects
For the first time in living memory, Republicans control all the State House seats on the Iron Range. Meantime, a resounding national victory for President-elect Trump in last Tuesday’s election holds immediate and long term implications for our region. The local GOP legislative wins weren’t unexpected. DFLers maintained hope that they might keep District 7B…