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Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range
Overburden Modern Life on the Iron RangeWinner of the 2008 Northeastern Minnesota Book Award By Aaron Brown A 21st century memoir of a place and a people: (Buy now on Amazon or BN.com) — The IronRange is a string of blue collar towns along an iron formation in northern Minnesota, many of which formed in…
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No joy in Mudville
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes you wish it rained hell fire on the city of Chicago. Twins lose 1-0. We did a lot for a team full of people no one’s ever heard of. Maybe if we hadn’t blown those 20-odd games where we led going into the last innings…
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Oberstar announces grant to advance Duluth to Minneapolis high-speed rail
Though this blog is not normally a clearing house for press releases, this release came from U.S. Rep Jim Oberstar’s office this afternoon. I think the U.S. should, where feasible, invest in rail service for commuters. It’s more sustainable from an energy use perspective and much of the “work” of the 21st century economy could…
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Supply and demand: why the markets matter (jn Twins Country)
It’s all about the markets. With three small children who are not as small as they used to be, our closets are laden with tiny Minnesota Twins outfits that no longer fit the boys. My wife, the Northern Cheapskate, is considering selling some of the outfits on eBay. The problem is that the Minnesota Twins…
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Say it ain’t so, Doug: Veteran DFLer endorses Coleman
I know, I know. I could have posted much sooner about former DFL Iron Range State Sen. Doug Johnson’s endorsement of GOP Sen. Norm Coleman in the Sunday Mesabi Daily News. I am the “Iron Range” blog, after all. Other blogs from far away places are commenting on this story, including the conservative PowerLine and…
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Anzelc demands response to Iron Range lobbying complaints
(DISCLOSURE: I am Tom Anzelc’s campaign manager and was aware this was coming). This morning, State Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township) issued a letter to Iron Range Resources Commissioner Sandy Layman expressing strong concern over the Office of the Legislative Auditor review of Iron Range Resources loans totaling $9.5 million to Excelsior Energy for the…
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Minnesota (hearts) Detroit
When I was 12, my grandparents took me to Pennsylvania to visit my great-grandmother and other assorted relatives. On one rainy travel day we holed up at a motel in Gaylord, Michigan (or near there; at age 12, the name “Gaylord” stood out). There was a grainy old school mid-1980s color TV in the room…
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In the basement with Bob Dylan’s English teacher
I had written several times about StoryCorps, the NPR/nonprofit initiative to record, archive and broadcast interviews conducted between regular Americans and their loved ones. The mobile studio spent weeks in Grand Rapids talking to people all over northern Minnesota. The facilitators also went out on assignment, interviewing unique characters. At the StoryCorps blog, Alex shares…
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COLUMN: A bad idea that got way too big
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I archive my columns at my writing site. My book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range,” is beginning to be available in Iron Range and Duluth book stores and will be available on the big online stores…
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Meantime, in space
Oh, by the way. While we were debating about our Mideast quagmire, the Chinese were walking in space for the first time. They’ll return to the moon before us, too. Related posts: No related posts.
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A good debate
Taegan Goddard, one of my favorite nonpartisan political analysts, put together a nice roundup of opinions on the debate last night. In general, its seen as a tie by the professionals, a debate in which both men played to their strengths. Most of the pundits also saw the performance as a good debate, one that…
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The winner of the debate is …
… the Kansas City Royals? What the hell! OK, Twins defeat aside (It’s OK, Chicago is losing, too) we had a debate tonight. Your preferred talking heads will surely be able to offer their opinions, but the best consensus seems to be that this was a tie. Obama did better in grabbing hold of the…
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Debate is on
It’s on. What’s the over under on the first candidate to juxtapose the phrase “Wall Street” with the phrase “Main Street” tonight? I’ll give odds it’s McCain in the second question, but that Obama says it 78 times before the night is out. Also, I’ll take guesses on the most important world issue that won’t…
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Brown on the Air: WINTER READY?
My essay for Saturday’s “Between You and Me” program on 91.7 KAXE will deal with this week’s topic of “winterization.” What do you do to get ready for winter? Are you a grasshopper or an ant? I mix anecdotes and pop wisdom to create a delicious verbal soup. Or something. Anyway, check it out. “Between…
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We will quite possibly rock you!
Oh, but it’s not all bad news … TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN! FIRST PLACE! FIRST PLACE! If we can’t take care of the K.C. Royals this weekend we don’t belong in the playoffs. Well, I guess we don’t anyway, but you get the idea. But it sure would be nice to add to my collection…