-
It’s Biden Time
I should have put the cellphone on the night stand, but we’ve all got our text messages now and have seen that Joe Biden is Barack Obama’s running mate. A long time ago, when I was analyzing the primary candidates from an “Iron Range” perspective, I commented that Joe Biden seemed like a guy who…
-
Cornival is here
For a guy who loves puns, I can’t go wrong with today’s Cornival at the Lawron Presbyterian Church along Scenic Highway 7 in Itasca County. They’ve got silent auctions, flea markets, giant gorilla bouncy things for the kids, and … corn. Oh, lordy, the corn. As you walk up from the parking lot you see…
-
Women’s leadership initiative continues on the Range
Earlier in the year, a Go Run Iron Range conference was held to gather and encourage women interested in political leadership and gave them basic training on how to conduct local and broader campaigns. The effort was an extension of the White House Project. Efforts to expand female leadership on the Iron Range continue and…
-
Mud, destruction, fun at Embarrass Fair
The Embarrass Fair starts today. I’m posting this in honor of Roland Fowler, the unofficial spokesman for the town, who manages to sneak references to the fair every time he is interviewed about Embarrass being the coldest place in the Lower 48 in the national media each winter. He grabbed about 30 seconds of CNN…
-
MN Indy posts great analysis of Obama’s challenges up north
Paul Demko at the Minnesota Independent posted an excellent story about the challenges facing Barack Obama in Pine County. Pine County is considered “central Minnesota,” but is right on the border of Carlton County which is considered “northern Minnesota.” While always more conservative than Duluth and the Iron Range, it’s hard not to notice the…
-
Brown on the Air: Cheese
You can hear my weekly commentary on KAXE’s “Between You and Me” this Saturday, Aug. 23 between 10 a.m. and noon (my piece usually airs around 10:30). “Between You and Me” is a call in and music show that features the stories, culture and attitudes of the people of northern Minnesota. This week’s topic is…
-
Bloomberg profiles PolyMet
Bloomberg has a story about the global mining picture that includes PolyMet’s operations on the Iron Range. Updating an older post, PolyMet’s Environmental Impact Statement is on hold until September, according to the state DNR. Related posts: No related posts.
-
The dump factor
I wasn’t going to join the pulsing mass of speculation about the VP picks, but I’ll add this observation. According to this AP report (all the way at the bottom), Joe Biden takes his own stuff to the dump. I drive my own garbage to the dump. I like this. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Workshopping
Today I am presenting at a workshop for Iron Range community colleges on the topic of blogging. I’ll use this as a general reminder that just 10 years ago I was learning what the Internet was for the first time. What a world, what a world! Related posts: No related posts.
-
Late to the party; my take on Madia
It’s Ashwin Madia blog day on Minnesota’s progressive blogs and I apologize that I am posting so late. I guess someone has to take the night shift. Ashwin Madia is a candidate for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District. He is the Democrat facing off against Republican Eric Paulsen for an open seat being vacated by retiring…
-
See the 7B fab five in action on the tubes
An alert reader has sent me this You Tube clip link for a recent House 7B forum at Duluth’s Lincoln Park school. The forum features all five DFL candidates for the seat being vacated by Rep. Mike Jaros (DFL-Duluth). If you have more You Tube or other links showing events like this, post them in…
-
Campaigns traverse Iron Range; more to come
Two statewide campaign updates from the Iron Range: Obama’s campaign opened the first of two Iron Range headquarters. As many as 100 people were there for at least part of the ceremonies, according to the Mesabi Daily News. The accounts I’ve heard indicates that the event went well. Norm Coleman made a campaign swing through…
-
Newspaper industry’s problems run deep
I found a great column via DailyKos (I know, I know; it’s so not cool to link to Kos diaries, but this one isn’t partisan) that explains the state of today’s newspaper industry. What Walter Brasch describes is the EXACT problem facing small dailies across northern Minnesota and bigger regional papers like Duluth and Fargo.…
-
Pathos alert!
An interesting story on the status of Polymet on the East Range from today’s Mesabi Daily News. Here’s the rather literary opening graphs from the Bill Hanna piece: HOYT LAKES — The former LTV worker looked around the vastness of the crusher building, stunned by the eerie silence of a facility that she knew by…
-
Itasca County rebuffs power boondoggle’s pipe request, for now
The denizens of my favorite mushrooming boondoggle, Excelsior Energy, were at the county board begging to be included in the planning for a natural gas pipeline to be built through state bonding funds for the Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk. Excelsior wants to build its Mesaba Energy Project close to nearby Taconite and also needs…