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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…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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The awesome (old) new boat
People have been clamoring to see pictures of the boat after my column from Sunday (Well, my friend C.O. anyway). So here it is. It’s a meld of fixtures and a motor from a 1957 wooden speedboat and a 1962 fiberglass hull from a similar boat. The original 35 horse (though not really) motor is…
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Obama campaign doubles efforts on the Iron Range
It’s that special time of year when the national campaigns dispatch their people into the field for the fall push. The Republicans got a small notice in the papers and TV stations over the weekend by opening their John McCain office in Duluth, where Obama has had several staffers stationed most of the summer. Now…
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Range town’s PUC claims right to close meetings ("Guffaw!" replies newspaper)
The Nashwauk Public Utilities Commission has a legal judgment that they believe allows them to close meetings regarding the infrastructure for the proposed Minnesota Steel project in Nashwauk. The Hibbing Daily Tribune has the story. Really, really bad idea. This is a public policy issue, not a missile silo. (Or IS it?) Related posts: No…
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On proper boat maintenance and our fathers’ mysteries
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. On proper boat maintenance and our fathers’ mysteriesBy Aaron J. Brown Today, I have a boat. Not a boat, but the boat. I would need to consult my notes, the dusty old owner’s manual and the title to tell you all…
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Bobby Aro highway named
The renaming of Highway 7 as the Bobby Aro Highway has been officially named in honor of the Iron Range polka legend who recorded a 1957 hit about the highway. Check out the story. I grew up on Highway 7. Related posts: No related posts.