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Steelworkers settle with U.S. Steel
I meant to put this up earlier, but the Steelworkers have reached a tentative agreement for their contract with U.S. Steel, which owns the area’s top ore producer at MinnTac in Mt. Iron and KeeTac in Keewatin. The deal must be approved by union membership. U.S. Steel produces almost half the taconite pellets on the…
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Tonight … Tonight!
The brawl in the Hall … The 7B Seven Smackdown … West Side Gory! Call it what you will, the first forum of the hotly contested West Duluth House District 7B primary/open general election race is tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the Duluth City Council chambers. While actual physical confrontation is unlikely, I expect many…
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There Will Be Pelts
Check out this innocuous headline from yesterday’s Hibbing Daily Tribune: “Chisholm wins bid for national conference“ Snooze, right? Small town jibber jabber. I didn’t even click on the story when I saw it online. Then later I saw the print version of the paper. Guess who’s coming to the Iron Range in August 2009? Trappers!…
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Franken’s Iraq statement grabs national attention
Al Franken’s statement calling for the halting of reconstruction funds to the cash-flush Iraqi government is grabbing national attention. I read this on MSNBC.com. The red meat line? “There’s a line between being responsible for rebuilding a country you helped destroy, and being a chump, and I think we crossed that line,” Franken said. Related…
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Tracking the news
August could be an interesting month: Thursday brings some crucial decisions about the Mesaba Energy Project from the PUC. The Legislative Auditor is also going to be releasing some preliminary findings about the spending of public loan monies on this seemingly never-ending consumer of public funds and mental energy this month. All of this could…
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Behold … the FUTURE!
This Saturday, Aug. 16, I’ll be guest hosting “Between You and Me” on KAXE. I usually just write and record commentaries for the show but this week I’ll be live in the studio, pushing buttons and talking to callers. Each week features a special topic for northern Minnesotans (and online listeners all over the world)…
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Krugman’s take on universal health care
Paul Krugman offers a smart take on universal health care as an issue for this year’s election in today’s New York Times. He points out the merits of overhauling our health care delivery system but is wise to the many political barriers to ever doing so. This is an under-the-radar issue that could be used…
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A rare comment on foreign policy
So, here’s where it’s going with American foreign policy. A former Russian satellite, Georgia, challenges the mother country of Russia and is brutally attacked. Georgia, like many former Russian satellites, has formed close relationships with western powers like the United States. Why wouldn’t they? We are “The Superpower” after all. But now that they’re about…
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Tell a story in a trailer
I’m passing along this press release from KAXE. StoryCorps is a really cool thing. You take someone close to you over to this fancy little camper that will be parked in Grand Rapids and interview them, or each other. You get a recording of you and your friend/relative talking about important topics to you and…
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Same now as it ever was
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. Same now as it ever wasBy Aaron J. BrownMost people know the political tradition here on the Iron Range: Independent, but generally Democratic, and heavily influenced by the past and present labor movement. Sadly, it’s almost impossible to talk about politics…
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Another world on the other side of the Internet
Some of you know that I am not only a blogger, but part of a blogging household. My wife Christina is the Northern Cheapskate, dispensing information on coupons, deals and living a frugal lifestyle. Anyway, those of you who read political blogs might not often surf over on the frugal living, deal sharing, parenting and…
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Building independent public media on the Iron Range
I was in studio for this week’s “Between You and Me” at KAXE in Grand Rapids this morning and I’ll be back there next Saturday guest hosting a show about “The Future.” I have done odd jobs and special projects for KAXE over the past few years, which is why I’m now putting out the…
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Brown on the Air: Hitchhiking
My essay for Saturday’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE will detail hitchhiking, specifically the stories my dad told me about hitching from northern Minnesota to Washington state back in the 1970s. Have you every hitchhiked? Take part in the show; after all, this program is all about listener participation. This week is special…
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Smackdowns aplenty: Business North brings the news
If you aren’t getting Business North’s weekly e-alerts, you should. On Thursday, Wayne Nelson and the staff at BN put out some great stories. Cleveland-Cliffs merger with that Appalachian coal company is being held up by Wall Street dealmakers. Apparently Cliffs has played the opening chords of the banjo music from “Deliverance” and are waiting…
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Conservative education policy devalues Minnesota
Anyone who lives in Minnesota hears outsiders say, “Cold there, isn’t it?” And, of course, it is cold. But I always enjoy saying, “Yeah, but the summers are perfect and the schools are good.” Only, now the schools aren’t as good. They’re goodish. Better than most places, but they aren’t the best and they struggle…