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Newsweek to analyze the South; the North should take note
Newsweek is focusing this week’s edition on the changing and yet somehow unchanging nature of America’s South, where the shadow of the Civil War still looms large even in the 21st century. The cover story is truly compelling. Something about the South reminds me of my native Iron Range. Not necessarily the racial strife, though…
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Range-connected name a U.S. Senate contender
Followers of the national political blogosphere know that there’s a doozy of a U.S. Senate race up in Alaska this year. Embattled and indicted GOP incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens faces a tough challenge from Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, nephew of former Iron Range legislator Joe Begich. Sunday, the Mesabi Daily News interviewed Joe about…
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Range editor, veteran makes insightful observation about ‘surge’
Hibbing Daily Tribune editor Mike Jennings made an interesting observation Sunday based on his experience serving in Vietnam in regard to today’s debate over the success of the so-called surge: Could we have sustained what seemed in 1970 a durable degree of security in Vietnam? Of course. All that was necessary was to keep American…
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Finally, a voice of clarity
Matthew Yglesias nails the latest bout of conventional campaign criticism that we should all be worked up because Barack Obama isn’t “breaking it open.” Yglesias correctly points out that the winning candidate this year was probably never going to get more than about 53 percent in the general election and that our country’s political make…
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Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human nature
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human natureBy Aaron J. BrownFor all our bluster, we humans are really just soft, pink beings that consume more than we should and run much more slowly than other mammals our size.…
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The Iron Range from ‘The Outside’
Sometimes an outside perspective opens new understanding. Friday, the local paper for North Marion, Ind., profiled teachers who visited northern Minnesota‘s Iron Range this summer to learn about the history and importance of the region. The statistics listed in the article are well established, but maybe not well known even to Iron Range natives. Check…
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Get busy on Da’ Range
Are you a young person looking for a job in the traditionally difficult job market of Duluth (and, by extention, the Iron Range)? This Patrick Garmoe DNT story has some tips. Know people. Not tomorrow, but already. And, though it may not be news to some or even remotely interesting to others, this Business North…
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A year ago …
MinnPost has the story of the day: G.R. Anderson Jr.’s vivid story and analysis of the Minneapolis I-35 bridge collapse from a year ago today. Fine work retelling a terrible event. Related posts: No related posts.
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Brown on the Air: Intuition
My commentary on the KAXE radio program “Between You and Me” this Saturday will deal with the this week’s topic of “Intuition.” I explore the source of intuition by relating Go-Bots, parenthood and underground mining. How is that possible? I am a word ninja. If you forgot, “Between You and Me” is hosted by Heidi…
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State of the Blog
Hello, readers. Well, I wrote 102 posts in July. In case you’re wondering I work from home in July. That insane pace can’t continue forever. You’ll still get daily posts here, often multiple posts when news merits, but I’m going to be more selective as my fall work schedule heats up. That’s why it’s more…
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Apparently it will take two random bridge collapse tragedies
This AP analysis shows that the nation has done little to improve highway infrastructure after last year’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis. But don’t they realize how much we’ve talked about the issue? Like, a lot. And that’s almost as good. Related posts: No related posts.
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FiberNet pulls plug on the Range; now what?
FiberNet officially bit the dust; however, as this Hibbing Daily Tribune story explains, at least one of the project’s strongest backers, Hibbing City Administrator Brian Redshaw, believes there is hope for high speed internet delivered Range wide in the future. I agree and share those hopes. We need to prepare infrastructure for the future of…
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Good times rolling on the Range … for some
Significant, but not surprising: Cleveland-Cliffs posts a record profit for the second quarter of this year. Cliffs, along with U.S. Steel, is one of the major powers in the taconite mining industry of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Steel prices are way up, taconite is key to producing steel, the good times roll, but who is…
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‘Those mobster ads’ and why union choice issue really matters
One of the great setbacks in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate campaign is how Republican operatives — more specifically big business operatives — have been able to cloud the water over the issue of the Employee Free Choice Act. Their ads featuring mobster-like figures pressuring pleasant looking workers into joining unions have fueled many misconceptions held by…
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The Timmy Factor
Conventional wisdom has John McCain’s running mate list pared down to our Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney. Barack Obama is supposedly down to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, though Kaine has been getting most of the buzz in the…