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Change to survive: growth in the 21st century
Rolf Westgard, who comments occasionally here at MinnesotaBrown, poses an interesting commentary in today’s Duluth News-Tribune, connecting human population growth, the use of natural resources and northern Minnesota’s economy. He even gets in a plug for high speed rail, which makes my recommendation even easier to give. An honors graduate in mathematics from Cambridge, [Thomas…
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The things we learn in a decade
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, June 22, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. The things we learn in a decadeBy Aaron J. Brown Iām finally starting to pick up on the patterns of nature out where I live. I grew up in the country around the edges of the Mesabi Iron Range, but I…
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Northern Minnesota can sustain forest-powered grid
It’s repeated often around the Iron Range, certainly here, that our wealth of natural resources in northern Minnesota will keep us alive in some form well into the future. One of those resources (and a renewable one at that) got some mixed news this week, though probably a net positive According to a story in…
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"Wonkette" picks up strange Coleman ad story
Norm Coleman’s latest TV ad has made it all the way to the heart of U.S. political snark at Wonkette. The fact that it’s “real” no longer matters. (Though it still looks incredibly fake). We have not yet plumbed the depth of weirdness we will see in this high-profile race. Related posts: No related posts.
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IRR budget tabled as meeting began to heat up; sympathies to the Rukavina family
Our sympathies go out to Rep. Tom Rukavina and his family after the news of his mother’s death arrived during last night’s budget meeting at Iron Range Resources. The meeting was adjourned and the budget issues will be resolved at a future meeting. During the meeting, Rukavina had just proposed cuts to the commissioner’s proposed…
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Brown on the Air: camping
Tune in tomorrow, Saturday, June 21, to 91.7 KAXE for “Between You and Me” featuring, among many other things, my weekly commentary. This week’s topic is “camping,” which is also the theme of station’s summer fund raiser. If you’ve never heard a KAXE on-air fund raiser, check it out. They provide elaborate thematic adventures that…
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Unusual spike in state unemployment rate last month
Minnesota 20/20, a progressive think tank, is touting an increase in Minnesota’s unemployment rate from April (4.8 percent) to May (5.4 percent) as a sign of deep trouble in the Minnesota economy. On one hand I want to say that half a point isn’t too bad and that even 5.4 percent is on the low…
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Norman and the green screen, UPDATED: no green screen, just weird
UPDATE: Coleman campaign releases statement insisting green screen rumors are false. This is old news to blogger types, but all over Minnesota’s blogsphere — especially among my friends at MNBlue and MNPublius — observers are chattering about Sen. Norm Coleman’s latest ad featuring his wife Laurie. If you didn’t know, one of the rumors that…
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Source: Oberstar’s campaign manager to seek DFL nod in 7B?
A source familiar with Duluth DFL politics says Blake Chaffee, Jim Oberstar’s campaign manager, is strongly mulling a run for State Representative in District 7B, the West Duluth seat being vacated by the retiring DFL Rep. Mike Jaros. I haven’t met Chaffee since he succeeded current Duluth Mayor Don Ness in the job of Oberstar’s…
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Ventura giving Senate run a strong look; chaos is coming
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura may likely run for the U.S. Senate this year, according to longtime adviser and briefly appointed U.S. Sen. Dean Barkley. If Ventura does run, take all your conventional wisdom about the Franken vs. Coleman race and throw it out. I don’t know that Ventura has a chance to actually win…
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Iron Range Resources budget showdown tonight
A story in yesterday’s Hibbing Daily Tribune explained that tonight’s Iron Range Resources board meeting will explore the proposed $31 million budget for this unique state agency funded by taconite mining taxes. My friends Tony Sertich and Tom Anzelc explain the agency’s purpose in the Mike Jennings story: Two other IRRB members, Reps. Tony Sertich…
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Who’s in, who’s out in 7B?
The DNT has a nice story about the retirement of State Rep. Mike Jaros (DFL-Duluth) today. I don’t know Jaros, and I’ve learned that I didn’t know much about his very interesting background, either. I always hear he’s a good guy. In the story, Duluth city councilor Roger Reinert, after acknowledging Jaros in the story,…
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You can still get drunk on New Year’s Eve; just not on Duluth TV
St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic announced they were ending their annual New Year’s Eve Ball, according to today’s Duluth News-Tribune. With a price tag of $125,000, the event has become too spendy, SMDC officials say. Also, WDIO Channels 10/13 had announced they would not telecast the Ball as they had in previous years, eliminating a valuable public…
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Before food/gas price spike, health care was important, too
Right now we hear plenty about the problem of rising food and gas prices. Indeed, these prices matter greatly in the lives of everyday Americans, but they’re explainable. Food prices are rising with global demand. Gas prices are actually just readjusting to inflation after years of relative American underpricing (and, again, rising global demand). But…
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If this is how we’re going to cover polls I am going to shoot myself in the face*
OK, not really. But I’ll want to. Maybe you care (I hope you don’t) but our Minnesota blogosphere is freaking out over SUSA’s latest poll on the state’s Presidential and Senate elections. The poll shows Barack Obama only up by one point (most other polls have him up by up by 8-12 points) and Norm…