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Obama blasts through cable news flak
Well, I watched several consecutive minutes of cable television news last night and at no point did I feel the need for alcohol. That’s a good night. Barack Obama has Fort Clinton surrounded on all sides. He should offer to pay her campaign debt and end this thing. Meantime, let’s take a look at his…
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Obama, Clinton bar fight reaches "hard to watch" stage during awkward moment between de facto conclusion and police arrival
So you all know I’m in the tank for Obama so I’ll spare the feigned objectivity here. I am, however, finding ways to enjoy this protracted race for the Democratic nomination even though it hasn’t been very good for my guy. Have you ever been to an Iron Range bar? At night? Sometimes, around 11…
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Nashwauk is just one push pin on a big map for global steel company
It’s been said before, but Essar Global’s ongoing purchase plans of the Minnesota Steel project — a proposed iron mining and steel-making operations near Nashwauk — sends the Mesabi Iron Range deep into the complicated global steel market. For two decades, Iron Rangers have come to view the prospective mine and steel mill on the…
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Anzelc speaks truth on Mesaba boondoggle
In this Mike Jennings story rescued from last Saturday’s edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, my friend and colleague Tom Anzelc becomes the highest level public official to acknowledge the foolishness of the Mesaba Energy Project: Efforts to sort out the legal and administrative tangle that has ensnared Excelsior Energy will continue next week, but…
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Northern Cheapskate featured in Star Tribune
For those who don’t know, my wife Christina is the Northern Cheapskate, blogging about family budgeting, money-saving tips and personal finance. She got a great write-up in Kara McGuire’s Star Tribune “Ka Ching” column in the Money section today. Check it out. Here’s the setup, which is followed by several specific tips that Christina suggested…
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Buck up, Dollar!
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, May 4, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. I archive past columns at my writing page. A shortened version of this piece also aired as a radio commentary on KAXE’s “Between You and Me” yesterday. Go to http://www.kaxe.org/ and click into the archives if you would like me from…
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Oberstar gears up for campaign today
The Eighth Congressional District DFL Convention opens today in Duluth. I’ll be covering the convention from the audience of Hibbing Community College Theatre’s production of “Born Yesterday” (tonight at 7:30 with a Sunday matinee!) via my cell phone that will be switched off. I expect my coverage of the convention to be among the worst…
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The Empire Strikes Barack
Got five minutes to burn on Friday afternoon? Familiar with the Star Wars series? Support Barack Obama? Or, do you support Hillary Clinton and want to see the what these crazy kids voting for Obama can do with all their digital editing software and idle time? Check out this video. That’s right, folks. We can…
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Taking Requests: Minnesota Steel, sure thing or just a myth?
This is the third and, for now, final installment of the randomly occasional “Taking Requests” segment, in which I blog about Range issues on the minds of MinnesotaBrown readers. Today’s topic, at the prompting of a couple e-mails I’ve received, is the Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk. For the past decade, the biggest of all…
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Brown on the Air: "The Almighty Dollar"
My weekly essay for KAXE’s “Between You and Me with Heidi Holtan” will cover the value of a dollar as the show topic asks “What can you get for a buck?” My thoughts range from international currency to Zimbabwe to crappy stuff you can buy at the dollar store. Ideally, this will make more sense…
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Flash: Iron Range Stalin voters breaking for Clinton
I just love the crime section of the Grand Rapids (Minn.) Herald-Review. Most of the dailies up here on the Iron Range gloss over the small town crime, trimming out the details that make weekly and twice-weekly crime blotters more interesting. This is from Wednesday’s Herald-Review: The words, “Hillary for President,” were spray-painted in green…
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Drug bus visits Iron Range today; hauls propaganda, drugs
From Wednesday’s Hibbing Daily Tribune: HIBBING — Area residents who are uninsured or having difficulties financially have a way to connect with programs that provide prescription medicines at low or no cost. The “Help Is Here Express” Bus Tour will stop in Hibbing on Thursday, May 1. From 2 to 3 p.m., the bus will…
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OMG! I’m a Millennial! WTF!
Good news. I’m a Millennial (born after 1978). Apparently that’s a good thing. There’s more of us than there are living baby boomers. We like the Internet. A lot of us have blogs. A recent research paper available at this Case Foundation blog suggests that we Millennials might try to survive without a government in…
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Taking Requests: Range Retail Rumors
I’m working down my list of “Questions and Request” posts. This is Day 2 of the series. If you have a request, please let me know in the comments or by e-mail. Jeff writes: How about commenting on all of the rumors in Hibbing. Every time you turn around there is another rumor about Target,…
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The magic number is 22%
From AP via Yahoo: The White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was flown in triumph five years ago but later became a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war in Iraq. Thursday is the fifth anniversary of Bush’s dramatic…