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Brown on the air, at the shack
Saturday brings my weekly essay for the “Between You and Me” program on 91.7 KAXE. This week’s topic is “five minutes.” The idea came from the stories of those evacuated from the California wild fires. Many of them were given just five minutes to collect things before they had to abandon their homes. What would…
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End times for Excelsior’s Mesaba project?
The state PUC almost killed the Mesaba Energy Project yesterday. Readers of this blog know I’ve been wailing away at this boondoggle for a long time. It’s encouraging that the commissioners are starting to realize the risks and trends involved in this “clean coal” debacle. The only thing that caused the PUC to hold off…
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Server trouble at MinnesotaBrown.com
My web host is having some kind of server problem over at http://www.minnesotabrown.com/ where I post my columns. I don’t know how long the page will be out. Over here at the blog we’re still in business, thanks to the good people at Google. I love Google. Google is wise and benevolent. If problems continue…
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The horror
A business news broadcast on MSNBC yesterday flashed this title over the ticker at the bottom of the screen: “No more cheap mac and cheese.” You know, I’ve watched price increases for gas, produce, cereal, dairy and corn products of all kinds. But nothing hit home like this. If Mac and Cheese, the world’s most…
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Game on!
Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Wednesday that state support for Essar Global’s Minnesota Steel plant near Nashwauk is back on after the company assured him it wouldn’t violate U.S. sanctions against Iran. The whole ordeal became a rather fast and scary lesson in international trade and politics. Fortunately, it has worked out in the favor of…
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Wind, biomass and hydro usurp coal for next decade
If you had a time machine and brought this article back in time, even as recently as 2002, I might have suspected it was a work of fiction. Minnesota Power, the biggest coal burner in the state, is predicting no new coal-fired generation for at least 15 years. Instead, the company is planning additional wind,…
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Happy Halloween!
Behold the Brown family pumpkin for 2007! (The highlight: while I was carving this pumpkin Henry stood over my shoulder shouting, “Cut it up! Cut it up!” It was like being in a knife fight.) Related posts: No related posts.
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Sup Town is on our side
And here’s why I like Superior, Wisconsin: EDITORIAL: Pawlenty favors dogma, jeopardizes developmentThe Superior Daily TelegramPublished Tuesday, October 30, 2007 It appears Republicans are courting Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to run for vice president. Why else would he jeopardize a $1.6 billion Iron Range development to defend Republican terrorism dogma? Pawlenty is threatening to oppose…
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October nears end
We’ve got a couple days, including Halloween, left in October. So the month is kind of like the Bush Administration now. Almost done, but several acts of civil disobedience will probably occur before its completely done. Here’s a round up of what’s going on in Brown country this week: Flu shot dayToday is flu shot…
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Update: After stinging report, gov seeks facts
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has officially asked the U.S. State Dept. for clarification about Essar Global’s involvement in Iranian oil. It’s a good thing he did this before he called a press conference blasting state support for Essar’s Nashwauk steelmaking project as Minnesota possibly funding terrorism. Oh, wait. D’oh! Pawlenty asks State Department for clarification on…
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Steel plant Iran away; we need to Iget it back
The shakeup over Gov. Pawlenty’s new found opposition of the Essar Minnesota Steel mining/steelmaking plant near Nashwauk continues. Local and state officials are uniting behind a cohesive message (for once): that the Iron Range wants to enter the global marketplace and that snap decisions and loaded rhetoric like Pawlenty’s Sunday diatribe harm the Range economy…
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‘Chain of Command’ worth seeing
On Saturday, we saw the HCC production of “Chain of Command,” an original play about the Iraq war directed by my friend Mike Ricci and written by Minneapolis playwright Dominic Orlando. The play was excellent. The script wasn’t finished until less than two weeks before the first performance and this cast of amateur actors did…
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Bell’s stock rising in Duluth
I’m reversing my prediction for the Duluth mayoral race. This isn’t reflective of any personal opinion about the candidates, just a gut political feeling. I had predicted Ness would win by about four points. I now predict Bell will win by 8. Here’s why: Ness and Bell had their profile stories in the Duluth News-Tribune…
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Aarrrrrrgh!
Remember yesterday? The Iron Range seemed to be closing the deal on the Essar Global Minnesota Steel project near Nashwauk, the all-in-one iron ore to steel plant that has been in the works for a decade and a half. Yeah, that was cool. Until Gov. Tim “Lucy” Pawlenty pulled the football out from under our…
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Obvious safety tips for the Halloween oblivious
Halloween Safety Tip #2If you see more than one child dressed as a soldier, confirm that they are in fact celebrating Halloween and not staging a military coup. If it is a coup, assess their strength and determine whether you should alert authorities or aid the rebels in order to protect your family under the…