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Politics in Minnesota mentions my new book
I got a nice mention in last week’s Politics in Minnesota Weekly Report. One of our favorite bloggers, Aaron Brown of Minnesota Brown, has published his first book, Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range. Aaron is a regular in our Morning Report, and we profiled him a few months ago in The Weekly Report.…
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Super secret sneak preview copies available for ‘Overburden’
Shhh! It’s a secret. Copies of my new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” are available at Howard Street Booksellers in Hibbing, Northern Lights bookstore in Duluth’s Canal Park and the Duluth Barnes and Noble. Other stores will be on board soon. This book is a collection of essays and observations about life…
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Go vote!
I’ll join the friendly chorus of reminders to go vote in today’s primary. I’ll be “live blogging” (by way of TV and the internet) tonight’s primary results from Duluth’s DFL primary in 7B and other miscellaneous story lines, such as the local challenge against DFL House Majority Leader Tony Sertich in the Iron Range’s 5B.…
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From Farmers’ Day to the week ahead
You probably know I write this blog from the Iron Range, a labor bastion known for its mining. Labor Day is, thus, a suitably big deal on the Range. Nevertheless, on the western Mesabi Range, where I live, the seemingly odd local tradition of Bovey Farmers’ Day takes place on Labor Day. We attended Farmers’…
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Overheard in the halls
Two traditional aged female students overheard talking as they passed my office door at the community college where I work: ONE: I don’t care what he says. I’ll take f***ing Communism over $50,000 in debt for college. TWO: Uh-huh. Don’t forget, the people are angry. This is a volatile electorate. They will go with the…
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Workshopping
Today I am presenting at a workshop for Iron Range community colleges on the topic of blogging. I’ll use this as a general reminder that just 10 years ago I was learning what the Internet was for the first time. What a world, what a world! Related posts: No related posts.
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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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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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This week at MinnesotaBrown…
Today is our 8th wedding anniversary, officially ensuring that our marriage will outlast the Bush Administration. Happy anniversary, Christina. We made it! This week I’m working on a column that connects the historical parallels between the politics and economic news of the 1920s to those we see today. I’m specifically focusing on Minnesota and the…
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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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On the road…
It’s too nice out to blog. I’ll be working on more of my series tonight. Today, the family and I are headed down to Duluth to do touristy/kids activities. I’ll give my frank assessment upon my return from this fact-finding mission. Some were angered when I suggested giving a major address from the former U.S.…
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Generations, Part 1: Win or Lose, the Obama Era has begun
From the top to the bottom of the ticket, Democrats in Minnesota, indeed probably all over the country, face generational conflict this year. I imagine the same might be true of Republicans (but when your nominee is over 70 you might not be ready to talk about this yet). Politicos of all stripes are accustomed…
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This one is for the awards
When I worked in radio, there were stories you covered as part of your daily routine and there were stories that you were told were “awards” stories. These weren’t necessarily the top story of the day, but were compelling enough to enter in contests in order to win trophies and fodder for your resume. You…
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Kicking off a new week with a new look
It was a busy weekend of lawn mowing, web redesigning, assisting with a rummage sale and eating pancakes with a large contingency of visiting Finns in my neighborhood. Here are some things I didn’t write about. Rep. Tom Anzelc issued a blast in the Duluth News-Tribune (click here; scroll down) calling for action on the…
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New design ongoing: be patient
Apologies if what you’re seeing here appears funkier than usual. I am in the middle of a redesign. We should have this finished by the end of the weekend. Related posts: No related posts.