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‘It’s being taken away’
Anna Kurth and Jeff Warner at the Hibbing Daily Tribune did a nice perspective piece about what recently laid off miners on the Iron Range are thinking about and going through. The miners face challenges and worries, but it’s the other people down the employment food chain who face the prospect of genuine poverty should…
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On the brink of the new, or the end
This is my weekly column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune published Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009. On the brink of the new, or the endBy Aaron J. Brown Today, amid the droning headlines of the flagging national economy, I’m here to write the words you long to hear. Everything on the Iron Range is going to…
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‘These things are old; these things are true’
This is my weekly column published Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I read a portion of this for a recent episode of “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE. ‘These things are old; these things are true’By Aaron J. Brown We live in a time of great abstraction. Economists most folks…
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Come writers and critics …
The Sunday Hibbing Daily Tribune ran a Melissa Cox story about the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. I am one of the organizers of Dylan Days, an annual arts event in Hibbing, Minnesota, that celebrates Bob Dylan, literature, music and visual art. This year the event runs from May 21-24, 2009. The writing contest and…
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Anzelc’s Sunday liquor bill to fund children’s services getting attention
Jon Collins has a story in today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune and Mesabi Daily News about a bill by my friend Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township)* that would allow Sunday liquor in Minnesota with tax proceeds to be directed toward budget gaps in children’s social services. In tough times, funding for at risk kids must be…
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From hugs to headlocks
This was my column for the Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. This piece was based on an early essay I wrote for KAXE’s weekly program “Between You and Me.” From hugs to headlocksBy Aaron J. Brown Hornets. In summary, hornets buzz around the center of my sibling experience growing up…
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‘We are stardust’
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. ‘We are stardust’By Aaron J. Brown During my elementary years people would ask me my favorite subject in school. Science, I would say. Science seemed the most real. Reality is a valuable substance where I am…
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Change I can write about
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Change I can write aboutBy Aaron J. Brown You’re never supposed to start a column with the words, “I didn’t know what to write about so (insert pop culture reference or observation of the weather).” It’s…
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A whole (parking) lot of anarchy
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune: A whole (parking) lot of anarchyBy Aaron J. Brown Even here in Northern Minnesota, where we’re used to a cold, snowy winter, it takes time to fully adjust to winter driving. Drivers struggle with slippery intersections…
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In honor of the King holiday, a bonus column … reprised
In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, here’s a bonus column originally published in the Jan. 14, 2007 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. This was before I or anyone could have predicted we’d be swearing in an African-American president tomorrow. ‘Every mountainside’ means ore dumps too By Aaron J. Brown Monday…
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Iron Range Resources board back for ’09 UPDATED
This Bill Hanna story from Sunday’s Mesabi Daily News and today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune describes how the Iron Range Resources Board will likely remain unchanged this year. The board, which has a oversight powers over this unique Iron Range state agency, consists of ten elected legislators and three appointed citizens. All legislative members were re-elected…
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The seven habits of highly stressed parents
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 Hibbing Daily Tribune. I used a version of this piece for a recent edition of KAXE‘s “Between You and Me” program where I am also a regular contributor. The seven habit of highly stressed parentsBy Aaron J. Brown Normally when people talk…
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Squirrels strike again
Dating back to my time as editor at the Hibbing Daily Tribune (the early 2000s), squirrels have knocked out Hibbing’s power supply no fewer than 1,208 times. OK, that’s not true but it happens all the time, including yesterday. This phenomenon is mentioned in my book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” Just mentioned,…
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‘Change’ and ‘Bailout’: strange bedfellows indeed
This is my weekly column from the Sunday, Jan. 4, 2008 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. ‘Change’ and ‘Bailout’: strange bedfellows indeedBy Aaron J. Brown Change. According to the Global Language Monitor, “change” was the top word of 2008. That’s no great surprise. It’s been a fascinating year. Our current president, the son of…
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Ring in the new
Starting this week I’m going to change the posting schedule here at MinnesotaBrown. My weekly column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune usually runs Sundays and I’ve traditionally posted it here that day as well. Well, Sundays are terrible traffic days so I’m going to post the column on Mondays from now on. This will put…