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Listening, the Book
Some of you might remember me talking about StoryCorps when it was outside the KAXE studios in Grand Rapids last month. It’s a collaborative project collecting interviews between loved ones and friends for archiving in the Library of Congress and occasional broadcast on NPR. It’s really cool and they got some good stuff out of…
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Brown on the Air: NORTHERN OBSERVER
My weekly contribution to the “Between You and Me” program on 91.7 KAXE will once again be “a little different” this week. It’s not an essay; it’s … more. The independent public radio station is in the midst of its fall fundraiser, which is crucial to KAXE’s ability to provide the best local programming and…
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Today ‘Overburden’ moves west to Grand Rapids
Just a reminder: I’ll be holding a book signing for “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” today at Village Bookstore in Grand Rapids’ Village Mall from 12-2 p.m., after my morning appearance on 91.7 KAXE’s “Between You and Me” (10 a.m. to noon). Related posts: No related posts.
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Brown on the Air: IRON RANGE FOREVER!
The million dollar question: Is Grand Rapids part of the Iron Range? That is no small query. Legally and geologically, yes. Culturally? Less so. Since I moved to Itasca County (the Western Mesabi Range) from the central Range in 2005, I’ve heard many neighbors talk about the Iron Range as though it were another country,…
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KAXE seeks opinions about future programming
I am a regular contributor to KAXE, an independent public radio station covering the vast and unique regions of Northern Minnesota, including Grand Rapids, Bemidji, Brainerd and the Iron Range. This station is asking for feedback about its programming. You should offer your thoughts, as these surveys are influential in the staff’s decisions about future…
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Brown on the Air: BAND
My weekly essay for the Saturday, Oct. 11 edition of “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE will join host Heidi Holtan in exploring the topic of “band,” specifically high school band and the unique cultural touchstone it represents. Yeah, I was in the band. Trumpet. Yeah, I got some stories. I seen some things.…
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Overburden media tour fires up
I’ve been doing interviews for my new book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” and you’ll start to see and hear some of these in Minnesota media. Jeff Warner is writing a story that will run in the “Tailings” section of the Sunday, Oct. 12 Hibbing Daily Tribune. “Tailings” is like the A&E section,…
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The season that shall not yet be named
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 Hibbing Daily Tribune. This piece is based on an essay I read for KAXE’s “Between You and Me” a couple weeks ago. The season that shall not yet be namedBy Aaron J. Brown In the American folk song “Goodnight, Irene,” the narrator tells us…
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Brown on the Air: Postcards
My essay for Saturday’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE is about postcards. Each week the show explores a new topic and invites northern Minnesotans (and anyone else) to join in an eclectic mix of conversation and music. I contribute an essay that frames the topic in a compelling way. For instance, this week…
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Brown on the Air: WINTER READY?
My essay for Saturday’s “Between You and Me” program on 91.7 KAXE will deal with this week’s topic of “winterization.” What do you do to get ready for winter? Are you a grasshopper or an ant? I mix anecdotes and pop wisdom to create a delicious verbal soup. Or something. Anyway, check it out. “Between…
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Brown on the Air: SUSTAINABILITY!
My Saturday, Sept. 20 essay for KAXE’s “Between You and Me” program deals with the topic of sustainability. What does it mean to live sustainably? That’s an important question as we watch the stock market crash and food prices rise. I argue that sustainability is just a time-tested way of life on the Iron Range.…
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Glass ceiling? Up north, you betcha’
In the frenzied quasi-reporting of women’s issues during the Democratic and Republican conventions you might have heard vague mention of the pay disparity between men and women. Nationally, women make only about 70 percent of what men make. In a recent interview on KAXE, Business North reporter Beth Bily talks about the fact that women…
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Brown on the Air: GETTING LOST
My radio essay for this week’s episode of “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE will cover the show’s topic of “getting lost.” My take explores the idea that getting lost can also include not knowing what to look for. Also, there will be an amusing anecdote which transitions into a philosophical argument and then…
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Brown on the Air: FRIENDS
My weekly essay for 91.7 KAXE’s Saturday show “Between You and Me” will deal with friends. What makes a friend a friend, or a “best friend.” I talk about the ease of childhood friendships and the complication of adult friendship. That’s the show’s topic and all of northern Minnesota and the world will have a…
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Questions spawn stories; stories are life
UPDATE: Apparently some kind of error occurred at the paper and an older column of mine ran Sunday. This column will appear in the hard edition of the newspaper at some point in the future. UPDATE 2: This will run on Sunday, Sept. 7 in the paper. You got a scoop here on the blog.…