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Looking backwards and forwards at MinnesotaBrown
This post is for all you MinnesotaBrown readers who have stuck with me. I know things have changed since I took the new job at the Minnesota Star Tribune. A decade ago I was a veritable fire hose of Iron Range news and analysis. Then I started focusing on columns and long-form essays, and now…
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Bringing Iron Range past to digital life
One of the most intimate relationships in my life has been with a 200-pound microfilm machine. Each rendezvous flashed sparks of passion. Dim light. Late nights. Clunking. Grinding. Fire and ice. But let’s start from the beginning. Microfilm stores a high resolution photograph to archive periodicals like newspapers. Compared to saving fragile hard copies, microfilm…
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A Range of Sound
We have at least five senses that we use to experience the world, but history tends mute them. We read about the Bubonic Plague, but can only imagine how it smelled. What did it really look like when buck naked berserkers charged Roman legions? Did you notice the dangly bits, or was that not as…
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Looking for a win, not just a fight, in Range hockey hall brawl
At first, I was skeptical of the news that the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth was considering a move to St. Paul. The idea allegedly stemmed from a proposed renovation of the Xcel Energy Center where the Minnesota Wild plays. Lately, an cycle of Iron Range outrage seems to kick up when…
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Bringing it owl bog home
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “I grew up in a Minnesota bog the size of New York City; I didn’t know it was special,” is out now. I know longtime readers already heard my stories about growing up on a junkyard in the Sax-Zim Bog. What can I say? In more ways than…
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Another plot twist in U.S. Steel saga
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “Blocked Nippon deal leaves fate of U.S. Steel in question,” is out now. In a widely expected move, President Biden officially blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Friday morning. Though expected, this move could prove a seminal moment in the timeline of the American steel…
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MinnesotaBrown Top Posts of 2024
Like a cookie from the jar, another year has disappeared with startling speed. As such, it’s time to compile some of my favorite and most popular writing from 2024. We’re now well past the era when I blogged daily in hot pursuit of the elusive viral clickstorm. Like I mentioned last year, I’m no longer…
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Rural economic diversification is happening: it’s just complicated
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “Reforming broken economies in greater Minnesota,” is out today. Check it out. Covering economic development in a politically-connected rural place like the Mesabi Iron Range is a little like following celebrities in the tabloids. Over time, names rise and fall. Every little twist and turn invites speculation, often…
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After years of rejecting hunting traditions, acceptance brings unexpected connection
Minnesota’s firearms deer hunting season has one more weekend to go, but I’ve already achieved my goals for the year. No, I didn’t shoot a deer, but I engaged in two weekends of forest walks, patient vigil, wide-ranging conversation and family rituals. Last Friday, I did a segment on KAXE talking about a recent column…
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In Minnesota, some hunting traditions will subtly change next year
The rifle season for deer hunting opens Saturday morning, subject of my latest column in the Minnesota Star Tribune. I’ll be at our family’s hunting shack as you read this, hoping that no violent deer force me into an act of self-defense. I might even load the rifle. Deer hunting is a big fall tradition…
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Despite checkered history, reorganized Essar Group ready to launch Mesabi Metallics
My new essay appears in the Minnesota Reformer today. (“Good news on the Iron Range: $2 billion Mesabi Metallics is finally happening; for real this time.”) Like much of what I write, it will interest readers on the Mesabi Iron Range. But the impact hits wider. Here we see the corporate maneuvering that shapes our…
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Weighing past and future impact of U.S Steel on the Iron Range
Eight years of intensive historical research and 44 years of intensive living on the Iron Range taught me more than I ever planned to know about the steel industry. My latest column, “With merger on the ropes, the fate of U.S. Steel will shape the future of the Iron Range,” is in the Wednesday, Sept.…
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First Strib Voices column begins in an Iron Range underground mine
If you missed the news, I’m joining the newly rebranded Minnesota Star Tribune as a contributing columnist. My first column publishes today at StarTribune.com and Monday, Aug. 19 in the print edition. Today’s column: “Old family photo reveals how much has changed on the Iron Range.” This first piece was inspired by an old photograph…
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Brown named contributing columnist for Minnesota Star Tribune
Today, I bring news for longtime readers of MinnesotaBrown.com. Starting next week, I join the Star Tribune as a contributing columnist. My columns will appear twice a month on the opinion page and StarTribune.com. This is a lifelong career goal I’ve been trying to manifest for at least 10 years. The Star Tribune is the…
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Talkin’ Iron Range blues on the ‘Mississippi Valley Traveler’ podcast
A few weeks ago, I wrote a column featuring a new book about traveling along the Mississippi River by Dean Klinkenberg. A few weeks later, I appeared as a guest on Dean’s podcast to talk about the Iron Range. You can now listen to my interview on Dean’s podcast. It’s an hour-long talk, and we…