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‘Overburden’ holiday book signing in Hibbing Thursday evening
The holiday tour for my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” continues Thursday where it all began. I’ll be signing books today from 5-7 p.m. at Howard Street Booksellers in downtown Hibbing, the site of my first signing last year. “Overburden” is a part-funny, part-serious creative nonfiction title written in a memoir style.…
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Rural Range district narrowly OKs consolidation bond
With few votes to spare, St. Louis County schools passed its bond referendum yesterday 52 percent to 48 percent. (Stories in today’s DNT, on WDIO and elsewhere). This affirms the district’s plan to consolidate its seven K-12 schools into four K-12 schools and an elementary school. The plan combines the building of new schools with…
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Important vote today will determine future of rural Range district
People are voting right now on the St. Louis County Schools referendum that will fund a consolidation and construction plan in this rural Iron Range-area district. District 2142 covers Albrook, Babbitt-Embarrass, Cherry, Cook, Cotton, Orr and Tower-Soudan, along with a vast swath of locations that once had schools many years ago but no longer do.…
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An update on Ironworld
Business North reports on the latest news regarding the former Ironworld, currently shut down and entering reorganization. Yours truly briefly enters the scuffle. My opinion is short and sweet: The unique history and culture of the Iron Range demands preservation. Ironworld (by this or any other name) is in the public good and a variety…
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KeeTac to resume production soon
The word is that Keewatin Taconite workers are being called back at the start of 2010. We had a false start on a KeeTac production restart a couple months ago, but this one looks like it could hold. I’ve heard from a connected source who says the company is eying January 1. When KeeTac comes…
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COLUMN: "Jump back, recession; here comes Santa"
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Jump back, recession; here comes SantaBy Aaron J. Brown There’s a moment after Thanksgiving dinner when the pants feel tighter, the couch calls like an upholstered siren, and you realize that this is your reality for the next…
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Black Friday Overburden
The experts say that people plan to spend less on gifts this holiday season, what with the crippling economic recession that somehow has failed to kill the Snuggie. What was 2007 diamond jewelery is now 2009 sticks and rocks and stuff found down by the loading dock. Forget the iPod, who wants a unique gift…
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Bobby Dylan’s Christmas Fun Time
The newest video from Hibbing’s son Bob Dylan, “Must Be Santa Claus,” debuted last week. I finally found it on YouTube. Oh, you must watch the whole thing. It gets crazy toward the end. I was skeptical about the Dylan Christmas album, but I might be coming around after seeing this. Related posts: No related…
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The return of my giant head on a tiny screen
At this approximate moment I am about to “address” a session on “hyperlocal” blogging at the Netroots Nation conference in the Twin Cities. I am not there; rather I recorded this opening statement and will be participating in the panel discussion via an audio connection. If you’re interested in the challenges facing local political and…
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47 layoffs at MN Discovery Center
The press release from the Ironworld Development Corporation, regarding the situation at the Minnesota Discovery Center: Minnesota Discovery Center announces layoffs CHISHOLM – The Ironworld Development Corporation Board of Directors today announced that Minnesota Discovery Center (formerly Ironworld), a 660-acre museum, entertainment venue, research library and park in Chisholm, MN, will temporarily be closed to…
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Financial problems at the former Ironworld
Major news will be breaking today and Friday about serious financial problems at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm (formerly Ironworld). Several inside sources have relayed information to me independently, enough that this cannot be a secret. In addition to the name change, the Discovery Center has been going through an extended transition from state…
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The Whistling Bird is no more
The Whistling Bird, the Iron Range’s best (and only) Jamaican restaurant, has closed. For a decade, the “Bird” represented a pearl of uniqueness in the blue collar grit of the Iron Range. There is nothing funny about this. Nothing at all. The MDN has its story behind the pay wall. The DNT will post its…
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Iron Range education at a crossroads
As a loyal WDIO viewer I missed a couple of interesting education stories from Northland’s News Center (Channels 3, 6, 11, et al). On consolidation … and on the future of Iron Range education. Both of the stories focus on the plight of the St. Louis County school district, which is important, but a Range-wide…
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Mesabi Nugget slated to go in mid-December
In other news, Mesabi Nugget plans to begin shipping its unique iron nugget product by mid-December. This reflects another slight delay but is small enough where we might be able to consider this a likelihood. Related posts: No related posts.
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Once more, with feeling
Maybe you heard about the Mesaba Energy Project Final Environmental Impact Statement released this week. Local newspaper readers were treated to this Bill Hanna Mesabi Daily News story in the Range’s largest newspapers. The company is still pretending like it doesn’t understand why the Administrative Law Judge’s, Public Utility Commission and even this very EIS…