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Dayton and Entenza interviews on the way
I’ll have a couple exciting interview posts coming over the next week or so. Tomorrow I’ll be sitting down with former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, an early DFL candidate for Minnesota governor. Next week I’ll be meeting with former State Rep. and Minnesota 2020 leader Matt Entenza, another candidate. I’ve interviewed other DFL candidates like…
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MPR: complex potential for nonferrous mining in Northern Minnesota
Bob Kelleher of Minnesota Public Radio has a fascinating look at the potential minerals future of northern Minnesota, which brings with it environmental concerns. The PolyMet project will be the bellwether for all sorts of nonferrous mining in this region. UPDATE: corrected spelling on Bob’s name. Every time you misspell a reporter’s name, an angel…
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Shameful protests … no, wait, these ones are OK
Add the Mesabi Daily News editorial page to the Sean Hannity school of situational outrage. “Tea Party” protests over a tax increase for the wealthy (along with an unmentioned tax cut for 95 percent of the population) are equated to tyranny and fascism during an economic crisis: OK. And screw you, MSNBC, for not taking…
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Group warns utilities about proposed Range coal gas plant risks
An Iron Range citizen group is cautioning public utilities in Minnesota against any power purchase deal with the startup company Excelsior Energy, the proponent of the coal gasification Mesaba Energy Project. Mike Jennings posts a story for the Hibbing Daily Tribune: The message, which a leader of CAMP says was sent by e-mail last week…
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Range paper: Arrrr-Qaida?
I missed this gem of an editorial from the Mesabi Daily News last week. Those weren’t pirates, those were “Somali Muslim Terrorists!” This one comes complete with an unsubstantiated suggested al Qaida link, a la spring ’03. Can’t beat the classics. Using this new definition of terrorism we should all be on Red Alert. Any…
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A Range blog worth reading
I like to point out when other blogs from northern Minnesota’s Iron Range start up. I have to recommend this one, Mesabi Misadventures, which I quoted in my column this week. This is a very funny blog but her most recent post is sobering for me to read and deeply related to the column I…
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A better welcome wagon means fewer farewells
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, April 19, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Ironically, this piece written in an 18th century format was inspired by a prompt from the ProBlogger 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge. What a world! A better welcome wagon means fewer farewellsBy Aaron J.…
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No joke: Range course named top pick by golf mag
The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, on the eastern Iron Range, has been named a a top course by Golfweek. Here’s the story from the Northland News Center (Channels 6, 3, 11 et al). I gave up golf for all practical purposes after I was no long eligible for the cheap student green fees, so I’ve…
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Study: Mining remains foundation of northern Minnesota economy
A new University of Minnesota-Duluth study indicates that mining remains the immovable foundation of the current Iron Range (indeed, northeastern Minnesota) economy. In all, mining activities account for 34 percent of the Northland’s gross regional product, said Jim Skurla, the study’s author and acting director of UMD’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. “How important…
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‘We are change’ forum on Friday
Another item I’m passing along: “We Are Change” Forum at Itasca Community College The “We Are Change” Progressive Forum will be held on Friday, April 17, from 1 – 9 p.m. at Itasca Community College, 1851 E. Hwy 169 in Grand Rapids. This will be an opportunity for the community to listen, learn, and exchange…
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Finn-Glish Fun!
Get your Bobby Aro fix for the day. Highway 7 Forever! Related posts: No related posts.
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‘Overburden’ tour heads to Superior on Friday!
This Friday, April 17, the “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” tour returns to the road. I’ll be giving a lecture and reading from the book during a special appearance at the Manion Theater in the Holden Fine Arts Building on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Superior. Superior is across the…
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Range ‘Go Run’ program revs up for another round
Below is a press release for the Rural Go Run program, which gives Iron Range area women the training and tools they’d need to run for political office. Though my gender renders me ineligible for this program, I heartily endorse any effort to increase the number of people involved in political leadership on the Iron…
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Brown on the Air: steel and schools
There were some technical difficulties that cut out part of my interview with Scott Hall on today’s KAXE morning show. The whole interview is posted here. I talk briefly about Essar Steel and at length about my suggestion for an Iron Range Congress. Our working plan is to try to do this style of conversation…
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I like my recessions like I cook my steak: Red
Just another recession in Northern Minnesota. Pawnshops are booming and the Communist Party is recruiting on the Iron Range. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going with the outfit that offers top dollar for my old Spin Doctors CD. What can you do for me, comrades? Related posts: No related posts.