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You could not axe for a better movie than this
Ladies and gentlemen. I don’t ask much of you. Today, I must ask one thing and one thing only. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, go below the jump of this post to see a trailer for the independent horror film “Axe Giant: the Wrath of Paul Bunyan.” Really, just…
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Metsa submits Hwy 53 bill: "We have to take action"
State Rep. Jason Metsa (DFL-Virginia) and State Sen. David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) are taking direct action in response to the controversy over the required rerouting of Highway 53 on the Iron Range to accommodate expanding iron mining. On Tuesday, Metsa announced he will be submitting an amendment to the transportation bill that specifically prohibits the least…
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Ticked off about winter? Spring into tick season
This Steve Kuchera story in the Duluth News Tribune warns us that even though northern Minnesota is experiencing a prolonged winter we should still expect a horrifying onset of blood-sucking ticks, mosquitoes and ishy-squishy forest tent caterpillars. These creatures are built for winter. They just sit there, preparing for it to get warm. They can…
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Iron Range media brushes aside Hillcrest neglect allegations
Last Thursday, the Star Tribune ran a Paul McEnroe story about allegations of neglect at the Hillcrest assisted living facility in Chisholm, Minnesota. It begins as follows: When the ambulance crew members arrived at the assisted-living facility in Chisholm, Minn., they entered a room so foul with the smell of urine that their eyes watered.…
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11,700 miles by dog, ski and sea
This is my column for the Sunday, April 21, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. You can read more about Amy and Dave Freeman’s adventures here. I’ve posted some photos of their expedition below the jump. 11,700 miles by dog, ski and seaBy Aaron J. Brown Anyone who’s ever paddled a kayak or strapped…
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From me, dialectically to you
David Frum recently blogged about the complexity of the English language in North America. He shared the graphic from a study on this topic. You can (and should) look at the larger, more detailed map here. Not unsurprisingly, many readers for this blog probably speak with the North Central and Western North dialects. But zoom…
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Highway 53 reroute a generational test for the Range
This Dan Kraker MPR story provides the clearest narrative I’ve seen yet as to the proposals and local reaction to the proposed rerouting of Highway 53 on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, something we’ve discussed here before. The cheapest route would devastate many businesses and create a really mixed-up way of driving around the Quad Cities.…
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Booms and busts both change rural culture
Calumet, Minnesota (Aaron Brown, 1998) I’ve been looking to North Dakota a lot recently because the state is going through an oil boom and is getting fresh attention. People I know are moving there, in dribbles and drabs, to work the oil fields. And something about it reminds me a great deal of the mining…
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Group aims to re-engage Hibbing theater community
The cancellation of the award-winning theater program at Hibbing Community College amid the budget tumult of the past several years shook the Iron Range arts community. But there are green shoots here and there, notably with the foundation of a new community theater group called “Encore of Hibbing.” A group of actors and theater types…
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Walking the footsteps of the working poor
Last week, freshman State Rep. Jason Metsa (DFL-Virginia) lived on minimum wage as part of a challenge sponsored by Working America, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO. The effort was designed to show the challenges facing the working poor as part of the debate over raising Minnesota’s minimum wage to what workers’ groups call a “living…
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Protests aplenty as Northern MN unravels
Everything’s coming up Moses. There’s a whole bunch of unwanted snow on the ground in northern Minnesota today. If you’re one of those cats who likes to talk about how great it is to ski this late in the season you best move along, son, because we don’t have much in common. In fact, let…
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Gov. Dayton to hold Iron Range town hall Tuesday night
Gov. Mark Dayton will hold a town hall meeting to discuss his budget proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the commons at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College in Virginia, MN. This will probably be the best environment for people here in northern Minnesota to express their views or questions on the budget to the…
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Too ‘Minnesota Nice’ to Brag
This is my Sunday column for the April 14, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired on yesterday’s episode of “Between You and Me” on Northern Community Radio. Too Minnesota Nice to BragBy Aaron J. Brown You never know what you’ll see when a “list post” circulates on the…
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Study: Iron Range mining, mesothelioma linked
Today, officials shared the long-awaited University of Minnesota study analyzing why the rare cancer mesothelioma is so prevalent among miners who worked on the Mesabi Iron Range. The result? Researchers see a link between working in the mines and the disease, but that dust from taconite mining is only one of several factors contributing to…
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PolyMet announces $60 million in private funds
People want to know where nonferrous mining projects stand in northern Minnesota. It’s awfully hard to say, most days, as the local debate tends to float in a nebulous cloud of philosophical disagreement. While the ongoing permit process is important, I’ve long maintained that issue will resolve itself only to the degree these companies are…