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MinnesotaBrown wants YOU (to report precinct results) for PRIZES
In my posts about the State House 6B and Congressional MN-8 primary races I talk about several precincts that might give us a clue about the final results as they roll in Tuesday evening. I selected these randomly, with a small bit of strategy. Hence I’m proud to announce a special deal with the MinnesotaBrown.com community,…
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Mesabi Daily News shakes up 6B race with closing editorial
I wrote about the House 6B primary field last Friday, but the anchor leg of that race has some interesting fodder from the Mesabi Daily News. In this case, the MDN is the primary newspaper of the entire district and it’s well read. No election on the Iron Range, particularly the eastern Range, can escape…
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Sturdevant asks big questions about Range demographics
The Star Tribune’s Lori Sturdevant pens a column in Sunday’s edition about the MN-8 race, including the political tradition and waning influence of the Iron Range. It’s worth a read. She echoes a lot of what we talk about here. On the Range, as is true anywhere, demographics is destiny. Shrinking senior classes at our…
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COLUMN: Tuesday primary a signpost for region’s political future
This is my Sunday column for the Aug. 12, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Tuesday primary a signpost for region’s political futureBy Aaron J. Brown Another election is approaching. No, not just the big one in November: I’m talking about Tuesday. Yes, this Tuesday! Minnesota’s primary election moved to August. For many in…
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What to watch: MN House 6B DFL/GOP primaries
I’ve already written about the implications in the House 6B legislative race here on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Some big changes are in store for this post-industrial industrial/mining/woodsy region regardless of the outcome. I’ll be watching the DFL and GOP primaries in 6B along with the MN-8 DFL primary on Tuesday night. Meantime, I’m going…
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Celebrating the dashed dreams that make Iron Range life
More Iron Range events this weekend, including Doc “Moonlight” Graham Days in Chisholm and Merritt Days in Mountain Iron. The Graham parade is Saturday at 11 a.m. in Chisholm. The Merritt parade is at 4 p.m. in Mountain Iron. Many other events are scheduled throughout the weekend in both cities. Moonlight Graham days is named…
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The future of the Iron Range is sandwich
So, this week a new Jimmy Johns franchise opened in Grand Rapids. (The old Bixby’s location). That’s a sandwich place. Yesterday I learned that Erbert and Gerbert’s, another sandwich place, will be opening in a Hibbing strip mall. (The old Movie Gallery location). I am delighted and dismayed by this news. I am delighted by…
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On the air talking House 6B primary Thursday morning
I’ll be on KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio Thursday morning at 7:20 talking about the House 6B primary in the heart of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Every Thursday host Scott Hall and contributors Colleen Nardone, a liberal, and Chuck Marohn, a conservative, discuss Minnesota and local politics on a segment called “Making Sausage.” I’m excited to…
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COLUMN: When the world is in your living room
This is my Sunday column for the Aug. 5, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired yesterday on “Between You and Me” for KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio. When the world is in your living roomBy Aaron J. Brown I always get excited for the Olympics and it’s certainly not…
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Dylan’s long journey still echoes home
As a regular reader of the AV Club (a pop culture offshoot of The Onion), it was a treat to come across a story about Bob Dylan’s connection to Hibbing. Writer Sean O’Neal interviews my friend Linda Stroback Hocking of Zimmy’s and tours the town. He comes to a conclusion that seems about right to…
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Federal government cuts off Excelsior Energy
The beleaguered Excelsior Energy Mesaba Energy Project took another blow recently, as the federal government announced it is ending financial support for the proposal. The Duluth News Tribune‘s Peter Passi has the story. This leaves the 11-year-old start-up company with the money it has collected so far, almost entirely from local, state or federal sources,…
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Candidates to debate in race to succeed Rukavina
Candidates for the State House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Pike Township) will debate Aug. 7 in Virginia, Minnesota. All three DFLers, including Lorrie Janatopoulos, Jason Metsa and Dave Meyer, and both GOPers, including Jesse Colangelo and Dan Darbo, will participate in the debate. This will probably be the last and best…
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Future of Range DFL politics at stake in 6B primary
With all the attention paid to the DFL primary in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, state political watchers are missing out on an equally interesting DFL primary in State Rep. Tom Rukavina’s soon-to-be former House district. For that matter, the new District 6B will also be home to one of the first Republican primaries in recent…
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Fair caps the closing innings of an Iron Range summer
The famous St. Louis (Minn.) County Fair opens today at the fairgrounds in Chisholm and runs through Sunday. Dubbed the “Five Best Days of Summer” by, well, the people who run the fair, this spectacle is usually a signal of the end of another brief but memorable Iron Range summer. Find out more. I shared…
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Return of the Zombie Power Plant
Leslie Brooks Suzokamo of the St. Paul Pioneer Press penned this story about the latest attempted resurrection of Excelsior Energy’s failed Iron Range power plant. As we’ve observed here before, the beleaguered decade-old start-up has proposed a natural gas plant now instead of its originally-planned coal gasification plant. Give the story a read. Founded by…