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Insider tips on how to dress for cold
This is how you dress for cold. Dress warmly, in layers. Cover your skin. Wear snow pants or long underwear: both when it’s below -20. Seal the parts of your clothing that could open to the air (where mittens meet coat, scarf over the collar). Invest in good boots. Prioritize your warmth this way: Feet,…
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Detectives still seek missing ruby slippers from Oz
The story made national headlines and ample fodder for late night jokes when one of the pairs of ruby slippers worn by Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005. There were no arrests. It was a crude “smash and grab” job on a…
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500 years is a very long time
The PolyMet EIS was released today. MPR noticed the thing I noticed, which is the large estimated cost of mitigating the proposed northern Minnesota mine into the future. They also noticed another number: 500 years. That’s how long some form of mitigation would be required on the mine site, even after the end of…
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PolyMet EIS has been released
UPDATE: You can find the EIS document here at the DNR website. I’ll be on Minnesota Public Radio’s Daily Circuit today with Tom Weber talking about the release of the Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet mining project in northern Minnesota. My segment is slated for the 11 a.m. hour. It looks like they’re dedicating…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Fosston Dec. 14
I’ll be bringing my Great Northern Radio Show to Fosston, Minnesota, on Saturday, Dec. 14. The show airs live on Northern Community Radio from 5-7 p.m. We offer free seating at the Fosston Library Arts Center before 4:30 p.m. This will be our holiday/winter special and we have some surprises in store. The show seems…
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The Bobby Aro Story airs tonight on PBS North
UPDATE: I watched The Bobby Aro story on WDSE last night and it was well worth it. If you were a Bobby Aro fan in the day you’ll be amazed at the memories, but even if you’re younger, like me, you’ll hear a story about a radio star with a compelling personal story who did…
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PolyMet EIS out Friday; what happens next?
This Friday, U.S. officials will release the environmental impact statement for the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes in northern Minnesota. The project, which would mine copper, nickel, palladium, and other nonferrous minerals, has been part of a long-boiling political and cultural controversy for more than a decade. And while the EIS won’t resolve that…
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First winter storm bears down on Duluth, Iron Range
A three-day winter storm is underway here in northern Minnesota. That sounds worse than it is. It will snow gently but steadily for three days, resulting in predicted snow totals of about a foot. But the plow drivers will be out. These are weekdays, so relatively little overtime is required. Track the storm if you…
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Ciao! Rustic Italian in Side Lake to close
Sad news over the weekend as the owners of Ciao! Rustic Italian restaurant in Side Lake announced they would be closing the restaurant at the end of the year. In a blog post, the owners said they have decided to pursue other opportunities that would not allow them to run the restaurant anymore. They did…
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Northern MN’s Locally Laid eggs up for Super Bowl ad
UPDATE: Voting continues today through tomorrow (Dec. 1). I’ve been impressed with Locally Laid’s grassroots campaign to drive “Vote Lola” supporters to the Intuit ballot page. One of the other companies up for the competition, GoldieBlox, got some big attention and then some big blowback for its demo ad, which was cool but barely showed…
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Paging Dr. Strangelove? Nuclear code was “00000000”
From 1962 to ’82 the nuclear launch code at all U.S. missile silos (if they were password protected at all) was set at “00000000.” Military leaders openly defied orders to tighten missile launch safeguards, in part using the lax nuclear code. Full security improvements weren’t implemented until 2004 when a guy published an article explaining…
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Iron Range unemployment still above state average
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development reports that the state unemployment rate has hit 4.8 percent, its lowest point since 2007, before the recession that began in 2008-2009. However, Iron Range unemployment remains higher: 6 percent in the Virginia area; 7 percent in Hibbing, and 7.6 percent in Grand Rapids. These numbers trail…
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Happy Thanksgiving from MinnesotaBrown
Related posts: No related posts.
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In Minnesota, turkeys pay their sentence in full
With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, the odd American ritual endures in which various leaders “pardon” turkeys before the big meal on Thursday. President Obama will pardon two Minnesota turkeys this week in keeping with the old tradition. The farm that is providing these turkeys for the ceremonial pardon selected the three best behaved birds in…
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Rebecca Otto responds to Iron Range critics
State Auditor Rebecca Otto was on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range this week responding to criticism over her executive council vote against new nonferrous or sulfide mining leases on state-controlled land. The Mesabi Daily News has led a drumbeat of criticism that coincides with an anonymous “Dump Otto” campaign based on the eastern Iron Range. That…