-
Mining jobs, jobs, jobs in the news, news, news
Mining careers continue to dominate discussions about northern Minnesota’s economic future. And it’s true; a number of jobs are coming down the pike. Those jobs were the subject of a career fair held last week at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. Interviews were held on the spot and I don’t doubt some hires will…
-
Trampled by Turtles $5 album downloads at Amazon
Hey howdy hey, northern Minnesota alt bluegrass sensation Trampled by Turtles has $5 album downloads at Amazon until next week. Shop and save! You bet I make money if you click on these links. If all goes to plan I’ll have a bill that folds when this is done. We’ll be in the crowd for…
-
Last laker of the season arrives in Port of Duluth
If the last two weeks of frigid cold in northern Minnesota wasn’t enough, we can now remark that *real* winter has arrived. The final laker of the season arrives in the Port of Duluth this morning. From the Duluth Seaway Port Authority: Duluth, Minn.,USA — The US-flag laker, John G. Munson, is currently sitting at…
-
Fire on second floor of Sportsmen’s building in Hibbing
There is an active fire going on on the second floor of the Sportsmen’s Restaurant building in Hibbing. Other businesses are also in that building. UPDATE: Breaking News at Hibbing Daily Tribune site. Also, Duluth News Tribune. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Looking inside the odd world of North Korea
Yesterday, Andrew Sullivan linked to this post by the daughter of a diplomat who was toured around inside North Korea recently. The post paints the picture of a frigid winter dictatorship with all sorts of eccentric, often frightening details about how people are raised to believe in the totalitarian state. Of particular note seems to…
-
The crushing cost of college on today’s students
With yesterday’s budget announcement by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton we begin the months of haggling over the state’s budget for the next two years. Regardless of your opinion on the budget, one thing I have encountered in my return teaching this semester is the sheer weight of financial burden on my public community college students.…
-
Inauguration stage graphic shows Minnesota stoicism
The New York Times has a fascinating graphic showing the stage during President Obama’s inauguration address yesterday. It’s a high resolution photograph taken during a completely random moment of Obama’s speech. Some people are paying close attention. Some are checking their phones. It’s clear the weather is only so-so. Some people are happy. Some are…
-
President Obama writes to Ely; ice fishing invite stands
Yesterday, NBC’s Today Show aired a feature story on the Iron Range city of Ely. A local resident wrote a letter to President Obama asking for a letter to put in the town’s 50-year time capsule. After a while, with hope fading, a beautiful hand-written two page letter from the president himself arrived in the…
-
Celebrating the meaning of ‘the mountaintop’ on the Range
This seems like the best way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the Iron Range: The North East Area Labor Council will feature a showing of the 1993 documentary “At the River I Stand” on Monday, Jan. 21, 6 p.m., at the Iron Range Operating Engineers Local 49 Hall, 8381 Enterprise Rd, Mt.…
-
Inauguration Day is (was) here!
UPDATE: President Obama’s Second Inaugural Address from earlier today. Today is Inauguration Day (Observed). At noon today President Obama will take the oath of office for his second term. It’s a formality. Inauguration Day is always Jan. 20, but when that date falls on a Sunday, like it did this year, the pomp and circumstance…
-
The complicated emotional baggage of admitting it’s cold
We’ve got quite a predicament here in northern Minnesota. It’s cold. We’re under a wind chill advisory right now. Tonight at midnight we have a wind chill warning, with -50 wind chills and a high tomorrow of -14. That’s a high. If we’re lucky, -14 is as hot as it’ll get. Exposed skin will experience…
-
Brown on the Air: Talking Northern MN politics this afternoon.
I’ll be appearing on the LeftMN Radio Hour on AM950 in the Twin Cities Sunday from 2-3 p.m. You can stream the station online. The program will eventually be archived at LeftMN. The topic will be U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and his first few weeks on the job representing northern Minnesota in Congress. Related posts:…
-
COLUMN: The broadband crossroads
This is my Sunday column for the Jan. 20, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The broadband crossroadsBy Aaron J. Brown Last week I chatted with my cousin and his new wife. They were in Philadelphia; we spoke through an internet video phone connection at my grandparents’ home in Keewatin, Minnesota. While my cousin…
-
NY Times highlights Sax-Zim bog in recent story
Oh, my bog! The Sax-Zim Peat Bog, the location of my childhood, is in the New York Times. It’s a bird story. You gotta like birds. The picture at right, which often appears on this blog, is of a former road sign once found in the Sax-Zim Peat Bog. Every year I write a predictions…
-
Trampled by Turtles to mark 10th anniversary with MN tour
Trampled by Turtles announced their 10th Anniversary Minnesota Tour this week and tickets just went on sale. My Cheapskate bride and I nabbed a pair of tickets for the May 8 Grand Rapids, Minnesota, show at the Reif Center. Get your tickets here. I’m sure this show will have me scheming for my June 29…