-
Remixing the Rainbow
This hit the spot this morning: Another PBS ‘remix’ of a popular children’s program, this one “Reading Rainbow.” Oh, boy, it occurs to me how much I dug Reading Rainbow as a kid. This video gave me flashbacks. When I realized that Levar Burton from “Reading Rainbow” was Jordy on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”…
-
Swedish paper profiles complicated story of Bob Dylan in Hibbing
Reporter Kristin Lundell and photographer Karin Grip visited Hibbing in October to do a feature for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, one of the nation’s largest dailies. Today, Lundell’s story and Grip’s photos ran in a huge three-page feature in the Culture section. You can read the story in Swedish here or the Google translation…
-
COLUMN: Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles
This is my Sunday column for the Dec. 2, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles By Aaron J. Brown Nothing sets the table for an interesting period in history like a failed strike. There was much-ballyhooed strike over Thanksgiving weekend surrounding employees at Wal-Mart. Garnering great attention,…
-
The lessons of a Rust Belt upbringing
I read this post, “Born into Ruin: How the Young are Changing Cleveland” by Richey Piiparinen yesterday and it floored me. Read this: It’s true. I am not happy all the time living in Cleveland. But I don’t want to be happy all the time. That’s unnatural. Said Nietzsche: “Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we…
-
Next Minneapolis police chief has northern MN roots
Tomorrow the Minneapolis City Council is expected to confirm acting police chief Janee Harteau as the permanent chief of police of Minnesota’s largest urban area. Reaction to Harteau at a hearing yesterday was very positive. The story is generating a lot of attention because Harteau would be the city’s first female police chief and the…
-
Nolan names campaign manager as chief of staff
U.S. Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) has named his campaign manager as his new chief of staff for his Washington office and Minnesota field offices. Michael Misterek led Nolan’s successful campaign against outgoing Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in one of the nation’s most-watched congressional races. There are often mixed results when campaign staff are kept on…
-
Duluth’s economic rebirth among year’s top stories
One of the big northern Minnesota stories this year has to be the economic revitalization of Duluth. Seat of the northern Minnesota industrial frontier, Duluth long languished with its Iron Range brethren in economic dependence on a handful of volatile natural resource industries. This year, decades of efforts to diversify and attract residents and visitors…
-
Magnetation selects Indiana for iron ore pellet plant
After considering Grand Rapids, Minn. and Superior, Wis., Iron Range-based Magnetation has selected Reynolds, Indiana for the site of its new pellet plant. They will ship raw materials out of their unique scram mining operation in Itasca County to this facility, which will now include two additional processing sites. The press release follows: Magnetation LLC…
-
The iron in our blood
Thought for the day: My family and the families of my neighbors and friends moved from countries around the world to one specific place, at one specific time, because of the iron in the ground. Twofer. Photo from FB site “I f***ing love science,” via friend-of-the-blog Jake Ramsey. Related posts: No related posts.
-
COLUMN: Atop hill of slime, a clear view of northern political landscape
This is my Sunday column for the Nov. 25, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. This piece is based on some analysis I did for the blog last week. Atop hill of slime, a clear view of northern political landscapeBy Aaron J. Brown As you know by now, Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) ousted Rep.…
-
Gov. Dayton pardons turkey, but bird ain’t got what it takes to make it on the outside
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton pardons (live) turkey. (Photo: Hunger Solutions) Well, it’s the time of year for state and federal executives to make a show out of “pardoning” a turkey before Thanksgiving, the time of year when untold millions of turkeys are sold and consumed in the United States. As you can see here Gov.…
-
A night of jokes and thanks for Iron Range’s Rukavina
Last night, more than 400 people piled into the Mt. Iron Community Center to roast retiring Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Pike Township), one of the most outspoken and well-known Iron Range lawmakers in recent memory. I am told that footage of the event will be forthcoming, which I will share here, but John Myers of the…
-
Some fear Range mining slump in near term
The AP reports on yesterday’s news that Cliffs Natural Resources would be idling taconite production lines and temporarily laying off workers amid a slowdown in the steel industry. About 125 workers at Northshore Mining in Silver Bay, Minnesota, and more than 500 workers in northern Michigan will be affected at the start of the new…
-
Cliffs to idle lines at Northshore, affecting 125 workers
Business North reports that Cliffs Natural Resources will idle two lines at its Northshore Mining property in Silver Bay. About 125 taconite workers will be affected by the temporary shutdown, which is slated for Jan. 5, 2013. Cliffs will also idle lines at the Empire Mine in Michigan. Officials cite the cyclical nature of iron…
-
Northern MN lawmakers named committee chairs
With the DFL taking majorities in the Minnesota State House and Senate earlier this month, House Speaker-elect Paul Thissen and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk are announcing their committee structure and new chairpersons. Last week the following roster of chairs was announced. I’ve highlighted the northern Minnesota legislators who have earned these influential positions. See…