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China and the Range: one degree of separation
Asian demand for steel has had a large and positive influence on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range economy for several years, mostly because of how it affects prices and demand for steel products. Chinese demand, in particular, fueled the historic Range taconite production of 2007 and early 2008. Chinese stagnation spurred the widespread shutdowns in late…
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Iron Range job fair to be held Tuesday, March 22 in Virginia
I had an opportunity to check in with Craig Walter from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development this week. He was reminding me of the 13th Annual Iron Range Job Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22 at the Thunderbird Mall in Virginia, Minn. With the Range economy sputtering…
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90 minutes on the bus one way, and back
Susan Maricle has an interesting personal post from her Poultry and Prose blog featured on MinnPost’s “Blog Cabin” today. She writes of her son’s 90-minute one-way bus ride to school from her family’s central Minnesota farm. The post struck a chord with me because our oldest son has a similar length bus ride to kindergarten…
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The night I stole an hour from time
From 1996 to 1998, the years I was in senior high school, I worked weekend overnight shifts as an easy listening DJ at 97.9 WEVE in the iron mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota. Specifically, I’d come home from school on Friday afternoon, prepare a bowl of Campbell’s soup and cheese sandwich, take a sleeping pill…
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Brown on the Air: RANGE UPDATE 3/14/11 on 91.7 KAXE
I’ll be on the KAXE Morning Show at 7:20 a.m. Monday talking Iron Range issues, with special attention given to my comments in my recent “On mining and the future in northern Minnesota” post from last week. Listen at 91.7 FM within 70 miles of Grand Rapids or streaming live at www.kaxe.org. You can access…
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COLUMN: To those who would divide us, remember the Sneetches
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, March 13, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. To those who would divide us, remember the SneetchesBy Aaron J. Brown People could once disagree about politics and still share a meal without posing an existential threat to each other. Generations of resentful Midwesterners have done just…
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Wide open DFL contest in MN-8, true 2012 tossup against Cravaack
In the months before Barack Obama won the presidency many wondered if he would consider then U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN8) for Secretary of Transportation. Oberstar wasn’t interested. After all, he had much more influence over transportation issues as chair of the House transportation and infrastructure committee, just as his fellow Iron Ranger and mentor…
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Governor to tour Iron Range amid state tourney fervor
Gov. Mark Dayton will be touring the Iron Range Friday and headlining the annual meeting of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools that night. The more amusing detail of his schedule is that he will be visiting Hibbing High School at the moment the Bluejackets will be wrapping up play against the Hermantown Hawks…
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On mining and the future in northern Minnesota
Nothing’s going to get better for the Iron Range until we stop talking about 30-year mining plans and start talking about five year reform plans. These thoughts have been building for a time and it will take more than one post to explore them all. A recent headline pushed me to start. David Shaffer at…
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Highway 53 (to be) Rerouted
Iron Range history brims with tales of highway rerouting for mining purposes. Indeed, entire towns have been moved or abandoned to extract iron from the ground. The taconite era has been light on these moves, until recently. Now one of the Iron Range’s central arteries, Highway 53, must be rerouted near the entrance to Virginia…
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Former Range lawmaker charged with animal cruelty, hoarding
The Iron Range is a place of characters and stories. One of the most interesting characters I’ve met is former State Rep. John Spanish. Unfortunately, his story has taken a sad turn. Related posts: No related posts.
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The Hon. James L. Oberstar to cross the mighty lakes this spring
The Interlake Shipping Company has renamed an 806-foot laker after former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, a longtime transportation committee chair and ranking Democratic member. Derek Wallbank has the story on MinnPost. The Hon. James L. Oberstar will now transport Mesabi iron ore pellets from near Oberstar’s hometown of Chisholm out of the port of Duluth,…
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MinnesotaBrown to cover MN-8 like haul truck on perspective dump
Over the weekend I decided to develop some kind of policy for how I handle Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District race as Democrats line up to challenge freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in 2012. I’ve been getting calls. The people want to know. So, here goes. This will be an important primary in a true tossup…
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Billionaires using millionaires to attack thousandaires, and divide the nation
I don’t mind a good political debate. The teachers’ unions aren’t right all the time. But the demonizing of public workers generally and teachers specifically in the Wisconsin story is infuriating. Actually, no. The hypocrisy is what’s infuriating. Jon Stewart gets this exactly right. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p /…
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COLUMN: The deceptive numbers of late winter
This is my column for the Sunday, March 6, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The deceptive numbers of late winterBy Aaron J. BrownI froze my fingertips on the gas pump the other day. The temperature was colder than expected, the gas prices higher. It is not the numbers that get you. It is…