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Brown on the Air: ACT HAPPY!
The topic for this Saturday morning’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE will be “Act Happy.” You may not know this, but it’s national “Act Happy Week,” a time of willing yourself to a better state of mind. My regular contribution is entitled “Work Smile.” I talk about the special smile you use, often…
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Prepare for the PolyMet litmus test
Craig Stellmacher from the Uptake has penned an excellent piece of analysis from a recent state House hearing regarding the proposed PolyMet project in Hoyt Lakes. He’s not trying to pull hard for one “side” or the other in this contentious Iron Range economic/environmental debate; rather he’s asking some good questions. PolyMet is going to…
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"Come Home Bob" gets attention
Iron Range Tourism’s “Come Home Bob” campaign to bring Bob Dylan back to his home region is getting attention. The video, which includes a bulbous, strange-looking version of yours truly, is spanning the internet. More and more people are becoming fans and signing the petition to get Bob to come home. Minnesota Public Radio has…
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Come Home, Bob!
You might know that in addition to writing, teaching and whatever it is you want to call doing this blog I am one of the organizers of Dylan Days in Hibbing, Minnesota. This year the Iron Range Convention and Visitors Bureau is going all in to get Bob Dylan back to the Iron Range. They’re…
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Tour the Scenic Range, explore the issues of our times
Last week I began an exciting new endeavor that marries this fancy, 21st century blog with a small town weekly newspaper. (Or, as the kids say, we’re going to hook up somewhat regularly for the foreseeable future). Electrons and ink! Quaint small town meeting notices and snark from around the globe! Every month I’ll be…
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Wanted: Young People
The following is part of my news analysis series for the Thursday, March 11, 2010 edition of the Scenic Range News Forum of Itasca County, Minn.: For the Iron Range, demographic change is the challengeBy Aaron J. Brown The demographics on Minnesota’s Iron Range, trending toward an older society with fewer young families, may have…
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COLUMN: "Where ignorance comes natural"
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, March 14, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Where ignorance comes naturalBy Aaron J. Brown When the seasons change, skilled naturalists “strut their stuff,” a phrase often associated with certain mating rituals that nature experts customarily abandon when they finally identify all varieties of North American…
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Al Franken joins Google Twin Ports coalition of the willing
Another clever video from Google Twin Ports, seeking the selection of Duluth, Minn., as the Google Fiber test city. Kudos to Sen. Franken for lending his efforts to this one. Related posts: No related posts.
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COLUMN: "Rural homeless: out of sight, out of hope?"
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, March 7, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. It was originally written for last week but rescheduled to run today. Rural homeless: out of sight, out of hope?By Aaron J. Brown It’s easy to forget that poverty, mental illness and personal crisis leave people homeless in…
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Another Iron Range DFL convention: Curiouser and Curiouser
I attended the Itasca DFL convention today in Bovey and can report the following: Nothing I say will make the 2010 DFL endorsement process any more understandable or predictable. I expected Tom Rukavina, fresh off a big win at his nearby home convention in SD-05 last weekend, to win handily. He did win the most…
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What teachers do in Bemidji on Sunday
My book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” has been out for 18 months (gack, the time!) but I’ve yet to do an author event west of Grand Rapids. That sad reality ends this weekend as I make my first speaking/book appearance in the great city of Bemidji on Sunday. I’ll be the featured…
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Duluth, MN, pwns Topeka, KS
For years I’ve been pushing high speed internet and 21st century e-commuters as perhaps the most important way to diversify the natural resource-based economy of northern Minnesota. We can’t out-sprawl the suburbs. We can’t out-hipster the big cities. We can be ourselves and attract people who like the laid-back, comfortable, yet education-focused atmosphere of northern…
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Iron Ranger on the CBS to-night!
So back in college I used to have this summer job where I would travel around the seven-county area of northern Minnesota’s Arrowhead region, including the Iron Range, to inspect youth summer work sites and write press releases. That’s boring, except for the part where the guy who took the job after me is on…
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Range DFL gov candidates consider unity plan
I have learned from two sources that Tom Bakk told people at the SD-05 convention that he and Tom Rukavina have discussed combining forces before the April DFL state convention, uniting behind the one of them with the most pledged support. This puts even more importance on Bakk doing well in his home district and…
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Rukavina whips Bakk in SD-05 DFL convention
A highly placed source informs me that yesterday’s SD-05 DFL Convention in the heart of the Iron Range was a blowout. State Rep. Tom Rukavina took 16 delegates to fellow Iron Ranger Tom Bakk’s mere 3. Four delegates were elected as uncommitted. Rukavina represents District 5A, which is the core of the Mesabi Iron Range’s…