-
Bobby Aro Highway
The St. Louis County Board is taking up a measure to rename Co. Hwy 7 after the late, great polka star Bobby Aro, who wrote and performed the 1957 hit “Highway 7.” Speaking as someone who grew up on Highway 7 not that far from the Aros, I think that’s a pretty good idea. Maybe…
-
Newsweek to analyze the South; the North should take note
Newsweek is focusing this week’s edition on the changing and yet somehow unchanging nature of America’s South, where the shadow of the Civil War still looms large even in the 21st century. The cover story is truly compelling. Something about the South reminds me of my native Iron Range. Not necessarily the racial strife, though…
-
Range-connected name a U.S. Senate contender
Followers of the national political blogosphere know that there’s a doozy of a U.S. Senate race up in Alaska this year. Embattled and indicted GOP incumbent Sen. Ted Stevens faces a tough challenge from Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, nephew of former Iron Range legislator Joe Begich. Sunday, the Mesabi Daily News interviewed Joe about…
-
Range editor, veteran makes insightful observation about ‘surge’
Hibbing Daily Tribune editor Mike Jennings made an interesting observation Sunday based on his experience serving in Vietnam in regard to today’s debate over the success of the so-called surge: Could we have sustained what seemed in 1970 a durable degree of security in Vietnam? Of course. All that was necessary was to keep American…
-
Finally, a voice of clarity
Matthew Yglesias nails the latest bout of conventional campaign criticism that we should all be worked up because Barack Obama isn’t “breaking it open.” Yglesias correctly points out that the winning candidate this year was probably never going to get more than about 53 percent in the general election and that our country’s political make…
-
Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human nature
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Modern life exposes soft underbelly of human natureBy Aaron J. BrownFor all our bluster, we humans are really just soft, pink beings that consume more than we should and run much more slowly than other mammals our size.…
-
The Iron Range from ‘The Outside’
Sometimes an outside perspective opens new understanding. Friday, the local paper for North Marion, Ind., profiled teachers who visited northern Minnesota‘s Iron Range this summer to learn about the history and importance of the region. The statistics listed in the article are well established, but maybe not well known even to Iron Range natives. Check…
-
Get busy on Da’ Range
Are you a young person looking for a job in the traditionally difficult job market of Duluth (and, by extention, the Iron Range)? This Patrick Garmoe DNT story has some tips. Know people. Not tomorrow, but already. And, though it may not be news to some or even remotely interesting to others, this Business North…
-
State of the Blog
Hello, readers. Well, I wrote 102 posts in July. In case you’re wondering I work from home in July. That insane pace can’t continue forever. You’ll still get daily posts here, often multiple posts when news merits, but I’m going to be more selective as my fall work schedule heats up. That’s why it’s more…
-
FiberNet pulls plug on the Range; now what?
FiberNet officially bit the dust; however, as this Hibbing Daily Tribune story explains, at least one of the project’s strongest backers, Hibbing City Administrator Brian Redshaw, believes there is hope for high speed internet delivered Range wide in the future. I agree and share those hopes. We need to prepare infrastructure for the future of…
-
Good times rolling on the Range … for some
Significant, but not surprising: Cleveland-Cliffs posts a record profit for the second quarter of this year. Cliffs, along with U.S. Steel, is one of the major powers in the taconite mining industry of northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Steel prices are way up, taconite is key to producing steel, the good times roll, but who is…
-
‘Those mobster ads’ and why union choice issue really matters
One of the great setbacks in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate campaign is how Republican operatives — more specifically big business operatives — have been able to cloud the water over the issue of the Employee Free Choice Act. Their ads featuring mobster-like figures pressuring pleasant looking workers into joining unions have fueled many misconceptions held by…
-
Union outreach aims to hold Democratic line for Obama
Electricity was down again this morning (it rained last night; that’s how it goes out here in the woods) so I got a late start on all things electronic. All I’ve got right now is an item on an AFL-CIO political outreach campaign in the swing states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan to reassure…
-
Breaking down data in the Fightin’ 8th
Jeff Rosenberg has created something I haven’t seen before, which is a series of maps breaking down the 8th Congressional District by precinct to show the Democrat/Republican split based on the 2006 election results. Get geeky and check it out. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Global resove vs. grocery shenanigans
So Barack Obama goes overseas last week. At every turn, Obama was speaking about U.S. foreign policy in a way that re-united our allies and forces his opponents to subtly rephrase their positions to sound more like his. Oh yeah, and he shows up in Germany and 200,000 people come out to hear him speak.…