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Great Northern Radio Show hits Zenith City
That second week in November was a doozy. It started with a wild election result that left the nation speechless (for a few minutes, anyway). Then the Great Northern Radio Show made its Duluth debut on Saturday, Nov. 12. You now have a chance to hear this broadcast again. Northern Community Radio will rebroadcast both…
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Minnesota gobbles top turkey status
On Monday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton presided over our state’s annual celebration of the many turkeys who lay down their lives for the betterment of Thanksgiving dinner. More than 450 Minnesota turkey farmers produce 46 million turkeys a year for a hungry America. Unlike the federal government, Minnesota’s leaders do not pardon the turkey in attendance. Minnesota is…
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Iron Range’s 100-year housing woes
One of the most critical problems facing Iron Range communities is the age and aesthetic appeal of our towns. The downtowns present one particular problem. The housing stock presents another. My father, who moved to the Twin Cities area almost 20 years ago, often talks about his trips to visit us. He drives through the same Mesabi…
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‘As Bob Dylan Turns’ in Hibbing
Last week, Bob Dylan formally thanked the Swedish Academy for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dylan also sent regrets that he wouldn’t be able to attend the Dec. 10 ceremony in Stockholm. Dylan cited a prior commitment. This is something I forecast in a monologue in last Saturday’s Great Northern Radio Show. No born-and-raised Northern Minnesota…
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They say snow; it ain’t gonna snow hard
[One half of a composite of several recent conversations] They say it’s gonna snow hard. It ain’t gonna snow hard. You know how I know? The deer ain’t movin.’ Them deer know when a blizzard is comin.’ You see ‘em movin’ all over hell an’ back. It ain’t gonna snow hard. You remember that guy…
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Rawr: ‘Cougar’ catfight stirs controversy
Last week, a young hunter perched in his deer stand near Nashwauk got the story of a lifetime without even firing a shot. Here’s the description from an article by Dave Orrick of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: I wasn’t there, but I know this: Jordan Bowen saw a big wildcat try to attack a deer. The…
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Bankruptcy court lets Essar keep mineral leases
On Tuesday, a federal bankruptcy judge denied the state of Minnesota’s request to strip Essar Steel Minnesota of mineral leases. This move breathes new life into Essar, though perhaps only temporarily. It’s a significant setback for hopes that Cliffs Natural Resources could quickly take over the project. The beleaguered Essar, stuck with a half complete taconite…
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Portable joy at Great Northern Radio Show in Duluth
This has been a hard week for a lot of Americans. Even if you were happy with how the election turned out it’s pretty evident the divisions in our country will endure long past balloting. Of course, slightly more people in this country are horrified with how the election turned out. So that’s how that goes. I’ve…
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Shock election to create 5-4 partisan split on IRRRB
The legislature wasn’t the only thing that changed dramatically after Tuesday’s election. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) will introduce four new members when it reconvenes in the new year. In addition to the new faces, the board will have a 5-4 DFL majority. That means the IRRRB will include the most Republicans who…
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Nolan survives Trump wave in MN-8
Despite a 13-point victory by Donald Trump in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan narrowly held on to his seat against Republican challenger Stewart Mills. Nolan received almost 50.2 percent of the vote to Mills’ 49.6 — about half a point. Just over 2,000 votes separated the candidates in the most expensive Congressional race…
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LIVE BLOG: Election Night 2016
Tonight we watch as election results pour in across the United States and here in Northern Minnesota. I’ll be watching some key local races, with an eye toward trends. More than 20 years of covering local news and 10 years of live-blogging Northern Minnesota elections give me a perspective some might find valuable. Who am I? I’m…
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Celebrating 10 years at MinnesotaBrown
Polls just opened here amid the pine forests of Northern Minnesota and across the whole technicolor landscape of the United States of America. In this pause before the flurry of tonight’s election results, let me remark on 10 years of blogging. It was on this day in 2006, the day after the election, that I started posting original…
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Top 5 races to watch in Northern Minnesota
Election Day 2016 arrives tomorrow. As in, within 24 hours of this post. It’s really going to happen. It’s really going to be over. You’ve got a lot of places to read speculation on the presidential race, but only one place to read speculation on Northern Minnesota’s closest down-ballot races. I’d love to diagram every seat…
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Hacked and misinformed: America’s new civil war
Scholars mark history by turning points. We’ve reached another one. Everything after will be different. In my conversations with friends and family, in my experience with social media, and in my best effort to understand people with many different opinions, I have reached a troubling conclusion. Most Americans will cast their ballot on Tuesday believing things that aren’t…
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Trump, Pence plan Minnesota ‘fly-in’ rallies
Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump will speak today at 2 p.m. at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Monday, his running mate Mike Pence will speak at 9:30 a.m. at the Duluth International Airport. This Minnesota blitz represents a remarkable amount of attention for the Republican ticket to pay to a state that reliably votes Democratic in…