Category: Overburden

  • Finish your Iron Range holiday shopping with this book

    Finish your Iron Range holiday shopping with this book

    If you’re looking for a off-beat gift idea for anyone with a connection or curiosity about northern Minnesota, consider my book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” It’s a couple years old, now, but has aged well in that I’d only add minor revisions after recent events. “Overburden” is a blend of personal memoir…

  • MinnesotaBrown wants YOU (to report precinct results) for PRIZES

    MinnesotaBrown wants YOU (to report precinct results) for PRIZES

    In my posts about the State House 6B and Congressional MN-8 primary races I talk about several precincts that might give us a clue about the final results as they roll in Tuesday evening. I selected these randomly, with a small bit of strategy. Hence I’m proud to announce a special deal with the MinnesotaBrown.com community,…

  • A Twitter chat about Modern Life on the Iron Range

    A Twitter chat about Modern Life on the Iron Range

    This Sunday afternoon I’ll be discussing my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” on Twitter. (@minnesotabrown) “Overburden,” a humor/historical work of creative nonfiction, attempts to understand our unusual rust belt region as it crosses into a new era. The Twitter chat will occur from 2-4 p.m. Sunday on the hashtag #LPBooks. The talk…

  • The Almanac Trip, or "So now I guess I really should write a novel"

    The Almanac Trip, or "So now I guess I really should write a novel"

    If you missed my segment on TPT’s Almanac this weekend here’s the link (My bit is at the :30 mark, halfway through). The trip to the Twin Cities was a success and a welcome February diversion. We got home Saturday night before the big snow storm hit Sunday. As I wrote last week, Almanac is…

  • Almanac and the big city, here we come

    Almanac and the big city, here we come

    This Friday at 7 p.m. I’ll be in St. Paul appearing on TPT’s Almanac, the popular news magazine program that airs live on PBS affiliates across Minnesota. Cathy Wurzer will interview me as part of her series on regional authors for my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” and varied other writings. For…

  • Come see "Overburden 2.0" talk today, Sunday in Virgina, Minn.

    Come see "Overburden 2.0" talk today, Sunday in Virgina, Minn.

    I almost forgot to mention it, but if you have some free time this afternoon and are near Virginia, Minnesota, I will be speaking at a St. Michael’s Foundation free seminar from 2-3 p.m. I will highlight some of the themes from my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” including some new material…

  • Thanks again, readers!

    Thanks to all those who participated in my “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” signed book promotion for the holidays. We had takers from Las Vegas, southern California, suburban Washington, D.C., and, of course, Cook. A few more are in process. Thanks to everyone! You can still order the book online in time for…

  • The 2010 "Overburden" holiday promotion!

    Three years. That’s what they say represents the life of a traditional trade paperback book, such as my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” This means that as 2011 approaches we are entering the last of the prime years of “Overburden,” the book I wrote for the lost generation of Iron Rangers tooling…

  • Overburden wins another kind review

    My book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” received a very favorable review from Mark Munger at his Cloquet River Press blog. Munger, a notable northern Minnesota author and well regarded judge, offers the following: For a young person, Aaron Brown possesses extraordinary powers of reflection and observation. He also happens to be one…

  • Awesome lecture to be dropped like hot on Saturday

    Awesome lecture to be dropped like hot on Saturday

    “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” ~Abraham Lincoln “The richest village in the world.”~Hibbing’s reputation during the tenure of 10-time village president Victor Power “The Iron Range will never, never, never be the same.”~Gov. Rudy Perpich, after the iron mining collapse of 1982. “Don’t call it a comeback.…

  • Lincoln, Power and Perpich

    Lincoln, Power and Perpich

    With another political season upon us, the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm has opened a new exhibit reminding us of times when politics was even more important (and somehow even dirtier). “Abraham Lincoln, a Man of His Time, a Man for All Times” debuted this week, with a localized exhibit highlighting two important Iron Range…

  • Hey, wanna buy a bunch of rocks? We’ve got some

    Hey, wanna buy a bunch of rocks? We’ve got some

    “Overburden” is more than just the title of my award-winning book (though principally that’s what it is). Overburden is also a real word that means something “miney.” Miney is my new word for things related to the mining industry. You start saying things like this after a few years of covering the mining industry. Anyway,…

  • Thank you, Britt!

    Thank you, Britt!

    Thanks to the Britt Community Historical Society and all the wonderful people I met last night at the group’s annual dinner held in the Sandy Town Hall. I was honored to give the keynote speech and share more of my theories about Range past, present and future, the roots of which are in my book…

  • What/where is Britt? Find that and more Sunday

    What/where is Britt? Find that and more Sunday

    I never signed up to be a historian (an historian? See, I don’t even know) but write a book that tangentially involves history and BAM you be one. The bar is low, but I aim high. That’s why I’ll be the keynote speaker at the Britt Community Historical Society Annual Dinner on Sunday, July 11…

  • Get your signed copy of "Overburden" between ballots

    Get your signed copy of "Overburden" between ballots

    If you happen to be at the DFL convention in Duluth this weekend, consider stopping by to buy a signed copy of “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” I’m a delegate out of the Itasca County group and will be on the floor. The books probably won’t be on the floor, but I’ll be…