-
A new look at MinnesotaBrown
You’ll notice some changes here at MinnesotaBrown.com. With some fantastic help from my wife Christina we’ve implemented a new template and header. This is part of my long range plan to do more creative work here on the blog in addition to my established regional and state commentary. Think The Awl but with mostly one…
-
Keep Looking Up
When you live in a place like the Iron Range, you learn to cope with a lot of stuff that needs “saving.” Local businesses need saving. Mines need saving. The arts need saving. Schools need saving. Everybody’s got problems and no institution is really safe. The population is aging and the economy is stuck wearing…
-
Trite ships loiter in Duluth harbor, remain awesome
Tall ships dock at the harbor of Duluth, Minnesota! The tall ships are wooden sailing vessels with towering masts and an old timey feel. They are not pirate ships; rather, they hearken a bygone day when ships like these often sunk in poor weather, and/or facilitated the harpooning of whales. Many ships like these are…
-
Don’t cross check the lion (and other Chicago images)
OK, so I know I failed to offer more Iron Ranger “On the Road” tales from my Chicago trip last weekend. I got mired in conference business and then on the last day I spent 12 hours at O’Hare International Airport fighting for passage back to my native land here in northern Minnesota. More on…
-
Planes, trains and automobiles: the true story
On the ground in Chicago. I love Chicago. I don’t love the suburbs. I took some pictures but don’t have a camera cord. I made some notes and amusing observations, but lack the will to write them down here tonight. So, tomorrow. I’ll say this. In keeping with my choice of graphics in yesterday’s preview…
-
An Iron Range journey into John Hughes territory
Tomorrow morning I’ll be on the plane that buzzes above my woodland house every morning as it approaches the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing. We don’t have many commercial flights in and out of the Iron Range. It was a big deal when they added the third daily flight this year. The red winged aircraft…
-
If you like lakes, like this link
My essay “10,000 lakes, 10,000 dreams” was selected to appear in the Voices for the Lakes project organized by the 1000 Friends of Minnesota organization. Several Minnesota writers entered works for consideration. The goal is to bring attention to the issues and cultural impact of Minnesota’s lakes. Starting this week they are releasing one of…
-
At the blogroads
It’s been a gut check week for me and this blog. I had intended for MinnesotaBrown to be a titanic force at last weekend’s DFL convention in Duluth. We had some fun, I guess. My convention re-cap got a little bit of attention, but mostly I was just another delegate struggling with the lousy wi–fi…
-
Drain that pit
While I was busy at the convention I missed this Bob Kelleher MPR story on the Canisteo Pit by Bovey from last Friday. The mine pit waters in the Canisteo have been steadily rising since mining ended there decades ago and the water is now starting to flood Bovey. If the pit wall fails, parts…
-
The Case of the Missing Medallion is Resolved
Today I reveal a secret I’ve been keeping for several weeks. Hibbing’s Winter Frolic 2010 just wrapped up with the coronation of the new queen and the ceremonial helmetting of the Titan of Taconite. One of the mainstays of this Iron Range town’s annual festival is the Winter Frolic Medallion hunt. A series of clues…
-
COLUMN: "To sleep, perchance to write"
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. To sleep, perchance to writeBy Aaron J. Brown Dreams supposedly reflect your fears, inadequacies, hopes and desires. Lately I’ve been having writing dreams. Recently, I told everyone I know that I was stepping away from blogging to focus…
-
Dylan Days names creative writing contest winners
As some of you know, one of my side projects is co-organizing Dylan Days in Hibbing, Minnesota and coordinating the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. Well, for those interested we just announced our 2009 contest winners. This is one of the most geographically diverse pool of winners we’ve ever seen. What’s interesting is that we…
-
Punch that @&%$# kid in the &^%$^ face!
In Proctor, parents are up in arms over a move to bus children of all ages on the same routes. Concerns include safety and inappropriate language by older kids. As a rural kid, I spent two hours a day on the bus. And yes, I got hit on the head with a skateboard once and…
-
What’s with the guy in the green shirt?
Last week I detailed my first-ever Twin Cities book tour and teased the fact that some finagling friends snuck (sneaked?) me onto the House floor for a photo. Forgive the self-indulgence but here it is, fresh from the mail: From left to right, House Majority Leader Tony Sertich (I served on his first campaign), me…
-
A ‘vital’ life in the ‘Zone of Plenty’
One of the best things about writing a book like “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” is all the stories, clippings and first hand accounts that people give you afterward that weren’t in my book. This little number arrived in the mail last week from a Mr. Earl Currie. It’s a 1943 advertisement for…