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Big ideas at TEDx Silver Lake
On Feb. 23, TEDx Silver Lake will take place at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia, Minnesota. Based on the popular TED conferences, TEDx events welcome speakers to present interesting ideas that build community and grow knowledge. The theme for this event is “Crossing the Divide.” I bring this up because I know…
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Sun shines on Iron Range solar prospects
The Minnesota Reformer published my latest essay today, the first of the new year. This one is entitled “Solar energy shines on the Iron Range; will politics throw shade.” In the past ten years or so, the Iron Range’s relationship with the solar energy industry has been something of a roller coaster. In 2011, Silicon…
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FARGO, Season 5, Episode 8: ‘Blanket’
Northern Minnesota author Aaron J. Brown reviews each episode of “Fargo” with an eye for unique details from the place where the show is set. The ratings range from INTERESTING (bad), to COULD BE WORSE (not so good) to PRETTY GOOD (not so bad), and OH, YA! (real good then). Beware the spoilers. ‘Blanket’ (Original…
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Year’s top words signal massive change
Why do people seem so unsettled even as measurable data shows an improving economy and wondrous new technology? Well, the world’s on fire, both literally and figuratively. Culture and politics factor in, too. It’s hard to rest easy when we’re constantly agitated. American society seems perpetually disappointed that we aren’t getting what’s shown in the…
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MinnesotaBrown: Top Posts of 2023
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound? That old philosophical query runs through my mind as I pose a new question: if a writer stops tracking his web traffic, does anyone read what he wrote? Of course, the answer is that I think so, but can’t…
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FARGO, Season 5, Episode 7: ‘Linda’
Northern Minnesota author Aaron J. Brown reviews each episode of “Fargo” with an eye for unique details from the place where the show is set. The ratings range from INTERESTING (bad), to COULD BE WORSE (not so good) to PRETTY GOOD (not so bad), and OH, YA! (real good then). Beware the spoilers. ‘Linda’ When…
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The dark days of light
In winter, I turn my garden bean arch into a light arch. I run strings of white lights along each metal wire of the cattle panel. Then, when I am sad, I stand under the lights. This has been happening more often. After all, this is a sad season in sad times. I do not…
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FARGO, Season 5, Episode 6: ‘The Tender Trap’
Northern Minnesota author Aaron J. Brown reviews each episode of “Fargo” with an eye for unique details from the place where the show is set. The ratings range from INTERESTING (bad), to COULD BE WORSE (not so good) to PRETTY GOOD (not so bad), and OH, YA! (real good then). Beware the spoilers. The Tender…
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The end of U.S. Steel and the triumph of the corporation
This morning we learned that Nippon Steel of Japan will purchase U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion as part of a deal approved by both companies’ boards over the weekend. My latest for the Minnesota Reformer explores the deal and its historic implications. U.S. Steel owns or has a stake in three mines on the Mesabi…
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Rural EMS needs emergency policy solutions
Small towns and rural counties across the state face an emergency services crisis. Failure to solve the problem could leave rural people without timely access to advanced life support after accidents or medical incidents. On Nov. 25, I wrote about challenges facing the Nashwauk ambulance service in eastern Itasca County. In subsequent weeks, communities across…
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FARGO, Season 5, Episode 5: ‘The Tiger’
Northern Minnesota author Aaron J. Brown reviews each episode of “Fargo” with an eye for unique details from the place where the show is set. The ratings range from INTERESTING (bad), to COULD BE WORSE (not so good) to PRETTY GOOD (not so bad), and OH, YA! (real good then). Beware the spoilers. ‘The Tiger’…
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The steel wheels of fortune spin again
Strange clouds hovered over Hibbing recently. From a distance, they looked like smoke or haze, but the phenomenon was actually dust blown off the dumps and tailings dams of Hibbing Taconite. Normally, mitigation prevents this from happening. But it was too cold to water anything and there was no snow to suppress the dust like…
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The power dynamics at the root of Iron Range history
Last week, I gave a talk about race and power in the immigrant dynamic of the Mesabi Iron Range. It was a challenging topic, but I like to think I approached it in a non-dogmatic way. I realized after it was done that I didn’t finish one of the stories I started in the Q&A.…
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FARGO, Season 5, Episode 4: ‘Insolubilia’
Northern Minnesota author Aaron J. Brown reviews each episode of “Fargo” with an eye for unique details from the place where the show is set. The ratings range from INTERESTING (bad), to COULD BE WORSE (not so good) to PRETTY GOOD (not so bad), and OH, YA! (real good then). Beware the spoilers. ‘Insolubilia’ (Original…
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Range housing woes hit home
My kids aren’t kids anymore. In just a few years they’ll move out on their own. I remember the excitement of that time of life, but as a parent I’m struck by the enormous financial burdens they’ll face. In 1999, our first apartment rent in Hibbing was a little over $300 a month. You can’t…