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FARGO REVIEW: Ep. 7, ‘Did You Do This? No, You Did It!’
The seventh episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Did You Do This? No, You Did!” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family…
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Awkward Minnesota turkey non-pardon ceremony continues
On Monday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton greeted a frightened turkey in a poorly-lit conference room somewhere near his St. Paul office. While the President typically pardons a turkey every Thanksgiving, turkeys aren’t pardoned here in the nation’s leading turkey-producing state. One ceremonial bird is “greeted,” “petted,” and then whisked back to the turkey farm to rise…
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Free Park Friday lets Minnesota hike off the giblets
Last week, state officials announced that the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, would be “Free Park Friday,” in which entrance fees would be waived at all Minnesota State Parks. The goal is to encourage families to enjoy the state park system, spend time together, and stay active after a traditional day of overindulgence. Here at MinnesotaBrown…
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Fargo will be back for third season
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Noah Hawley’s “Fargo” has been renewed for a third season on the FX network. Once again, the new season of “Fargo” will involve an entirely original cast of characters and plot line set in the fictionalized Minnesota landscape first created by hometown filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. As many of you know, I write…
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Immigrant experience brought to life by Hibbing violinist
Hibbing native and world-traveling violinist Sara Pajunen will appear in her hometown for a special concert at Hibbing Community College on Tuesday night. Here is the information: Exploring the Immigrant Story: Violinist Sara Pajunen will perform Laatikko/Box at the Hibbing Community College Theater on Tuesday, November 24th at 7 p.m. This is a FREE multimedia concert.…
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Is this the 1980s again on the Iron Range?
I grew up in the 1980s on a junkyard just a few miles south of Eveleth Taconite. Growing up on a junkyard is probably the best way to understand the things humans build, sell, use and discard. So let’s consider a new car. I’ve only ever bought one brand new car fresh off the lot. It…
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Home for the holidays, as if we ever left
It’s fitting to talk about family reunions this time of year. Everyone’s coming home. First comes Thanksgiving. Then Hanukkah. Christmas. New Years. Car doors slam. Snow crunches on familiar sidewalks. Huggers hug, smokers smoke, the rest waive awkwardly before reaching for snacks. These early winter holidays center around families coming together to celebrate what matters…
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Reed Drug in Grand Rapids, MN, to close
Reed Drug, arguably the most iconic downtown business in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, will close its pharmacy this Monday, Nov. 23 at the end of the business day. The gift store will close at the end of the year. The store has been at this location since 1955, though has been operating in Grand Rapids since…
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State to fund Itasca County rural broadband proposal
Company officials just announced that Paul Bunyan Communication received a nearly $2 million grant from Minnesota’s Border to Broadband program to bring high speed internet to underserved regions. Their proposal would connect 1,250 households in rural Itasca County to better, more affordable internet options than currently available. My friend Tom Anzelc, fellow Balsam Township resident…
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Magnetation warns union of plant shutdown in 2016
Today, Magnetation announced it has warned its union that it will likely shut down one of its Iron Range iron concentrate plants on or after Jan. 31, 2016. Fifty More than 160 employees could be laid off or otherwise affected for longer than six months. Magnetation, based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, is a scram mining operation on the…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 6, ‘Rhinoceros’
The sixth episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Rhinoceros,” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate based in Fargo is…
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Cliffs will idle another Iron Range mine through March
This morning Cliffs Natural Resources announced that beginning on Dec. 1 it would idle Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay at least through March of 2016. Cliffs also announced that already-idled United Taconite in Eveleth would remain shut down at least that long as well. Company leaders say the shutdown will end when market conditions…
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See author of historic Range cookbook in Hibbing, Chisholm
You might recall my review of the wonderful new Iron Range-themed cookbook “Come, You Taste” by B.J. Carpenter. I thought the book was a fantastic cultural artifact, historical document and functional cookbook. My wife Christina Brown recently reviewed the book for her site, the Northern Cheapskate, and actually made one of the recipes! (PS: Yum!) Carpenter…
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Stop it. Dot com. Dot … html.
Remember that cantankerous “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney? Or the old Chicago metro columnist Mike Royko? Even the Duluth News Tribune had Jim Heffernan. They each had an opinion about everything. As a young writer I admired them more than would be considered normal. I remember one of them, Heffernan I think, wrote something about…
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Miss the barn show? Tune in Sunday
LISTEN NOW to the Larson’s Barn show. Last weekend, I hosted another edition of the Great Northern Radio Show on Northern Community Radio. This one aired live from Larson’s Barn outside McGregor, Minnesota. It was our 17th show and marked four full years doing these hyper-local variety programs from small towns and off-the-beaten-path places around the…