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Finding Minnesota in ‘Fargo’
When Joel and Ethan Coen’s film “Fargo” came out in 1996 I used my brand-new drivers license to trek from the Iron Range to Duluth to see opening night. Everyone was hopped up over the fact that a pretty big movie was set right here in northern Minnesota. But the excitement quickly turned. “Aw, jeez.…
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Feature film ‘Strange Nature’ to be filmed in rural Itasca Co.
As many of you know, I live in the forests of rural Itasca County, Minnesota. It appears that the quiet summer splendor of my deep woods neighborhood will be disturbed, if only temporarily, by the filming of an original feature-length horror movie based on the true story of mutant frogs. “Strange Nature” by filmmaker Jim Ojala will…
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Trampled by Turtles preview new album in hometown show
Trampled by Turtles will unveil tracks from their new album “Wild Animals” at a show in Bayfront Park in TBT’s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, this Saturday. Christa Lawler previewed the Duluth Trampled by Turtles concert and album in this Wednesday feature in the Duluth News Tribune. “Wild Animals” is due out July 15, though some…
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Talking MN-8, mining on AM950
On Wednesday, June 25, I did a fairly extensive interview on AM950’s Morning Grind in the Twin Cities with guest hosts Wilhelm Davis and CityPages’ Aaron Rupar. The topic: Northern Minnesota mining and Eighth District politics. You can listen or download the podcast; I’m in the second half hour. It’s a pretty good primer on issues like Essar,…
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Summer of the Iron Range selfie
Iron Range Tourism is putting on a unique contest this summer called “Get Your Selfie on the Iron Range.” Take a picture of yourself at an Iron Range tourism attraction and post it to the Iron Range Tourism FB or Instagram page (or e-mail it to them) and you’ll be eligible for a $500 prize.…
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Oberstar memorials held today, Friday
Today and tomorrow, June 26-27, memorials for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar will be held in Minneapolis, Duluth and Chisholm. I posted my thoughts on Jim last month. The press release information is here for those planning to cover or attend the events: Memorials for Congressman Jim Oberstar to be Held This Week Governor Dayton,…
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Hear Ely Great Northern Radio Show, support KAXE/KBXE
I took my Great Northern Radio Show up to Ely, Minnesota, on June 14 and had a wonderful time telling stories, making music and approximating humor. People seemed to like the show, which aired live on Northern Community Radio, and I’d argue that it was a pretty good calling card for what we do: explore the…
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End of the Range Artists Association
An Iron Range organization that has planned the art exhibit at the annual St. Louis County Fair and run camps and art education programs for decades is no more. The Range Artists Association voted to disband its 501(C)3 nonprofit organization last spring and is now in the process of vacating its Howard Street studio in…
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2,000 attend Iron Range ‘Save Our Steel’ Jobs rally
Going into Monday’s “Save Our Steel (SOS) Jobs” Rally outside the Miner’s Memorial Building in Virginia, Minnesota, I was unsure how well people would turn out given the nice weather and otherwise healthy taconite production the Range. Well, about 2,000 people showed, according to media estimates. That exceeded what I expected. This was a well-coordinated…
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Eveleth on Eveleth: the Range’s internet problem
Though most people there probably don’t know it, Eveleth, Minnesota, made The Atlantic magazine this week. Rose Eveleth, a tech writer for the venerated publication, wrote an interesting personal essay exploring how she came to know the town by virtue of it having the same name as her family. In essence, she got an e-mail…
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No time for desperation on the Iron Range
It was my freshman year of high school and I was running for re-election as class president. As a power-hungry nerd, you can imagine the stakes. I had come to school that day prepared to fend off challenges. I was ready for everything, except one thing: fate. As a joke, my friends decided to nominate…
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The Good & Bad of MN jobs data
This week the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) released new employment numbers. The news was good: The agency said the state has added 45,617 jobs in the past year, a growth rate of 1.6 percent, compared with a U.S. growth rate of 1.8 percent during that period. Since January 2011, the state has…
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IRRRB mulls 2015 budget, projects, school funds
This Monday the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will consider its Fiscal Year 2015 budget at its regular meeting at the IRRRB headquarters south of Eveleth, Minnesota. Next year’s budget tallies in at almost $41 million, about $2.5 million less than this year. Major changes include a continued focus on shifting funds to K-12…
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FARGO REVIEW: Series Finale, “Morton’s Fork”
The FX series “Fargo,” inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film, is based in northern Minnesota. As northern Minnesota’s leading pop culture, news, entertainment, iron mining and invasive species blog, MinnesotaBrown is here to review the show through Minnesota eyes. Now, to this week’s episode: For the past 10 weeks, the makers of “Fargo” have treated…
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Iron Range ‘Save our Steel Jobs’ rally Monday
United Steelworkers and U.S. Steel are joining forces to protest the dumping of foreign steel on the American market. Among many events around the country, a major “Save Our Steel Jobs” rally on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range will be held Monday, June 23 at 10 a.m. at the Miner’s Memorial Building in Virginia, Minnesota. Among…