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‘A hundred years went by’
Last week the leaves popped and it became summer on the Iron Range. Once again we fly the colors of our flag — birch green, sky blue and iron ore red. Our haunted northern Minnesota spring, which revealed all that the snow had covered, dissolves into a comfortable summer — the woods obscured by woods,…
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Chris Dahlberg’s dark horse bid falls short
Republicans endorsed investment banker Mike McFadden for U.S. Senate at their state convention early Saturday afternoon. With a well-financed campaign and the blessing of national Republicans, McFadden was the candidate many Democrats expected to see running against U.S. Sen. Al Franken this November. But the headline obscures a compelling story that unfolded late last night…
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Weekend political storm, clarity to follow
This weekend, delegates for Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer-Labor party meet in Duluth while Republicans gather in Rochester for their respective state conventions. The Uptake has live coverage of both events, which I recommend if you enjoy momentary political intrigue and long stretches of suffering. Most of the drama will be on the Republican side, where delegates…
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Mesaba Park arts camp is June 16-19
The Mesaba Co-op Park, one of the unique vestiges of Iron Range labor history, will be holding its 20th Annual Northstar Arts Camp, “Poetry in the Park” this summer from June 16-19. If you’re interested in a cool arts and outdoor activity for 8-14 year old kids, check this out: Registrations are being accepted for the 20th Annual…
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Blood on the tracks, ice in the harbor
Some cool events are happening in Duluth today and through the weekend. Tonight you can catch the “Blood on the Tracks Express,” an actual no-messing-around moving train that has live music and hospitality. The event is part of Duluth’s Dylan Festival, which mostly wrapped up last week (along with Dylan Days in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing).…
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‘Timberjay law’ makes gov’t contracts public
Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a bill that would make public all government contracts, applying the Minnesota Data Practices Act to private businesses. They’re calling it the “Timberjay Law.” Here’s why: Recently, the Timberjay newspaper in Cook, Tower and Ely had sued to make public an $80 million public school contract agreement between the…
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Range students build working hovercraft
Students in an engineering class at Nashwauk-Keewatin High School recently demonstrated their year-end project: a working hovercraft that can fly over water, snow and land. WDIO has the story, and video: The hovercraft uses a snowmobile engine and is built from a design the students drafted in class. Related posts: No related posts.
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 7, “Who Shaves the Barber”
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: Molly lives. Malvo lives. But as many answers as we…
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Duluth vs. Minneapolis showdown in online vote
A brutal civil war among Minnesota hipsters has broken out after the announcement that the cities of Duluth and Minneapolis both advanced to the Midwestern finals in Outdoor Magazine’s “Best Place to Live in America” online voting. Voting continues through Thursday. From Canal Park to Hell’s Kitchen, men with scraggly beards and women with fashionable…
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Oh ya, Yooper is a word now
Last Monday, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary officially enshrined the word “Yooper” in its lexicon. The charming regional entry came with the dictionary’s annual introduction of new words that also included fracking, catfishing and poutine. If you don’t know what a Yooper is, here is the official Merriam-Webster definition: Yoop·er noun \ˈyu̇-ər\ : a native or…
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See 13 hours of meat cooking on Duluth TV
Bob Collins with MPR’s News Cut blog found this gem of a story. Arby’s has been having some commercial success with its smokehouse brisket. That’s not normally news in my world, though I do enjoy slow cooked meat. To advertise their hit sandwich, and prove to the naysayers that their brisket really is smoked over…
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Great Northern Radio Show to air in Duluth
103.3 KUMD in Duluth will rebroadcast our latest edition of the Great Northern Radio Show, recorded live in Virginia, Minnesota, earlier this spring. The show airs from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, May 26, 2014: Memorial Day. For those enjoying a day outside or traveling to and from the various Memorial Day ceremonies around…
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Dylan Days opens today in Hibbing
For much of Bob Dylan’s meteoric career arc, most people in his Iron Range hometown of Hibbing called him Bobby Die-lin and wondered what he was singing about. Some still do, but by now the practice is reserved as a sort of passive-aggressive protest by people who wish they could get paid that much to…
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KAXE/KBXE passes hat for journalism
We all know the field of journalism has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Do we have to rehash this? The corporate consolidations and rise of the internet? The buy-outs and downsizing? The tendrils of public relations and marketing reaching into the minds of young people, snatching away the best talent for the most…
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‘Red Ore Renaissance’ on the Iron Range
Magnetation continues to grow on the western Mesabi Iron Range. Gov. Mark Dayton named Thursday, May 22, “Red Ore Renaissance Day” in Minnesota. Last night, the company celebrated the ongoing construction of its fourth processing plant, turning piles of waste rock from early iron mining operations into quality iron concentrate for the production of steel. Here’s…