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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 4, ‘Eating the Blame’
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: You know “Fargo” on FX is getting serious when even…
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Oberstar honored by House, Great Lakes fleet
The Duluth News Tribune reports that the U.S. House of Representatives will honor the late Rep. Jim Oberstar on the floor with a moment of silence during tonight’s session. Wednesday night, the Oberstar family will host a private wake in Washington, D.C. His public funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of…
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I’m really big in Scandinavia right now
I’m coming off a banner week for MinnesotaBrown. In addition to rolling out a nice run of blog posts for the Star Tribune, I also got my first mention in the Scandinavian super-tabloid Aftonbladet. My friend Kristin Lundell, among Sweden’s leading pop culture writers, has apparently been reading my “Fargo” reviews. Älskar du tv-serien ”Fargo”?…
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Minnesota Orchestra in Hibbing all week
With the Minnesota Orchestra now back on its feet after a long labor dispute, the Iron Range community of Hibbing will welcome the Minnesota Orchestra’s four-day residence program this week and major performance Friday evening. The orchestra’s outreach program will work with community and student musicians throughout the week. Folks might remember the success of…
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2016 promises expansion of Cross-Range Expressway
Over the years I’ve written a great deal about the cross-Range expressway, a vision of a four-lane highway that spans the entirety of the Mesabi Iron Range. It was the furtive promise of highway officials back during the Lyndon Johnson Administration, largely unrealized because of massive funding and land-rights issues. In summary: it’s hard to…
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The forest for the trees
“If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.” ~ Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts (Saturday Night Live) Never mind the TV or the Internet. Trees report the real news in northern Minnesota. Is the maple sap running? Are the…
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So ends the cartoon series: ‘Happy Spring!’
A week that saw me do one of the most legitimate things in my blogging career (signing on with the Star Tribune), also sees me end one of the most illegitimate: my stint as a cartoonist. For the last several weeks I’ve written, drawn and designed an original cartoon about modern life in northern Minnesota…
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Uneasy feelings at Saturday’s #MN08 DFL convention
This story is cross-posted with my Up North Report blog at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This Saturday at 9 a.m., DFL delegates from Minnesota’s Eight Congressional District will hold their biannual convention at the Nashwauk Rec Center on the western Mesabi Iron Range. U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-MN8) is unopposed in seeking endorsement for re-election.…
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Tom Rukavina considering return to Iron Range politics?
The talk of the Iron Range political universe is the possibility of former State Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Pike Township) returning to politics with a run for St. Louis County Commissioner. Incumbent Mike Forsman of Ely is retiring, leaving an open seat in a county board district that is bigger than most legislative districts (and most…
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Range Shrine Circus opens this Friday
UPDATE: The circus is this weekend in Hibbing! Click on the poster below to find the pre-sale ticket locations, ranging from Grand Rapids in the west and Virginia in the east. The 31st Range Shrine Circus will take place Friday, May 2 through Sunday, May 4, 2014 at the Hibbing Memorial Building arena. This beloved…
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FARGO REVIEW: Raising the stakes
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: Evil schemes thicken right before they fall apart, and as…
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Civil War treasure from Trampled by Turtles
Trampled by Turtles is poised to roll out a new album “Wild Animals” on July 15, but before then I have to point out this 2012 recording of Trampled by Turtles singing “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down,” a classic by The Band penned by Robbie Robertson. This was a found treasure for me,…
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Sammy’s Pizza turns 60
Sammy’s Pizza, the place that introduced an entire generation and region to the glorious kinda-sorta Italian food known as the pizza, turns 60 this year. WDIO put together this nice report: Founded in Nashwauk before moving to Hibbing, Sammy’s remains the most iconic pizza place on the Iron Range, if only because of its longevity…
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Shared Iron Range high school plan falling apart
A major effort to build a shared high school for three Iron Range school districts is on the ropes after two of the three affected community school boards backed out of the plan in separate votes last night. Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert school boards voted to end their involvement in the co-location of a new school…
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Mesabi Daily News adds voice to broadband support
It’s always a treat when the Mesabi Daily News is this right. Saturday, Bill Hanna and the gang offered a strong endorsement of high speed internet funding, calling into question the same frustrating observations of local lawmakers’ views that I wrote about last week. The Mesabi Daily News added some good points to the discussion: And what about the…