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The complicated emotional baggage of admitting it’s cold
We’ve got quite a predicament here in northern Minnesota. It’s cold. We’re under a wind chill advisory right now. Tonight at midnight we have a wind chill warning, with -50 wind chills and a high tomorrow of -14. That’s a high. If we’re lucky, -14 is as hot as it’ll get. Exposed skin will experience…
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Brown on the Air: Talking Northern MN politics this afternoon.
I’ll be appearing on the LeftMN Radio Hour on AM950 in the Twin Cities Sunday from 2-3 p.m. You can stream the station online. The program will eventually be archived at LeftMN. The topic will be U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and his first few weeks on the job representing northern Minnesota in Congress. Related posts:…
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COLUMN: The broadband crossroads
This is my Sunday column for the Jan. 20, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The broadband crossroadsBy Aaron J. Brown Last week I chatted with my cousin and his new wife. They were in Philadelphia; we spoke through an internet video phone connection at my grandparents’ home in Keewatin, Minnesota. While my cousin…
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NY Times highlights Sax-Zim bog in recent story
Oh, my bog! The Sax-Zim Peat Bog, the location of my childhood, is in the New York Times. It’s a bird story. You gotta like birds. The picture at right, which often appears on this blog, is of a former road sign once found in the Sax-Zim Peat Bog. Every year I write a predictions…
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Trampled by Turtles to mark 10th anniversary with MN tour
Trampled by Turtles announced their 10th Anniversary Minnesota Tour this week and tickets just went on sale. My Cheapskate bride and I nabbed a pair of tickets for the May 8 Grand Rapids, Minnesota, show at the Reif Center. Get your tickets here. I’m sure this show will have me scheming for my June 29…
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EPA issues plan for taconite industry to cut haze
The Duluth News Tribune reports on the EPA’s plan to reduce haze from taconite plant emissions on Minnesota’s Iron Range and in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It seems like the mining companies are still sorting out exactly what the regulations will mean, but certainly some environmental upgrades at most taconite plants are in the offing. The…
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Trampled by Turtles go shells to the wall on Conan
If you missed last night’s performance by Duluth-based Trampled by Turtles on “Conan,” here it is: It’s pretty sweet. Boy these guys look like they’re from here, don’t they? Related posts: No related posts.
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Now we know what happened to the toilet garden in Skunk Hollow
Lee “Woody” Jackson, a local septic system entrepreneur, has written a letter in today’s Grand Rapids Herald-Review about the fate of his toilet garden in a part of the northern Minnesota town known as Skunk Hollow. This letter should rightly shame city leadership. I, too, miss the toilet garden. Related posts: No related posts.
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Grand Rapids readies for Hockey Day showdowns
This weekend, Hockey Day comes to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Saturday, Jan. 19 brings outdoor hockey to Pokegama Lake. Some of the state’s top prep hockey teams will play a triple header that is aired on statewide cable network Fox Sports North. First on deck, Eagan vs. Hibbing. Need I say more?UPDATE: I should say more.…
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The economics of taconite and melting ice
Last Sunday, Robin Washington at the Duluth News Tribune raised an interesting question. With melting polar ice, new shipping lanes are opening in the Arctic Circle. The Russians are capitalizing by running ore boats through the slush, cutting down massive costs. The United States? Our trade routes this far north are questionable, but with steel…
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Leading by Skype? Not at public meetings, says attorney
An interesting question for local governments has been raised in the small northern Minnesota town of Cohasset. Recently, a city councilor participated in a meeting via Skype, from somewhere in California. According to this Lisa Rosemore story in the Grand Rapids Herald-Review, councilor Dennis Blankensop was involved in discussions and voted. The city believes this…
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Trampled by Turtles to perform on Conan Wednesday night
Trampled by Turtles, the progressive bluegrass sensation based in northern Minnesota, will appear on Conan this Wednesday night on TBS. The show airs at 10 p.m. with the musical appearing sometime after 10:45 p.m. TBS rebroadcasts the show during overnight hours as well. Last week, Duluth Mayor Don Ness was a regional viral sensation with…
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Minnesota blogger’s family needs help
I heard from Audrey Helbling at Minnesota Prairie Roots last week. She is raising attention and assistance for a Minnesota blogger whose family is in crisis. The husband of Nina Hedin was badly hurt in a snowmobile accident. Nina writes the Adventures of Artsy Nina. Audrey explains at her blog. This family could use help.…
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COLUMN: The least stressed among us
This is my Sunday column for the Jan. 13, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. The least stressed among usBy Aaron J. Brown A while back I talked about holiday stress affecting American workers. Now that the holidays are over and a new year upon us, we enter a cold reality: we decked the…
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Rain, ice, elevated panic abound up north today
St. Louis County is advising no travel on gravel roads along the Iron Range region. Now, I live just over the line in Itasca County but it’s pretty much the same deal here. And considering that I live at the end of a long gravel road surrounded by impenetrable forest, you have a pretty good…