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The writing life at MinnesotaBrown.com
This is just a reminder that this blog is just one of several ongoing writing projects. You can hear my Northern Community Radio commentaries on the Morning Show and Between You and Me. My column appears every Sunday in the Hibbing (Minn.) Daily Tribune. I write and produce Northern Community Radio’s Great Northern Radio Show.…
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Iron mining has strong 2012; poised for bumps in 2013
The Star Tribune reported yesterday the strong year by northern Minnesota taconite operations and the potential for a slight slow-down in 2013. The Iron Range economy is deeply tied to national and international trends. All our line graphs roughly resemble the national ones. The difference is timing. We don’t always go up or down at…
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Nolan named to key House transporation committee
Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) announced today that he has been named to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Since WWII, northeastern Minnesota’s members of Congress have all served on some version of this committee. Reps. John Blatnik and Jim Oberstar both chaired the committee at different times and outgoing Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8), a former…
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Great Northern alum headlines ‘Acoustic Cafe’ tonight in Chisholm
I haven’t been writing about it every week, but you should know that the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm has continued its free Thursday night live music events called “Acoustic Cafe.” From 5-9 p.m. the cultural center offers free admission so you can hear the tunes and check out what’s new around the former Ironworld.…
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Looking back at the Letterman years
Though having kids dramatically reshaped how I watch late night television, I probably logged as many hours watching David Letterman in my teens and early 20s as anyone but the feed managers at NBC and CBS. It was cool to see him honored recently by the Kennedy Center for his work. CBS is re-airing the…
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What is the sound of five accordions playing A-Ha?
OK, time to change up from the seasonal music: That would be A-Ha’s “Take on Me” by five young accordionists from the KUM SONG School, filmed in Pyongyang, North Korea a year ago. (h/t Dan Lewis’s “Now I Know” newsletter, which has more fascinating back story on North Korea’s fondness for accordions) Related posts: No…
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Merry Christmas and Happy Reading from MinnesotaBrown.com
Our boys met Santa Claus at Bentleyville earlier this month. Happy Christmas Eve! I’m not really here blogging on Christmas Eve. God willing, I’m on a sled somewhere, skidding down an unsafe hill with one, two or all three of my offspring. I’m eating pickles wrapped in salami bound with cream cheese, pouring coffee down…
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Hear Great Northern Radio Show holiday special now
If you can’t get to a radio Monday at noon to hear the rebroadcast of last Saturday night’s Great Northern Radio Show originally broadcast live from the Edge Center in Bigfork, try this. Below is the embedded sound file available at PRX, where independent public radio stations in Minnesota can pick up the program for…
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Newsweek previews final print edition cover
Newsweek has previewed the final cover of its print edition. It now becomes an entirely online publication called Newsweek Global, published by parent company The Daily Beast. I went to college for print journalism, graduating just a couple years before my college ended its print journalism program. The media has changed so much in such…
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Another yule blog on the fire
You may have noticed that I’ve been feeling Christmasy. So, for those celebrating, enjoy Porky Pig singing “Blue Christmas,” Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa,” and a DMX impromptu rap of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” You might also enjoy my nostalgia-laden series on “Will Vinton’s Claymation Christmas Celebration” from earlier in the week. We talk about…
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COLUMN: So this is Christmas
This is my Sunday column for the Dec. 23, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Merry Christmas and/or Happy New Year to all! So this is ChristmasBy Aaron J. Brown You know that Christmas can be all kinds of trouble when you get an e-mail from the Human Resources department at work telling you…
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Hear the Great Northern Radio Show tonight
William Kessler as the 400-year-old elf who gives us our orders You can hear last week’s live recording of the Great Northern Radio Show from the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork, Minnesota, tonight at 9 p.m. on Northern Community Radio (91.7 in Grand Rapids/Iron Range, 89.9 Brainerd, 90.5 Bemidji, or streaming). They will…
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Come on, come on, RUDOLPH … Uh. Uh-huh.
Rapper DMX drops a killer version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” during a stop at a radio station. Safe for work. Safe for everywhere. Related posts: No related posts.
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Tired of holiday music? Try some Back Door Santa
Another alternative to traditional Christmas music, an R&B throwback with Mr. Clarence Carter: Related posts: No related posts.
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Cravaack may just leave; Nolan comeback turns heads
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) gave an interview to the Star Tribune, essentially saying that he is likely leaving politics and Minnesota to rejoin his family in New Hampshire. It’s interesting reading for those who followed one of the most closely-watched congressional races in the country. Cravaack did not close the door on a…