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Hey! Hey! Hands off my hay!
This morning, NPR aired this story about hay thefts on the Great Plains. With drought across much of the country, hay is a precious commodity these days, commanding double the normal price. This has prompted hay rustling, which is funny when you think about the size and highly visible location of most hay bales. I…
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Nolan lifts curtain on backroom congressional fundraising
WTIP’s Jay Andersen has this intriguing interview with Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) as he prepares to take office in January. It was noted in the interview that Nolan’s election this November represents a 32-year span between his last term, which ended in 1980, and the one he’ll begin soon. Nolan spends most of the interview…
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‘Value-added’ setback reminds of Range’s inherent value
The Mesabi Daily News penned a Sunday, Dec. 2, editorial about the decision by Magnetation to locate their pellet production plant in Reynolds, Indiana, instead of on the western Mesabi Iron Range where they mine and partially process their raw ore. The Bill Hanna opinion is one shared across the region: disappointment. “And that should…
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Unique gifts from northern Minnesota’s Iron Range
If you’re looking for unique gifts with a connection to northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, check out Made on the Range. This was rolled out several months ago but is updated for the holiday season now. Tony Sertich, commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), held a press event touting the website yesterday.…
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Remixing the Rainbow
This hit the spot this morning: Another PBS ‘remix’ of a popular children’s program, this one “Reading Rainbow.” Oh, boy, it occurs to me how much I dug Reading Rainbow as a kid. This video gave me flashbacks. When I realized that Levar Burton from “Reading Rainbow” was Jordy on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”…
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Swedish paper profiles complicated story of Bob Dylan in Hibbing
Reporter Kristin Lundell and photographer Karin Grip visited Hibbing in October to do a feature for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, one of the nation’s largest dailies. Today, Lundell’s story and Grip’s photos ran in a huge three-page feature in the Culture section. You can read the story in Swedish here or the Google translation…
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COLUMN: Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles
This is my Sunday column for the Dec. 2, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles By Aaron J. Brown Nothing sets the table for an interesting period in history like a failed strike. There was much-ballyhooed strike over Thanksgiving weekend surrounding employees at Wal-Mart. Garnering great attention,…
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The holiday project, light unto a dark universe
Today ends November and welcomes December, a month that, in America at least, brings a contradictory swirl of non-stop holiday and additional work duties. Have fun! Relax! Get your work done! We usually fire people before the end of the year! Don’t worry, though, we wouldn’t do that on Christmas! The topic on Saturday’s “Between…
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The lessons of a Rust Belt upbringing
I read this post, “Born into Ruin: How the Young are Changing Cleveland” by Richey Piiparinen yesterday and it floored me. Read this: It’s true. I am not happy all the time living in Cleveland. But I don’t want to be happy all the time. That’s unnatural. Said Nietzsche: “Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we…
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Next Minneapolis police chief has northern MN roots
Tomorrow the Minneapolis City Council is expected to confirm acting police chief Janee Harteau as the permanent chief of police of Minnesota’s largest urban area. Reaction to Harteau at a hearing yesterday was very positive. The story is generating a lot of attention because Harteau would be the city’s first female police chief and the…
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Nolan names campaign manager as chief of staff
U.S. Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) has named his campaign manager as his new chief of staff for his Washington office and Minnesota field offices. Michael Misterek led Nolan’s successful campaign against outgoing Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in one of the nation’s most-watched congressional races. There are often mixed results when campaign staff are kept on…
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Finish your Iron Range holiday shopping with this book
If you’re looking for a off-beat gift idea for anyone with a connection or curiosity about northern Minnesota, consider my book, “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” It’s a couple years old, now, but has aged well in that I’d only add minor revisions after recent events. “Overburden” is a blend of personal memoir…
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Duluth’s economic rebirth among year’s top stories
One of the big northern Minnesota stories this year has to be the economic revitalization of Duluth. Seat of the northern Minnesota industrial frontier, Duluth long languished with its Iron Range brethren in economic dependence on a handful of volatile natural resource industries. This year, decades of efforts to diversify and attract residents and visitors…
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Dark chapter of Minnesota history gets national treatment
Last weekend’s episode of “This American Life” was entirely dedicated to Minnesota history. Holy cow, just let those words sink in. Monday’s podcast release made for a big day around here. The story, “Little War on the Prairie,” surrounds a Mankato native and public radio reporter John Biewen, now working at Duke University in North…
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Magnetation selects Indiana for iron ore pellet plant
After considering Grand Rapids, Minn. and Superior, Wis., Iron Range-based Magnetation has selected Reynolds, Indiana for the site of its new pellet plant. They will ship raw materials out of their unique scram mining operation in Itasca County to this facility, which will now include two additional processing sites. The press release follows: Magnetation LLC…