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Mesabi Symphony Orchestra ‘pops up’ this Saturday in Hibbing
Looking for something to do on the Range this weekend? (Other than see Daniel Day-Lewis play Abraham Lincoln, which is what I’ll be doing). There’ll be some fun classical music performed at the Iron Range’s finest theater venue. The Mesabi Symphony Orchestra is celebrating 35 years of bringing classical music to the people of northeastern…
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Nolan win restores DFL, but MN-8 will keep wild edge
As you know by now, Rep.-elect Rick Nolan (D-MN8) ousted Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) in last week’s election, ending the longest, most expensive Congressional race in northern Minnesota history. I’d been saying before the election that only Tuesday’s results could shed light on the district’s new political make-up after demographic shifts and redistricting ushered in…
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Others to aid Range violence victims amid funding cuts
In the wake of news that Range Women’s Advocates is facing serious funding cuts, other groups are stepping up to ensure that families in crisis can still receive the help they need. If you know someone affected by this story, please pass along this information: Advocates for Family Peace (AFFP) has been serving families experiencing…
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Essar affirms plans for 2013 Iron Range taconite production
Essar Steel Minnesota is still eying 2013 taconite production on the Iron Range and will work through the winter on construction of its plant near Nashwauk. I spoke with Essar spokesman Kevin Kangas today after my post last night about the Anacostia and Pacific Railroad’s decision to pursue other options for the engines it had…
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Range Women’s Advocates to lose staff after state grant loss
State funding cuts from recent years are still impacting communities across the state. In northern Minnesota, Range Women’s Advocates — a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic abuse — learned this week it would not receive a necessary $500,000 grant. This will cause RWA half its workforce, and place a large caseload of clients in…
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The remarkable change of our times
It’s hard to see history through the lens of the present. So it’s easy to see last week’s election results and the preceding years of national political bickering as a continuation of more of the same-old, same-old. Washington Post writer and blogger Ezra Klein, however, sees it differently, and his observations are eye-opening. In the…
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Choo-choo choose to watch this train video
On the subject of trains, maybe Essar Steel can get a deal on this engine. Related posts: No related posts.
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Iron Range’s Essar project ‘on track’ but needs trains
(This post now contains some additions and a correction from Essar, which are indicated in italics below) Someone call Sir Topham Hatt on the Island of Sodor. A new Iron Range mining project is in great need of some “really useful engines.” At a recent meeting of the Itasca County Regional Rail Authority, officials revealed…
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With election over, northern Minnesota must win future
With the election behind us, we can now expel the fantasy that the results on their own will fix the economic challenges facing northern Minnesota. What we do have is a fresh opportunity to reorganize our region’s strategy. And really, leadership can come from anyone. Tuesday’s winners have a role, sure, but so do community…
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COLUMN: Piecing together our past
This is my Sunday column for the Nov. 11, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired yesterday on KAXE’s “Between You and Me.” Piecing together our pastBy Aaron J. Brown Memory reconstructs the past, rather than replicating it. There’s just no way around memory’s fundamental flaws; in fact, this…
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Northern Minnesota split shows how amendments went down
Early in the election season I had a conversation with a local organizer for Minnesotans United for All Families, the group fighting the proposed Marriage Amendment that failed Tuesday. Her task was to convince voters on the socially conservative Iron Range to vote against the amendment despite polls showing it running very strong in northern…
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Enjoy Great Northern Radio Show podcast, live from Eveleth
Please listen to the podcast of the Eveleth Great Northern Radio Show from our Oct. 20 live broadcast on KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio. This was our fourth show and, arguably, our best yet. I think you’ll find this to be an excellent listen, funny, sincere and with some of the best music we’ve ever shared.…
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For some larger context: story of Earth, abridged
Let’s all come down off this election jolt. This video shows the story of Earth condensed into about one minute. Those of us with spiritual beliefs hold that God is intimately aware of this story, every moment of it. But in the eyes of astronomy the life of Earth isn’t much longer than a pop…
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DFL wins big in northern Minnesota
Rick Nolan cruised to a surprisingly strong victory over Rep. Chip Cravaack in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional district. DFLers swept all but a couple northern Minnesota legislative seats, including a sweep of the SD5 “incumb-off” races and key pickups elsewhere. The DFL won the State House and State Senate by convincing margins, bringing a dramatically new…
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LIVE BLOG: Election Night 2012 in Northern Minnesota
You might think this is a liquor store making a strong political endorsement, but no. This is Hibbing DFL headquarters, built inside the bones of a recently defunct liquor store. Polls in Minnesota and across the nation have closed. I’ll report election results and behind-the-scenes information from my sources across northern Minnesota throughout the evening…