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Oberstar speaks out on coming transportation shortfalls
MinnPost’s Marlys Harris has a profile and interview of former Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN8) on transportation issues. Oberstar might have had a hard fall after his upset defeat in 2010, but his knowledge of transportation issues continues to be remarkable. He paints a picture of the cost of infrastructure maintenance in the future, a task…
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Vote No campaign kicks of Iron Range closing argument
Though I have strong personal political views, I try to avoid letting this blog become too activist in its goals. I like to report and analyze, but also like people to make up their own minds about how to vote. This reflects a change from the early days of this blog, which many of you…
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Vice President Biden to visit Superior on Friday
The campaign stops are coming fast and furious. Vice President Joe Biden will speak in Superior, Wisconsin this Friday. It’s a dual-purpose stop, catching the swing region of northwestern Wisconsin, a vital swing state, and reinforcing the Duluth, Minnesota, media market on that side of the bridge. As you may know, Bill Clinton will speak…
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Watch Bill Clinton speak at MN rally, courtesy of @theuptake
For those who can’t attend President Bill Clinton’s rallies in Minneapolis and Duluth today, The Uptake is providing a live feed of the Minneapolis rally. I’m happy to share it here. They will be recording the Duluth rally. I’ll also check to see if any news organizations are live streaming that event. UPDATE: Northland’s NewsCenter…
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No-power tips for #Sandy survivors
My mom’s name is Sandy. So watching a storm named for my mother slam into the United States’ most populous region, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of brethren while potentially altering the outcome of our upcoming election, is upsetting on many levels. Many, many levels. But that’s not your problem, East Coast. You’ve…
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DFL confirms Tuesday Bill Clinton rallies in Duluth, Minneapolis
UPDATE: Live footage of President Clinton in Duluth here. Former President Bill Clinton will rally voters in Duluth and Minneapolis Tuesday in support of President Obama, Senator Amy Klobuchar and, among others, former Rep. Rick Nolan, the DFL candidate in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. At this time it appears that the rallies will take place…
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Clarity, clatter mark final week of MN-8 showdown
Last night, PPP released a new poll showing a 48-44 percent lead for former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL) in his bid to oust freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8). While this lead remains narrow in terms of the margin of error, this is the third poll showing a Nolan lead in the past two weeks.…
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‘Super comet’ to illuminate night sky in 2013
Mark your calendars. In late November/early December 2013 a “super comet” might pass by Earth, provided it isn’t destroyed by the sun. Scientists term Comet ISON (officially “C/2012 S1”) a “sun-grazer” because it will clip the edge of the sun. Being so near the sun, much of its frozen matter will erupt in jets of…
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COLUMN: Love, like iron, stands up to pressure and time
This is my Sunday column for the Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired last week on KAXE’s “Between You and Me.” You may access the audio version here. Love, like iron, stands up to pressure and timeBy Aaron J. Brown The story of the Iron…
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Great Northern Radio Show rebroadcast will be Sunday at 11a
Last Saturday we broadcast a new episode of the Great Northern Radio Show from the Boardman Auditorium at Eveleth-Gilbert High School in Eveleth, Minnesota. It was two hours of laughs, tears and some of the best music we’ve ever featured. I’m proud of all our shows, but I’m particularly proud of how the program continues…
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Nolan, Cravaack and the politics of place in MN-8
Last year, Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) moved his family to New Hampshire so that his wife could be closer to her job in Boston. This was highly unusual for a freshmen member of Congress in a closely-contested district. The move made life easier for Cravaack’s family, which is admirable, but a political nightmare at the…
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Remembering Wellstone on the Iron Range
Today we commemorate the lives of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, Marcia Wellstone Markuson, Tom Lapic, Mary McEvoy, and Will McLaughlin. We lost them ten years ago today in plane crash on the Iron Range, an event that changed the course of Minnesota politics. In the hyper-partisan world in which we now live, it’s hard to…
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Watch the debates in bellwether MN-LEG northern district
KAXE’s series of non-traditional radio forums in the hotly contested MN Senate District 5 continue Thursday morning at 8:15 with a District 5B conversation between Reps. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township) and Carolyn McElfatrick (R-Deer River). The segment begins at 8:15 a.m. on 91.7 KAXE/Northern Community Radio, streaming at kaxe.org. This is the district featuring three…
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Beneath arguments, amendment battles foretell bad politics
This week the Duluth News Tribune endorsed a “no” vote on both of Minnesota’s upcoming proposed constitutional amendments — one forbidding gay marriage and another requiring a photographic ID to vote. And while this also happens to be my view, the DNT’s argument raises an important point in these debates. Legislating by biennial ballot initiatives…
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Jobless rate quite low in northeastern Minnesota
The Duluth News Tribune reported Tuesday that unemployment in Duluth has dipped below 6 percent. Moreover, unemployment in the entire region has also dropped: The jobless rate reached 6.2 percent for Northeastern Minnesota, down from 6.7 percent in August. And the greater Twin Ports area, which includes all of St. Louis, Carlton and Douglas counties,…