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Great Northern Radio Show in Brainerd on June 16
What’s new, AB? How you been? Well, the Great Northern Radio Show returns Saturday, June 16 at the John Chalberg Theatre at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. So things are looking up. Great Northern Radio Show heads to Brainerd Variety program to broadcast live from Central Lakes College June 16 BRAINERD, Minnesota (June 5,…
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Battlegrounds emerge in NE Minn. legislative races
Filings have closed for Minnesota’s legislative and congressional races. Here’s a roundup of some of the races in northeastern Minnesota that I’ll be following. District 3: This is the big new district that covers the outskirts of Duluth, the North Shore a vast chunk of northern St. Louis County and Koochiching County (International Falls). State Sen.…
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Connie Evingson back on the Range for benefit concert
Culture, music and history converge this weekend for a special benefit concert in Virginia, Minnesota. Connie Evingson is a great talent who is back to the Range often and Sam Miltich always does a good show, whether in a concert hall or the V-Dub in downtown Grand Rapids. Shows like this remind us of the…
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Researchers closer to report on rare lung disease among Range workers
It’s been a long time since I’ve read much about the study of mesothelioma occurrences among Iron Range workers. The Pioneer Press ran a story over the weekend. The premise behind the state funding for this U of M study was that an unusual amount of mesothelioma was being found among current and former taconite…
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Ness profile highlights Duluth’s success
Duluth Mayor Don Ness was the subject of an extremely positive profile in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune on Sunday. Duluth’s success in diversifying its economy continues to be a good model for the region. In fact, the Iron Range’s historical and geographical relationship with Duluth means that the fate of these two places are…
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Oberstar endorses Nolan; MN-8 primary contest sharpens
At this hour former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar is endorsing Rick Nolan in the DFL primary for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. Nolan was endorsed by the DFL last month and faces two primary challengers in former St. Cloud state Sen. Tarryl Clark and former Duluth city council president Jeff Anderson. The Oberstar/Nolan press conference is…
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COLUMN: Iron Range political universe to change in 2012
This is my Sunday column for the June 3, 2012 Hibbing Daily Tribune. Iron Range political universe to change in 2012By Aaron J. Brown When my father turned 30 I said, “Dad, you’re eligible to run for the Senate!” My goodness, I was 7. That’s the kind of kid I was. But dad, a mechanic…
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Will new mining set northern Minnesota free?
On Thursday, a panel of state officials approved leases allowing companies to explore nonferrous mineral mining about 20,000 acres of land in northeastern Minnesota. Most of the land is near Ely and Isabella east and south of the Vermilion Range, far from existing taconite mines on the Mesabi Range. We talked about some of the…
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Just say Drano
Apparently there are these things called “Drano Bombs” that people can make and they are very dangerous. The Hibbing Daily Tribune reports: Do you know what happens when Drano, tin foil and a little water are put together in a plastic drink bottle and then capped shut? A dangerous chain reaction occurs, which could cause…
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In honor of a noble life ‘Shooting the Rapids’
Rough days for Itasca County newspapering. Longtime Grand Rapids Herald-Review editor and columnist Ken Hickman died Sunday at the age of 93. He had just retired from his regular column last December. It was a true community column, each paragraph dedicated to someone he talked to or something that happened that week. The Herald-Review published…
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Some welcome independent problem-solving for MN communities
Friend of this blog and fellow KAXE contributor Chuck Marohn is the director of Strong Towns, a sort of think tank/consulting agency that helps small towns adjust to the new world of the 21st century. Among other things, including running a pretty interesting blog, Strong Towns helps towns get by without hiring in-house developers or…
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Bob gets bling for being Bob
Christa Lawler of the Duluth News-Tribune has a nice story today about Bob Dylan receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Obama yesterday. She did interview me for the story, but I rather enjoy the quotes from Dylan’s high school bandmate LeRoy Hoikkala of Hibbing: “I’m proud of him,” Hoikkala said. “Everything he got, he…
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Zup’s re-opens, a grocery phoenix from the ashes
Zup’s Grocery Store in Babbitt along the eastern Mesabi, the community staple that burned down last year, has reopened (Fox 21). “Where there once was ash and fire now sits fresh fruits and veggies.” You got it. You got it.I can’t get used to this lifestyle. In addition to celebrating the return of Zup’s to…
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Prostitution scandal knocks newspaper group manager out of job
Todd Keute, the publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald-Review and regional manager of the Superior Publishing Company, is out of a job after his involvement in a prostitution scandal. Officials from SPC’s parent company American Consolidated Media made the announcement of Keute’s departure today. SPC operates nearly all of the small dailies and many of…
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Bob Dylan receives Medal of Freedom today
Today President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will recognize several recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Among them is Duluth-born and Hibbing-raised musician and poet Bob Dylan. The Medal of Freedom is the nation’s top civilian honor, conferred upon people determined to have made meritorious contributions to the interests of the United…