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Babbitt, reeling from fire, makes plans
The people of the Iron Range town of Babbitt are figuring out what to do after the devastating fire that took Zup’s Grocery, the drug store and damaged several other downtown businesses last weekend. Northland’s NewsCenter had a story, which I am sharing because of their handy embed capabilities. Related posts: No related posts.
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My TEDx talk, Courage: Northern Minnesota’s Untapped Resource
This is my talk from last week’s TEDx 1,000 Lakes Conference at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. Enjoy! UPDATE: You can watch the whole conference, speech by speech, here. There were some great talks that day. I’ll post more with some context in the near future. Related posts: No related posts.
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Winter and other seasons
Sometime it’s informative to see how others see the places and institutions you live every day. To that end, the Duluth News Tribune recently ran a story from the Times of Northwest Indiana (covering Hammond, Gary and surrounding areas). The story runs over some familiar territory, showing how Duluth faces many of the same struggles…
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COLUMNS: Fly with the birds
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Fly with the birdsBy Aaron J. Brown A couple years ago some sort of swallows built a nest beneath our deck out in the woods north of town. We looked up the birds in a special book. I…
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Babbitt fire destroys Zup’s grocery, other businesses
A fire destroyed Zup’s grocery store in the eastern Iron Range city of Babbitt early this morning. A drug store was also destoryed and other nearby downtown businesses were damaged. This is a terrible blow for this small Range town, essentially devestating the business community there. WDIO has the story and links to pictures. Range…
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Brown on the Air: COMIC BOOKS!
Saturday morning on 91.7 KAXE’s “Between You and Me” we’re talking comic books. I’ve contributed an original essay exploring a favorite cartoon and comic of mine from the late ’80s and early ’90s, a strange time for us as a people and me particularly. “Between You and Me” is a weekly music and call-in show…
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MN-8 seems destined for lively DFL primary
The 2012 election in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional district could become the more significant contest in the region’s political decade. The conservative swing seen in the 2010 election of Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) could be solidified with his re-election. Or the GOP trend could be repelled with the election of a DFL challenger. Still more, this…
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Cougars go east
Fans of my column about the Black Hills/Connecticut cougar a couple weeks ago might appreciate that this summer another cougar was spotted heading east in view of trail cams across northern Minnesota and northern Michigan. The plot thickens! Related posts: No related posts.
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Oberstar accepting retirement as 2012 battle brews
On Tuesday, MinnPost’s Doug Grow penned an interesting profile of the activities and attitudes of recently defeated former U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN8) as his former district girds for a new political fight in 2012. It’s worth a read. Notably, he appears to be accepting retirement and vows to stay out of the 2012 race.…
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MPR: ‘Grandpa Taconite keeps the Range family together’
I’m still catching up from yesterday’s wonderful TEDx 1,000 Lakes Conference in Grand Rapids. They’ll be posting the videos early next week and I’ll write a detailed post then with links to some of the great ideas I heard, along with my speech (for those who are interested). It was a marvelous event, owing much…
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Speaking at #tedx1000lakes today
There’s a lot going on in northern Minnesota and we’ll get to it in due time. Today I’m speaking at the TEDx 1,000 Lakes Conference at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesotta. The event theme is “Expanding Opportunity” and my speech is titled “Courage: Northern Minnesota’s Untapped Resource.” I’ll be speaking in the morning…
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COLUMN: Nap supply never matches nap demand
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A shorter version of this piece was broadcast Saturday on KAXE’s “Between You and Me” program. Nap supply never matches nap demandBy Aaron J. Brown My boys are entering that early educational stage where the phased withdrawal of…
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Speaking Monday at #tedx1000lakes in Grand Rapids, Minn.
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be speaking this Monday at the TEDx 1,000 Lakes Conference in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The event runs most of the day on the stage of the Reif Center for the Performing Arts. The theme is “Expanding Opportunity” and my presentation is titled “Courage: Northern Minnesota’s Untapped Resource.” TEDx is…
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Brown on the Air: INSOMNIA!
This week on 91.7 KAXE’s Saturday morning call-in and music show “Between You and Me,” guest hosts Gail Otteson and Michael Goldberg explore the program’s rotating topic of “Insomnia.” I’ll be on with my regular weekly commentary, an exploration of sleep and lack thereof as a parent of young children. It’s funny and cute, of…
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Grandpa Taconite turns 56 today
Today marks the 56th anniversary of commercial production of taconite pellets on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. The first pellets rolled off the line at the Reserve Mining plant at Silver Bay, generated from ore mined inland near Babbitt on the northeastern Mesabi Iron Range. Today this plant still operates as Cliffs Natural Resources’ Northshore Mining.…