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Ladies & gentlemen, Columbia recording artist Baobo Dilun
Last month we learned that the Iron Range’s top export, taconite pellets to make steel, would be making the long journey to China for the first time in history. This week the Range’s second biggest export, recording artist Bob Dylan, made his first ever appearance in the large Asian nation. Dylan, who was born in…
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Range future debate enters crucial phase
I have almost too much to talk about this morning, so I’ll just cover the basics. Yesterday was a notable day. MPR and Northland’s NewsCenter hosted a “Economic Prospects for the Arrowhead” forum at the Radisson in Duluth. Immediately before that the state House voted to strip $60 million in local mining revenue (the Iron…
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LIVE: MPR presents Prospects for the Arrowhead
Follow the “Prospects for the Arrowhead” northern Minnesota economic forum below. I’ll be joining other speakers in talking about the future of the region. Time permitting, I’ll add some live blog content below. MPR’s Minnesota Today is offering a liveblog. MPR Presents: Prospects for the Arrowhead Hit refresh if you aren’t seeing new content. The…
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Midwest Energy News sifts through "vapors" of reeling Range project
Today, Midwest Energy News posted a story from Minnesota writer Dan Haugen about the past, present and unknown future of Excelsior Energy’s beleaguered Mesaba Energy Project. I’m quoted therein, along with other Excelsior opponents and supporters. I hope you’ll find this to be a reasonable, balanced look at the history of this project and its…
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State House to debate fate of Range economic fund this afternoon
While I’m preparing for tonight’s MPR “Economic Prospects for the Arrowhead” forum in Duluth tonight, the state House is debating the slashing of an Iron Range economic development fund in St. Paul at 3 p.m. You can follow the debate, which I expect to be colorful, here on the House web TV channel. This conversation…
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Tuesday Night at the Forum: MPR/KBJR’s Prospects for the Arrowhead
There’s still time to register for Tuesday evening’s “Prospects for the Arrowhead” forum at the Radisson Hotel in Duluth. This event is organized by Minnesota Public Radio and Northland’s NewsCenter and will be hosted by Cathy Wurzer. The reception starts at 6 to be followed by an open discussion of the region’s economic future at…
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Problems admitted in Range pension issue; important days ahead
As previously discussed, retired Iron Range miners from National Steel (now Keetac, under new management) have been through the wringer on their pensions after National folded in 2003. A specific group of miners receives pennies on the dollar, less than half the promised amount. Late last week the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, a federal organization…
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Range labor march slated today in Virginia, Minn.
The April weather in northern Minnesota has taken a February turn, with snow and cold blanketing the Iron Range. Nevertheless, programming is planned for this April 4 “Day of Action” traditionally reserved for community action in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. There are events all over the state, but the one that might interest…
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COLUMN: Today’s Range pioneers must break the circle
This is my weekly column from the Sunday, April 3, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Today’s Range pioneers must break the circle By Aaron J. Brown No position, no land, no political condition may be defended indefinitely. Always in history the walls fall, the barbarians throw open the gates. The same is true…
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Brown on the Air: UNWELCOME GUESTS!
My weekly contribution to this Saturday morning’s edition of “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE joins the rotating topic of “unwelcome guests.” Stories may focus on the obvious interlopers who might linger in your basement, or on the critters who sneak in or surround us. I’ll be revisiting the story of the flying squirrel…
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Gone with the thrift store
Here is another installation in my occasional series on Iron Range newspaper classifieds. This one is from the March 31 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, the only paper I know that’s run an ad for a lost ring right next to an ad for a found ring. TO THE lady who bought “Gone with…
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Hibbing grad pens NY Times op/ed on value of education
In Wednesday’s New York Times, author Marie Myung-Ok Lee shares her experiences as a student at Hibbing High School 30 years ago. An essay on the often unheralded value of good teachers, this is a loving tribute to two teachers who made an enormous difference in her life. Though I’m separated from her experiences by…
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Google passes over Duluth for Kansas City, Kan.
Google has announced that it will build its experimental fiber internet network in Kansas City, Kansas, not in Duluth, Minnesota, or one of the 1,000 other cities that applied for consideration. Duluth, Topeka, Memphis, Grand Rapids, Mich., and a few others made serious bids for the project that included community support projects and publicity stunts.…
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Got them post-industrial small town blues
I’ve had a lot of demographic, socio-economic, political, cultural babble running through my brain this last week, as my posts have surely shown. Baseball season can’t come soon enough. Anyway, another way of looking at the woes of the Iron Range is to look at the troubles facing small towns generally. This March 23 “Why…
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Darren Danielson to succeed Dennis Anderson at WDIO
The Duluth News Tribune is reporting that Darren Danielson, co-host of public television’s Almanac North, will replace northern Minnesota TV news godfather Dennis Anderson at WDIO. Reading the story, it looks like those of us who like a little substance in our local newscast have a lot to like about this. Related posts: No related…