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Range college students to host key 5B forum Wednesday evening
Press release: On Wednesday, February 9 at 6 p.m., the Hibbing Community College Student Senate will host a forum for the candidates running for February’s special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm). The forum will feature DFL candidate Carly Melin, Republican candidate Paul Jacobson and Independence Party candidate Cynthia…
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House 5B update: The wild unknowns of a Range special election
We now enter the eight day countdown to the Feb. 15 House 5B special election on the Iron Range to replace former Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) who resigned to become IRRRB commissioner. The election pits DFLer Carly Melin, an attorney, against Republican Paul Jacobson, a counselor at a juvenile detention center, and Independent Cynthia Kafut…
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Super Bowl Sunday: the razzle dazzle apex of our modern times
At this time people are gathering in homes and watering holes, to the degree there is a distinction between the two, for the celebration of what has become an American holiday, Super Bowl Sunday. It’s often been said that Thanksgiving is the most distinctly American holiday, aside from Fourth of July which jumped the shark…
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COLUMN: The answers found at the library
This is my column for the Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece was aired on yesterday’s edition of “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE. It occurs to me that this column’s headline could serve as an additional clue in the yet-unsolved mystery of the missing…
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IRRRB is set; so is the drama
If you hadn’t heard, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board is now set with appointments from Gov. Mark Dayton, House Speaker Kurt Zellers and the special Senate committee led by the majority with influence from Republican Majority leader Sen. Amy Koch. A variety of policies, rules and traditions influence the selection of these members,…
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Brown on the Air: LIBRARIES!
This week on “Between You and Me,” the Saturday morning call-in and music program on 91.7 KAXE, the rotating topic turns to libraries. Host Heidi Holtan, a former librarian her own self, will lead a discussion of library stories, library meaning, and things you would find in a library. Northern Minnesota is home to many…
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Map tells the tale in 5B primary results
Here’s a map that Chris Saunders made of the precinct results in last night’s House 5B DFL primary. That top left corner is Hibbing, where Shelley Robinson won her home precinct and kept it somewhat close in some of the other precincts. That lower left corner is Floodwood and surrounds, where Mayor Jeff Kletscher posted…
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Hibbing native who lives in Cities accuses Hibbing native who lives in Hibbing of not living in Hibbing
No rest for the weary in House 5B. The Minnesota GOP today accused House 5B DFL nominee Carly Melin of residency violation, which is the same tack used against former Rep. and IRRRB commissioner Tony Sertich in 2000 when he first ran. Melin, who moved back to Hibbing last year to take a job with…
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Iron Range mining sounds on MPR
I’ve got a hot hand going over at Minnesota Public Radio. Marc Sanchez posted this real sound essay about Iron Range mining sounds Jan. 27. I did the interview in November and didn’t know I would end up (unwittingly) providing all the narration.The mining guys were too tight-lipped, apparently. I was born without that common…
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Melin wins House 5B DFL primary
Hibbing attorney Carly Melin won the House 5B Special Election DFL primary Tuesday. Late drama and a field of competent, strong candidates seemed to promise a long night and close vote. However, Melin won handily with a simple majority in a five-person race, validating her campaign strategy of direct mail and contact with likely voters.…
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House 5B Primary Election Night Coverage: LIVE BLOG
As of this moment the voters in the House District 5B DFL primary have spoken, selecting one of five candidates for nomination in the special election to replace Rep. Tony Sertich (DFL-Chisholm) on Feb. 15. We simply await their decision as results pour in from this large Iron Range district in northern Minnesota. I will…
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MinnesotaBrown debuts on MPR’s Morning Edition
I made my first appearance on MPR’s Morning Edition with Cathy Wurzer this morning. The topic was Iron Range politics and today’s House 5B DFL primary. You can listen below. We talked trends and what to watch for as results come in tonight. If you live in 5B, remember you can vote until 8 p.m.…
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The mighty din of the mining meeting
I neglected to bring up the results of last Friday’s joint hearing of the Minnesota State Senate Commerce and Environmental committees at Hibbing Community College. The topic was, first and foremost, mining — specifically nonferrous mineral mining within the Iron Range’s eastern environs. It could be fairly said that much of the proceeding included the…
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Polls open in House 5B special DFL primary
Ballots are being cast now in the DFL primary for the House District 5B Special Election. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. If you live in 5B and want to vote in this primary you can find your polling place here and read a commentary written by each candidate…
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Range DFL prepares for historic House 5B primary vote
I don’t have any predictions or endorsements to offer in the House 5B DFL primary. As a resident of 3A, just over the line, I can’t vote in this. But this race matters greatly to the whole Iron Range. So here’s the dynamic of the race as I see it. I’ll begin by saying that…