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But what does the lunch lady think of this?
A headline from today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune thanksgiving wrap story reads “Turkey for me, Turkey for you.” Do you think the author, retired local English teacher Dan Bergan, wrote that headline, or was it someone who spent the ’90s listening to Adam Sandler comedy albums like They’re All Gonna Laugh at You? I have my…
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Brown on the Air: GRANDMOTHERS!
This week on 91.7 KAXE‘s “Between You and Me” the show explores the topic of grandmothers. With this season of holiday gatherings and matronly traditions, what better time to share stories about your grandmother or your experience of being a grandmother. I’ll have my usual quasi-comedic occasionally though-provoking contribution during the first segment of the…
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The "real" story of Thanksgiving from me, a noted fraudulent historian
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us (me) at MinnesotaBrown. What a great holiday! FOOD! LOW EXPECTATIONS! Can it BE more American? I think not. A couple weeks ago I wrote a fun little comic piece for KAXE about the first Thanksgiving. It stars Mark Twain as the overly self-aware protagonist. Just some clean holiday fun…
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Cold. Here. Snow to come
There’s a snow storm coming. Every few weeks in the winter a snow storm comes to Minnesota. I love Minnesota. I love this strange state because living here with the snow storms, which so frighten people from other places, is hard and good.The cold, too, reminds us of our location and status. Here. Cold. You…
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MPR: "The giant, Mesabi, places a bet"
Minnesota Public Radio features a guest commentary of mine over at their website today. Titled “The giant Mesabi places a bet,” the piece is cut from the same flank of much of my writing but refined for the big city audience. This is the result of my lecture at MPR earlier this month. If this…
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Gogebic a go-go?
Here’s a Duluth News Tribune update by way of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on that proposed open pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin along the Gogebic Range. My prediction: developers overstating the number of jobs will do battle with environmentalists overstating the environmental risk. The result will underwhelm us all. I support anything that…
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Overburden wins another kind review
My book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” received a very favorable review from Mark Munger at his Cloquet River Press blog. Munger, a notable northern Minnesota author and well regarded judge, offers the following: For a young person, Aaron Brown possesses extraordinary powers of reflection and observation. He also happens to be one…
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COLUMN: Turning the e-page
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Turning the e-pageBy Aaron J. Brown One of the joys (terrors!) of raising children in this modern age is explaining old things to these new people without revealing your own waning youth. In this you will fail, just…
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It is not "me" season
You really don’t realize how much your normal wardrobe resembles the general appearance of a common whitetail deer until you move to a rural section of northern Minnesota and the annual rifle deer hunting season arrives. For instance, my shoes are brown (BLAM!), my parka is brown (BLAM!) and my flapped winter hat is also…
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Brown on the Air: COURAGE!
Tune in to “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE this Saturday morning for a wide-ranging discussion and musical selection on the topic of courage. What is courage to you? Have you ever been courageous? Who is the most courageous person you know? “Between You and Me” combines calls, music and commentators like me for…
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In Bemidji, Larry the Cable Guy completes notable task
Redneck, blue collar, and white sock comedian Larry the Cable Guy performed in Bemidji in north central Minnesota last night. Comedians wander through Minnesota all the time but I did enjoy this Facebook video of Larry the Cable Guy giving the daily announcements at Bemidji High School on Tuesday. At BHS students produce the daily…
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What is clout worth?
The Iron Range is losing clout, we’re told. The GOP takeover of the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate has relegated its DFL legislative delegation to the minority, unseating scads of chairmen. Chip Cravaack’s unlikely victory over Congressman Jim Oberstar, an Iron Range political legend, ends Oberstar’s long run as senior Democrat on transportation issues…
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A new legion for old stories and values
This past Saturday I climbed the narrow stairs of the Keewatin City Hall, stepping around the hoist chair at the bottom which was new last year but is now just part of the scenery. The occasion was the annual Keewatin Legion and Sons of the Legion spaghetti feed held in the auditorium where they used…
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COLUMN: Bringin’ it all back home, again
This is my weekly column for the Nov. 14, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired as a commentary on 91.7 KAXE on Nov. 6. Bringin’ it all back home, againBy Aaron J. Brown When you live in the heart of the Midwest, in a little notch of the…
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Brown on the Air: THANKSGIVING PREP
This week on “Between You and Me,” the Saturday morning radio show sensation from the northern indy powerhouse 91.7 KAXE, host Heidi Holtan is taking your calls about getting ready for Thanksgiving. Holiday purists know that Thanksgiving, with its dogmatic commitment to eating and forced interaction with family, is the one true American holiday. I…