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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…
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Controversy and difficulty: necessary ingredients for our modern budget stew
I’ve become a big fan of Dan Carlin, not only for his “Hardcore History,” the best history podcast in existence, but also for his “Common Sense,” a political podcast aimed at advancing an independent agenda in American politics. My following of Carlin and the blogger Andrew Sullivan are probably the biggest reasons I’ve seen my…
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More MN-08 reading for all you weary warriors
If you’re interested in more reading on the aftermath of the MN-08 electoral stunner from last week take a gander at this post from a blog I just found called Gin and Tacos. It’s a left-leaning affair with its share of snark (if you consider these two descriptions exclusively). I disagree with the characterization of…
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Minnesota’s Fightin’ 8th goes through the changes
Minnesota Public Radio’s Elizabeth Dunbar has an excellent analysis of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District in the wake of last week’s upset win for Republican Chip Cravaack over longtime DFL stalwart Jim Oberstar. The money line: There’s no question that Minnesota’s Iron Range, a longtime DFL stronghold, and the 8th District as a whole have changed…
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A great song keeps the Fitz alive
Today is the 35th anniversary of the sinking of the massive ore ship Edmund Fitzgerald in a terrible November storm on Lake Superior. This tragedy remains recent enough to affect the lives of some people still living in the Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, one gets the feeling that Gordon Lightfoot’s song about “The Wreck of…
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Longtime mustachioed Range, Duluth anchor to retire
Longtime news anchor Dennis Anderson of WDIO/WIRT, the ABC affiliate in the Duluth, MN, TV market (northern Minnesota and Wisconsin) announced he will retire in the next six months or so. This according to a story from my mentor Mike Simonson of Wisconsin Public Radio in Superior. Anderson is a solid regional journalist with a…