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Two Range races fall to the old guard
Well, my attempt to have Sarah Palin-like influence over local Iron Range races has failed, just like it mostly did for Palin. Lorrie Janatopoulos lost to incumbent Keith Nelson in St. Louis County Commissioner Dist. 6. Liz Kuoppala lost in the Eveleth mayor’s race to former mayor Robert Vlaisavljevich. These are unfortunate losses for the…
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And it happened in the north
There’s so much to dive into on the Cravaack vs. Oberstar race. First, Cravaack did exactly what I expected he would do in the southern Eighth, clean up. But notably he pulled off a surprise in the north, for instance carrying Balsam Township where I live and holding Jim Oberstar under 60 percent in Hibbing…
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The wave happened
Wow and a half. I’ve got a busy 48 hour period that starts right now, which is why I “called it” early last night (a Sleep Party gain). As I wake up this morning I see that Chip Cravaack has prevailed in his upstart campaign against Jim Oberstar, that the Minnesota House and Senate have…
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LIVE BLOG: Election Night 2010 from the Western Mesabi
This is the live blog for tonight, including information about Iron Range turnout, results and observations sent my way. My email is aaronjbrown@yahoo.com and my Twitter handle is @minnesotabrown if you’ve got something. I’m also listed in the Range Directory should you happen to possess such a fine, thick book of mostly unpronounceable names. 11:05…
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Big gov’mint wants children to learn letters, colors (including RED!)
Sometimes when I talk about politics I say how I am increasingly open to entitlement reform, debt-reduction and other reforms. I’ve become a lot more independent, frankly, in recent years. Liberals look at me cockeyed as though to say, “Hey man, we though you were one of us.” Moderates from the other side say, “Hey…
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A first-in-a-generation political battle brews up north
The sun rises over the treeline along the eastern horizon, highlighting the steam cloud over Keewatin Taconite. This is the first day in a while mist hasn’t billowed off the lake.The water is cold all the time now. Soon enough it will grow dark and gelatinous, freezing hard and staying that way until sometime around…
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The late, late show in St. Louis County
The Star Tribune profiles the old Minnesota election day tradition of waiting for St. Louis County to report its results late at night. The Democratic bastion, which includes Duluth and much of the Iron Range, is the largest geographic county in the state and one of the most remote. The speeds on return time have…
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COLUMN: Scary amount of election cash this All Hallows (Election) Eve
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Scary amount of election cash this All Hallows (Election) EveBy Aaron J. Brown The Washington Post reported last week that candidates will spend more than a combined $2 billion in the nation’s House and Senate races so far…
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Minnesota’s Fightin’ 8th readies for its closeup
We’re entering the final countdown of the 2010 election, a contest that will go down as a very informative historical study on the voting habits of (in no particular order) Americans, Minnesotans and the people of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. It’s good that I have been plowing through “The Rise of American Democracy” by Sean…
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Brown on the Air: BRINGIN’ IT ALL BACK HOME
Join me this Saturday morning for “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE. The show blends calls, commentary, music and more for a unique northern Minnesota media experience. This week’s topic is “bring back.” Say what? Well, that just means we’ll be talking about all the things, both specific and conceptual, that we want back.…
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Dayton, Oberstar rally on the Range
Tom Scheck of Minnesota Public Radio covered last night’s Iron Range DFL rally in Virginia. Audio links to speeches from Congressman Jim Oberstar and Mark Dayton are included. Related posts: No related posts.
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My secret project is not-so-secret trend
The New York Times Book Review has a story (“All Programs Considered” by Bill McKibben) that fits nicely, perhaps too nicely, with thoughts I have been having lately about the direction of my writing and media projects. You know that this blog and my columns, essays and book, are professional in that I am sometimes…
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The gales of November are not kidding this time
TYWKIWDBI reports on the massive winds of yesterday’s storms in the middle of the country, including this NOAA graphic of waves on Lake Superior. Shipping companies pulled all the ore ships off the lake out of deference to the storied “Gales of November” made famous by sinking the legendary SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Those…
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Steel recovery slows, the need for creativity grows
A sluggish national economic recovery means the recently buoyant steel industry is tempering its optimism. Things aren’t bad, per se, but U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal are seeing orders drop as new construction in the U.S. and Europe continues to tread water. It would seem to me that new construction would and probably should remain slower…
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Range DFL to hold bean feed, rally in Virginia Thursday
If politics is your thing, the Iron Range DFL will be holding a bean feed and rally at the Miners Memorial Building in Virginia Thursday night with DFL nominee for governor Mark Dayton, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar and others on the DFL ticket. Virginia native Paul Metsa will be on hand as the musical entertainment.…