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Rural Iron Range sheriff rides into sunset (rise?)
Itasca County Sheriff Pat Medure announced today he wasn’t running for re-election. The top law enforcement officer in this rural, largely liquid northern Minnesota county made the announcement at today’s county board meeting. Theory of the day: We haven’t heard the last of Pat Medure insofar as elections are concerned. The pages of any paper…
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Cravaack reaches across the crevasse (formerly known as aisle)
So I’m just sitting there, being me (like I always do), and I get a phone call. It’s Chip Cravaack. He’s a pilot. But he’s not just a pilot; he’s running for the GOP endorsement for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th district. And he wants to talk to me, and my readers. First of all, reader…
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COLUMN: "Driving into the sun"
This is my column for the Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Driving into the sunBy Aaron J. Brown Last year a woman described to me how her dad was worn down by the grind of commuting from the Itasca County portion of the Iron Range into the St. Louis County…
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Brown on the Air: FUN!
KAXE‘s annual winter fundraiser is here and the Saturday morning program “Between You and Me” is joining in the fun. Quite literally. “Fun” is the theme of the fundraiser AND this week’s show. How fun! I mean that, actually. 91.7 KAXE is an independent public station pumping out 100,000 slick, smooth watts across northern Minnesota…
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In Praise of the Iron Range
The right honourable Kermit over at the conservative Minnesota politics blog True North has penned an earnest screed entitled “In Praise of the Suburb.” Go over and take a read. He’s a little quick to turn an anthropological issue into a political one, but he presents a new point of view. Suburbs exist for a…
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Five GOP candidates seek Oberstar’s seat
After a couple cycles where the GOP candidate for the 8th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) emerged late in the process, I just realized that five announced Republican candidates are running this year. I knew that 2008 nominee Michael Cummins from Isanti and Justin Eichorn of Grand Rapids were running, both…
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COLUMN: "My frugal valentine"
Here is my weekly column for the Sunday, Feb. 12, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Elements of this were used for a “Between You and Me” program some time ago on KAXE. Happy Valentine’s Day! My Frugal ValentineBy Aaron J. Brown I hereby dedicate this column to my Valentine. A lot of guys…
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Brown on the Air: BEING SINGLE
This week’s topic on Saturday morning’s “Between You and Me” show on KAXE celebrates Valentine’s Day by talking about the perils and pitfalls of being single in northern Minnesota. My regular contribution explains how my relatively early marriage prevented me from a chain smoking, deeply awkward hardscrabble bachelor life on the Iron Range. Also I…
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The Case of the Missing Medallion is Resolved
Today I reveal a secret I’ve been keeping for several weeks. Hibbing’s Winter Frolic 2010 just wrapped up with the coronation of the new queen and the ceremonial helmetting of the Titan of Taconite. One of the mainstays of this Iron Range town’s annual festival is the Winter Frolic Medallion hunt. A series of clues…
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Iron Range may sway MN-GOV DFL endorsement
Over at Minnesota Progressive Project (yes, the lefties) I’ve written a post about how I believe the road to the DFL endorsement in this year’s governor’s race will pass through the Iron Range. I have decided to move more of my blatantly political analysis over to that blog (and possibly others) as I consider new…
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COLUMN: ‘Let the 2010 Winter Kid-lympics begin
This is my weekly column for the (Super) Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece was featured on a recent episode of “Between You and Me” on KAXE. Let the 2010 Winter Kid-lympics beginBy Aaron J. Brown Next week the Winter Olympic games open in Vancouver. I’ve…
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Brown on the Air: WINTER OLYMPICS!
The Winter Olympics are almost here and the Saturday morning talk/music show “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE will preview the events and explore the cultural phenomenon of the Olympics and winter sports this Saturday morning. My regular essay is a thinly-veiled construct designed solely to let me: 1) complain about NBC’s Olympic coverage…
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Northern Minnesota journalists to buy Business North
There’s a notable sale in northern Minnesota media. Founder and publisher Wayne Nelson is selling his monthly publication Business North to veteran newspaper journalists Beth Bily and Ron Brochu. According to Business North, Nelson will remain editor of the publication during the transition. Nelson built Business North into a respected and authoritative voice on business…
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35,000 feet and falling
Popular Mechanics gives us what we really need: a detailed set of instructions for how to survive a 35,000 foot fall from a recently exploded airplane. When I say “must read” I mean it this time. Related posts: No related posts.
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COLUMN: "When I Grow Up"
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired on 91.7 KAXE’s “Between You and Me” earlier in January. When I grow upBy Aaron J. Brown The first time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up,…