Minnesota Brown

What do you do when it feel like the whole world is falling apart?  The answer begins with a simple choice: do something or do nothing. We assess whether doing something would make a difference, whether it is safe, and then what to do. This is where most people stop. That’s just not where folks…

Last week, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Minnesota Power by two private equity firms. The majority partner is owned by BlackRock, the largest private equity company in the world. This deal saw widespread opposition early on, but began to collect support when the new owners bundled investment dollars, assorted promises…

Pet ownership is a daily comedy and longterm tragedy, but so is life and that’s why so many of us find comfort in pets even when they lead to drama. When our little dog Daisy had a medical emergency earlier this year, we found out how challenging it is to find care in rural Minnesota.…

Growing up in a machine-oriented family in northern Minnesota, ATVs and later UTVs were always around. Four-wheelers were never my passion, but I got to operate them time to time. I get the appeal.  To some rural residents, owning one of these devices is almost as important as a septic system. Though you can get…

I’ve written a lot about the changing nature of work over the years, probably because I’ve always felt a little funny about how I’ve made a living. Untold generations of mechanics, tinkers, engineers and craftsmen built my family tree. Then I arrived with aptitude for writing and speaking.  Is this work? My family always accepted…

Longtime readers have watched my cliched descent into middle aged bird watching in cringeworthy real time. Ten years ago I would have made fun of birders, now I am one.  Today’s column touches on that amusing transition, but also expands a conversation I’ve been having with readers about forestry and resource management. The best management…

Today’s column is about stuff. The stuff in our house moves through a metaphorical digestive tract. We pay for stuff we like and savor it somewhere in our home, perhaps in the closet or the living room. Years later, the good stuff becomes old stuff. Usually it goes to the basement where a jumbled family…

My latest column explores new cellphone policies sweeping Minnesota high schools, many of them expanding limitations enacted last year. When we talk about limiting cellphones at school, we’re often trying to address distraction. Distracted students can’t learn. That’s an important problem that was improved significantly in schools that implemented phone limits last year.  But some…

Minnesota is home to the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) program. Enacted 40 years ago, PSEO was replicated in other states, but never as robustly as envisioned by Minnesota Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1985. I didn’t use PSEO when I was in high school, but did take advantage of concurrent enrollment courses — college in the…