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No one’s been shanked … yet
The first Hell’s Angels riders have begun arriving in the Carlton area for this upcoming weekend’s gathering of the famed motorcycle club. The comments in this Cloquet Pine Knot/DNT story pretty much sum up the divide in the community over how to handle the situation. I predict that nothing happens except for a lot of…
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Iron Range county fairs bring beer, cheer, carnies to town
The St. Louis County Fair opens this Wednesday and runs through Sunday. The Itasca County Fair comes two weeks later. These events mark the waning days of summer for most red-blooded Iron Rangers. The blue bloods get a few more weeks until the houseboats come off Vermilion. The green bloods are still hospitalized. Don’t even…
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Big money, big problems
Politics in Minnesota has an interesting list of the third party donations to legislative candidates in swing districts for last year’s election. There aren’t many surprises, but the amount of money is interesting and a little disturbing when you consider the spending limits that most candidates agree to abide by for public financing. The argument…
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COLUMN: ‘The gap holding back our kids, our economy’
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, July 26 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. It expands on some of the topics I was talking about last week. I expect this will be more like the beginning of the debate than the end. The gap holding back our kids, our economyBy Aaron J. Brown…
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British paper sends reporter to Bob Dylan’s class reunion
The Telegraph of London ran a great story about Bob Dylan’s 50th Hibbing High School class reunion held last weekend. They actually had a reporter at the reunion in the hopes that he might show up. This is worth a read if only because it properly shows the changes in Hibbing’s attitude about Dylan over…
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Women in the mines: the difference today
Mesabi Misadventures hits another home run with a post about what it’s like to be a woman working at a mine today, decades after the sexual harassment made famous in the book “Class Action” and the movie “North Country.” This is a great read. She doesn’t write often but she writes with great depth. You…
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Rukavina speaks as governor bid begins
Joe Bodell at Minnesota Progressive Project has an interview with legendary Iron Range lawmaker Tom Rukavina after he filed paperwork to run for Governor. It occurs to me that my inevitable interview with Tom should be a great deal of fun. Related posts: No related posts.
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Other blogs join the fray
Grace Kelly at the Minnesota Progressive Project joins me in tearing the lid off the fantastical magic factory that is the proposed Mesaba Energy Project on the Iron Range. This project is not a power plant, it’s an expensive metaphor for everything that’s wrong with economic development on the Iron Range. Read the post. You…
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Brown on the Air: ANTIQUES
Tune in Saturday morning from 10 to noon for 91.7 KAXE’s weekly call-in and talk program “Between You and Me.” I am a regular contributor and my essay this week will explore the show’s rotating topic of “antiques.” For instance, which of Minnesota’s three iron ranges today qualifies as one of the state’s most active…
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Rukavina files paperwork for governor run
Longtime Iron Range state representative and colorful orator Tom Rukavina has filed state finance board paperwork to run for governor, according to Minnesota Progressive Project. UPDATE: The Mesabi Daily News has the exclusive first interview, albeit brief. Related posts: No related posts.
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And now a rebuttal
I realize that I have written three consecutive “bad times” posts about the Iron Range economy. Contractually I am now obligated to show you this: Related posts: No related posts.
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If things get real bad we can eat them books
MinnPost’s Catherine Conlan reports on northern Minnesota libraries as they serve as a refuge during the economic storm, all while struggling with budget cuts of their own. Related posts: No related posts.
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Bad times getting worse slower, and other good news
Even the sunshine crew at the Duluth News Tribune editorial board can’t spin their way out of this week’s economic malaise storyline: So the glimmer of hope? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday, during testimony he provides semi-annually to the House Financial Services Committee, that the economy is showing “tentative signs of stabilization.” Of…
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2009: ‘worst ever’ year for taconite mines?
Charles Ramsay of the Mesabi Daily News reports that 2009 is on track to be the worst year on record for Iron Range taconite production. Keewatin Taconite and Hibbing Taconite are likely down for the rest of the year with limited production expected from the other four: MinnTac, Minorca, United Taconite and Northshore. Read more…
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The Stewart generation?
This Time. com graphic has been traveling around the web today. No doubt not all agree with Stewart’s politics, but he shows tenacity in asking actual questions and using evidence to demonstrate hypocrisy (on both sides). Network news is pretty mopey. What’d that crazy lady say about dead fish? Anyway…(h/t Daily Dish) Related posts: No…