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The true nature of this deal
Here’s a seemingly benign story about the delay of a land sale deal from Itasca County to Essar Steel, the company that has backed a proposed iron mining and steel-making operation on Minnesota’s Iron Range. What is really going on here is that there is question about the true intent of Essar Steel in operating…
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Ely stores embrace Quixotic Olympic bid
The small “end of the road” town of Ely continues to make hay out of its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. This northern Minnesota hamlet is best known as the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe area. A local company is also holding a contest to create a mascot for the Ely bid. It’s…
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Step One
A first step. Nashwauk-Keewatin Schools and Greenway Schools will be sharing a superintendent. Iron Range districts from Grand Rapids to Ely will have to explore more collaboration and consolidation in coming months and years. Related posts: No related posts.
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No band, no music, no art, no soul, no future, Unless
After reading an AP story (link from WCCO) I wrote this column in one sitting. This is my weekly column for the Sunday, June 28, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I’m posting it on publication day because I want the conversation to begin Monday morning across the Iron Range. No band, no music,…
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Blues Brothers again on a mission from God (to save Hibbing theater program)
One night only, the fabulous Blues Brothers show band and review, will play to save the Hibbing Community College Theater program threatened by MNSCU budget cuts. Thursday, July 2, 2009 at the historic Hibbing High School Auditorium. It’s a big, beautiful barn and we must fill it to save the program. This is a hilarious…
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An eerie silence before, well, what?
Things are quiet on the Iron Range. Too quiet. What’s going on that I’m not writing about? Coming tomorrow: My big education column. Next week: An entertaining series of posts about the big HCC Theater Support Gala on Thursday, July 2 at the Hibbing High School Auditorium. One night only, featuring the fabulous Blues Brothers…
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Brown on the Air: SUMMER CAMP!
This week’s edition of “Between You and Me,” KAXE’s Saturday morning music and conversation program, deals with the topic of “summer camp.” Did you go to camp? What are your memories? Any stories. “And when they got home, they found a hook hanging off the back bumper.” Any of that? Well, I never went to…
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How to fight the T-Paw cuts: "We’re getting the band back together"
A small victory in the HCC Theater debate, with a price. Hibbing Community College Theatre Director Mike Ricci has announced a major HCC Theatre Support Gala, featuring the return of the original Blues Brothers who performed on the HCC Theatre stage in 2004. This event will be held at Hibbing High School Auditorium on Thursday,…
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Ch-ch-ch-changes
I’m thinking of making some changes to the blog to make it more user friendly. I would like to change or add to the sidebar content and improve the load speed. Any suggestions from my longtime readers for things you’d like to see in a possible redesign? Related posts: No related posts.
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To clarify about Entenza and the endorsement
I need to clarify something about how I’ve been reporting the status of the race for the DFL gubernatorial endorsement. I have been reminded that candidate Matt Entenza would honor the endorsement if everyone else does. Former Sen. Mark Dayton has announced that he will bypass the endorsement and enter directly into the primary, thus…
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15 percent and counting
Unemployment on northern Minnesota’s Iron Range is at 15 percent but that doesn’t include the miners who are laid off but have an expectation of being called back at some point. Nor does it include those working part time after having been laid off from a full time job. It “feels” like unemployment is much…
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GUEST POST: "Landmarks"
Elanne Palcich of Chisholm has offered me this guest post and I’m passing it along for discussion. LANDMARKS I can remember trips to Duluth when I was young, before the Miller Hill Mall days, when you actually went shopping downtown. It was always an awesome journey to Duluth, waiting for that view of Lake Superior.…
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Oh, what the tourists must have thought!
Virginia, the only Iron Range city named for the British monarchy, is nicknamed the “Queen City.” The water tower reads (verbatim): VIRGINIA “QUEEN CITY” Seeing this water tower is a little like seeing a gun hanging on the wall in a Chekhov play. You know that at one point the gun must fire, or in…
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John Marty: The MinnesotaBrown interview
Today I continue my semi-regular series of posts featuring candidates for Minnesota Governor with a look at State Sen. John Marty. This is the first post written after Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he wouldn’t seek re-election and, if anything, the field on both sides is even more chaotic than before. Starting about a year ago…
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Dismal state of affairs for Iron Range schools
Read this lede from yesterday’s statewide AP story about education funding (Story link from WCCO). I read this in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — There’s no band anymore at Nashwauk-Keewatin Schools. Art and music are history, too. Almost a quarter of the teachers were laid off to fix a deficit. This…