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Mine pit waters still rising on western Range
This is a great update and background piece on the rising waters of the Canisteo Mine Pit near the Iron Range town of Bovey. These waters have been rising since they stopped mining there in 1985 causing an increasingly unsafe and obviously wetter situation there. This story comes from Margaret A. Happoja and the Northern…
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Changes coming to West Range school districts
Two unrelated sources tell me some significant staff movements are occurring in Greenway Schools that will expedite the shared administration plan with Nashwauk-Keewatin Schools. Apparently, Greenway’s superintendent and high school principal are leaving to take jobs in the nearby Grand Rapids School District. The N-K Board meets tonight and could make some important decisions that…
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Confessions, continued
My “confession” essay for last week’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE has been shared on the independent public station’s website. If you missed the show, you can find out just why I can’t go back to Burnsville, Minnesota. I’ll be up with a new essay for this upcoming Saturday morning’s “Between You and…
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MinnPost hosts Twitter contest in honor of new Ironworld name
The online news site MinnPost is hosting a Twitter contest for alternative new names for the Minnesota Discovery Center (until last week, Ironworld). Tweet for honor. Tweet for prizes. Tweet to balance what I expect will be a healthy contingent of people making socialism jokes. Related posts: No related posts.
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Exit, stage I-35
The Hibbing Daily Tribune published a final profile of my friend Mike Ricci today. Ricci is leaving the helm of the Hibbing Community College Theater program for North Hennepin Community College. HCC plans to continue doing theater in some form, but a group of students and community members are deeply disappointed that the full time…
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Minnesota: Still different or same dif? A big, big question
This is my weekly column published yesterday in the Hibbing Daily Tribune. You’ll recognize some of this from blog posts I’ve done in the past. In fact, as my column goes this is among the hodge-podgiest I’ve done in some time. Minnesota: Still different or same dif? A big, big questionBy Aaron J. Brown Both…
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South St. Paul and the Iron Range: shared fate, forgetful governor
This Jon Tevlin column in the Sunday Star Tribune explains the effect of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment and Local Government Aid cuts on Pawlenty’s hometown of South St. Paul. I have new affection for South St. Paul since my dad moved there. I’ve visited several times now and I always remark on how this working…
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Brown on the Air: Monday 6/15 Range Report
I’ll be offering Iron Range commentary at 7:20 Monday morning on the 91.7 KAXE Morning Show. There seems to be a lot going on in our neck of the woods that matters to more than just the woodsfolk. Scott Hall previews the segment at the KAXE Blog. Related posts: No related posts.
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Unemployment makes for good blogs, anyway
Another fine post from Mesabi Misadventures. She writes personally and well about what it’s like being a young professional working in an out-of-the-way place like the Iron Range. This week’s topic: unemployment. Related posts: No related posts.
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SoCal squirrel shares local rodent desire for glorious death, baseload power disruption
Many of you might know that I make light of how often the power supply to Iron Range towns, especially Hibbing, seems to be disrupted by squirrels vaporizing themselves in the transformers. Well, the west coast bureau of MinnesotaBrown has sent word of a similar squirrel-induced power outage in Los Angeles as reported by the…
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Staff curmudgeon offers his take
My former neighbor Jack Lynch has a great column in today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune. He’s the only writer I know whose official byline reads “curmudgeon.” I mentioned Jack briefly in my book. He’s one of those timeless characters in Iron Range journalism. He even manages to drop a Billy Martin joke in this column about…
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Hot times in K-Town
I’ll be reporting on an important Iron Range economic indicator today: Keewatin citywide yard sales. If a guy drives up on an ATV looking for furniture for his woodstove: good times. If grandmas start fighting over onesies: bad times. Both: normal. Related posts: No related posts.
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Range paper offers praise for Bakk’s campaign
The Iron Range’s largest newspaper, perhaps not surprisingly, has reviewed the gubernatorial campaign strategy of State Sen. Tom Bakk(DFL-Cook) and likes what they see. Related posts: No related posts.
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Hot guns, we’ve got letters
A couple of compelling letters to the editor ran in today’s Hibbing Daily Tribune and relate to recent posts here. The first, penned by former Tribune editor Al Zdon, takes on Ironworld’s new name. (My post on the topic). The second, arguing for the preservation of HCC Theater, is signed by several local theater people.…
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Massive college cuts threaten Iron Range’s flagship theater program, and much more
Amid a 15 percent budget cut due to Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unilateral state budget unallotment, Hibbing Community College has announced plans to downsize its celebrated theater department. Because I work for HCC (in the communication department no less) I am dangerously close to the politics of this. As such I won’t comment much on this…