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In today’s New York Times … Bemidji State
The “Frozen Four”-bound Bemidji State Beavers men’s hockey team is featured in today’s New York Times. This also has the distinction of being the first time the words “Bemidji” “hockey” and “Beavers” have appeared in a single edition of the Times. “Did we expect to win both games? I don’t know,” Travis Winter, the senior…
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RIP Steve Cannon
City Pages provides a warm, informative obituary for Steve Cannon, the well known WCCO radio host who grew up in Eveleth on Minnesota’s Iron Range and passed away this week. Related posts: No related posts.
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After today’s developments, Ritchie to speak on fair elections up north
Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie headlines a civil liberty conference Wednesday, April 8, at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids. Ritchie’s nonpartisan address about the importance of free and fair elections will come 24 hours after today’s court ordered counting of just under 400 more U.S. Senate ballots now deemed admissible. As of this…
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All’s not well at Lake Wobegon
Something fun for Minnesotans and fans of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon: “Two Dozen More Bodies Found in Lake Wobegon,” The Onion Related posts: No related posts.
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Dylan on Obama, Grant, Sam Houston and the accordion
The must read interview of the week features prominent northern Minnesota native Bob Dylan, who was born in Duluth and raised in Hibbing on the Iron Range before leaving for New York and international fame. Bill Flannigan interviewed Dylan for the Monday London Times. Normally I’m not one for the heavy-handed personal interviews of famous…
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A fresh start
Baseball’s opening day is often described as a time of hope. Your team might be the greatest ever and, until tonight at 7:10, no one will have evidence to prove otherwise. Thus: We’re going to win Twins;We’re going to score.We’re going to win Twins;watch that baseball soar. Crack out a home run,shout out hip hooray!Cheer…
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Bartering hard in the Information Age
This was my weekly column from the Sunday, April 5, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this also aired as an essay on KAXE‘s “Between You and Me.” Bartering hard in the Information AgeBy Aaron J. Brown Between 6,000 and 9,000 B.C. people started using livestock as a sort of living…
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Dire scenarios discussed for St. Louis County Schools
Most news and education observers in northern Minnesota know that the St. Louis County Schools are in a heap of financial and enrollment trouble. All Iron Range and Duluth area schools are struggling to cover unfunded mandates, maintain quality curriculum and pay huge legacy costs with less funding and fewer students. The St. Louis County…
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Leaving the Fourth Estate for farm livin’
Reporter Janna Goerdt, who covered the Iron Range for the Duluth News Tribune, is leaving the paper. Her farewell column is in today’s edition. I’ve been reading lots of farewell columns lately. I damn near had to write one myself (until I escaped through the underworld beneath the opera house … the way I always…
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Deploying blogs in northern Minnesota
Interested in how your business, organization or hastily assembled militia can better use blogging and the internet in a changing 21st century society? Check this out. I’m passing this along as a favor for my friends at Northern Community Internet, one of several fascinating online media experiments going on right now. I’m working on similar…
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Brown on the Air: JOKES
The “Between You and Me” show topic for Saturday, April 4 is “jokes” in honor of this week’s April Fool’s Day. Guest hosts Michael Goldberg and Gail Otteson will be taking your calls and sharing top notch music on this unique northern Minnesota program that airs 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 KAXE. As usual,…
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‘Dark Days, Hope, and the New Deal at the Grass Roots’
It’s a little late for tonight, but try to check out one of Pam Brunfelt’s programs at the Lyric Center for the Arts “First Stage” in Virginia. Pam is a great Iron Range historian who provided crucial perspective for my new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” I’ve heard Pam talk about these…
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Business North poses tough questions on Range ‘clean coal’ project
Business North revisits the ongoing saga of the Mesaba Energy Project in this month’s edition. This is the “clean coal” power plant proposed on the Iron Range by the start-up company Excelsior Energy. Reporter Beth Bily boils criticism of the project down to three major questions. And yes, I’m quoted in the story as a…
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Ely launches 2016 Olympics bid!
The Minnesota “Must See” on this April Fools Day is the launching of the Ely 2016 Summer Olympics Bid. The “press conference” is an especially worthwhile click. On a side note, this is some very clever marketing done by the people up in Ely. It’s attention-getting and creative while showcasing what’s great about the Iron…
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Customers, everyone! Customers!
What if a small town was bypassed by a major freeway years ago? What if the town’s downtown went through a long period of struggle as a result? What if the town got one more chance at its past glory when a bunch of cars came through because of something big and important? And what…