-
OmniBob
This post at Wonkette explores how Duluth native and Iron Range-raised Bob Dylan’s last two albums correctly predicted significant (largely negative) events that shaped the last decade. Indeed, some of Dylan’s older material also foretold historic events. His latest album, “Together Through Life,” subtly suggests the end of humanity, according to one critic. I’m just…
-
Here we snow again
Driving snow on the first day of spring on the Iron Range. I’d call it an omen if this sort of thing didn’t happen every spring. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Shenanigans rising
Taegan Goddard posts about a theory I suspect, too — that the never ending cuts to newspapers will enable all manner of backroom political shenanigans once thought to be under control. Who’s going to investigate anything? The days of paving riverbeds with overpriced concrete on a government contract might be back. “Citizen” journalists don’t have…
-
What the missing steam means
Most mornings my drive from the woods north of Nashwauk to Hibbing orients around the enormous steam cloud billowing out of Keewatin Taconite. The wind points the steam like a finger, to the north on a warm day and angrily to the south on a cold, bitter day. On a calm day the finger points…
-
Brown on the Air: HATS
This week’s topic for KAXE‘s “Between You and Me” is hats. I’ll be presenting my usual commentary near the beginning of the call-in and music program, which airs between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota and streaming online all over the world at www.kaxe.org. I’ll be talking about literal hats and…
-
An Iron Ranger in a strange land
As readers of this blog know, I subsidize my blogging by begging readers to buy my book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” (available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble). Last week I took the “Overburden” road show to the Twin Cities for the first time. It was an exciting trip and I’m now…
-
Dirt work at Essar Steel on the Range
Lee Bloomquist has posted video and and update on the Essar Steel Minnesota project near Nashwauk at the Iron Range Resources blog “Rangeviews.” The information matches the media reports seen over the past week, but it’s interesting to see the actual dirt work going on. Gov. Tim Pawlenty told reporters when he was in town…
-
Bob Dylan portable toilet flap leads to desperate plea from Duluth paper
Something is “blowin’ in the wind” at Minnesota native and Hibbing High School alumnus Bob Dylan’s home in Malibu. It appears neighbors are upset about the smell coming from a portable toilet on Dylan’s property. Ha ha! I wonder if anyone else will think to use the term “Blowin’ in the wind” for this story.…
-
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
When the headline reads “Iron Range teen faces charges after skunk prank goes awry,” I’ll bite. So will you. (Duluth News Tribune). Oh, and if you’re wondering: Gilbert. Related posts: No related posts.
-
Outdoors Council ‘green lights’ vast northern Minnesota forest project
On Monday, the Lessard Council officially offered its blessing for the the first $20 million allocation of the Upper Mississippi Forest Project, an initiative to buy a permanent easement on vast tracts of forest lands and wetlands mostly in Itasca County. I wrote a post about the topic a couple weeks ago. The idea is…
-
End-of-life planning for my inky friend the newspaper
The amount of journalism done on the state of journalism is exhausting to read. There’s so much of it! And so many ex-journalists producing it! But most of it is thoughtful, researched and, well, pretty much common sense in the end. Highlights I’ve seen recently: Clay Shirky writes a detailed postmortem on the “dying” newspaper…
-
Reports: Essar forging ahead
Word up north is that Essar Steel Minnesota is proceeding with plans to build a mine and eventually a steel mill near Nashwauk on Minnesota’s Iron Range. This, despite financing problems that are delaying the next phase of construction. The Star Tribune had a story today. The interesting observation to me is that Essar CEO…
-
‘Please’ and ‘Thank You," signs of hope
This is my weekly column for the Sunday, March 15 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece ran as an essay on KAXE‘s “Between You and Me” on March 7. ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You,’ signs of hopeBy Aaron J. Brown As a relatively young parent of relatively young children the words…
-
Sunday fun links: snow, Alaska, the Russian Empire and more
My friends the Rudstroms in Brevig Mission, Alaska, posted a great video about what happens when a snow drift blocks the door to your house in an Alaskan Inuit Village not far from the Bering Strait. (h/t Rudstrom Family Blog) And, on the subject of things that are close to Russia, via “TYWKIWDBI” here are…
-
Biden to St. Cloud? What, the Eveleth Hippodrome was booked?
Vice President Joe Biden is coming to St. Cloud this Thursday. The agenda: a town hall meeting about how to strengthen the middle class. What better place to explore middle class issues than a town known for its all-you-can-eat buffets! St. Cloud is called the Granite City. I know this because one time I was…