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North vs. South
The Duluth News Tribune has an interesting editorial today decrying the “north-south” rift on the St. Louis County Board — the Iron Rangers being the “north” and the Duluthians the “south.” I wrote about this battle, fought under the guise of a hiring dispute, a couple days ago. The editorial board seemed especially miffed by…
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I should "Friend" this guy
Here’s an entertaining column from Newsweek by Steve Tuttle. (“You Can’t Friend Me, I Quit“) I’ve been trying to cut back my Facebook time. I’m having a very similar experience to Mr. Tuttle. (h/t Northern Cheapskate) Related posts: No related posts.
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‘Overburden’ tour comes to Ironworld this Saturday
This Saturday, Feb. 7, brings one of my most anticipated stops on the “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” book tour. I’ve been selected to be part of the Ironworld 2009 Lecture series and Saturday’s my big day. Ironworld is an Iron Range interpretive and historical center in Chisholm, Minn. Starting at 2 p.m.…
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Duluth vs. The Range?
This Duluth News Tribune story shows the rift between the Iron Range and Duluth on the St. Louis County Board. The Duluth commissioners voted down the Range commissioners in selecting MNDOT official Kevin Gray as the county’s next administrator. The Range commissioners preferred former Iron Range State Senator, former county commissioner and current Range lobbyist…
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Black rethinks Franken in today’s MinnPost
Eric Black offers a must read piece about Al Franken in MinnPost today. This is the most honest look at Franken’s candidacy I’ve seen, including the obvious flaws that right wing blogs like to talk about but also explaining the strengths that put him in position to be Minnesota’s next senator. This campaign has been…
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Look! In the sky! The Finn Signal
The Laskiainen Finnish Sliding Festival is coming this weekend to the greater Palo metropolitan area on Minnesota’s Iron Range. Related posts: No related posts.
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Minorca temporary shutdown discussions ongoing
Here’s a follow-up from the Mesabi Daily News on the story of the possible long term summer shutdown of the ArcelorMittal Minorca Mine in Virginia. In short, it’s being discussed but a rise in pellet demand by summer could belay the shutdown. Related posts: No related posts.
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An Iron Range argument goes to the sewers
The editorial back and forth between State Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) and Mesabi Daily News editor Bill Hanna over a wastewater plant editorial continues to, uh, well insert your own sewage joke here. Here is an excerpt from Rukavina’s letter to the editor saying he was misquoted in the MDN editorial about being opposed to…
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Good news? It’s mostly bad
A busy weekend in Range news: A stretch of Highway 169 by Chisholm might be threatened by collapsing underground mine shafts beneath (from Saturday’s Duluth News Tribune). These are the same patchwork collection of tunnels that caused structural damage at nearby Ironworld a couple years ago. All I’ve got to say is that if you…
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‘We are stardust’
This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. ‘We are stardust’By Aaron J. Brown During my elementary years people would ask me my favorite subject in school. Science, I would say. Science seemed the most real. Reality is a valuable substance where I am…
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Another Range mine faces temporary shutdown until economy recovers
ArcelorMittal’s Minorca Mine in Virginia is preparing for a possible three-month shutdown from May through June because of the flagging economy and weakening demand for steel. WDIO broke this story. This means that almost every mine on the Range is either stopping or dramatically slowing production in 2009. Related posts: No related posts.
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Laskiainen is coming
Here’s a story from the Mesabi Daily News about an author’s event at the Laskiainen Sliding Festival in Palo (on the East Range). Laskiainen is in its 72nd year on the Iron Range and features classic winter sliding and ethnic foods with a special emphasis on the Finns. Unfortunately I couldn’t do the book event…
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Brown on the Air: NO!
My weekly essay for the KAXE’s Saturday morning flagship program “Between You and Me” deals with the show’s rotating topic of “Just Say No.” The call-in and music program will explore the idea of how hard it is to say “no” sometimes and what people do to deal with it. I have a bit of…
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Column: ‘Flip that Newspaper,’ and how we got here
Business North reporter and my former editor colleague in the former Murphy McGinnis chain of northern Minnesota newspapers wrote a great column for Business North about the state of newspapers, specifically the local weeklies and small dailies common to most of Minnesota. You’ve probably heard that newspapers are in tough financial shape. You’ve probably heard…
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Empty Bowls filled with love, soup
Passing along some information about a worthy cause in Itasca County: Coming together as a community to help feed hungry people is at the heart of the Empty Bowls Project. And what a community it is! Teachers and students, potters and restaurateurs, bakers and citizen volunteers, non-profits and for-profits. People of all ages and experience…