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Angry Serbs
If you missed it, Kosovo seceded from Serbia this week and the U.S. recognized Kosovo’s independence. Serbia doesn’t like this. The BBC reported the following: Several hundred protesters have attacked the US and other embassies in Serbia’s capital in anger at Western support for Kosovo’s independence. Protesters broke into the US compound in Belgrade and…
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Brown on the Air times Two: Northern Cheapskate Saturday!
It’s been a rough week. Normally, when I tell you what I’ll be doing for the Saturday “Between You and Me” program on KAXE I’ve already written, recorded and edited the piece. This week, I have done none of those three things. But I do know the topic and it is close to home, believe…
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Raising a blogger militia
Thanks to the good folks who showed up at the blog class at Hibbing Community College last night. I taught the class for KAXE’s Community Journalism Project, an initiative to get people started with community blogging all over northern Minnesota. When we have a strong network of bloggers working, we’ll be able to aggregate a…
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Political tidbits
I was swamped yesterday and we’re saying a lot of prayers for my grandmother who is in the hospital in very serious condition. Anyway, I didn’t get to some interesting tidbits I found over at www.mnblue.com, a progressive political blog of which I am a contributor. As the MNBlue’s “token Iron Ranger,” I had to…
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The world of water cooler politics is flat, too
President Bush recently visited Tanzania, one of the few nations in the world where he enjoys an approval rating above 50 percent. Despite Bush’s relative popularity, questions about Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign to become Bush’s successor dominated the visit, according to a Sheryl Gay Stolberg story from last Sunday’s New York Times. Outside of town,…
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Free blog class this Wednesday night in Hibbing
This is a cool opportunity for HCC students and staff and the Iron Range community at large. Next Wednesday from 6 to about 8 p.m. I’ll be leading a free class about blogging as part of the KAXE Community Journalism Project. Essentially, if you’re interested in starting a blog this will give you some strategies…
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Kudos, but thanks/no thanks, to Range cloth diaper company
A couple from Britt (part of the wooded wonderland just north of the Mesabi iron formation) is making a name for themselves as owners of an online cloth diaper company. Read the story in today’s Duluth News-Tribune. Since my house is full of babies, the story stood out to me. Good for them. We opted…
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DNT: Locals, ‘outsiders’ equally to blame for Duluth crime
The Duluth News-Tribune is running a fascinating series on the social impact of “outsiders” in Duluth. Talk to most Duluth folks (or Range folks, for that matter) and they’ll tell you that those darn “outsiders” cause most of the problems (crime, drugs, welfare fraud, etc.) in their area. The DNT did some investigative reporting and…
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Franken questions coal gas plant in the Bemidji Pioneer
Al Franken, DFL U.S. Senate candidate from Minnesota, gave an interesting interview to the Bemidji Pioneer. (No, Bemidji is not on the Iron Range but many of our people go to college and drink a lot of beer there, so it is a city of note). Essentially, Franken was stressing his support of basic northern…
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Range mining: another perspective
Mining. The Range. Sounds familiar, right? A friend sent me some links about mining on the western range that put a new perspective on some of the mining stories we report so often here on Minnesota’s Iron Range. These are stories from the High Country News about some of the tough economic choices that need…
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How to date an Iron Ranger
This is my Hibbing Daily Tribune column for Sunday, Feb. 17. A version also ran as a radio essay on 91.7 KAXE Saturday, Feb. 16. We’ve passed Valentine’s Day, which means by now your mate has settled back into his or her comfortable ambivalence toward you and your relationship. Sorry about that. I’m sure the…
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Brown on the Air: Love, Misc.
I’m on the air Saturday morning for my weekly essay on KAXE’s “Between You and Me.” This week’s show topic is about love and dating, sort of a whiplash off of this week’s Valentine’s Day holiday. I offer “tips for dating Iron Rangers.” Usually, the essay is complete by the time I write this post.…
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You know you’re in northern Minnesota when…
… you see a bumper sticker like this: “Kids who hunt, trap and fish don’t mug little old ladies” ~ Highway 169 near Grand Rapids, Feb. 14 Related posts: No related posts.
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Change on the Range?
Though I missed the speech, the Hibbing Daily Tribune report on Hibbing Mayor Rick Wolff’s State of the City address was encouraging. Visions, challenges and initiatives Mayor says Hibbing must embrace changeBy Kelly Grinsteinner, Hibbing Daily Tribune HIBBING — With change knocking on Hibbing’s door, Mayor Rick Wolff says the community and region must be…
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Update: Nothing wrong here at the airport, say people who run the airport
An update on the Chisholm-Hibbing Airport controversy from earlier in the week. The Airport Commission has chosen to accept the check from former airport director Dave Danielson as a “resolution” to the matter. They then named the interim director to officially succeed Danielson despite his using the airport address as the address for his private…