Aaron J. Brown

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Minnesota Brown: Modern Life on the Iron Range

  • Change defined Rick Nolan’s scrappy political career

    Change defined Rick Nolan’s scrappy political career

     Last week, former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan died at the age of 80. His death surprised many. Nolan had campaigned for Democrats here on the Mesabi Iron Range just two weeks earlier.  It’s often said that the passing of a venerable politician is “the end of an era.” I’ll spare that language of Nolan because,…

    October 26, 2024
  • For sale: childhood memories, adult heartbreak, one sports team, slightly used

    For sale: childhood memories, adult heartbreak, one sports team, slightly used

    Earlier this month, the Pohlad family announced they would explore selling the Minnesota Twins. This unexpected announcement came on the heels of a disappointing season in which a talented but injury-prone team listlessly limped its way out of the playoffs after a promising summer.  Sports franchises are both profitable and a status symbol among the…

    October 19, 2024
  • Despite checkered history, reorganized Essar Group ready to launch Mesabi Metallics

    Despite checkered history, reorganized Essar Group ready to launch Mesabi Metallics

    My new essay appears in the Minnesota Reformer today. (“Good news on the Iron Range: $2 billion Mesabi Metallics is finally happening; for real this time.”) Like much of what I write, it will interest readers on the Mesabi Iron Range. But the impact hits wider. Here we see the corporate maneuvering that shapes our…

    October 14, 2024
  • 100 years later, still waiting on the Prince of Wales

    100 years later, still waiting on the Prince of Wales

    With rain pouring from gray autumn skies, about 10,000 men, women and children swarmed the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha rail depot on West Fifth Avenue in Duluth. The unexpectedly massive crowd spilled across the tracks to greet the Prince of Wales.  It was Sunday, Oct. 12, 1924 — 100 years ago today. Anticipation…

    October 12, 2024
  • Stuck in the middle with you: life in the ‘sandwich generation’

    Stuck in the middle with you: life in the ‘sandwich generation’

    My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune, “In the quick of time — a dispatch from the ‘sandwich generation’ years,” is out now. Readers here might remember the jolt my family took when my mom suffered a stroke in 2022. In one terrible turn of events, a relatively healthy child care provider in her…

    October 7, 2024
  • As disaster costs mount, we all pay the price

    As disaster costs mount, we all pay the price

    This week, we witnessed the scope of devastation in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. The miles between northern Minnesota and the impacted area create only the illusion of distance. In truth, the effects of this far-away storm will soon hit home. Asheville and many surrounding cities and towns face historic flood and storm damage…

    October 5, 2024
  • What dreams may come

    What dreams may come

    The best thing we can do for our health is to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep costs nothing and feels good. At night, your brain provides a “dream lineup” of free streaming content tailored specifically to your most persistent fears and weirdest fantasies. You never get bored, gain weight or spend money while you…

    September 28, 2024
  • Weighing past and future impact of U.S Steel on the Iron Range

    Weighing past and future impact of U.S Steel on the Iron Range

    Eight years of intensive historical research and 44 years of intensive living on the Iron Range taught me more than I ever planned to know about the steel industry. My latest column, “With merger on the ropes, the fate of U.S. Steel will shape the future of the Iron Range,” is in the Wednesday, Sept.…

    September 24, 2024
  • Re-watching ‘The Paper’ in the smartphone era

    Re-watching ‘The Paper’ in the smartphone era

    I recently re-watched the 1994 film, “The Paper.” I hadn’t seen the movie in many years, but probably saw it half a dozen times in the late 1990s. Most viewings came from a VHS tape rented from the gas station near my childhood home before I left to major in print journalism at an affordable…

    September 21, 2024
  • The future is all thumbs

    The future is all thumbs

    Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Before I go any further, let me ask you a question. How many thumbs would I need to have for you to think I was magic?  One? No, that’s just a band saw accident. Two? (checks notes) Nope, that’s the regular amount.…

    September 14, 2024
  • Baby birds fly when they must; so do our children

    Baby birds fly when they must; so do our children

     We built our house the summer after our oldest son was born. Since then, generations of eastern phoebes raised their hatchlings in a nest constructed under our deck by one of their ancestors. You might know these fly-catching birds for their dark heads, fidgety tail pumps and their “fee-bee” call, which is how they got…

    September 7, 2024
  • Who’s driving the bus?

    Who’s driving the bus?

    It’s back to school season! For me, this has always been a special time of year. I loved school as a kid. College, too. I covered education as a reporter and editor. Then I became a college instructor. As a parent, school meant something different: freedom, maybe, but also the growth and development of those…

    September 3, 2024
  • Clock ticking for Hibbing city hall restoration

    Clock ticking for Hibbing city hall restoration

     One plot point in the 1985 movie classic “Back to the Future” involves the town’s clock tower. With the clock broken, preservationists raise funds to restore the timepiece and keep the building from being torn down.  The situation in the Iron Range town of Hibbing bears some similarity. I mean, no, Hibbing’s city hall clock…

    August 31, 2024
  • Yellowstone amazes with fire and brimstone, bison and bears

    Yellowstone amazes with fire and brimstone, bison and bears

    If you want to spice up your family vacation, why not go to a place that could kill you, and that might one day kill us all.  Last week, our family traveled to Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming. This place is a trip. Literally, in that it was a two day car ride for…

    August 24, 2024
  • First Strib Voices column begins in an Iron Range underground mine

    First Strib Voices column begins in an Iron Range underground mine

    If you missed the news, I’m joining the newly rebranded Minnesota Star Tribune as a contributing columnist. My first column publishes today at StarTribune.com and Monday, Aug. 19 in the print edition. Today’s column: “Old family photo reveals how much has changed on the Iron Range.” This first piece was inspired by an old photograph…

    August 18, 2024
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