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Brace yourselves: ‘super’ week awaits us
Will the team from New York prevail? Will 2008 be an historic year? Who will carry the pivotal state of Arizona? Are the TV ads the best part or just a distraction from what really matters? What am I talking about? See, that’s the thing. You’ll notice that these questions work for both the upcoming…
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MinnesotaBrown blog going through "the changes"
You’ll start to see some changes at the MinnesotaBrown blog today. I am merging my old homepage with the blog so that everything is housed in the same online location. From now on I’ll post my full columns here. I am working on a way of archiving the old columns so that people can read…
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Reminder: Obama meeting on Saturday
Reminder: The Iron Range Barack Obama organizational meeting is Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. in the Bob Dylan conference room at the Hibbing Public Library. RSVP here or just show up. Related posts: No related posts.
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Brown on the Air: Kids Say the Darnedest Things
My weekly radio essay on Saturday’s “Between You and Me” on KAXE deals with the cute little things that kids say. If that sounds too sugary for you, don’t worry. My essay also involves Scotch. (You’ll have to listen to figure out the connection). “Between You and Me” is a call-in and music show that…
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An important day for Iron Range mining projects
There’s a lot going on today that could impact many of the precious mineral mining and value-added iron mining projects currently in development on the Iron Range. First, this morning lawmakers are meeting with representatives of India-based Essar Global, the company that bought the Minnesota Steel project which aims to build a taconite mine and…
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U.S. Steel to announce ‘good news’ on Feb. 1
U.S. Steel has set a press conference for Friday, Feb. 1, to announce “good news” about its Iron Range taconite operations, according to reports from the Hibbing Daily Tribune and Mesabi Daily News. The word is it’s an expansion and new jobs. Related posts: No related posts.
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Iron Range Obama meeting now set for Saturday in Hibbing
The Barack Obama organizational meeting in Hibbing has been rescheduled for the day of the important South Carolina primary. Those interested in joining or learning more about the Obama campaign on the Iron Range are invited this Saturday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m. to the Bob Dylan room of the Hibbing Public Library. The public…
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Iron Range’s top reporter moves on
The Range’s best and most experienced mining/Range reporter is stepping down for an inside job. Lee Bloomquist, who I’ve known for years and respect greatly, is leaving the Duluth News-Tribune for a position with the Iron Range Resources agency as an information officer. He’s going to be a big help for the agency and the…
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Oh, what the heck, one more log on the fire
Excelsior Energy continues to get news coverage for their plan to add $20 million in environmental upgrades to their vast $2.3 billion proposed Iron Range coal-gas plant while paying for $500,000 worth of improvements to Taconite, Bovey and Coleraine’s wastewater plants. This unproven new company, using taxpayer grants and loans, is buying the support of…
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Al Franken nabs two big endorsements
Al Franken has received two big endorsements for his U.S. Senate campaign in advance of the Feb. 5 precinct caucuses, Education Minnesota (almost all of Minnesota’s K-12 and college teachers, including my local) and Operating Engineers, Local 49. It had seemed that labor was splitting between Franken and Ciresi. This changes the equation quite a…
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The 935 reasons we’re still in Iraq
Old news, but I’ve never seen the bogus run-up to the Iraq War quantified so specifically as in this AP report. I know Iraq policy is a touchy subject, but we’re starting to see how badly the situation was handled at the start. Study: Bush, other officials issued hundreds of false statements before Iraq invasionBy…
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Early challenge in West Duluth House race
For the most part, I believe it will be a fairly uneventful election year in Northeastern Minnesota legislative races. However, it appears there will be a least one interesting race in west Duluth’s District 7B House District, a seat currently held by longtime Rep. Mike Jaros. Clokey to run for Jaros’ seatDuluth News Tribune Following…
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Obama meeting CANCELLED, to be rescheduled
UPDATE: The Obama organizational meeting for tonight has been cancelled and will be rescheduled because the field organizer is out sick today. Watch this site for an update in a day or two. Find out more about Barack Obama’s campaign for president and plans for the Iron Range at an introductory meeting tonight. It’s at…
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Climate change and our forests
In this story, Minnesota Public Radio explores how climate change may affect the forests of northern Minnesota. This is a good read (or listen, if you are so inclined.) Hope you all like leafy trees. Related posts: No related posts.
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Spin, baby, spin
Remember that scene in “Monty Python’s Holy Grail” where King Arthur is dueling with the Black Knight and keeps cutting off the knight’s arms, then legs. Each time he cuts off a limb the knight refuses to admit defeat, saying things like “Oh, it’s just a scratch.” Yeah, Excelsior Energy and their boondoggle Mesaba Energy…