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Behold 2008’s great bounty
Stop! What’s that sound? That gentle ringing … or it buzzing? Why, it can only be one thing. The future! The rest will have to wait; it’s time to answer the call. Behold, my 2008 predictions for the Iron Range and to a lesser extent … THE WORLD! POLITICSThe political world is shocked to its…
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Brown on the Air: Time
I had the high honor of appearing as the guest on this morning’s “What’s for Breakfast” segment on the 91.7 KAXE Morning Show. Tomorrow, my weekly essay will appear on “Between You and Me” between 10 a.m. and noon. The topic this week is appropriate for today: time. See, today is my birthday, the big…
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Minnesota could lose Congressional seat in 2012
For Minnesota political junkies, this is an old assumption. Our slow population growth in Minnesota could cause us to lose a Congressional seat after the 2010 census. This would mean a contentious redistricting battle that puts increased importance on who controls the legislature and governor’s office in coming years, especially after the 2010 election. For…
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MinnesotaBrown endorsements are coming
On Jan. 2, the eve of the Iowa Caucuses, MinnesotaBrown (OK, me) will be endorsing a Democrat and a Republican for their respective party’s nomination. I am doing so for two reasons: 1) to attempt to have some influence on a process that will leave me nothing but the decision to rubber stamp the front-runner…
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Christmas decompression
We survived a rather extensive family Christmas marathon involving lots of meat, cheese and potatos and very few green vegetables. Also, lots of baby holding and toddler chasing, but that’s a given these days. Santa brought Cranky the Crane, so all is well. We seem to have a news hole right now. Nothing significant, other…
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Merry Christmas from MinnesotaBrown
I’m laying off the blog ’til Boxing Day. Enjoy some time with your friends and family. That’s my plan. Related posts: No related posts.
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T-Paw saves disfigured bear from lethal injection
In northern Minneosta, bear stories are on the news all the time. If I blogged every one this thing would be called MinnesotaBear. But I feel bad I’ve waited so long to talk about Solo, the one-eared bear from the Vermilion Range. Solo and her two cubs are hibernating underneath someone’s porch. They called the…
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Our dog is still alive and other Christmas news
So we sent out our Christmas cards which were actually just letters, and photocopied letters at that. I’ve read the etiquette columns and I know such documents should be augmented with personal notes, ribbons and probably glitter, but we just sent out the black and white photo letter. We have three boys under the age…
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Brown on the Air: Winter Wonderland
The long Christmas weekend begins Saturday with the topic of KAXE’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE: Winter Wonderland. We northern Minnesotans live in just such a wonderland. My essay is about how recent unusual winters have been a drag for our local snow enthusiasts. Only it’s supposed to be funnier than how I…
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City folk find us quaint
My first couple of weeks posting for www.mnblue.com have been interesting. Check out and join the discussion on my latest post, which I published here a couple days ago. MNBlue is a bit Twin Cities-centered, so I feel like a stranger in a strange land sometimes. Related posts: No related posts.
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Compare and contrast
Check out this story on a potential new “clean coal” plant in central Illinois. A few interesting facts: The U.S. Energy Dept. is questioning the costs for the $1.8 billion price tag, expecting overruns. All the project supporters cite the geology of central Illinois and the close proximity of coal supplies as major reasons to…
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Big Brother is NOT watching Buhl
An update: The people of Buhl have spoken. The city is now backing off plans to install surveillance cameras on the streets of this small Iron Range town. Now the midnight riots may continue unabated. The feds are still listening to our phone calls, but at least public urination laws remain difficult to enforce. Related…
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Project Firefly
Check out this press release about “Project Firefly.” I’ve heard about this before and it seems like an interesting way to enhance homegrown economic development near Ely. It would be a pilot project that could be duplicated across the entire Iron Range or any area like ours. Essentially, inventors are given funding to take their…
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Hey you, Dow Jones guy
I just watched President Bush’s year-end press conference. I noticed that, with the exception of reporters who have specifically pissed him off in the past (David Gregory), he refers to the reporters by their organization’s assigned seat. “OK, first up, Associated Press guy.” My favorite was this exchange. BUSH: Dow Jones guy. How’s the market?…
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The truth about presidential politics
I am going to tell the truth. There is nothing I can offer here that will bring an sort of understanding to the 2008 presidential nomination races in either party. It’s all up to 80,000 people in Iowa and another 100,000 in New Hampshire. Who’s a flyover state now, Big City? In honor of the…