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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…
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Vote on Santa question
Don’t forget to vote on the Quick Poll. Santa Claus is: A) RealB) Not RealC) Real in our heartsD) State Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) Right now, “real in our hearts” is leading Bakk by a nose. A bright red Rudolph nose. Related posts: No related posts.
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How to win the Iron Range
This is the second long post in a series about the political climate on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. I cross post these kinds of things with www.mnblue.com and my own www.minnesotabrown.blogspot.com. Last week I talked about how Range politics centers on personal relationships. The region blends social conservatism with economic liberalism to create a unique…
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Miners’ health study carries hefty price tag
Yesterday, lawmakers learned that it will cost $5.5 million to do a study about the effects of the taconite mining process on miners’ health. For years, anecdotal evidence and incomplete reports have suggested a link between working in the mining industry and a rare form of cancer. The question now becomes, do people in power…
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Big Brother is Watching Buhl
Ah, Buhl. When will we ever learn to understand your ways? This is an AP synopsis of a story from the Mesabi Daily News: Iron Range town mulls surveillance cameras placed around townThe Associated Press – Sunday, December 16, 2007 BUHL, Minn. — Law enforcement officials in the Iron Range town of Buhl want to…
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My moustache mistake
I made a dumb mistake in my column yesterday. In a (mostly) satirical column I suggested that Minnesota trade its high-profile Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty to North Dakota for its Republican Gov. John Hoeven, a bunch of steaks and two nuclear weapons. In the column I say that Minnesota hasn’t had a governor with a…
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Trade talk could be applied elsewhere
The whole debate got me thinking: What if we could trade away people in politics or the media for prospects? It could solve some problems. Therefore I have decided to propose several non-sports trades for our state and region. The first big trade I suggest is to send Minnesota’s Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty to North…
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As sure as B.S. trails a boondoggle
Come on down, Iron Range! It’s time for another fun episode of “Logical Fallacy.” Yesterday, Xcel Energy — the largest and most influential energy company in the state — said they aren’t going to invest in any new coal plants until the government decides on firm carbon limits or until the cost of cleaner coal…
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The Range: Where "poli sci" is some kind of ethnic dish and potica is political
This is the first part of a series of cross-posts about Iron Range political culture for MNBlue.com and the MinnesotaBrown blog. The first thing you have to know about the Iron Range is that you need to cast aside the conventional wisdom on “rural vs. urban” political trends. The Range is often considered to be…
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Tiffany Johnson Memorial Fund
Most folks have already heard the tragic story of the former Chisholm woman killed in Colorado, but I just got this notice in the mail today. Visit www.Tiffanyjohnsonmemorialfund.com for more information. The Tiffany Johnson Memorial Fund has been established as a tribute to Tiffany A. Johnson, who lost her life as the result of a…
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Brown on the Air: Home for the Holidays
The topic for this week’s “Between You and Me” on 91.7 KAXE is “Home for the Holidays.” Host Heidi Holtan and anyone who cares to call in will be discussing what it’s like coming home for Christmas, including traditions, stories and reflections. My weekly essay contribution is about my drive home from a college in…
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Hail, Hail, the Iron Range
The following is my first post at www.mnblue.com, a political blog for which I began contributing this week. Have you heard the latest about CD03? Just kidding. “Psych!” as the cool kids used to say. CD03 is another planet to me. I’m aware of it, and thanks to my 1,239 metropolitan blogging friends I know…
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Off we go into the MNBlue yonder
I’ve signed on as a contributor to MNBlue.com, a political blog based in Minneapolis. I’ll republish my posts here on MinnesotaBrown, but just know that I’m sometimes writing in a way that translates common knowledge on the Range into terms understandable to political junkies in 612 country. The little blue state picture will indicate a…