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Brown on the Air: Sports Woes
My radio essay for this week is about sports, specifically my inability to successfully play sports. The piece will air early in the “Between You and Me” program on 91.7 KAXE this Saturday, Dec. 8, 2007. Scott Hall and Fred Friedman, co-hosts of the “Sports Page” segment on KAXE will be guest hosting the Saturday…
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Do not forsake me, oh my DVR …
We got the DVR (not TiVo, but same as TiVo) last summer. People told us have the digital recorder would change how we watched TV and it’s true. But there are hazards. Since late August I’ve been holding onto a recording of the Gary Cooper classic “High Noon,” waiting for the right time to enjoy…
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Holly was here $$$
Here’s an image I saw on an Iron Range highway on my way into work this morning around 9 a.m.: A rusty red pickup with two-by-fours nailed to the body to replace a missing tailgate. In the back, what would appear to be most, if not all, of the male driver’s possessions. Written in white…
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Copper and nickel to become pennies, nickels in local economy?
Sorry for the headline. If you’ve ever had to write newspaper headlines you spend the rest of your life unable to lay off the puns. They’re like crack. Anyway, check this out: more mining news from today’s Duluth News-Tribune. Mining company expands Range copper, nickel deposits estimateDuluth News Tribune – 12/04/2007The size of a copper-nickel…
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Another ‘new’ mine in Iron Country
Steel Dynamics and Cleveland-Cliffs closed a land deal that will allow the Steel Dynamics iron nugget plant to begin construction on the East Range in the vicinity of the former LTV taconite plant. LTV’s demise in 2001 kicked off a mini-panic on the Iron Range that included other taconite plant shutdowns or closures and paved…
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Iron Rangers: a fickle weather lot
Like I said, we got our first big Iron Range snowfall this past weekend, about 8-12 inches. The previous week had been very cold so the first sheet of ice was forming on our lakes; however, most of the ice wasn’t thick enough for vehicles yet. Then came the snow. I now learn from many…
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First big snow
We white-knuckled it through the first big snow storm of the year last night. We averaged about 20 miles an hour from Hibbing out into the Itasca wilderness where we live. We made it, but it wasn’t easy. I was just informed, however, that we left our winter boots out in the car. Which means…
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Banana ethics
Bananas look funny, sound funny and they’re a three-dimensional euphemism for something naughty. (Have you ever noticed how a banana resembles a hot dog? Those have so many nitrates! OMG!). Meantime, old bananas are turned into a great source of alliteration (and carbs): banana bread. Banana bread is tasty and beloved, harkening Midwestern memories of…
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Moody Out
For those who follow TV news out of the Duluth market (Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin), some news. Edward Moody, the accomplished and odd-looking morning anchor for the Northland NewsCenter (Channels 3 and 6) is leaving for Rochester, N.Y. I don’t know who will replace Moody, but I expect the person will look just as strange,…
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Just the fax, ma’am
I cracked open my Franklin Covey planner pages for 2008 today. It’s time to include January in my “advance planning” section. The contact sheet you’re supposed to put in the front of your planner includes home and work numbers. But it also includes “Fax” instead of “Cell.” Get with it Franklin Covey. Who’s going to…
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This is not a corporate blog
Target Corp finds itself in a bit of trouble over a blogging controversy. Apparently college-age students who were in a program to earn free merchandise for promoting Target stores were advised to secretly blog and spread comments about the greatness of Target. The story is in the Star Tribune today. This kind of corporate advertising…
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Brown on the Air: Cookies!!!!
My radio essay for Saturday’s “Between You and Me” program (10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 KAXE) deals with the topic of cookies. Indeed, the whole show will talk about cookies, but I focus in on the grand poo-bah of cookies for my generation, Cookie Monster. You should tune in if only to hear me…
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Minnesota U.S. Senate race heats up on the Range
I see at MN Publius that State Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) has endorsed attorney Mike Ciresi for Minnesota’s upcoming U.S. Senate race. The editors at MN Publius believe this may portend future Ciresi endorsements from other Range legislators. It might, but this situation is indicative of the overall woes of this Senate race. Incumbent Norm…
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Savin’ some bucks; keepin’ it in the family
Check out Christina’s new blog, Northern Cheapskate. Unlike my undisciplined, eclectic blog, Christina focuses on a specific topic: living frugally in the north woods. She talks about her experiments in running our household more efficiently, money-saving ideas and resources for trimming the family budget. She’s a whiz at this stuff and her blog is clever,…
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Clear alternatives to Mesaba Project
More on the Excelsior story. Read an op/ed from the Duluth News-Tribune by Charlotte Neigh, the co-chair of Citizens Against the Mesaba Project (CAMP). Here is an excerpt: The Mesaba Project is planned for a site that is about as far as it could be from potential sequestration sites. Piping the carbon dioxide to western…