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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…
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Big picture shows glum future for Range coal gas plant scheme
There was a hearing last night about the Environmental Impact Statement by Excelsior Energy for its Mesaba Energy Project near Taconite. The project would be a $2.3 billion coal gasification power plant. I didn’t attend. Fact is, the EIS is a small part of the issue with this project. The TV news — WDIO in…
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The Pro-Breakfast Candidate
Toddler dialogue from this morning: TODDLER: Santa bring Cranky? (the Crane, from “Thomas and Friends”) ME: That depends, are you a good boy? TODDLER: Hmmm. ME: Are you a good boy or naughty? TODDLER: I like breakfast. Sounds like someone is preparing for a congressional campaign. Related posts: No related posts.
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A little idealism goes a long way
I don’t know how many people read this; 16 maybe? Anyway, I’m a political junkie and I’m just about OD’ed on coverage of next year’s presidential race. I could cite polls, electability estimates, and resumes, but I won’t. Just think about this: who could provide a spark of idealism in American citizens at a time…
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Local politics over power plant
This is a few days old, but look at this excerpt from the Hibbing Daily Tribune’s Nov. 23 coverage of a recent Nashwauk Public Utilities Commission meeting (Nashwauk is a small town on the Western Mesabi, for those new to the Range). In other matters, the PUC:• Approved sending a letter to Excelsior Energy indicating…
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Local paper: ‘Mayday’ for Range schools
The headline might be a little overly dramatic, but here is a sign that in all of our economic “hopin’” on the Iron Range we still have big problems. Since it would take at least five years for the economic development projects everyone is talking about (Essar’s Minnesota Steel plant, PolyMet, etc.) to manifest as…
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Behold … THE FUTURE!
Here’s an invite that I almost ignored, but now I’m going. My book will include a section on the future of the Iron Range so this gives me easy material. I get lazy when the deadlines start snarling at me. My notations are below as well. Have you ever wondered what Grand Rapids will be…
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Surviving the first salvo of the holiday season
I’m generally a positive, happy dude. But it’s hard for me to avoid cynicismduring the holiday consumerism assault. Every year we are treated to the false impressions that our economy relies on everyone buying plastic goods the day after Thanksgiving. We are told what toys are “hot” and what our rooftops should look like from…