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Stauber sworn into Congress for Minnesota’s 8th District
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN8) took office today with the new United States House of Representatives.
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MinnesotaBrown’s Top Posts of 2018
Aaron J. Brown shares the top posts of 2018 at MinnesotaBrown.com.
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New Year’s Eve in Northern Minnesota
Can I tell you a secret? I’ve always really wanted to host a live New Year’s Eve show. It has to do with how I typically spend New Year’s Eve. That is, sitting inside of my home watching television. All those years Dick Clark performed a vital community service. He brought the energy and excitement…
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ArcelorMittal will run Hibbing Taconite
Hibbing Taconite will be run by its majority owner in 2019. ArcelorMittal announced this week it would gradually take over management of the mine from Cleveland Cliffs over the next eight months. Cliffs resigned from management of the mine this year. ArcelorMittal is the largest steel company in the world. Hibbing Taconite is the second…
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The day the sun stopped rolling away
As a young radio reporter for KUWS in Superior, Wisconsin, my news director Mike Simonson sent me to cover the Hump Day Club across the bridge in Duluth, Minnesota. At the time the Hump Day Club met once a year for lunch at the Pickwick the day after the winter solstice. The premise was simple.…
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State OKs Highway 53 upgrades in 2019
Highway 53 between International Falls and Cook to receive $7.2 million upgrade this summer.
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Duluth flat flap highlights housing challenges
Duluth housing controversy seems pretty familiar if you’ve seen markets like Minneapolis-St. Paul.
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We can save rural, but we can’t stop change
A controversial news analysis from the NY Times asks whether rural America can be saved.
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Local ownership critical to Range success
Locally owned and operated. These words represent more than just a good tagline for area businesses. They’re the ticket to success in our changing economy. Encouraging and expanding local ownership is a sure-fire way to bring economic strength to Minnesota’s Iron Range and beyond. Not surprisingly, it’s also a vexing challenge amid current conditions. After…
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Duluth tall ships tickets go on sale today
Fans of tall masted wooden ships will feel an aft wind this summer when the Festival of Sail comes to Duluth, Minnesota, Aug. 11-13. Formerly known as the Tall Ships Festival, tickets for the event go on sale today. It’s hard to explain the absolute crush of people who come to Canal Park and Bayfront…
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Why livability is key to Northern Minnesota strategy
The Iron Range, all of Northern Minnesota, and most of rural America share many problems, while maintaining some unique ones. Nevertheless, we could all make good use of one potential solution: We need people. Our small towns and rural institutions were built for a certain number of people. Not a ton of people, but a…
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Northern Minnesota wolves maintain clear boundaries
Scientists with the Voyageurs Wolf Project study the behavior of wolves in Northern Minnesota’s Voyageurs National Park. One recent social media post shows how wolves maintain their territory. As you see above, collared wolves from different packs move a great deal in pursuit of prey. But they almost never encroach on the territory of neighboring…
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Prominent indy TV festival coming to Duluth
Next October Duluth will host the Independent TV Festival. This gathering of independent television producers, directors and writers routinely connects major TV and streaming distributors with new projects. On Monday, the ITV Festival announced it would move from Vermont to Northern Minnesota. It’s a major coup for the arts scene in our region. The Oct…
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Driving culture impacts Minnesota’s carbon footprint
If a cancer cell knew it was a cancer cell, would it change its behavior? Knowing that it will eventually kill its host, and thus itself, would it arrest its own growth? Would the cancer cell deny itself the satisfaction of its most pressing instinct for its own good? I’ve turned this question over in…
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The fallacy of sunk costs on the Iron Range
“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away, and when to run. ~Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler” Observe the haphazard dashes of spray paint on plywood signs along the roads of the Iron Range. They tell you what people think their stuff is worth. “$2,000 or…