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#springmapmadness pushes me over electoral threshold
Massachusetts, Delaware and South Dakota BREAKING: At 10:48 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2013, the United States Postal Service delivered to me the state maps of Kansas and Connecticut, bringing my collected total to 281 electoral votes and the Presidency of the United States.* My Spring Map Madness campaign continues. Follow me on Twitter or…
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Too ‘Minnesota Nice’ to Brag
This is my Sunday column for the April 14, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired on yesterday’s episode of “Between You and Me” on Northern Community Radio. Too Minnesota Nice to BragBy Aaron J. Brown You never know what you’ll see when a “list post” circulates on the…
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Magnetation expansion could impact recreation
Magnetation continues its expansion on the western Mesabi, upping production of its iron concentrate to serve what will be its first taconite processing plant in Indiana. It’s also exploring the possibility of opening new iron mining near Coleraine which would be more involved than the company’s current scram mining (essentially reprocessing mine dumps with new…
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Following the papal trail
This is my weekly column for the Saturday, March 16, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. I’m told it’s running a day early this week so the paper can fit the rest of it’s annual edition material into the Sunday edition. So, happy Saturday! Following the papal trailBy Aaron J. Brown First, congratulations to…
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Lyric Center celebrates ‘Range of the Arts’
Every year the Lyric Center for the Arts in Virgina, MN, hosts the “Range of the Arts” festival, a multi-day collection of workshops and gallery exhibits. Range of the Arts 2013 begins today. New this year is tomorrow night’s 6:30 p.m. live variety show at The Loft at 516 1/2 Chestnut Street. The event will…
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By water and land; perils of a man-made landscape
Two big stories this past have shown that the mines and mining in general still hold a lot of sway over northern Minnesota, particularly when it comes to public infrastructure. First, Cliffs Natural Resources rejected the most popular proposal to re-route the vital Range artery of Highway 53. The Minnesota DOT had proposed building the…
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‘Lincoln’: An ode to gradual change
This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 17, 2013 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. A version of this piece aired Saturday on KAXE‘s Between You and Me. The Academy Awards ceremony is tonight. ‘Lincoln”: An ode to gradual changeBy Aaron J. Brown Early in “Team of Rivals,” Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about President…
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COLUMN: Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles
This is my Sunday column for the Dec. 2, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Today’s labor battles found in retail aisles By Aaron J. Brown Nothing sets the table for an interesting period in history like a failed strike. There was much-ballyhooed strike over Thanksgiving weekend surrounding employees at Wal-Mart. Garnering great attention,…
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Range Women’s Advocates to lose staff after state grant loss
State funding cuts from recent years are still impacting communities across the state. In northern Minnesota, Range Women’s Advocates — a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic abuse — learned this week it would not receive a necessary $500,000 grant. This will cause RWA half its workforce, and place a large caseload of clients in…
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Choo-choo choose to watch this train video
On the subject of trains, maybe Essar Steel can get a deal on this engine.
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Vote No campaign kicks of Iron Range closing argument
Though I have strong personal political views, I try to avoid letting this blog become too activist in its goals. I like to report and analyze, but also like people to make up their own minds about how to vote. This reflects a change from the early days of this blog, which many of you…
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Vice President Biden to visit Superior on Friday
The campaign stops are coming fast and furious. Vice President Joe Biden will speak in Superior, Wisconsin this Friday. It’s a dual-purpose stop, catching the swing region of northwestern Wisconsin, a vital swing state, and reinforcing the Duluth, Minnesota, media market on that side of the bridge. As you may know, Bill Clinton will speak…
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Clarity, clatter mark final week of MN-8 showdown
Last night, PPP released a new poll showing a 48-44 percent lead for former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL) in his bid to oust freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8). While this lead remains narrow in terms of the margin of error, this is the third poll showing a Nolan lead in the past two weeks.…
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Longyear buys Grand Rapids site; marks West Range growth
More signs of economic growth on the western Mesabi: The Itasca Economic Development Corporation has found a buyer for its Itasca Eco Industrial Park in Grand Rapids. This was the former Ainsworth lumber plant that closed in 2008. J.M. Longyear, LLC, just bought the whole thing. GRAND RAPIDS, MN – On behalf of our board…
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Job growth on western Mesabi could tilt tight races
Gov. Mark Dayton was on the western Mesabi Iron Range last week, touting job growth in the area from the new Essar Steel and Magnetation projects in Itasca County. He used the occasion to reiterate his support for these projects, including whatever Magnetation needs in its quest to open new endeavors in coming years. In…