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Confessions of an assistant coach
The movie, “The Bad News Bears,” really set unreasonable expectations for under-qualified little league baseball coaches. For one thing, letting the children smoke and drink beer is even more taboo now than it was in 1976. For another, teaching children how to do anything requires extraordinary patience. Teaching them to lean into a pitch that,…
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Explaining the hot idle
If you’re a regular reader of MinnesotaBrown.com you’ve probably noticed far fewer posts that usual this summer. This is what I sometimes call a “hot idle.” The term refers to what the mines do when they halt production of iron ore but keep their equipment “hot” and ready for a quick restart. It’s usually something…
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What if Bob was one of us? Dylan Fest features music, culture and Joan Osborne
What if Bob was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Well, he pretty much is. Duluth’s Dylan Fest will hold its annual celebration of its native son Bob Dylan May 18-26, 2019. Meanwhile Dylan’s Iron Range hometown of Hibbing continues efforts to commemorate its complex influence on one of the world’s…
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Prairie River Minerals aims to restart scram mining on western Mesabi
Amid high demand and temporarily limited global supply, another new scram mining venture aims to reclaim natural iron ore on the western Mesabi Iron Range. Prairie River Minerals seeks to mine about 1.3 million tons of iron ore annually, mostly in Itasca County, hiring about 125 union workers in the process. The chief partners in…
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Dylan monument at Hibbing HS to be revealed fall 2019
Like an eddy in a fast-moving stream, Robert Zimmerman matriculated from Hibbing High School in 1959. Just three years later, under a new name of his own design, Bob Dylan began transforming the musical world from the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York. Decades before I was born, Dylan lived in the same neighborhood…
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In Northern Minnesota, economic trends collide
The people of Northern Minnesota need the same things they did 100 years ago. Employment. Food. Medical care. Places to shop and seek entertainment. Yet, how we satisfy these needs changed considerably over the past century. Indeed, these fundamental functions of society continue to transform before us. Only two questions remain: 1) Will we accept…
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Hibbing Community College to name buildings
If you’re like me, you wonder how places got their names. There’s usually some story involved, even if it’s boring. At college you might have sat in a building named for some dusty old multisyllabic poo-bah from the past. A plaque in the lobby identified the crusty oldster, who we all assume forked over a…
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Regenerating hope in mining’s wake
Like a lot of kids who grew up on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range in the 1980s and ‘90s I saw plenty of reasons to leave. Many of my friends did. But I’m glad I found good reasons to stay. Many friends did that, too. That doesn’t mean, however, that our lives are easy or our…
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A bright light in winter
So I’ve been doing some squats lately. I’ve done squats before. This isn’t new. But I’ve never been afraid of my insides popping out like a tube of crescent rolls before. That is new. For many of us, trying to get back in shape is a cycle. When I think about exercise, I picture snow…
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Hear Great Northern Radio Show from Hibbing High School auditorium
Fans of Aaron Brown’s Great Northern Radio Show on Northern Community Radio can hear the full Nov. 17, 2018 program broadcast live from the historic Hibbing High School auditorium.
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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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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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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…