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Economy, company commitments to determine real fate of NorthMet project
Today, I’ve got a new column on some of the latest twists in Minnesota’s copper-nickel mining debate. I’m well aware that my position on copper-nickel mining in northern Minnesota is like some rare single-cell organism that only survives within a narrow temperature band found near active volcanos at the bottom of the ocean. I know…
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Part hockey, part pro wrestling, part culture war
Yelling feels good. But yelling isn’t the solution. I fear we have reached this point in the debate (is it a debate?) over the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth. You can read more in my latest column in the Minnesota Star Tribune. Naturally, Iron Rangers don’t want the Hall of Fame Museum to…
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A new podcast worth your time
Starting Friday, May 2, you can listen to “Worth It,” a new podcast from the Minnesota Star Tribune and Lemonada Media. Night editor Nicole Norfleet and I will co-host this lifestyle talk show highlighting all the cool and important stuff happening around Minnesota. You can listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.…
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If a duck can be brave, we can be brave
Nature functions because it is certain despite its uncertainty. I’ve seen proof. Like most people of my time and place, I’ve had to live with a fair amount of uncertainty. In school, I agonized. Would she ever love me back? Was dad going to keep his job? Would I be able to afford the elite…
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A strategy of pragmatic hope to improve mental health
Mental health is often in the news these days. It’s an epidemic putting enormous pressure on our health care system. It’s a burden weighing down our kids as they navigate a more complex and cruel world. We hear about ending the stigma of mental illness through open dialogue. I’ll start. Mental illness in my immediate…
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How much capital is the public good worth?
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune is out now. It pertains to one of the most important companies in the Northland: Minnesota Power. I never claimed to be an economist or an MBA. But I’ve listened to a lot of people of that description over the years and have come to the conclusion…
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Bringing back the shanty craze, for safety
Today begins with a question. Will the Minnesota Star Tribune let their newest columnist write a goofball satire in the form of old time workers’ shanties? The answer, to my own surprise, is yes. Please enjoy, “Why have regulations when you can have safety shanties?“ About nine years ago I became more serious about historical…
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Logging off from myths in forest products
Even today, logging shapes life in the North Woods. Sure, most people here aren’t loggers. Even in rural areas, most people don’t even own their own chain saws, though many do. But logging is all around us. It’s even the subject of my latest column. As I drive from Balsam to Grand Rapids these days,…
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Building energy resilience in rural Minnesota
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune is out today, entitled, “Green shoots of hope: Despite harsh political winds, renewable energy can help communities weather the storm.” If we boil all things down to ideology and opposition, there are some people who will never accept renewable energy as anything worth their time or consideration. Meanwhile,…
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When the thundering noise hits home
It’s been a momentous couple of weeks on the Mesabi Iron Range, notably marred by a major layoff at two mines. But let’s be honest, it’s been a momentous year for the country. Our world is changing. American political institutions are falling apart. People disagree about whether this is good or not, but it’s happening…
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On butts: colon health begins with early screening
When I took the new job at the Minnesota Star Tribune, I wondered about the size of my yard. In my old column, I got to wander pretty far from the house, into the woods even. Nobody seemed to mind that much, perhaps because the stakes were low. But what would the new editors say…
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On joining the Minnesota Star Tribune editorial page
At last, I can share a really big update. This week, I joined the Minnesota Star Tribune as a full time columnist and member of the editorial board. I’ll be working remotely, based here at MinnesotaBrown World Headquarters in Balsam Township, with liberty to travel the state as necessary. In fact, I’ll be the first…
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Solving high costs, low availability of child care
My latest column for the Minnesota Star Tribune is out today: “Child care is expensive, but no one is getting rich from it.” Monday is “Day Without Child Care” in Minnesota. Child care providers, families and employers will raise awareness and lobby for policies that reduce the cost and improve the availability of child care…
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A note to historical researchers, 100 years hence
For about three years, I spent much of my free time reading century-old Hibbing newspapers on a microfilm machine in my basement. Please don’t throw your undies, ladies; it’s not as sexy as it sounds. My book research took on added meaning as I slowly absorbed the sensibilities of the 1910s and ‘20s. After a…
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New lumberjack history exposes plaid-clad myths
I live in the woods. So do a lot of my relatives. Go back a few generations and you’ll find lots of us from the woods. So I could say, as do many of my kind, that I know all about the woods. But I don’t. And neither do you. No one alive fully understands…