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Everybody wants to save the Range
I can’t stand this indecision Married with a lack of vision Everybody wants to rule the world Say that you’ll never never never never need it One headline why believe it? Everybody wants to rule the world ~ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears So, that’s the tune, only try it…
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FARGO REVIEW: Ep. 7, ‘Did You Do This? No, You Did It!’
The seventh episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Did You Do This? No, You Did!” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family…
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Awkward Minnesota turkey non-pardon ceremony continues
On Monday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton greeted a frightened turkey in a poorly-lit conference room somewhere near his St. Paul office. While the President typically pardons a turkey every Thanksgiving, turkeys aren’t pardoned here in the nation’s leading turkey-producing state. One ceremonial bird is “greeted,” “petted,” and then whisked back to the turkey farm to rise…
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Free Park Friday lets Minnesota hike off the giblets
Last week, state officials announced that the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, would be “Free Park Friday,” in which entrance fees would be waived at all Minnesota State Parks. The goal is to encourage families to enjoy the state park system, spend time together, and stay active after a traditional day of overindulgence. Here at MinnesotaBrown…
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Fargo will be back for third season
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Noah Hawley’s “Fargo” has been renewed for a third season on the FX network. Once again, the new season of “Fargo” will involve an entirely original cast of characters and plot line set in the fictionalized Minnesota landscape first created by hometown filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. As many of you know, I write…
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Is this the 1980s again on the Iron Range?
I grew up in the 1980s on a junkyard just a few miles south of Eveleth Taconite. Growing up on a junkyard is probably the best way to understand the things humans build, sell, use and discard. So let’s consider a new car. I’ve only ever bought one brand new car fresh off the lot. It…
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Home for the holidays, as if we ever left
It’s fitting to talk about family reunions this time of year. Everyone’s coming home. First comes Thanksgiving. Then Hanukkah. Christmas. New Years. Car doors slam. Snow crunches on familiar sidewalks. Huggers hug, smokers smoke, the rest waive awkwardly before reaching for snacks. These early winter holidays center around families coming together to celebrate what matters…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 6, ‘Rhinoceros’
The sixth episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Rhinoceros,” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate based in Fargo is…
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Stop it. Dot com. Dot … html.
Remember that cantankerous “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney? Or the old Chicago metro columnist Mike Royko? Even the Duluth News Tribune had Jim Heffernan. They each had an opinion about everything. As a young writer I admired them more than would be considered normal. I remember one of them, Heffernan I think, wrote something about…
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Miss the barn show? Tune in Sunday
LISTEN NOW to the Larson’s Barn show. Last weekend, I hosted another edition of the Great Northern Radio Show on Northern Community Radio. This one aired live from Larson’s Barn outside McGregor, Minnesota. It was our 17th show and marked four full years doing these hyper-local variety programs from small towns and off-the-beaten-path places around the…
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Hunting drama ‘Cold November’ gets its deer
You might remember a couple Sundays ago I wrote about Hibbing native Karl Jacob, a Minneapolis-based actor and director, who was back on the Iron Range filming a new coming-of-age movie about deer hunting. “Cold November” tells the story of a girl struggle with the elements and the emotions of growing up, set amid what Jacob considers to be one…
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Iron Range mines could see boost from Brazilian disaster
An awful mine disaster in South America is now cited as spurring a recent turnaround for Cliffs Natural Resources and possibly other mining companies with interests on Minnesota’s Iron Range. On Nov. 5, a tailings dam burst at the Samarco Mine in Brazil, flooding nearby villages. Six people — including miners and local residents — were killed with another 22 missing,…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 5, ‘Gift of the Magi’
The fifth episode of “Fargo” Season 2, entitled “Gift of the Magi,” aired last night on FX. What follows is a Minnesota-centric review that contains spoilers. This year, “Fargo” takes us to Southwestern Minnesota in 1979, the same year I was born on the other side of the state. A small town family crime syndicate…
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Essar Steel Algoma files for protection from creditors
Essar Steel Algoma — sister company to Essar Steel Minnesota in Nashwauk — announced it would file for bankruptcy creditor protection in Canada and the United States today. The steel mill is located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is part of Essar’s plans to use pellets made at the taconite plant under construction now on the…
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Ya, I guess I do have an accent then
Folks, it’s been brought to my attention that I have a Minnesota accent. It’s true. I didn’t believe it either. But last month I toured with a Swedish journalist researching mining in Northern Minnesota. In English better than most of my relatives, he concluded by saying he just had to ask me about my accent.…