ArcelorMittal's Minorca Mine in Virginia is preparing for a possible three-month shutdown from May through June because of the flagging economy and weakening demand for steel. WDIO broke this story. This means that almost every mine on the Range is either stopping or dramatically slowing production in 2009.

Here's a story from the Mesabi Daily News about an author's event at the Laskiainen Sliding Festival in Palo (on the East Range). Laskiainen is in its 72nd year on the Iron Range and features classic winter sliding and ethnic foods with a special emphasis on the Finns.

Unfortunately I couldn't do the book event at Laskiainen this year because of a prior commitment. I'm really bummed about that after seeing the great list of Iron Range authors who will be there. Check it out!

My weekly essay for the KAXE's Saturday morning flagship program "Between You and Me" deals with the show's rotating topic of "Just Say No." The call-in and music program will explore the idea of how hard it is to say "no" sometimes and what people do to deal with it. I have a bit of a disability in this area. I like to keep people happy and often struggle to say no. This has led to some amusing occurrences in my life, some of which made my book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range."

You can tune into "Between You and Me" with host Heidi Holtan between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM KAXE in northern Minnesota or streaming online all over the world at www.kaxe.org. My essay often runs in the first half hour depending on the number of callers.

Business North reporter and my former editor colleague in the former Murphy McGinnis chain of northern Minnesota newspapers wrote a great column for Business North about the state of newspapers, specifically the local weeklies and small dailies common to most of Minnesota. You've probably heard that newspapers are in tough financial shape. You've probably heard this blamed on the internet. As Beth explains, that's only part of the story:

In the booming 1990s, newspapers were bought and sold, and sold again. Properties that once had ownership dating back decades, or a century, suddenly found themselves with new ownership every year or two, even more often in some cases. Each sale made each newspaper, or newspaper chain, a little less viable in the long run as long-term investment and long-term planning (i.e. a concrete plan to deal with the Internet revolution that everyone knew was coming) took a back seat to short-term profits, which of course made for a more attractive business flip.

She continues:

to reinvent their products, newspapers will need stable ownership and management. They must be treated as long-term investments — both business and public service investments — if they are to survive in this new competitive climate.

In short, just as on Wall Street, the corporate greed model doesn’t work anymore.

Read the whole column.

Passing along some information about a worthy cause in Itasca County:

Coming together as a community to help feed hungry people is at the heart of the Empty Bowls Project. And what a community it is!

Teachers and students, potters and restaurateurs, bakers and citizen volunteers, non-profits and for-profits. People of all ages and experience levels make the bowls that, come March 6, will be purchased along with a bowl of soup and a slice of bread by people who come to "The Mac" in support of a good cause.

Friday, March 6 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids. They've got a blog. Those are so hot right now.

And let the call go forth; I'm happy to pass along PSAs like this, time permitting, if someone wants to send them to me. I prefer to focus on Northern Minnesota, but would run anything I think might be of interest to my eclectic collection of readers.

I've been neglecting to pass along some important information about new media projects in Northern Minnesota. First, from Jennifer with e-democracy:

New Resource: Minnesota Voices Online
Are you using technology to communicate at the local level? E-lists, websites, blogs, wikis? The Minnesota Voices Online discussion is for people using technology to build community at the local level across Greater Minnesota. Learn more and join from http://e-democracy.org/mnvoices

I have also failed to write a comprehensive post about KAXE's new venture, Northern Community Internet. This is a fully functional community journalism organization with daily news and blog updates. It also includes free classifieds and is supported by the greatest independent radio organization in all the land (91.7 KAXE, Northern Community Radio).

Other ventures, such as Hometown Focus and MinnPost (the mack daddy of them all right now) are trying different models for the same kind of thing, but it certainly puts Minnesota at the forefront of this kind of community/internet fusion.

I'll be discussing these items more in a future post, but I best get the links up now.

The Nashwauk-Keewatin and Greenway school boards met to discuss planning for the future. (Story from today's Hibbing Daily Tribune). Consolidation is what needs to happen, and some officials are willing to say the word aloud, but the story makes lots of references to "collaboration." Hey, call it "happyfunsharing" if you want, but this is the right direction.

Tonight I'll be speaking with the Grand Rapids Men's Book Club at the Grand Rapids Public Library. The club meeting starts at 7 p.m. and, as I understand it, they're always looking for new members. The club has been reading my new book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range." I am happy to visit with Iron Range area book clubs, schedule permitting, if they wish to discuss "Overburden." I assume that the Grand Rapids men's book club is just for men, but if you're looking for a good co-ed book club, the KAXE Book Club is good. I say so because they also read "Overburden," which is economically priced at $16.95.

So, two book clubs in my first three months of release. Not bad. Both clubs, however, are based in Grand Rapids. What's that about, Iron Range?

Hibbing, Virgina, Kinney?

I'm looking at you, Buhl and/or Eveleth!

I pass along northern Minnesota political organizing press releases like this if people send them to me. I would do the same for a GOP event:

DFL Winter Conference to Host Governor Candidates

Several candidates for Governor will be in attendance at this weekend’s Winter DFL Conference to be held in the Minnesota Room at the Breezy Point Conference Center beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday Jan. 31st and concluding at noon, on Sunday, Feb. 1. DFLers from the 6th and 7th Congressional Districts will join with those from the 8th Congressional District to provide this campaign workshop/candidate introduction opportunity to all interested DFLers. Area residents are welcome to attend.

Expected participants include State DFL Chair, Brian Melendez, Associate Chair, Donna Cassutt and State Attorney General Lori Swanson. Candidates for Governor, including former US Senator, Mark Dayton; Ramsey County Attorney, Susan Gaertner; State Senators Tom Bakk, and John Marty; and State Representative, Paul Thissen are expected to appear during the course of the weekend.

Workshops on candidate screening, voter identification and communication will be offered along with other opportunities to share information and ideas. The conference dinner at 7 p.m. will be preceded by a social hour at 6, also in the Minnesota Room. For further information, call 218-568-5530.

As you might remember, I have been an advocate of increasing available broadband internet speeds to more Americans, especially rural folks and those on the Iron Range. ("A Little Less Hooey, a Little More Huey"). I see it not just as a more convenient way for e-commuters like myself to do our jobs, but as a valuable economic development strategy for places where it's good to live but hard to find a job.

This looks to be a very interesting week on this topic for several reasons. First, check out this Minnesota Public Radio story from Monday. A broadband map of Minnesota is being created as we speak, showing the areas where broadband is available and strong and places where internet is slow and underused. They encourage you to test your own connection to help the project and check your service provider's claims. This map will serve as a vital starting point for future tech infrastructure policy.

Secondly, it's encouraging to continue to hear about high speed internet investment as part of the infrastructure portion of the ongoing economic recovery plan in Congress. Our own Iron Range Rep. Jim Oberstar (DFL-MN8), the House Transportation and Infrastructure chair, is playing a leadership role in this legislation. Let's keep the fires burning!

(h/t Minnesota Voices Online discussion boards at forums.e-democracy.org)

Here's an update to my Sunday post about Iron Range cities sharing services.

That post was original prompted by the Mesabi Daily News' Sunday editorial calling on East Range cities to get behind a joint wastewater plant, which I agree with. What I didn't mention was that the editorial said that State Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia) was opposed to the idea:

And that’s why we were so displeased to hear the state representative who represents all three communities — Tom Rukavina — talk about Gilbert still maintaining its own wastewater facility.

In a news story last week dealing with local officials traveling to the State Capitol to lobby for different projects, Rep. Rukavina said he is not of the opinion that there should be one wastewater treatment facility for the three communities. He indicated Gilbert should not necessarily abandon its plant.

The earlier story, written by MDN editor Bill Hanna, reads this way on the topic:

“I think Gilbert and Virginia should take advantage of what will be coming out of Washington,” Rukavina said.

However, the legislator said while it is good that the communities are working together on projects, he still thinks it would be best for Gilbert to have its own wastewater plant.

“The idea of Fayal, Gilbert, Virginia and even Eveleth moving waste around to handle the flow is good. But I still think Gilbert should have its own facility, too. Emergencies happen,” Rukavina said.

This morning Rep. Rukavina called me and, shall we say, colorfully and emphatically denied that he opposed the project, calling the MDN story and editorial biased. He did suggest that Gilbert maintain a facility as a backup for logistical reasons, but supports the concept of a shared wastewater plant for the other towns, indeed having sought its original funding.

To an extent we're splitting hairs here, but it now seems that the MDN editorial overstated Rukavina's "opposition" to a project he supports. I can't speak for Gilbert's wastewater needs (the city does lie well off the "triangle" formed by the other involved communities), but it now seems that we're dealing with mere discord rather than a real barrier to this project moving forward. And that, in a proverbial nutshell, is why shared service agreements always run into walls on the Iron Range. We need to fight through this nonsense, report information accurately, and simply make the logical decisions based on community needs. Towns shouldn't share just to share, but rather should share strategically in a way that saves money and serves people. If it can be proven that Gilbert would be better off, from an engineering standpoint, to have a small plant instead, then so be it. But that's not the question raised in the editorial. Instead, we have misdirection and use of the "straw man" fallacy.

Meantime, according to the Hibbing Daily Tribune, the shared wastewater plant among Hibbing, Chisholm, and nearby townships has run into a snag because the governing authority realized that it didn't legally exist. Again, a matter of a small mistake costing all important time and money while confusing citizens already confounded by bickering on that side of the Range.

One way, I maintain the best way, to address these problems is to call an Iron Range Congress, a gathering of representatives of cities, counties, schools, public service providers, citizens, legislators and, of course, the media, not just to talk but to shed light on petty disagreements so that long-term solutions may be won for the entire Iron Range. Everyone should share their engineering reports and the reams of paper coughed up by a generation of planning consultants and come up with a final, comprehensive Range-wide public services and schools plan that everyone agrees to follow. I'm putting the idea out there for someone to take with my full support because I think it'd be more credible coming from several elected officials. I'll take it up myself no one steps forward. Either way, this is something no one person can do alone.

If Al Franken has accomplished nothing else, he has done one glorious favor for America. He opened the door, just a crack mind you, for Tim McGraw to become the next governor of Tennessee.

This on the heels of Val Kilmer's exploration of a gubernatorial run in New Mexico.

Celebrities! Report to your home states in time for 2010! Your assignments will be waiting in the car(s) at the airport(s). But by God, get out of California. There's no work for you there! This will be like a reverse Dust Bowl for attractive people.

Last night, KARE 11 in the Twin Cities ran a story by Boyd Huppert about how the bad economy is affecting the Iron Range. It's a very interesting look at the culture of our boom and bust way of life. A recent column of mine and my book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range" played a prominent part in the story. The video is up this morning. Thanks for reading and watching.



"Overburden" is my first book after several years as a columnist and radio essayist in northern Minnesota. It's a collection of humorous, historical and topical essays about life on today's Iron Range with an eye on this important region's complex past and unknown future. Here's a blurb from Minnesota Book Award winning author and former Duluth Poet Laureate Barton Sutter:

"The Iron Range has found its voice in Aaron Brown. The kid with Coke-bottle glasses who was raised in a trailer next to his parents' junkyard has grown up to write a ferocious, loving anthem to his home region. Historical, political, deeply personal, "Overburden" is rich with details but sizzles with narrative drive. Oddly enough -- or maybe not -- Brown, as author, has all the qualities we look for in a great hockey player: guts and heart, vision, skills, and speed. Rangers will see themselves in this book. Outsiders will be stung by envy."

Thanks to KARE 11, especially Boyd and photojournalist Jonathan Malat, for doing the interview. And for those interested in reading the full text of the column I was reading for the story, here it is: "Iron Rangers know recession is a time for defiance."

(There might be some new traffic on the site today, so forgive me for reintroducing myself and this blog).

You know, there are lots of blogs. There are lots of political and news blogs. There are lots of blogs written by authors trying to sell their books. There are lots of blogs written by media types to promote their columns or radio work. There’s even a fair amount of Minnesota blogs.

But there is just one daily political news blog written by an author, columnist, radio essayist, teacher and former newspaper editor based on the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota. That would be this one. The Iron Range is not just some random place, but rather one of the most fascinating and misunderstood places in America – a great place with unique, hard-to-define people pitted in constant conflict with the outside world, the weather and ourselves. This blog explores Iron Range issues for the outside world while covering state, national and global issues from an Iron Range perspective. I take sides, but strive to be open-minded and willing to learn new viewpoints.

I’m a fifth generation Iron Ranger, the first in my father’s line to never work in a mine. The most mechanical thing I’ve done at a job was knocking snow out of a giant satellite dish with a stick. Today, I’m a community college instructor, writer, radio essayist and political organizer. I’m a liberal with a libertarian streak, a pragmatic mind with a radical heart.

I have a new book out that explores my life’s work: understanding the Iron Range and making it better for the next generation. The book is called “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.” Did I mention? I’m 29. That’s young for the area but I’m aging fast. I live in the woods northwest of Hibbing with my wife and three young sons.

Welcome to MinnesotaBrown.com. I update daily on the weekdays, often more, so stop back or subscribe to my feed.

This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

Change I can write about
By Aaron J. Brown

You’re never supposed to start a column with the words, “I didn’t know what to write about so (insert pop culture reference or observation of the weather).”

It’s a good rule, one that I fully understand. This rule was explained to me years ago by a seasoned newspaper professional, the kind of person now working at Arby’s. But that doesn’t change what goes on in the mind of a writer whose deadlines never change even when the government does.

I finally entered the 21st century of column writing the other day. I wrote several months ago that I had begun participating in Facebook, a social networking website. Facebook, along with Twitter, MySpace and similar services, have become everyday realities for some while many others remain – deliberately or unknowingly – oblivious. That’s a pity. The Facebook phenomenon is part of the reason Barack Obama was just sworn into office this week after scores of people were organized to do campaign work through the site vast network of young people.

But I wasn’t interested in votes the other day. Nor was I thinking of change, even though that was this week’s overriding theme. I was thinking of getting my job done, the job of writing a column for you. I posted a status update (a brief statement of what I’m doing right now) that said I was looking for ideas for a column. I was not disappointed.

First, one friend suggested I talk about how great Wal-Mart is. That didn’t stick with me. Another friend suggested I talk about soup, the subject of a recent essay I wrote for a show on KAXE. I was tired of soup. The first friend then suggested I write about “A Day in the Life of Aaron Brown As Told By His Household Appliances.” This led to an exchange about microwaves, razors and blenders among several friends. Oh the tales those implements could tell!

Then the conversation took a decidedly different turn when yet another friend pointed out that the inauguration of Barack Obama was especially significant for the increasingly globalized Iron Range economy. My next friend suggested I explore how life would be different for the Obama’s yet unnamed new dog as compared to previous first pets. The next idea: what the labor movement means to the Obama generation. It was at this point that I realized that my Facebook friends were serving as a crude but serviceable replacement for my actual brain. Roughly speaking, this sort of rapidly changing narrative is what I hear inside my skull every waking hour. I turned up the TV to take in the football game that was on that night. I could go for some chips, I thought. Yes, I will have some chips, I further thought.

Meantime, back in Facebook, my friends were talking about the enduring memory that products sold during TV infomercials seemed to create. The ShamWow, for instance, claims to hold up to 20 pounds of liquid, far exceeding the capabilities of your standard issue washcloth. The Saves-A-Blade is great, said my friend. And then a teacher friend went back to the news of the day, talking about the tireless work going into inauguration cookies at her school. After more deliberation, one final friend said that this whole discussion seemed worthy of a column. I agreed.

In deference to this new age, a hat tip to my “superfriends”: Josh, Kristina, Paul, Jean, C. Ryan, Scott, Melissa, Heidi, Kelly, Susan, and Chris. Without them, this column never would have existed. Just think what social networking could do on a broader scale!

Oh yeah. It can get a freshman senator from Illinois, by way of Hawaii, Indonesia, and New York, elected president even though his middle name is the same as the deposed and executed dictator from the country we just occupied in an unpopular war he opposed. It can change the world, not immediately or as overwhelmingly as some would suggest, but quite a bit. Maybe even enough.

ShamWow!

Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune. He keeps a blog at Minnesotabrown.com. His book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” is out now.

Reminder: I'll be on KARE 11 tonight during the 10 o'clock news as part of a story about the Iron Range economy. My role in the story focuses on my work as a columnist and my new book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range." The book is a humorous, heartfelt and historical look at life in a blue collar region adapting to the 21st century.

I'll post links to the story here tomorrow.

The Mesabi Daily News ran an editorial Sunday calling on lawmakers to push local governments to support shared services. I agree. This falls in line with my recent call for an Iron Range Congress for local governments and schools to start meeting as soon as possible to discuss consolidation and maximization of our increasingly limited resources. By getting our Iron Range fiscal house in order, lawmakers will have a clearer path to seek the funding needed to fill the gaps. The Minnesota Miracle II school funding legislation would benefit by this action in particular.

The MDN editorial is specifically focused on a shared wastewater treatment plant for the Virginia, Eveleth and Fayal Township. But the idea can be applied for much more services and many more places. The active involvement of local legislators might be the only thing that can get all the parties to the table. They are the only"local" officials whose constituencies overlap multiple cities, school districts and counties.

The MDN continues its coverage of the pay rates of public officials with stories about compensation of local superintendents and lawmakers. You make more as a superintendent but it's hard to tell what you make as a lawmaker.

Here's a Christa Lawler Duluth News Tribune review of Garrison Keillor's stand with "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center last night.

I'll be part of a story that will air on Twin Cities NBC affiliate KARE 11 Sunday night during the 10 o'clock news. (Here's the promo). Boyd Huppert does a segment called "Land of 10,000 Stories" and lately he's been touring Greater Minnesota to see how the economy is affecting people outside the metro area. He and photojournalist Jonathan spent a couple days on the Iron Range, including a trip out to my house in the middle of nowhere. He was asking about some of the themes from my book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range." Among other topics, the book explores growing up and making a life in an area that sees constant economic booms and busts.

I haven't seen the story yet, but I'm told that some of the ideas from my book and passages from one of my recent columns will play prominently. As I'm still negotiating options to get to the Twin Cities for my book tour, this can't hurt. Check it out if you're in the metro or have rigged your satellite dishes to pick up bootleg Twin Cities channels like many of the cosmopolitans who live around here. The link to the story should be up Monday morning and I'll post it here.

The interview took place in my home office, where most of "Overburden" was written and is the official headquarters of this blog. So, if you ever wanted to know what that looks like you'll get your chance. They had to be very creative to keep all the whiskey bottles and unsecured firearms out of the shot. Were they successful? Find out this Sunday at 10 p.m. on KARE 11 in the Minneapolis/St. Paul TV market.

The Minnesota State Senate has confirmed Iron Range Resources Commissioner Sandy Layman by a voice vote. Her confirmation was held up indefinitely by Iron Range state senators after her original appointment by Gov. Pawlenty in 2003. Belated diplomacy beats none at all, I guess.

Two items today from Jon Collins, the legislative correspondent for several Range newspapers, illustrate the way the federal stimulus package could be invoked in Minnesota's budget mess.

First, one analysis says that Minnesota could receive up to $3.23 billion in federal aid. That billion with a big "B." For what? For who? It'd be exciting if it weren't for the fact that even if every penny went toward closing the budget gap, that gap would still be only halfway closed. And we know a portion of that money will be dedicated to "shovel ready" transportation, infrastructure and communication projects.

That's why representatives are already lining up concepts that will get on the funding list. Among the northern projects, State Rep. Tom Anzelc is proposing a bill that would (often literally) pave the way for several Iron Range infrastructure projects to be included in the federal stimulus package. Anzelc's mission is to get these projects on the list as "shovel ready" so that they aren't lost in the shuffle. Also included is the completion of the four lane Highway 169 from Pengilly to Taconite, which is a vital transportation project. If that happens under these fiscal and political conditions it is a straight-up miracle, but worth a shot.

(Disclosure: I am Tom Anzelc's campaign chair).

This PTI story from LiveMint.com details the Essar Steel group's efforts to expand its standing in the international steel market. In addition to the Essar Steel Minnesota project we follow here (that's the integrated iron ore mine and steel mill under construction near Nashwauk), the story details major plans for Essar in Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. Most of these plans involve accessing new ore resources and building steel mills. The Iron Range is part of the mix, though, and Essar still seems to be serious about the Nashwauk plant.

My weekly essay for the Saturday, Jan. 24 edition of KAXE's "Between You and Me" call-in and music program will explore the show's special topic of "classifieds." The topic was picked in connection to this week's unveiling of the Northern Community Internet project, a KAXE-sponsored community journalism site featuring news and views from citizens across Northern Minnesota. The site also features free classified advertising. Get it! Sometimes we're not very subtle.

As a former newspaper man who still writes a column, I have a little bit of experience with classifieds. I've seen some funny ones, too, and will talk about those. Used to be the classifieds fueled huge profits for newspapers. Then Craigslist and a bunch of community journalism sites started running them for free, softening the market and sending newspapers into a death spiral.

Bastards. I mean, not bastards. I mean ... I am so confused.

Tune in Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming live online at www.kaxe.org. My essay usually runs in the first 40 minutes of the show, depending on the number of calls.

For the past several days I've been conducting a poll on this blog about a humorous, ideally affectionate nickname for the Iron Range's DFL legislative delegation. I was getting tired of typing all those words. Well, I don't know what happened. Maybe the malaise over the massive budget deficit, maybe the cheekiness of the nominated names, but something caused poll stagnation. About 50 people voted and their top choice was "Just keep it 'Range Delegation'." As I've written before, commenters have pointed out that the name itself is an amusing homage to the fact that the Rangers are often viewed more as foreign envoys to both the DFL caucus and full legislature. Running a distant second was "Deer Shack Democrats." I suppose it is notable that "Range Delegation" won a fairly weak plurality with most voters looking for a new nickname. Someone said I should do Instant Runoff, which would be great if this was relevant to human existence in any meaningful way.

I suppose this is fitting. Just like Iron Range elections, this poll was a whole lot of work for a predictable, unchanging outcome. I feel a little like Lawrence of Arabia right now. Not a lot, just a little.

Deer Shack Democrats	8 (15%)
Delegation against Metropolitan Opulence	5 (9%)
Jack Pine Savage Delegation (JPSD)	6 (11%)
Ranger Power	4 (7%)
The Shovelers	1 (1%)
D-Miner	4 (7%)
Big Whiskey	4 (7%)
Just keep it "Range Delegation"	19 (37%)

Here's an interesting power ranking of potential 2010 gubernatorial candidates from Jeff Fecke at the Minnesota Progressive Project. I agree with his assessments for the most part, along with Zack at MNPublius's take that Pawlenty probably won't run again. Only T-Paw knows, and the decision no doubt hinges on how this terrible, terrible session will likely turn out.

MinnPost's Steve Berg wrote a compelling profile about U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN8) in today's edition. Oberstar is the Congressman for northeastern Minnesota including Duluth and his native Iron Range. He is also the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the story focuses heavily on his vision for the future of the country's transportation system. A good read.

In today's Duluth News Tribune reporter Christa Lawler interviews Iron Range ghost hunters, the aptly named Northern Minnesota Paranormal Investigators. As the story states these guys have been around quite a while, before it was cool as they say. The Hibbing Daily Tribune did a story on these same guys and was subject to a lengthy letter to the editor from a property owner who was tired of the paranormal investigators' trampling over their land. They said we need to stop encouraging them.

I am reminded of a classified ad I saw in the now defunct Ripsaw weekly in Duluth for the Northern Minnesota Sasquatch Research something or other. I was a newspaper reporter then and decided to call the number to see if there were any Sasquatch by Hibbing. Not in a long time, I learned. No story. The experience led me to write an unpublished short fiction piece called "A Sasquatch, North of the Laurentian Divide." I need to dust off that sucker and send out some queries. There might be a market now.

One of the great institutions of the Iron Range, Chisholm High School boys basketball coach Bob McDonald, secured his 900th win Tuesday night over my wife's alma mater of Nashwauk-Keewatin. McDonald has more wins than any other coach in Minnesota history.

A story is going around the state on the Associated Press wire that the Iron Range city of Keewatin ran a surplus this year (unlike most other cities, especially on the Range). This is true, but the fact that it's being trumpeted as being so unusual is a bit misleading. (The story originally ran in my local Hibbing Daily Tribune, but I didn't relay it here). Local Government Aid cuts are devastating many budgets around the state. Keewatin took a small but proportional hit as well. They were "rescued" by their taconite tax disbursement, which was based on the production tax for the last several years in which the taconite industry was gangbusters.

It is so important for people from outside the Iron Range to know that these taconite taxes are not "extra" money. They are the taxes mines pay in LIEU of property taxes. The amount of money that can be levied off of Iron Range towns is very much less than what a town with higher property value. Also, as a small predominantly bedroom community, Keewatin isn't exactly a bellwether of the Range of cities in general. Regardless of the surplus now, it will be gone by next year as the second set of LGA cuts hit and the production tax revenue drops. It's fitting to note that the AP story doesn't mention that Keewatin Taconite, the largest employer in town, is currently idled with most of its workers laid off or transferred to another U.S. Steel property across the Range. That's much more impactful than the temporary surplus, which occurred simply because city officials budgeted well. Stories like this only serve as fodder for those in St. Paul who would say it's all milk and honey up here on the Range, when in fact our population drops every year and our schools are in crisis.

Garrison Keillor writes a weekly column called "The Old Scout" which appears in several newspapers around Minnesota and the country. During the Bush Administration, Keillor often focused on politics but this piece from last week was an amusing look at the act of writing for a popular audience. He argues that books can be very popular with a fast-changing population, so long as you give the people what they want. Maybe it's not for everyone, but anyone who writes or reads a lot will enjoy this.

But what readers really want is the same as what Shakespeare's audience wanted -- dastardly deeds by dark despicable men, and/or some generous blood-spattering and/or saucy wenches with pert breasts cinched up to display them like fresh fruit on a platter. It isn't rocket science, people.

...

Unfortunately, writers are a gloomy bunch given to whining about the difficulty of getting published, the pain of rejection, the obtuseness of critics, etc. They sit at their laptops and write a few sentences about pale reflections and then check their e-mail and Google themselves. Maybe click onto a Web site where young women display their breasts like ripe fruit. They get busy messing around and don't have time to write fiction so they write poems instead.

Poems are easy. A haiku is three lines of five, seven and five syllables. You can crank this stuff out with one hand, so people do.

So, I've got two ways I could go here. I could write about the speech. Or, I could point out an opportunity for each and every one of you to acquire free gum in honor of today's inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Well, I'm a speech teacher by trade so I'll go that route first. There's a lot of good analysis out there. Sullivan and Goddard are two of my favorites. Both key in on different and important aspects of the speech's stark call to service amid perilous challenges. Stylistically President Obama was typically solid, though greatly subdued compared to some of his best known campaign speeches. The real quality of this speech was in the rhetorical and historical context. Remember, during the campaign it was pointed out that Obama would be the most "liberal" president in U.S. history. But the President delivered a speech that was at its core conservative. I don't mean politically conservative, obviously, or even cautious, but rather focused on the continuation of values and self determination. A conservative Republican could have delivered vast portions of this same speech. (Though, particular portions were particularly enjoyable for liberals and quite a bit less so for conservatives). For me, the line that stood out was about how the future was less about whether government gets bigger or smaller, but rather whether it works. That's a distinction that could serve as a great salve for a bitterly divided political structure. Politically, that's an argument that an effective Democratic administration could win again and again. It comes with accountability, though, and risk. That is the whole point.

Oh, and I didn't forget. Free gum for all! Send Trident a picture of your best "Joe Biden" smile and they'll send you free gum. Go to www.joebidensteeth.com. Offer good while supplies last.

(Thanks to Freebies4Mom, my wife's frugal blog pal, for the tip).

Woody Guthrie wrote an iconic American folk song called "This Land is Your Land" in 1940. I sang it elementary school and you probably did too. Guthrie, a Dust Bowl troubadour was one of the most significant musical influences on Bob Dylan, born in Duluth as Robert Zimmerman and raised in Hibbing on the Iron Range just down the street from the hospital where I was born. Dylan, in turn, served as a significant influence on Bruce Springsteen, who with Pete Seeger this past weekend, sang "This Land Is Your Land" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a pre-inauguration concert. Included in the well-known song was a verse that Guthrie wrote and sang but that didn't appear in the elementary school version.

As I went walking I saw a sign there

And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."

But on the other side it didn't say nothing,

That side was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,

As I go walking that freedom highway;

Nobody living can ever make me turn back

This land was made for you and me. (WoodyGuthrie.org)

There will be a good deal of sentimentality and impossible expectations out of today's inauguration of Barack Obama. But when you think about all the old assumptions about race and culture that exist in this country, you can't deny that some things have changed permanently. And, by and large, this is a universal good for the people who follow in the footsteps of today's generation. The next mountain is the one Guthrie spoke of most and the central challenge of this nation: the vast wall of poverty that holds millions from the Promised Land unlocked today.

In a fitting irony, I will be recording this morning's inauguration proceedings and watching them around noontime. My reasons are so modern that it hurts. My wife and I are going into town to sign closing papers on a home refinance. (4.875%)! We are very fortunate in that our money situation is solid and we haven't lost any jobs or suffered any setbacks. But this refinance is going to be a big deal for our budget and our ability to save for the future. So even though I have been looking forward to the idea of Barack Obama becoming president for a long time, I am going to DVR it and take care of family business first.

It's the times, man. Besides, by the time I forward through all the stuff I'll probably be watching most of the speech live with everyone else. Behold, modern times in all manner of description. I think we should all do something to secure our family and/or community after watching today's historic moment. If everyone did that on their own, we wouldn't need TARP or most other acronyms.

I don't know how I missed this, but Greenway Superintendent Rochelle VanDenHeuvel turned down the Virginia (Minn.) Schools Superintendent position for personal reasons, according to the Mesabi Daily News. This leaves Cook County Schools Superintendent Chuck Futterer the top choice for the Virginia job.

I had written that if VanDenHeuvel had left Greenway, that trouble district might finally be forced to enter consolidation talks with other districts. Now that decision, in congress with the will of the school board, lies with VanDenHeuvel. Regardless of who's in charge, Range-wide school consolidation needs to happen. It's the only way state leaders will take Iron Range calls for fair education funding seriously.

Many of you have probably seen this several times, but if you haven't, check out this clip from the speech Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered in Memphis the night before he was murdered in 1968. I show this in my public speaking classes.



Some people on this earth are sent to things so important that they must be built of some other matter, connected to some other frequency. Either he knew what was coming or he sensed it with something deeper than regular intuition.

(h/t Andrew Sullivan, but he's probably not alone is posting this today)

You might remember that I am involved in a special national project called "PurpleStates" where bloggers from all 50 states share their diverse views on the national economy. My segment aired last month. There have been many notable submissions from other state bloggers, though, and I think today's entry from an out-of-work Republican TV anchor in South Carolina is worth watching. Seeing this explains to me why every reporter I've talked to in the last several months gets all sweaty when the topic of layoffs is raised.



It sure is good that I'm a blogger! Working for free!

Oh, damn.

WDIO reporter Kim Johnson is covering Tuesday's Obama inauguration for the Duluth ABC affiliate by traveling with Northlanders who are attending the ceremonies. She's keeping a blog at the station's website. I am also betting that any Facebook or MySpace friends you have in the D.C. metro area can probably give you a pretty good read on the situation as well.

The Star Press? Bob Collins at Minnesota Public Radio poses the possibility of a Star Tribune/Pioneer Press merger.

Bless their hearts. The Mesabi Daily News ran an editorial today in the heart of Northern Minnesota's blue collar Iron Range pumping up the legacy of George W. Bush. Sometimes I wonder if the MDN's editorial positions are, in fact, some kind of elaborate sociological experiment of which I am an unknowing participant. Well, anyway, if you're feeling masochistic this morning, try this.

If you're wondering, the number of terrorist attacks that have occurred on U.S. soil since I started this blog: 0

History will vindicate me.

In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, here's a bonus column originally published in the Jan. 14, 2007 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. This was before I or anyone could have predicted we'd be swearing in an African-American president tomorrow.

'Every mountainside' means ore dumps too

By Aaron J. Brown

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Not one student, not one citizen can go long without hearing at least an excerpt from Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, nor should they.

Excerpts are good, but it’d be better if you saw the whole thing at least once in your life. In watching the whole speech you get a better idea of the context on that warm Washington, D.C., day in 1963 when King broadcast into the crowd of thousands and the television sets of millions, setting a moral standard for human decency that no one was able to argue against.

So now we have a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on Monday. Some of us have the day off. There won’t be any mail. The news will talk about it a little, replaying part of the speech no doubt. But beyond that, what does it really mean?

Dr. King’s speech happened long before I was born, in a place far from where I grew up on the Mesabi Iron Range. If you ask most Iron Rangers what they think about the King holiday, you’d get a wide range of answers. Some would be flowery, a few would be racist, most would be fairly ambivalent. I’ve had some years to think about it now, and in the shadow of our mighty ore dumps on the outskirts of our Iron Range towns, I am left thinking of this quote from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech:

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

Dr. King is talking about the plight of African Americans in the 1960s, but he is also talking about the plight of all humankind when justice is ignored. His dream is not reserved for any one race. And while total world peace might always remain out of the reach of mortals, it is still the goal good people strive to achieve. No one is ever harmed by just a little bit more understanding or just a little bit more tolerance for those different from us.

I was not around when immigrants built the Iron Range, but I imagine that many of them probably dreamed of a day when their children were not judged for their ancestry, but for their accomplishments. A scan of Hibbing newspapers from the early 1900s shows that European immigrant groups were almost as divided as blacks and whites in the American South during segregation, with plenty of prejudice and violence to spare.

We Iron Rangers know that our immigrant forbearers also believed in a better future, because their biggest priorities were our public schools. Thanks to those schools, three generations have since received knowledge and power that was denied their ancestors in their homelands and again when those ancestors first arrived in the United States. Today, you still see some of the ethnic Iron Range names on the rosters of our local high school sports teams but, thanks to 50 years of birds and bees, most kids don’t belong to any one ethnic group. People are more apt to pay attention to the game than the surname nowadays. That’s something that northern Minnesotans, and all Americans, should think about when we consider the issues of race and culture in today’s world.

I contend that the dream of my immigrant grandmothers and grandfathers on the Iron Range was not a bit different than the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. That dream is closer to reality than ever before, but it remains incomplete.

May that dream live and grow in all of us. We aren’t done yet and we shouldn’t stop trying.

Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

This is my weekly column that ran in the Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune:

A whole (parking) lot of anarchy
By Aaron J. Brown

Even here in Northern Minnesota, where we’re used to a cold, snowy winter, it takes time to fully adjust to winter driving. Drivers struggle with slippery intersections while enduring weeks of bare knuckle navigation before realizing that one should budget a few extra minutes to get to work each morning. Despite this, an ugly fact about human nature comes to light every time the ground turns white: Winter prompts parking anarchy.

A parking lot represents the simplest of modern concepts. It’s an open area where lines have been painted so that horseless carriages may be positioned efficiently. There are no mechanical devices to be employed, no “sensors” or “software.” It’s just a lot (for parking) with only one rule: stay within the lines. Those lines right there … on the ground. These lines are yellow and sometimes white, but always lines. In the late 20th century the idea of blue handicap parking lines was introduced, but even that is a relatively simple concept. Lines.

In northern Minnesota winters, those all-important lines are covered with hard packed snow that remains for several months despite the insistent scraping of plows. But everyone knows those lines remain right where we left them. Ninety percent of the folks who park in Northern Minnesota lots are the same people who parked in those same lots last summer, and yet, you’d never know. You know what I’m talking about. Don’t pretend.

With no lines on the ground, people park diagonally in straight spots, straight in diagonal spots. They park just far enough away from the next car so that no car can fit in between, but far enough to suggest to the passing motorist that there might be a spot, BUT NOT FOR YOU. People create rows where there are supposed to be lanes, park on curbs, leave their vehicles running, nestle up against wind rows in the middle of the street while running some errand. No one cares. Everyone just joins in. If THAT guy is going to park like THAT I am going to PARK IN THE CITY HALL FOUNTAIN. No one can stop me. It’s winter, January in fact, and so cold that even diligent authorities look away.

The problem here isn’t just parking, it’s what this means about human nature. The snow we see today merely covers lines; it doesn’t remove them. Thus, I suggest that all people are looking for is an excuse, one tiny trigger, to abandon all rules of society. The place where I work has a large parking lot where a lot of people arrive at the same time each day. Normally, the system works just fine. But in winter, cars pour into the parking lot like locusts, swirling around each other in a menacing parking power struggle. No lines! Only force will rule!

What would we do if we were told that, for one day, there would be no police protection? I tell you what we’d do. We’d drive faster and steal stuff. And punch dudes right in the face, for no reason. More than usual! The philosophy of Immanuel Kant? The notion that if everyone could not sustainably do something then we, as individuals, should refrain from doing so as well? What? Sounds like book talk. Me park. Me park ANYWHERE! Ethics are the first thing to go when anarchy arrives.

The winter continues. Chaos will ensue until the temperature rises. But let this cold weather parking pandemonium serve as a grim warning to us all. Hope will be renewed only with the spring melt.

Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune and author of the new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.”

A while back I posted about the bat guano insanity of the comments on the Mesabi Daily News website. The MDN is the Range's largest paper, predominantly covering the eastern portion of the region. One of my friends even went in and determined that many of the comments were coming from the same person and structured to look like several people were agreeing with each other. In any event, a repetitive dialogue seemed to follow any MDN story, especially if it involved politics. "You Rangers won't wise up ... socialists!" "I agree!" "Now wait a minute you guys," "Shut up!" "No YOU shut up," "I went to school with this guy and he was a big league a-hole" and then, finally, "Lern Inglish orr git owt off AMerica." (This is a composite ... actual comments were much less clear and much more vicious.)

Well, order is restored. Editor Bill Hanna issued a column Sunday explaining that comments will henceforth be moderated. This is, regrettably, the best move. A free flowing discussion board is always preferred, when it can be sustained, but that was not the case for the MDN. (Most other Range papers have been moderating comments as well).

The damaging effect of these outrageous comments was that anyone who followed the Iron Range from outside the area was clicking on these stories and then coming to the logical conclusion that a vast majority of our citizens were dangerously insane. True Iron Rangers know that the "dangerously insane" portion of our population is way down in the highly manageable 6 percent range. Now these shiftless commenters will be looking for a new forum. To that I say, "Move along, Okies! There is no work for you here!"

The Mesabi Daily News published a story Sunday, Jan. 18, comparing city councilor and county commissioner compensation on the Iron Range as part of a series detailing the financial woes facing government units in 2009. It's interesting to see the differences between the towns. Most interesting is the $55,000 and full medical benefits enjoyed by St. Louis County Commissioners. That's better than state legislators, excluding per diem (but county officials are reimbursed for expenses as well).

The office of county commissioner is considered full time in St. Louis County, but most other counties treat commissioners much like city councilors -- part time public servants. St. Louis County is so big and features so many tenuous political alliances (North vs. South, Range vs. Duluth, etc.) that this issue has just sailed along unimpeded for many years.

I'll be reading and signing books tonight as part of a much larger program for the Hibbing Community College Theater Celebration tonight at 7:30. My book, "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range" is a collection of related humorous and historical essays charging at the topic of how life is changing in this unique, important and misunderstood region of the world. I've selected some of the shortest, funniest essays to read amid the variety show format that also includes a lot of music, skits and other performances. Tickets are $10 and raise money for the HCC Theater program, which puts on some of the most ambitious stage projects in northern Minnesota.

HCC is located on Highway 169 in Hibbing. The Theater is on the 23rd Street entrance behind the planetarium.

Hibbing/Iron Range native Bethany McLean appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Thursday night to talk about the origins of the economic crisis. She spoke with great knowledge. I interviewed McLean when I was at the Hibbing Daily Tribune after she first broke the Enron scandal for Fortune Magazine. She now works as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. At the time I interviewed McLean I worked with a guy who used to dive off the cliffs of mine dumps into the infinitely deep mine pits of the Iron Range with her during their high school years. I'll take this Stewart interview as evidence of the Iron Range being connected to everything.

Just so you know, prominent business reporter Bethany McLean, who appeared last night on The Daily Show, and who detailed the origins of our economic problems in the United States, used to dive into mine pits on the Iron Range ... on purpose.

Coincidence? I think not.

UPDATE: I missed it, but I was just informed by e-mail that McLean also appeared on "Meet the Press" recently for an economic discussion. Does anyone know if that makes her the first Hibbingite to appear on Meet the Press? I think so, unless Dylan snuck in an appearance during the late '70s.

My essay for the Saturday morning call-in and music program "Between You and Me" on 91.7 KAXE will deal with the show's unique weekly topic: soup. January is National Soup Month.

Didn't know that, did you?

Second question: have you ever had to write a 500 word essay about soup? No? Well, you'll want to tune in then because I almost lost my mind writing this thing. I'm afraid that might show through when people hear this piece, perhaps to hilarious effect.

The nice thing about "Between You and Me" is that you can never predict how the show is going to turn out. I am one of three "house essayists" who bring prepared material, but most of the program depends on calls from Northern Minnesota listeners. Sometimes the oddest topics (like, well, soup) provide the most dynamic conversation.

Tune in Saturday, Jan. 17, between 10 a.m. and noon on 91.7 FM in Northern Minnesota or streaming online all over the world on www.kaxe.org.

For those considering starting or moving a blog, I was sent this interesting comparison between the two major free hosting services: Blogger and WordPress. Everyone's got their favorite for different reasons. MinnesotaBrown is a Blogger blog with a custom template. It's easy to use, which is why I've stuck with it despite the chattering of blog snobs.

(Thanks to Jennifer for the link)

I love this cartoon from Wednesday's Grand Rapids Herald-Review, submitted to the paper by Jeanne Newstrom.
I don't exactly get it, but I love it anyway. Here what I know. The issue is the sale of land from Itasca County to Essar Steel for its up-and-coming Minnesota mining and steel mill operations near Nashwauk. A faction in the county believe the land was sold too cheap and without proper public discussion. OK, fine. But why does the beaver have an apron? Who is the beaver? What office does the porcupine hold? So many questions!

This reminds me of some of the great old early 1900s political cartoons featuring 60 or 70 caricatures of obscure businessman dancing around an inanimate object, like a stove or jug, representing a Supreme Court justice. Something about cartoons like this rev up the blood, even -- perhaps especially -- when they are too abstract to fully understand.

I mean, wouldn't the porcupine be on the same side as the beaver? Right?

I, for one, want to see more of this in our local papers. It's got me thinking about taking out my pencil set.

The top story on the Duluth News Tribune website when I logged on this morning was that Charles Gibson talked about the Duluth News Tribune on ABC World News last night. It's cold in northern Minnesota today, get it.

I must admit, if Charlie Gibson talked about ME on World News I would be plastering that stuff all over this blog, especially links to buy my new book, "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range," a heartfelt memoir of a new generation in a blue collar wonderland. But that's me. Somehow when the DNT, the region's largest newspaper, does the same kind of thing it seems ... weird.

This media convergence business is getting to be like a party where someone's dad shows up and tries to be cool. I guess I shouldn't judge, but still ...

One of my many projects as an cultural and political operative on northern Minnesota's Iron Range is Dylan Days. I am one of three co-chairs of this annual arts event in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing. One of my main tasks is the coordination of the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest, which recognizes new and up-and-coming writers, poets and playwrights. We have a literary event during Dylan Days and it continues to be a lot of fun.

So all you starving writers in the blogosphere. I know you've got some poetry on that hard drive somewhere. You have a play in the drawer ... or think you could if you tried. Here is our annual call for entries. If nothing else, give it a shot and come up to Hibbing May 21-24 for a full lineup of live music, performances, contests and a celebration of Bob Dylan and the Iron Range arts community.

Press Release
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009

Dylan Days calls for 2009 writing contest entries

HIBBING, Minn. (Jan. 15, 2009) – Dylan Days announces its annual call for poetry, short fiction and one act plays for the Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest. The deadline is March 15, 2009.

First, Second and Third prizes will be awarded to writers in poetry and short fiction categories, in both open and student divisions. First Prize wins $100, Second Prize wins $50 and Third Prize wins $25. Honorable mentions will also be named. All winning entries appear in the Dylan Days literary journal, “Talkin’ Blues,” providing many first-time publication credits for emerging writers and poets.

The Dylan Days Creative Writing Contest has honored student and up-and-coming writers from as close as northern Minnesota and as far away as England for the past seven years.

“We’ve received entries from all populated continents, most states and nearly every town in Minnesota,” said Aaron Brown, contest coordinator and Dylan Days co-chair. “What they all have in common is the creative passion of the writers, similar to that of a young Iron Ranger named Bobby Zimmerman. Other than that, they don’t have much in common at all.”

In the popular open one act playwright competition, one winner will be named along with finalists. The winning playwright will receive $100 and have their work performed on the Hibbing Community College stage during Dylan Days as the featured entertainment for our annual Literary Showcase. The play will be cast with experienced actors and directed by Michael Ricci, the award-winning director of the HCC theatre program whose acclaimed work has included "Tommy," "Hair," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Amadeus," and many more. Last year’s winner, “Lessons and Carols” was written by New York playwright Demetra Kareman and performed on the HCC stage with Iron Range actors.

Entries for the poetry and short fiction divisions must be turned in through the contest’s online submission process at www.dylandays.com. One act plays must be submitted through the mail to Mike Ricci at Hibbing Community College, 1515 E. 25th St., Hibbing, MN, 55746. Rules are posted at the same website.

“Entries don’t have to emulate or be about Bob Dylan or his style of writing,” said Brown. “In fact, the best entries are always the ones that represent a unique literary voice; something we haven’t seen before. It’s a very competitive contest, but new and emerging writers often find themselves successful at Dylan Days.”

For more information, e-mail Dylan Days co-chair Aaron Brown at aaronbrown@hibbing.edu or consult the website at www.dylandays.com.

This Friday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m., Hibbing Community College Theater will hold its annual Celebration Evening featuring live music, performances, skits, video productions and, believe it or not, a brief reading from my book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range" by yours truly. I'll also be signing books at intermission.

You might be asking yourself, "How is a book reading going to work alongside singing, dancing, and dramatic performance?" My answer to you is "good question!" I haven't figured that out yet, but if it tanks I promise to set something on fire or shoot t-shirts into the audience with one of those air guns you see at stadiums.

The event is a fundraiser for the HCC Theater, the Iron Range's best theater organization and the best two-year college theater program in the state ... or so I claim. Tickets cost $10 and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. HCC is located off of Highway 169 in Hibbing. The theater is at the 23rd St. entrance.

Greenway Schools Superintendent Rochelle VanDenHeuvel has been named the new superintendent of the Virginia School District on the East Central Iron Range (Mesabi Daily News). Greenway, serving Coleraine, Bovey, Marble and Taconite on the western Mesabi Range, is one of the most financially troubled districts on the Range. The departure of its superintendent is likely to fuel either confusion or desire for the district to consolidate with one or more of its neighbors. VanDenHeuvel enters a new district where there have also been informal discussions of consolidation with Mt. Iron-Buhl. In any event, she has secured a more stable assignment to be sure.

Strategic school district consolidation is about the only real tool left in the box for Iron Range officials to weather the educational budget crunch that will likely worsen over the next few years. Beyond that, it's up to state leaders to figure out a school funding formula that allows equal educational opportunity in all corners of the state. But you won't get the latter until you complete the former.

Last week, I attended a round table (roundish, anyway) discussion on the future of the Iron Range sponsored by a community outreach committee of Messiah Lutheran Church of Mountain Iron. Though the sponsoring group might seem odd for such a topic, I can personally attest that the Messiah congregation and its pastor, the Rev. Kristen Foster, is one of the most community-minded and forward thinking organizations on the Iron Range today. In 2002, I attended a series of Iron Range themed events sponsored by Messiah that helped shape the themes of my new book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range." It was during these sessions that I met Pam Brunfelt, a local historian, who greatly influenced my essays on Iron Range history and culture. It was also where I first met and heard Paul Gruchow, the late Minnesota author who spoke passionately of the importance of humanity in the equation of economic development. His essay "What We Teach Our Rural Children" is also referenced in "Overburden."

On Jan. 7, the round table discussion was designed to open a conversation on the general future of the Iron Range, but took a decidedly specific turn. The members of the discussion included native Iron Rangers and new Iron Rangers, public officials, everyday folks and a surprisingly broad range of ages and levels of political experience. The conversation kept returning to the idea of Iron Range towns and townships recognizing their common fate and making plans together. This includes school consolidations to allow for smaller class sizes and better curriculum. This includes cities working together more productively on shared wastewater plants and other services. And it includes a better relationship among levels of government to avoid duplication and enhance what we have. These may sound like things already discussed to the point of ear bleeding in our public discourse, because they are, but they are also things that aren't happening fast enough, if at all.

School districts across the Iron Range are in crisis. Absolute crisis. Some are faring better than others, but all are struggling, some are near death and none have any hope to glean from the state budget forecast, local property taxes or mining production revenue in the foreseeable future. While people still quibble -- perhaps justifiably -- about the role of a school building in a small community, Iron Range students all over the place suffer for lack of a 21st century education. Few local officials have any incentive for putting their constituency at risk (and risk is inherent) and no higher elected officials have the courage or authority to act. The same problem exists in service sharing among cities.

An even larger problem goes unnoticed. While each town, district and government unit locks down and tries to protect itself, no one is enacting a region wide master plan. The agencies and organizations that could are limited by statute. Iron Range Resources is a vital state agency that distributes the mining production tax revenue and engages in economic development and rehabilitation, but it lacks the authority to force Town A to work with Town B. The agency is also hampered by the more partisan tone of its governance as an agency whose commissioner is appointed by the governor and board selected from among partisan legislators. RAMS (Range Association of Municipalities and Schools) is a great concept and a worthy advocacy group, but also lacks teeth (and elected management) for the nitty gritty. The Iron Range legislative delegation demonstrates how cohesiveness can work on a legislative level. But no one -- from the local level up to the legislature -- is able to accomplish what needs to happen by decree. What needs to happen is for every local unit of government to send representation to one large gathering in which the 5, 10 and 20 year plans for the Iron Range are hashed out in multiple sessions: with breaks between for citizens to discuss the matters with their elected officials. The end result will be tangible actions that maintain or expand service delivery in cities and counties and extend quality education in schools. Citizens can bring their ideas for the future, which can be prioritied by an open vote. Officials would then be charged with advancing those ideas.

We can call it the Iron Range Congress. Just like the Continental Congress of revolutionary days. Its job would be of similar importance for the future of the Range as that of 1776's colonies. Sewers and snowplowing and advanced math might seem boring to some, but the budgetary issues related to all these things are choking the future of our homeland.

I can't stress enough that I am not calling for a study, or a branding initiative, or a longterm consulting contract. I am talking about Hibbing and Chisholm, or Mt. Iron and Virginia, or Ely, Babbitt, Embarrass, Tower and Soudan getting together to talk about how they're going to work together to survive in the new Iron Range century. I want the imaginary line between St. Louis and Itasca counties to be broken down so that future generations stop thinking of Nashwauk any differently than they do of Hoyt Lakes. There's just no more time for nonsense. The stakes are high and the Iron Range needs to prove its learned something for 100 years of hard history. We can do it. What do you think?