A while back I wrote about the ongoing Highway 53 reroute affecting the Iron Range Quad Cities of Mt. Iron, Virginia, Eveleth and Gilbert, really the central artery of the region. The Laurentian Chamber of Commerce has a project home page with updates, including this map.



Eveleth is that gray blur in the center, Virginia located due north. Most of the plans that local business leaders like have the highway going over the iron formation (the current highway is being moved because it is on the iron formation). The routes that take the highway safely away from mining activity put it off into the Finnish farmlands of Iron Junction and West Eveleth, a serious change.

As I wrote in a column about this time last year, eventually we need to figure out the reality of our planning around here. If we're counting on 100 years of mining-based employment, we should stop building $100 million highways over mining areas. Such an investment should accompany plans that could one day diversify our economy so that our highways may stay in place.

Happy Memorial Day!


The blog has enjoyed a busy May. We covered the end of the legislative session, redistricting talk and analysis, the ramping up of the MN-8 campaign, (Bob) Dylan Days in Hibbing, the governor's fishing opener, the biting of an Iron Range mayor by an "alleged mayor biter," roller derby, the retirement of Denny Anderson at WDIO, Canadian politics and a series of recent columns that I'm rather proud of.

The summer months bring a new schedule for me. I still teach, but entirely online. Being home all the time changes my workflow. I aim to make some progress on projects outside the blog, such as some fiction and my radio show/podcast demo. You'll still see semi-regular updates, though I hope to focus what I post here on deeper topics. I'm going to experiment with posting a lot of my smaller items or links that don't have fleshed out comments attached on my new MinnesotaBrown Facebook page. Go over and "like" that if you can.

This is my weekly column for the Sunday, May 29, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

A nine-letter word for mortality
By Aaron J. Brown

I see these books lined up next to my grandpa’s chair, dog-eared and inherently factual. They are his crossword puzzle dictionaries. Various wings of the extended family conspired over the years to build his collection. Christmas. Father’s Day. Birthdays. Hospital stays. Each provided the opportunity to give him the one thing we know that provides him comfort, and that is the seven letter word for a Prussian general, or a French street, or a synonym for lollygag.

We all share the knowledge that if the dictionaries fail it will fall to us, by phone or in person. We will be called upon to know the four-letter word for the meaning of life. And though it’s not my job to know that information, I feel inadequate if I don’t.

To me crossword puzzles represent the solemn duty of an aging person. I know this because I recently started doing them. I don’t know exactly how it started. One day I opened the B section of the Hibbing Daily Tribune, paged to the classifieds and peeked at a clue in the NEA puzzle. I knew the answer. I filled in the squares and considered the merits of continuing.

On that day I stopped. I didn’t know the German word for man, the title of a particular film starring Doris Day or the acronym a librarian might use in Great Britain. I did however know that these facts existed. I knew that they could be found. I also knew that it would take a few minutes, maybe an hour, to find all of them.

I repeated this introduction several times over a couple weeks, each day a new puzzle piped in on the wire, fixed on the surface of the page by hearty newspaper professionals. My only previous experience with the crossword puzzle was when I worked at the paper and fielded complaints about them. These puzzles are serious business, their fans more rabid than even political partisans or sports loyalists. I admit I viewed these crossword people dimly at first. I am young, I thought then. I was.

In running through these recent puzzles it became evident that the puzzle was only one side of the coin. Somewhere, a puzzle maker – perhaps a human, perhaps a machine, most likely some unholy combination of the two – was tasked with creating these crosswords. That’s why “Tsk,” ends up being a clue. Or “Shh.” These odd little words create sinews to connect “Rosebud” and “Fated.”

After a few days of halfhearted attempts, I woke with the vision of picking up the newspaper crossword puzzle and completing it in one quick motion, like a savant might. I would feel validation. Years of reading eclectic books and websites, listening to informative podcasts and radio shows would bubble up in a terrific show of force somewhere in the vicinity of Page B6. I would set down my pen over the puzzle, still warm from my hot scribbles, and I would know satisfaction.

Soon after, on May 20, it happened. A loose moment of time quickly crystallized into an opportunity to complete a puzzle. I stormed past the halfway point like a six-letter word for a Roman army (L-E-G-I-O-N). I climbed the peak of an 11-letter word for tall African summit (K-I-L-I-M-A-N-J-A-R-O). I was on a roll, until I encountered a nine-letter word for massive Chinese barrier (G-R-E-A-T W-A-L-L). There were clues that, despite my massive, well-cultivated brain, I just didn’t know. The internet aided me to a cumbersome finish, but I thought of my grandpa’s dictionaries and had a sudden realization of how one comes to possess such a library.

Indeed, I have a nine-letter word for mortality: “Crossword.”

Oh, wait. “Mortality” also has nine letters. That would make a lot more sense. (Scribble, scribble).

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and the book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range.”

Dylan Days enters its busiest day with an exciting Saturday lineup:

Bobby Zimmerman Bus Tour, 10:30-2:30, pick up/drop off at Zimmy's: the popular interpretive, interactive tour of Hibbing showing the town Dylan knew, his potential influences, along with the town today through storytelling and history. Waiting list available.

Dylan Days 2011 Postal Cancellation, 2-5 p.m., Zimmy's:  Each year the United States Postal Service, by way of its Hibbing post office, offers a creative, unique postal cancellation stamp featuring a limited edition Dylan Days image. This stamp is only available on this day and may be used on memorabilia or actual mail.

Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter Contest, Second Division, 3-6 p.m. at Zimmy’s: Competitors from all over the world sing one Dylan song and one original in this follow-up to the Friday night contest.

The Fifth Day of May with Danny Fox, 6-9 p.m. at Zimmy’s: featuring two-time winner of the Singer/Songwriter contest and Dylan Days favorite.

Johnny’s in the Basement, 9 p.m. at Zimmy's: a new music project with Duluth musician Jamie Ness; Dylan music keeps the crowd rocking into the night.

Tomorrow brings the Dylan Days Farewell Brunch, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Zimmy's: Local Ojibwa blessing to start; chat with new friends before going home.

Today's the last day to take part in Dylan Days. Join us! Find out more about Dylan Days at the website or by following Dylan Days on Facebook or Twitter.

My weekly contribution to the Saturday morning 91.7 KAXE program "Between You and Me" joins the show's rotating topic: Bob Dylan at 70.

Dylan Days is going on now in Dylan's hometown of Hibbing. With Dylan turning 70 last week, a generation is forced to reckon with its own mortality. This is has been a running theme in my writing lately. The essay is based on the column I wrote last Sunday. So, you know, that plus the dulcet tones of my melodic voice. But, in all seriousness, the show should be great with calls from people all over the area talking about the region's most famous son. KAXE has an excellent library of Dylan music that will surely be tapped as well.

Tune in Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming live all over the world at www.kaxe.org, where you'll also find an archive.

Today brings the first big day of the Dylan Days weekend in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing.

Dylan Days Symposium, 2-4 p.m. at Hibbing Public Library Auditorium, featuring discussion with members of Dylan’s high school band The Golden Chords, original film about Dylan and tourism featuring Manchester professor David Leaver, and the 2011 literary showcase with winners of the Dylan Days writing contest.

'50s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hop co-sponsored by Hibbing Historical Society, 6-8 p.m. at the Hibbing Memorial Building Dining Hall: authentic music from the 1950s that a young Bob Dylan might have listened to. This event is open to families and will feature a partial reunion of one of Dylan's early bands, The Golden Chords. Dylan’s favorite boyhood dessert, cherry pie a la mode from the L&B Café, will be available to the crowd.

Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter Contest, First Division, 8:30 p.m.-midnight at Zimmy’s: Competitors from all over the world sing one Dylan song and one original. Our oldest, most popular tradition.

I am the emcee of the symposium and literary event. This is my favorite part of Dylan Days, though I'm biased. The Rock 'n' Roll Hop is a new event this year and should be a thrill with the reunion of the Golden Chords. The songwriters' competition is always a big draw and there's a giant lineup tomorrow, too.

Find out more about Dylan Days at the website or by following Dylan Days on Facebook or Twitter.

Dylan Days, the grassroots arts, music and literature event in Bob Dylan's Iron Range hometown, opens today in Hibbing, Minnesota. Here is today's lineup:

Dylan Days Welcome Reception, 5 p.m. at Zimmy’s; followed by live music from Anchorage, Alaska’s The Grunt Monkeys.

Find out more about Dylan Days at the website or by following Dylan Days on Facebook or Twitter.

I have the MPR News Commentary today with a piece about the changing nature of Minnesota's 8th Congressional District after Rep. Chip Cravaack's defeat of former Rep. Jim Oberstar in 2010. Check it out and pass it along if you can.

I did not miss the fact that the state legislature expanded the exceptions and special language for a proposed Iron Range coal gas power plant advocated by Excelsior Energy, a new company formed in 2001 by energy industry lobbyists. I saw the news. I was well aware of this bill's slow slinking through the back doors of the legislative process. I just don't know what to say about it yet. The company is still spinning golden promises, but the best argument any lawmaker can make is "If we're going to get the people's money back we've got to give them more time and money." This is a gambler's prayer, aided best by strong liquor. I already spoke about the issue earlier this spring. I'm quoted here in MN Today on MPR calling EE's Mesaba Energy Project the IRRRB's biggest mistake. I still believe that.

I do admire this company's ability to get anything it wants passed in the legislature regardless of the political environment. They've got helpers. Those helpers will be regarded dimly in Range history.

Tonight brings the final evening news broadcast of northern Minnesota newsman Dennis Anderson. He'll anchor his final edition of WDIO/WIRT Eyewitness News at 6 and 10. the ABC affiliate in the Duluth, Minnesota, market.

While the final broadcast of some news professional happens fairly often, Anderson's career has greatly impacted the region's quality of journalism for the better. Congratulations on the retirement, Denny. Your parting words on each night's broadcast, "Good night, everybody, and be kind," have never been more important.

The Duluth News Tribune's "News Attic" posted some great Denny Anderson material, including this complete 1973 broadcast of the evening news (First of five parts, worth watching not just for Anderson but a glimpse at the news and commercials of the time). This was a pre-toupee Denny in a time when the program would open with a direct insult by the weatherman over Anderson's lack of hair. Truly a bygone day.

If you get a chance, pick up Anderson's book "Good Night, Everybody, and be Kind." It's a wonderful recollection of the formative days of TV journalism in the Duluth and Iron Range region.

Dylan Days opens tonight in Dylan's hometown of Hibbing and Dylan Fest is ongoing in his birthplace of Duluth. A host of music, arts and literature events are on tap for a celebration of the folk rock icon's 70th birthday.

Media coverage is starting to pick up with a fascinating collection of reflections and musings by Dylan fans and North Country residents.

The Hibbing Daily Tribune (subscription only) previewed our 10th year of hosting Dylan Days If you haven't figured it out yet I am one of the founding co-organizers of Dylan Days and am fairly open about cross-promotion, a hazard of our new media pioneer days.

The Duluth News Tribune has rattled off a treasure-trove of Dylan material, covering the arrival of international fans, the Dylan Days and Dylan Fest schedules, the installation of Dylan-inspired manhole covers in Duluth, and the memories of other 70-somethings who grew up at the same time as Dylan in this region. The DNT News Attic has a superb 1963 article about Dylan that includes a highly revealing interview with Dylan's mom and dad, Beatty and Abe Zimmerman in Hibbing.

Minnesota Public Radio ran a very well done Dylan biographic documentary "Boy from the North Country" that includes the voices of many past Dylan friends and associates, including some of our regulars at Dylan Days. This is a free download as well. MPR's MN Today has a very interesting collection of links to older local references to Dylan's rise to fame.

I've posted the complete listing of Dylan Days events and wrote my Sunday column about Dylan this week.

Dylan Days in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, officially opens tomorrow. Nevertheless, tonight there's a "Dylan Days Eve" show at Zimmy's featuring acoustic Nashville performers Brittney Lee and Josh Dunne. Lee is an Iron Range native.

Find out more about Dylan Days at the website or by following Dylan Days on Facebook or Twitter.

The James L. Oberstar was christened yesterday and set off into Lake Superior fully loaded with iron ore for Indiana. The giant laker was named for the now former Iron Range Congressman after his decades of transportation advocacy, including near total expertise on Lake Superior shipping issues.

(Story, WDIO)

Registered nurses at the Range Regional Medical Center in Hibbing have reauthorized a strike. A strike vote was OK'd earlier in the spring but the strike was called off on April 29 as negotiations made progress. Now that process will be revisited as mediation was rejected today.

This is the largest hospital north of Duluth, serving a wide swath of the Iron Range and surrounding areas. Some nurses are represented by unions other than the Minnesota Nurses Association, so the hospital would remain open during a potential strike. Nevertheless, this situation is worth monitoring. The clock now begins on a new cooling off period and further negotiations.

Nurses are calling for safer staffing levels on critical floors and more clarity in overtime policy.

UPDATE: Confirmation in this press release from the nurses.

I hope you'll forgive me for not spending much time analyzing the latter portion of Minnesota's legislative session. To quote a character from Jon Hassler's "Staggerford," this year's session "makes my ass tired." In truth, I called it the day after the election with this tweet:

@minnesotabrown Aaron Brown

MN voters seem to have found the one combination that will almost certainly shut down the state government. Kudos for style.
3 Nov via web

I see it this way. You've got your new Republican majorities in the House and Senate. A lot of these folks were elected on a very specific message, that they would never, ever, ever raise taxes in any way that could be traced back to them directly. Most of them would qualify as small government types, holding the belief that reduced regulation and taxation will help the private sector grow, shrink the public sector and its related costs, etc. This group is tremendously powerful within the Republican caucuses and why wouldn't they be? They won the majorities.

Then you've got your DFL House and Senate minority caucuses and Gov. Mark Dayton. Dayton was elected on an unabashed DFL progressive taxation budget platform which he delivered as promised, a nonstarter with the Republicans elected on the opposite platform. He believes, like most DFLers, that state government has an important role, that its services are often vital to people's lives, that education spending is long term economic development and that a decade of tax cuts and funding shifts means we have to increase some tax revenue to balance the books.

Now, on one hand this seems simply to be a reverse of the previous four years, with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty standing against DFL majorities in the House and Senate, but it really isn't. In that case the DFL legislature want to "do" all sorts of things, pass revenue enhancements, education proposals, shore up LGA, etc., even expanding health care coverage to more Minnesotans. This was what they got elected to. Pawlenty needed to "stop" the things the DFL was trying to "do." The executive branch allows the ability to veto and the ability to tweak policies within the administration, all good ways to stop an active legislature.

In this case, the DFL governor wants to "do" things, while the GOP legislature wants to "stop." This means that Gov. Dayton must not only convince one person like Tim Pawlenty to compromise on an ideological front, but several dozen, all of whom are still wearing the sleeves of their DFL opponents' business suits as war trophies. Can it happen? Well, in theory maybe. If this were the '50s, sure, but everyone's jacked up now, requiring some help to break the logjam.

I think a lot of independents and centrists see a more balanced approach that includes some kind of revenue as a logical fallback, maybe Dayton's new compromise, maybe something more innovative. But the GOP legislature will never pass anything like that unless they are able to save face somehow, or more likely get something -- something DFLers really aren't going to like.

How about give Rep. King Banaian (R-St. Cloud) his zero-based budgeting while reserving the right to revisit revenue to shore up something important to all the regions of the state? Fiscal conservatives would cheer the accountability and the ability to make more cuts should they get the governor's office back. DFLers would get a more balanced revenue approach. We Iron Rangers could save our local mining revenue, which was unfairly raided in the current Republican budget. It'd be pure political horse trading, with deference to state services that are "life or death" such as health care. Get us through to the next election to see if the good people of Minnesota would clarify whatever the hell it is they actually want. (The answer, of course, being lower taxes and more services forever and ever and a pony)

Short of a deal, state workers like me should work extra hard on our gardens this week. We're going to need them.

Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan!

Dylan turns 70 today. Born Robert Zimmerman in Duluth Minnesota, May 24, 1941, he was raised up the road in Hibbing on Minnesota's Iron Range. This week Hibbing and Duluth celebrate Bob's 70th with Dylan Days May 26-29  in Hibbing (I'm one of the organizers there) and Dylan Fest in Duluth going on now through Saturday. Both events feature vast amounts of live music, art and literature, all grassroots organized and done in tribute to one of the great musicians and lyricists of our time.

(Photo: The Golden Chords perform on the stage of the Hibbing Memorial Building Little Theater in 1958. Left to right, Monte Edwardson on guitar, LeRoy Hoikkala on drums and Bobby Zimmerman on guitar and vocals. Edwardson and Hoikkala will be on hand for Dylan Days this year. Photo copyright by Edwardson, used with permission for Dylan Days).

Fans of this blog should follow the new MinnesotaBrown Facebook Page. My cool new Facebook real estate is at Facebook.com/ironrange.

Until now I've offered a Networked Blogs feed for Facebook that many of you follow. I'll still support that feed but I ask that all of you "like" the new page if you're a Facebook user. It'll create smoother social media interaction for the blog and won't require the cumbersome application of Networked Blogs.

As many of you know, a website's number of Twitter and Facebook followers is a sort of currency that can allow me to market the blog and my writing to larger audiences, providing me the financial support to keep doing this at no cost to you. Please show your support. It's free and you won't be harmed. I will not use my Facebook or Twitter list for anything other than sharing material from this blog or related content.

On Saturday night I watched the Iron Range Maidens compete at the Grand Rapids IRC arena for their first home bout against the Capital City Roller Girls of Bismarck, North Dakota. The Maidens rocked the near-capacity crowd with a dominant 123-58 victory.

For much of the year I've written about the Maidens in the abstract. I've loved the idea of an Iron Range roller derby team without quite knowing why. After this last weekend I can say that this roller derby experiment is indeed a worthy and exciting endeavor.

The bout drew a huge crowd, but also a diverse crowd. My wife and I are both former local newspaper reporters with experience identifying the archetypes of Range life.

Some of the folks there struck us as "rodeo people." These are people who you see infrequently, usually in the context of rodeos. Very enthusiastic. There was overlap here with street dance people. Same deal, only with summer holiday street dances. But then there were the KAXE people. Literally, this refers to people who listen to, volunteer for, or otherwise associate themselves with the large independent public radio station covering Grand Rapids, the Range, Brainerd and Bemidji. But practically this term is code for intellectual, left-of-center artsy types.

Retirees, small children, drunks, pillars of society and more. Everyone was there. And they were there to watch roller derby. Derby in its lowest form is a bunch of ladies banging into each other on roller skates. In its highest form, derby is also that, but with remarkable feats of athleticism, soaring empowerment and community spirit. The latter is what we saw on Saturday.


Roller derby may be unusual, but the Range and places like it could use more roller derby, or at least the kind of energy that helped this fledgling group of women launch the improbably success that was on display Saturday night in Grand Rapids.

Historian Jeff Manuel is an occasional contributor to this blog and today presents a fascinating historical take on the issue of nonferrous mineral mining in northeastern Minnesota.

Recent debate over possible nonferrous/copper-nickel mining in northeast Minnesota has largely framed the issue along the predictable jobs versus the environment divide. Although Minnesotans will ultimately have to decide this issue—and live with the consequences, positive and negative—I believe both sides would do well to look beyond northeast Minnesota and the history of iron ore mining. Low-grade copper mining has its own rich history that is instructive for those weighing the issue. Luckily, historian Timothy LeCain’s recent award-winning book, Mass Destruction: The Men and Giant Mines that Wired America and Scarred the Planet, is available for anyone who wants a deep understanding of how modern copper mining evolved and what it has (and hasn’t) done to the environment.

LeCain’s book has several connections to the Iron Range. First, the history of open pit copper mining is closely connected to the history of open pit iron ore mining. After the Mesabi Range was opened in the late nineteenth century, western copper miners adopted the Mesabi’s open pit mining technology. The enormous steam shovels developed for the Mesabi allowed copper mines to dig their own giant open pits. Engineers in the low-grade copper mines then developed industrial-sized concentration and separation technology that could profitably mine ores as low as 2 percent copper. Copper technology soon flowed back to the Mesabi Range.

Edward W. Davis, the engineer who pioneered the early taconite process, modeled himself after copper magnate D. C. Jackling. When investors set up the Mesabi Iron Company to produce concentrated taconite in the 1920s, they installed Jackling as president. Many of the machines and principles used in taconite processing were adopted directly from low-grade copper mining. The tools and techniques to mine low-grade metals in enormous open pits and concentrate them developed through the interplay between iron and copper.

Second, and directly related to the current nonferrous mining debate, is LeCain’s argument that copper mining’s history is also a story of the unintended consequences that spring from a belief that modern technology can obliterate natural obstacles. Each new development in copper mining led to environmental problems that were unforeseen at the time. And each effort to fix those problems led to new complications.

When the first smelters killed cattle, crops, and residents, copper miners built a 300-foot stack to carry the poisonous smelter pollution into the atmosphere. When that stack failed to solve the problem, they built one twice as tall. The tall stack and its precipitators fixed this problem, but created new ones. For example, where should all the arsenic collected by the precipitators be deposited? The arsenic eventually found its way into treated lumber and, unfortunately, into ground water and human bodies. Every fix created its own new problems.

What makes LeCain’s history of copper mining so interesting (or disturbing, depending on your point of view) is that there is no easy villain to blame. Copper mining engineers genuinely worried about the environment, but they were convinced that science and technology could overcome any potential problems. As LeCain puts it, the environmental problems in western copper mining “stemmed not from a careless disregard for environmental problems but rather from a dangerous overconfidence in . . . abilities to fix these problems” (54). Yet LeCain acknowledges that modern society relies on the minerals produced in these mines. Few are willing to forego copper wiring and electricity. Neither a naive faith in science and technology nor an equally naive attempt to preserve a pristine landscape are useful ways of understanding the problem. Historians are loathe to predict the future, but copper mining’s past suggests that any possible nonferrous mining in northeast Minnesota will involve similar tradeoffs and lead to its own unintended consequences.

Jeff Manuel, a history professor at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, lives in St. Louis. He is working on a book based on his dissertation about the Iron Range's recent history.

My friends at Business North, a great independent publication doing real economic journalism in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, are looking for a reporter. This makes them a bigger job creation project than some of the things they cover. (Hi-yo!) This post is for you, disaffected journalists of the region.

Business-to-business publication covering northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin is accepting applications for full-time staff writer/researcher. The ideal candidate must possess the skills needed to report, write, edit, research and paginate short stories and enterprise features. Must also have good working knowledge of Internet and new media. Four-year degree desired, preferably with major in journalism, media or business.  Send resume and published writing samples by June 10 to BusinessNorth, 2024 W. Superior St., Suite 201, Duluth, MN 55806 or e-mail to ron@businessnorth.com.

This is my weekly column for the Sunday, May 22, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

Bob Dylan at 70
By Aaron J. Brown

On Tuesday, the Hibbing kid once known as Bobby Zimmerman turns 70. We're not sure where Bob Dylan will be on his birthday. Probably not here, though that'd be nice. Bob could walk downtown and hear all the things other members of the Class of '59 hear on such a day.

"Age is just a number."

"At least you're still on the grassy side of the sod."

"70 is the new 50."

When I think about Dylan turning 70 I can't personalize it too much. I'm a long way from 70, though getting to be a long way from zero. So, while famous people turn 70 all the time there is some symbolism here, especially for people who grew up with Dylan’s music.

For a lot of baby boomers, including millions who’ve never heard of us here on the Iron Range, Dylan is the voice of a whole generation. If you don’t believe me, ask the people coming to Hibbing later this week for Dylan Days. For many musicians since, including the influential new bands of today, he laid down a model for lyrics and music that matter.

With his early songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times They Are a’ Changin,’” Dylan reflected the views of many youth, though fewer youth here in the pro-military environs of the Range. More importantly, Dylan transformed as he aged, cutting tracks such as “Like a Rollin’ Stone” and “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.” This, too, represented his generation as it aged, culminating with the “Blood on the Tracks” album of the early ‘70s, recorded with aid from his brother and a cast of Minnesota musicians.

Time wore on; the nation grew up and settled into old arguments, disputes not entirely different than the ones over Vietnam. Today everything from tax policy to social issues to new wars in new places seems to fall along similar, passionate battle lines.

When Dylan grew up on the Iron Range, the mines still dug for original Mesabi red iron ore. Modern taconite ore mining and production were still unknown to most. People grew up believing that when the red ore ran out the place would die and they would leave. For most, that statement ended up half true. A lot of the artists and intellectuals who admired Dylan left and others, many of whom resented Dylan, stayed to mine harder rock amid continued economic uncertainty.

And now Dylan is 70. He’s still got some years left. Like an older relative puttering in the backyard on a project that never quite seems finished, he’s still touring the world. He made waves in China and even played Vietnam earlier this year. But his voice is battered and craggy, rich with experience but worn down by use. His band plays louder than ever, like grandpa’s television.

I grew up on the Iron Range and still live here, proudly. I became a proud fan of Dylan’s long after the release of his most popular albums. My iPod has a lot of Dylan songs, though I’ve since leaned just as heavily on Carole King and Johnny Cash. I’ve added new groups like Mumford and Sons, whose Dylan influence is so thick that they managed to score stage time with Bob at the last Grammy Awards ceremony. These songs mix in my ears as I go for evening walks on the old dirt road. My kids are in bed and I am older, too.

Dylan and the Range may never get their moment of total mutual understanding, but all of us are left thinking about time in moments like this. As musicians, writers and artists gather in Hibbing next weekend, joining Dylan fans and curiosity-seekers, we remark on time together. People can endure the passage of time for decades, but only words can outlive us.

Or maybe a tune.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and the book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range."

My weekly contribution to the Saturday morning 91.7 KAXE program "Between You and Me" joins the show's rotating topic, "Outside the Comfort Zone." Guest hosts Michael Goldberg and Gail Otteson will share stories and music relating to times we step outside our comfort zones, the roles we play as we become strangers in strange lands. I'll be sharing a story someone told me about being new to northern Minnesota's Iron Range in the 1950s.

"Between You and Me" airs from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota and streaming live all over the world at www.kaxe.org. The show blends music, produced elements and calls from regular folks in the region. The show and my essays are syndicated through PRX.

Among several events going on these days, consider this one. Many might not realize that the iconic Picture Grace, which can be seen here, was taken in 1918 on the western Mesabi Range by Bovey photographer Erik Enstrom. The Minnesota Discovery Center is hosting a gallery opening for two related exhibits this weekend. Info below:

Public invited to gallery opening

Minnesota Discovery Center will host a gallery opening for two new exhibits, “Grace Inspirations: Photographic Depictions of the Iron Range,” and “The Significance of Grace,” Saturday, May 21, beginning at 2 p.m. The exhibits were created around the famous photograph “Grace,” taken in 1918 in Bovey, MN by Eric Enstrom and reproduced many times, including as paintings by Enstrom’s daughter, Rhoda Nyberg. The juried photography exhibit, “Grace Inspirations,” features the work of 10 artists from around the country. Twenty-five images are included in the exhibit, which is supported Enstrom Studio of Bovey. The “Significance of Grace” tells the history of Bovey and explores how the image captured a moment in time. For the gallery opening, Lilah Crowe of the Itasca County Historical Society will present the photograph “Grace” and discuss its’ history. Artists who contributed to the photography exhibit will be introduced and winners announced. A meet-and-greet will follow with appetizers and a cash bar.

More at www.mndiscoverycenter.com.

The good folks up at Northwoods Friends of the Arts Gallery in Cook have passed this along:

Friday, May 20th--In conjunction with the Spring Art Expo in Cook, the Northwoods Friends of the Arts Gallery, 210 River Street, will be open serving appetizers at 5 p.m. before the 7 p.m. concert by Matt Ray and Sela Oveson at the Comet Theater. Advanced tickets are $5 and $10 at the door.

Saturday, May 21st -- Spring Art Expo Artist Demonstrations from 1-4 p.m. at the Northwoods Friends of the Arts Gallery, 210 River Street, Cook. Participating artists are: Tom Chapman, Teresa Chudzik, Pam Roederer, Lois Larson, Linda Freeman, Carol Carlson, and Cathryn Peters

For more information about the Spring Art Expo visit the website at www.SpringArtExpo.org or call Pam Roederer at 218-666-5454

Mesaba Co-op Park is seeking applicants for its summer youth arts camp. The Co-op enjoys a lengthy political and historical tradition on the west side of Cherry Township, but often overlooked is its tradition as a social gathering place.

The 17th annual Northstar Arts Camp will be held June 20-23 at Mesaba Co-op Park near Hibbing.  This year's theme is "Play in the Park," and features musician and educator Oscar Forsman, theatre artists Peggy and Tim White and KAXE naturalist John Latimer.  Campers, aged 8-13, spend four days at the Park from 10 AM - 4 PM, enjoying nature, producing and performing a stage play, and participating in a live broadcast on KAXE radio.  Cost for the arts day camp is $80 per child and includes lunch, snacks and materials.  Funding for the camp is provided by: the Robert L. "Butch" Hamre Fund of the Hibbing Foundation, Elizabeth Ewen's John E. Forichette Memorial Trust and Lake Country Power Operation Round-up.  The camp is co-sponsored by Hibbing Community Education.  For more information contact David Bednarczuk at 218 262-5132 or Northstar Foundation, P O Box 293, Hibbing MN  55746

This is our press release for Dylan Days, which starts next week:

Dylan Days 2011 is May 26-29 in Hibbing, Minnesota

HIBBING, Minnesota -- Dylan Days, the grassroots arts event in Bob Dylan's hometown, announces its 2011 schedule. This year Hibbing celebrates Dylan's 70th birthday with live music, art, literature and a special tribute to the boy named Robert Zimmerman who would go on to become Bob Dylan.

"With Bob Dylan turning 70 we are taking a year to honor not just his accomplishments but the creativity he continues to inspire," said Aaron Brown, Dylan Days spokesperson. "Northern Minnesota's Iron Range holds a unique history and artistic tradition, forged by immigrants who came to these distant forests to harvest trees and mine iron ore. Dylan Days is a chance to share the place that spurred a young Bob Dylan with musicians, writers and artists from all over the world."

This is the 10th year Hibbing has held a formal Dylan Days event. An informal tribute began at Zimmy’s, a Dylan-inspired bar restaurant in downtown Hibbing bar in the 1990s. Popular traditions include live music every night, the Dylan Days singer/songwriter contest, the Bobby Zimmerman interpretive bus tour, a literary showcase and visual arts exhibitions. A $5 souvenir button gains access to most events.

New for 2011, Dylan Days will co-host an authentic rock 'n' roll hop featuring music popular at the time Dylan graduated from Hibbing High School in 1959. The first ever Dylan Days symposium will reunite members of Dylan's longest-lived high school band The Golden Chords for a discussion and feature the world premiere of a new Dylan documentary and the annual literary showcase.

"Our goal with Dylan Days is to provide exciting music and storytelling in a warm, small town festival," said Brown. "People from all over the world gather in Hibbing to share an experience in Dylan’s hometown. We invite everyone to join us."

Detailed information about Dylan Days 2011 and its organization may be found at www.dylandays.com.

Dylan Days 2011 Schedule

Wednesday, May 25
Brittany Lee and Josh Dunne, 7-11 p.m. at Zimmy’s: Lee, an Iron Range native, joins fellow Nashville musician for acoustic “Dylan Days Eve” show.

Thursday, May 26
Dylan Days Welcome Reception, 5 p.m. at Zimmy’s; followed by live music from Anchorage, Alaska’s The Grunt Monkeys.

Friday, May 27
Dylan Days Symposium, 2-4 p.m. at Hibbing Public Library Auditorium, featuring discussion with members of Dylan’s high school band The Golden Chords, original film about Dylan and tourism featuring Manchester professor David Leaver, and the 2011 literary showcase with winners of the Dylan Days writing contest.

'50s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hop co-sponsored by Hibbing Historical Society, 6-8 p.m. at the Hibbing Memorial Building Dining Hall: authentic music from the 1950s that a young Bob Dylan might have listened to. This event is open to families and will feature a partial reunion of one of Dylan's early bands, The Golden Chords. Dylan’s favorite boyhood dessert, cherry pie a la mode from the L&B Café, will be available to the crowd.

Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter Contest, First Division, 8:30 p.m.-midnight at Zimmy’s: Competitors from all over the world sing one Dylan song and one original. Our oldest, most popular tradition.

Saturday, May 28
Bobby Zimmerman Bus Tour, 10:30-2:30, pick up/drop off at Zimmy's: the popular interpretive, interactive tour of Hibbing showing the town Dylan knew, his potential influences, along with the town today through storytelling and history. Waiting list available.

Dylan Days 2011 Postal Cancellation, 2-5 p.m., Zimmy's: Each year the United States Postal Service, by way of its Hibbing post office, offers a creative, unique postal cancellation stamp featuring a limited edition Dylan Days image. This stamp is only available on this day and may be used on memorabilia or actual mail.

Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter Contest, Second Division, 3-6 p.m. at Zimmy’s: Competitors from all over the world sing one Dylan song and one original in this follow-up to the Friday night contest.

The Fifth Day of May with Danny Fox, 6-9 p.m. at Zimmy’s: featuring two-time winner of the Singer/Songwriter contest and Dylan Days favorite.

Johnny’s in the Basement, 9 p.m. at Zimmy's: a new music project with Duluth musician Jamie Ness; Dylan music keeps the crowd rocking into the night.


Sunday, May 29
Dylan Days Farewell Brunch, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Zimmy's: Local Ojibwa blessing to start; chat with new friends before going home.

This Saturday night the Iron Range Maidens, a new roller derby team based in Grand Rapids, will host their first home bout against the Capital City Roller Girls of Bismarck, North Dakota.

Dubbed "Red, White, and Bruised," the event will feature fun for the whole family, mostly in the form of sanctioned violence by prominent women in the community. We're hoping to get over there for this. I seriously think you should go if you can.

The info:

Red, White and Bruised

Saturday, May 21 - 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Come watch as the Iron Range Maidens take on the Capital City Roller Girls of Bismark, ND in our first home roller derby bout.This event will begin with a pre-bout mixer of the GI Janes vs. the Brutal Barbies. This is sure to be an evening of fun! Grab the family and head on down. Tickets are: Adults - $10, Students - $5, 5 and Under - Free.Tickets available at www.brownpapertickets.com, Reed Drug, Tom Clusiau's Sale & Rental or at the door.

Reminder: The film "Iron Range: Minnesota Building America" will be screened tonight in Chisholm, with introduction by Range historian Pam Brunfelt.

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) held his first town hall on the Iron Range last night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there. Reactions I've seen so far seem to fall along party lines. The event was only scheduled for an hour and it appears they stuck to that pretty closely, so not everyone got to talk. Any reactions by folks who were there?

UPDATE: The Duluth News Tribune has a story. Doesn't sound like a very productive exchange.

Last week's episode of This American Life dealt with the theme "How to Create a Job." If you haven't heard this give it a listen. In summary, creating jobs is the top priority for public officials of all stripes but actually creating them is a complicated process that more often than not involves moving jobs around rather than actually creating them.

The TAL and Planet Money team interviews people like Govs. Jay Nixon of Missouri and Scott Walker of Wisconsin talking about how they create jobs in their states. Some of the their signature proposals remind me of programs I've heard about here on the Iron Range or in Minnesota (JOB-Z? Is that done yet?)

Conservatives will enjoy the general sense that corporate tax cuts and rebates have a positive effect on job creation. Liberals will enjoy the parallel reality that other factors like supply and demand, the livability of a state and education are of equal or greater importance. The reality is that a growing, educated society creates its own jobs -- first through the private sector and then through the public sector by the way of needed services and amenities.

At one point in the first act TAL posits the notion that all public officials have to choose between the policies that might cause near term job creation and the policies that would foster long term job creation. Both sometimes negatively impact the other, meaning the choice often ends up being weighted one way or the other. I'd argue that we've made a lot of hay out of short term solutions lately and by the time we face the long term consequences the short term options will all be bad.

My favorite section of the broadcast is the third segment featuring This American Life Senior Producer Julie Snyder and Planet Money correspondent Adam Davidson. The pair attend a meeting of the International Economic Developers Council in San Diego to find out how well local governments are creating jobs in their areas.

Snyder and Davidson equate the experience to being in a singles bar, with each city trying to claim that the recession didn't hit them very hard, that everything is great in their town, and that they don't need more jobs but they'd be glad to take some off your hands. (Afterward, they list the unemployment rates in some of the cities, many of which were well above the national average). One session at the conference instructed economic developers on how to manage expectations in their town so they could keep their own jobs.

As a former reporter and man-about-town I have cause to interact with economic development types all the time. The sad, reptilian confidence -- OK, bullshit -- they can exude at times is a unique commodity in itself. If only somehow there was some way to produce clean energy off that supply! (Or IS there?)

Lessons for the Iron Range in northern Minnesota? I think they are in this broadcast, but only as clues. One can imagine the advice being to stick to our mining, natural resource and tourism base and expand around the edges. But so much of our public policy here seems dedicated to pouring tens of thousands of dollars into the attraction for each (possibly temporary) job. Even our mining is now heavily subsidized or otherwise supported by government spending. I find possibility in balancing our approach, adding new technology, bolstering education and creating the kind of place that creates its own jobs from within.

As I've said before, and before, and before, "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs" is not a policy. It is a prayer.

This American Life is probably the best podcast and public radio program in the nation. I subscribe and listen for free each week on my iPod. I recommend you do the same.

Good morning. Here is some video of a deer eating a bird.



(H/T, TYWKIWDBI)

Outgoing WDIO anchor Dennis Anderson, northern Minnesota's equivalent to Walter Cronkite, penned a strong op/ed in Sunday's Duluth News Tribune. This commentary includes some important observations about the news business. Anderson's last broadcast will be next Wednesday, May 25.

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) will hold his first big public town hall meeting on the Iron Range Tuesday night from 7-8 at the Mountain Iron Community Center just off of Highway 169. I'd bet this event is packed with supporters and opponents of the Congressman and could be quite the lively affair. Kudos to the Congressman for having an unscripted event in the heart of the Iron Range. If you've got something to say about national policies and how they affect northern Minnesota, stop on by.

This is my weekly column for the Sunday, May 15, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

To fly a kite among the tamaracks
By Aaron J. Brown

For most people flying a kite is a childhood activity. I hold some vague memory of owning a kite as a kid, sailing it over the treetops in a city park somewhere on the Iron Range. At least once I got the kite up high, extending every inch of line on the spool.

But I didn't live in town. We were just visiting. I grew up out in the swampy terrain just off the iron formation, where power lines stand sentry over all roads and driveways. Everything else is scrubby tamaracks that would literally eat kites, tangling their nylon tails, shredding the flesh, sending tatters down to ground, absorbing the kite molecules into the roots until one day some fifth generation spark of kite essence felt the sky air at the tip of the tree, shouting, "We made it, papa. We made it."

I suspect this is what happened to my childhood kite but I honestly don't remember. That's how it is for the middle generations.

We were recently at a family gathering in honor of my grandfather's birthday at his house near the Eveleth-Virginia airport. My uncle had picked up some kites for the boys so I unraveled one from its packaging and took it outside. Our boys and various other child relatives were excited to fly a kite, a well worn trope from their favorite Curious George stories. It is fitting that I had forgotten the perils of my potential kinsman, Charlie Brown, and his cartoon kite.

I learned that you can cover about 3/4 of a mile on foot with the kite flittering behind you, crashing into mud puddles, tangling with picnic tables and tantalizing you with bursts of energy that never materialize into flight. I tried to count this as exercise later, but any exercise born of desperation is ineligible for Weight Watchers activity points.

I realized that by extending more line, snapping taut, and soliciting some help throwing the kite, I could launch the kite. This did not happen easily. By the time success was achieved the crowd of children had thinned down to two, both of whom firmly believed that it was their turn to staff the wires.

Running into the wind might mean running across the road toward the airport which means that kite will be hovering over a piece of land legally known as a road. This is very exciting but probably unwise. Also, this was by an airport. This is very exciting but probably illegal.

I almost clotheslined a kid on a dirt bike. The kite had collapsed on the corner and as I was attempting to restore it to the sky it lurched upward just as a pair of bikers buzzed by. I'm glad the guy is OK, but I kind of wish this moment was granted the permanence of a police report.

The second time I tried to fly the kite was the next day out in the woods where we live. This was more difficult; trees filter the wind. Latent emotions from that childhood kite and the tamaracks wafted through the air. Long after the kids had turned their attention to bikes, and my wife had struck up a conversation with her parents, I persisted.

I think I did so because there is something about the actual experience of flying a kite, the unvarnished reality, which struck me. I'm a father now, a career professional with dreams both achieved and on hold until the kids are a little older. These kites are hard to get in the air and the chances of them staying up are relatively low. The forces at play seem simple. Mighty wind should easily lift a faint little scrap of fabric. But down drafts and swirling vortexes abound. The grass is wet and slippery. After time, the kite is covered in mud and the people wonder why you are still out there.

Understand that this kite must fly. If it won't fly, if I am to ever sleep well, I must lay my head on the pillow knowing that I ran hard into the wind. If it won't fly, it must fly the next day, or the day after.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and the book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range."

The governor headed out onto Pokegama Lake near Grand Rapids after midnight last night. He's out there again now.
Governor Dayton (right) heads out on his boat on Pokegama  Lake with fishing host Scott Glorvigen and Army National Guard Specialist Dennis Coan. (Photo courtesy of the governor's office).

I just got off the phone with my wife, a Friday morning regular at the Caribou Coffee in Grand Rapids. Today there were a lot of fancy strangers with Macintosh computers on hand, streets choked with Mitsubishis and Hondas. This can mean only one thing: The Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener is here.

Because Minnesota is such an iconic fishing state, what with our (more than) 10,000 lakes, our governor is expected to fish on the opener of the walleye fishing season every year in the view of hundreds of members of the media and various dignitaries. A well-known professional fishing guide, someone you probably haven't heard of, aids the chief bureaucrat in this endeavor, which at best ends with the execution of a hungry fish. The event costs scads of money, raised privately, mostly in lodging and meals for reporters. It is a cherished Minnesota tradition that extends beyond political party or even which part of Scandinavia most of your relatives are from.

Explore Minnesota actually invited me to go to the Opener this year, which would have made sense as I live just 25 miles from Grand Rapids. But the semester is ending and Dylan Days is coming soon, so I have decided to stay close to the compound to see if I can get the mower running this weekend. Have fun out there, folks!

The community picnic for the opener will be held very soon. That runs from 4-7 p.m. at the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids. Late tonight Gov. Mark Dayton will hold a press conference at 11:30 p.m. at the Mishawaka Landing before heading out on a midnight fishing jaunt on Lake Pokegama (Po-KEG-a-ma).

Tomorrow, the official walleye opener, brings the larger fishing send-off ceremony at 7:45 a.m. featuring Dayton, Lt. Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon, Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers, Senator Al Franken and the local cadre, to include hometown legislators State Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) and Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick (R-Grand Rapids) and the host committee. This event will be held at Zorbaz, a bar/restaurant on the lake that features the replacement of all the "s" letters in the building with "z" letters.

Zo, it goez for the fizhing opener in Minnezota. It'z come to thiz.

The pozt fizhing prezz conference will be held zometime around 10:30, to zee if they caught any fizh. Zome folkz will take picturez and then we will go back to being zad about the legizlature.

Below, Gov. Mark Dayton buyz his fizhing licenze:

This week the Saturday morning call-in and music program "Between You and Me" lights up the airwaves on 91.7 KAXE with the topic "What's in a name?" The show features a variety of songs and produced elements, including my essay, but mostly highlights the voices of the people of northern Minnesota calling in to talk frankly about an unusual topic.

My essay joins the show theme of exploring the purpose, origins and feelings we have about names, our own, our children's, our family's or any names of note. Did you know that I was almost named Ward George Brown IV? That almost happened. This would have been a different blog, believe me.

Tune in from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming live all over the world at www.kaxe.org. My essays and the show itself are archived and syndicated through PRX.

Like most blogs hosted with Blogger, MinnesotaBrown.com was frozen in a Wednesday evening stasis until just this afternoon. It appears that the blog is now functioning normally and, as you can see, I am able to post again. A few items will be forthcoming.

No, I am not considering a move to WordPress. I am aware of the advantages of WordPress but I am more interested in having a simple interface that allows me to post content quickly and without hosting hassles. This was obviously an enormous hosting issue but Google ought to be motivated to make sure this Blogger outage remains a rare exception to otherwise consistent service.

Those looking to bone up on Range history (I'm looking at you, most of the people running for Congress) can take in this excellent film next week at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. I've seen it several times now and it will absolutely reshape your view of the region in the context of American history. Pam Brunfelt is my history mentor and a major influence on my book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range."

Special screening of “Iron Range: Minnesota Building America” May 19

The public is invited to a special screening of the regional Emmy-award winning documentary, “Iron Range: Minnesota Building America” at 6 p.m. on May 19 at Minnesota Discovery Center. The film will be introduced by film contributor and historian Pam Brunfelt. “Iron Range: Minnesota Building America” was produced by tpt and Blackstone Productions. It is made available through the Minnesota Humanities Center, and tells the story of immigrants, conflict and assimilation, industrial America and people creating lives for themselves and their families. Refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge. Please call 800-372-6437 or visit mndiscoverycenter.com for more information.

Rural northern Minnesota air service could be severely threatened by cuts to the federal Essential Air Service program. This program subsidizes passenger air service to airports like Hibbing, Thief River Falls and International Falls. Three times a day the turbo prop plane buzzes over my house in the woods on its way to International Falls or Hibbing. I sometimes joke that it reminds me of the all-important flight out of Casablanca from the movie. Life imitates art?

(Story, WDIO).

You can tell the weather if finally getting pleasant because the arts world on the Iron Range is revving up. The Lyric Center for the Arts in Virginia will host an artist reception tonight from 6-7:30 for the opening of "Open Water." (Pictured at right: painting by Nancy Luloff)

Information below:

Open Water
A visual art celebration of spring recreation in the Northland

Featured artists include:
Jill Aubin, Philip Deloria, Debra Gunderson, Nancy Luloff, Nancy Miller, Casey Newberg, Heidi Mae Niska, Cathryn Peters, Larry Rude, Claire Taylor
May 12—June 11, 2011

The First Stage Gallery
514 Chestnut St., Virginia, MN

Gallery Hours:
Thursday—Friday—Saturday 11am—3pm

Artist reception:
Wednesday, May 11th, 6—7:30pm

From today's Hibbing Daily Tribune, the greatest headline of our time: "Alleged mayor biter, attackers charged." (Subscription only link). This is, of course, an update on the attempted robbery that led to Hibbing Mayor Rick Cannata being bitten on the face by an assailant as he sought to hold down one of the attackers for the police. Two adults and a juvenile (the alleged mayor biter) now face charges.

This theater note was passed along. Those interested in enhancing the theater community of the Range should take note:

Mesabi Musical Theatre will be extending the auditions for My Fair Lady: Mon-Thurs, 6-8 pm, May 16-19, Virginia High School music room (door 9, 6th Ave).

Paid stipends for principal players. No parts have been cast yet. Looking for principals and ensemble players. Performances will take place at Mesabi Range College from July 20-31st. For more information, see http://MesabiMusicalTheatre.com

Northwoods Friends of the Arts, a new Iron Range arts group, is kicking off its inaugural event next week. If you should be north of the formation, check this out:

New Iron Range Art Group Presents First Event--Spring Art Expo

Northwoods Friends of the Arts, (NWFA), the new Iron Range area arts group in Cook, will present their Spring Art Expo on May 13-29th, featuring 41 artists through a variety of art disciplines displayed in participating Cook, Orr and Crane Lake businesses.

Brochure guide maps listing all the artists, events and locations will be available at the NWFA gallery at 210 River Street (behind Dreamweaver Salon and Day Spa) in Cook and in all participating area businesses. This event is open to the public and sponsored by the Cook Area Credit Union.

Kick-off for the Spring Art Expo will be in Cook on Friday, May 13 from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. with a Meet 'n Greet the Artists reception at both the Northwoods Friends of the Arts Gallery and the River Street Studio (old Congregational Church beside the Post Office). Wine and cheese will be served at the River Street Studio with musical entertainment by Jim Ganahl and Carol Booth. Coffee and treats will be available at the NWFA Gallery reception.

View and bid on Silent Auction artwork at the Northwoods Gallery during the opening weekend, then during regularly scheduled gallery hours 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Wednesday thru Saturday, for the remainder of the month. Stop in the Cook Area Credit Union any time during business hours to purchase raffle tickets for a large, Fallow Deer Antler Magazine Basket woven by Angora basketmaker, Cathryn Peters, valued at over $400.

Participating area businesses will have a variety of regional artwork on display, which will be available to view and purchase (art pick-up or delivery to be after the event), during regular business hours. A wide variety of events including musical entertainment, literary readings, artists demonstrations, and dance performances are scheduled throughout the month and will be posted on regional calendars and on the group's website at SpringArtExpo.org

Final celebration wrap-up will be in Cook on Sunday, May 29, beginning at 1 p.m. at the NWFA Gallery with a guest speaker, Dance Expo entertainment provided by Katie Hanson & Dance Group, and winners of the Silent Auction and Antler Basket Raffle will be announced at the closing ceremony.

For more information about the Spring Art Expo or to join Northwoods Friends of the Arts, contact Pam Roederer at 218-666-5454 or visit www.SpringArtExpo.org or the group website at www.NorthWoodsFriendsoftheArts.org

The story of Hibbing Mayor Rick Cannata's encounter with street toughs, including one who bit him above his eye, is worth a watch. The mayor and his wife and a couple friend of theirs were walking home Friday night when two adults and a juvenile attempted to rob them. Cannata and his friend simply refused to give them any money. The attack appears to be random. (Story, WDIO).

State Republicans released their proposal for the redistricting of Minnesota's eight congressional districts. The main surprise is the way they redraw the 7th and 8th districts. Instead of two northern districts drawn east and west, you have a new MN-8 that cuts across all of northern Minnesota. The veteran western Minnesota DFL Rep. Collin Peterson is in this district. MN-7 becomes a central Minnesota district that includes incumbent GOP freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack. (The map is here)

A similar proposal was floated ten years ago only to be shot down by the courts. That might happen this year as well, but this is the starting point of the discussion.

Two stray observations:

• This plan would make it easier for we northerners to reorganize as the State of Superior, a favorite topic of mine. I'm kidding, of course. Sort of.
• This new MN-8 proposal is very much reflective of the old Great Northern Railway "Zone of Plenty," a region that built our modern nation a century ago.

MPR's Ground Level has a fascinating piece on e-commuting in Minnesota. Here at the blog I advocate high speed internet infrastructure to support the very kinds of work described. I think it's a huge growth opportunity in northern Minnesota, if not directly in the towns then right outside them.

Dylan Days 2011 is coming. Readers might remember that I'm the spokesman and co-organizer of this annual music, art and literature event in Bob Dylan's hometown of Hibbing. This year the event is May 26-29. Check out the site for information. I'll be posting more here in coming weeks.

In a news brief on the front of Sunday's Hibbing Daily Tribune, we learn that Hibbing Mayor Rick Cannata was attacked in an attempted robbery Friday night and suffered a bite near his left eye. There were three arrests, including an adult and two juveniles. The mayor's injury required several stitches. According to the HDT the investigation is ongoing and more information will be released soon.

Former State Sen. Tarryl Clark has announced her plans to seek the DFL nomination in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack. Clark most recently ran against Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN6). She is from St. Cloud, currently located in Minnesota's Sixth District. Clark is a prodigious fundraiser and amiable candidate. Her residency and her loss to Bachmann will be her greatest barriers. The drawing of the 8th CD lines this year will be crucial to her candidacy.

I'll have a write-up on this race later in the week. Clark is not the only DFLer on the list but she has the potential to contend for the nomination, particularly in a primary.

UPDATE: I failed to note that Clark and her husband have formally moved to a condo in Duluth. They will retain their home in St. Cloud, though are now residents of MN8.

This is my weekly column for the Sunday, May 8, 2011 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

The typewriter is dead; we are not
By Aaron J. Brown

Artifact. This word conjures a dusty old object in a museum. The more imaginative among us might picture Indiana Jones running from a giant boulder to acquire that golden idol or sacred tablet. But, even then, artifacts eventually end up locked away, out of mind, stripped of meaning

The more accurate definition of the word artifact is an object that means something about people. If that old helmet from the Roman Empire is an artifact, so too is its modern counterpart lifted from the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan. Ancient ceramic pottery might be more valuable than, say, the latest gadget from Pampered Chef ™, but its meaning is the same. These are things we used. Their value in their time was intrinsic to their function.

In class I teach a scenario in which a volcano erupts out of one of our local mine pits instantly enveloping all of us in hot volcanic ash. Centuries later our robot-human-alien hybrid descendants will find us, and remnants of all our stuff. Those smart phones (somehow not melted) in our pockets must have been pretty important, and isn’t it interesting how no one under the age of 30 had a wristwatch?

The typewriter, an artifact important to the lives of those who lived in the 20th century – especially those of us who would become writers, has now reached its end. It goes down in history, next to the arrowheads and chamber pots of old. The last company in the world dedicated to the production of new typewriters closed its doors two weeks ago. Located in Mumbai, India, Godrej & Boyce shut down with about 200 new typewriters left in stock. I'd imagine those are gone now, snapped up by collectors quite possibly for museums.

Sometime in the late '80s or early '90s I decided to be a writer after rustling an old typewriter from the closet of my childhood home nestled in the swamps south of the Mesabi iron formation. In retrospect I had to have been among the youngest people who could say they learned to type on a typewriter, at least without a trace of hipster irony. In high school I'd switch to computers. I'm writing this column on an iPad. And so it goes.

My favorite memory of typewriters isn't even of the one we owned, but rather the row of new typewriters on display at the Kmart in Virginia, Minnesota. They would load the machines with paper and leave them out for customers to try. As a teenager I would sneak down the aisle and type funny phrases, proto-jokes, the faux existential musings of the typewriters themselves. It was my desperate hope that someone somewhere would read these notes and like them (me). An older girl on my school bus worked at the Kmart. One day, she told me that she heard I was the one who typed the funny things on the typewriters and that everyone liked them.

Everyone at the Kmart liked my work. I have yet to receive more timely encouragement in my writing career.

Today the kinds of things I used to write on the typewriters are produced by millions as Facebook status updates or tweets. I am one of those people. I have a clever thought and beam it out to my social network, hoping for a "like" or a retweet. Nostalgia merchants may lament this change, the narcissism and impermanence of it all. But the motivation to write has always been the same.

In “The Language of Crows,” Duluth poet Louis Jenkins remarks on a murder of crows squabbling over a piece of roadkill, each cawing sounds differentiated only by enthusiasm. He writes: “If you lie quietly in bed in the very early morning, in the half-light before time begins, and listen carefully, the language of crows is easy to understand. ‘Here I am.’ That's really all there is to say and we say it again and again.”

With the era of typewriters behind us we cawing crows fly over to the internet. We leave behind the artifacts and, when we die, most words dissipate in the wind. But today, here we are. Here I am. I hope someone reads this. My fingers typed it quickly, tempered by the old bones of an ancient machine.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. His blog is MinnesotaBrown.com and his book is "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range."