Duluth schools, UMD, air travel and more are closed due to today's blizzard. Many highways are impassible. Nevertheless, Riverdance, the celtic dance sensation, is a go. They are in Duluth. They have nothing else to do and must leave tomorrow.

Chuggita Chuggita Chiggita Chuggita Chuggita Chiggita, Chunk Chuck Chick, ZING, WHUMP, (pause), Seamus, Seamus are you OK?

That was the sound of Riverdance on a slippery stage.

Whooooooooooooo Whoooooo Woooooooo Whoooooooooooooo tap tap tap Whooooooooo Whooooooo Whoooooooo Whooooooo Wooooooooooooo! tap Whoooooo Whoooooooooooo tappity tap WHUMP Whooooooo! (long pause) Sniff Sniff Bark Bark!

That was the sound of a Riverdance dancer trying to fight a blizzard wind, ultimately succumbing to the elements, and being located the next day by search dogs.

DOCTOR: Oh, my God! I've never performed this many frostbite arm amputations in my life without also amputating their legs. It's as though these people somehow furiously moved their legs for vast, sustained stretches of time but inexplicably kept their arms entirely motionless, even as the cold gradually consumed their flesh.

In Riverdance they don't move their arms.

That is all.

We've made much of the lack of snow this winter. It's still poised to be a well-below-average snow year here in northern Minnesota, and certainly a record warm season. Nevertheless, inexplicably (well, it being winter) it began snowing again last week. We got about 10 inches at our house over the weekend in Itasca County and today the regional center of Duluth may get blitzed, at least by this year's standards.

So, ya know. Some snow there. Not so much but something for the snow machines to chew up. Not as much as last year, ya know. Enough to shovel, though. Ya. Kinda knew we'd get it eventually. Nice 'cause it was lookin' like we wasn't going to have a winter. Ya. 

I'll continue the snowman series, as this is becoming my favorite new feature on the blog.

In my detailed discussion of northeastern Minnesota legislative redistricting last week I did not talk about the new Senate District 10 and House 10A and 10B races. This is the Brainerd Lakes/Cuyuna Range district. House 10B is now an open seat including all of Aitkin County and most of Crow Wing County. Today, the first DFL candidate announced for that seat, Joe Radinovich of Crosby. According to the Brainerd Dispatch story, Radinovich, 25, is a DFL party organizer and local youth coach and mentor.

We had a bit of a discussion on this seat below the previous post. I wasn't familiar enough with the terrain to say then what was going on. I can say that Aitkin County leans GOP, as it delivered the margin of victory for Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick (R-Deer River) in her 2010 upset of a longtime DFL incumbent. Crow Wing leans DFL is kind of a toss-up. This is, by my estimate, a swing district, though Crosby and Ironton (the old Cuyuna Iron Range) remain solidly DFL and this whole thing could end a bit of a wild card in a presidential year. Much will depend upon the candidates in this case. Does anybody know who else might run here for either party?

Rep. John Ward (DFL-Brainerd) has a competitive race in the 10A seat and Sen. Paul Gazelka (R-Brainerd) will also face a tough challenge. These woods and waters districts in northern Minnesota are really set up competitively. These areas feature unique constituencies and a great deal of class divide, spurred in part by a large number of retirees and seasonal residents.

UPDATE: Reader David Gray has informed me of some GOP activity in these races. David Pundt is running for the GOP nomination in 10B. Kurt Martin and perhaps another candidate are expected to run in 10A. I've also revised my description of the district per his feedback, as he has a better read on that area than I do.

UPDATE 2: Gazelka announced yesterday he's moving to the new District 9 to run for Senate re-election, leaving an open seat in SD10. Former GOP Sen. Carrie Ruud is expected to run for this seat. No DFLer has yet announced for that seat, though Rep. John Ward is rumored to be considering it. Perhaps a Brainerd area correspondent would like to help this blog's woeful attempts to cover that area.

You can hear the Duluth episode of Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" here. I wrote last week about the program's expedition to the head of the lakes over the weekend. The DNT and Star Tribune reviewed "Prairie Home's" stop at the DECC.

Naturally, everyone's talking about the "10 Things to Know Before you Move to Duluth." It's funny and well-grounded in local culture.



I was hoping for a little more Iron Range in the show. Titled "Here Lies the Stardust," I had thought that he'd reference the the iron in the earth, a remnant of stardust from the creation of earth. None of that; only the hint. My favorite original song from the show was probably Keillor's "In the Pines," which reminded me of many stories and feelings from life north of Duluth.




The line: "In the pines, in the pines, you go to work in the mines or else you go to work in the woods. If you want to be a pastor or broadcaster don't bother 'cause you aren't any good" cuts a little close, but I suspect that's only because it feels true.

If you liked this show, you might like the one we do up "in the pines," or own crippling self-doubt held in abeyance by the bluegrass sounds of "Two Many Banjos."

The perils of cultural isolation and human nature appear in so many surprising ways. There's "The Lottery," of course, and backwoods places where all manner of family arrangements might not pass their way into a lighthearted sitcom. And then there is this shocking story from Minnesota Public Radio today. It details the prevalence of older men pursuing young women and teenagers in the rural, remote city of Grand Marais.

It certainly shouldn't be taken as a sign that this is what everyone does or accepts in Grand Marais. My sister lived there for years and enjoyed it; but also saw some shenanigans such as these described. This is regardless a very compelling piece of journalism that will open some interesting discussions up the shore. I've been up there several times and also find it a wonderful place, with scads of quirky characters.

But where one finds adorable quirky characters one may also find quirky characters of the not-so-adorable stripe. God doesn't make the diamonds. God squeezes the coal.

Fans of this blog know that few things excite me like peat bogs. Well, maybe a few more things, but peat bogs among them.

Some people like peat bogs because they are such complex ecosystems. Some people like peat bogs because they welcome a most fascinating collection of migratory birds. I like peat bogs because I grew up in one, and the soggy shoes and rank swamp gas remind me of home.

Ever hop across a marsh on top of grass clumps only to find that the last one was full of ground wasps? I have! And my sisters, who were running behind me at the time, will tell you that it's no picnic.

The Star Tribune reported over the weekend that the U.S. Department of Energy will fund a $50 million, 10-year study of a peat bog near Marcell, Minnesota, in Itasca County. Scientists will test the effects of warming on the ecosystem, to see what the world can expect from bogs if climate change advances at projected rates. The effects are no small thing, as the way bogs react to climate change could affect anything from the life and death of species, to weather, agriculture and, of course, energy policy.

Northern Minnesota's climate is entering more fervent discussion lately, illustrated by the moose population story I shared last week. What could a changing climate mean for bogs like Sax-Zim, where I grew up, one of the world's largest? This study aims to find out.

Perhaps it is time to dust off my notes for the Bog Blog radio show?

Hush. Wait. We must be patient.

Dylan Days is an annual arts event in Hibbing celebrating famed alumnus Bob Dylan and the arts community of the region. I have had the privilege of serving in various leadership roles for the event since 2001 and founded and edited the Dylan Days lit magazine "Talkin' Blues." That publication features the winners and finalists of the B.J. Rolfzen Memorial Dylan Days Writing Contest.

The deadline for the contest is this Thursday, March 1. You can enter following the rules listed here. We had a big website redesign this year that has slowed our normal flow of entries, so this is a good opportunity for the writers and poets of the world. The contest is open to anyone, though we also have a division for high school or college student poets.

B.J. Rolfzen, the contest's namesake, was an extraordinary educator who taught English at Hibbing High School and Hibbing Community College for more than 30 years. Among two generations of accomplished students was Dylan, who has since acknowledged Rolfzen's early influence on his poetry.

You also still have time to enter the famed singer-songwriter and visual arts contests at Dylan Days. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 26, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

From the Grange to the Range, Minnesota’s protest history shapes today
By Aaron J. Brown

I’ll never forget the night of the 1998 election. I was working as a reporter for KDTH-AM in Dubuque, Iowa. My boss Cindy Kohlmann and I were about to broadcast live from the county courthouse when the national networks announced that Jesse “The Body” Ventura had won the Minnesota governor’s race.

“I’m from Minnesota!” I yelled reflexively. “That’s my state!”

A somber group of local election watchers and courthouse troglodytes turned their jowly Iowa faces toward me with expressions that ranged from pity to perplexity. Me, I was thrilled. I knew my state was just exercising its longstanding tradition of surprising the nation.

A new book “Stand Up! The Story of Minnesota’s Protest Tradition” by Rhoda R. Gilman from the Minnesota Historical Society Press details this tradition in a quick, entertaining and informative read.

Gilman, an author, historian, and past political candidate, demonstrates great understanding of the state. The book picks up just before statehood and takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the state’s most dramatic events that almost seems to collapse from exhaustion at the denouement of the 2010 election.

“Stand Up!” is at its best when it’s explaining the broad movements that have shaped this state. From the early days when pioneering Minnesota leaders attempted to check the power of the big railroads, to the progressive era and the rise of the Farmer-Labor Party, the state boasts a story quite unlike any other part of the country.

The book explains how the state moved from a Democratic pioneer territory in the mold of Andrew Jackson to a Lincoln Republican stronghold for most of its history. It narrates the formation of farm cooperatives and early unions, especially the influential work of the early labor movement on the Iron Range.

Minnesotans of my generation, born long after immigration and Americanization, will learn to appreciate the state’s Scandinavian heritage. So many immigrant Swedes and Norwegians, along with Germans and Irish, crafted the state’s populist tendencies. And she rightly acknowledges the corresponding role of Finns in introducing a radical but eventually widely accepted sense of social good in the state’s politics, especially here in the north.

“Stand Up!” knows its limits. Gilman acknowledges right away that the book is an overview; that deeper resources are available on the topics therein. At a svelte 168 pages, including a comprehensive index and reading list, it cruises fast and leaves you wanting more on some stories. It is organized in a loose chronological order but tends to focus more on the progression of trends, rather than dates.

The book does a fine job summarizing the important iron mining strikes of 1907 and 1916 here on the Iron Range. The Range’s first Gov. Rudy Perpich joins her long list of quirky Minnesota governors who could not easily be classified, which he certainly was.

As she moves into the recent past, Gilman’s opinions begin to color the book. She spends perhaps a bit too much time extolling the growth of Minnesota’s Green Party, of which she has represented in a run for Lt. Governor. But it’s an understandable problem. She correctly shows that the state’s most dramatic reform movements have come in the more distant past. In the new media world of modern Minnesota it’s harder for populist movements to have the lasting impact they had in the progressive era.

Nevertheless, I was fascinated to read her account of the American Indian Movement in the ‘70s, which owed much of its origins to Minnesota’s Ojibwe tribes. One early leader in the ongoing effort by American Indians to preserve the environment of its current and former lands was Walt Brisette. He correctly predicted that “the Chippewa Model” of tribal opposition to environmental encroachments would be a central way of protecting untouched lands from development. This hearkens our current debate in northern Minnesota over nonferrous mineral mines near the Boundary Waters.

The book most specifically encouraged me to dive into her reading list on Gov. Floyd B. Olson, a name I knew as the state’s first Farmer-Labor governor but that I had not realized was arguably the best and most important governor in Minnesota history. I look forward to that reading, and in this Gilman has certainly succeeded in her stated goal of spurring interest in the Minnesota story.

Among the interesting observations in reading Gilman’s “Stand Up!” is the notion that while the state has been home to many different radical or reform movements, those movements were never universally beloved. Rather, it was the success of these movements against entrenched political interests that distinguishes Minnesota history from that of Anystate, USA.

When I was in Iowa in the late ‘90s I met the state’s Republican Governor Terry Branstad, who was then retiring from an unprecedented four terms in office. (He has since returned to that office, defeating Gov. Chet Culver in the 2010 Republican wave). A shrewd politician, when I told him I was a Minnesota Iron Ranger Branstad quickly responded, “I worked closely with Rudy Perpich. He was a good man.”

Though our conversation was brief, it yielded a truth I’ve always carried with me. The place where I’m from has a political history and significance that stretches far beyond its borders. “Stand Up!” serves as a wonderful reminder for those who want to know why.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and the host of the Great Northern Radio Show on 91.7 KAXE.

Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" broadcasts live from the symphony hall at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center this Saturday evening. The show is iconic to public radio, and this broadcast features some great local talent including Duluth's Trampled by Turtles and the Grand Rapids High School Jazz Ensemble. (My kids could be in that ensemble some day!)

I was honored to be contacted by the show for some background on the Iron Range, which suggests that at least some part of the show will turn its eyes north to my native land. The show's title is "Here Lies the Stardust" which  sounds really, really familiar and exciting. I look forward to listening.

On the topic of down-home radio variety shows, my own Great Northern Radio Show broadcasts its next program April 7 from the Chief Theater in Bemidji. We're featuring another Duluth bluegrass band Two Many Banjos, a group that has some crossover with Trampled by Turtles. Our show uses a very similar format to Prairie Home, but with a northern Minnesota/Iron Range point of view. I can only imagine how ridiculous that sounds to non-Minnesotans, but some of you know there is a difference.

The Great Northern Radio Show is a flagship program for KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio and is set up as a sort of independent alternative on the dial. We're trying to tweak the format, but we're obviously inspired by Prairie Home and the long history of live radio and stage variety shows that have come before. Personally, I try to emulate Johnny Carson but friends have informed me that my hosting style is more like that of Kermit the Frog of The Muppet Show than either Carson or Keillor and I will gladly accept that comparison.

This weekend we are all Prairie Home supporters. Tune in to MPR stations or online to listen to the Duluth broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. I understand that tickets are still available as well.

The king and queen of Sweden are planning a visit to Duluth in October. The news comes just one year after the visit of the king and queen of Norway. That leaves only Denmark on the list for our Scandinavian monarchy punch card.

The king and queen of Finland will not be visiting because they don't exist, and that's why Finns aren't Scandinavians.

The Minnesota moose population is in free fall, according to recent reports. Scientists are preparing us for the possibility that Minnesota might one day soon lose its moose population entirely.

The cause is not over-hunting. Rather, moose mortality and pregnancy rates are being affected. Biologists in this Duluth News Tribune article say that a generally warmer climate in the region has reduced the amount of instinctual feeding by the animals, which has made them thinner and more susceptible to disease and parasites. Most of the collared moose in a recent study died of nonspecific natural causes, believed to be disease and parasites.

When I was growing up in northern Minnesota in the '80s and '90s it was not uncommon to see a moose walking through a field or a quiet stand of timber. I remember my parents advising me not to approach moose as a small child, because they are more aggressive than deer. The last moose I saw with my own eyes was quite a few years ago now, in the early 2000s I think. There was a pair seen down our dusty old country road before we built our house, but they haven't been seen since. Odds would suggest that pair did not fare well.

Moose, or moos, is a word adopted directly from the native populations of this region, with rough equivalents found in many Algonquian tongues including that of the local Anishinabe peoples.

This week on 91.7 KAXE's "Between You and Me" the topic veers into the pop culture apex that is Sunday's Academy Award ceremony in Hollywood. My essay is just good clean wackiness merged with cultural observation.

I have charted my seven-year plan to win an Oscar. Step One: acquire film skills.

You can hear the show from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming and archived at www.kaxe.org. My essay often runs in the first half hour.

The Lyric Center for the Arts in Virginia, Minnesota, kicks off its annual "Range of the Arts" event this Saturday, Feb. 25. The event, which runs through the following week, includes art exhibits, a crafts expo, a seminar for creative women and more. Check out the Lyric Center's blog for more.

I've had a little time to review the new Minnesota legislative and congressional redistricting maps. If you read on, you'll see what it means to the Iron Range and surrounding political universe.

The congressional map is fairly simple. The districts largely retain their shape and constituencies. There are marginal changes in party index, some favoring the DFL and some favoring the GOP. Yes, Rep. Michele Bachman was placed in the MN-4, the DFL-leaning home of Rep. Betty McCollum. But Bachman will move "back" to the Sixth and run in what is a rock-solid GOP fortress. In MN-8, the district is essentially unchanged meaning that the district remains a toss-up pitting incumbent freshman Rep Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) against one of three DFL challengers. This was my "most likely" scenario, if you recall, and one of the few things I got right in my predictions.

The legislative map produces a fair amount of chaos statewide, with a 15 House districts pitting incumbents against each other (a very fair 6 GOP vs. GOP, 6 DFL vs. DFL, and 3 DFL vs. GOP). This creates 15 open seats that will be contested by who-knows-who, favoring who-knows-what. Some math people are on the indexing as we speak.*

Here in northern Minnesota, I am simply amazed at how well the map protected Iron Range incumbents. I was almost certain that either Sens. David Tomassoni and Tom Bakk or Reps. Carly Melin, David Dill or Tom Rukavina would be paired in some sort of awkward way. They weren't.

One thing I did expect, the pairing of my friend Rep. Tom Anzelc** (DFL-Balsam Township) with Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick (R-Deer River), actually happened. Additionally, Rep. John Persell (DFL-Bemidji) was paired with Rep. Larry Howes (R-Walker). In the same map, Sen. Tom Saxhaug (DFL-Grand Rapids) and Sen. John Carlson (R-Bemidji) are matched up.

Essentially the "hearts" of the old SD3 and SD4 were cut out and merged into the new SD5. Their appendages were given to the Iron Range or south. I'll dispense with the confusion and take you district by district through the Great Northeast below the jump, using only the new district numbers.

Read more...

Today a five-judge panel has released the final redistricting plan for Minnesota's legislative and congressional maps. Though there are many large overviews of the plan in the state media, tonight I will spend some time analyzing the impact on northeastern Minnesota House and Senate districts and Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.

In summary, the 8th CD is largely unchanged, with Rep. Chip Cravaack still here. Iron Range and Duluth legislative incumbents are largely protected, though the orientation moves west (not south as I had suspected). Rep. Carly Melin absorbs a lot of Itasca County precincts. Rep. Tom Anzelc gets Grand Rapids and parts of Beltrami County. We cannot determine at this time whether Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick lives in the same district as Anzelc or in a new district created in Beltrami and Cass counties. I think she might, but it's unclear until I see the detailed maps which are not up yet.

UPDATE: It is Anzelc vs. McElfatrick in the new 5B. A full post with deeper analysis is here.

Thought for the day: Is it possible that America's 20th century strength (and the backbone of our success here in northern Minnesota's steel and timber empire) was the nation's forward-thinking and at times complete domination of the energy industry? Now that oil is becoming less reliable and plentiful as a commodity, we are struggling. Thus, can we even consider turning the clock back or is a new direction necessary to preserve America's standing?

These questions are inspired by a post at AlterNet, "Why Going 'Back to Normal' is no longer an option for American economy -- and where we're headed now." The most interesting idea I found therein was the concept that, in history, the societies that dominate energy resources become dominant. (h/t reader Elanne).

This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 19, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Check back on Tuesday for my analysis of the new redistricting maps in Minnesota and how they'll affect northern Minnesota politics. It will be a very busy week.

The map is dead; long live the map
By Aaron J. Brown

"You can't take politics out of politics, and there is nothing more political than redistricting,"
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)

“If there’s a place you got to get, I can get you there I bet. I’m the map."
- The Map, “Dora the Explorer”

“I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it.”
– Steven Wright

Before this Tuesday afternoon, a five-judge panel will release Minnesota’s new legislative and Congressional district maps. This is part of the process that begins every 10 years with the U.S. Census. These maps have the potential to change the outcomes of this year’s elections based on where incumbents are placed and which communities are joined by these otherwise arbitrary lines.

As usual, political leaders in the legislature were unable to agree with the governor on the composition of the maps and the issue was sent to the courts. This has been the case nearly every time the legislature and governor’s mansion were occupied by different parties.

Though it’s not a hot topic on the streets among normal people, this is always a big deal to politicians and the media. And soon enough you’ll see why it matters to everybody else.

Northern Minnesota has seen significant demographic change in the last 30 years. Population has declined overall, especially in towns, though it has grown in rural townships where forests and lakes have attracted retirees and professionals. The numbers tell a story of a place.

This place was a rural industrial bottle rocket through the 20th Century, exploding from a native wilderness with the impassioned power of immigrants and steel. It grew in political significance as its immigrants became citizens and senators, but declined when the grandchildren of those immigrants left with the economic collapse of the 1980s.

The conventional wisdom is that this meant the “death” of the region, but that is far from true. In fact, we’re quite well dug in for the long haul around here; just for a different sort of existence. There will be more retirees and older workers living here by choice and a number of younger people working in service industries.

Just last week the Center for Rural Living released an analysis showing an “age gap” in rural America, one I think we can recognize in northern Minnesota. You find a large number of older people and a large number of young people. Found in smaller numbers include those in their prime income-earning, tax-paying leadership years. You can cut the issue a lot of different ways, but as a good mechanic would say, “Well, there’s your problem.”

The last two redistricting efforts, in 1992 and 2002 have reflected this demographic change. This year, 2012, will bring the largest changes to date.

The biggest effects will be seen in the legislative map. Here on the Iron Range, the last two redistricting efforts have endeavored to protect incumbents to the degree possible. However, the continued loss of population on the Range has pushed this approach to a breaking point. Lake Superior to the east, Canada to the north, and the even more population-starved plains counties to the west mean there is nowhere else for district lines to go but south.

At least one Range state senator and probably two Range state representatives will likely be out of office next year as a result of Tuesday’s redistricting maps. Exactly how the maps are drawn could change the landscape even more, based on which communities are grouped together.

Congressional redistricting could also be dramatic. For all the drama over potential DFL challengers and the prospects of incumbent freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8), this simple little map could turn the race upside down.

Already, the race for Congress in Minnesota’s 8th District will be unlike any seen before. Between the vast amount of outside spending, the shifting population and political dynamic of the region and the grind of a nation going through large changes, we can’t predict what will happen. Tuesday will be a big day in the story.

Redistricting has been discussed far too much by some sectors of society and is barely on the radar of a much larger group of citizens. Too often we are mistaken about why these maps happen. They happen because of the way people live their lives.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and host of the Great Northern Radio Show on 91.7 KAXE.

Minnesota transportation officials are scrapping the most controversial of the potential new routes for one of the Iron Range's most important highways. The plan would have sent traffic from Duluth along the west side of Eveleth into Virginia and points north. WDIO has the story and corresponding graphic.

The highway has to be rerouted to accommodate mining activity by Cliffs Natural Resources at its United Taconite plant in Eveleth. A dusty old provision that mandates this be done at state expense was invoked last year.

The remaining options are shorter and involve either elaborate bridgework through mining areas or a Virginia bypass to the east.

Business owners cried foul over the western route because it would have completely abandoned the longtime south entrance into Virginia, including the majestic view of this hardscrabble Range mining town as you descend from the Midway hill. An entire commercial district would have been devalued.

Surely Iron Junction and Leonidas are disappointed, however, as their chance to dominate a new Iron Range century has been foiled by bureaucrats.

This is going to be a sleek highway but as we've seen on the Western Mesabi with the rerouting of Highway 169 these roads are built to get people past the towns, not into them.

It's fundraiser time at 91.7 KAXE - Northern Community Radio. I did a stint on the air yesterday afternoon and will be on with my weekly commentary for "Between You and Me" Saturday morning. That show's topic is "Love Your Pet" and my essay talks about the natural oddity that is human-animal friendship. I talk about my buddy, Molly Dog (AKA: MoDog).

Please take time to join or renew your membership with KAXE. It's a great independent media organization in northern Minnesota, still doing quirky live music shows, news and cultural programming the way radio stations used to before they were gobbled up by large corporations and monolithic governance. KAXE fights the trend, and wins. They're also a big part of my professional writing and radio life and a reason I am able to continue blogging here.

You can hear "Between You and Me" from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday on 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota and streaming live and archived at www.kaxe.org.

A fascinating story by Elizabeth Dunbar at Minnesota Public Radio details the woes of the St. Louis County school district and the consulting firm it followed in implementing a vast consolidation and construction plan last year.

A plan narrowly approved by voters in the seven communities of the large, rural district closed or reduced function of five schools, built two new ones and remodeled another. The promise made by Johnson Controls, the firm the district hired to plan its options, was that this would preserve the solvency of the district and its ability to serve students.

Well, the district is still in the red. The consolidation plan isn't the only reason why, but for the communities already put through the wringer on this issue this is profoundly disappointing.

The St. Louis County schools compose a fairly unique district. Almost all rural, many of these schools cover wide areas. Some students in the district live near Iron Range towns and have the option of attending larger schools (increasingly they are). But the same schools serve distant outposts of woods and wilderness and students who don't have anywhere else to go. This is a real test case for the "Minnesota Miracle," or the concept that the state serves all students equally regardless of where they live.

Our oldest boy, a first grade lad prone to particularity, spent several minutes wiping mud off his gloves and coat this morning. "Why does the outside have to be so dirty? The outside is filthy."

And indeed it is. Here in Minnesota, a land sometimes known only for snow, we continue one of the mildest, least snowy winters on record. We're still below the record low snowfall in northern Minnesota, though one good storm would end that. But the sustained high temperatures we've seen haven't been replicated since records set in the 1800s.

This will be one of those "remember when" winters. It's been a perpetual, enduring March. And we haven't even gotten to March yet. The outside really is filthy. And dry. And it will be a long time before it's worth washing the car, so don't. We live in filth now. It shall be this way for some time.

Iron Range native Jacob Woods, whose public writing about growing up gay on the Iron Range is documented at his blog Good as Gay, spent January preparing a book of poems, Love and Abomination. That book will be released this week for Valentine's Day. In addition to themes of love, Woods seeks to oppose, in his words, "bigotry, discrimination and hate" along with the constitutional ballot question prohibiting gay marriage for this fall's election.

The official description reads, “Political poetry that rips into the souls by strumming the emotional strings of the bigoted consciousness. Touches the truth surrounding the gay and lesbian marriage debate facing the nation.”

Jacob Woods was born and raised on the Iron Range, growing up next to the mining pits on the outskirts of Hibbing where he attended most of grade school. He explored 40 acres of forest with his two older brothers. In the summers while his mother attended college to become a teacher, Jacob had spent time living with his grandma and grandpa as well as his aunt and uncle, experiences documented in his book. He shares this poem from the collection:

Macaroni and Tomato Soup

I remember one time my grandmother put leftover Mac N Cheese in tomato soup. It was disgusting and my grandfather said it tasted just fine. It’s like my grandparents forgot they lost their taste buds. I think the issue is I hide too much of what I honestly think. We live in a society that condones dishonesty and condemns honesty. That way, we can avoid our feelings. It would hurt their feelings if I told them the truth. And then they would condemn me, banishing me to hell. Over my opinions on Mac N Cheese and tomato soup. My best bet is to just shut up and eat it.

Woods now studies Creative Writing and Sociology at Hamline Univeristy. "Love and Abomination" will be available to purchase on Amazon Valentine’s day. Links will be available on the Good as Gay blog, Facebook page, and Twitter as well.

The saga of Magnetation's proposed pellet processing plant at one of four proposed locations continues. It would appear from public discussions that the company is focusing on finding ways to keep the site in Itasca County in Minnesota's Iron Range region or locating in Superior, where a recent economic boom has been happening.

Minnesota and local Range officials have been communicating with Magnetation after a rather negative early reaction to news that Magnetation was considering other options. My understanding is that there is a way for Magnetation to locate in Minnesota under current regulations; it is just that there has been a lack of communication. Magnetation also alleges a lack of urgency, though the state differs on that. I think the publicity of this situation has accelerated the efforts of both Magnetation and state regulators to address the issue. There remains a good possibility of the plant locating on the Range, though Superior certainly wants it and probably remains an equal possibility.

Meantime, Magnetation is addressing some of the anger exhibited by some Range lawmakers when news of the story first emerged. Last week, the company issued a press release showing how the company's scram mining operations have already paid back the public investment in the projects.

To date, 213 jobs have been created by Magnetation, more than ten times the original commitment to the State of Minnesota. The average pay, including wages, benefits, and pension contributions, for the Magnetation direct employees is $70,096 per year. In addition, there are another 60-100 direct and indirect jobs being created at a third Magnetation plant near Chisholm, owned by Mining Resources, LLC, a joint venture with a subsidiary of Steel Dynamics Inc. The construction jobs created to build out the various Magnetation facilities are in addition to the foregoing job totals.

In total, Magnetation received four loans from the IRRRB and one loan from DEED with a combined principal of $5,753,191. On January 3, 2012, Magnetation made the final payment to retire all loans in full, much earlier than required by the loan agreements. In addition, Magnetation has paid to date $946,089 in combined interest and special process royalties to the IRRRB and DEED. In 2012, Magnetation expects to pay an additional $2.5 million in special process royalties to the agencies based on concentrate production from the various Magnetation plants.

Last week I recorded a conversation with Scott Hall at 91.7 KAXE about Magnetation, the Iron Range and Superior that will air at 7:20 a.m. on the Monday morning show. Though some time has passed the central issues we talked about remain at the forefront of this story. Tune in or listen online to the Magnetation discussion Monday morning on KAXE.

This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 12, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune.

This old LEGO house
By Aaron J. Brown

Parenthood doesn’t necessarily move in the phases described in child development books or, as they’re called in our house, “projectiles.”

At the beginning is the spit-up, diapers and first steps-turned-thundering stampede. Then the house fills with an elaborate network of railroads (we have three boys, in case that wasn’t apparent), a labyrinth of wooden tracks that would surely intimidate a scale-sized James J. Hill. Along the way they’ve learned to read and operate the remote control. They grow faster and stronger each day.

We’ve entered a new phase and like most new trends this one is Scandinavian and expensive. We are a LEGO household now. I don’t have time to explain Legos*. If you don’t know LEGO you probably tuned out back when I referenced “children.”

At some point several months ago our son George was reading his older brother Henry’s copy of LEGO Magazine. He took special interest in the picture of a vast, opulent, crime-ridden LEGO city. George pointed and said, “I want that.” “Which one?” I asked. He stared back, incredulously. The answer was “all of it,” of course.

This was a preposterous notion to me then. How on earth could one attain so many LEGO blocks on a middle class salary? Well, the answer to that question is safely locked away in a safe buried beneath some Danish market research firm. Because we have a great many LEGO sets now and a fair number of unassigned Legos that may be assembled in many untold ways.

One of the most interesting things about Legos is that they are neither permanent nor temporary. They are semi-permanent. Old fashioned wood blocks may be assembled for a few hours before someone bumps the tower to the ground. Legos may be assembled and left up for a several days or weeks. You may choose to disassemble them, of course. And a truly fatalistic event could occur such as that time our boys were running around the house with a blanket and obliterated the fire house. But perhaps the enduring appeal of LEGO creations is that they are both durable and fragile, much like the very nature of human life.

My wife Christina made an observation that what makes Legos unique is that you can buy more and more of them and you still never have enough. There is always some brick that you need to finish whatever you’re working on.

A 2002 study by mathematician Mark Changizi and colleagues at Duke University studied the complexity and diversity of LEGO sets. Sam Arbesman at Wired.com broke down the study in a Jan. 6, 2012 article. The bigger the set, the more diversity in components you find. Additionally, the more diverse the set becomes the fewer new component types are used as the set grows larger. In other words, as a LEGO creation grows it uses more different parts but also becomes much more efficient. The Duke study applies this same principle to other complex systems, such as our own real life human cities.

So the LEGO-building lifestyle we lead in this house is a wonderment of imagination and philosophy, so long as you don’t step on the blocks in the night, bellowing expletives into a throw pillow so the kids don’t learn new words. I don’t know if we’ll ever complete the LEGO city our boys have coveted for so long, but in trying we will complete the lessons of their childhood and of parenthood, too.


* I made the choice to use the American term “Legos” interchangeably as a plural of LEGO bricks. LEGO ® is a registered trademark of the LEGO Group, a private holding based in the company town of Billund, Denmark. In most of the world LEGO is the plural of LEGO, much like the English words sheep or deer. A hockey player can play for the Minnesota Wild, but he and his teammates collectively also compose the Wild. The Wild score a goal. The Wild lose a game. Same for LEGO.


In researching this column on the internet I found that most American references to “legos,” “Legos” or “LEGOs” were met with a sprawling comment thread over the plurality issue, usually boiling down to old grievances about American cultural imperialism. Some people sure do take LEGO building components seriously.


I call them Legos because the two sets my twin sons desperately want for their birthday this summer cost a combined $187. I will call them Legos and if the prices go up any higher I will start calling them “Lego’s” and trigger some kind of uprising on the Jutland Peninsula. It is my suspicion that the fixed yellow C-shape hands of LEGO’s legal team lack the dexterity to type out a cease-and-desist letter.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and host of the Great Northern Radio Show on 91.7 KAXE.

I wrote two months ago about the city of Hibbing's plans to demolish the landmark Dupont Blasting Powder power station. I wrote then with hope the city would reconsider its decision. The Hibbing Historical Society took a stab at preserving the site somehow, but lacked funds to pay for a study. When those efforts failed and the building was marked for demolition on Feb. 20. I drove down to take some pictures of the site this Wednesday, Feb. 8, and discovered that the demolition had begun unannounced, two weeks ahead of schedule. I took the following pictures of the scene.


As I snapped these shots the editor of the local paper screeched up behind me and ran up to get some pictures, too. There was no announcement that this was happening and the city was unaware that the contractor was going to start early.


I maintain that it is good for a place to remember its past. I don't think the building was of any particular danger to the public, as suggested without evidence, and the fact that the city can't afford to assess such things is another reason why the squeeze on local governments is hurting society in unexpected and unintended ways.


When a culture dies it doesn't go out screaming and fighting. It goes out quietly, strangled by the hands of people just doing their jobs. I have seen the angel of death and its name is Indifference.


This building was blown up twice by industrial accidents and rebuilt twice. It is now down for good. Four immigrant men with families lost their lives there, just as scores of miners, loggers and other workers did in the complicated history of the Iron Range. This building was a "ruin" by all definitions, but also represented a part of our story.

I don't see any particular reason ever to return to Carey Lake park, some six miles outside town. There are better picnic tables and camp sites elsewhere, and better fishing, too. History, however, cannot be replaced. That is precisely its appeal.

I don't always share the audio of my commentaries for the Saturday morning KAXE program "Between You and Me" here at the blog, but think you might enjoy this one. I wrote a radio sketch for the "accidental recipes" show last week, taking a look at the creation of a certain famous soap back in 1879. The sketch stars Scott Hall as Hiram and myself as Byron. Heidi Holtan did the sound effects work. Have a listen.

This week's show also looks to be fun, with the somewhat-related topic of "jury-rig" or "jerry-rigged." Will Minnesota's own MacGuyver be involved? Well, possibly. Truth is, "MacGruber" really gobbled up most of the tropes a guy like me would lean on. But Richard Dean Anderson really does have a place on the Range.

"Between You and Me" is music, conversation and commentary every Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 FM or streaming and archived at www.kaxe.org.

I have the commentary on MPRnews.org this morning, a discussion of the recent economic success in Superior, Wisconsin, and its meaning for the entire region, including here in northern Minnesota. As an added bonus it includes a poem I wrote in creative writing class at the University of Wisconsin-SUPERIOR. The easy, breezy relationship between Superior and the Range should be nothing to fear.

Read and, if inclined, recommend or comment on the piece. It helps them know that publishing this lowly Iron Ranger is good for business. It's also pledge week over at MPR.

With the conclusion to the MN-8 DFL straw poll the race for Congress in northern Minnesota enters a new phase. If you missed my radio piece about DFL candidates Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark on 91.7 KAXE you can hear it online now. KAXE has also compiled my candidate interview videos. I'll be doing the same with an upcoming interview with Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8).

Northern Community Radio sponsored those interviews and I encourage all of you to support this unique, independent public media source serving the region. They've got a fundraiser that starts next week. Listen for a while; you'll be hooked.

Meantime, MPR posted some updated numbers for the MN-8 DFL straw poll. They have about 2,850 votes in their count, though there are a few more areas yet to report.

Nolan 48.4%
Anderson 30.7%
Clark 12.8%
Uncommitted 8%

All three candidates have today vowed to continue on the campaign, which was expected. Clark's true strength would be in an open primary. Nolan is built to run with the endorsement. Anderson is stuck there in between, without much money but with a fair amount of support in Duluth and on the Range.

The day's political news is bringing some new traffic to the blog today. Welcome! Consider following MinnesotaBrown on Facebook or Twitter or Google+ or plug us into your RSS feed. These things help me keep the blog going in ways that aren't costly or annoying to you.

MinnesotaBrown.com is the fastest-growing web-log in all of the iron ranges located within the erstwhile Northwest Territory. It is written by one miserable offspring of Scandinavians, Finns and good Cornish miners. This strange expression of devilish technology aims to justify a modern life in the harsh environs of the steel trusts and God's Wrathful Weather. Here you shall find economic news, artistic expression, political reportage and an ongoing attempt to connect one place with a larger world.

Rick Santorum's massive win in the Minnesota Republican caucuses is dominating headlines this morning, but we should also take note of the nonbinding MN-8 DFL straw poll held in Democratic caucuses last night.

With incomplete returns and unclear origins of the reporting precincts, early results from the MN-8 DFL show Rick Nolan with a large lead in the straw poll. I would expect, barring an unusual revelation, he will be named the winner of the straw poll sometime this morning. The most recent results were posted at 1 a.m. over at the MN Progressive Project. Those results show Nolan over 50 percent.

Jeff Anderson is in second, somewhere in the high 20s or near 30 percent (I don't know enough about the vote totals and their origins to report them as fact). Clark trails in third with just under 10 percent, running more or less even with "undecided."

Nolan absolutely dominated the southern and western portions of the 8th, especially the areas he once represented in Congress when those areas were in his old district.

Anderson gets to claim some success, however, in that he performed very well in the traditional DFL corridor leading from Duluth up north to the Range. In parts of the Range he crushed Nolan and Clark.

As a nonbinding straw poll, these figures won't determine the delegate allocation that will ultimately decide the DFL endorsement. They do indicate the general thinking of the people who will serve as delegates at local unit conventions in a couple months.

These results, if they hold, produce the following situations for each of the candidates:

Rick Nolan
Nolan can claim a big win, one that he absolutely had to have. But he should take comfort in that he delivered such a dominant win. He remains the front runner for the DFL endorsement, which he alone has agreed to honor.

Jeff Anderson
Anderson's support on the Range and Duluth shows he has strong support in areas that deliver most of the DFL votes in a primary. He has two options. The most likely is that he competes honestly for the endorsement but proceeds to a DFL primary banking on support from those areas. The other option he has is to try to knock Nolan out by using that primary election "electability" argument to snatch the endorsement during the complicated endorsement process at local conventions. He could gamble by agreeing to honor the endorsement that he would create a unified coalition to move forward to a primary with an endorsed candidate, should a primary occur.

Tarryl Clark
Clark's troubles with 8th district regulars was apparent last night. Her weakness in the poll is solely related to her move from the 6th district to the 8th for this run. She does, however, have the most money by far and support from national groups that could keep that money flowing. Her strategy now, should she choose to continue (and she almost certainly will) would be entirely focused on the primary.

Clark has an outside chance of winning a three-way primary, should Anderson and an endorsed Nolan end up in one, simply by splitting the coalitions that rejected her last night and turning out people predisposed to support her. Her risk, however, is the "Entenza Problem." In 2010, the well-funded Matt Entenza went into a DFL governor primary with the endorsed Margaret Anderson Keliher and Mark Dayton and lost badly, despite a professional campaign and big spending.

Clark needs a plan to somehow change the dynamic of this race, and it must involve reassuring people about her decision to run in a district that she's not originally from. I expect she now waits for the redistricting maps in two weeks to see if the new district is more or less favorable to her to make a decision about all that.

For that reason it would be politically wise for Anderson and Nolan's supporters to coalesce somehow. But because both are declaring some version of "victory" this morning that appears unlikely until we get to the Eighth District convention later this spring.

It would appear that one of the MN-8 DFL candidates would have to make a bold impact on the endorsement race to change the likelihood of a three-way primary that any of them could theoretically win.

Tonight brings a crushing victory for Rick Santorum in Minnesota's GOP precinct caucuses. Santorum also won Missouri and has a chance for the sweep in tonight's Colorado caucuses. That will add some intrigue to the Republican race.

Meantime, I am predicting slow reporting of the MN-8 DFL straw poll. I won't have it tonight. I don't think anyone will know until sometime tomorrow. Post comments if you know something.

Tonight, Minnesota holds its biennial precinct caucuses, the first step of organization of the state's major political parties. Eligible citizens are asked to gather at 6:30 p.m. at their community location for their respective party. You can find out where you're supposed to go here. Voting begins at 7 p.m.

Republicans will vote on their contested race for President. Mitt Romney is the national front runner and won here four years ago, but Rick Santorum leads in recent Minnesota polling. Both Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich are within striking distance. It's fair to say that any of the four could win tonight's caucus under the right scenario, though Santorum or Romney are most likely.

The Independence Party will hold its first-ever online caucuses.

Democrats, or more rightly in our fine state, Democratic Farmer Laborites will also caucus around the state, mostly for organizational purposes and to renominate President Obama. However, here in Minnesota's Eighth Congressional district caucus-goers will also be voting in a non-binding straw poll to show preference for one of the three candidates running against Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8). Though the poll is not binding it will show the general thinking of the delegates who will be voting to endorse a candidate in a few months. A lack of consensus would portend a long battle all the way to the August primary election.

In January I interviewed the three DFLers, and you can click their names to see those interviews: Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson, Tarryl Clark. Later today I hope to post audio from my recent summary of those interviews on KAXE. Additionally, you can find footage of a recent MN-8 DFL forum in Finland, Minnesota at the Uptake.

I don't have a hard and fast predication, as this will be the first large-scale public test of support for these candidates. I think Nolan should do well in this straw poll, first or a close second. Anderson needs to stay out of third place and could do well depending on where people turn out. Clark can probably afford to finish third the way she's managed expectations and raised money, but a blowout would be trouble for her.

Meantime, would you like to know who has endorsed the MN-8 DFL candidates? They have very kindly been reminding me of these endorsements on a daily basis for some time. For kicks, I've added the recent fourth quarter fundraising totals for the three candidates because that's going to end up being a big factor, me thinks. Click through for the full post. It reads like a list of characters in a Dickens novel. (Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!)

I will make a good faith attempt to report the results of the straw poll, though I cannot predict how long it will take for the DFL to report those numbers. The Republican presidential vote will be known sooner.

Keeping up with my car theme today, this Chrysler ad with Clint Eastwood was probably my favorite Super Bowl commercial.



I say that for a few reasons. 1) It wasn't stupid or directed at people who are, which is enough these days. 2) It recognized that in a down economy you don't scream at people to buy Chryslers; you convince them to feel good about buying cars. 3) The fact that so many are reading political overtones in the ad tells us a lot about the state of the country.

I'll focus on that last part. First, in the ad Eastwood makes no specific political references whatsoever. The monologue suggests that America has known trouble in its history (true), that we "pull together" after the hard times (eventually maybe), and that it's "halftime" and that our best days are ahead (unknowable, but who cares). The only real issue one could make is that he says Detroit is "back," which is based on the fact that American automakers are entering fiscal solvency and selling more cars than before. Detroit as a city still has some problems, though it is a fair argument to say it's making positive progress.


The ad has been called a "gift" to President Obama's re-election campaign, which is also funny. Eastwood, a longtime Republican, endorsed McCain in 2008. He has said a few complimentary things about the president but is certainly no loyalist. That was a shrewd move by Chrysler, to find an ass-kicking Republican that Democrats also like. But what it boils down to is that if you have a problem with this ad you have a problem with the abstract concept of hope. This is not an easy political position from which to operate.

If this ad had aired in 1984 Democrats would have complained that it was an endorsement for the re-election of President Reagan. Today, Democrats love that ad and Republicans grumble. Chrysler doesn't endorse presidential candidates. Chrysler endorses selling cars. Cars sold means presidents get re-elected. Always has. 

Yes, I will share a music video that involves a song about unrequited love and a car that plays all the instruments. OK Go! is known for it's "one take" music videos, usually involving elaborate choreography of humans and machines. Worth watching.

For some, the 35-minute format of my video interviews with MN-8 DFL candidates Rick Nolan, Jeff Anderson and Tarryl Clark might have been too long. If so, consider listening to a distilled version of my conversations with the potential challengers to Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) on Monday's KAXE Morning Show.

At 7:20 a.m. Monday I present an edited package of clips and background on the race in advance of Tuesday night's precinct caucuses.You can listen at 91.7 FM in northern Minnesota or streaming live and archived at KAXE.org. I'll share audio here when I can.

KAXE paid my expenses in putting the interviews together. The Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm was a gracious host. Richie Johnson did the video work and extracted the audio for me. I spent a long Saturday night putting the radio package together. I hope you find it interesting and informative.

My interview with Rep. Cravaack is still being scheduled, but I do look forward to hearing his response to the DFL candidates and his perspectives on the issues of the day. That interview will be presented and shared in the same fashion as my DFL candidate interviews.

This is among the more ambitious "citizen journalist" projects I've done in a while. Please consider supporting this blog through the purchase of my book, following the blog on Facebook or Twitter, and sharing MinnesotaBrown.com with anyone you think might be interested in northern Minnesota news, culture and creative writing.

This is my Sunday column for the Feb. 5, 2012 edition of the Hibbing Daily Tribune. UPDATE: Well, heck, I don't know how it happened but there was an error in the day of the week in the first graph. It's obviously Tuesday, as the headline indicates.

A Tuesday night civic tradition
By Aaron J. Brown

In Minnesota’s precinct caucuses, which are coming up this Thursday Tuesday evening, power is shared between two vital groups: 1) people who go to almost everything scheduled at the township hall, and 2) people who are really angry about something. Sometimes these are the same people, sometimes not. Sometimes people even bring treats, a feature rarely seen in a dictatorship.

With an even year upon us we now gird ourselves for another modern election, an emotionally taxing exercise in telemarketing, propaganda and partisan self-sorting. It'd be easy to ignore if this weren't how we actually govern ourselves in this country. Believe it or not a hundred years ago the whole mess was actually considerably more crooked than now. Votes were traded for alcohol and road contracts; bosses bullied their workers into voting their way. It’s only our delicate modern sensibilities, throbbing electronic interconnectedness, and the presence of nuclear weapons in the federal arsenal that convey the sense of doom hovering over today’s elections.

So we gather in a hall this Tuesday night at 7 p.m. for a tradition that goes back generations: the Minnesota Precinct Caucuses. And while it might be tempting to ignore, this is actually a stage in the nonstop campaigning where a regular citizen can have a big influence, arguably as important as the general election in November.

For Republicans, the big story is the presidential race. Mitt Romney has had momentum in the race and is widely regarded as the frontrunner. However, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his fiery conservatism have scored numerous blows on the former Massachusetts governor. Gingrich lead Romney by a considerable amount in the only published poll of likely Minnesota GOP caucus-goers a couple weeks ago, but the race is very fluid.

For his part Romney won Minnesota by a large margin in 2008, trouncing the eventual nominee John McCain. The libertarian-conservative U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and socially conservative former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum are also vying for delegates in Minnesota and have committed groups of supporters hoping for an upset.

For members of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, a vestige of our state’s unique political history, the presidential race is a little less exciting than 2008. President Obama is expected to perform well against his opponent “Uncommitted.” However that is no reason for DFLers to ignore the caucuses, as an important local race will be highlighted on Tuesday.

The DFL party is holding a nonbinding but still important straw poll for Congress on precinct caucus night. U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8) shocked the political establishment by defeating House Transportation Chair and Chisholm political scion Jim Oberstar in 2010. Now three DFLers seek to challenge him in his first bid for re-election.

Former Duluth city councilor and Ely native Jeff Anderson, former Crosby-area Congressman Rick Nolan and former St. Cloud-area State Sen. Tarryl Clark are each hoping for support in the straw poll. While the result won’t eliminate any of them, it will be an important statement of support as the party endorsement process plays out. If the three don’t agree to abide by the party endorsement, an August primary will prove the ultimate arbiter. Nevertheless, the precinct caucus is the first chance for voters to offer an opinion and elect delegates to serve in the process. Votes will be even more influential at this early stage.

You can find your precinct caucus site at the Secretary of State’s website (http://caucusfinder.sos.state.mn.us). The DFL and Republican parties are holding live caucuses at sites all over the area. The Independence Party is holding online caucuses.

Regardless of your party politics, or your lack thereof, now is an important time to get involved and speak your piece. Parties are polarized and often ineffective precisely because so many independents have given up on them. In a process dominated by money, corporations and interest groups, Minnesota still offers a point of access for the least of its citizens to participate in a process that influences candidates before they’re on the ballot. If you can, consider attending your caucus to represent your family and future on Tuesday night.

Aaron J. Brown is a writer and community college instructor from the Iron Range. He is the author of the blog MinnesotaBrown.com and host of the Great Northern Radio Show on 91.7 KAXE.

This week's topic on "Between You and Me" is one of those classic ones: Accidental Recipes. That would be recipes improved by unexpected changes. And of course, they don't have to be good. Maybe it was bad. By all means, call in.

My contribution to the show is not about food, however. I talk about accidental invention, and do so in the time-honored tradition of radio comedy sketch. Perhaps you've heard of the "accidental" invention of the Ivory soap recipe, the famed "soap that floats?"* Well, I bring that moment to life using a metal serving dish, a large mug of water, a rotary phone, the guest voice work of Scott Hall and, of course, everything Wikipedia has to say about the 1870s.

This is one worth seeking out. "Between You and Me" airs 10 a.m. to noon on 91.7 KAXE in northern Minnesota, streaming live and archived at www.kaxe.org. My commentary generally airs in the first half hour.

* Actually, Proctor and Gamble has admitted that the accidental floating story is not true. Pssst, neither is my radio play.

Today I feature an interview with Tarryl Clark, DFL candidate for Congress in MN-8.

Tarryl Clark is a former State Senator from the St. Cloud area. She is now co-chair of the Jobs 21 initiative based in Duluth.

This interview was conducted Jan. 18 at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm as part of a series that includes Clark's DFL opponents, Rick Nolan and Jeff Anderson. Later in February I plan to interview the incumbent, Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN8).

The interviews are presented by this blog and KAXE-Northern Community Radio. Richie Johnson of Hibbing shot and edited the footage for us. An audio package is being prepared for KAXE to air sometime before the Feb. 7 precinct caucuses and the DFL nonbinding straw poll. You'll be able to see the full video interviews on local public access television. We are working on a way to share excerpts from the interviews elsewhere.

Click here to see the interview

Also this week, Polymet has announced another delay in releasing its environmental review, a step in getting the necessary permits to mine copper and other minerals in northern Minnesota. The debate over nonferrous mining, or sulfide mining, continues to consume much of the region's political energy.

This news is perhaps welcome in that a more thorough job is being done on Polymet's environmental work, but also a sign that these projects take great amounts of time and are subject to setbacks for any number of reasons.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that the review will be released in the spring. Permits could still be issued in 2013 with potential construction in 2014, though that is the most optimistic of schedules. Additional litigation over water permits will likely slow that timeline.

Yesterday, the Duluth News Tribune wrote about the reaction of some local leaders to the news that Iron Range-based Magnetation might locate its proposed taconite plant in Superior instead of near its scram mining operations in Itasca County. Give it a read. Notably, Rep. Tom Rukavina appears to be in open revolt.

Yeah, after reading this I'd say there's a good chance Magnetation ends up in Superior. That is, unless the Iron Range has a good "fixer" to patch up the anger situation. My understanding is meetings with Minnesota regulators are underway to determine the problems Magnetation is having getting the necessary permits. Any hope the Range has in getting this project back must be seized in the next week or two.

On the wall of my boys' bedroom is a poster picked up at the county fair a few years ago. It's a picture of a bluegill with the caption: "The Bluegill: A Creature of Fresh Water."

Bluegills hold a place of honor in our family. My father-in-law is an avid "pan" fisherman who eschews trophies for food and cooks up the best fried fish I've ever had. We live in Itasca County, which sports more than 1,000 of Minnesota's famed "10,000 Lakes." Most of these pristine small lakes are home to a number of bluegills, which serve a valuable part of the ecosystem.

But that's not all.

I read a wonderful daily newsletter by Dan Lewis called "Now I Know,: which presents an off-the-wall trivia story every day. Today's entry was about the bluegill, not only it's unique attributes (a bluegill population eats six times its weight in insects every summer), but also its role in national defense.

That's right, the friendly bluegill is on the radar of the Homeland Security Department. Many large municipal water plants use penned bluegills as a sort of "canary in the coal mine" in city water supplies. Because the freshwater bluegills are so sensitive to minor changes in water conditions they act differently when foreign elements are introduced. They are particular adept at detecting suspected poisons. (And by "adept" I mean they die almost immediately).

While no attempted terrorist attack on the water supply has been detected by a bluegill, we should all feel safer that this "Creature of Fresh Water" represents the thin, blue(gill) line between freedom and tyranny.

I strongly recommend Lewis's "Now I Know" newsletter, to which you can subscribe here.

The Laskiainen Finnish Sliding Festival weekend is coming up. Saturday and Sunday bring this longstanding east Range tradition in Palo. The description:

Finnish sliding festival celebrating the ethnic heritage of customs, crafts, music, sports, marketplace, foods and of course sliding! A true family event.

Loon Lake Community Center is located 10 miles south of Aurora on Hwy 100 or 1.4 miles north of Hwy 4.

For More Information: 218-638-2551

Let's not overthink this, people. Finland is a winter nation that distrusts its neighbors. Do you think its American descendants know how to put on a sliding festival? Helsinki Yes!