Aaron J. Brown
@minnesotabrown.bsky.social
Minnesota author, MN Star Tribune columnist & historian from the Mesabi Iron Range. Read and subscribe for free at http://www.minnesotabrown.com
Listen, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This kid was hard to take. Maybe he still is. But there’s no way he would have liked what’s happening in today’s politics. It’s not supposed to work this way. So his adult self has something to say. 2/3
October 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Listen, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This kid was hard to take. Maybe he still is. But there’s no way he would have liked what’s happening in today’s politics. It’s not supposed to work this way. So his adult self has something to say. 2/3
Hi. That’s me. I bet you’re wondering how this kid got to be a newspaper columnist. Or maybe that’s not surprising. In any event, he used a set of encyclopedias to make his own government, complete with an intact system of checks and balances. 1/3
October 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Hi. That’s me. I bet you’re wondering how this kid got to be a newspaper columnist. Or maybe that’s not surprising. In any event, he used a set of encyclopedias to make his own government, complete with an intact system of checks and balances. 1/3
New forms of copper-nickel mining are exciting for a lot of people on the Range, but when you can see scads of wild rice from the plane, you see the stakes in sharp focus. This is an ongoing project that requires thought, care and long-term strategy. 9/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:48 PM
New forms of copper-nickel mining are exciting for a lot of people on the Range, but when you can see scads of wild rice from the plane, you see the stakes in sharp focus. This is an ongoing project that requires thought, care and long-term strategy. 9/10
The environmental impact is huge. It takes big money and lots of skilled people to mitigate the effects of mining. Yes, it can be done, but it costs money. Right now, the companies pay, but if the companies go away, the people will pay instead. 8/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The environmental impact is huge. It takes big money and lots of skilled people to mitigate the effects of mining. Yes, it can be done, but it costs money. Right now, the companies pay, but if the companies go away, the people will pay instead. 8/10
Mesabi Metallics is building this mine in Nashwauk to meet new steelmaking tech. This remarkable project has experienced financial problems along the way. Today, a sophisticated new plant rises alongside a junkyard of parts from past failures. They plan to open next year. 7/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Mesabi Metallics is building this mine in Nashwauk to meet new steelmaking tech. This remarkable project has experienced financial problems along the way. Today, a sophisticated new plant rises alongside a junkyard of parts from past failures. They plan to open next year. 7/10
Taconite pellets feed blast furnaces. The steel industry is rapidly adopting new technology. As long as Cliffs and U.S. Steel keep their dinosaur plants running, the status quo holds. But it will not hold for long. The new DR-grade pellets at KeeTac are a good start. 6/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Taconite pellets feed blast furnaces. The steel industry is rapidly adopting new technology. As long as Cliffs and U.S. Steel keep their dinosaur plants running, the status quo holds. But it will not hold for long. The new DR-grade pellets at KeeTac are a good start. 6/10
Look how close HibTac is mining to Hwy 169 between Chisholm & Hibbing. They’d like to keep going on the other side, but mining is a cost-conscious business. Pennies on the ton can close a mine. Highways, even towns, CAN be moved, but companies may balk. They have so far. 5/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Look how close HibTac is mining to Hwy 169 between Chisholm & Hibbing. They’d like to keep going on the other side, but mining is a cost-conscious business. Pennies on the ton can close a mine. Highways, even towns, CAN be moved, but companies may balk. They have so far. 5/10
You see grandeur, and billions of dollars in public infrastructure. The state built the Rukavina Bridge in 2017 at a cost of $230 million. Due to a 1960s lease agreement, MnDOT had to move Highway 53 to accommodate Cleveland-Cliffs’ mine plans. 4/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM
You see grandeur, and billions of dollars in public infrastructure. The state built the Rukavina Bridge in 2017 at a cost of $230 million. Due to a 1960s lease agreement, MnDOT had to move Highway 53 to accommodate Cleveland-Cliffs’ mine plans. 4/10
Even when you drive through the heart of Hibbing Taconite and see the obvious mining activity, you don’t realize how much is going on in one place, or how close the mines are to one another. (I often drive through the tunnel in the top left). 3/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Even when you drive through the heart of Hibbing Taconite and see the obvious mining activity, you don’t realize how much is going on in one place, or how close the mines are to one another. (I often drive through the tunnel in the top left). 3/10
The Iron Range is known for its small towns, but it’s actually one huge industrial complex located right next to green forests and sparkling blue lakes. A town like Mountain Iron is an island in a sea of past, present and future iron mining. 2/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The Iron Range is known for its small towns, but it’s actually one huge industrial complex located right next to green forests and sparkling blue lakes. A town like Mountain Iron is an island in a sea of past, present and future iron mining. 2/10
On July 1, I flew above every mine, pit, dump, tailings basin and town on the Iron Range. A lifelong Ranger, I’d seen it all before. But not like this. What I saw there inspired my favorite column in a long time, linked later in this thread. Here are some highlights. 1/10
July 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
On July 1, I flew above every mine, pit, dump, tailings basin and town on the Iron Range. A lifelong Ranger, I’d seen it all before. But not like this. What I saw there inspired my favorite column in a long time, linked later in this thread. Here are some highlights. 1/10
President Trump OKs US Steel merger with Nippon of Japan. It's phrased as "investment" rather than "purchase" but not much different than what Nippon was asking for last year. Good: investment in US industry. Bad: foreign control. Ugly: How did they change his mind?
May 23, 2025 at 8:13 PM
President Trump OKs US Steel merger with Nippon of Japan. It's phrased as "investment" rather than "purchase" but not much different than what Nippon was asking for last year. Good: investment in US industry. Bad: foreign control. Ugly: How did they change his mind?
This was my last column in the @MesabiTribune. I'll have an announcement about my new project in coming days. But it's the end of an era, almost 24 years of local columns. Thanks for reading! minnesotabrown.com/2025/03/all-...
March 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM
This was my last column in the @MesabiTribune. I'll have an announcement about my new project in coming days. But it's the end of an era, almost 24 years of local columns. Thanks for reading! minnesotabrown.com/2025/03/all-...
My small town community college sitcom pilot finally has the B plot I’ve been waiting for.
January 29, 2025 at 9:27 PM
My small town community college sitcom pilot finally has the B plot I’ve been waiting for.
The problem was that this viking taxidermist used medieval art as a guide for stuffing the lion. The result was less Mufasa and more Muwhuthefug. [8/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:46 AM
The problem was that this viking taxidermist used medieval art as a guide for stuffing the lion. The result was less Mufasa and more Muwhuthefug. [8/9]
This lion was a hit. Fred kept it in a cage, where it later died. They skinned it and kept the bones in a box that went unopened for a while. Later, the royal family gave it to a local taxidermist. [7/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:46 AM
This lion was a hit. Fred kept it in a cage, where it later died. They skinned it and kept the bones in a box that went unopened for a while. Later, the royal family gave it to a local taxidermist. [7/9]
Maybe a wayward viking sparred with a lion somewhere. We don’t know. But the first documented interaction between vikings and a living lion happened much later. In 1731, King Frederick I of Sweden received a lion as a “thank you for not invading” gift. [6/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Maybe a wayward viking sparred with a lion somewhere. We don’t know. But the first documented interaction between vikings and a living lion happened much later. In 1731, King Frederick I of Sweden received a lion as a “thank you for not invading” gift. [6/9]
Sometime in the 11th Century, viking mercenaries carved runes in the shoulder of this ancient Greek lion statue. It’s difficult to translate, but they say something like “We won and now we’re carving trash talk on your lion.” So at least some vikings knew what lions were. [5/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Sometime in the 11th Century, viking mercenaries carved runes in the shoulder of this ancient Greek lion statue. It’s difficult to translate, but they say something like “We won and now we’re carving trash talk on your lion.” So at least some vikings knew what lions were. [5/9]
This means that real vikings had little to no interaction with real lions, even though they would have encountered many lion myths in their gradual conquest of Europe. For instance, the Piraeus Lion in Venice, Italy. [4/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:44 AM
This means that real vikings had little to no interaction with real lions, even though they would have encountered many lion myths in their gradual conquest of Europe. For instance, the Piraeus Lion in Venice, Italy. [4/9]
The age of Scandinavian viking exploration and conquest began 1200 years ago. Lions went extinct from the European continent about 2000 years ago, though were widespread at one point. [3/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:43 AM
The age of Scandinavian viking exploration and conquest began 1200 years ago. Lions went extinct from the European continent about 2000 years ago, though were widespread at one point. [3/9]
Some might look to the teams’ meeting earlier in the season for clues. I think the true roots go back much farther. For instance, how did real vikings stack up against real lions? [2/9]
January 6, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Some might look to the teams’ meeting earlier in the season for clues. I think the true roots go back much farther. For instance, how did real vikings stack up against real lions? [2/9]
Starting to feel the season coming on.
November 23, 2024 at 7:48 PM
Starting to feel the season coming on.
