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Reposted by Aaron J. Brown

Rob Levine @roblevine82.bsky.social · 3d

Great take from @minnesotabrown.bsky.social on Kupchella's screed

www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

Brown: We do live in ‘A Precarious State,’ but place-baiting won’t solve anything

"Aging population? Out-migration? Crime and drugs? Schools not as good as you remember? Welcome to the problems rural Minnesota has been fighting for more than 40 years," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Reposted by Aaron J. Brown

Max Hailperin @maxhailperin.bsky.social · 3d

I shoulda known @minnesotabrown.bsky.social would have a magnificent take on A Precarious State. He does. I'm providing a gift link so that you have no excuse to not read it. www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

Brown: We do live in ‘A Precarious State,’ but place-baiting won’t solve anything

"Aging population? Out-migration? Crime and drugs? Schools not as good as you remember? Welcome to the problems rural Minnesota has been fighting for more than 40 years," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · 4d

With private equity firms cleared to purchase Minnesota Power, I suggest that it's not just future electricity rates we should worry about, it's loss of control over the most important commodity in future technology.

Brown: Minnesota Power takeover opens Wild West fight over energy future

"Once public companies fold past the event horizon into the black hole of private ownership, they do not come back," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · 13d

When our little dog ninja maneuvered her way into some chocolate, we learned a lot about the lack of available emergency vet care for rural Minnesotans. The reasons match the shortcomings in people care, too. www.startribune.com/brown-rural-...

Brown: Rural pets face same barriers to emergency care as their owners

After his dog devoured some chocolate chips, columnist Aaron Brown experienced the high costs, long distances and scarce clinics that characterize rural veterinary care.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · 18d

If I had a "golden share" in US Steel, I’d demand that U.S. Steel build a direct-reduced-iron plant on the Iron Range and specialty steel mills along the Great Lakes. We must secure the steel industry for decades, not just a couple years. www.startribune.com/trump-golden...

Brown: Trump bossing around U.S. Steel could cost jobs down the line

"The words 'socialism' and 'fascism' sure give people the vapors, but lots of folks can’t seem to recognize them when they walk into the building and lick all the doorknobs," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · 20d

Erratic US trade policy is hitting home at the Port of Duluth, where Minnesota could be shaping a more dynamic future if the power of the port were better harnessed. www.startribune.com/duluth-trade...

Brown: Bad omens and big ideas at the Port of Duluth

"In Minnesota, we struggle with weather and the changing nature of our legacy industries. However, the ability to ship worldwide from the middle of a vast continent must be counted as an enormous adva...

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · 26d

Modern side-by-side ATVs are often nicer than my first three cars. Their rising popularity raises questions about safety and road use across Minnesota. My latest column: www.startribune.com/four-wheeler...

ATVs have " no crash testing or airbags, limited suspension and tires designed to grab rough terrain rather than maintain traction on pavement," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Sep 10

You can rinse and grill your fresh vegetables.

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Sep 10

Thanks, Noah! Randomness has not been your friend. Maybe next time!

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Sep 10

The Iron Range is on edge over the state's wild rice sulfate issue. That's not new, but the economic uncertainty facing the taconite industry is adding fear to this already-emotional issue. There is a way forward.

Brown: Sulfate debate yields hard truths and hope for Iron Range jobs

"Leaving high sulfate levels in perpetuity across the Iron Range is not acceptable. Nor should we shut down our nationally significant mining industry prematurely," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Sep 8

One expensive element in the making of semi-conductors is helium, an important coolant used in the manufacturing process. A new helium deposit under development near Babbitt could open a direct supply of helium to a Minnesota-grown tech industry. www.startribune.com/mn-helium-in...

Brown: Minnesota helium wells could deflate costs for regional businesses

"A new supply of North American helium could be a big deal," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Sep 1

Birds build nests. Beavers build dams. Humans work, and it is both the same thing and completely different. Now, with AI, we wonder how to keep humanity in the workforce. We must do more than wonder. www.startribune.com/us-labor-day...

Brown: Do AIs celebrate Labor Day?

"The definition of work varies, though we each maintain a notion of honest labor. As Americans mark Labor Day 2025, this goal becomes murkier," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 27

My cliched descent into middle aged bird watching opened my eyes to more than just birds. Small, strategic actions make a difference in the health of a forest, and a community, too. www.startribune.com/bird-loss-cl...

Brown: Smart forestry saves birds — and people, too

"As climate change expands the range and population of pests, birds become even more important — but their population is in decline," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 25

When I cruise any swap meet or estate sale, I wonder where all this stuff came from and where it might possibly go. Peak stuff is here, and it will not last forever. www.startribune.com/brown-are-mi...

Brown: Are millennials killing the stuff industry?

"Younger people can neither afford nor imagine owning a pole barn for nine generations of tchotchkes," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 24

Cellphone restrictions in Minnesota classrooms are working, which is why many schools are expanding limitations for the upcoming year. Kids (and adults) benefit from less mindless time online. www.startribune.com/mn-high-midd...

Brown: School cellphone limits are working, but we must go further

"Bemidji High School principal Jason Stanoch said that without Snapchat, students made fewer 'poor choices' about vaping or cutting class," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 17

Minnesota's popular PSEO program turns 40. It saves students big bucks, but one official said it turned high schools and colleges into divorced parents sharing custody. PSEO is here to stay, but shows need to reform the pipeline from school to college/trades. www.startribune.com/mn-pseo-anni...

Brown: At 40, Minnesota’s PSEO program earns an incomplete

"PSEO’s funding model continues to foster a complicated, often contentious relationship between schools and colleges," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 12

The Dambo trolls in Detroit Lakes aren't just a whimsical tourist attraction, they show what a small town can do to build community and social capital on its own. My latest for
@startribune.com
www.startribune.com/danish-sculp...

Brown: How giant trolls are helping rouse greater Minnesota’s economy

"When my wife and I spent a recent weekend in Detroit Lakes to celebrate our anniversary, we had an adventure," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Aug 3

Forty years ago, Leena-Kaisa Mikkola came to northern Minnesota to visit relatives who immigrated to the United States from her native Finland. This weekend, she returned as Finland’s ambassador to the U.S. What the U.S. can learn from “sauna diplomacy.” www.startribune.com/finnish-envo...

Brown: In a changing world, ‘sauna diplomacy’ would benefit U.S.

"Sauna diplomacy works not because you’re naked (technically, you don’t have to be), but rather because in sauna you must tell the truth," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 29

Something cool is happening in Ely. No, the divided community still disagrees about mining, politics and a few other things, but it's coming together around a growing, joyful arts scene and local opportunity. www.startribune.com/small-town-g...

Brown: In Ely, a bustling arts scene salves conflict, unites community

From columnist Aaron Brown: In northeastern Minnesota, on the edge of the Boundary Waters, the arts bring together a quirky community that can be divided over other topics.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 27

Like many, I've had a complicated relationship with both organized religion and mental health. Today I close my @startribune.com series on mental health issues by exploring how our quest for meaning and well-being are part of the same riddle. www.startribune.com/mental-healt...

Brown: For me, finding mental well-being meant addressing God

"On the Iron Range, generational trauma is passed down like wedding silver," Aaron Brown writes.

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 21

With all these delicate flowers in my garden I have to use the fancy nozzle but for the hostas I just use hose. They can take it. They don’t care. I don’t even really have to water them but I know they’re stronger than me and don’t want to chance it.

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Reposted by Aaron J. Brown

John Gorman @jpgorman.bsky.social · Jul 21

This is really great.

One of the hardest parts about mental illness is always knowing you just have to lose it once and everything goes away. Having a discipline outside yourself to focus on like music balances that feeling so it's not so heavy and omnipresent. There's all this other stuff to do!

Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 21

As my series of columns on mental health issues in Minnesota continues, I consider hope. Elusive during a crisis, hope can be found in the hard work that follows. I talk to a jazz musician who survived the worst by focusing on what matters most. www.startribune.com/hope-greater...

Brown: Halting, slow, beautiful: Recovery from mental illness takes many forms

"Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring problems associated with mental health care in Minnesota. But there’s something in the story that’s missing, perhaps the most important thing of all: hop...

www.startribune.com

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Reposted by Aaron J. Brown

Kelly Barnhill @kellybarnhill.bsky.social · Jul 21

Take a minute and read this beautiful piece about a person living and thriving with a major mental illness. It made me think of what my loved one with schizoaffective said to me once - "It's not that your symptoms go away or get smaller. It's that good management allows your life to get bigger." ❤️

Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 21

As my series of columns on mental health issues in Minnesota continues, I consider hope. Elusive during a crisis, hope can be found in the hard work that follows. I talk to a jazz musician who survived the worst by focusing on what matters most. www.startribune.com/hope-greater...

Brown: Halting, slow, beautiful: Recovery from mental illness takes many forms

"Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring problems associated with mental health care in Minnesota. But there’s something in the story that’s missing, perhaps the most important thing of all: hop...

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 21

As my series of columns on mental health issues in Minnesota continues, I consider hope. Elusive during a crisis, hope can be found in the hard work that follows. I talk to a jazz musician who survived the worst by focusing on what matters most. www.startribune.com/hope-greater...

Brown: Halting, slow, beautiful: Recovery from mental illness takes many forms

"Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring problems associated with mental health care in Minnesota. But there’s something in the story that’s missing, perhaps the most important thing of all: hop...

www.startribune.com

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Aaron J. Brown @minnesotabrown.bsky.social · Jul 19

How much do you trust gargantuan investment firms? A lot? Some? None? At least one judge is signaling alarm about the potential takeover of Allete, parent company of Minnesota Power. www.startribune.com/mn-power-all...

Brown: Is the Minnesota Power sale in the public interest? A judge is skeptical.

"BlackRock didn’t get so big settling for simple market-based gains," Aaron Brown writes. "Thus, ratepayers could be asked to pay for the investment down the line."

www.startribune.com

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