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
"Minnesota’s official state tree might be the red pine, but you should really meet its older sibling, the white pine. The white pine is much taller with cool wavy hair." It's also the cornerstone of a healthier Minnesota forest, something we can all help restore.
Brown: Why the white pine matters in Minnesota
Diversity is key to restoring the state’s biggest trees and creating a resilient forest, Aaron Brown writes.
www.startribune.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:32 PM
"Minnesota’s official state tree might be the red pine, but you should really meet its older sibling, the white pine. The white pine is much taller with cool wavy hair." It's also the cornerstone of a healthier Minnesota forest, something we can all help restore.
The Monday after Minnesota's deer hunting opener can be grim. Social media feeds became macabre, while rigor mortis bucks bounce in the back of someone's truck. But that's not the deeper story. Here's why you should rethink deer hunting, and maybe even give it a try.
Brown: Go on, try deer hunting this year
"One of the biggest barriers to hunting is the idea of killing an animal, especially one as beautiful as the whitetail deer," Aaron Brown writes. "But there is an important role for hunting in balanci...
www.startribune.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:21 PM
The Monday after Minnesota's deer hunting opener can be grim. Social media feeds became macabre, while rigor mortis bucks bounce in the back of someone's truck. But that's not the deeper story. Here's why you should rethink deer hunting, and maybe even give it a try.
What if technological demand for critical minerals becomes inescapable? We don't have to wonder, it's happened before, right here in Minnesota. Wisdom and warning from the past: www.startribune.com/minnesota-ir...
Brown: Hungry tech sector will force tough choices over critical minerals
"Critical mineral mining proposals dot northern Minnesota’s landscape — notably, New Range Minerals in Hoyt Lakes and Twin Metals in Ely — each attracting environmental scrutiny and political heat," A...
www.startribune.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
What if technological demand for critical minerals becomes inescapable? We don't have to wonder, it's happened before, right here in Minnesota. Wisdom and warning from the past: www.startribune.com/minnesota-ir...
Canada and a Minnesota-led Team USA battled for curling gold at the Pan-Continental Championships on the Iron Range this weekend. That's typical for these friendly rivals. A trade war, however, has no winners.
Brown: These days, Minnesota-Canada tensions spill off the ice
"Minnesota and Canada’s relationship is defined by friendly competition, but the trade war hurts both sides of the border," Aaron Brown writes.
www.startribune.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Canada and a Minnesota-led Team USA battled for curling gold at the Pan-Continental Championships on the Iron Range this weekend. That's typical for these friendly rivals. A trade war, however, has no winners.
True nostalgia is the pain of knowing what's gone for good. When a small town loses its school, it's the only word that applies. And yet the lasting value of rural places are not in bricks, but in the people who are still here, doing what must be done.
Brown: As a small Minnesota town mourns its only elementary school, opportunity grows from loss
"I knew this feeling well. My rural elementary school closed when I was in second grade, adding an hour to my bus ride. My kids’ small town elementary school was bulldozed shortly after they moved up ...
www.startribune.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
True nostalgia is the pain of knowing what's gone for good. When a small town loses its school, it's the only word that applies. And yet the lasting value of rural places are not in bricks, but in the people who are still here, doing what must be done.
Despite an economic slowdown, home prices remain high and inventory remains low across Minnesota. Generally, people with money are able to buy, but everyone else is waiting, and demographics aren't helping. My latest column:
Brown: Minnesota’s housing problems run deeper than market alone
"Yes, we can build our way out of part of the problem. But older Minnesotans can do much on their own to create housing opportunities for the next generation," Aaron Brown writes.
www.startribune.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Despite an economic slowdown, home prices remain high and inventory remains low across Minnesota. Generally, people with money are able to buy, but everyone else is waiting, and demographics aren't helping. My latest column:
Reposted by Aaron J. Brown
“We often assume, without really thinking, that the money people make is the measure of their contribution to the economy,” Sandel said. “This is a mistake.”
#sandel #philosophy #BergguenPrize #change #politics
#sandel #philosophy #BergguenPrize #change #politics
World-renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel just won the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. I talked to him about how his Minnesota roots shaped his thinking, and what we can do to restore hope in our civic lives. www.startribune.com/prof-michael...
Brown: This award-winning philosopher’s big ideas started in Minnesota
Harvard professor and philosopher Michael Sandel, from Hopkins, Minnesota, received the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture Tuesday, columnist Aaron Brown writes.
www.startribune.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
“We often assume, without really thinking, that the money people make is the measure of their contribution to the economy,” Sandel said. “This is a mistake.”
#sandel #philosophy #BergguenPrize #change #politics
#sandel #philosophy #BergguenPrize #change #politics
World-renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel just won the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. I talked to him about how his Minnesota roots shaped his thinking, and what we can do to restore hope in our civic lives. www.startribune.com/prof-michael...
Brown: This award-winning philosopher’s big ideas started in Minnesota
Harvard professor and philosopher Michael Sandel, from Hopkins, Minnesota, received the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture Tuesday, columnist Aaron Brown writes.
www.startribune.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:59 PM
World-renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel just won the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture. I talked to him about how his Minnesota roots shaped his thinking, and what we can do to restore hope in our civic lives. www.startribune.com/prof-michael...
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
Reposted by Aaron J. Brown
Great take from @minnesotabrown.bsky.social on Kupchella's screed
www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...
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
October 8, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Great take from @minnesotabrown.bsky.social on Kupchella's screed
www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...
www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...
Reposted by Aaron J. Brown
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
October 8, 2025 at 10:23 AM
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-...
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
October 6, 2025 at 9:59 PM
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.
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
September 27, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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-...
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
September 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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...
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...
www.startribune.com
September 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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...
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...
Brown: ATV popularity revs debate over safety and road use
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
September 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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...
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
September 10, 2025 at 11:31 AM
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.
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
September 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
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...
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
September 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM
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...
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
August 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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...
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
August 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM
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...
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
August 24, 2025 at 2:52 AM
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...
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
August 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
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...
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...
@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
August 12, 2025 at 1:52 PM
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...
@startribune.com
www.startribune.com/danish-sculp...
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
August 3, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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...