Aaron Brown
Editorial Columnist
Iron RangeAaron Brown is a columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board. He’s based on the Iron Range but focuses on the affairs of the entire state. He was raised in a trailer house on a local junkyard and is the first in five generations of his family to never work in an iron mine. He lives down a dirt road on the western Mesabi. His past writing can be found at MinnesotaBrown.com.
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Latest from Aaron Brown
Brown: When betting is everywhere, we gamble with our future
No one stays lucky forever.
February 5, 2026
Brown: Ojibwe-language hockey announcers bring new cultural life to the sport
It takes more than words to describe a hockey game in Ojibwe. To hear the game in “the language of the people” is a fully immersive experience.
February 3, 2026
Brown: Arrest of journalists escalates the constitutional crisis in Minnesota
This is a red line that must not be crossed.
January 30, 2026
Brown: As freedom is tested in Minnesota, the world watches
For some in Russia, the authoritarianism beginning to rear its head in the U.S. seems all too familiar.
January 27, 2026
Brown: Under the bright lights of Walmart, an economic story unfolds
Discount retailers are a safe harbor in hard economic times.
January 19, 2026
Brown: Our weary state must find shared reality amid chaos and fear
The 1916 miners’ strike showed the depths of division a community can sink to — and yet recover.
January 18, 2026
Brown: Trump’s child care funding freeze harms working people. Is anyone surprised?
Mistakes that allowed fraud merit correction, not destruction.
January 12, 2026
Brown: High costs? Budget cuts? Even more reason to protect public libraries.
If they’re allowed to fail, don’t expect the private sector to step up.
January 5, 2026
Brown: Tragic death highlights security challenges at Minnesota hospitals
The Christmas Day incident reminds of the importance of security officers — and the risks they take to protect patients and medical staff.
December 30, 2025
Brown: Despite arguments and heartbreak, a bipartisan friendship shows the way
After 40 years, what they had left was not disagreement but devotion.
December 24, 2025
Brown: We need more communication about mining and the environment, not less
The point of negotiation is not to crown a winner but to find shared opportunity.
December 20, 2025
Brown: It’s Christmastime, which means it’s time to count birds
The Audubon Society’s annual wildlife survey is a big deal, and everyone’s welcome.
December 18, 2025
