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: Stop and smell the corpse flower
As our lives get busier, let’s not hustle art and nature.
July 7, 2025
Brown: Trump’s Medicaid cuts will close rural hospitals, accelerate health care crisis in Minnesota
Why would the people who represent rural places consciously make their already fragile health care systems worse?
June 30, 2025
Brown: For rural patients, the mental health system can’t keep up with the crisis
The longer people must wait for care, the greater the danger.
June 29, 2025
Brown: Zohran Mamdani’s upset win in New York mayor election holds lessons for Minnesota politics
Mamdani successfully turned a campaign for the city’s top post into a conversation with agitated, working-class swing voters.
June 25, 2025
Brown: East Bethel city councilor’s controversial Facebook comment is a symptom of a bigger problem
Conspiracy, backlash and threats in East Bethel show why civility is so hard to achieve.
June 24, 2025
Brown: Did President Donald Trump just nationalize U.S. Steel?
Japanese ownership, government control mark consequential deal for landmark American company
June 20, 2025
Worth It podcast: Clawcades, Grandma’s Marathon and mapping queer history
Each week we share the happenings around Minnesota worth your time, money and attention.
June 20, 2025
Brown: Assassination, political violence a symptom of 'soul sickness'
We are experiencing a social disease that elevates violent rhetoric, mocks decency and civility, and worships power above all else.
June 18, 2025
Brown: East Bethel city councilor’s controversial Facebook comment is a symptom of a bigger problem
Conspiracy, backlash and threats in East Bethel show why civility is so hard to achieve.
June 24, 2025
Brown: Did President Donald Trump just nationalize U.S. Steel?
Japanese ownership, government control mark consequential deal for landmark American company
June 20, 2025
Worth It podcast: Clawcades, Grandma’s Marathon and mapping queer history
Each week we share the happenings around Minnesota worth your time, money and attention.
June 20, 2025
Brown: Assassination, political violence a symptom of 'soul sickness'
We are experiencing a social disease that elevates violent rhetoric, mocks decency and civility, and worships power above all else.
June 18, 2025