Iron and Immigrants: The Mesabi Range Story with Aaron Brown

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Aaron Brown is a writer, teacher, and lifelong resident of the Mesabi Iron Range, an area that has produced an enormous share of the iron ore that built America and won two world wars. In this episode, we take a look at the Iron Ranges of Minnesota with Aaron Brown as our guide. Aaron describes the geography of mining in Minnesota, the initial boom that drew thousands of immigrants to the area to work the mines, the experience of working in a mine, and how the continuous boom and bust cycles have shaped the lives of people in the area. We then talk about places folks should visit when they travel to the Mesabi Range and a few foods that should be on your short list. We finish with a few tips on how to connect with Bob Dylan’s history in the area (he was born in nearby Duluth but grew up in Hibbing.)