Minnesota Sounds

Iron Range: mining

by Marc Sanchez, Minnesota Public Radio

Iron Range, Minn. — Ask anyone who has lived near mines along the Iron Range about the sounds emitted, and they might give you a confused look.

Pulverizing crusher machines hum at all hours, trains rattle down the tracks day and night, and explosions shake giant rocks loose from the mine pits. To a visitor, each of these sounds on their own, might be cause for a minor heart attack. For long-time residents, however, they're just business as usual.

Aaron Brown has lived on the Range for most of his life. For him, listening to the rhythmic kuh-clunk of scheduled trains passing helps him know what time of day it is.