Monday, January 31, 2011

What's New on KAXE

HTML clipboardCarrie Elkin "Call it My Garden"
Amos Lee "Mission Bell"
North Mississippi Allstars "Keys to the Kingdom"
Malcolm Holcombe "To Drink the Rain"
Lori McKenna "Lorraine"
Hot Club of Cowtown "What Makes Bob Holler"
Greg Allman "Low Country Blues"
Lisa Morales "Beautiful Mistake"
Read more on the Currents Playlist...

The Pet of the Week

Hi! My name is Maude. I'm a beautiful adult, dilute-calico. I would be the best cat to decorate your couch or chair. My mellow personality will win you over from the start! I was part of a big rescue and am very happy to be here. However, I would like to find a place to call home. My adoption fee includes my spaying, de-worming and up-to-date feline distemper, rabies, and my intranasal vaccine. If you would like to adopt me, please submit an application at www.starnorth.org (under forms) . You can visit me at the shelter during adoption hours Mon/Thurs 5-7pm & Wed/Sat/Suns 12-3pm)

Now Hear This! Recent Audio Highlights from KAXE

Here are some recent highlights from 91.7 KAXE. From local authors, to local derby girls, to local cows, to local media, there is something for everyone. You can click on the link to listen, or 'right click' and 'save as' to save the file to your computer to then transfer to your mp3 player. Enjoy!



Minneapolis Hip-Hop Artist Toki Wright
Toki Wright is a hip-hop artist out of Minneapolis. Raised in a Buddhist household, and immersing himself in Black history, world culture, and community work, Toki's awareness of the diverse world we live in is translated through his content driven music. Toki is not only a well established emcee but one of the hardest working community activists in the Twin Cities area. With numerous accolades and a tour history that has taken him from New York to Uganda, he is a powerful voice prepared to educate and challenge as well as entertain. Read More...  Check out more interview on the Centertage MN page.

The Women of Roller Derby
Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby has exploded across northern MN, with the Babe City Rollers in Bemidji, and the Iron Range Maidens. Derby is a very physical sport, known for hard hits and short skirts. Producer Doug MacRostie wondered, ‘who are these derby girls, and what draws them to this sport?’, and it isn’t who he expected. Doug set out to find a dominatrix derby girl, and instead discovered The Women of Roller Derby. Get more stories on the Culturology page.

Molly Hootch Hymes and "I Remember When"
Molly Hootch Hymes about her memoir, "Molly Hootch: I Remember When - Growing Up on the Kwiguk Pass of the Lower Yukon River". Molly is a Yupik Eskimo who grew up in the village of Emmonak, Alaska. She's lived in Bemidji for the last 30 years and has finally put on paper the stories of her childhood. Molly especially respected her father and as she puts it, "how he could make ANYTHING out of nothing". The family lived a subsistence lifestyle. Molly Hootch's name became well known later in her teens. The "Molly Hootch Case" was a peition to bring hometown high schools to rural students in Alaska instead of being shipped off to boarding school. Read More... Check out more interview on the Realgoodwords page.

Raising Cows in northern Minnesota
Maggie talks to Allen Bridges, Professor of Animal Science with the University of MN North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids.  Check out more features on the Local Food page.
 
Trumpter Swans in MN with Pam Perry
Pam Perry, a Non-Game Wildlife Bioligist with the DNR, talks with us about the recent success story of Trumpeter Swans. There have been over 5000 counted this winter in MN. Get more nature news, pix and vids on the Phenology Page. 

Aaron Brown on Community Media
Human character might be defined by the actions and thoughts of an individual, but human progress is most often accomplished when individuals interact. Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.


Guido on KBXE
Understatement of the day: this is exciting. It’s exciting for our new coverage area; it’s exciting for our entire coverage area. Northern Community Radio, good as it is and has been, is about to enhance its sound, its member and volunteer and underwriting bases, its product, its service to mission, its human and natural resources. Everything. Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.

People who show up make decisions, friends, playgrounds, art, history... Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.

KAXE Goes to the Vikings-Bears Game

When producer David McDonald began planning a documentary about the experience of a northern Minnesota Vikings fan going to the Vikings-Bears game scheduled for December 21st, we assumed it would be in the Metrodome.  As most of you know, it turned out to be the first Vikings game in 29 years to be played outdoors in the winter conditions of late December.  David re-tooled his wardrobe and shifted his focus a little and off he went. Hear the sounds of the game and the voices of fans, players, and people who work the game on a special documentary this Thursday morning, from 8 to 9 o'clock on 91.7 KAXE.

How To Understate Excitement

Here is Steve Downing's thoughts on 90.5 KBXE, the new radio station we’re building to secure and enhance the service of KAXE and Northern Community Radio in Bagley, Bemidji, Puposki, Erskine, Clearbrook, Buzzle Lake and beyond.

You can listen here:
Guido on KBXE

I’ve been involved for just over a year now with the 90.5 KBXE project. I have to admit: the learning curve from the start was steep, and not strictly because I didn’t know Thing One about building a new radio station, although that certainly complicated the issue. My real problem was that I knew virtually nothing about Bemidji, or Bagley, or any of the many other communities KBXE will be serving. Growing up, roadtrips for my family always meant Duluth, which had been my parents’ orientation when they were kids, or the Twin Cities, where they’d both gone to college. I’d just never spent any time in Bemidji. I was deprived. I was. I say that without a whiff of facetiousness.

I’m a huge new fan of Bemidji. It took about five minutes. And everyone who knows me well, the folks I see day after day, have all heard me raving about Bemidji and Bagley and Shevlin and Debs and Clearbrook and so on. As I make connections over there now, with people, with businesses, organizations, causes, I’m reminded at every point what a terrific community, community of communities, we are dealing with here, and this is a very, very good feeling.

One of my first KBXE projects was Bemidji’s 2009 Night We Light Parade, and I was honestly surprised at the reception we got as we walked along the parade route beside our float. The friendliness, the vibe, was practically palpable, something in the air, and I don’t think it had anything to do with the candy we were handing out. This was the case, too, a few miles farther west, as we planned our involvement in the 2010 Clearwater County Fair in Bagley. The people at City Hall, the courthouse, the fair board: everyone, everyone, was nothing but welcoming and helpful and fun to work with. I talked at length about this on my January Arts Round-up.
Saturday afternoon, August 7th, at the Clearwater County Fair, The Brothers Burn Mountain performed at the KBXE booth, and that’s one of my signature memories of the whole year. It was late afternoon. There was a lull over at the racetrack. Fairgoers were between things, milling around on the concourse, and when The Brothers Burn Mountain finished their set and moved into an improv percussion jam, the KBXE booth was in every way center stage. We had everyone’s attention, and no one was having a bad time. I still grin involuntarily every time I conjure up that scene, that physical ground-thumping sound.

That is a perfect indicator-predictor of what KBXE and our circle, our circles and circles, of friends, old and new friends, will be doing in the neighborhood, from Red Lake to Naytawaush, Cass Lake to Fosston---Bemidji, Bagley and beyond: bringing people together, in grass-roots common-ground settings, often to listen to music but sometimes for other community-building reasons, too. As we say, KBXE will be a community gathering-place, in the air, on the ground, on the web. Northern Community Radio has been doing this for almost 35 years: connecting people to each other, to the northland, to the universe. This is what we do.

KBXE will be an all-purpose partner, so in addition to improving what we call quality-of-life we’ll also be impacting commerce, impacting local economies. Here’s a for-instance: last July, at the 6th Annual 91.7 KAXE Mississippi River Music Festival, somewhere between three and four hundred people showed up, many of them from out-of-town, and we know that altogether those folks dropped well over $12,000 into local cash registers (festival ticket-revenue not included). This was for gas, lodging, shopping, dinner and drinks, you get the picture. One time, one day. There are obvious multiplier effects, of course, depending on what other events get onto the calendar. KBXE will be doing this sort of business.

So, understatement of the day: this is exciting. It’s exciting for our new coverage area; it’s exciting for our entire coverage area. Northern Community Radio, good as it is and has been, is about to enhance its sound, its member and volunteer and underwriting bases, its product, its service to mission, its human and natural resources. Everything. We’ll need lots of help, your help, to make this happen. Your time. Your talents. Your treasure. Come see us at the Blue Ox in Bemidji, Saturday, February 5th, 6 pm. Come for the fun. There’ll be plenty of that, guaranteed. But come and make a pledge, too. You can spread it out over three or more years, while you and we all spread the love about 90.5 KBXE.

By Steve Downing, aka Guido
Northern Community Radio

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Do you ever disconnect?

This week John Bauer and Heidi Holtan talk with author Susan Maushart about her new book, "The Winter of Our Disconnect - How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept With her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell The Tale".  She took a six month hiatus from technology and forced her kids to do the same. 

How tied are you to your technology?  Susan's kids found some things out about themselves - one found out that she had really been lacking in sleep (and had a different personality because of it) and another started seriously playing his saxophone again (during the times he used to play video games) and learned to love it and find new people to hang out with. 

Though most people aren't going to give up their wireless internet, dvds, tv or phones, Susan had some good advice on how to control the technology some. 
*make your bedroom as free of technology as you can
*make a point to NOT use technology at the dinner table
*have a media free day once a week or set up a curfew everynight
*if you are worried about your kids wifi use after you go to sleep, power down the modem every night

What do you think? 

How KAXE and KBXE Will Coexist

Thank you for your interest in 90.5 KBXE! We hope this will answer some of your questions about KBXE.

KBXE is a new, noncommercial community radio station that will serve people in Bagley, Bemidji and surrounding areas.

Northern Community Radio will own and operate KBXE, using the same structure that it uses to operate 91.7 KAXE in Grand Rapids (105.3 in Bemidji). This shared structure will help KBXE operate frugally. When you make a membership pledge to Northern Community Radio, you will automatically be a member of both KAXE and KBXE.

KBXE and KAXE will broadcast together. Each studio will create outstanding programming and each station will broadcast a regional signal. KAXE and KBXE will serve most of northeastern and north central Minnesota. Sometimes the programming will originate at KBXE and sometimes at KAXE, but everyone who listens to either station will hear all of it! We are looking forward to a great influx of volunteer energy from KBXE that will be heard from Fosston in the west to the hill overlooking Duluth in the east!

KBXE will operate from studios at 305 America Ave. NW in Bemidji, in space leased from Harmony Food Co-op, adjacent to their new grocery. KBXE’s tower will be located between Bemidji and Bagley, to cover both communities with a strong signal.

The best way you can help build KBXE is to give generously to the building fund. Your capital pledge can be paid over a 3 to 5-year period. KBXE has to be ON THE AIR by MARCH 2012, or we will lose the license. Time is of the essence!

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about this project.  We always want to hear your questions and comments. 800/662-5799 or comments@kbxe.org.

Sincerely, Maggie Montgomery, General Manager, Northern Community Radio

The Women of Roller Derby

The Women of Roller Derby is an intimate view into the life of derby girls. Produced by Doug MacRostie of Northern Community Radio for Culturology on 91.7 KAXE.
 
The Women of Roller Derby
Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby has exploded across northern MN, with the Babe City Rollers in Bemidji, and the Iron Range Maidens. Derby is a very physical sport, known for hard hits and short skirts. Producer Doug MacRostie wondered, ‘who are these derby girls, and what draws them to this sport?’, and it isn’t who he expected. Doug set out to find a dominatrix derby girl, and instead discovered The Women of Roller Derby.

I Hulk said, "That was awesome and dare I say I got a bit teary. Which says a lot since I hate crying and being emotional!". Sarah Whalin' said, "I. M. Hulk, Olive Mayhem, Piece MakeHer, Vroom Vroom and the others give such an accurate portrayal of what it means to be a derby girl, it will give you goosebumps! Totally amazing. Go Maidens!!" and Butterscotch Bitch told us, "I was just sitting in my car the last 20 minutes listening. I wish I had my skates with to wear at work...".

Preflash Gordon, online manager of the North Star Roller Girls, said, "KAXE in Northern Minnesota does a documentary on derby women ... and by golly, it's like listening to This American Life! Absolutely fantastic! Give it a listen, or download the MP3 and podcast it later. Brilliant stuff. Congrats to Douglas MacRostie and everyone who made this wonderful show."

Read more about The Women of Roller Derby:
"Roller Derby Rockin' Northern MN" on 91.7 KAXE Notes
"Talk Derby to Me" on Doug MacRostie's Macedelic Studios

Photo donated by Jimmy Digital of the Sioux City Roller Dames.

WoRD was made possible with support from the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Baby It's Cool Outside: John Latimer's Guide to How to Be Cool When Talking About Winter Weather

John is a stickler when it comes to how we say how cold it is.  He gets especially worked up when we lose our cool when saying how cold it is.  So, here's the guide to keeping your cool when talking about cold.:

30 to 20 degrees above zero is cool;

20 to 10 degrees above zero is pretty cool;

10 above to zero is kinda cold;

zero to 10 below is cold;

10 to 20 below is very cold;

20 to 30 below is bitterly cold;

and 30 below or colder is damned cold.       

Roller Derby Rockin' Northern MN

by Doug MacRostie. 

Justin Bieber couldn't get a room full of tweens more excited than I am the day before the debut of The Women of Roller Derby, an audio documentary I have been working on since August 2010 that airs tomorrow morning at 8 during Culturology on the 91.7 KAXE Morning Show, featuring interviews with Bemidji's Babe City Rollers and the Iron Range Maidens.


Women's Flat Track Roller Derby has exploded in Northern Minnesota with leagues in Bemidji and the Iron Range. Derby has a reputation of being a very physical sport with hard hits and scandalous clothing. I wondered, ‘Who are these derby girls and what draws them to the sport?’ The answer might surprise you...

What drew me to the topic was the conflict. Not on the track, but of the people. Who’s playing derby? I heard about girls with Masters Degrees in Peace Education rockin’ the track; lawyers, opera singers, community organizers. WTF would draw these women to a sport like Roller Derby?


For The Women of Roller Derby, I met with Olive Mayhem (Shannon Murray), Vroom Vroom Kaboom Boom (Karissa Korbel), Piece MakeHer (Brooke Wichmann), and Nenookaasi (Megan Treuer) of the Babe City Rollers. And their referee R.-Sin (R. Beyer) who tried to explain the sport to me. I also talked with Ingrid M. Hulk (Sarah Bignall), founder of the Iron Range Maidens.

The countless hours spent on this documentary have been the most rewarding time I have spent "working". There isn't anything much more inspiring than sitting down with someone to talk about their passions, and after all the time editing/producing it feels like I know each of them intimately. My wife told me that the look in my eye when I talk about WoRD is similar to when I tell a sweet story about our son. Yeah, it's like that.


I started off searching for the short skirt wearing dominatrix of the game and instead found the true women of roller derby :) Tune in online or on the radio on Thursday, Jan. 27th at 8a on 91.7 KAXE.

You can read more about the Women of Roller Derby on Doug's blog "Talk Derby to Me".

Photos donated by:
Preflash Gordon of the North Star Roller Girls

Jimmy Digital of the Sioux City Roller Dames
Cruel of Thirds of the Fargo Moorhead Derby Girls and Rock City Riot

Monday, January 24, 2011

BlackMaled by Toki Wright

by Doug MacRostie. 

Toki Wright is a hip-hop artist out of Minneapolis. Raised in a Buddhist household, and immersing himself in Black history, world culture, and community work, Toki's awareness of the diverse world we live in is translated through his content driven music. Toki is not only a well established emcee but one of the hardest working community activists in the Twin Cities area. With numerous accolades and a tour history that has taken him from New York to Uganda, he is a powerful voice prepared to educate and challenge as well as entertain. Toki Wright joins me this week on Centerstage MN.

Toki told me, "I’m driven to create music by trying to get the craziness out of my head. I think we all have these thoughts and ideas and we express ourselves in different ways... I chose to write and I feel like there’s a voice that isn’t always represented every time that you hear a hip-hop song or a rap song… But yet, we can still be eloquent in our speaking and we still can be creative… I’m driven to represent people from my era, from my neighborhood, people that think similarly and who question things we think to be true.” 

Toki also runs the first fully accredited Hip-Hop diploma studies program in the U.S. at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul. His last full-length album was 2009's "A Different Mirror." His latest release is an EP supported by the MN State Arts Board called "BlackMale" which is based on the experience of African Americans in Minnesota. It's all powerful stuff, don't miss this interview!

To set up the conversation with Toki we'll hear from fellow Rhymesayers  rappers: Brother Ali and Atmosphere, two of MN's premiere Hip-Hop artists.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursday afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

What's New on KAXE

Cake "Showroom of Compassion"
Iron and Wine "Kiss Each Other Clean"
The Wailin' Jennys "Bright Morning Stars"
Rolling Blackouts "TheGo!Team"
Social Distortion "Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes"
The Mother Truckers "Van Tour"
The Civil Wars "Barton Hollow"
Huey Lewis and the News "Soulsville"
Cold War Kids "Mine Is Yours"
Read more on the Currents Playlist...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Let's Change the World

By Doug MacRostie

I'm not exactly sure what Jumo is, or why - but Northern Community Radio is there. And I have less of an idea what to do with it.

I know a little bit: Jumo was built by a co-creator of Facebook, and Jumo is to Non-Profits what Facebook is to gossiping. By that, I mean that standard social networking sites are about person to person communication, and Jumo is about connecting local Non-Profits to people. Or, how Jumo puts it, "We connect individuals and organizations working to change the world." Sounds like KAXE, KBXE, Northern Community Radio and our listeners to me :)

I'm our Online producer, and as an organization Northern Community Radio tries to be aware of new online tools and resources and  maintain the cutting edge of how technology can benefit our mission to build community in Northern MN. So, when I saw this interview with Jumo founder Chris Hughes, I created a page for Northern Community Radio. Creating an account is easy, especially if you're already on Facebook. There are all kinds of local, national and international Non-Profits listed there. Let's get social!

Here's the interview on The Colbert Report:
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Chris Hughes
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire Blog</a>Video Archive

Cold in the North - Hot in the Sauna by Aaron Hautala


Aaron Hautala is the photographer behind the University of MN Press book "The Opposite of Cold:  The Northwoods Finnish Sauna".  The book was a project with writer Michael Nordskog.  

Aaron recently joined us on the KAXE Morning Show to share his love story of saunas. You can hear his conversation here... and read his essay below. 

During my youth in northern Minnesota, sauna was a Saturday night tradition at many homesteads, including the Hautala family household of Biwabik Township.

My earliest childhood memories center around sauna.
Sitting on the bottom bench in a bucket of water, I remember looking left, up over my shoulder, to where my older brother and father sat atop the highest bench, reveling in pride and accomplishment following every blast of steam.

My father’s voice still echoes in my head, almost singing as he bathed me in the sauna. “Got to get you clean, got to clean between your buns,” he sang. It’s the phrase I now sing with pride to my own son during bath time.

I recall my siblings taking great joy in the introduction of sauna to their babies, just weeks after birth. Rosy cheeks and all smiles, these babes would emerge from the sauna after their baptism with steam. Years later, they would emerge from the sauna naked, running all over the house in post-sauna delight.

I recall being introduced to the eternal concepts of Heaven and Hell in the sauna.
“If you think this is hot, just image what hell would feel like,” I can hear my father say.

After losing 23-0 in a squirt hockey game against Hoyt Lakes, sauna was my counselor. After winning the Minnesota State High School Hockey Championship in Minneapolis, we celebrated with sauna.

When home from college one frigid winter weekend, I walked outside naked at 46 below zero following sauna. It was bitter cold and cut like a knife, but the memories are warm.

Then one day, my career took me away from the North Woods and into Brainerd’s Lake Country. To my surprise, I made new friends who had never experienced sauna.

Looking back, I knew what sauna was about. But today, my vision has been refined. Sauna is larger than a wood fired outbuilding and deeper than an electric basement hot box.

During my three-year photographic journey with author Michael Nordskog creating The Opposite of Cold, my appreciation of sauna has been, and continues to be, reshaped and deepened. This understanding comes as a result of experiencing countless saunas across the globe, and through the friendship of wonderful people who are keepers of the sauna flame.

At the public steam sauna in Ely, we felt the tradition, the camaraderie, and the legacy of Saturday night saunas taken and enjoyed down through the decades by countless wilderness explorers and weekend warriors.

On the shores of Lake Superior near Grand Marais we were graced by the beauty of God’s creation, and the wonderful placement of a Scandinavian timber-frame sauna, which threatened to rival the setting.

In Makinen, Cokato, Embarrass, and New York Mills, the determination and sisu of our northern European forefathers is visually evident in every swipe the broad axe left on the historic savusauna walls.

In Duluth, overlooking Canal Park, we were greeted by the future of sauna in David Salmela’s architecture. His bright, bold, and clean sauna designs honor the original Finnish outbuilding while exploring modern forms.

In Bemidji, we visited with the fiery Finns of Salolampi at the Concordia Finnish Language Camp. They boldly honor the sauna tradition and annually re-ignite the Finnish language fire, enlightening youth and adults.

In Finland, we were baptized by steam for two weeks straight into the purity of traditional sauna. A time-honored belief grounds all that is sauna: No politics, no business, no religion in the sauna. If you’re going to talk, it must be about you only—personal and real.

I’ve been asked many times why sauna is so essential. And to this I had no adequate response. But now, after years of photography, countless conversations with sauna lovers from around the globe, and the release of this book, the answer has finally hit me.

Sauna isn’t a building,
Sauna isn’t heat.
Sauna isn’t sweat.
Sauna isn’t steam.

Sauna is life.
Sauna is story.
Sauna is family, safety, strength, nobility, and honor. Sauna is warmth mixed with humility and candor.
Sauna is respect and the cherished memories of those who no longer join us in the sauna.
Sauna is a way of life, a right of passage, and part of a rich, a warm history.

This winter season light the Saturday night sauna, stoke the stove, pour the water, and take in the steam whether in your own sauna, or that of a sauna friend.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Color Pharmacy Fills My Prescription

By Doug MacRostie

The Color Pharmacy is definitely one of the most exciting bands out of Minnesota. They create experimental indie-rock music with a unique, unpredictable, and edgy style. Over the past two years, The Color Pharmacy has toured all over the U.S., and will be performing at SXSW for the third time this year. They did an alternate soundtrack to a segment of the original version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 2006, and more recently a soundtrack to the French film ‘The Red Balloon’. Following their EP “DeTour” the Color Pharmacy is back with the full-length record “Texatonka” which is currently available online. And multi-media mastermind Jake Dilley of the Color Pharmacy will join me on Centerstage MN this week from his home studio in Minneapolis.

The name of the album, "Texatonka" was a result of their initial recording session getting flooded out with water seeping through the walls and electrical outlets. They had to move for the rest of the recording, and the bulk of it was done in Jake's basement (often interrupted by his cats). His house is on the corner of Minnetonka and Texas avenue in Minneapolis: Texatonka.

We'll also hear from a couple Bemidji bands that are operating out of the Twin Cities. The Magic Castles are a psychedelic dream-pop band and we'll hear from the album "Dreams of Dreams of Dreams." And we'll hear from Murzik's self-titled CD. They are a dark-folk band that includes accordion and saxophone along with the usual drums and guitar.

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on KSRQ in Thief River Falls Saturday nights at 11 & Wednesdays at Noon, and on WTIP in Grand Marais Thursday afternoons at 4. Often featured on MNartists.org.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Culturology: Talking Circle Promotes Understanding

A family-services worker with Ojibwe ancestry uses the circle technique to encourage open sharing and real listening. KAXE's Travis Ryder joins a Grand Rapids-area spiritual growth group in the circle, listen: Talking Circles Promote Understanding

Hear that feature and more on the Culturology page. Discover and get involved with the broad and deep world of arts and culture in Northern Minnesota. Each edition features profiles of artists from a wide spectrum of creativity, from painters, potters and sculptors to fine-arts and heritage musicians, authors and poets.Presented by Northern Community Radio and 91.7 KAXE.

The Pet of the Week

Hello world! I'm Kindra. I'm a wonderful mommy kitty but now that my kitties are getting older, I'm ready to get a place of my very own! I'm a lazy girl who would be perfect for someone or a family that wants a cuddly cat! I was just dropped on the shelter's doorstep with my two kitties! Can you believe it?? My adoption fee includes my spaying, de-worming, up-to-date feline distemper and my intranasal vaccine. If you would like to adopt me, please submit an application at www.starnorth.org (under forms) . You can visit me at the shelter during adoption hours Mon/Thurs 5-7pm & Wed/Sat/Suns12-3pm).

What's New on KAXE

Abigail Washburn "City of Refuge"
The Bridge "National Bohemian"
Edie Brickell "Edie Brickell"
Amos Lee "Mission Bell"
Vusi Mahlesela "Say Africa"
Red Bird "Live at the Cafe Carpe, Fort Atkinson, WI"
Damon Fowler "Devil Got His Way"
North Mississippi Allstars "Keys to the Kingdom"
Read more on the Currents Playlist...

Friday, January 14, 2011

Load Up Your MP3 Player!

Our Audio Highlight's always have a little something for everyone. From High School bullies to drafts of Eisenhower's farewell address discovered in Northern MN, these locally produced features can be downloaded to your computer for your listening pleasure, or to enjoy on your iPhone or any mp3 player. Just "Right click" the link and "save as". 

Pieta Brown and 'One and All'
Pieta Brown is a striking Poet-songwriter with a haunting voice and unmistakable style. Daughter of Midwest folk legend Greg Brown, Pieta has a deep love for music. Her latest album "One and All" is a colorful soundscape where Americana, indie-rock and raw folk come together. With artful storytelling and soul-tinged grooves, she blurs the lines between love and loneliness. Read More...

Rosalind Wiseman and 'Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials"
Rosalind Wiseman is a teen bullying expert and a NYTimes bestseller who has put out her first novel for young adults, "Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials".  9th grader Charlie has switched schools to get away from the mean girls, and she finds out it’s not just the girls who are mean….what do you remember about early high school?  Were kids mean to you?  Were you mean to others?Check out more author interviews on the RealGoodArchive.


Malcom Moos and Ike's Farewell Address
Listen to this conversation from Our History with Grant Moos. He discovered his father's drafts of Eisenhower's farewell address in their boathouse on Ten Mile Lake. Read More...

Eli Sagor and MyMinnesota Woods
Eli Sagor is an extension educator with the University of MN and manages the website www.myminnesotawoods.org, an excellent resource for anyone interested in MN forests. Woodland Webinars, healthy forests, Women's Woodland Network and more covered in this conversation. Get more nature news on the Phenology page.

Dr. Michael Fox talks about his syndicated column being dropped from the Star Tribune
Dr. Michael Fox talked with Heidi Holtan and Scott Hall about his recent dropping from the Star Tribune as a syndicated columnist. Read his article "Is Martha Stewart Living Good for Animals?" here...




Tim Byrns' Burlwood Sculptures
Northeast Minnesota artist Tim Byrns coaxes out amazing forms from hunks of burlwood and discarded lumber. KAXE's Justin Cook brings us more. Read More... Hear more arts, culture and history stories on the Culturology page.

Aaron Brown on Special Talents
Early in his life, Aaron realized he had the ability to listen to people talking about things he didn't really understand and form enough a short-hand concept to reply in a way that pleased others... Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.

Guido on The New Year
Guido is always a little reluctant to say very much about he is going to try and do differently in the new year... Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.


The Last Word on Special Talents
Sometimes people don't see their own special talents.Get more contributions and stories at the Between You and Me page.


Ricci Milan and "Rhythmic Circus"

An interview with Ricci Milan, artistic director and dancer with "Rhythmic Circus”. Rhythm Circus is an innovative group of four young dancers and seven musicians from Minneapolis. They combine tap dance routines with a variety of musical styles including Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop and Salsa. Check out more stories on the Morning Show page.