Culturology 12-23: Copper Art and Sordid MN Christmas History

Dan and Frances Hedbloom make art from copper in a unique process created by Dan's stepmother.  Justin Cook talked with Dan at the recent Gifts Worth Giving event in Grand Rapids.  Though these Hedblooms don't have a website yet, they suggest that the general idea of their work can be seen at Dan's parents' website.


This week in Minnesota history:

12-23-1846 A bill is introduced in Congress to create a territory called "Minasota." Although the bill fails, this is the first legislative use of the name.

12-20-1902 Clearwater County is established, named for Clearwater Lake and River.

12-21-1998 Television's original Betty Crocker, Adelaide Hawley Cumming, dies in Seattle. Cumming starred in the Betty Crocker Show beginning in 1949 and remained General Mills' advertising icon until 1964.

12-25-1842 The first U.S. flag in St. Paul is raised on a pole in front of Richard Mortimer's house. Born in England, Mortimer had served successively in both the British and American armies and served at Fort Snelling before settling in upper St. Paul. The flag flies briefly and then is cut down by "some wicked scamp" from the rival Lowertown neighborhood.

12-25-1866 Two Mankato fur traders are lynched in New Ulm after they kill a citizen in a bar fight. The following day, 300 angry residents of Mankato, along with a company of militia, march to New Ulm to investigate the lynching. Liscomb and Campbell's mutilated bodies are found stuffed under the ice of the Minnesota River. A subsequent investigation names many members of the lynch mob, but no indictments are ever made.

12-25-1874 On Christmas morning, firemen at St. Paul's No. 3 engine house brawl with each other in "a very disgraceful fight" that leaves two seriously injured, several badly bruised, and five arrested on a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm. The fight is apparently caused by an "unpleasant feeling" between the principal parties, an insulting remark about a piece of equipment not working properly, and a cigar stump thrown at one of the men.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts!

by Maddi Frick

If you didn't hear, KAXE has new merchandise!

Perfect for those KAXE lovers and listeners, all at affordable prices.  We have new KAXE t-shirts (dark grey/green, heather red, and black), new sports page t-shirts (grey and red) along with the purple sports page tees, and a new brown dancing fox tee.  

We have new blue long sleeves in a pale blue, along with darker blue long sleeves.  There's also the yellow dancing turtle long sleeves.

We've got new baseball hats in brown and dark blue, and fleece hats in orange, red, black, dark blue, baby blue, and pink.

We have new black mugs and clear pint glasses.

So many options!  Drop by KAXE during the day and we can help you pick out your final holiday gifts. 

Merry Christmahanukkwanzica!

Like a Snowy Owl Sitting on a Telephone Pole

We have all kinds of pix to share :) Check out this picture of a Snowy Owl in our Online Photo Album. Got pictures to share? Email them to photo@kaxe.org, please include your name and where the picture was taken.

The Precious Pet of the Week

Hi there! My name is Precious. I'm a 1 1/2 year old sweetheart who's been waiting at the shelter for my forever home. Just like my name implies I'm a very dear little friend that would love to steal your heart. Please come down to the shelter to meet me. My adoption fee includes my spaying, up to date vaccinations, bordetella and deworming. If you are interested in adopting me, please submit an application via e-mail from our website www.starnorth.org (under forms). If you would like to visit me at the shelter please e-mail adoptions@starnorth.org or call 218-245-3732 Our adoption hours are Mon/Thur 5-7pm and Wed/Sat/Sun 12-3pm

What do Bellchoir, Jazz, Gay Men's Chorus & Metal Music Have In Common?

by Doug MacRostie.

All of it will be featured on a special holiday edition of Centerstage MN.

KAXE Producer Jennifer Poenix produced an excellent piece about her love of hand bells - it's a lush, intimate view of what bellchoir is all about it.

Also, our sister AMPERS station KFAI produced a piece about the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, which has grown to be the fourth largest gay men's chorus in the country. As an organization they celebrate diversity and use music as a way to transform, educate and heal.

We'll also hear selections from a Xmas jazz concert by the Mr. Pumpkinhead Quartet, recorded live on KAXE last year featuring Sam Miltich on Guitar, Don Vidal on Sax, Pat Downing on Bass and Tim Wick on Keyboard.

And the icing on the cake? MN metalheads My My Misfire know it's better to give than receive, and are debuting/releasing a song from their forthcoming CD for download on Christmas Eve as a gift to their fans.

Plus there will be some non-traditional holiday tunes from Paul Metsa and Eliza Blue. And what MN holiday special would be complete without Bob Dylan's "Must Be Santa".

Metal to Polka this week on Centerstage MN.

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.

Video: Wahwahtay Rapping on Centerstage MN

[Producers note: our videographer regrets cutting off Wahwaytay's shirt, it says, "Defend The Rez."]

Wahwahtay Benais: The Thunderbird Within the Northern Lights
By Doug MacRostie
The oppression, hardship and discrimination that Native Americans have lived for the last 500 years is something that is very difficult to put into words. The same pain and struggle they continue to face today while fighting to maintain who they are as a people.

Using music, Wahwahtay Benais has captured and expressed that plight in a very powerful way. From the Leech Lake Rez, living in Ball Club, his name references the Thunderbird that comes from within the Northern Lights. Wahwahtay is a hip-hop/rap artist with an intense and emotional message, and it is a true honor to have him join me in-studio this week on Centerstage MN.

I first heard him thanks to a video for his song Indigenous Holocaust (included below). It took my breath away. It brought tears to my eyes. It made me want to change the world. In a time of dumbed-down raps and wearing riches as robes, Wahwahtay is a much needed breath of fresh air working to empower youth and preserve Annishinaabe traditions and language. Do NOT miss this.

Read More: http://kaxeblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/...

Wahwahtay's Website: http://www.myspace.com/wahwahtaybenais 

Hear the full conversation with Wahwahtay at our website, http://www.kaxe.org and click on Centerstage MN.

Realgoodfood

by Heidi Holtan

This week is the debut of the audio documentary I put together in the last few months as part of the class some of the staff at KAXE participated in put on by Milt and Jamie Lee. I was honored to participate in this workshop and learned some amazing things about telling a story through radio.  Thanks to the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as well as the Blandin Foundation for making this possible.

So what is Realgoodfood all about then?  Sometime last year, I started thinking more about food....finding interesting, good food when you live in a rural, northern place.  Food coops have been expanding throughout northern Minnesota - farmer's markets are growing in popularity -more and more people are subscribing to CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).  All of this interested me, but I didn't know what story I wanted to tell.

So I grabbed the recording kit and got in my car and visited a farm in Bovey, Virginia (Natural Harvest Food Coop), Bemidji (Harmony Natural Food Coop)  and Brainerd (Crow Wing Food Coop) in search of people making and selling good food.  Hope you enjoy my audio story!