Guido reflects on a garden experiment

WEED 

by Steve Downing

I’m flashing back on a long-ago gardening experiment, when I set out to grow catnip as a cash crop. I was thinking, of course, about cats’ toys, but I’d also learned that catnip’s chemical ingredient nepetalactone is an effective mosquito repellent. If the garden grew, I’d exploit the bug dope application, too.

Catnip is a weed. Not growing it is harder than growing it. This experimental patch was at one end of a vegetable garden on a hobby farm north of Grand Rapids. We rented the house and kept an eye on the property for the landlord, who lived nearby. He had a day-job in town, his dozen or so cows serving only to connect him to three generations of farmers. 


By August, my cash crop was up, flowery, looking great. Then one morning it was gone. Totally. Across the driveway from the garden, a section of barbwire fence dangled, useless as yarn.


All around our yard, those catnipped cows were down. They did not move, for a day. From time to time, one of them would roll over in super-slow-motion, but mostly they just laid there looking like an arrangement of Henry Moore sculptures. Next day, they were back on their feet, fine.


Years later, I read somewhere about a short-lived fad, perfectly legal but widely scorned: smoking catnip. I’ve never forgotten the writer’s imagery, describing his (alleged) catnip buzz: “I imagined I was a small girl running through the woods chased by geese.” I still wonder: what were those cows dreaming of that day?


Call in your gardening experiments this Saturday to Between you and Me on KAXE from 10-noon!

Ask Not...

by Robert Jevne  
   I was born on a blustery night in Chicago in 1958 to the songs of Fats Domino, Gene Vincent, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Elvis Presley and Marty Robbins coming over the radio and the sound of rain beating on the metal roof of the Yellow cab…OK, that’s not true but it sounded good didn’t it? And that’s what radio is all about. I’m not suggesting that radio is a lie, but it is a theater of the mind. The stories we tell about ourselves can transport and transform, tell something of the truth about us, and can, at times, play with that truth (especially during fund drives) and open a different door to how we look at ourselves. Radio is a bit of a magic act. Or at least the physics part of it is somewhat unreal to most of us. There are these waves ( Are they waves? We might as well be talking about pixie dust). Anyway, there are these waves traveling over the air always in the process of being created and simultaneously disappearing, waiting for somebody to glom on to them before they go and listen, just listen, and in that moment connect with what’s being played out in our community, and connect with a community of fellow listeners in a shared experience and it happens all over Northern Minnesota, every day courtesy of KAXE.

   I was having a hard time writing this essay. There are so many good things I’d like to say about KAXE but everything I wrote came back to ME until finally I came to the conclusion that KAXE is all about me…in a way. In the same way that its all about you. Let me break a rule of radio and pull back the curtain to prove my point. I’ve been writing essays for Between You and Me for about a month now. A couple of times Heidi introduced me by saying “Robert Jevne is an area writer and volunteer programmer at KAXE” and so on. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue or force of habit, either way, I won’t bore you with the details of what I do for a living, but suffice it to say it doesn’t involve being an “area writer.” I’m a working stiff and I’m proud enough of it, but does that reality make the other part a lie or a bit of theater? Maybe. Or maybe after a long day of pushin’ broom, I come home and leap into the nearest thing resembling a phone booth (which in these parts is most likely an outhouse) and tear off my shirt to reveal…an “Area Writer” And that’s the magical part of what KAXE can do. And it can do it for you too. Get involved an find out for yourself.

Happy 35th Birthday KAXE!

by Steve Downing

My connection to KAXE goes back to before the beginning, long pre-dating even The Bird Is The Word. So I’ve celebrated every one of its 35 birthdays, and my KAXE memories just do not stop. Here’s one from sometime in the 1980s. True story. Date uncertain.
The Road Hog, a.k.a. Bill McKeever, had determined that it was time to launch his singing career. Two of my brothers and I were working as highly sought after studio-session musicians then; it was a foregone conclusion that the Road Hog would select us for his project.
The other foregone conclusion was that the Road Hog would select Bobby Goldsboro’s 1968 mega-hit “Honey” as the song that would send him off into the pop music stratosphere.
Remember: this is a song, sung from the husband’s perspective, about his young wife, Honey, who’s a bit too young at heart, kind of dumb and kind of smart, but, oh, he loves her so. The story has a measurable narrative arc: a Christmas gift puppy, robins singing in the spring and, of course, the twig Honey plants in the yard that grows, wonder of wonders, into a tree.
The story’s dramatic tension, verse to verse, turns on the husband’s coming home at odd times during the day and catching Honey crying. He thinks it’s because she just finished watching a sad TV show, or because the flowers in the garden are so pretty, or maybe it’s related to her wrecking the car, whatever. And this is subtly nuanced, this conflict: is it Honey who’s kind of dumb and kind of smart or is it Hubby? Because one day the guy comes home and, lo and behold, while he was gone, the angels came and took Honey away.
The Road Hog’s studio band made some auspicious choices: the string and brass instruments played the music in different keys, very intentionally, to underscore the song’s hard edge. The percussion was back-beat, and irrelevant. This was all about the voice, the vocal, the Road Hog’s signature liquid growly drawl. He didn’t so much sing “Honey” as gargle it. And I feel secure in claiming that you have not heard authentic lyric genius until you’ve heard the Road Hog interpreting the lines: “And, Honey, I miss you, and I’m being good, and I’d love to be with you, if only I could.”

Call in this Saturday, on KAXE's 35th birthday, to Between You and Me to tell us about your favorite KAXE moments.  Tune in from 10-noon.

Culturology 4-21: The Music Issue

by Travis Ryder

Since its inception in the late Nineties, the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival has become a touchstone in the region's rawk and/or roll music scene.

THE touchstone, really.

The 2011 edition, coming to the Twin Ports May 1 through 8, will feature over a hundred acts, plus film and art attractions. On this week's Culturology program, independent producer Doug MacRostie profiles one standout act performing at Homegrown, Two Many Banjos. Doug interviewed TMB principal Marc Gartman and intermixed live music from the band from their winter performance at Terrapin Station in Nevis.

We also revisit a chat between KAXE Program Director and host of 'Currents', Mark Tarner, and guitarist Bill Kirchen. You may know Kirchen's work from his time with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen; specifically his Telecaster work on their Top 10 hit 'Hot Rod Lincoln'. Kirchen and his band perform tonight at Itasca Community College Davies Theater. Tickets are available by calling KAXE or at the door.

CALENDAR
Comedy theater, from scratch, at the "Out of the Hat IV" event at Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Bemidji. Playwrights choose topics Friday night, pen scripts, convene actors, and gather props and set materials for a set of five 8 p.m. performances Saturday night. Musicians will perform between the acts. Tickets are available at Harmony Co-op and the Wild Hare Bistro. All seats are $10 and this will be a production suited for adult audiences.

Bridges Kinship Mentoring benefits from the proceeds of "Taste of Itasca", happening Tuesday at TimberLake Lodge, Grand Rapids. 14 restaurants and caterers will have their best eats available. Beverage tasting starts at 5, food at 6:30.

Also Tuesday, singer/songwriter, acoustic guitarist/fiddler, Jonathan Byrd performs at 5 p.m. Brewed Awakenings Coffeehouse is the venue in downtown Grand Rapids.

MINNESOTA HISTORY DATEBOOK
April 18, 1807 The first recorded mention of farming by white Minnesotans is made in a letter written by George H. Monk, who notes crops of potatoes, oats, cabbages, beets, beans, pumpkins, and Indian corn being cultivated at the North West Company's fur trading posts on Sandy and Leech Lakes.

April 20, 1891 Itasca State Park, the state's first, is established. Its 32,000 acres preserve more than 300 lakes as well as the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

April 20, 1921 As a response to the Duluth lynchings of 1920, the legislature passes the Minnesota Lynching Bill. It stipulates that a law enforcement officer can be removed from duty for not stopping a lynching, and that damages may be recovered by the victim's family.

April 21, 1961 The Minnesota Twins (formerly the Washington Senators) play their first game at Metropolitan Stadium, losing to the new Washington Senators, 5-3.

Thirty-five years ago this Saturday, on April 23, 1976, KAXE-FM signs on for the first time, from its original studios at Itasca Community College. It was a bold experiment in rural community-based public radio. At the time, stations such as this were either in urban areas or depended on university support. The station continues to inspire new grassroots radio movements, both in Minnesota and worldwide.

April 17, 1997 The Red River crests 22.5 feet above flood stage at Fargo, breaking a 100-year-old record. Continuing into Grand Forks and East Grand Forks on April 21, the flood pushes water levels 26.2 feet above flood stage. The worst flooding in the area in over a century, it causes more than one billion dollars of damages and displaces nearly all of the 50,000 residents of Grand Forks.

Habitat Funding and Conflicts of Interest in the MN Legislature

by Scott Hall
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune had a report Sunday on the close ties between Republican and DFL legislators and conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. The story raised a good question about the ethics and personal and political conflicts surrounding legislators appropriating public money for projects the conservation groups support.

There is plenty of opportunity to debate the ethics of these deals, but I like two things about them. One is the transparency of the legislators and groups involved. It's actually refreshing to see the deal go down in plain view and legislators owning up to their support. Secondly, we can hold the projects up to the standards and purpose of the source of funding. A portion of the the Legacy money is intended to be used for worthy habitat restoration projects. After more than a hundred years of draining swamps and opening the prairies to agriculture, restoration is needed and going to take a long time. Long before the Legacy amendment passed, the DNR proposed a 50 year plan for wetland habitat restoration. Everyone knew that plan would go nowhere without sustained funding and the political will to back it up. The legacy money gives DNR and conservation organizations a chance to work together on some of these goals.

It's fair to argue over what makes one project more worthy than others, and, in that debate, the political influence of a group like Ducks Unlimited could make a difference. To me, the most worthy projects must create benefits beyond the interests of the groups that support them. For example, improving duck habitat should create positive environmental outcomes beyond what's good for ducks and duck hunters - like better water quality and habitat for other wildlife.

Shaynowishkung, a.k.a. Chief Bemidji

The Chief Bemidji Statue project has established a fund at the Northwest MN Foundation to accept tax-deductible donations for a new sculpture of Shaynowishkung. The goal is to raise $116,500 for a work that will depict the Chief in a dignified and respectful way, and honor his legacy. The statue will stand in Library Park along Bemijimagaag, a.k.a. Lake Bemidji.

To donate, make checks payable to "Chief Bemidji Statue Project Fund" and mail to: Northwest Minnesota Foundation, 4225 Technology Dr. Bemidji, MN 56601. For more info, the Foundation phone number is 218-759-2057.

Culturology 4-14: New gallery in GR

by Travis Ryder
Grand Rapids is getting a new art gallery this week. A group of seven area artists

are opening the Whispering Woods gallery in the Old Central School on Friday. The co-owners, and the consigners they choose, are heavily influenced by our natural surroundings. Many use materials from the outdoors, too. Paula Brandel met with Karen Olson, Collin Clough, and Jeff Archer to talk about this enterprise. Paula asked the three about their individual work and how they came together to establish the gallery.

The Edge of the Wilderness Art League is presenting a show and sale through the end of April. It’s at the Edge Center Gallery in Bigfork and is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 to 2. Several members of the League spoke with independent producer Justin Cook about their artistic talents and interests, and what it means to be part of the art community in the Edge of the Wilderness region.

CULTURE CALENDAR
The Appalachian singing duo, The Honey Dewdrops, performs tonight in the Hallett Library in Crosby at 6:30 p.m.

The US Air Force Academy seven-piece ensemble Academy Winds will perform tonight at Tornstrom Auditorium in the Washington Building in Brainerd. They travel to Greenway Auditorium in Coleraine for a show Friday night. Both concerts are free and the general public is admitted starting at 7:15.

Grand Rapids High School presents a production of Verdi’s opera, Aida, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 at the Reif Center.

The new Steampunk-themed staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues its run at Bemidji State University. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2.

Bluegrass at the Chief Theater in Bemidji on Friday: Telegraph Road, featuring the world’s fastest banjo player Johnny Butten, and the Blue Turtle Grass Band. Show starts at 7:30.

Jazz saxophonist Jeff Coffin's credits include work with Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck. He performs with a pick-up group of crack high school and university jazzers Friday night at 7:30 at the Bemidji High School auditorium.

The Regional Printmaking exhibition and Kiera Faber’s photography and video work are up at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids through the end of the month.

MINNESOTA HISTORY DATEBOOK
April 14, 1861 Minnesota is the first state to offer troops at the outbreak of the Civil War. Governor Alexander Ramsey is in Washington, D.C., when word of the attack on Fort Sumter arrives. He meets with the secretary of war and offers one thousand Minnesota soldiers for the country's defense.

April 14, 1870 the predecessor institution to the Science Museum of Minnesota, the St. Paul Academy of Natural Sciences is formed.

April 16, 1927 The Mesaba Railway Coach Company stops providing streetcar service between the towns of Hibbing and Gilbert.

April 12, 1937 Dennis J. Banks is born on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. He would be one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968.

April 15, 1944 The Farmer-Labor Party and the state Democratic Party agree to merge at their joint convention. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party is unique to Minnesota.

April 13, 1967 Rod Carew plays his first major league baseball game with the Minnesota Twins, hitting a single.

April 13, 1993 The North Stars professional hockey team plays its final game in the Met Center against the Chicago Blackhawks, losing 3-2. The team moves to Dallas later that year.