We're checking in with teachers and administrators and the hardworking folks on the frontline of the pandemic of COVID-19 in Minnesota. John Zemke teaches MN History at Forestview Middle School - he told us about some resources now offered through the MN History Center for students and how they are preparing for next week's move to distant learning.

Many public libraries are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Northern Community Radio's What We're Reading producer and Bemidji State University librarian Tammy Bobrowsky teamed up this Tuesday morning to help you find free books online and recommend some reading. Listen to the interview and then follow the link to Tammy's post below to find ways to download audio or e-books for free! Check out Tammy's suggestions for free e-books and audio books here!

On weekday mornings we have added an additional hour to our Morning Show to bring you stories and connections to this new way of living with the pandemic of COVID-19. Today John Bauer talked with Grand Rapids High School senior Emma Johnson. The next few months will be very different than she expected. Let us know how you are doing and how you are keeping your kids and self healthy and sane in these times. Email us!

Every week John takes an indepth look at the subtle changes happening outside as the seasons move thru their cycles. This week he reports on the bald eagle nesting near his home, birds returning to the area including robins and killdeer and purple finches, and his first chipmunk of the year. It's a beautiful time of change outside! Get out and enjoy it and then connect with us to let us know what you are noticing! Call 218-999-9876 or email with your observations! We'd love to hear from you! Don

One thing that connects us all and gives us all kinds of good feels is the beauty of nature right outside. What a wonderful treat to continue receiving school phenology reports even though kids aren't attending school as they were just one week ago. We are so grateful to get these reports from the kids! A ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, that is for sure.

We talked with Twin Cities Public Television reporter and producer Mary Lahammer today on our extra hour of the Monday Morning Show. Mary helped us understand some of the key people that are advising Governor Tim Walz - MN Dept of Health Commissioner Jan Malcom and MN Dept of Employment & Economic Development Commissioner Steve Grove. Mary Lahammer is host of Almanac At the Capitol - Wednesday nights at 7pm on the Minnesota Channel of your local public tv station.

During the COVID-19 pandemic KAXE/KBXE is taking it's role as a community resource seriously. We've added an hour to our morning programming and are spotlighting local stories and assistance available. Tamara Lowney is the president of Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and they are now offering assistance to small businesses - including a daily conference call for anyone interested. From their website: Latest Updates on Business and Itasca County Regarding COVID-19 IEDC is here to

Sarah Pinkser is a writer and musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. She’s the recipient of the 2016 Nebula Award, recognizing the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. She’s had stories in many magazines and anthologies, a book of stories published earlier this year, but we’ll be talking to her about debut novel: A Song for a New Day. In a not-too distant time, where public gatherings are illegal, making concerts impossible, two women are willing to break

Last September, I interviewed writer and musician Sarah Pinkser on her speculative fiction novel A Song for a New Day . The premise of her novel should sound eerily familiar to all of us now: A global pandemic makes public gatherings illegal and for musicians -- concerts are impossible and become a thing of the past. I t’s been hard to listen to the news the past few weeks without thinking about Sarah’s book, so I checked in with her to find out what’s been on her mind now that her novel and

On this edition of What We’re Reading we’ve got 3 great debut novels we’ll be showcasing: Kiley Reid’s story of a young black babysitter & her well intentioned white employer, Such A Fun Age is the name of her novel; we’ll hear about a clever & lighthearted story about a truth-telling notebook that brings 6 strangers together, The Authenticity Project by English writer Clare Pooley; and Minnesota writer Kathleen West’s debut novel is Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes --a story about