“I found an old newspaper article that said this guy, Michael Dean of Virginia, MN, sang all day into the wax cylinder recording machine and he had a great voice… and was like, “What!? The recording machine! Where are the recordings?”… The Library of Congress initially said they didn’t have anything, but then they said, “Oh there is this box, that’s not labeled very well.”… it turned out there were 45 songs in this unlabeled box down in their vault.” – Brian Miller, The Lost Forty Brian Miller

Each week John and Heidi pull up a chair to one of our member’s kitchen tables and get to know them a little bit better. This week’s caller, Dawn Stattine of Brainerd called from her bed drinking a cup of strong coffee from the Swiss coffee maker and a breakfast of savory muffins. Hear the whole conversation by clicking below. Thanks to our sponsor Homestead Mills for their support of this program! Let us know if you want to be our guest on What's For Breakfast . All it takes is your membership

Program 49: Charles Blandin's first Years in Grand Rapids; the Late 1920s and Early 1930s: the Itasca Paper Company becomes the Blandin Paper Company; the Arrival of the Great Depression A radio series produced by historian Don Boese. Don is the author of eight books dealing with local history in Itasca County, including "John C. Greenway and the Opening of the Western Mesabi", and the main source for this series, "Papermakers: the Blandin Paper Company and Grand Rapids, Minnesota". The series

What does restoration agriculture look like for those of us who live in USDA Zone 3? According to Mark Shepard, founder of New Forest Farm and keynote speaker at this year’s Iron Range Earth Fest , we should look in our ditches. “What it would look like in USDA Zone 3 is a lot like the brush on the side of the road, except it would be a lot more consciously chosen; a lot more intentionally designed. “You can imitate the natural plant community and these plants will survive. So if you can imagine

“Who doesn’t love trains? Really. This is why we are celebrating their history, their impact on the community... That’s what this weekend is all about.” – Gary Rozman, Executive Director of the Beltrami County Historical Center. By popular demand, train day at the Beltrami County Historical Society has been expanded to trains weekend. This Saturday and Sunday, “Trains at the Depot!” will celebrate the history of trains in northern Minnesota. In addition to the permanent train exhibit at the

Phenology is the biological nature of events as they relate to climate. Every Tuesday morning, our resident Phenologist John Latimer gathers his phenological data and reports his findings in the weekly Phenology Report. This week, John kept track of some special spring events: the drumming of roughed grouse, killdeer, woodcock, garter snakes, the call of the saw whet out, and the developments on the speckled alder. Also in this segment is a conversation with special guest and longtime

Every week we hear from Minnesota school kids and regular listeners as they call or email us with nature observations. Spring has sprung in northern Minnesota and boy are we stoked about that! This week's phenological observations include sandhill cranes, red cardinals, gallons of sap, a flock of vultures, robins and much more! What are you noticing outside? We would love to hear from you whether you are in a classroom or your living room! Don't hesitate to email or give us a jingle and leave a

Why is it that gurus are such smart alecks? Legendary St Paul poet Mike Finley discovers this the hard way. Here are some recent wordish episodes you may have missed:

Program 48: Journalist Charles Gault; Charles Blandin's Big Move A radio series produced by historian Don Boese. Don is the author of eight books dealing with local history in Itasca County, including "John C. Greenway and the Opening of the Western Mesabi", and the main source for this series, "Papermakers: the Blandin Paper Company and Grand Rapids, Minnesota". The series begins with the arrival of the first Euro-Americans to the forested wilderness of Itasca County in the 1870s. In those

Listen to our newest Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund produced series with Leah Lemm . In this episode we feature Annie Humphrey . She's a musician, artist and self-described Queen of the Side Hustle. She lives in a way that embodies many aspects of what these episodes are about: sustainable living, traditions, and indigenous lifeways.