In this month's Dig Deep we focus on labor unions. Our commentators are Aaron Brown from the Iron Range - he's an educator, author, blogger and host of the Great Northern Radio Show . Aaron provides our liberal perspective on our topics while Chuck Marohn is a conservative commentator from Brainerd who is the founder and CEO of Strong Towns . In this episode Aaron and Chuck on who might benefit from a labor union in the future. Sign up for our Dig Deep podcast here !

In this month's Dig Deep we focus on labor unions. Our commentators are Aaron Brown from the Iron Range - he's an educator, author, blogger and host of the Great Northern Radio Show . Aaron provides our liberal perspective on our topics while Chuck Marohn is a conservative commentator from Brainerd who is the founder and CEO of Strong Towns . In this episode Aaron and Chuck discuss the purpose of labor unions now. Sign up for our Dig Deep podcast here !

The Regional Arts Council System has provided funding and support for arts projects across Minnesota for decades. For the first time, an arts council is offering a fellowship specific to Native American Artists . The Anishinaabe Arts Initiative Council , which is part of the Region 2 Arts Council (R2AC) based in Bemidji, is now offering $5000 in the form of The Anishinaabe Arts Fellowship for Native American Artists living in the following counties: Beltrami, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen

Wordish is a new writer-centered audio segment and we want to hear from you – your voice, your words. We have expanded the format to include short fiction and creative essay as well as poetry so you have more opportunity to express yourself. This week we heard from Larry Gavin and his poem "A Picture Frame" Find out more about 'Wordish'

Smoking is on the decline in young people, but e-cigarettes are on the rise. We talked with Kelly Chandler on the Thursday Morning Show - she's the Itasca County Public Health Division Manager - she is working on a ban in public places of e-cigarettes. Currently under MN law, they are only banned in government buildings . In 2013 the city of Duluth i ncluded e-cigarettes in the Clean Indoor Air Act . Weigh in on this subject. Send us an email or post on our facebook page .

Owls, cardinals and snow scorpion flies, oh my! Phenology is the rhythmic biological events of nature as they relate to climate. Our resident phenologist John Latimer looks back at his phenology notes and compares them to what he's been seeing in the past week in this segment of the Phenology Show. If you have comments or questions about phenology, send us an email or leave us a voicemail at 218.999.9876. If you want to keep up with what other people in the listening area are noticing outside,

People in the Pine River MN area who need some garden seed will soon be able to find it at the public library! Barbara Kaufman visited with us on the Wednesday Morning Show. She is one of the masterminds behind a new seed library in Pine River. She is also a board member for Pine River’s community garden. She explained that a seed library is a place where people can go to "borrow" seeds, usually for free, that's run for the public benefit. If borrowers have a green enough thumb, they can return

Phenology Talkbacks happen every Tuesday at Northern Community Radio. It's the time in our week when we compile and share the comments, questions and observations about nature that listeners send our way. This week we heard from several astute youngsters around the listening area. We're impressed with these kids' observation skills! What have you noticed out in nature these days? We would love to hear about it! Email your comments to the station or directly to John Latimer , give us a call and

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? Remember the days of homemade cards? Listen to what these Minnesota sisters are doing for others this Valentine's Day on the streets of Missoula, Montana. For those of you wanting to avoid all things valentines - listen in to Julie Crabb's Dark Side of Love on KAXE/KBXE from 7-10pm. Listen online!

In this month's Dig Deep we focus on labor unions. Our commentators are Aaron Brown from the Iron Range - he's an educator, author, blogger and host of the Great Northern Radio Show . Aaron provides our liberal perspective on our topics while Chuck Marohn is a conservative commentator from Brainerd who is the founder and CEO of Strong Towns . Labor unions were an interesting topic to us because the Iron Range really represented the labor movement in the entire nation. Chuck Marohn said"when