MinneCulture

When you picture the life of your favorite author you might imagine some elevated life of thought and sophistication—but that’s far from the case when they’re on a book tour, which can be relentless and stressful. Journalist Matthew Schneeman’s uncle Tim Hedges specializes in helping those authors get from A to B (and catch some Zzz’s) when they come to town. After thirty years of being a media escort, Tim has some pretty great stories to tell. 

This story was written and produced by Matthew Schneeman. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

This June, thousands of athletes and fans came to Minneapolis to take part in the Special Olympics USA Games. The games are held every four years in cities around the country. As part of MinneCulture’s emerging producer program, reporter Daniel Hood caught up with a few members of Team Minnesota as they prepared to compete and at the big event.

Learn more about Daniel on his website hoodwave.org

This story was written and produced by Daniel Hood and Erika Janik. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Many of us have dreamed about being a rock star at some point - to play the guitar or drums or to belt out songs with friends. 

But what if that wasn’t just a dream? What if you could play and perform your favorite artists’ songs on stage and make friends along the way?

KFAI’s Angela Lundberg brings us the story of a camp where rock dreams become reality.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Angela Lundberg. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Find more MinneCulture on our website

We have something special to share with you today - a story from the On Our Minds podcast and the PBS Student Reporting Lab. Reporter Divya Thamman brings us the story of a unique annual tradition in Minneapolis… in celebration of a pencil.

And if you liked that story, check out this season of the On Our Minds podcast. It’s an audio road trip around the country featuring student reported stories about the drag scene in Missouri to finding wonder in the regularity of life at… a Dunkin Donuts in New Jersey.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

On Monday nights, about seventy people gather in a Lutheran church in south Minneapolis to sing. They’re part of Kith + Kin Chorus, a rock-and-roll community choir open to singers of all backgrounds and musical experience levels. Maribeth Romslo takes us inside her first season with the choir.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Maribeth Romslo. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The White Earth reservation in northwestern Minnesota was created through a treaty with the federal government in 1867. The reservation was meant to be a space where the Anishinaabe people could be protected from white settlement. But within 50 years, timber companies had moved in and stripped the land bare. Producer John Gwinn brings us the story.

This story was produced by John Gwinn and narrated by Deanne Standing Cloud. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

The film Harold and Maude is generally revered as a cult classic. But it wasn’t destined to be. In fact, it originally bombed at the box office. The film probably would have never made its way into popular culture until one theater in Minneapolis decided to book it. Producer Julie Censullo tells this story of how a neighborhood theater put this almost-forgotten film on the map. 

This story was written, reported, and produced by Julie Censullo. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

For more stories like this check out the MInneculture tab on KFAI.org

South Minneapolis loves the May Day Cafe, a gathering spot rooted in coffee, pastries, and community. Last year, the workers converted the coffee shop into a worker-owned co-op.

The co-op model is new to May Day but it isn’t new to Minneapolis, or even this neighborhood. Half a century ago, the very same storefront was home to the Powderhorn Food Community Cooperative. This co-op was part of the Minneapolis co-op movement of the 1970s, and one of many battlegrounds of the fabled co-op wars. KFAI's Joseph Mogul has the story of May Day and the long history of cooperatives in Minnesota.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Joseph Mogul. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

For nearly sixty years, one man’s disappearance haunted central Minnesota, a mystery fed by rumors, dead ends, and a river that never gave up its secret. Then, in the summer of 2025, the Mississippi finally did. What surfaced wasn’t just a car: it was the answer to a question that had lingered for generations.

This is Submerged: The Roy Benn Case.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

When the Irish arrived in the brand new Minnesota territory, there were no cities waiting for them, no paved streets. Just prairie, timber, and a dream of opportunity.

So they built.

They built farms, carving 160-acre homesteads out of tallgrass and forest. They built communities, And at the center of it all they built a church in Jessenland. Kyle Shiely has the story of the oldest rural Irish community in Minnesota.

This story was written and reported by Kyle Shiely with mixing from Noah Smith. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.