Celebrating 30 years of public radio Phenology

Tonight at 6:30, KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Phenology Show with John Latimer. Now, maybe you’re some kinda cat who doesn’t listen to the Phenology Show on this marvelous independent public radio station (the station, by the way, that distributes my radio show as well). Or maybe you were like… Read More →

Minnesota music in the spotlight up north

The Minnesota music scene is drawing a lot of attention, both in Minneapolis and up in Duluth. Even further north the Iron Range Original Music Association encourages songwriters and a wide variety of musicians here in Bob Dylan’s original North Country. I host and produce the Great Northern Radio Show for Northern Community Radio, a… Read More →

Catch me (but mostly music) at Miss. River Fest

This weekend Northern Community Radio is hosting its 9th annual Mississippi River Festival at the Rotary Tent near its studios next to Johnny Cash’s “Big River” in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They’ll be broadcasting the event on their airwaves as well, but nothing beats seeing the music live with the Mississippi River flowing behind the performers…. Read More →

Catch the Grand Rapids ‘Great Northern’ podcast

The last Great Northern Radio Show broadcast live from the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on June 29. And at last, we’ve got the podcast ready for you. Great Northern Radio Show — Saturday, June 29, 2013 — Grand Rapids, MN (PC: right click and “Save Link As” MAC: Ctrl-click and “Save Link As”… Read More →

Great Northern Radio Show on the air 5 p.m. Saturday

This is it! The biggest show in the history of my Great Northern Radio Show is on the air Saturday night at 5 p.m. We’re in rehearsals this afternoon and tomorrow before tomorrow night’s big show. “Big” is such a relative term, and we’ve had some fun with this. By big, I mean that we… Read More →

Great Northern Radio Show to rebroadcast Bagley show Saturday night

As we prepare for the June 29 Great Northern Radio Show at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, you can hear our most recent show this weekend. From 9-11 p.m. Saturday, Northern Community Radio will rebroadcast our March 2013 program, which aired live from the Bagley High School auditorium. If you’ve missed it, this… Read More →

Great Northern Radio Show hits Reif Center stage June 29

We’ll be doing the summer edition of the Great Northern Radio Show from the stage of the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on Saturday, June 29. My seasonal variety show is, on one hand, a simple incarnation of the traditional radio variety program, on the other it’s a rather quirky exploration of northern Minnesota… Read More →

What to get for the mom upon whose survival the colony depends?

Happy Mother’s Day! I’d like to wish my mom, Sandra Johnson, a very happy mother’s day. I figure the best way to say thanks is to chase the bizarre sense of humor we share down the rabbit hole … or in this case, ant colony. This is my Sunday column for the May 12, 2013… Read More →

Radio for the People

Lakeland Public Television closed their season of their arts and culture program “Common Grounds” with a profile of Northern Community Radio and my Great Northern Radio Show. This is a wonderful representation of the station for which I am so proud to write and produce material. You can watch the whole episode right here: Related… Read More →

Bragging about Minnesota’s passive-aggressive non-bragging

This Saturday on KAXE‘s “Between You and Me” the topic is “Brag About Minnesota.” The inspiration was this Andrew Gauthier Buzzfeed piece, “38 Things Minnesotans are Too Nice to Brag About.” My essay for the radio has also been adapted into my Sunday column for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, but you might enjoy the audio… Read More →