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Iron Range original music party tonight
Tonight at 7 the WDSE program “The Playlist” hosts a “Celebrate Iron Range Original Music” live street dance in Virginia, Minnesota. Part of the festivities will be used for Thursday night’s 9 p.m. broadcast of “The Playlist” on WDSE-TV/PBS North. But tonight will also be a sprawling mass of Iron Range live music for your…
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Range Shrine Circus in Hibbing this weekend
The Range Shrine Circus opens today at the Hibbing Memorial Building arena, the biennial event at the heart of building up the tolerance of young ears to random loud noises. The Shrine Circus has always alternated between Duluth and Hibbing each year, since 1953. Jim Fisher wrote about some circus memories and speculates on its…
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Great Northern Radio Show from Pequot Lakes
The speed of life seems to have accelerated lately. End of the semester. Kids in school and activities. In any event, I’ve not talked about my April 9 Great Northern Radio Show from Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. The Pequot Lakes show was a lot of fun and turned out well. The musical lineup delivered big time. Reina…
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Give a hoot, disguise your toots
Here at MinnesotaBrown, I’ve been a steadfast advocate of economic diversification in Northern Minnesota. This means all sorts of new ideas; not just ones I think of myself. Thus, I am honor bound to point out this latest concept. An Iron Range couple has created a new app that camouflages personal bodily sounds to avoid awkward social…
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Red dirt, green ideas at Iron Range Earth Fest
Given the constant controversy about environmental issues that permeates Iron Range political thought, one might find it strange that the Iron Range Earth Fest is preparing its 8th annual offering this Saturday, April 23. But in truth the Iron Range is a perfect place to talk about the concept of sustainability. Without getting into the…
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Bemidjigamaag Powwow is Saturday
When the first-ever Bemidjimagaag Powwow was held last year at the Sandford Center arena in Bemidji, Minnesota, something powerful took place. In a community marked by past tensions between natives and whites, people from the three Ojibwe bands that border the city and those of non-native ancestry joined together for a shared powwow. Following up…
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UWS student newspaper flap brings back memories
Last Saturday, the Duluth News Tribune ran a story about perceived outrage over a recent edition of the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus newspaper, recently renamed the Promethean from its previous name, the Stinger. It was an April Fool’s Edition in which the paper renamed itself the “Pessimist” and printed made up stories. The story brought…
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Thomas X empowers with new rap on native issues
Red Lake rapper Thomas X is out with a new single and a powerful new video combining his unique hip-hop sound with the traditions of Northern Minnesota’s Annishinabe people. Here’s Rezolution, the latest single from Thomas X: Thomas X was a guest on last year’s Bemidji edition of my Great Northern Radio Show after his previous album “Have a Good…
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Radio Magic: Reina del Cid and me as a Centaur
This Saturday, April 9, I’ll be bringing my Great Northern Radio Show to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. I previewed the show late last week here at the blog. Today (Friday), I leave my familiar environs here on the Iron Range, escaping to Minnesota’s Central Lakes region where one finds Pequot Lakes along Highway 371. We’ve got a full 36 hours of…
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Powerful ‘What’s Left’ exhibit comes to Hibbing
The exhibit “What’s Left: Lives Touched by Suicide” will open at Hibbing Community College Monday and remain open throughout the month of April. This multimedia exhibit intends to create a proactive community dialogue about suicide and mental illness with a goal of reducing the stigma surrounding them. The exhibit will located in the main entrance…
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Ely pitches new Electric Paddle
I don’t know what it is about April 1 in Ely, Minnesota, but it always seems like strange news emerges from this hub of the Vermilion Iron Range and gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on this date. Today, officials in Ely took to the wires to tout the brand new Ely Electric Paddle. Last year…
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Great Northern Radio Show in Pequot Lakes
Next week I’ll be hosting another of my traveling Great Northern Radio Show programs from the Central Lakes town of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. If you follow the blog, please consider attending the show or listening on the radio. Participate in social media during the show. This project is arguably my greatest passion. So many great…
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Homegrown ‘invades’ Iron Range this Friday
Duluth’s Homegrown Music Festival has developed into one of the state’s biggest cultural events of the year. This Friday, the second annual Homegrown “Iron Range Invasion” takes place in Virginia, Minnesota. The event features nine Duluth and Iron Range bands at three venues throughout the Queen City of the Iron Range. Here’s the announcement from Homegrown:…
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Adam Levy in Grand Rapids postponed
UPDATE: The panel discussion and concert by Adam Levy are being postponed due to the winter storm today. They will be rescheduled. Adam Levy, front man for the Honeydogs, will do two special events today with Northern Community Radio in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Both are deeply personal. From the NCR release: Adam Levy’s new solo…
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Duluth’s Gaelynn Lea inspires with NPR concert
Last week, Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea won the annual NPR Tiny Desk concert series contest for emerging artists. This week, she flew to Washington to perform at the famous tiny desk where NPR music writers once stashed piles of music. The desk now hosts countless musicians, both famous and up-and-coming. It’s a beautiful performance, which…