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70-pound carp lashes back at Dayton over speech
When Gov. Mark Dayton delivered his State of the State address on Wednesday, many would rightly have focused on the policies or political nuance. I am unable to let go of one section of Dayton’s speech: Minnesota has a proud history of tackling environmental problems and finding effective solutions. When I was a boy in the…
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Feelin’ the flow of ‘hair’-brained MN tradition
Ice hockey demonstrates the unexpected combination of beauty, speed and finesse with sharp blades, hard sticks and unrelenting violence. The sport has been extremely popular in Minnesota since its widespread adoption in Canada and the United States. And why not? Minnesotans have access to endless amounts of ice and don’t like to talk about our feelings. Hockey takes care of…
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Duluth’s Gaelynn Lea wins NPR Tiny Desk contest
In a stunning upset, Duluth, Minnesota, musician Gaelynn Lea won the coveted National Public Radio Tiny Desk concert series contest for emerging artists this week. Her song “Someday We’ll Linger in the Sun” was recorded with just Lea’s voice, her violin, an amp and a looping pedal. Here’s some of what NPR’s judges said: Holly Laessig said…
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Secret Bob Dylan archive to be livin’ on Tulsa time
Today, the University of Tulsa and iconic musician Bob Dylan announced that a new archive of Dylan’s lyrics and papers would have a new home at the Oklahama college. The works will be housed not far from collection from that state’s famous son and Dylan’s early hero Woody Guthrie. The move comes as a surprise to many, for Dylan and…
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Lyric’s Range of Arts festival underway
Though the opening day was yesterday, it’s still worth noting that the Lyric Center for the Arts has kicked off its 13th Annual Range of Arts festival in Virginia, Minnesota. The Lyric Center for the Arts is a gallery and small stage on Chestnut Street in this Mesabi Iron Range town. It’s part of a…
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On golden pond hockey
Tomorrow morning, the puck will drop at 8 for the first game of a new pond hockey tournament on McKinney Lake in the storied hockey town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The North Woods Pond Hockey Tournament is modeled after the famous U.S. Pond Hockey Championship held annually at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. The tournament begins at…
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‘Rogue’ baby born in family van on Hwy. 38
Most babies are born the typical way, popped out in a hospital surrounded by medical personnel. But sometimes, babies quite literally “go rogue.” Last Saturday, Feb. 13, a Minnesota woman went into labor in the remote northern Itasca County logging town of Bigfork. While Bigfork has a hospital, it does not have an obstetrics unit,…
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Hear the Aurora Great Northern Radio Show today
Last Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, I hosted another live broadcast of my Great Northern Radio Show from the Mesabi East Auditorium in Aurora, Minnesota. We were there to help celebrate the Laskiainen Finnish Sliding Festival in nearby Palo and “the beginning of the end of winter.” You can hear the rebroadcast of this episode today…
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Super Bowl done, now for superb owls at Sax-Zim Bog
The 9th Annual Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival starts Friday, Feb. 12 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. It provides serious and casual birders alike a unique opportunity to see great gray owls, northern owls, pine grosbeaks and many other wintering species. The IRRRB’s Lee Bloomquist published an article on the Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival…
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One River, Many Stories
Before the road. Before the rails. Before the timber cruisers or even the original people. All that connected what we now call the Mesabi Iron Range to the place we now call Duluth at the head of Lake Superior was a little southbound crick called the St. Louis River. It gets bigger than a crick, of course, but never all…
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See film of President Calvin Coolidge in Hibbing
The Mitchell Yards Project has put together a truly wonderful step back in time. I first saw this on Perfect Duluth Day. I’m not above link-jacking about a topic so close to my wheelhouse. Below is film footage of President Calvin Coolidge’s famous 1928 visit to Hibbing. We see the famously concise Republican president touring…
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Slide on up to Aurora for Saturday’s show!
In a short time I’ll be making my way across the Mesabi Iron Range to Aurora and Palo as I prepare for this Saturday’s Great Northern Radio Show. If you’d like to see the show live, perhaps after a day of Laskiainen fun in Palo, you need to be seated at the auditorium in Aurora…
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Iron Range musher wins fourth Beargrease
Nathan Schroeder, a Warba native who lives near Chisholm, won his fourth John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon early this morning when his team crossed the finish line near Billys Bar in Rice Lake, just north of Duluth. Jason Campeau of Alberta finished second, while defending champion Ryan Anderson of Ray took third. Schroeder won in…
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Great Northern Radio Show coming to Aurora
I’m excited to announce that my next Great Northern Radio Show will broadcast live from the Mesabi East High School auditorium in Aurora, Minnesota, on Saturday, Feb. 6. A good Iron Range Finn would know the significance of that place and date: This will be our Laskiainen Show. Laskiainen is the Finnish Sliding Festival held the…
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Colbert segment features Minnesota accent showdown
This was a very enjoyable Minnesota-centric web extra from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Comedian Maria Bamford from Duluth and writer Ariel Dumas from Long Lake flexed their Minnesota bonafieds in this “Late Show Accent-off: Minnesota Edition” showdown. Well worth a watch. Nice to see and hear all these authentic Minnesota references on national television. To…