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‘What’s left’ project nears goal with time running out
If you recall my column of Nov. 23, 2014, “What’s Left Unsaid,” I shared the personal story of my uncle’s suicide in order to explain my friend John Bauer’s “What’s Left” project. John lost his daughter Megan to depression last year and has found a way to channel his emotions into something hopeful. This multimedia art…
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LIVE from Walker: the Great Northern Radio Show
Great Northern Radio Show weekend is here! We’ll be broadcasting my Northern Minnesota-based traveling variety show live on Northern Community Radio from the Northern Lakes Casino in Walker, Minnesota this Saturday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. We might still have a few free tickets available by calling 800-662-5799 today (Friday). Arrive before 4:30 p.m. Saturday…
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Miltich’s ‘Live at the VFW’ is jazz with heart
I have to admit something rather upsetting to people I know. I … don’t … really … care for jazz. As a genre. A few bars into most jazz standards and I’m having flashbacks to my elementary music teacher trying to teach me syncopation with wood blocks. (tock tock TOCK tock tock tock TOCK tock). For me, jazz is…
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Great Northern Radio Show will be live in Walker, Dec. 6
UPDATE: Jim Northrup is recovering from heart surgery and will not be able to join us in Walker on Saturday. We wish him the very best for a speedy recovery! Hard to believe, but we are about to do the 13th edition of my Great Northern Radio Show. We will defy the bad luck of that number…
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U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree arrives from Northern MN
The National Christmas Tree, which was harvested here in Northern Minnesota within the Chippewa National Forest, has reached its destination on the U.S. Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. This tweet from Rep. Rick Nolan shows the scene: Our #christmastree is finally here all the way from Chippewa National Forest in #MN – looks great on…
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Hibbing native pens Thanksgiving immigrant tale in NY Times
Marie Myung-Ok Lee, a Korean-American writer from Hibbing, had a Thanksgiving memoir of her family’s time in the Iron Range city published in the New York Times today. Her story is touching and real. The town simultaneous fought to help her father, at one time the town’s only anesthetist, stay in the country, but she and…
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Despite appearances, this turkey is not lucky
Gov. Mark Dayton welcomed a tom turkey along with representatives of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and Hunger Solutions to the capitol on Monday to announce the traditional annual donation of turkey to people in need this Thanksgiving. Turkeys can’t smile, but even if they could it’s unlikely the turkey in the picture above would have…
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Iron Range musicians keep ghost town alive
It was a pleasant surprise to see a front page MinnPost feature on Rich Mattson and Germaine Gemberling of Sparta Sound over the weekend. This musical pair and their merry band are keeping the small mining location of Sparta alive with their church-turned-studio a stone’s throw from an active iron mine. From the Nov. 21…
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Under the deep clear waters of Tioga Pit
For your captivating view of the day, check out this video posted by Curtis Lahr of a scuba dive under the Tioga Mine Pit near Grand Rapids, Minnesota on the western Mesabi Iron Range. There’s an old rumor that there’s a train engine at the bottom of the Tioga. This dive doesn’t show them going…
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Deer hunting season begins with big announcement
The 2014 rifle deer hunting season opens tomorrow morning. Though the deer hunting looks to be tough this year, thousands of hunters are making the trip into the woods and wilds of Minnesota to participate in this annual tradition. The annual Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener is taking place in Bemidji this year. Like the Governor’s Fishing Opener…
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Chairman of the Bob: Dylan’s next album to cover Sinatra
“The Tempest” may have been William Shakespeare’s last play, but “Tempest” will not be Bob Dylan’s last album. Jay Gabler at The Current’s blog reports that Duluth-born, Hibbing-raised Minnesotan Bob Dylan will release a new album in 2015, one surely to raise some eyebrows. Dylan’s new album will be called “Shadows in the Night,” and will feature…
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Iron Range music teacher profiled on MPR
Minnesota Public Radio will periodically profile the work of music teachers around the state. This week, MPR’s Daniel Nass talked to Virginia High School’s Matthew Krage. Krage reinvigorated the program at this eastern Mesabi Range school and brought back musical theater after a 15 year hiatus. You can read the interview here, or listen below.…
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The Hunt for Bork, Bork, Bork October
This week, Europe is on high alert after Sweden reported picking up a distress signal from a Russian submarine in its territorial waters. The Scandinavian nation has cause for concern because the loose Russian sub might contain nuclear materials or weapons. Further reports indicate some kind of strange foreign-flagged ship seen in the area, possibly connected…
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Trampled by Turtles tackles Yes on AV Club
Northern Minnesota’s own Trampled by Turtles is now a repeat visitor to the AV Club’s Undercover series, in which mid-level bands struggling with their limitations in the harsh face of stardom cover one song from a list of tunes by other mid-level bands struggling with their limitations in the harsh face of stardom and/or radio…
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A dozen Iron Range concerts for price of one
Another season of the Mesaba Concert Association series is upon us. For a $35 membership, you have tickets to five shows at the historic Hibbing High School auditorium and other shows at the beautiful school theaters in Virginia and Ely as well. According to the Mesaba Concert Association, the schedule for this year is as follows:…