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10 Reasons Why Robins are like Hipsters
I live in the woods of Northern Minnesota, where birds, deer and wolves live in relative peace except when they eat each other. Years ago, house wrens built a nest under our deck and for several years raised their young as we creepily stared at them through the slats above. Well, last year, robins, which are…
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Northern Lights Music Festival in full swing
“You can’t love the opera if you never see it.” That’s what Aurora native, concert pianist, and founder of the Northern Lights Music Festival Veda Zupancic told me when I interviewed her this week for my Sunday column. Indeed, the Northern Lights Music Festival combines an educational component for beginning and advanced music students and…
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Feature film ‘Strange Nature’ to be filmed in rural Itasca Co.
As many of you know, I live in the forests of rural Itasca County, Minnesota. It appears that the quiet summer splendor of my deep woods neighborhood will be disturbed, if only temporarily, by the filming of an original feature-length horror movie based on the true story of mutant frogs. “Strange Nature” by filmmaker Jim Ojala will…
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Hear Ely Great Northern Radio Show, support KAXE/KBXE
I took my Great Northern Radio Show up to Ely, Minnesota, on June 14 and had a wonderful time telling stories, making music and approximating humor. People seemed to like the show, which aired live on Northern Community Radio, and I’d argue that it was a pretty good calling card for what we do: explore the…
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End of the Range Artists Association
An Iron Range organization that has planned the art exhibit at the annual St. Louis County Fair and run camps and art education programs for decades is no more. The Range Artists Association voted to disband its 501(C)3 nonprofit organization last spring and is now in the process of vacating its Howard Street studio in…
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FARGO REVIEW: Series Finale, “Morton’s Fork”
The FX series “Fargo,” inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film, is based in northern Minnesota. As northern Minnesota’s leading pop culture, news, entertainment, iron mining and invasive species blog, MinnesotaBrown is here to review the show through Minnesota eyes. Now, to this week’s episode: For the past 10 weeks, the makers of “Fargo” have treated…
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Check out this trippy underground mine trampoline light show
The largest underground mine in the world was a slate mine in Wales that had been mined off and on since the Roman Empire. Mining there ended in the early 20th Century and the mine would gradually become a tourist attraction, not unlike northern Minnesota’s own Soudan Underground Mine State Park. But there’s no way…
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The ‘bright lights’ of Great Northern Radio Show weekend
We’re headed up to Ely now, getting ready for Saturday’s big Great Northern Radio Show, broadcasting live 5-7 p.m. from the Vermilion Community College Theater. Find out how you can attend or listen here. I love show weekends. Love, love, love. Here’s where we’re going: June 8, 2014 Auroras on Burntside Lake near Ely, MN…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 9, ‘A Fox, A Rabbit, and A Cabbage’
The FX series “Fargo,” inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film, is based in northern Minnesota. As northern Minnesota’s leading pop culture, news, entertainment, iron mining and invasive species blog, MinnesotaBrown is here to review the show through Minnesota eyes. Now, to this week’s episode: Last week, “Fargo” jumped a year into the future, bringing…
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75 years of Oz in town that gave us Judy, but lost Ruby Slippers
Starting Tuesday, June 10 and running until Sunday, June 15, Judy Garland’s northern Minnesota hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” with films, family events and entertainment. The 1939 picture based on L. Frank Baum’s fantastical novel (itself a thinly-veiled satire of late 19th Century American politics)…
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Great Northern Radio Show heads to Ely
Believe it or not, I don’t sit around thinking about mining and northern Minnesota politics all day. In fact, I try to do as little of that as possible (with middling success). What I’ve really been cooking up here at my woodland compound has been a little show I think you’ll like regardless of your position on…
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Daniel Kramer Dylan photos in Hibbing all summer
During Dylan Days almost two weeks ago I was able to see the premiere of the GRAMMY Museum traveling exhibit “Daniel Kramer: Photographs of Bob Dylan” at the Paulucci Space Theater on the campus of Hibbing Community College in the singer’s Minnesota hometown. The event was a who’s who of Hibbing, and a wonderful display of…
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FARGO REVIEW: Episode 8, “The Heap”
The FX series “Fargo,” inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film, is based in northern Minnesota. As northern Minnesota’s leading pop culture, news, entertainment, iron mining and invasive species blog, MinnesotaBrown is here to review the show through Minnesota eyes. Now, to this week’s episode: Deputy Molly is on the ropes and the weasel Lester…
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Summer shows at Range’s Jewish heritage center
The B’nai Abraham Cultural Center in Virginia, Minnesota, announces its summer concert series. Stressing strong musicianship with Iron Range roots, the schedule allows you to experience the arts in the Iron Range’s last Jewish cultural heritage center. There’s a lot of history in this building. The first show lets you see one of Minnesota’s best…
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Blood on the tracks, ice in the harbor
Some cool events are happening in Duluth today and through the weekend. Tonight you can catch the “Blood on the Tracks Express,” an actual no-messing-around moving train that has live music and hospitality. The event is part of Duluth’s Dylan Festival, which mostly wrapped up last week (along with Dylan Days in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing).…