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Rough weekend for tough-looking fish in Walker
The annual Eelpout Festival was held this past weekend in Walker, Minnesota, something I mentioned in my last Great Northern Radio Show which we broadcast live from this little town on big Leech Lake. Eelpout are — to be blunt — ugly, bottom-feeding fish that taste good fried if you can get past their general appearance. According to this TV news report,…
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These fancy tent people seem to be getting attention
A classically brisk Northern Minnesota winter finally set in this week. After an abnormally warm December, I might have been among a minority glad to feel the sharp chill of extreme cold when I walked out the door last night. Then again, easy for me to say; I don’t live in a tent. Minnesota Public…
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Spend holidays with the Great Northern Radio Show
On Dec. 6, 2014, I hosted the winter edition of my Great Northern Radio Show in a live broadcast from the Northern Lights Casino in Walker, Minnesota, as guest of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwa. That show will re-air Wednesday, Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve — from 7-9 p.m. on Northern Community Radio, 91.7…
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Northern journalists taunt each other with lutefisk
The “Great Northern” states extend from the Dakotas through Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and are marked by the strong and enduring influence of Scandinavian immigrants. In addition to being the genetic forebears of many people who live here, these Scandinavians (Norwegians and Swedes, in particular) brought and kept many traditions that have lasted to this…
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Local, weird, darkly funny: ‘The One Who Watches’
A new short film, “The One Who Watches,” by Duluth filmmakers Nicholas Sunsdahl and Molly Josefson, made the following impressions on me, in this order: 1) the mix of Bemidji, Iron Range and Twin Ports settings and characters, 2) the abject film school weirdness, and 3) the dark, persistent humor, punctuated by one scene that made me laugh…
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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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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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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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A story in data: Northern Minnesota’s next challenges
The Center for Rural Policy and Development issued its State of Rural Minnesota 2014 Report this week, including a number of compelling graphics about the current and projected economic status of Greater Minnesota counties. The report might prompt different conclusions based on who reads it, but since I write about Northern Minnesota, I see a…
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National Christmas tree to be cut this week in Northern MN
Today, somewhere near Walker, Minnesota, in the Chippewa National Forest, a mature 88-foot white spruce enjoys its last meal of sunlight and carbon dioxide before being cut tomorrow to live forever in the hearts of America as the nation’s 2014 Christmas tree. On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Minnesota’s Logger of the Year Jim Scheff of Marcell…
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No more dress-up for Bemidji’s Paul Bunyan and Babe
It’s not terribly difficult to find likenesses of Paul Bunyan and his trusted blue ox Babe in Northern Minnesota. And if it’s not Paul, it’s some cockamamie relative or ex-girlfriend that a town dreamed up as a hook. But among the most iconic Paul Bunyan and Babe statues are the pair you see in Bemidji,…
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It’s official: ‘Fargo’ headed for Sioux Falls ’79
In the FX series “Fargo,” the EMMY-nominated Northern Minnesota-based caper, we met Lou Solverson (Keith Carradine). He’s the gruff ex-cop who now runs a cafe in Bemidji. His daughter is Molly (EMMY-nominated Allison Tolman), and he offers her sage advice and words of caution as she hunts down the evil criminal Lorne Malvo (EMMY-nominated Billy…
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‘Fargo’ nets 18 Emmy nods, likely 2nd season
The Northern Minnesota-based FX drama “Fargo,” inspired by the Coen Brothers movie of the same name, earned 18 Emmy nominations in the mini-series category yesterday, including nods for the four actors who portrayed the main roles. I filed episode-by-episode reviews of “Fargo” from my unique perch here in the real Northern Minnesota. I started watching the show…
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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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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…