Virtual Chef’s Gala fundraiser show returns this week

You might recall that earlier this winter I was supposed to co-host the Second Harvest North Central Food Bank Chef’s Gala fundraiser program. Unfortunately, the show was postponed due to a COVID-19 spike in Itasca and Crow Wing counties. The event will return this Thursday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. amid an improved COVID situation… Read More →

Second Harvest Chef’s Gala event rescheduled

Perhaps you read my column about macaroni and cheese (and food insecurity) from last Sunday. I was going to host a special webcast to raise money for Second Harvest North Central Food Bank’s annual Chef’s Gala this Thursday. Unfortunately, I learned yesterday that the event will be rescheduled for April 28 due to COVID-19 concerns… Read More →

Comfort food

One of the simplest American foods perhaps best reflects our culture: Macaroni and cheese. Though not all mac and cheese is the same, most people in our country are familiar with some version of it. Those differences also reflect the diversity of the United States. Why is mac and cheese such a good example of… Read More →

Dig Deep Live at Reif Center Tuesday

This Tuesday, Dec. 10, I’ll be part of our Dig Deep podcast live Community Conversations broadcast from the Ives Theater at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Our topic is “Strong Towns,” in honor of my podcast partner Chuck Marohn’s new book of the same name. The event is at 7 p.m. and is… Read More →

‘Strong Towns’ fans flames of revolutionary pragmatism

Those who read “Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity” by Charles L. Marohn, Jr., a new book published by Wiley, might at first be overwhelmed by Marohn’s bad news. America’s cities are insolvent. And though he doesn’t mention them by name, his metrics would certainly implicate our own Hibbing, Chisholm, and all… Read More →

Tune in for Dig Deep live call-in show

The Northern Community Radio political podcast “Dig Deep” will hold a live broadcast call in show Monday morning at 8:10. The podcast features Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and myself. Heidi Holtan produces the show. Chuck represents the conservative perspective while I represent the liberal point of view. That said, our show is less about… Read More →

Hear the latest Great Northern Radio Show from Brainerd

Last weekend I brought my Great Northern Radio Show to the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, Minnesota. Today I’m able to share a recording of the show for those of you who missed it live on Northern Community Radio.

DFL candidates debate issues in Minnesota’s 8th District

In just three weeks voters decide which of five DFL candidates for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District advances to a tough general election. Some candidates have more money than others, but relatively few ads have run on local television. I’ve analyzed the race. But I must also stress that this is a very fluid contest that… Read More →

Iron Range parades, street dances and fireworks

As a young kid I marched in the Keewatin Fourth of July parade as a patriotic penguin, Donald Duck, and other flag-festooned creatures. As an older kid I remember piling into a car with my friends, touring Range towns for street dances and fireworks. Before cell phones we would often try to anticipate where we… Read More →

Stewart Mills offers surprising analysis on mining

When Stewart Mills announced he would not make another run for Congress in Minnesota’s Eighth District this year, he offered decidedly sharp words for the Republican political establishment. Now it appears that Mills found a new occupation: blogger. Mills writes a new blog called Outstate, which reports on a blend of national and state political… Read More →