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Detectives still seek missing ruby slippers from Oz
The story made national headlines and ample fodder for late night jokes when one of the pairs of ruby slippers worn by Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005. There were no arrests. It was a crude “smash and grab” job on a…
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A view from Minnesota’s deer hunting season
For a picture of a crisp, quiet deer hunting season opener, you can do no better than Sam Cook of the Duluth News Tribune joining some Northern Community Radio friends of mine – Randy McCarty and John Latimar – in the woods outside Grand Rapids. This passage seems to capture Cook’s unique ability to capture…
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Celebrating 30 years of public radio Phenology
Tonight at 6:30, KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Phenology Show with John Latimer. Now, maybe you’re some kinda cat who doesn’t listen to the Phenology Show on this marvelous independent public radio station (the station, by the way, that distributes my radio show as well). Or maybe you were like…
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Dave Karr, Sam Miltich to play Grand Rapids tonight
Jazzman Dave Karr has been making music for more than 60 years, most of that time in Minnesota. Karr, an esteemed saxophonist and composer, got his start in his native New York City, cutting his teeth alongside Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the guy who every band teacher in the country simultaneously tells trumpet students…
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Minnesota minimum wage debate amid labor changes
The debate over raising the Minnesota minimum wage comes north tonight with a community forum on the subject in Grand Rapids at 7 p.m. An statewide interfaith group is pushing an increase of the state’s minimum wage to $9.50. The current minimum wage in Minnesota is $6.15, well below the federal rate of $7.25 and essentially…
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Bigfoot says ‘Good for you’ to area fitness walkers
As a resident of Itasca County in northern Minnesota, the western edge of the Mesabi Iron Range, I am growing to appreciate the whimsy this northern county shows in comparison to its larger St. Louis County neighbor. Case in point: Spud, the Bigfoot (pictured here). Get Fit Itasca commandeered this Bigfoot cut out from a…
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Bear #56, in memorium
Bear #56, a female black bear from the Marcell, MN area, died of old age last week. She was the oldest wild bear ever recorded. Was she the oldest wild bear ever? Hard to say. Is this Jordan Carlton Schaul National Geographic piece the best obituary for a bear you’ve ever read? Probably. I know…
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This is a photograph of local police chasing a bear
Shannon Leigh Sweeney Shannon Leigh Sweeney took this photo of an area law enforcement official chasing a black bear cub on Willow Lane in Grand Rapids, Minnesota this morning. She posted it to the Grand Rapids Herald-Review Facebook page. I’m sure there are more details and we’ll share them in time, but let’s just enjoy…
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Bullying, school shootings have northern MN history
Most of us trace our understanding of school shootings back to Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1998. I remember being a college freshman, watching the news in the cafeteria, having not fathomed that people would do a thing like that. It sparked a nationwide conversation on guns and the way kids treat each…
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A tale of two Marriage Equality Days
Today is the first day same-sex couples can legally marry in the state of Minnesota. For me, this is a happy day, particularly as I think of friends finally able to enjoy the legal benefits of long term committed relationships with the people they love. I spoke out against the anti-equality amendment last fall, and cheered…
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Northern MN ‘showboat’ tradition on Mighty Miss this weekend
You can still catch one of the coolest theater traditions of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, with this weekend’s closing performances of the Mississippi Melodie Showboat. Hometown Focus ran a lovely feature on the annual riverside music tradition in this northern town. You might recall that the boat sank last year. But don’t worry, they’ve got…
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Catch the Grand Rapids ‘Great Northern’ podcast
The last Great Northern Radio Show broadcast live from the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on June 29. And at last, we’ve got the podcast ready for you. Great Northern Radio Show — Saturday, June 29, 2013 — Grand Rapids, MN (PC: right click and “Save Link As” MAC: Ctrl-click and “Save Link As”…
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The colors of the Iron Range in summer
I took the above photo taking a walk on the Mesabi Trail between Grand Rapids and Coleraine. The reds, greens and blues of this kind of scene are my favorite colors, and you only see them on the Iron Range in summer. Someone sent me this lovely time lapse video of the Hull Rust Mine…
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Trampled by Turtles (@tbtduluth), Actual Wolf (@actualwolf) at Reif Center tonight
Tonight, Christina and I will be attending the Trampled by Turtles concert at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids. The Turtles are making their 10th anniversary tour around Minnesota, hitting venues where they got their start. Grand Rapids is the hometown of bassist Tim Saxhaug. Opening for TBT is Actual Wolf, whose frontman Eric Pollard…
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Unfortunate sign malfunction implies Unitarian damnation
Two weeks ago, the highway sign for the Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Unitarian Universalist Chapel on Highway 169 broke. Two weeks later, this is still what passing motorists see. Apparently MNDOT’s sign department has been infiltrated by hard-line Baptists. And the Unitarians are too nice to say anything. A divine statement? Well, I suppose we just…