KFAI's MinneCulture

In the 1970s, lesbian and feminist organizations popped up in cities across the nation. Minneapolis and Saint Paul were no exception. Here in the Twin Cities, the Amazon Feminist Book Store, Lesbian Resource Center, and Lesbian Feminist Organizing Committee all provided space and community for newly out lesbians and queer women. At the same time, a small network of transgender women started their own type of organizing, one that relied more on mutual support than a physical meeting place. But these groups weren’t mutually exclusive. In the late 1970s, a trans woman named Sissy Potter tried to join a lesbian feminist group called A Woman’s Coffee House. She’s probably not the only one, either. On the season 8 finale of MinneCulture from producer Kira Schukar, Sissy’s letter sparks a conversation about feminism, gender, and transfeminism in the Twin Cities and beyond. Content warning: This podcast contains a transphobic slur and comments. MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage fFund. Music from Blue Dot Sessions: Silver Lanyard by Bitters Borough by Molerider Two Pound by Muffuletta Eggs and Powder by Muffaletta Dowdy by Muffaletta True Shape by Muffaletta Sources: “2023 Anti-Trans Legislation.” Trans Legislation Tracker, https://translegislation.com/bills/2023. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024. 2023 State Equality Index: A Review of State Legislation Affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Community and a Look Ahead in 2024. Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2024, https://reports.hrc.org/2023-state-equality-index?_ga=2.7211186.1288380725.1706647812-211073266.1705959553. Enke, Finn. “Collective Memory and the Transfeminist 1970s: Toward a Less Plausible History.” TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 1, Feb. 2018, pp. 9–29. ---. Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism. Duke University Press, 2007. ---. “Smuggling Sex through the Gates: Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of Space in Second Wave Feminism.” American Quarterly, vol. 55, no. 4, Dec. 2003, pp. 635–67. Franklin, Michael David, et al., editors. Queer Twin Cities. University of Minnesota Press, 2010. Grossman, Mary Ann. “Pioneering True Colors Feminist Bookstore Expected to Close in February.” Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 27 Dec. 2011, https://www.twincities.com/2011/12/27/pioneering-true-colors-feminist-bookstore-expected-to-close-in-february/. McNaron, Toni. “About Toni.” Toni McNaron, https://tonimcnaron.com/about/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024. Van Cleve, Stewart. Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, 2012. Whitaker, Jan. “‘Way Out’ Coffeehouses.” Restaurant-Ing Through History, 28 Sept. 2009, https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2009/09/28/way-out-coffeehouses/.

Take a dive into comedic history in this story about the beginnings of the Brave New Workshop. The Brave New Workshop was founded by a former circus former named Dudley Riggs. In the mid 20th century, a new kind of humor was taking the world by storm, and Riggs tapped into the zeitgeist of improvisation that had no limits. KFAI's Sheila Regan weaves together the voices of past and present company members, archival audio, and an interview with Riggs himself in this celebration of comedy that speaks to its time. MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

KSTP-AM is one of Minnesota’s oldest and formerly most successful radio stations. By the 90's, it had been mostly forgotten, as fans flocked to FM. While music fans enjoyed the stereophonic sounds on the other side of the dial, a new form of radio program began to emerge. Before long, talk radio flourished across the United States, and nowhere was it strong than at “The Talk Station.” Fueled by a desire to shake up the radio landscape, Hubbard Broadcasting’s Ginny Morris took charge of the station and hired a new set of voices in the Twin Cities to break up the status quo. It was an eclectic cast of characters, and none of them were more unique than Tommy Mischke. Left to his own devices and given the keys to a late night kingdom, the renegade broadcaster blazed his own path. Hear from his colleagues and managers to get the inside story about what made The Mischke Broadcast one of Minnesota’s favorite radio shows, it’s legacy and why it’s a show that could only happen here. Today, Tommy Mischke might be known as a podcaster and book author, but long before that he known by Twin Cities radio fans as only “The Phantom Caller.” This documentary was produced Kyle Shiely and edited by Julie Censullo. Hear more classic Mischke bits at MischkeMadness.com and keep up with Tommy at the Mischke Roadshow, available wherever you get your podcasts. Find more of Kyle’s work at kyleshiely.com. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo.

Minnesota was the first state to take Big Tobacco to trial in 1998. The biggest lawsuit in the state’s history forced the tobacco industry to take down cigarette billboards and release millions of internal documents that filled a Minneapolis warehouse. When vaping e-cigarettes gained popularity among youth in the late 2010s, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office sued again, this time against market leader Juul Labs and the company’s Big Tobacco investor Altria. The lawsuit lifted thousands of new tobacco documents into the public archive. KFAI's Michelle Bruch talked to people who worked on both trials — on both sides of the case — 25 years apart. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 8 of MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Music: 'Ants in my pants' - SUPERARE

Mike Sawyer fell in love with old folk music in his 20s, picking up the banjo and playing at festivals and jams around the state. But after a while, he began to wonder why nearly all the songs he and his fellow musicians were playing came from Appalachia and the South. What happened to early musical traditions from Minnesota? Now, Mike’s on a mission to uncover the roots of Upper Midwest folk music and keep it alive for future generations. This documentary was produced by Britta Greene and James Napoli, and edited by Julie Censullo. Special thanks to Jim Leary and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for sharing many of the audio recordings included in this piece, including from the Down Home Dairyland recordings. Additional thanks to Rob McGinley Myers, Nancy Rosenbaum, Sophie Nikitas, Cris Anderson and members of the Upper Midwest Folk Fiddlers. You can find more of Mike’s research and recordings on his websites: Upper Midwest Old Time and the Midwest Fiddle Tunes Project. Season 8 of MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Every year, people on a canoe trip to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) need to be rescued from a dangerous situation. In modern times, the call for help can come from a cell phone, a satellite phone, or an emergency beacon like a Garmin inReach. But it wasn't always this easy to help people who recreate across the canoe-country wilderness. In this story from KFAI producer Joe Friedrichs, we learn about the history of search and rescue operations inside the most visited wilderness area in the nation, the Boundary Waters. -- MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. MinneCulture is a production of KFAI. Support for MinneCulture has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Peter Jesperson is a music legend. Born in Minnesota, Jesperson was a seminal figure in the Minneapolis punk and new wave scene of the 1970's and 1980's. He co-founded Twin/Tone Records, worked at Oar Folkjokeopus record store and the Jay's Longhorn bar, and is credited with discovering the Replacements. He later served as the band's manager. In "Lost in the Songs," producer Todd Melby interviews Jesperson about his love affair with music, his relationship with the Replacements, and his addictions. --- Breakmaster Cylinder composed two of the songs in this documentary. Their work can be found at BreakmasterCylinder.com. Other music was by The Replacements, Patti Smith, The Safaris and the Suicide Commandos. Peter Jesperson’s book is titled “Euphoric Recall.” It was published by MNHS Press. Audio mastered by Alex Simpson. For more of Todd's work, check out toddmelby.com MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

MinneCulture is BACK for season 8! This season, we are bringing you 7 brand new audio documentaries about the people, places, and cultural phenomena that make Minnesota...well, Minnesota. Make sure you're subscribed to MinneCulture so you don't miss any of these fascinating stories about our state. Season 8 is produced by Michelle Bruch, Joe Friedrichs, Britta Greene, Todd Melby, James Napoli, Sheila Regan, Kira Schukar, and Kyle Shiely. Hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. MinneCulture is a production of KFAI. Support for MinneCulture is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

In the most basic sense, what’s commonly referred to as “the fur trade” was a period of cultural and economic exchange between Native Americans and European Americans, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. As the pages of history were put down, one aspect that was continually overlooked is the role women played at home, in the woods, and throughout many aspects of life during the fur trade. The simple truth is that Indigenous women actively contributed to the success of the North American fur trade, according to Karl Koster, a Minnesota historian who specializes in the history of the iconic fur trade. In this MinneCulture In-Depth feature, KFAI contributor Joe Friedrichs explores the role of women during the fur trade as told through the lens of a Grand Marais woman, Laura Powell Marxen. Laura continues to trap and sell fur on Minnesota's North Shore, much like her great-grandmother, Mary Ottertail, did in the early 1900s near what is now the end of the Gunflint Trail. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Grebretatose. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

By 1965, the Beatles were the biggest music group in the world. They sold millions of records. They recorded songs that were not only popular but also took music in new directions. And everywhere they went, they stirred up an excitement so hysterical and commonplace there was a word for it: Beatlemania. Minnesota fans had fallen in love with the Lads from Liverpool the moment they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. But the Beatles passed Minnesota by on their first North American tour, and there was no guarantee they would stop by on their second. But they did. This is the story of how the Beatles came to Minnesota for one magical and madcap night in August 1965 from the people who were there. KFAI's Britt Aamodt has the story. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Archives tell an important story. The people in them—and the people left out—say a lot about our politics, culture, and consciousness. In the 20th century, it wasn’t uncommon for archivists to choose which artifacts made it into the official record based on what they thought defined our history. This means that a lot of people—especially queer people—were left out of the archives. Their lives were erased. But over the last few decades, historians are uncovering those queer lives. In this episode of MinneCulture, KFAI’s Kira Schukar takes us into the Minnesota Historical Society archives to share a story about love, letters, and resilience. Spanning almost 100 years, this narrative follows a first lady, a philanthropist, and the queer activists who wanted their story to be told. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose. Photo: Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple: https://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fap033 Music Credits: Inamorata by Blue Dot Sessions Game Hens by Blue Dot Sessions McCarthy by Blue Dot Sessions Palms Down by Blue Dot Sessions

Today on MinneCulture, we’re headed all the way back to 1900, when Minneapolis was a very different place than it is now. As the mill capital of the world, Minneapolis was packed to the brim with seasonal workers, thriving brothels, and scheming card sharks. But to Mayor Albert Alonzo Ames, it was just a piggy bank waiting to be smashed open. Over the course of a year and a half, Ames turned the Minneapolis Police Department into the most powerful crime ring the city had ever seen. KFAI's Tony Williams has the story. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose. Special Thanks: Erik Rivenes Diedre Hammond Adam Franti Sam Hills Julie Censullo Bibliography: The Shame of Minneapolis: The Ruin And Redemption of a City That Was Sold Out (1903) Lincoln Steffens Introduction by Mark Neuzil, Ph.D. for Minnesota Legal History Project, 2011 Proceedings of the Detroit Conference for Good City Government and the Ninth Annual Meeting of the National Municipal League (1903) William A. Frisbie, City Editor, Minneapolis Journal The Minneapolis House-Cleaning (pp. 109 – 117) City Bosses in the United States; A Study of Twenty Municipal Bosses (1930) Harold Zink Minneapolis in the Twentieth Century (2010) Iric Nathanson Chapter 2: The Shame of Minneapolis (pp. 66 – 106) Minneapolis Madams: The Lost History of Prostitution on the Riverfront (2013) Penny A. Petersen Dirty Doc Ames and the Scandal that Shook Minneapolis (2018) Erik Rivenes A.A. Ames (2022) Military History Wiki https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/A._A._Ames A.A. Ames (2022) Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._A._Ames Ames, Albert Alonzo, “Doc, A.A.” (2022) Minnesota Legislative Reference Library https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=10892 Music Sources: All music in the public domain, audio restoration by Tony Williams Library of Congress National Jukebox The Great 78 Project, Internet Archive Soundtrack, by order of appearance: Narcissus – Sousa’s Band (1902) Victor Record 354 Let Me Call You Sweetheart – Columbia Quartette (1911) Columbia Record A1057 Old Comrades March – Columbia Band (1900) Columbia Record A1608 Marching Through Georgia – Columbia Band (1901) Columbia Record A107 The Holy City – Henry Burr (1900) Columbia Record A242 God Save The King – Columbia Band (1902) Columbia Record A65 Calvary – Baritone Solo (1900) Columbia Record A267 Rubenstein’s Melody in F – Alexander Heindl (1901) Victor Monarch Record 3030 Come Out, Dinah, On The Green – Harry Macdonough (1901) Victor Monarch Record 1099 Poet and Peasant Overture – Sousa’s Band (1902) Victor Monarch Record 1552 Trumpet Quartette – Columbia Band (1900) Columbia Record 373 A Little Bit Off The Top – Ed Favor (1900) Victor Record A195 Then You’ll Remember Me – Tenor Solo (1901) Columbia Record A343

The history of the Animal Humane Society offers a jaw-dropping glimpse into Minneapolis life in the late 1800s. This was a time when horses struggled to pull loads up Lowry Hill and dogs at the pound were drowned in the Mississippi River. As part of a national movement, the humane society formed to prosecute cruelty to animals — and they prosecuted cruelty to children too. Investigating hundreds of cases, humane agents became the state’s first social workers and probation officers. This story traces Minnesota’s relationship to animals, from the workhorse era to the pandemic-puppy era. Produced by Michelle Bruch. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Historic photos courtesy of the Animal Humane Society; Music “Lissa” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).

reputations. Forty years ago, the two were part of the vibrant African American Cultural Center, a place where Black Art was being nurtured, rediscovered, and celebrated. In today's episode, Sheila Regan explores the Center's history and it's legacy. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose.

Eva Valesh was only 22 when she first went undercover to report on women workers in the 1880s, under the pseudonym Eva Gay in the St. Paul Globe. Each week, she would either sneak into a workplace to speak to the workers, or she would simply fabricate her references and apply to a job herself. She visited clothing factories, laundries, dress-shops, dry goods stores, and food factories. Often, she encountered women being exploited or working in dangerous conditions. Eva fought for the workers and helped them fight for themselves. In this episode, reporter Ben Heath explores Valesh’s work, and the role of investigative journalism on the labor movement of the late 19th century. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose.

In the late 1800’s, European immigrants — mostly German and Scandinavian — flooded Minnesota, and the population boomed like few other times in history. This new majority of people in a new land needed myths and stories to fill in the blanks about why and how they came here. Like the story of Kensington Runestone. A purportedly 'discovered' rune stone that proved that Nordic expires made it to Minnesota in the year 1362. In this episode, reporter Matthew Schneeman dives into the connection between the stone and Minnesota's white population, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of folk archeology. Music from "Runestone! A Rock Musical": https://garyrue.bandcamp.com/album/songs-from-runestone-a-rock-musical Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of MinneCulture is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose. For more information about KFAI's MinneCulture, check out kfai.org/minneculture.

With its haunting call, distinctive black and white plumage, and intense, almost otherworldly red eyes, the Common Loon is an icon of northern Minnesota wilderness. But some researchers believe future generations of the beloved bird in this region may be in jeopardy.A recent study in Wisconsin showed some worrying trends. Chicks are getting smaller, their survival rates are lower, and loons that migrate as juveniles are returning to their birthplace at low rates. Now, there’s a concentrated research effort by the National Loon Center in Minnesota to find out whether the same declines are present there. Reporter Emily Haavik spoke with bird-lovers and scientists about their efforts to study and protect the Common Loon. Support for MinneCulture has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose. For more information about MinneCulture, check out kfai.org/minneculture.

Historians have argued that the history of America can be told through the history of meat. The meat industry was often the first to innovate and make use of modern technologies: from the railroad and refrigerated cars to meat packing plant’s dis-assembly lines that inspired Henry Ford’s assembly line. This is especially true for Minnesota. The University of Minnesota was the first university to specialize in meat studies with the opening of the Andrew Boss Meat Lab. South Saint Paul’s stockyards and meat packing plants were at one point the largest in the world. In the past hundred and fifty years Minnesota, meat, and the world changed. Reporter Matthew Schneeman follows how Minnesota changed the meat industry and changed meat itself. He also examines the ways that immigrant labor has been used to power the meat industry since the 20th century. This story starts by looking at people’s different responses to a slaughtered chicken. Gross? Clean? Delicious? Horrifying? Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose.

Mother Alfred Moes was an immigrant from Luxembourg, a woman religious, and the founder of two Franciscan congregations. She was also the first person to advocate for the hospital in Rochester that would become Mayo Clinic. While her visionary leadership proved essential to the founding of St. Mary's Hospital, her strong influence often put her in conflict with church leadership. KFAI's Julie Censullo tells the story.

A series of wildfires made headlines across Minnesota during the drought-plagued summer of 2021. Among them was the massive Greenwood Fire. This wildfire burned nearly 27,000 acres and led in part to the closure of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And while some view them simply as destructive forces of nature, wildfires played a significant role in shaping what are considered today to be some of the most stunning landscapes across the most visited wilderness area in the nation. Historically speaking, across the 1854 Ceded Territory, which includes all of Superior National Forest and the BWCA, indigenous people have, for generations, engaged in the practice of intentionally lighting smaller, controlled fires with the intent of a specific outcome. These types of fires, commonly referred to as a process of ‘cultural burning,’ were set with specific outcomes in mind, including food, clothing, canoe making and other means of living with the land through the use of fire. In this audio feature, producer Joe Friedrichs explores the history of fire in the Boundary Waters, and why a team of researchers are currently trying to learn from the past to help create a better future for the forests of this remote wilderness.