In Minneapolis in the 1970s Native American youth boxing was at its peak. Experienced boxers committed their time and energy to start gyms and coach the youth. In the turmoil of the urban environment, boxing was a way for Native American boys to step into the ring, stay out of trouble and gain self confidence. KFAI's Dixie Treichel reports. 

Photo: Ricky Littlewolf, 1971.

First Person Plural on KFAI is supported by Migizi Communications. This work is funded in part by the Minnesota Humanities Center with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

First Person Plural | The Native Boxing Gyms of 1970s Minneapolis

This spring marks the 80th anniversary of the 1941 blizzard that killed dozens of people in Minnesota and North Dakota. The region has a reputation for extreme winters, but a late season storm could still catch people off-guard. For Indigenous people, timing for such events had consequences as they transitioned to warmer months. Mike Moen reports on the history behind their winter survival techniques.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Image: Ojibwe people at a winter camp in South Harbor, Minnesota in 1875, courtesy of the MN Historical Society.

The Peril of Spring Snow in Minnesota

The Lake Wobegon Trail is a 10-foot wide strip of pavement that guides bicyclists through Central Minnesota’s trees, lakes, and fields of cows. Now, there’s a new destination along the trail: Art in Motion, an art gallery and café in the small town of Holdingford.

Holdingford native Greg Konsor opened Art in Motion in summer of 2020, combining his passions for art, biking, and the outdoors. The space, which sits in the middle of a sprawling 32 acre plot, is half art gallery and half café. You can grab a beer and listen to a local band on the back patio, or take a stroll along the nearby trail. Visitors are biking from nearby towns — and even across the country — to explore Art in Motion’s unique space. KFAI's Colleen Cowie reports. 

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  Photo by Colleen Cowie.

Art in Motion Brings Artwork, Bands, and Biking to the Lake Wobegon Trail

Leif Brush was a pioneering sound artist based in Duluth since the mid 1970s. His Terrain Instruments were just some of the audible sculptures that isolated and emphasised the sounds of otherwise natural phenomena. KFAI’s Ben Heath celebrates the work of a remarkable Minnesotan. 

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The Sonic Legacy of Leif Brush and His Terrain Instruments

In the early 1970’s, Native American youth were experiencing discrimination in the Twin Cities public schools that created turmoil and high drop out rates. This lead to the creation of an alternative accredited educational place named The Red School House. KFAI's Dixie Treichel filed this report. 

"Being at Red School House, you didn’t have anyone telling you you couldn’t be who you are," said Dorene Day, a former Red School House student. "We were encouraged to delve into every aspect of our life as a Native person."

The Red School House began in February of 1972. The idea was hatched by concerned parent Charlotte Day alosngside St Paul American Indian Movement Executive Director Edward Benton-Benai. Day and Benton-Benai then developed the concept with members of the community. First Person Radio interviewed Edward Benton-Benai  in 1976.

"So our relationship with the public school system of St. Paul has not been one of  romance. They had threatened to pick all the kids up from school and  charge them with truancy at one time. When that call came, we sent out a call to the Indian community.  In about 40 minutes  there were about 250 Indians that surrounded the building and dared them to come and get the kids. And we knew too that we had a responsibility to live up to an that was the maintaining and enlarging of the school."

This work is funded in part by the Minnesota Humanities Center with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008. 

Photograph Courtesy of the American Indian Movement Interpretive Center

First Person Plural | Self-Determination and Other Teachings of the Red School House

Since the first rail line was completed in Minnesota in 1862, the railroad has had a storied existence in the state and fire is part of that
story. KFAI's Laurie Allmann filed this report. 

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Photo by Laurie Allman, Percussion sound effects by John Gorka. Tundra swan audio courtesy Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, © Jay McGowan.

Railroads & Fire

How do we experience a gallery in digital space? That question gets explored by new media artist Snow Yunxue Fu and dance artist Lela Pierce in "Refresh: The Space in Between a Screen and a Body," curated by Zoe Cinel, with support from digital media artist Eric Anderson and assistant Junyi Min.  Originally scheduled to take place inside of Gordon Parks Gallery, the virtual reality creation will be viewable as a recorded multi-channel video available online to approximate the virtual reality experience. KFAI’s Sheila Regan reports. 

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Photo courtesy of Zoe Cinel.

Flipping the Gaze, "Refresh" in VR Embodies the Disembodied

Tejano is a word that means “Texan” in Spanish. Tejano is also the name of a music genre fusing US American and Mexican musical traditions, plus a hint of German flavor. The band Grupo Mio brings that Tex-Mex sound to Minnesotan audiences, adding flavors of cumbia, rock, conjunto, pop and more. KFAI’s Mason Butler filed this audio portrait. 

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Grupo Mio: Tex-Mex Roots with a Minnesota Twist

This summer on the MinneCulture Podcast, it's all about Minnesota History. As we kick-off Season 5 during Pride month, we celebrate one of the first well-known venues in the Twin Cities exuberantly claimed by gay men, a nightclub called The Gay 90s in downtown Minneapolis.

The Gay 90’s hasn’t always been gay. The bar began as a supper club for a straight crowd. It opened in the 1950s and the name was a reference to an earlier decade, the 1890s.

Then, in 1975, the vibe changed in a big way. The owners of the Gay 90s bought a disco ball, hired DJs, and turned the 90s into a club catering to gay men. 

In this episode, we share an original KFAI documentary, “Fly Robin Fly: The Story of that Disco-Crazed Moment when the Gay 90s Came Out of the Closet and Embraced Its Name,” by KFAI's Todd Melby. You'll hear a history of the bar featuring some of the people who worked, danced and connected at the Gay 90s. 

Theme music by Xavier Santiago. Other music by J. Melby. Even more music supplied by the Blue Dot Sessions on the Free Music Archive. 

Thanks to the Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota for photography and oral history audio. 

Support for the MinneCulture Podcast on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultual Heritage Fund.

Ep. 28: When the Gay 90's Came Out

The Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul was hit hard during the civil unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd. While buildings are being repaired or rebuilt, a group of artists want to build connections among neighbors. KFAI’s Sheila Regan reports.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

'Dear Neighbor,' This Poster Is For You

MinneCulture arts, culture and history stories air on KFAI's "Listening Lounge" and at other times. We also record and produce concerts featuring local musicians in our "Live from Minnesota" series. In 2018, six(6!) MinneCulture stories won Page One awards from the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Funding made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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