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 episode of the MinneCulture podcast from Michelle Bruch traces Minnesota’s relationship to animals, from the workhorse era to the pandemic-puppy era. Photo courtesy of the Animal Humane Society.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
M Nijiya (they/them) is a tattoo artist and owner of Jackalope Tattoo. Jackalope is an all non-binary, trans, queer and female-identifying tattoo shop in South Minneapolis. M’s specialties include black and gray portraits, gender-confirming tattoo work, scar cover-ups for mastectomies and trans top surgery, as well as 3D nipple tattooing.
M and the other artists at the shop hope to provide a non-intimidating space where workers and clients can be themselves. In this piece, KFAI’s Dixie Treichel learns more.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
New MinneCulture podcast episode just dropped! Ta-Coumba Aiken and Seitu Jones are two Twin Cities-based artists that have international 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 of MinneCulture, Sheila Regan explores the Center’s history and its continued legacy in the Twin Cities and beyond. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or right here on KFAI.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
What does heartache sound like? Tap into the sound of Twin Cities-based artist Tufawon, whose recent album, “Until the Sun Comes Up,” explores the heart’s resilience.
Eva Valesh was only 22 when she first went undercover to report on women workers in the 1880s for the St. Paul Globe. She wrote under the pseudonym Eva Gay. 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 of the MinneCulture podcast, reporter Ben Heath explores Valesh’s work, and the role of investigative journalism on the labor movement of the late 19th century. Listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
In the late 1800’s, European immigrants — mostly German and Scandinavian — flooded Minnesota. The population boomed. 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 explorers 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. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, here on KFAI, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Sometimes you need to take a step back. After achieving notoriety and success as a digital media artist, Paul Chan abruptly left the art world in 2009 when he hit “peak screen.” That time off allowed the artist to reimagine his focus and direction. In the exhibition, “Breathers,” on view at the Walker Art Center before it travels across the country, you can see Chan’s work that he has created since returning to making art.
KFAI’s Sheila Regan spoke with Chan about his experience, and how it resonates today in the wake of a global pandemic. Paul Chan: Breathers is on display at the Walker Art Center through July 16, 2023.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
With its haunting call, its distinctive black and white plumage, and its 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. Scientists in Canada have simultaneously noticed some of the same trends across the country. Now, there’s a concentrated research effort by the National Loon Center in Minnesota to find out whether the same declines are present there.
While scientists are at the helm of this work, ordinary people with a love for the loons provide passion–and power. People like Captain Starr Bockenthien, who takes groups of visitors out on the water in Crosslake, Minnesota, to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic bird. For her, the loons have provided calm and happiness. And her enthusiasm is infectious. “It is refreshing every day,” she said. “Every day is a new day with the loons. ”Bockenthien hopes if people catch her passion for the loons, they’ll also be motivated to protect them. In this episode of the MinneCulture podcast, Emily Haavik talks to scientists and bird-lovers about their efforts to protect the common loon.
Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Photo credit: Pam Hickman. Hickman volunteers for Birds Canada, observing the loons on Elbow Lake, attached to Sharbot Lake, about 120 kilometers southwest of Ottawa.
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