MinneCulture

Many of us have dreamed about being a rock star at some point - to play the guitar or drums or to belt out songs with friends.  But what if that wasn’t just a dream? What if you could play and perform your favorite artists’ songs on stage and make friends along the way? KFAI’s Angela Lundberg brings us the story of a camp where rock dreams become reality. This story was written, reported, and prod...

We have something special to share with you today - a story from the On Our Minds podcast and the PBS Student Reporting Lab. Reporter Divya Thamman brings us the story of a unique annual tradition in Minneapolis… in celebration of a pencil. And if you liked that story, check out this season of the On Our Minds podcast. It’s an audio road trip around the country featuring student reported stories a...

On Monday nights, about seventy people gather in a Lutheran church in south Minneapolis to sing. They’re part of Kith + Kin Chorus, a rock-and-roll community choir open to singers of all backgrounds and musical experience levels. Maribeth Romslo takes us inside her first season with the choir. This story was written, reported, and produced by Maribeth Romslo. Erika Janik is the managing editor of...

The White Earth reservation in northwestern Minnesota was created through a treaty with the federal government in 1867. The reservation was meant to be a space where the Anishinaabe people could be protected from white settlement. But within 50 years, timber companies had moved in and stripped the land bare. Producer John Gwinn brings us the story. This story was produced by John Gwinn and narrate...

The film Harold and Maude is generally revered as a cult classic. But it wasn’t destined to be. In fact, it originally bombed at the box office. The film probably would have never made its way into popular culture until one theater in Minneapolis decided to book it. Producer Julie Censullo tells this story of how a neighborhood theater put this almost-forgotten film on the map.  This story was wri...

South Minneapolis loves the May Day Cafe, a gathering spot rooted in coffee, pastries, and community. Last year, the workers converted the coffee shop into a worker-owned co-op. The co-op model is new to May Day but it isn’t new to Minneapolis, or even this neighborhood. Half a century ago, the very same storefront was home to the Powderhorn Food Community Cooperative. This co-op was part of the M...

For nearly sixty years, one man’s disappearance haunted central Minnesota, a mystery fed by rumors, dead ends, and a river that never gave up its secret. Then, in the summer of 2025, the Mississippi finally did. What surfaced wasn’t just a car: it was the answer to a question that had lingered for generations. This is Submerged: The Roy Benn Case. This story was written, reported, and produced by...

When the Irish arrived in the brand new Minnesota territory, there were no cities waiting for them, no paved streets. Just prairie, timber, and a dream of opportunity. So they built. They built farms, carving 160-acre homesteads out of tallgrass and forest. They built communities, And at the center of it all they built a church in Jessenland. Kyle Shiely has the story of the oldest rural Irish com...

Stillwater Prison started publishing its own newspaper in 1887. All of it written, edited —  even funded — by incarcerated people. It’s called The Prison Mirror. It was one of the country’s first prison papers. Today it’s one of the last. We’re taking you inside prison to hear writers past and present talk about what it’s like to cover the news behind bars. But first, you need the origin story. Th...

Season 10 of the MinneCulture podcast is coming April 9th. This season we are exploring a decades-long Minnesota cold case, the two-year run of the movie Harold and Maude at a Minneapolis theater, the oldest prison newspaper, and many more stories from across the state.  Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. For more stories like this check...

What happens when you add electric guitar, high energy vocals, and upbeat percussion to your ballet? For ballet companies, they hope it adds up to a lot more people in the audience.  An outgrowth of rock operas, rock ballets are reimagining the art form for a modern age. KFAI’s Sheila Regan has the story.  This story was written and produced by Sheila Regan. Erika Janik is the Managing Editor of M...

If you’ve ever driven on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul, down by Highland Park High School, you’ve probably seen the Highland Park Water Tower, even if you didn’t know it. Standing at 127 feet tall, it is a beautiful 1928 stone tower located on one of the highest points in St. Paul, making it the perfect place to store water, and see a unique view of the Twin Cities. Though it was decommissioned in 2...

Each year, the federal government holds a unique art competition with a very specific goal: to choose the most compelling original painting to become the next Federal Duck Stamp. Waterfowl hunters are required to purchase this stamp along with their hunting license. The revenue raised allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to buy and protect wetlands across the country. Over time, the contest h...

In the 1990s for a brief four years, the radio station 93.7 The Edge popped up and imprinted itself onto the minds and hearts of many young Minnesotans who were aching for new music: The Cranberries, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and No Doubt. Radio back then wasn’t just a way to listen to music, but to discover music. The station also hosted EdgeFest, which forged even stronger memories. Every generation h...

We have something different to share with you today - though something squarely in the MinneCulture universe. One of our regular producers Alison Young received a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals Grant this year to produce a series of immersive pieces blending field recording and personal narrative set at four Minnesota State Parks. It’s called “Art of the State (Parks) and we’re sh...

There are many ways to cover a song—you can cover it in your own style or mix things up by playing it in a different genre. But there’s one way of doing that often gets overlooked: doing it exactly like the original.  The 90s cover band You Oughta Know takes on that challenge of replicating 90s hits. And the effect is a time traveling lightning bolt of nostalgia. KFAI’s Matthew Schneeman met up wi...

We have something different to share with you today - though something squarely in the MinneCulture universe. One of our regular producers Alison Young received a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals Grant this year to produce a series of immersive pieces blending field recording and personal narrative set at four Minnesota State Parks. It’s called “Art of the State (Parks) and we’re sh...

Sound baths are a meditative practice that uses resonant instruments like singing bowls, gongs, and chimes to create experiences that offer a unique path to calm and connection. In recent years, sound baths have been popping up all over Minnesota. KFAI’s Sheila Regan went to check it out. This story was written and produced by Sheila Regan. Erika Janik is MinneCulture's Managing Editor. Find more...

We have something different to share with you today - though something squarely in the MinneCulture universe. One of our regular producers Alison Young received a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals Grant this year to produce a series of immersive pieces blending field recording and personal narrative set at four Minnesota State Parks. It’s called “Art of the State (Parks) and we’re sh...

Since the 1890s, the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota has produced an abundance of iron ore. The mines attracted all kinds of workers, including immigrants. One group that was harder to find in the mines, though... were women. Lynn Henderson was one of the first women to work on the range starting in the 1970s. KFAI's Gina Favano caught up with Lynn to learn what those times were like. This...

We have something a little different to share with you - though something squarely in the MinneCulture universe. One of our regular producers, Alison Young, received a Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals Grant this year to produce a series of immersive pieces blending field recording and personal narrative set at four Minnesota State Parks It’s called “Art of the State (Parks)" and we’...

For the past twenty years, Project Get Outdoors — or Project GO — has been dedicated to connecting children with the natural world. Based in Wabasha, Project GO’s mission is to use nature to build cognitive skills, spark creativity, and support overall health and wellbeing. The organization champions the Minnesota Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights and develops high-quality curriculum and programmi...

Every Tuesday night, Choir Walk with Me gathers to practice. The group’s name comes from the David Lynch film Fire Walk With Me. The small group sings a diverse mix of songs and prides itself on celebrating the esoteric and weird. KFAI’s Angela Lundberg brings us the story. This story was produced by Angela Lundberg and mixed and edited by MinneCulture Managing Editor, Erika Janik. Support for Min...

The Augie Garcia Quintet played rock ‘n’ roll in 1954 before they knew what to call it — Augie described their sound as rhythm-and-blues with a shuffle and a “hard sock.” The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame says the band likely recorded Minnesota’s first rock record. Raised at the West Side Flats in St. Paul, Augie became known as a showman who danced on the piano and dressed year-round in Bermuda sh...

Inspired by his love of punk and garage band music of the 1980s, Jon Clifford started a hair salon by Loring Park in Minneapolis in 2011. It’s a funky, one-of-a-kind place helmed by a funky, one-of-a-kind guy filled with music and Minnesota music memorabilia. Jon later partnered with John Kass to add a record store focusing on local music next to the salon, and HiFi Hair and Records was born. Jon...