Strong Women - KAXE/KBXE

featuring musicians Annie Humphrey, David Huckfelt, Jeremy Ylvisaker and Aurora Baer

Delina White is the owner and designer of I Am Anishinaabe fashion house based in Onigum, MN

Erika is a member of the Red Lake Nation who felt called to run this election cycle as DFL in MN House district 2b in Beltrami, Cass, Mahnomen and Clearwater County

"The right of privacy under our Constitution protects not simply the right to an abortion but rather it protects the woman's decision to abort; any legislation infringing on the decision-making process, then, violates this fundamental right" according to Doe v. Gomez in 1995 and U of MN Law Professor Jill Hasday

We gathered women to talk about the connection to the land and climate. We learned that women bring community, adaptability, and a globally-informed, locally-enacted mindset to the climate crisis.

We gathered women to talk about the connection to the land and climate. We learned that women innately understand that CLIMATE is personal.

"Inventive, effervescent... Egan plaits multiple narratives and technique to underscore the manifold ways our own desires betray us in a brave new coded world." Oprah Daily

Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw wrap up spring tour in Bemidji

Amy Frenzel and Ev Cordts discuss the competition of speech!

Bemidji High School grad discusses her work at the United Nations, her journey, and hope for the future.

forging relationships between women leaders across generations and rural lands of Minnesota

The culmination of five regional listening sessions that brought together the expertise of local government leaders and 2020 data. AuditorBlaha, OSA data analysts, and local leaders looked at 20-year local government financial trends to provide context to the 2020 financial data, which represented the first year that local governments received federal pandemic relief funds through the CARES Act.

honoring Brainerd

U.S. Senators Tina Smith & John Thune's Bill to Provide Financial Stability for Federally Impacted School Districts During COVID-19 Signed Into Law Senators' Bill will Assist School Districts as They Apply for Impact Aid Program Funding

illuminating the best of Indian Country in storytelling by promoting understanding between Native and non-Native cultures

"a generational history of a sacredness inseparable from place" author Gwen Westerman

The riveting story of a stranger's arrival in the fledgling colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts―and a crime that shakes the divided community to its core.

this Strong Women conversation is made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota.

deer camp traditions are different for all people

celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day

leadership in Bemidji

opportunities for MN girls K-12th grade for funding and mentorship

update on the news around the Line 3 replacement project from Enbridge Energy

understanding the fall nature process

passion for birds

Today we welcomed back to Tamara Lowney - Executive Director of IEDC - Itasca Economic Development Corporation. She told us about the big news of new industry in Itasca County.

So the story moves around between the different perspectives of these women, and it doesn't follow a straight chronological timeline. It's more arranged thematically. So but to go furthest back in time would be Marie Blackbird, who who was 14 years old at eighteen sixty two. And she and her mother are the ones who actually sow the seeds into the hands of their skirts. So they bring that story alive. So they represent that traditional relationship with seeds and the land and gardening. - Diane Wilson

Today we talked with Lisa Joy Hesse. As the COVID-19 pandemic began and wore on there was a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of emotional toll. Now, with 55% of Minnesotans getting vaccinated, numbers are down and mask mandates have gone away and life is getting back to normal. But it might not feel normal. Lisa Joy Hesse is a mixed media and fiber artist, a dynamic presenter and certified infection preventionist. She lives in the woods of northern Minnesota and she has come out with a workbook called “Getting Past the Pandemic – Exercises for healing the emotional trauma of COVID-19."

Annette Gordon-Reed is an American law professor and Pulitzer Prize winning historian. She is currently the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard University, where she is also the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and a professor of history in the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences.

Georgia Fort is a two-time Emmy nominated journalist. Her reporting has been published on CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS affiliates. Her mission as a storyteller is to change the narrative by amplifying truth, citing diverse sources, and contextualizing social justice issues. You hear the reporting of independent journalist Georgia Fort on Racial Reckoning - The Arc of Justice heard weekday mornings on KAXE/KBXE. News Director Heidi Holtan talked with Georgia this week about a posting she saw on social media where Georgia spoke directly to HOW media responds to mistakes.

Mary Casanova's latest book of fiction published by the University of Minnesota Press is her third on Rainy Lake. Set in the year 1922 this time we meet Trinity Baird - a 21 year old artist from a wealthy family who spend their summers on their island. Trinity is strong but broken. She's been put away in an asylum in St. Peter for being "hysterical". The book resonates with issues we are grappling with today: stigmas about mental illness, women's equality, racism, anti-semitism....

I can't step into every bedroom in America and say, ‘oh, wait a minute, let's put on a condom!'…What I could do, though… write a book that uses storytelling and humor to turn people's interest towards the subject as opposed to the narrative we have now, which is that these are terrible and scary things that I should want to run away from… I'm hoping to shift the feeling away from ‘I did something wrong' to ‘this is just something that happens and I have the power to take care of it.' – Dr. Ina Park

Senator Tina Smith joins Heidi Holtan and John Bauer on the Thursday Morning Show for Making Sausage. Senator Smith talks about her new bill the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act. It was put together to give grants to local school districts and community & technical colleges to build a partnership with businesses to help create and expand a better career pathway for students.

Of Women and Salt takes us from present day to Miami to a family detention center in Texas, to Mexico and then back to a 19th century cigar factory in Cuba. It's a haunting meditation on the choices that mothers make, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots. (~From the Publisher) Gabriela Garcia’s fiction and poetry have appeared in Best American Poetry, Tin House, and the Iowa Review, She received an MFA in fiction from Purdue and lives in the Bay Area. Of Women and Salt is her first novel.

DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen joins Heidi and John on the Thursday Morning Show to talk about the importance of fishing to the state of Minnesota. She tells us fishing is a time-honored tradition in Minnesota and also a big business, providing economic activity and building communities. Commissioner Strommen talks with John and Heidi about the DNR initiative to be more inclusive and include all Minnesotans to be involved in fishing and other outdoor activities. The DNR has created a platform for diverse outdoor enthusiasts to share their stories and photos by going to #MyMNOutdoorAdventure . The Commissioner gives us some reminders for opening day. Have your license with you, wear your PFD’s and remember to clean your boat when leaving a lake to help keep our waters clean and safe from aquatic invasive species.

...hundreds of 17 year old girls at the Minnesota State Capitol. And...OK, we need to go. We need to get out of here... Everyone knew that the protests were coming. They kind of just hurried us on the bus and drove us back to camp. We were in this big auditorium and we just sat there and prayed. And to me, that was the first time I was like...Why is the system so against us? Then I started studying Criminal Justice. - Zoe Carrasco Zoe Carrasco was attending Girls State in St. Paul when Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of killing Philando Castile. It changed her perspective and the trajectory of her life. She studies Criminal Justice at Bemidji State University where she’s also a member of the track and field team and President of the BSU Black Student Union . In this Area Voices, learn why she’s committed to police reform and how the Black Student Union serves students at Bemidji State. I really just don't want the momentum to stop...Chauvin...He's charged. He's guilty. He's

Laura Connelly is the facilitator of the Strong Women Project at KAXE/KBXE, funded by the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. She had this to say about latest virtual gathering: This focus group had a uniqueness to it – I picked up on more guiding, spiritual wisdom present in what the women talked about and the way they talked about it. Many women are already transforming the pain and grief of the last fourteen months into wisdom. Many women are focused on not going backwards, but rather moving forward in a way that is conscious of the things we value and the lessons learned about who we are today after all we have experienced in a relatively short time. Women talked about their feelings of tension based on fragmented communities, polarized politics, and the imbalance of their ability to connect with others and staying home to keep themselves and others safe. They were talking about a natural tension between the world-as-it-is and the world-as-it-should-be. We need public life, to get

I've definitely gone through a bit of a mourning period...I was performing anywhere between one to four shows a week, for the last seven, eight years. So..., it's just been so devastating in so many ways for any artist that does it for a living...It's been stressful, but at the same time, to be able to use technology to still play in some capacity and then, of course, to be writing music...it's been a bit of a saving grace, if that makes sense. ... So it's kind of been all the things - it's been terrible and also amazing .- Jillian Rae on the pandemic impact

The Red Lake Nation has been working on a project for a few years now, bringing buffalo to the area. And in September 2020, buffalo arrived from Wind Cave National Park. Today on Northern Voices, we’ll hear how the Red Lake Buffalo project is growing, and how one particular young buffalo went on an adventure. Cherylin Spears is the project coordinator for Red Lake Economic Development and she shares what’s happening on the expanding 80 acre area that’s currently home to seven buffalo, with more to come.

Strong Women facilitator Laura Connelly joins Heidi Holtan to discuss the recent women’s focus group they held to ask women how they are holding up during this past year. With the pandemic, the political divide and racial inequities, women ended up with more responsibilities then they had before. They gathered via Zoom to talk about their challenges with additional work in caregiving, home schooling and trying to understand all the things they have had to deal with in 2020. Laura and Heidi describe how it was to be in a group with women they did not know as invaluable, emotional and freeing to talk about what this has been like. A solid conversation with weight and meaning in everything that they talked about. Laura reminds women that this has been a year like nothing we’ve seen, it is one thing to have a pandemic it is another thing to feel the political divide and racial inequities, any one thing is a lot but we need to realize I did the best I could with what I had. Heidi says to

Lauren Nickish is a retired music educator, an actress and a playwright. She joins Heidi Holtan and John Bauer on the Friday Morning Show to talk about this year’s inductees into the Legendary Women of Brainerd Public Schools hall of fame. Each year a committee of women induct legendary women into the archives of legendary women of Brainerd public schools. Lauren talks about the nine women chosen by the committee this year, some of their accomplishments and what impact it has on young students and educators at Brainerd High School. You can watch the virtual celebration of this event starting in April at www.isd181.org/district/bpsa .

Last year was phenomenal. We had 960 gallons of sap and then that of course boiled down to 20+ gallons of syrup. I don't know what to expect this year... The frost isn't out of the ground yet, but we've already started boiling. It could be really big or it could...It could be one and done, one big run and then they shut down and and you have to stop collecting sap. - Mur Gilman In this sugarbush check-in, Mur Gilman joins the morning show. Click the arrow to learn how this year is going for her, what her set up is like, and why she thinks it's the perfect retirement activity. I just got hooked, I'm a cross cross-country skier...In the spring when the snow goes away and the ground is brown and sometimes still frozen, it's like, what do you do? And you want to be outside! So this is like the perfect thing... I like syrup that you can see through. And that's really pretty much my guiding principle...if I'm going to give you some syrup, I want you to feel like you've got something that you

Author Patricia Hoolihan joins Heidi and John on the Thursday Morning Show to talk about her new book Hands and Heart Together: Daily Meditations for Caregivers. While caregiving for her parents Patricia found meditation books were often missing the special needs that caregivers have. She tells about the intense experience of caregiving, covering the on-going demands of the person you are caring for while finding balance for your own needs. She talks about caregiving difficulties during the pandemic, working through crisis and finding support dealing with the guilt carried by caregivers. You can find Hands and Heart Together: Daily Meditations for Caregivers at bookstores or order on line at Holy Cow! Press.

People talk all the time about how we aren't going to have a future... I sort of want a future... a good one!... and I want everyone else to, too! So, I might as well start somewhere and just get some stuff done...and everyone should be able to garden. - Bridget Westrum, 16 She had never grown anything before, but when the Covid-19 isolation blues hit last spring, Bridget Westrum decided to try a garden. Her venture quickly grew into a passion. Today, she’s spreading her love of growing food with other kids in the Bemidji area. Her Growing Our Future initiative offers free gardening starter kits to anyone under 18. Kits include seeds, seed trays, spray bottles, and more. In addition to the kits, she’s organized a gardening hotline for kids to connect with older gardeners when they have questions, and she’s establishing a gardening arsenal young growers can access for various gardening needs. Her initiative sprouted when she learned of a grant opportunity with the Minnesota Youth

The day of the reunification, it was October 3rd, 1990, we woke up in a new country without having moved...it was a roller coaster of events, of emotions. This just came like an avalanche, then there was the big euphoria, of course... so first you couldn't believe it, and then as it sank in and then... What happens?- Monika Lawrence Monika Lawrence had lived in East Germany her entire life. One evening, frustrated with the propaganda and lies coming thru her transistor radio, she turned off the media and went to sleep. She woke up in a new reality. In this segment, Monika discusses life in socialist East Germany, the societal struggles that arose with the reunification, and how opportunities like travel and studying the arts became realities afterward. All that and much more...

Minnesota’s education gaps are widening. The gaps have persisted for decades despite the policies from the last two decades that were designed to close them. Do all Minnesota children have a right to a quality education? Justice Page and Nevada Littlewolf think so. Our Children MN Following Justice Page’s partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Our Children started hearing from Minnesota parents, students and student activists, teachers, school leaders, business leaders, education reform groups are seeing the widening education gaps. We are a dedicated coalition who wants to see change and the Page Amendment is the vehicle to accomplish it.

100 Rural Women sees a future where more rural women lead positive change for themselves, their family, their communities, the nation and, of course, the world...We're really committed to building leadership through networks, mentorship, education and civic engagement. And I think most importantly, our organization is nonprofit, nonpartisan. We're all about finding ways for women to connect... I really see our organization as a network of networks. ... one of the most amazing experiences I have had through building this organization is every week I meet the most incredible women! ...it's just the most incredible experience. - Teresa Kittridge, Founder of 100 Rural Women 100 Rural Women is a nonprofit with a mission to serve and support rural women by identifying them, connecting with them and creating relationships and models for networking, leadership, mentorship and civic engagement. Founder Teresa Kittridge was inspired to make change after the 2016 election. ...I was looking at how

I love their faces, but their faces are usually a reflection of something they’ve gone thru our why we love watching them or why we love their work...really human things that you imagine public figures are able to avoid for some reason. A lot of the women that I do are survivors of violence, of sexual assault...people who seem really resilient or poppy or glamorous have been through it....I’ve seen their artwork...and now to read about them and look at their face and know that that’s not what anyone knows of them but that’s what they’ve carried around with them has been really fascinating. - Annie Roseen.

I serve everybody...I'm a servant leader... I humbly walk alongside the people, not in front of them. And that's kind of where I'm at. -Audrey Thayer, Bemidji's first Indigenous City Councilwoman As leadership professor at Leech Lake Tribal College, Audrey Thayer inspires and empowers her students to make positive change in the world. Her life experience has given her a unique perspective on societal stereotypes, limiting systems, and navigating both legal and political platforms. In this Area Voices segment, learn about the path that led her to using her voice for change, what she hopes to accomplish in the next four years as Bemidji’s first Indigenous City Councilwoman, and the importance of diversity at the policymaking table.

In my point of view, what I see out there is different. Some people will go and just post the signs, but there's no meaning to the picture...Where I am, I always try to go to the back, the back of the crowd... because that's where you find your most interesting shot..the people on the back are just as important than the people in the front. I like to tell the entire story. - Nedahness Rose Greene In just four years Nedahness Rose Greene’s ability to capture the essence of a moment has changed her life. Currently exhibiting in four galleries, Nedahness has shared the stage with Snoop Dog and her work has been featured in the Washington Post . With clients including Heart Berry , the Northern Sparks nighttime arts festival, and the United States Hip Hop Coalition, her momentum continues to build. Nedahness’s current exhibit in the Miikanan gallery at the Watermark Art Center is called Mashkawiziiwag “They are Strong .” It’s a collection of powerfully intimate images captured at

We continue to cover the complex story of the Line 3 Pipeline from Enbridge Energy in northern MN. We talk with water protectors, Enbridge employees and workers, scientists and journalists reporting from the scene. Resources: Welcome Water Protectors RISE coalition Indigenous Environmental Network Honor the Earth Why Treaties Matter StarTribune article "Opponents of Enbridge's Line 3 Construction Make Last-Ditch Effort at River's Edge" MN Reformer "Oil and Water: Resistance, Construction Intensify on Enbridge's Line 3 Pipeline Strong Women is made possible by the MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.