Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities

October 1980 – Bruce Springsteen needed to chill. He was in Minneapolis on a tour for The River. But the hotel walls were closing in. So he went to Jay’s Longhorn to play pinball—but was drawn in to the Minnesota group The Suburbs jamming in the next room. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

March 16, 1862 – Six officers from the First Minnesota Infantry Regiment posed at their winter camp in Virginia. Matthew Brady, or one of his assistants, took the immortal shot of men during a lull in the bitter Civil War. Of the six, only three would live to return home. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

December 1935 – Life in Duluth was desperate for the Niemi family. Maila’s dad had lost his job on the Finnish paper. But the girl had the Sunday funnies and her imagination. In 1954, the grown-up Maila, now Maila Nurmi the actress, would create a character based, in part, on a character from the funnies and become the first creature feature host in TV history, Vampira. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

Fall 1960 – All anybody wanted to talk about was the upcoming presidential election. That’s when John Steinbeck, author of classics like The Grapes of Wrath, hit the road with a camper and his dog Charley to see America, including Minnesota. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

Through the 1960s, the Hesshaimer kids of Munich, Germany, looked forward to the irregular visits from the mysterious American businessman who was their mom’s special friend. Careu Kent was entertaining but secretive. Only after his death, did it come out that Kent was actually a world-famous Minnesota-born aviator and that he was more than a friend to them. Here’s Britt Aamodt.