Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities

18 Unique Stations from Border to Border

MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds a fun exploration of wide-ranging topics including sports, politics, environment, business, entertainment, pop culture, and more.
MN90 is fun exploration of wide-ranging topics including sports, politics, environment, business, entertainment, pop culture, and more.

MN90: Roy Wilkins, the Civil Rights Act and LBJ

Roy Wilkins earned his professional chops as a Twin Cities journalist. But it was as an activist and director of the NAACP, says producer Britt Aamodt, that Wilkins helped change history with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Two Versions of Nothing

1984 – Prince jotted off the song “Nothing Compares 2 U” in the spare moments between promoting his new album Purple Rain and preparing for his big screen debut. Six years later, Sinead O’Connor reimagined the song and made it a hit. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Three Nights, Three Marx Brothers, One Movie

1936 – The Marx Brothers—Chico, Harpo and Groucho—arrived in Duluth. In overcoats. In July. The comedians heard it was cold up there. But they stuck around for three nights to try out their new script with local audiences, A Day at the Races. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: John Lennon’s Country Girl

In 1978, Brenda Spencer just wanted to meet John Lennon. She’d traveled from Minnesota to join the other fans that hung outside his New York apartment building. Lennon not only put in an appearance but gave her a new nickname. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Marian Anderson in St. Cloud

In 1942, one of the most recognizable women in America stepped off a train in St. Cloud. She was Marian Anderson, the opera singer called the Voice of the Century, who had come to give one of the greatest performances the city had ever seen. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Widow’s Feast

Mary Welsh was not only Ernest Hemingway’s fourth (and last) wife but also his literary executor. But critics sniffed at the idea of this lumberman’s daughter from Bemidji editing her great husband’s memoir A Moveable Feast.

MN90: Can I Play With U?

By 1985, Miles Davis was five years out of a self-imposed retirement, when he didn’t even pick up his trumpet. Now the jazz legend, eager for new creative challenges, was collaborating on a song with one of the hottest talents of the ‘80s—Prince. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Film Nights with Chaplin

In 1941, the news from Europe was grim. The war was going badly for the good guys. That year, an insurance company employee decided to bring comedy to rural Minnesota with screenings of Charlie Chaplin films.

YES Yoko Ono

By 2001, the world at large still thought of Yoko Ono as John Lennon’s widow. That year’s retrospective at Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center, however, reminded the art world that she’d also been a cutting-edge artist since 1955. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Last Stop Bloomington

December 3, 2015, Scott Weiland, former front man of the Stone Temple Pilots, pulled into a parking lot in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was a day off on a busy tour with new band the Wildabouts. But he’d never make it to his next gig. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

MN90: Dress Rehearsal for World War

In 1938, war correspondent Martha Gellhorn arrived in Minnesota as part of a 22-city lecture tour. She had a purpose: to sound the alert that the Spanish Civil War was much bigger than Spain. Here’s Britt Aamodt.

Supported by...

McKnight FoundationPohlad family foundationThe Minneapolis FoundationSaint Paul & Minnesota Foundation