Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
17 Unique Stations from Border to Border
Ruth Adams had been the accordionist for The World’s Most Dangerous Polka Band at Nye’s Polonaise Room for 35 years, when she passed away in March 2011. Featured on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, and in Sonny Tormoen’s short documentary about her life, The World’s Most Dangerous Polka Band (www.dangerouspolkafilms.com), Ruth was a Northeast icon and Minnesota treasure. KFAI producer Marya Morstad paid a visit to Nye’s to reminisce about Polka Queen Ruth Adams with former pianist Lou Snider, hostess Evie Radke, and bandmate and trumpeter Joe Hayden.
About 20 million people currently practice yoga in the United States. Recently, Yoga Journal named the Twin Cities among the top 10 most yoga-friendly cities in the country. From stress reduction to weight loss, the body, mind and health benefits are rapidly catching on. KFAI producer Flor Frey talks to Matthew Sanford, author of “Waking: A Conversation with Matthew Sanford,” about how adaptive yoga makes yoga accessible for every body. For more information about Michael Sanford or the Mind Body Solutions, visit http://www.mindbodysolutions.org/.
Giovanni Allosso recently got some exciting news… Out of tens of thousands of entrants, he was selected as one of the statewide finalists in the 2015 Doodle 4 Google contest. Voting to determine the National Winner has started and runs through February 22nd. Gio and his dad, Dan, joined us to talk about the Doodle he submitted, and what it means to be the Google Doodle winner for the state of Minnesota.
To vote for Gio’s Doodle, visit:
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html#d=2-7
Water is one of the few absolutely essential elements for human existence. Which is one reason why Ananya Chatterjea’s dance company is performing “Dance of a Thousand Water Dreams” at this year’s Northern Spark. KFAI producer Todd Melby has the story. For more information about Ananya Dance Theatre, go to www.ananyadancetheatre.org.
In the early 1940s, the need for Japanese translators in the Pacific was growing. With few soldiers proficient in Japanese, a language school to intensively train people to be military linguists was established. Nisei—people of Japanese ancestry born in the United States—were recruited to teach at the school, but when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive Order of internment or relocation, the school moved from California to Minnesota. KFAI producer Jessica Folker tells the story of how Japanese Americans living in the Twin Cities admirably served their country at the military school. According to source General Charles Willoughby, General McArthur’s Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence, “The Nisei shortened the Pacific War by two years, saved possibly a million American lives and saved probably billions of dollars.” For more information, visit http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/120language_school.html.
This week, another Special Edition of Native Lights: Visiting Vaccines, where we get a pulse on Indian Country’s response to COVID-19 vaccines, here in Minnesota. On this show we hear from two people deeply committed to the health and well-being of Indigenous people and Native communities.
Dr. Mary Owen, MD (Tlingit) is the President of the Association of American Indian Physicians, and she’s also the Director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, on the Duluth campus. Dr. Mary Owen speaks about working with other Native health experts to get the word out that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and crucial for Indigenous people who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
We also hear from Briana Michels (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) who is part of the American Indian Resource and Resiliency team at the University of Minnesota Extension, which holds workshops on trauma and healing. Briana Michels works on the Remembering Resilience podcast which explores Native American resilience through and beyond trauma. In our conversation, Briana speaks about the significance of historical trauma, especially during this past year and now with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations.