KFAI's MinneCulture

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 Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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.This story was written, reported, and produced by Michelle Bruch. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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 MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. For more stories like this check out the MInneculture tab on KFAI.org

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 has grown fiercely competitive. And this past year, Chaska artist Jim Hautman [rhymes with “caught-men”] claimed his seventh win.Among outdoor enthusiasts and duck hunters, Jim Hautman is a well-known name. In fact, he’s so well known he even gets a mention in the movie Fargo. KFAI’s Alison Young has the story. This story was written and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is MinneCulture's managing editor. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. For more stories like this check out the MInneculture tab on KFAI.org

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 sharing them with you. Today, we're headed to Lake Maria State Park.This story was written and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture.Alison is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 sharing them with you. Today, we're headed to Blue Mounds State Park.This story was written and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture.Alison is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 sharing them with you. The second in the series is called "Summer at Grand Portage." In this piece, a short hike reveals the forces that shaped the land as well as the enduring human respect for that land which has long dictated travel, history, and preservation along Minnesota’s North Shore.This story was written and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture.Alison is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 ParksIt’s called “Art of the State (Parks)" and we’re going to share them with you.Up first, Spring at Lake Itasca. Here, a night of near-solitude becomes a reflection on spring’s renewal and the fragile, hard-won legacy of preservation that allows this landscape to remain alive and vibrant today.This story was written and produced by Alison Young. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture.Alison is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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 MinneCulture is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. For more stories like this check out the Minneculture tab on KFAI.org

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 says it has “the best waiting room in the city.”A welcoming place for a hair cut, the salon is filled with Jon’s craftsmanship, humor, quirkiness, creativity, and a feel good sense of community. KFAI's Dixie Treichel has the story.Find more stories on our websiteSupport for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

When freedom seekers stepped off the steamboat in St. Paul, local people of color met them at the landing. Underground Railroad agents worked as barbers, musicians, laundresses, steamboat stewards and cooks. Some of these residents had never been enslaved and grew up in eastern cities. Others fled the South to settle in Minnesota — a territory that was supposed to be free, yet tolerated slavery within its borders. Local sheriffs and Southern enslavers spent weeks offering bribes to find people sheltered in places like the church belfry, the ice cream saloon, a horse stable hayloft and the home of William and Adeline Taylor. In the season 9 finale of MinneCulture, historians share the little-known story of St. Paul’s Underground Railroad. This episode was written and produced by Michelle Bruch. MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Citations:‘Reminiscences of the Underground Railway,’ St. Paul Pioneer Press May 5, 1895; ‘When St. Paul was an Underground Station’ St. Paul Globe April 16, 1905; National Park Service website: Lambert’s Landing; Shaving saloon advertisement, The Minnesota Pioneer July 3, 1851; Biographical sketches of William Taylor, Joseph Farr, AB Brackett from ‘Pen pictures of St. Paul’ by T.M. Newson; ‘A sheaf of remembrances’ by Rebecca Cathcart; ‘Here, everybody dances’ by Bob Skiba, Minnesota History Magazine; ‘Joseph Farr Remembers the Underground Railroad in St. Paul’ edited by Deborah Swanson for Minnesota History Magazine; Story by Mamie Ruth Butler, St. Paul Recorder May 27, 1949; ‘Slavery in the Upper Mississippi Valley, 1787-1865’ by Christopher P Lehman; ‘Dred Scott’s Case’ by Vincent C Hopkins; ‘American State Trials’ by John D Lawson; Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), National Archives website; ‘Admission of Minnesota into the Union,’ Minnesota Secretary of State website; Letter from Moses Dickson, Minnesota Weekly Times March 28, 1857; ‘Manual of the International Order of Twelve and Knights and Daughters of Tabor’ by Rev. Moses Dickson; Historic consumer price index data, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis website; ‘Slavery’s Reach’ by Christopher P Lehman; ‘Our Colored Citizens,’ St. Paul Pioneer Press Dec 11 1887; ‘Seventeen more killed,’ The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat August 29, 1862; ‘Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862’ edited by Gary Clayton Anderson and Alan R Woolworth; Letter from Little Crow to Henry Sibley dated September 7, 1862 from Minnesota Historical Society; ‘History of the Sioux War and massacres of 1862 and 1863’ by Isaac V. D. Heard; Minnesota Territorial and State Census records; ‘US-Dakota War of 1862,’ Minnesota Historical Society websites; Story reports William Taylor among those killed, The Saint Paul Daily Press September 2, 1862; Adeline Taylor visits family, The Minneapolis Tribune April 15, 1887; Adeline Taylor visits Lake Harriet, Western Appeal August 11, 1888; Minnesota, Deaths and Burials, 1835-1990 database, FamilySearch website; ‘Gone to her rest,’ St Paul Pioneer Press Jan 21 1895; Notice of Joseph Farr’s death, Stillwater Daily Gazette December 30, 1910; ‘A most highly respected citizen gone to his reward,’ The Appeal December 31, 1910; National Park Service: National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom website; ‘The Ground Swallowed Them Up: Slavery and the Underground Railroad in York County, Pa.’ by Scott Mingus; ‘It took courage’ by Christopher P Lehman; ‘Degrees of Freedom’ by William D Green; ‘Hester Patterson, Freedom Seeker’ by Sue Hunter Weir, The Alley Newspaper Jan 3 2025; VocalEssence WITNESS Teacher Resource Guide 2016-17: Underground Railroad.Images from Saint Paul Pioneer Press May 5 1895; Hennepin County Library; Murphy Library Special Collections/ARC, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.River audio by klankbeeld via freesound.org.“I Got My Ticket” performed by the Traveller Home Singers and “The Old Ship of Zion” performed by the Holloway High School Quartet from the John Work Collection (AFC 1941/035) at the Library of Congress.“Steal Away” and “Swing low, sweet chariot” performed by the Tuskegee Institute Singers, available courtesy of Library of Congress, National Jukebox.“Wade in the water” and “Moses, Moses Don’t Get Lost” performed by the Georgia Sea Island Singers and recorded by Alan Lomax. Published by Global Jukebox Publishing, BMI; used with permission of Global Jukebox Publishing, courtesy of the Lomax Archives.“Who Will Be A Witness” arranged by Joel Thompson and performed by VocalEssence.Instrumental music “Jadie Grange,” “Neatly Folded,” “A Pulse of Rain” and “Under Cover of Night” by Blue Dot Sessions.“The Gift to Sing,” poetry by James Weldon Johnson, composed by Emily Feld and performed by VocalEssence.“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” performed by Joe Carter for the On Being with Krista Tippett episode "Joe Carter, The Spirituals," originally aired May 9, 2003, rebroadcast August 9, 2018. Used with permission.

The M.A. Gedney Pickling Company was established in Minneapolis in 1881 by a man named Matthias Gedney. The Gedney Company contracted with hundreds of Minnesota farmers to grow the cucumbers used for their pickle products. Many of the farmers, in turn, ended up paying their children to pick the cucumbers as part of their summer chores, using the money to pay for school clothes and other needed items for the family. In the later 20th century, the Gedney Company identified itself as the Minnesota Pickle. The company partnered with the Minnesota State Fair to market it’s “State Fair” Pickle line, taking winning recipes from the Fair and selling them in stores. Producer John Gwinn tells this story of the M.A. Gedney Pickling Company and its impact on our state. This episode was written and produced by John Gwinn. Additional edit and mix support provided by Mason Butler.MinneCulture is hosted by John Gebretatose and edited by Julie Censullo. Support for MinneCulture is provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.