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Malachy Koons
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KAXE
Music
The KAXE Music Team on new music from Duane Betts, LOV, Bella White, Greg Mendez, Molly Brandt, Sosyete '25, Crooked Fingers, and Blondie's debut from '76.
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Nicole Neri | Minnesota Reformer
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University of Massachusetts Press, Macmillan, Bloomsbury
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“Heartache, there’s nothing you can do.”

The opening song on the new album from Duane Betts is steeped in grief. The intense and immense hole left in your being after losing a parent, spouse, friend or child is unimaginable. Betts has captured that in the lead track, “Heartache.”

The album is made up of songs he wrote after losing his dad, Dickey Betts, founder of the Allman Brothers Band. While the lead song has a vulnerability and deep sadness,“Reckless” and “Pills and Liquor” touch on Betts struggle with addition, retrospection and quiet in “Silver Afternoon,” and slices of straight Southern rock with “Down to Houston,” “Manatee River” and “Keep My Hands Clean.”

Vulnerability is at the core of Isle of Hope with Betts revealing more of himself to listeners with each song. -Kari Hedlund
Latest Stories
Reward up to $25K offered for information on Wadena cold case
Carla Beth Anderson, a 23-year-old woman, was last seen nearly 40 years ago at her Wadena apartment. Despite hundreds of leads and interviews, no arrests have been made in her disappearance.
Motorcycle crash kills Saginaw man; Blackduck votes to disband its PD
Plus: Itasca County reuses flag poles to fly new and old state flags; Crow Wing County adds 10 license plate readers to Flock Safety network; and Red Lake County takes 2nd in state baseball tourney.
Both state flags now flying behind Itasca County offices
The county avoided buying new flag poles by flying the current and former Minnesota flags on poles that were previously used for a memorial.
Blackduck eliminates police department, contracts with Beltrami County
The formal move on June 8, 2026, follows discussion on the perpetual vacancies and rising costs of operating a rural police force.
Red Lake County 2nd in baseball state tournament; South Ridge 4th
The Rebels entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and defending champions. South Ridge, Grand Rapids and Aitkin also competed in the tournament.
Motorcycle crash kills Saginaw man in rural St. Louis County
The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office identified William Helgemoe, 56, as the rider killed on Industrial Road on June 12, 2026.
Up North Lookback 1976: Ford declares crop emergency; Aitkin school wall collapses
This is the Up North Lookback, where we’re digging into the local news archives from 50 years ago — the year KAXE was born. It’s the week of June 15.
MN resumes payments to most Medicaid providers; Online hate still swirls year after MN assassinations
And: COVID learning woes still haunt MN kids' well-being.
ICE detains workers in Bemidji; GOP Reps. call for Walz, Ellison resignations
And: A McGregor gas station was fined by the state Pollution Control Agency; the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission was given a transportation award; and Red Lake County will defend its baseball title Monday.
Vance demands DOJ conduct probe of Walz, Ellison
The demand comes after the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee released a report that said Walz and Ellison ignored rampant fraud in the state’s social service programs.
MN resumes payments to most Medicaid providers cut off in anti-fraud effort
The state abruptly paused payment to thousands of care providers in May in a rush to meet a federal deadline.
DL girls golf wins team, individual championships; Brainerd boys 1st
Almost 90 Northland students competed at the state golf tournament June 9-10, 2026, around the Twin Cities.
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With The Setlist, KAXE's Music Team curates the best live music to catch each week across Northern Minnesota and beyond.
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Don Leaon
During the week of June 9, 2026, we enjoy reports of porcupines, leafcutter bees, and loon eggs. Staff phenologist John Latimer responds.
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