Chuck poses the question for our podcast only edition of Dig Deep this month.  Is there something special about small towns?  Where people pull together?  Do you cross groups and have more personal connections that make us more altruistic?

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This week Timberjay editor Marshall Helmberger broke the story that questions the IRRR's hiring of Joe Radinovich for a non-political position. 

Marshall Helmberger

Dig Deep continues the conversation this time moving into solutions for social problems.  Students in Aaron Brown's Hibbing Community College classes have over the last 10 years always listed "there's nothing to do in this town" as one of the biggest problems.  As Aaron explains here - building a new mall or new kids museum won't change issues of poverty and substance abuse.

Program 51 Tourism, Resorts, and Commerce in the 1930s

A radio series produced by historian Don Boese.   Don is the author of eight books dealing with local history in Itasca County, including "John C. Greenway and the Opening of the Western Mesabi", and the main source for this series,  "Papermakers: the Blandin Paper Company and Grand Rapids, Minnesota".

“We can explain the achievement gap before kids get to kindergarten” – Layna Cole, Associate Professor, Bemidji State University.

How are our forests changing and how are forest professionals studying and dealing with climate change in northern MN?  Tune in for Brian Palik, USDA Forest Research Ecologist explains.  He's going to do a public talk on Earth Day at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids.

Governor Walz was back with us on Making Sausage on the Thursday Morning Show on KAXE/KBXE. 

According to master gardener Carmen Griggs, leafy greens are making the “world tour” for Itasca County in 2019. One Vegetable One Community (aka OVOC) started in 2017 with a focus on beans, then graduated to carrots (“the root of wonder”) in 2018.

Phenology is the biological nature of events as they relate to climate.  Every Tuesday morning, our resident Phenologist John Latimer gathers his phenological data and reports his findings in the weekly Phenology Report. In this week's report, John compares what he's seeing this year to past year's data collection. Among the wildlife activity he's documented so far this year, John has witnessed buffleheads, hooded mergansers, and flickers.  

Every week we hear from Minnesota school kids as they share what they've been observing outside.  This week there were some incredible phenology notes gathered by the kids - porcupines, great blue herons,increased daylight, snowdays, slushy lakes, turkeys and syrup are just the tip of the iceberg.  We even heard from students at the University of MN St. Paul campus!  Click on the reports to hear the full reports from our intrepid reporters, a song from U of M students and much more!