This week KAXE/KBXE Cheese Queen Mackenzie Lindahl officially declared 2019 the Year of the Cheese Ball!

Mackenzie loves cheese. That fact and many years’ experience as a cheese buyer and local cheese aficionado is why she is the Cheese Queen.

To announce and celebrate this pronouncement, her majesty brought a homemade cheese ball to the KBXE studio, made of four of Harmony Food Co-op’s most popular-selling cheeses. The tasty, light greenish-blue ball included:

Taking time to contemplate what is happening in nature is one of the many aspects of Northern Community Radio that sets us apart from any other radio station.  Each day we bring you a phenology note where our resident phenologist John Latimer shares a note from his journals of more than 35 years of climate and nature data collection.  Each Tuesday we dig even deeper with the full Phenology Report.  

Tuesdays are special at Northern Community Radio and when school is in session, we are even more jazzed than normal because in addition to hearing from our listeners, young phenologists across Minnesota call in their classroom phenology reports.  This week we heard from seven schools and the kids have been noticing caterpillars, snow, moon patterns, bear evidence and much, much more.  Listen to the links for all the good information! 

Last week we talked with Senator Tina Smith about the Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (MOMS) Act

The Minnesota Christmas Bird Count has a rich history dating back to the 6th count in 1905. Minneapolis and Red Wing were the locations of that first Minnesota census. The Minneapolis count was conducted by the Kenwood Bird Club, and recorded eight species, while the Red Wing Count - conducted by Charles Borgen and Nels Phillips - recorded seven.

This week we learn the Ojibwe word for winter BIBOON from our friends Natasha and Nana Boozhoo.  This audio and video podcast is created by Michael Lyons. 

In 2020 we will continue our coverage of elections and politics and government as it affects northern MN. 

Each week John and Heidi pull up a chair to one of our member’s kitchen tables and get to know them a little bit better. This week’s caller, Susanne of St. Mathias called in the middle of lefse-making before she even had her first cup of coffee.

Hear the whole conversation by clicking below.

Samuel Shem’s 1978 novel The House of God, has been called “one of the most important medical novels written.” Shem is hoping to foster change again in his follow-up novel, Man’s 4th Best Hospital. Best-selling author Ruta Sepetys' new book is called The Fountains of Silence, it’s a historical novel set in the 1950s Franco-era Madrid. Contributor Gary Rozman gives us his take on Stephen King's new book, The Institute. Lily Winter returns with another installment of Forgotten Authors--we’ll hear about Belgian writer George Simenon.

Marshall Helmberger fills us in on Tower City Government, the DNRs decision to do their own environmental review for the Twin Metals Project (proposed copper nickel mining near the Boundary Waters), the lack of pine grosbeaks at the feeder and 30 years of the Timberjay newspaper.