Julie Crabb and John Latimer are not just KAXE celebrities.
Before she was a beloved voice on KAXE's Saturday night trivia show Green Cheese, Julie Crabb was a rural mail carrier. On her daily route, she delivered letters, observed nature and tuned in to the left end of the dial. KAXE kept her company on the quiet roads of Meadowlands, just as it did for fellow carrier and Staff Phenologist John Latimer.
“There was a time,” Julie recalled on a recent KAXE Morning Show, “when my radio didn’t work. So I brought along a little transistor just to make sure I could still hear KAXE.”
Her route was long and often remote, but the voices and music from the station made her feel connected. It wasn’t long before she heard Scott Hall on the air asking for volunteers. “And here I’ve been ever since,” she said with a laugh.
John also found KAXE when he was traversing the back roads of Northern Minnesota, kicking up dirt on gravel roads — noticing not just the letters and packages he delivered, but what nature had to offer. What started with a Tuesday morning conversation has now become a statewide Phenology network of people of all ages connecting and learning about changing nature.
Julie and John swapped stories of what it meant to slow down and to witness the world closely. Whether marveling at a moose, a frozen lake, or a cow giving birth in a snowy field, KAXE was a steady companion, just like those daily drives. And today, it remains that companion for thousands across Northern Minnesota.
In the face of KAXE and all public media's federal funding cuts, the companionship that local, non-corporate public radio provides is at risk. But listeners like you are stepping up.
As one donor from Cotton wrote, “All we had was our little radio, and we quickly found KAXE. We’d all be poor without you.” Another from Hackensack said, “Stay strong. You are an amazing part of the Northwoods.”
A donor from Orr said, "Keep on keeping on for at least another 50 years. KAXE is my contact for real, unbiased news. The music is mind expanding. Thanks good people for all the amazing content."
Help keep this essential connection alive. Keep KAXE on the air, on back roads, in cabins and across communities.
KAXE is people-powered radio. We can keep it alive for generations to come with your support now.
Call 218-326-1234 or give at kaxe.org.
You can hear the full conversation with Julie and John above!
What's your KAXE story? Let us know!
