MinneCulture | “You do not have to do this alone”: A History of Women’s Advocates

While answering the phones at St. Paul’s Legal Aid office in the early 1970s, a group of VISTA workers stumbled across an enormous problem. Call after call, women who suffered violence at home had no safe place to go with their kids. Despite the danger, VISTA workers brought families into their own homes. They formed the nonprofit Women’s Advocates and raised enough money to buy a house on Grand Avenue in St. Paul — one of the first shelters in the country for women fleeing domestic violence.

KFAI's MinneCulture · "Nothing is made for us to do alone": A History of Women's Advocates

Women’s Advocates is still in operation today. KFAI’s Michelle Bruch talked to some of the women who founded the shelter and some of the survivors who stayed there. Dissertation research by Amanda Jo Dennison contributed to this story.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

MinneCulture | Ecuador Manta brings music from the Andes to Minnesota

This Minnesota band has roots in the Andes mountains. Performing every night of the State Fair since the ’90s, Ecuador Manta plays traditional music from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

KFAI’s MinneCulture · Ecuador Manta brings music from the Andes to Minnesota

Their instruments include flutes made from bamboo and the charango, a guitar historically made with an armadillo shell. KFAI’s Michelle Bruch talked to the band about the Indigenous music that inspires them.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

MinneCulture | A More Humane Society

The history of the Animal Humane Society offers a jaw-dropping glimpse into Minneapolis life in the late 1800s. This was a time when horses struggled to pull loads up Lowry Hill and dogs at the pound were drowned in the Mississippi River. As part of a national movement, the humane society formed to prosecute cruelty to animals — and they prosecuted cruelty to children too. Investigating hundreds of cases, humane agents became the state’s first social workers and probation officers.

KFAI's MinneCulture · A More Humane Society

This episode of the MinneCulture podcast from Michelle Bruch traces Minnesota’s relationship to animals, from the workhorse era to the pandemic-puppy era. Photo courtesy of the Animal Humane Society.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

MinneCulture | Submerged history in the land of 10,000 lakes

Many archaeological sites lie undiscovered on the bottom of Minnesota lakes, according to Ann Merriman and Christopher Olson, co-founders of the nonprofit Maritime Heritage Minnesota. The husband-and-wife team from St. Paul scuba dives to identify wrecks in places like Lake Minnetonka, Crystal Lake and the Mississippi River.

KFAI's MinneCulture · Submerged history in the land of 10,000 lakes

With the help of volunteer divers, they’ve studied wrecks and artifacts that include dugout canoes, passenger steamboats, a chamber pot from a burned hotel, a homemade hydroplane and a surprising number of old cars. They monitor the USS Essex, a historic wooden Navy sailing ship that was decommissioned and sunk in Duluth. And they nominate wrecks to the National Register of Historic Places, including a barge in Wayzata Bay likely operated by James J. Hill. The couple has identified 151 Minnesota wrecks to-date, and they are still looking for more. KFAI’s Michelle Bruch spoke with Ann and Chris about exploring Minnesota history by scuba diving.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.

Logan Williams (left) and Marc Lashner on the North Shore

MinneCulture | Minnesota Slackliners Face their Fears

Slacklining is an extreme sport that Minnesotans practice a few feet off the ground between trees at Kenwood Park — and 200 feet in the air between cliffs at Tettegouche State Park. It can take months to master standing on a highline, years to walk without falling, and hundreds of tries to land a trick. It’s a sport best tackled with friends. That’s where Slackline Minnesota steps in, a three-year-old nonprofit that saw a surge in interest during the pandemic. The group meets at Twin Cities parks every week, sharing Rubbermaid tubs full of gear and posting details at slacklineminnesota.org and the facebook group MINNSLACK.

KFAI's MinneCulture · Minnesota Slackliners Face their Fears

The longest slackline in Minnesota, more than 1,000 feet long, crosses a decommissioned mine pit near Chisholm. A favorite destination is the North Shore, where slackliners camp together and walk the lines until sundown. KFAI’s Michelle Bruch spent time with slackliners near the Mississippi River in St. Paul to learn more about the sport.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.