Sex is an odd thing. It’s seemingly everywhere, and yet you can’t really talk about it. One group has been performing sex positive and informative sketches, scenes, and improv to de-stigmatize sex and empower people to embrace their physical and sexual autonomy.
KFAI’s Matthew Schneeman explores the ways that we do and don’t talk about sex in this story.
Jaida Grey Eagle is an Oglala Lakota photographer focusing on the lives and stories of people of color in the Twin Cities and beyond. As a photojournalist, her work empowers local communities through representation. Her fine art celebrates Native women while intertwining the personal stories of her subjects with greater themes of history and traditional culture.
Jaida has been researching Native photographers, past and present, in preparation for an exhibition that she is curating at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. KFAI’s Ben Heath spoke to Jaida about her work and the upcoming show.
Visit jaidagreyeagle.com to see more of Jaida’s photography
Special thanks to Bazille for the music, check out baztk.com for more.
Mudluk Pottery Studio is more than just a place for making pots. The new South Minneapolis art center is a place for healing, sanctuary, and building community. With classes, a membership model, public events, and a gallery boasting the talent of self taught artists, Mudluk is a place for communities to come together and find fellowship, growth, and resilience.
Mudluk’s three founders are deeply rooted in community and arts education. Founders Sayge Carroll, Keegan Xavi, and Katrina Knutson are exploring ways that the arts can support community. KFAI’s Sheila Regan spoke with the founders about their vision for their new space on Bloomington Avenue and Lake Street.
Zaylore Stout (he/him) is a gay, African American attorney and author of “Our Gay History in Fifty States.” He was inspired to write “Our Gay History” while he was on a cross country road trip. Passing through Laramie, WY, he was reminded of Matthew Shepard, the gay student who was tortured and left to die in Laramie in 1998. Stout wanted to honor Shepard and other queer Americans throughout history.
“Our Gay History in Fifty States” is an award-winning illustration of queer American history on a state by state basis. Zaylore is currently working on his second book, “Our Black History in Fifty States.” KFAI’s Dixie Treichel spoke with Zaylore about his work and some of the Minnesotans who most inspire him.
Nostalgia can be hard to pin down. What exactly makes something feel old school? What makes it feel like you’re ‘stepping back in time’?
In South Minneapolis, Tom’s Popcorn Shop has that effect. The store has a retro 60’s-esque logo and an old school candy shoppe feel. But reporter Matthew Schneeman found the biggest element may just be Tom himself.
Lucha libre is a style of Mexican wrestling that blends acrobatics, combat, and classic narrative tropes of good and evil to engage audiences. One local company, Rudos Promotions, brings lucha libre to northeast Minneapolis once a month. They also provide training to new wrestlers during the week.
Owner Jesus De La Torre hopes to inspire the next generation of luchadores in Minnesota. KFAI’s Julie Censullo spoke with De La Torre and some of his wrestlers in today’s story.
Emerald Ash Borer has forced the city of Minnetonka foresters to remove or treat more than 60,000 ash trees. This leaves a huge surplus of cut branches and logs. Currently, metro-area cities pay a fee to ship their extra mulch to a dump site.
But anyone who has seen the price of lumber lately might wonder: why wouldn’t a city try to make use of these surplus ash logs? KFAI’s Timothy Foss visited some Minnetonka foresters at their new sawmill to learn how they are doing just that.
“The fur trade,” as it is commonly referred, was a period of cultural and economic exchange between Native Americans and European Americans, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. As the pages of history were put down, one aspect that was continually overlooked is the role women played at home, in the woods, and throughout many aspects of life during the fur trade. The simple truth is that Indigenous women actively contributed to the success of the North American fur trade, according to Karl Koster, a Minnesota historian who specializes in the history of the iconic fur trade.
In this MinneCulture In-Depth feature, KFAI contributor Joe Friedrichs explores the role of women during the fur trade as told through the lens of a Grand Marais woman, Laura Powell Marxen. Laura continues to trap and sell fur on Minnesota’s North Shore, much like her great-grandmother, Mary Ottertail, did in the early 1900s near what is now the end of the Gunflint Trail.
Image by Joe Friedrichs.
