Goodbye, Minnesota. MobileBooth West will miss you. We packed our bags this past week to arrive in Peoria, Illinois. Here is a list of what I brought along with meÖ

1. Minnesota Nice. Now I know what ‘Minnesota Nice’ really means. It’s a natural kindness. It’s in the air and it’s in a smile. There’s no feeling of obligation to reciprocate, although you often feel the urge to do so. Some examples of Minnesota Nice: eating venison at a Labor Day gathering, being in an appreciation circle at Circles of Support, going on a motorboat ride at Pokegama Lake, singing “Blowing in the Wind” to live guitar in the MobileBooth, and devouring a complimentary burger basket at a play about an old doo-wop group in The Reif Center.

Here are some photographs that will give you a taste of what Minnesota Nice is – smiles and generosity, lakes and long hikes – hopefully you can bring it into your own life, wherever you are:

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“Walking through the snow with half a shoe, searching for William Shakespeare.” - A Six Word Autobiography by B.J. Rolfzen.

Bob Dylan grew up as Robert Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minnesota – 30 minutes away from Grand Rapids. B.J. Rolfzen was his high school English teacher for 2 years. I went on a very special visit to B.J. Rolfzen’s home in Hibbing with Heidi Holtan of KAXE. (I brought the muffins.? Heidi brought the recording equipment). B.J. is well known around town for his long career as an English teacher and his special connection to Bob. He speaks annually at “Dylan Days,” a local event to celebrate the life of the musician.

B.J. remembers one of the rare visits Bob made to Hibbing several years ago. “I remember distinctly. He told me, ëYou’ve taught me everything I know.’ I dispute that. I’ve taught him half of what he knows.”

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Phenology: A branch of science dealing with the relations between climate and periodic biological phenomena.? Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

John Latimer has his Carhart logger jeans rolled up. He is taking me on a short nature hike up the Mississippi River, which runs in back of the MobileWest booth. John is a rural mail carrier in Grand Rapids, Minnesota who has been hosting The Phenology Show at KAXE for 25 years, collecting data about the natural world from classrooms and fellow observers. He gets people excited about what they see.

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There’s a mosaic sign at the mouth of a long dirt driveway that welcomes guests to “Rainbow Ranch.” Since 1995, Mary Lou Aurell and Patty Erven have lived on their self-titled ranch in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in a geodesic dome built from a kit.

“There are no square rooms here,” Patty says, as she walks barefoot through the carpeted house giving a tour. “This is Merlin,” she says, pointing to a ceramic wizard statue near the meditation alcove. “And this is the goddess room,” she says, gesturing to the upstairs bedroom.

In the gazebo, Patty talks about Arbo Lake, visible through the screen. “We own 15 acres of land and 2 acres of underwater.” The lake, which sprawls in front of Rainbow Ranch and a few other homes, is a non-meandering lake – which means that when you own the lakeshore, you also own the lake bottom.

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Even 8 watts and a dipole can take one far farther than we know, anytime we push that mike button. 5 miles, 500 miles, 5000 miles or 30 years, it can make time travel possible! -Bill Davis, QST magazine (December 2001)

Bill Davis and I sit at his kitchen table eating ice cream, peaches, and shortbread. Gizmo, the gray wide-eyed house cat sits comfortably on the floor. “Cats and radio seem to go together,” Bill says. When Bill is downstairs in “The Ham Shack,” the basement where he operates his amateur radio station, K0AWU, Gizmo sometimes sits on his lap.

A self-proclaimed ëtinkerer,’ Bill has built two radio towers that stand tall in the middle of milkweed, green beans, zucchini, and chives. “I only grow things that are okay if they’re trampled,” Bill’s wife Pat Davis says. “If there’s trouble, it’s up and down, up and down the towers.”

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We first met Heidi Holtan, Radio Producer at KAXE in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, after a long and scenic 3 day drive from Grand Junction, Colorado. We were just in time to see the Dahl’s Sunrise Dairy truck pull up to the radio station for its weekly milk drop off. Right now, I am enjoying a cup of 1% milk out of a glass bottle that has to be returned to the milkman next Wednesday.

Grand Rapids has a population of less than 8,000 people. There are over 100 volunteers at KAXE, a grassroots radio station in Northern Minnesota. KAXE used to be located at a local college, but has moved to a beautiful one-level building designed by an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. The kitchen is the best part, featuring bright green walls, a bottomless coffee pot, and the largest collection of communal Tupperware I have ever seen.

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