May Lor Xiong is running for the US House in CD4.

She’s also an author!

Here’s today’s music list:

She’s also an author!

Check out Bill Glahn’s reporting on Feeding Our Future.

Today’s music list:

Thanks as always to Brad for letting me sit in!

TC Pearson was here on behalf of “Defend the Guard” and “Bring the Troops Home”. His podcast is The Black Robe Regiment.

And here’s the music for today’s show:

Wanna piss off Erin Maye Quade? Donate to Pre-Born today!

Catch up with AK Kamara here.

And today’s song list:

To get in touch with the Minneapolis GOP BPOU, go here, or email at info@mplsgop.org.

And here’s today’s music list:

Alex Plechash is running for RNC National Committeeman. If you’re a state central delegate and want to find out more, we gotcha right here.

Marisa Simonetti is running for Henco Commission in District 6. If you live in the district, or know someone who does, Tuesday is election day.

And of course, today’s music list:

Go here to find out more about United We Transform.

And don’t forget Clarence Henderson – of the Woolworth Lunch Counter sit-in – will be keynoting the “Justice For Our Generations” event at Shiloh Baptist in North Minneapolis tomorrow.

And here’s today’s music:

We talked about A Nation of Cowards by Jeffrey Snyder. It’s one of the things that crystalliized why I’m a Second Amendment advocate.

And of course, Senator Nicole Mitchell, the most important politican in Minnesota today, was the subject of hour 1.

Finally – today’s show was pre-recorded, because I was at the Gun Owners Rally at the Capitol. Hope you were too. Either way, if you’re not a member of the MN Gun Owners Caucus, what are you waiting for?

Oh, yeah – song list:

Marisa Simonetti is a conservative running for Hennepin County Commission. She’s got a solid shot. Find out more on the web or Twitter.

Taylor Rahm is running for the GOP nomination to run against Angie Craig in CD4 Find out more here.

And of course, here’s the music list.

Find out more about Ralph Drollinger’s “Capitol Ministries” here.

Here’s today’s music list.

I was trying to remember how long it’d been since I [1] last threw an “alt-media” party. The semiannual Minnesota Organization of Bloggers parties were not just a regular feature of our annual calendar, but among the social highlights of my personal calendar during the MOB’s . We did them generally twice a year – but the last one was almost 11 years ago.

At their twice-a-year peak, we drew 120 people; bloggers, blog readers, NARN fans, even some leftybloggers and members of the MSM.

When the NARN celebrated it’s 10th anniversary in 2014, I joked about getting a tenth anniversary party together – but it never happened. Partly because the NARN had evolved from a big group show to 2-3 guys at any given time. Partly because the blogging community that had been such a vital dynamic achievement in the 2000s had been supplanted by social media, and by everyone’s real lives.

Anyway – the last party was 11 years ago.

Jack, Brad and I figured it was high time we fixed that. And Saturday night, at long last we did.

The NARN 20th anniversary party was last Saturday night. Jack, Brad and I, following the formula for responses I remembered from the MOB days, expected maybe 30 people. The total through the door was somewhere north of 60 – with 50 in the room at one point.

“The room” was at Exchange Food and Drink in New Brighton – a great venue with fantastic food and some honest pours. They also expected maybe 30 people (because that’s what I’d told them), so the one water covering the party room was scrambling like Fran Tarkenton (kids, ask your parents). But he pulled it off. I’ll try to be less modest next time – and. if you’re looking for a lovely place for a party, a date or lunch with your co-workers, I recommend 10/10.

Anyway – it was a fantastic time. And I realized how much I missed throwing these kinds of get-togethers. My life has been poorer for lack of them, and it’s not a mistake I’m going to make again. There will be another.

More later!

[1] and my various colleagues, of course – Brian and Chad and the guys way back when, Brad and Jack today.

Today’s song list:

And I hope you can join Jack, Brad, a few dozen of our closest friends and I tonight at Exchange Food and Drink in New Brighton, 7 PM until we finish or 10PM, whichever comes first!

Interested in pushing back on HF4444, which will increase the cost of building contracting by 50-75%? Contact Bill Gshwind at MNCLS.com, or 651-484-4412. And if you need a roof, give Dan Lillestol at 952-479-7131.

And here’s today’s song list:

May Lor Xiong is running for the US House in CD4. She could use your help.

Here’s the link for the NARN 20th Anniversary Party.

And here’s today’s music list:

I’ve told the story so many times, I sometimes wonder if the details have gotten burnished in the re-telling.

Many of the things in my life that actually worked out, started as offhanded, sarcastic, frustrated or intoxicated jokes. My move to the city, my career, this blog…

…and, in 2003, the kind of “what the heck, why not?” vibe that caused me to send an email to the other principals of the “Northern Alliance of Blogs” and ask “Why not try to do a talk radio show?”

The answer was…well, “find the opportunity, and we’ll think about it”. I can’t imagine how far out of left field the idea must have sounded to the rest of the guys – John Hinderaker and Scott Johnson of Powerline, Brian and Chad and Atomizer and JB Doubtless from Fraters Libertas, Ed Morrissey then of Captain’s Quarters, King Banaian of SCSU Scholars, and – trivia alert – a husband and wife pair of lawyers from a short-lived blog called Spitbull whom Hugh Hewitt had added to the NAoB in a frenzy of solicitousness, who weren’t interested in doing the show, and whose names I can’t even begin to remember.

So on Halloween 2003, we met with AM1280 – and to my amazement, they were interested. On January 23, 2004, at a get-together with Hugh Hewitt at the long-defunct Billy’s Lighthouse in Wayzata, we got the formal go-ahead.

And 20 years ago today, the Northern Alliance Radio Network did its first show.

It was a very different production back then: I was the only one who’d done radio (other than King Banaian’s stint as a college radio jock), so I served as more of a traffic cop to keep people from stepping on each other’s lines and prevent the pandemonium that’s usually inevitable with these sorts of group shows.

It has, of course, morphed a lot over the years:

• Atomizer left after one segment. JB, after a couple of months. Scott Johnson, after ten months.
• In 2006, we morphed into two shows – Brian, Chad and John took two hours, King and Ed and I the next two.
• Shortly after, King and Michael Brodkorb split away to do a 3-5PM show on Saturdays.
• In 2010, King moved to our at-the-time Business station to focus on economics radio and run for office, surviving a ludicrous campaign finance accusation in the process. The show moved with the Business format to AM1440 sometime since then.
• In 2011, Michael left to take the Senate Communications Director Job. Chad, Brian and John departed, and Brad Carlson joined the lineup on Sundays.
• In 2012, Ed Morrissey left to pursue a solo project. No idea what happened to him.
• And finally, in 2021, Jack Tomczak joined from 3-5 Saturdays.

And it’s funny how talking about events nearly every weekend makes it harder to see the slow crawl of history around you. Brad pointed out on his show on Sunday, it’s hard to imagine how much the landscape in Minnesota has changed since the show started.

In 2004:

• RT Rybak was mayor of Minneapolis, and seemed “far left”. The MInneapolis City Council was divided between union guys and “Greens”.
• Randy Kelly was mayor of Saint Paul. The Saint Paul city council still had people with private sector experience on it. There was still an elected Republican office-holder, Tom Conlon, on the School Board.
• Minnesota’s congressional delegation included five Democrats and three Republicans.
• CD7 was Collin Peterson. One could see the district flipping red, maybe – but only when he left office.
• CD8 was Jim Oberstar. Thoughts that CD8 would even become a close race were pure madness.
• Tim Pawlenty was governor, having eked out a win against Roger Moe and Tim Penney.
• North Dakota’s congressional delegation was Democrat – rural moderates like Peterson – who seemed likely to continue the dynasty.
• Texas and Florida, we were reliably informed, were going to flip Democrat. It was inevitable.
• Minneapolis was a great city. Saint Paul was hanging in there.
• The “Blue Line” was under construction. The Green Line was lurking in the future.
• “Murderapolis” was a memory ten years in the past. Minneapolis was a very safe city by major urban standards.

And writing that list, right there, was the first time in 20 years I thought “daaaaaamn. Thinks really have changed.

Anyway – I have to thank the whole crowd of people who made it possible:

• Four rounds of General Managers – John Hunt who agreed to put us on the air in the first place, Ron Stone, Nik Anderson and, now, Mike Murphy.
• Four “Operations Managers” – Pat Campion, who got us in the door, Nick Novak, Lee Michaels and, now, John “The Consigliere” Berg, who is no relation but was the NARN producer for a bit.
• And of course, all the producers. There’ve been a bunch – I can’t pretend to remember all the names, but Joe Hansen, Irina Malanina, Matt Reynolds, Megan Fatale, Terminator N, Tommy Huynh (who now sings in Elephant in the Room), The Consigliere and G-Money were all notable .

And if you’re so inclined, the 20th Anniversary party is coming up on April 6th at Exchange Food and Drink in New Brighton. I haven’t thrown a party since the last MOB event in probably 2013, so it’s about high time to retire the running joke that the 10th Anniversary party is coming soon…

Hope see you there.

And thanks for tuning in all these years!

Here’s the online documentary about the DFL’s war on religious freedom in Minnesota

And this is the mini-documentary about the DFL’s attack:

And here’s todays’ music list

Today’s music list:

My piece on Ilhan Omar and the dueling translations.

Also, the piece on Buddy Holly I talked about.

And of course, today’s music:

Today’s music:

I recorded an “evergreen” Christmas Weekend broadcast. Merry Christmas!

Here’s the song list:

Anna Matthews joined me to talk about Cynthia Lonnquist’s race to replace Ruth Richardson in MN HD 52B.

Interested in helping out? Write “info@mngop.com”, or join them Sunday morning at 10AM at the McDonald’s at Dodd and Crosstown.

Today’s song list.

From yesterday’s show:

Liz Collin and the Fall of Minneapolis.

Also – condolences to the family of Mark Rice, aka “Mark from Saint Louis Park”, a long-time regular caller, and one of the few that the producers were told to always let on the air, because he always added great stuff to the show.

More on Monday.

Today’s music list:

John Augustine is with the Legislative Evaluation Assembly.

Charles Kuchlenz is the Libertarian candidate to replace Ruth Richardson in MN HD52b.

Song list:

Mike Casey is running for the GOP nomination in CD4.

Jim Schulz, former MN Attorney General candidate, is with the Minnesota Private Business Council.

And here’s today’s music list: