Low Water Levels and Campgrounds in N MN

John O'Leary, Headwaters Operations Manager of the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers, joined us on the Morning Show today to talk about the lack of rain this summer. June's rainfall amounts were 1-2 inches short of the average amount of precipitation. The Corp. has established summer operating bands for the dams at Leech Lake, Sandy Lake, Gull Lake, Lake Winnibigoshish and Pokegama.

The lake levels as of July 23rd are lower than normal -
Leech Lake/Federal Dam -4.8 inches
Sandy Lake/McGregor -4.6 inches
Gull Lake/Brainerd -3.6 inches
Lake Winnibigoshish/Deer River -2.3 inches
Pokegama/Grand Rapids -1.2 inches

In addition to tending dams which controls a watershed that covers an area of 4,535 square miles, the The Headwaters Lakes Project with the U.S Army Corp of engineers operates and maintains 6 recreation areas which include campgrounds including the Gull Lake Dam and Recreation Area near Brainerd, Minn.; Cross Lake Dam and Recreation Area in Crosslake, Minn.; Sandy Lake Dam and Recreation Area near McGregor, Minn.; Leech Lake Dam and Recreation Area in Federal Dam, Minn.; Pokegama Dam and Recreation Area in Grand Rapids, Minn.; and Winnibigoshish Dam and Recreation Area near Deer River, Minn.

Have you spent time at these recreation areas? Tell us about it!

Tomorrow's Morning Show

Tune in at 7:20 for the continuing story on Maggie's 100 Mile Diet. She'll talk with Chef Matt from Prairie Bay restaurant in Brainerd. He's made an effort to put as much local food on their menu as possible.

At 7:50 Maggie and Don Boese are talking with Associate Professor Ian Alexander Greaves. He'll be speaking at the Grand Rapids Area Library on Thursday night at 7pm. His topic is Mesothelioma and Mineral Fibers on the Iron Range.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking.

To date, there have been 145 deaths from mesothelioma on the Iron Range of Minnesota, including 58 Iron Range miners. Iron Rangers and elected officials are calling for the resignation of MN Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach. Many believe that information about deaths linked to mesothelioma was suppressed.

In March 2006, the MDH found out that 35 of the 58 workers had mesothelioma, but it did not release these statistics for a full year. The Minnesota United Steelworkers and eight lawmakers are urging the state legislature and the Attorney General to begin a criminal investigation into the delay. “It is unconscionable, unethical and probably criminal for a public agency to withhold information about a potential health risk to workers,” commented Bob Bratulich, Director of District No. 11 of the United Steelworkers, which represents many miners in the Iron Range. (Post Bulletin, June 19, 2007).

Dr. Greaves was a consultant on the mesothelioma study, and has publicly criticized the Department's decision to withhold the findings.

The talk is at the Grand Rapids Area Library at 7pm on Thursday, July 26th. It is free and open to the public.

Picture perfect day!

Last Saturday, the Mississippi River was alive with people and music! It was a near perfect day, with only a tiny blip of thunder and lightning at the end of Shannon Curfman's performance.

What did you think?

Anything we could do differently?

Tell us a story about your experience at the 91.7 KAXE 2007 Mississippi River Festival... whether you met people or ate 8 brats, tell us about your day with KAXE!

and THANKS for being there. You are definitely NOT square.

Next KAXE event: 10th annual Green Cheese picnic. Bring your photos and memories of past picnics. Starts at 5pm on Saturday August 25th. Be THERE or be SQUARE!

Chocolate Cake by Tucker Shaw by popular demand...

chocolate cake with white frosting

2 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs, room temp
2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 vegetable oil
3/4 c buttermilk
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 c boiling water
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray cooking spray into 2 9-inch round cake pans. Knock a little foour around in it and tap out the excess. Cut 2 rounds of parchment (baking) paper by tracing pans...Place each circle in the pans, first spraying each side.
Sift the first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, oil and buttermilk. Make a small well in the dry ingredients. Fill the well with the egg mixture. Add vinegar and mix well. Add the boiling water and stir well.

divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cake starts to come away from the sides of the pan. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn onto racks and cool for at least 2 hours

Frosting
1 box powdered sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla
3-4 Tbsp whole or evaporated milk
Beat together the sugar, butter and vanilla. Add the milk until you get the consistency you want: spreadable, but not runny.

to doctor it up: spread a layer of rapsberry jam on each cake layer while it is still cooling. frost over the top. .


What to drink with it: champagne. It's a party dammit!
p.s. we've got a copy of Gentlemen Start Your Ovens in the KAXE kitchen. Available for loans!!

Rock, Paper....WILL HALE!

Will Hale will be opening up the 3rd annual KAXE Mississippi River Festival tomorrow with his concert for kids. There will be lots of dancing, singing and air guitars on the premises. This part of the concert is free...so is the big jumpy thing for kids!

Gentlemen, start your ovens!

Tucker Shaw joined us this morning to talk about his book "Gentleman Start Your Ovens" Here's one of the recipes he talked about:

beer battered onion rings
1 c all purpose flour
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 can beer
2 cups Corn Chex
3 large yellow onions, sliced into 1/2 inch rings

preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, shiny side up. In a bowl whisk together first 5 ingredients, taste and doctor accordingly. Turn onto a plate. In a small bowl beat together egg and beer. Set aside. Turn the chex onto another plate. Working one onion ring at a time, dip into flour, tap off excess, dip into egg and finally into Chex mixture. Lay onion rings in a single layer on cooking sheet. mix together the left over egg mix and chex and pour over all rings. bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. And as Tucker says, "who's your fry daddy now?"

Arts in Northern Minnesota

On the Morning Show, we like to find out about the arts in our listening area - whether it's the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, the Crossings Art Alliance at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, Jacques Art Center in Aitkin, Ripple River Gallery in Deerwood or the Edge Center for the Arts in Bigfork. Scott and Maggie check in once a month or so with Lori Forshee-Donnay from the Bemidji Community Art Center about art happenings in the Bemidji area, including the Bemidji Sculpture Walk. Jamie Lynn Schrom, a student at BSU, made a documentary film and posted it to You Tube about the Bemidji Sculpture walk. Enjoy! And let us know if there are art happenings in your community!