2016: Hitting The Highlights

2016 had ups and downs for me.  It was a year of personal growth that saw landmark events in my life as well as some letdowns that thankfully didn't stop me from where I am trying to get to down the road.  I also some personal spiritual growth and met lots of new people, which are two goals I've been adhering to since 2014.

Below are some highlights from the past calendar year, including pictures and a brief description of why it was so special to me.  They are not ranked in order of importance, but rather just tossed out in order of the calendar year (January-December)

January: Emily Larson Interview Article

In November of 2015, Emily Larson made local headlines and history when she became the first female mayor of Duluth, MN.  There have been countless newspaper articles and blog posts written about her election and plans for her first few months to years in office, and I had the opportunity to write one myself.  To check it out, follow this link

February: Laskianen Basketball Game Broadcasts

When I was young my family would always head to a local Finnish Heritage Festival  in Palo, MN known as Laskianen, which involved sliding down an iced hill on a sled as well as several traditional meals and sports.  I never thought I'd see myself broadcasting the basketball games that take place there on Saturday night, but in December of last year I decided to take on the challenge, and off I went.  Thankfully I was able to get permission to carry this out, and over ten interviews, four guest co-anchors, and eighty minutes of game later we had the highest-rated Free Range Sports broadcast to date and so many personal connections, as well as a deeper connection to the festival as a whole. While I won't be doing the broadcast in 2017, I hope to maybe do it again in about twenty to thirty years with the next generation of "old timers" and alumni.

March: Virginia HS Jr. High Semiformal

March was a slow month in general for me this year, but there was one highlight, and that was getting to meet the fun duo that is Sam Sondergaard and Charles GreyOwl.  I was all set to DJ a dance that night and honestly was not expecting at all that we would become such great friends so quickly.  By the end of the night after we had stood outside the Virginia HS for over an hour after loadup it seemed like we had known each other for quite some time, and three more gigs, a bunch of Halls Cough Drops, some Rockstar Lemonades (now one of my favorite drinks) nine Holiday Stationstore Burritos, and a bunch of music and dancing later, we have become a group known as "The Three Musketbeers".  Hopefully we'll do another gig someday....

April: Speech Sections

Speech was something I started doing in 11th grade, as Cherry didn't have a Speech Team before that. I managed to place 4th in my respective categories at Subsections both years, which, if you don't count the Ely meet from when I was in Storytelling (placed 2nd out of 2), is the highest I've ranked in my categories.  While I wasn't able to continue to Sections last year, this year I was, and I even made it into the Final Round.  Sadly, nervousness got the better of me and I did end up placing 7th, but when you think about, for someone who's not all that competitive like me, that's a pretty big accomplishment right there, and finally having a reason to talk in numerous accents was so great!

May: Ely Spring Showcase Broadcast

In late May I hunkered down in an all-metal press box that was very warm and quite open to the noise coming from around the bleachers that were below it, and proceeded to broadcast nine baseball games over two days for Free Range Sports.  During this weekend extravaganza I talked to quite a few baseball players from the teams that participated and had an opportunity to spend some time with the Cherry Baseball Team over breakfast on Saturday.  Excluding the burnt out taillights I discovered after getting pulled over in the downtown area Friday night it was a great weekend!

June: Graduation

After eight years at Cotton and six at Cherry I was finally able to put on the black gown and cap, say a few words about life after graduation, watch my amazing class advisor put humor into his speech, and then walk out of the big gym as a student for the last time.  Thank you all for the outpouring of support and encouragement that followed graduation it was a blessing!

July: Storybook Lodge

Every Summer I escape life for a few weeks to go counsel at Storybook Lodge, a Christian camp in Biwabik, MN.  This year I was able to go there with instruments in hand and play with the musicians and have my first week as a Senior Counselor.  SBL is fun in that while you're laughing and joking around with fellow counselors or working to develop something for campers to watch during a later part of the day, all of us on the campground are developing a personal relationship with Christ, which truly puts the cherry on top and serves as the foundation of all the time you are able to spend there.  I was also able to become a camp sponsor in September, and it has really heightened the experience for me thus far. 

August: My Time With Northern Community Radio Begins

A random search in late April for radio stations that take volunteers led me to Northern Community Radio. I took the volunteer training in May and did a shadow session on July 25th before doing my first solo show on July 29th, but it was in August that things really started to take off for me with hosting On The River.  Since July, I have hosted the show fifteen times in four different time slots, most often Friday nights, and I am absolutely loving the career experience.  This opportunity has also led to so much music discovery, easily four to five times as much as I usually do in a third of a year as a matter of fact.  I hope to keep appearing on air on this station for as long as possible. For those of you who are considering possibly taking this on, give it a try it's really fun once you know what to do.

September: NDSU's Aquatic Center

It is so nice to have a pool and jacuzzi that's only a five minute walk from where you live.  I absolutely love coming here and wish I could make it more often.

October: The Taco Bell Slushee Run

On a Friday night in October I was able to head out in search of icees with several friends from the house lounge in search of icees, because as a gas station promotional sign once said, it's always nicee for an icee.  After stopping at Holiday and not being very lucky we rolled over to Taco Bell, where we hit the jackpot.  It was a half hour full of laughs on a night that sorely needed them, and they went great with the pizza I had just ordered.

November: Bemidji Day

The day after Thanksgiving this year my family met up with me in Bemidji to spend an afternoon together. It was the first time seeing Walid in two and a half years, and we clicked instantly, which was great.  We toured the KBXE studio, checked out the mall, ate at Giovanni's Pizza, and took pictures with the statues in the Lakeside Park.  Sadly we missed the Christmas lights that were up when I came to host On The River a week later, but it was still great to spend time with family and just kick back for a day.  The five hour roundtrip from Fargo to Bemidji is always worth it, even in a snowstorm, and on this day that opinion was especially true.

December: Home For The Holidays AND Hosting A Christmas Show For On The River

My recent trip home saw me connecting with several long lost friends as well as ones that I don't see all the time now that I'm out in Fargo.  There were cultural experiences, a lot of driving, some great music, and some nice presents.  Christmas was pretty neat this year.

It was also great to return to the KAXE Studio in Grand Rapids, where I hadn't been since August, and do two shows from the studio where it all started.  I also had the honor of hosting a show with all Christmas music and it was so much fun.  You can catch in the archives through next Friday at kaxe.org

What were your favorite memories from 2016?  Sound off in the comments!