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University of Massachusetts Press, Macmillan, Bloomsbury
Books featured on the "KAXE Morning Show" on June 11, 2026, include "Summers at the Saint," "Theo of Golden" and "The Nightingale."
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“Heartache, there’s nothing you can do.”

The opening song on the new album from Duane Betts is steeped in grief. The intense and immense hole left in your being after losing a parent, spouse, friend or child is unimaginable. Betts has captured that in the lead track, “Heartache.”

The album is made up of songs he wrote after losing his dad, Dickey Betts, founder of the Allman Brothers Band. While the lead song has a vulnerability and deep sadness,“Reckless” and “Pills and Liquor” touch on Betts struggle with addition, retrospection and quiet in “Silver Afternoon,” and slices of straight Southern rock with “Down to Houston,” “Manatee River” and “Keep My Hands Clean.”

Vulnerability is at the core of Isle of Hope with Betts revealing more of himself to listeners with each song. -Kari Hedlund
Latest Stories
Both state flags now flying behind Itasca County offices
The county avoided buying new flag poles by flying the current and former Minnesota flags on poles that were previously used for a memorial.
Blackduck eliminates police department, contracts with Beltrami County
The formal move on June 8, 2026, follows discussion on the perpetual vacancies and rising costs of operating a rural police force.
Red Lake County 2nd in baseball state tournament; South Ridge 4th
The Rebels entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and defending champions. South Ridge, Grand Rapids and Aitkin also competed in the tournament.
Motorcycle crash kills Saginaw man in rural St. Louis County
The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office identified William Helgemoe, 56, as the rider killed on Industrial Road on June 12, 2026.
Fresh Picks: Southern rock, Cree neo-soul, no-skip folk, MN country, Anatolian funk and Blondie in '76
The KAXE Music Team on new music from Duane Betts, LOV, Bella White, Greg Mendez, Molly Brandt, Sosyete '25, Crooked Fingers, and Blondie's debut from '76.
MN resumes payments to most Medicaid providers; Online hate still swirls year after MN assassinations
And: COVID learning woes still haunt MN kids' well-being.
ICE detains workers in Bemidji; GOP Reps. call for Walz, Ellison resignations
And: A McGregor gas station was fined by the state Pollution Control Agency; the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission was given a transportation award; and Red Lake County will defend its baseball title Monday.
Vance demands DOJ conduct probe of Walz, Ellison
The demand comes after the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee released a report that said Walz and Ellison ignored rampant fraud in the state’s social service programs.
DL girls golf wins team, individual championships; Brainerd boys 1st
Almost 90 Northland students competed at the state golf tournament June 9-10, 2026, around the Twin Cities.
ICE detains 'several' workers from at least 1 Bemidji job site
The number of detainees has not been confirmed. Bemidji police and Beltrami sheriff's deputies did not take part, leaders say. Some community members gathered to protest.
Families displaced by apartment fire near Bemidji; Vance Boelter pleads guilty in federal case
And: A missing Alexandria woman found alive in mud puddle near Backus; a nature-based early learning center opens in Coleraine; and Brainerd boys and Detroit Lakes girls are state golf champions.
The unsettling sounds of porcupines lull listener to sleep
Charlie Mitchell and Heidi Holtan laugh about porcupine sounds, learn about skinks, and delve into the nesting habits of robins.Send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!
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With The Setlist, KAXE's Music Team curates the best live music to catch each week across Northern Minnesota and beyond.
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Lorie Shaull via Flickr
During the Phenology Report for the week of June 9, 2026 Staff Phenologist John Latimer remarks on fledging robins, flowering plants, and turtles crossing the road.
Stay up to date on what's happening up north with KAXE/KBXE News, bringing you the top stories across Northern Minnesota.

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