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Runestone, Volstead and McDougalls on Postcards March 17

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Kensington runestone
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Download a photo of the Kensington runestone.

 

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Pioneer PBS’s Postcards program will feature stories about the Kensington Runestone at the Runestone Museum in Alexandria, the Andrew Volstead House in Granite Falls and the artwork of Jay and Cindy McDougall of Fergus Falls. The program will be released on Thursday, March 17 at noon. The stories will also be available for online viewing through the station’s website: www.pioneer.org/postcards and YouTube Channel.

The Kensington Runestone is Minnesota's greatest mystery. Who left this carved monument to a Viking expedition in a field outside of Kensington? And what does it all mean? To get to the bottom of this mystery, Postcards traveled to the Runestone Museum in Alexandria to interview Janey Westin, a stone carver, and Amanda Seim, executive director of the museum. The segment was edited by Mike Scholtz of Duluth.

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Download a photo of Andrew Volstead

Pioneer PBS Videographer and Editor Dylan Curfman produced the next segment of the Postcards program featuring the Andrew Volstead house in Granite Falls. Volstead was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 10 times between 1903–1923 as a member of the Republican Party. He was a proponent of the Volstead Act, the enabling legislation of Prohibition in the United States beginning in 1920. He also is known for the Capper Volstead Act  which enabled farmers to form cooperatives without fear of prosecution under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

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Download a photo of Jay and Cindy McDougall

Self-employed artists Jay and Cindy McDougall of Fergus Falls are each other’s best salesman and critics. Postcards traveled to their home to get a glimpse of their artistic process. Cindy fabricates natural material, salvaged metal and sterling silver designs that appear in juried art shows across the country. Jay only works with hardwood trees that have fallen near his studio in rural Minnesota. His works are carved from single blocks of material and involve no glue-ups, joinery or lathe-work.

About Postcards   The award-winning Postcards program is produced by Dana Conroy with videography and editing by Kristofor Gieske and Ben Dempcy. The program is made possible by contributions from the voters of Minnesota through a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Production sponsors for the program include Shalom Hill Farm, Explore Alexandria Tourism, the Lake Region Arts Council and KRAM 96.7.

About Pioneer PBS

Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit: www.pioneer.org.