Category Archives: Uncategorized

Interview With Dr. Arne Vainio MM: Let’s start with some basics. You’re Finnish and Native American … AV: I’m 50% Finnish. I’m also 50% Ojibwe, also known as Anishinaabe. My paternal grandparents immigrated from Finland in the early 1900s. My … Continue reading →

(Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and Her Mary Murphy Dinner Quilt. Photo by Meredith Cornett.) I didn’t know Speaker Melissa Hortman well. I didn’t know her husband Mark at all. But over the past year, I got a glimpse of the … Continue reading →

INTERVIEW With KASEY KOSKI MM: Let’s start with the basics. Where were you born and where did you grow up? What, if any, Finnish language, cultural, art, and history influenced your early life? KK: I was born in L’Anse, MI … Continue reading →

I’m pleased to share with you my friends and Munger readers that my latest novel, published in September 2023, Muckraker, a Novel Noir, is now available through Minnesota libraries as an online read. You’ll find the book at:https://library.biblioboard.com/content/0cdaeb50-c61a-4bad-bfbb-c812aa51a804It’s another way … Continue reading →

  Recently, I had the great pleasure to conduct an interview with Ralph and Jaana Tuttila, two renowned Finnish American musicians about their efforts to preserve Finnish and Finnish American music and culture. Here’s the interview: MM: Ralph. Where did … Continue reading →

The year was 1993. My three oldest sons Matt, Dylan, and Chris (Jack had not yet been born), along with my wife René and I, were staying overnight in the Twin Cities on our way to visit friends in Chicago. … Continue reading →

(Back row: John McLoughlin, John Benson, Larry Paasch. Middle row: Rick Washburn. Front Row: Mike, Wayne Rikala, Pat Pufall.) By Mark Munger (c) 2025 Where to begin? I guess, at the beginning. Back in the mid-60s, a new family showed … Continue reading →

By Mark Munger (c) 2025 I was raised by my parents, church school teachers, and my Scout leaders to always look for the good in folks. Sometimes, that’s a difficult task. I’m one of those people who wears an electronic … Continue reading →

Most readers of this newspaper know that, as a non-Finn and a writer, I’m an affectionate Fennophile-a lover of all things Finnish. Long ago, as a kid growing up in NE MN surrounded by friends of Finnish background, I realized … Continue reading →

Paul Vesterstein leaving Europe at age 19. Note his suitcase includes his destination: “Duluth, USA.” Proud Estonian American, businessman, skier, and longtime mentor Paul “the Count” Vesterstein recently passed at the age of 96. I was asked by the family … Continue reading →