Latest / Being Minnesotan / Episode 1: Birth and Beginnings
Transcript
- Bryan Clapper: Hey. Hey Brian. You want to start a podcast? Why? Because I feel like everybody has one now. That's true. That's true. ⁓ what should it be about? How about woodworking? Absolutely not. Okay. Taylor Swift. No. Minnesota. But how do we start? Like this. Welcome to Being Minnesotan, the pod show for people who think they look good in flannel and the friends and family who are too polite to tell them the truth. In this episode, we're talking about the birth of the Minnesota State Park System, hearing from an emerging singer-songwriter on a heartfelt birthday message, and finding out what it's like to be late to your own birth. This is episode one with your hosts Emiline Childs and Brian Clapper. All right, so here we are. Here we are at Being Minnesota. And we did it. W sort of. We have just barely started. It's true. Yeah. It's true. You really brought me down a notch there. You were all excited because you thought we were done. This is whatever we want to make it. We can just have fun. Yeah. And I feel like we have so many models of other podcasts that we could be following, but I'd really like to just kind of wing it and do our own thing. Yeah. I was wondering, do we have a studio with air conditioning somewhere? No, we do not. ⁓ ⁓ did we agree on that? No. I thought you were gonna say yeah, Emma. We sat down and we both talked about how we wanted to actually be out. We talked about everything other than what are we gonna do when it's ninety degrees out on a Sunday morning. I'm also thinking this is going to hurt us in January. This this could be interesting also. I think it could be fun. Well, you know. What you think is fun I think sounds really cold. There's nothing more Minnesotan than freezing your ass off and complaining about the weather. Apparently it's also sweating your ass off. Yes. Yes. Which we are definitely doing today. Cannot wait for October. So I would hope that every episode would feel like it has a central theme. Yeah. And I thought since it's the first episode, nothing fits better than like birth and beginnings. A hundred percent. And I think that we have so many wonderful, beautiful stories here in Minnesota. I'm really excited to share that with people. Mm-hmm. It's more than just us talking. We want to share our beautiful state and the people of our state and the experiences of our state with each other, but also with everybody. There's so there's so many great things here. You know, I have a theory that has been sort of central to my social media presence. Okay. Which is that Minnesotans don't like talking about ourselves, but we love it when other people talk about us. So true. Yeah. That is we love attention. So we are going to take the role of bragging about our state. On behalf of everybody else. Yes. I think we can do that. Yeah. I feel like we're gonna be really good at We're both good at that. Yeah. Yes. So with the theme being birth and beginnings, I want to know how you got your start in social media and content creation. I was really bored during quarantine. You remember quarantine? Yes. Six years ago. Yep. I picked up my phone, I made a video, I really just had fun with it. It was creative. I got to have, you know, I got to do something where I connected with the outside world from inside quarantine. and it just took off from there. Wow, the first one? No. No. But it went pretty quickly. Okay. ⁓ I I was able to get a couple of viral videos within the first month or two. ⁓ I actually used to do a ton of lives. I used to go live all the time. Yeah. ⁓ and that was a really fun way for me, like I said, to get to connect with people. And ⁓ it just went from there and then I started Just making content about everyday life. Like it used to be silly little bits and I still will do those from time to time, but now I just talk about life and a lot of my life is here in Minnesota. And so this I'm really excited about to get to add this to the repertoire. ⁓ but what about you? How did you start? ⁓ well I was not bored during COVID because I had two young kids I was trying to keep, you know, out of daycare. Yes. ⁓ but ⁓ Little over a year ago I got really bored with the real estate content I had been making and so I decided I'm just gonna have fun with it. If it doesn't work out, I'll get out of real estate altogether and do something else. ⁓ but it did work. Yeah. And you were already an established content creator when I started making stuff. Been around for a minute. Yes. ⁓ and maybe one of the first Minnesota content creators that I kinda connected with and talked to. And y you were like very kind about like this is the process, this is what you need to do and ⁓ I just when I started thinking through like next steps and other things I wanted to do, yeah. Getting back to my journalism roots and doing something ⁓ with a podcast was natural and I reached out to you and you were like game for it right. It was the quickest yes. I didn't have to talk you into it, which is awesome. Yeah. I mean, is d wanting to do a show or something bigger than quick social media videos has been something I've wanted to do for a long time. But knowing especially your love for Minnesota, your production skills, like the qual you you you have high standards for what you do. ⁓ and that really excited me. And I think together we're gonna have a lot of fun showcasing what we know and love about this state. Well, and now that you've set the bar so high for the production standards, there there's nowhere to nowhere to go but down. So thank you for that. My pleasure, Brian. My pleasure. I'm not too worried. I I I Have really high hopes and I think the first episode we put together is really good. I do. I'm really proud of it. Yeah. I think what we're even though you haven't seen a second of yet. I haven't seen any of it. This is the first thing that we're shooting. Yeah, absolutely not. It is, yes. Yeah. One hundred percent. So as we do these episodes, what do we want them to look like? What what can our audience expect? So I'm an old school NPR nerd. I'm a new school NPR nerd. Okay. This American life was like my jam. Yeah. Right. David Sederis doing his funny essays. ⁓ th the the whole production around a central theme every week was like the standard that I was shooting for. Yeah. And I think that I brought that idea to you and you kind of took it and like grew upon the idea to ⁓ to to make it something that really is our own and I'm I'm excited about it. So I think we wanna have a central conversation each episode, right? Yep. But then also some segments that feel like interludes or ⁓ feel like something special that are that are, you know, sort of an extra little bonus item in each episode. Yeah, I think it's gonna give us the freedom to showcase such a huge variety of things to do it this way, but having that central theme is gonna be really fun. It's gonna be fun to see what we can come up with, the people that we meet, ⁓ the different themes that we can come up with. I'm I'm really excited about this. Well with that being said, should we ⁓ get to the first segment? I think we should. Okay. The Mighty Mississippi, the second longest river in the country and the largest by drainage flow, rises from humble beginnings in northern Minnesota before touching 10 different states on its way to the Gulf of Mexico and serves as the watershed for parts or all of 32 states and two Canadian provinces. Its importance to our state's history and economy cannot be overstated. And since we're talking about beginnings in this episode, it's the ideal subject for our first conversation. Joining us is Sandra Lichter, an interpretive naturalist at Itasca State Park, just north of Park Rapids. Thank you so much for joining us. We are so glad to have you with us today. Thank you for having me. So I would love to start by getting to know a little bit more about you. If you could tell us a little bit about yourself. And also include how you landed in Minnesota, if you're from here or you came here later. ⁓ I have to say I'm not originally from Minnesota. I grew up in Iowa. That's okay. I know. It's always a topic of conversation. but yes, I grew up on a small family farm in central Iowa. ⁓ and honestly, I never really spent much of time growing up up in Minnesota. But my senior year of high school, my parents Decided to take my younger sister and I. They said, Hey, let's go on a family trip. And we went on the most amazing trip. We drove out to like the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park, and on our way back we looped through Montana and ⁓ North Dakota, and we ended up here at the headwaters of the Mississippi River. So the very first time I saw the Headwaters was actually ⁓ in nineteen eighty nine. The first time you saw the headwaters, what were your impressions? Because I know in Iowa The Mississippi is wide and slow and all commercial traffic. What was your first impression of of seeing sort of the wild rough start of the Mississippi? I was trying to remember that time when we were here. I remember walking in the headwaters. You know, it's it's so shallow here compared to other places. and ⁓ it just was so small. but I remember it was so clear and clean, and it was cold on my feet when we were walking through there. ⁓ and it just really was just such a beautiful place. I really wish I could go back to that time and spend more time there because my sister and I were just not very nice to my parents because we really didn't even want to go on the trip. I don't know if you've ever traveled with your parents. When we're eight two is such a magical trip. It's something that's just like one more thing to do. Yeah. And now it's like I mean, for years after that, we both were like, Dad Let's do it again. And he's like, no way. I don't think so. So but it was a such a beautiful place to be. And I just remember you know, you know, feeling pretty, pretty ⁓ excited that I was able to come to the spot. This episode is all about beginnings, birth, and so obviously Itasca is the best place to talk about that because it really fulfills that in a few ways. ⁓ first of all, it was Minnesota's first state park, right? Well, yes, in a roundabout way, it was the first state park. ⁓ in we kinda like to say that it's at the oldest state park. And the reason we say it's the oldest state park is actually there were two other places in this state that were authorized by the Minnesota's ⁓ state legislature to become a state park prior to Iktaska. The first one was Minnehaha Falls. ⁓ it was Minnehaha Falls State Park, but it was only authorized. It never actually became a state ⁓ run by the state of Minnesota. And that was before Itasca. ⁓ and then there was also Camp Release, which is a site that was a memorial to the Dakota conflict of eighteen sixty two. And so that was another it's a monument that was authorized but never became a state park. Itasca really we always say we're the oldest state park in Minnesota and we were established in eighteen ninety one. And it sounds like it just slipped in. Like it almost wasn't. At the time, you know ⁓ There really were so many people coming to Minnesota and ⁓ logging was a huge part of the economy and what people were doing ⁓ at the time. And so while people really were hoping for this area to become a state park, not everybody was excited. There were some people that were working with the logging interests and they did not want to have the park established because that would ⁓ take it off the areas that they could ⁓ continue to log in. And of course logging is a we have a huge logging history in Minnesota. I'm still today. I mean we're still ⁓ using this renewable resource ⁓ by different ⁓ everyone does. I have paper on my desk. You know, I mean it's it's just one of those things. But at the time, you know, the the thought was that these trees were ⁓ gonna go on forever. ⁓ and so the idea of setting a side a state park was ⁓ was kind of challenging for some people. So when it was proposed, ⁓ it actually only passed by one vote. I cannot believe that. Like knowing Minnesota and how much we value our land and everything today, it's so crazy to think it only passed by one vote. Yeah. I think we take it as a given that we have just always wanted to ⁓ protect natural resources and have places like the state parks, but the fact that there was controversy at all just seems wild because it seems like such a natural place to have a state park. Right, right, exactly. So so we're thankful that it worked. Yeah. We'll get back to more of our conversation with Sandra, but first, Thomas Steica is a country folk songwriter and artist from the Twin Cities, who was kind enough to play his newest single for us at Overman Guitars in St. Paul. With recent support from 89.3 The Current and Buzzing Live Show, including a monthly residency at the White Squirrel Bar in St. Paul the first Tuesday of the month, Thomas and his band are breaking out as an emerging Midwest country folk act. This is his new song, Pete, to be released this fall. Well, I turned thirty years old this last year. got a birthday card in the mail. I don't usually get cards in the mail, so I wanted to write a song about how much it meant to me. the song that came of it. ⁓ what it's worth to you, my mom thinks this song's gonna make me rich someday. But the bummer for me is she doesn't exactly know how that works. This song's called P. After a long day working my fingers to the bone. ⁓ Headed off to spend another birthday all along. My friends must have forgotten My family must have too I'm sure they had a busy day with better things to do But as I pulled into the driveway wondering if anybody cared I'm so glad I checked the mailbox to see a letter sitting there. Y'all wanna know what it said? It said. Hey my friend, how are ya? I hope your wishes all come true. Cause I can't wait to spend another year with someone special just like you. The salutation at the bottom. Made it all make sense to me and Happy birthday from your state farm agent. Pete. ⁓ That's based on a true story and it's also true. So I rolled that high all evening. I was floating in the clouds when I got another letter as tomorrow came around. That one said Hey my friend, how are ya? What did you wish for yesterday? Cause your insurance rates just doubled and I'm not sure what to say. ⁓ Could be better timing. Could you ever forgive me? Happy birthday from your state farm agent. Sing that with me now. Happy birthday from your state farm aging. Pete. So the other big thing about Itassic State Park is the Mississippi River and it is the birthplace or the headwaters of the Mississippi River. ⁓ also there's been controversy around that. Some people think it starts somewhere else. There's lots to that story as well. And you know, and one thing to think about is the place has been here for thousands of years and people have lived on this landscape for thousands of years, different indigenous cultures, ⁓ the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and they still live here today, and so ⁓ people have been in this area for a very long time and ⁓ you know the ⁓ people knew where the beginning of the river was. The Europeans that had come over here didn't in the US government didn't necessarily know a lot about the land and so they were working on mapping the areas and trying to figure out ⁓ where things were. The headwaters was something ⁓ that was important to find for the US government because ⁓ after the American Revolution, the the western border of the United States was actually the Mississippi River. And really at that time, they did not know where the beginning of the river was. For several hundred years there was a lot of expeditions and different groups coming to try to figure out where exactly this was. We jumped forward to about 1832 ⁓ and there was ⁓ a man named Henry Schoolcraft. He was ⁓ working for the US government ⁓ and he came over on a expedition and he wanted to see if he could officially document where this was. and of course, I you know, the easiest way to find something is to ask someone to help you if they know where it is. And ⁓ Schoolcraft ⁓ came across ⁓ a man named Oza Windub who was an Ojibwe Indian from ⁓ the Cass Lake area. And Osawindub agreed to guide him here because he knew where the beginning was, as did many people that lived in the area. ⁓ and so ⁓ with the help of Osa Window, he ⁓ documented officially where the river began in eighteen thirty two. ⁓ But then, of course, not everybody totally agreed from there. So we we speed forward then to 1888, 1889, and that's when the Minnesota Historical Society decided that they they wanted to have a final documentation of where exactly the beginning of the river was. ⁓ and so they sent a man, his name was Jacob Brouwer. ⁓ and he had ⁓ worked in many different capacities, but he did a lot of surveying and he came to the area, and while he was here. ⁓ he surveyed the whole entire area and he determined where the river actually begins is where the water flows out of the north arm of Lake Itasca. And Lake Itasca actually has five streams that drain into the lake. and the other thing we know now is 50 to 60 percent of the lake is actually spring fed, so there's water coming up from underground. And so while he was here, not only did he, you know, officially say the designation as to what h was going on with the beginning of the river, but he also realized that he needed to find a way to protect those trees because those trees needed to be here for future generations to see. And they also needed to be here because they that and that forest surrounded Lake Itasca and that helped protect the water. And so really Itasca is here because of the trees and then also because of the Mississippi River. If you had if you go to the headwaters today It's going to look a little different than it did a hundred years ago. Can you tell us about what's gone into preserving that area and the structure of the area? The nineteen thirties was really a pivotal point where ⁓ a lot of things were going on in our country. We had the Great Depression, we had ⁓ a massive drought going on, ⁓ people were out of work. And so there was a program that was started by President Roosevelt that was called the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was one of the first projects that they started working on was restoration of the headwaters area because it really had ⁓ become kind of a a muddy mucky mess. So like nationally this was one of the first projects that they worked on or just in Minnesota? Well, ⁓ in here at Itasca, this was one of the first projects. But I will say, ⁓ here at Itasca, ⁓ one of the first buildings ⁓ Well, the first building that was constructed here at Itasca was the Old Timers Cabin, which I really like. Did you go to it? A cool building. Yes. It's a really cool building. I my jaw dropped when I saw it. I couldn't imagine building that. Yes, and that was actually the first project that was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps within Itasca, the first building project. and it was one that was very much photographed ⁓ the whole step process. We have pictures of it every step of the way because they were using it to help ⁓ promote ⁓ these this program throughout the whole United States. ⁓ and then they wanted to make it a beautiful place so people that come from all over the world could come and see this great beginning to the river. And so they had the design of putting in those rocks across the dam ⁓ right there. So that's how we get the look of the the the headwaters ⁓ that we all know today. Yeah. It's so beautiful. I'm super glad that you ⁓ you mentioned the Civilian Conservation Corps because as a you know long longtime lover of ⁓ Minnesota State Parks, I think that they're truly unsung heroes in terms of building the look and feel of our state park system and so many projects and all of I mean most of the the coolest things that you see at the state parks were built by the CCC. Yeah. And it put a lot of people to work at a time when we needed a lot of people to have work. They're one of my favorite stories to talk about just because the ⁓ you know, you think about the situation of the time and and just families and what they were going through. And then you ⁓ you look at the work that they did, just like you said, it's it's amazing and and how good the work was. I just pulled up some stats because I think it's fascinating. Yeah. ⁓ and tell me if these numbers core sort of line up with what you've heard. That between nineteen thirty three and nineteen forty two, Minnesota hosted one hundred and forty eight CCC camps, putting more than seventy seven thousand workers to work. Does that sound right? That sounds amazing. I yeah. I it sounds that's gotta be pretty close to right anyway, I would say. Sure. ⁓ but you know, I and I think back to some of my favorite memories as a kid were from Jay Cook State Park and the Swinging Bridge. And that was one of the C C C projects that I remember as a kid, but it's just amazing what the the the impact that program had on our state park system. Yeah. And the impact that had on really saving a lot of families through the Great Depression. So unlike the two of you, I did not grow up going to parks and camping and all of that. I did not I I grew up in the city. I had a wonderful childhood. In the suburbs. ⁓ and so I'm experiencing a lot of this as an adult for the first time. And so getting to go to Itasca this summer, ⁓ I'll share some pictures on our Instagram, but getting to go for the first time, see things like the beginning. I mean standing there and seeing the beginning of the Mississippi, I just i you kind of have this moment like this is gonna go all the way down to the edge of this country, like the the complete other side of it. ⁓ and the water is starting right here and then you know, getting to see the families, make sure that they're crossing it and getting to like put their feet in that water. I also think it's really special because you talk to people who are in Louisiana or Mississippi and they're like, You went into the Mississippi. ⁓ Yeah. Did you make it across the log okay without like falling off or anything? ⁓ I went on the safe log. I went the safe way. ⁓ how many people a day fall in the the river from that crossing? From the crossing. Well, ⁓ so the rocks a lot of times, there's a sign that warns you that they can be slippery. ⁓ but there is most of the time when I go down that I'll see somebody fall off the rock. but there is the the the log bridge that goes through there. I haven't seen as many people fall off the log bridge. ⁓ but ⁓ definitely people that fall into the river and I always laugh because it usually a lot of times it's kids and they're like and their parents are like ⁓ no because now they're all wet and it's like ⁓ my goodness that's awesome you fell into the water of the Mississippi River and that But ⁓ we we went there with a puppy that tried to pull me off of it. ⁓ he was a part Labrador. He wanted to jump in the water. Yes. ⁓ yeah. That would be challenging going across the log with the with the Labrador, I'm sure. We went and my niece went across and she like slipped, you know, and and her pants and kind of her shirt got wet. And the next thing we knew she was just swimming in the lake. ⁓ is she really? ⁓ good for her. Yeah, you are. And and especially lately, ⁓ last weekend we did one of our first sometimes for a program we'll a kids program, we'll do a walk, a river walk in the river. and it's working out perfectly with this really hot weather we've been having. But it just, you know, that's such a popular thing for not only crossing the rocks, but a lot of people start at the rocks and they work their way down the first stretch of the river and come out at one of the bridges that are a little bit downstream and it's great memories for everybody. So, you know, having spent so much of your life in that park, at that lake, being there, ⁓ what is your hope or your wish for people who come and visit Itasca for the first time? You know, I I'm really excited that ⁓ when people do come to see this, And ⁓ I really want them all to experience the headwaters because it's really is such a special place and it has been for thousands of years. People have been coming here. ⁓ and so I really want them to come and just really think about ⁓ you know, how they're connected to other places and how we're all connected because this river connects ⁓ us in Minnesota ⁓ with so many other places and people. and ⁓ that becomes obvious when you go up there and hang out up in the headwaters area in the summertime especially because you'll meet people from all over the world. You know, we annually have over five hundred thousand visitors that come ⁓ to this park and most people are really coming to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River. And ⁓ some come from very far distances to see here. And ⁓ but you know, while you're here too, there's so many other things ⁓ to take in ⁓ as well. But I hope people can see that connection. ⁓ and I also hope people can see this wonderful ⁓ lake and water resource we have. You know, the Mississippi starts here, it's so small. ⁓ you can walk across it. but then as we go downstream, you know, that river travels through ten and touches ten different states and there's so many rivers and tributaries that are draining into that river. And as it goes down, everything you're doing in the watershed is in is somehow could influence ⁓ the water in the Mississippi River. And so that's why when people say, ⁓ it's so muddy down here, you know, down in New Orleans and and down those places, ⁓ you know, they're they're really surprised to see how it gets its beginnings up here. ⁓ at the the headwaters of the Mississippi River. But I I just hope people can get connected when they come and and really see how things you do could influence ⁓ other people in in many different ways. And and all we can do is just ⁓ take care of ourselves and try to do our little part to make make ⁓ this water and what's something that we need everybody needs to have ⁓ a little bit better. So one of my favorite fun facts about this park is that it's the only one in Minnesota that you can have a beer at. Yeah. There's a restaurant on site. ⁓ and they serve all Minnesota brews. So I of course need to go check it out for myself. Go ahead. But I am wondering if there's another like hidden gem or fun fact about the park that you would like to share with the audience. Yes. Well, you know, where you got that was at Douglas Lodge and it's actually ⁓ the only state run restaurant ⁓ that's in the state, you know. And Douglas Lodge really is one of those secrets. Not only can you do what you did, but it serves meals and it's been in operation since 1905. There's so much here. And I think that's what a lot of people ⁓ when they come don't realize is yeah we're coming for the Mississippi headwaters. But once we're there, ⁓ my goodness, you could spend a week here and you can you know Doing hiking, get out, see the old growth pine forest that's here. And if you go around past the headwaters area, ⁓ there's a drive called Wilderness Drive. But you can also, if you go around Wilderness Drive, there it's just beautiful. It's a great place to drive, ⁓ especially in the evenings. ⁓ wildlife is you know usually out and active. ⁓ but a little bit further down the road is is the fire tower. and I love the fire tower. It's about a third of a mile to get to the tower and then you can climb to the top of the tower and it's a hundred foot tall tower and you get the bird's eye view of the Itasca landscape and it's pretty spectacular and that's great. I mean I think there's lots of people like me who did not grow up going camping. I went to go I was like, I don't know where to go, I don't know where to park. Do I need a pass? Do I have to pay to be here? Do you mind just taking a moment to kind of share it for someone like me who's never been to the park before? What do you need to know ahead of time before you arrive? Itasca State Park is part of the Minnesota State Park system. and so with that, ⁓ there is an entrance fee to get in the park and it's on a vehicle permit. And so it's just for your vehicle, and you can get a daily permit that's $7 for the day. ⁓ and you can come and go as much as you want for the day with that. Or there also is ⁓ an annual permit. which is $35 for the whole entire year. And it's a sticker that you put on your windshield and you can go into any of the Minnesota state parks and trails ⁓ as many times as you want for a whole entire year. If you can't afford a park permit, we have a great program where we're working with area libraries throughout the state. ⁓ And there is a state park permit available at many public libraries in Minnesota. And you just go and you if it's available, you can check it out for the week. Just like you're checking out a book. And so I just learned that on TikTok. Did you really? I was like, no way. And I went to the website and sure enough, they have them there. It there was like a hole, but you know, if you plan ahead, you can like you can get a hole. Yeah, it definitely is a really neat relationship we have with the public libraries. ⁓ that's definitely benefit a lot of people that ⁓ want to go. and experience Minnesota State Park. You know, I think we're just so lucky in Minnesota to have the natural resources that we have and the, you know, and just like anywhere, it's not just the natural resources, but the s the stories that go with them. ⁓ so even if you grew up in the city and ⁓ you don't feel like you know how to camp or do any of those kinds of things, ⁓ that's okay because there's people like me and and other people ⁓ that are out there that are so excited to teach people. ⁓ about their surroundings. ⁓ well we're we're so lucky to have the park system that we have, but ⁓ we're also really lucky to have people like you to ⁓ to teach us everything we needed to know about the ⁓ Thank you for for joining us. Well thanks for having me. It's it it's just it's it's so fun to see people get outside and really enjoy being in the outdoors. Alexa Kaczynski is a stand-up comic and comedy writer in Minneapolis, known for her sarcastic observations and witty writing. As a comedy writer, her work has been published in McSweeney's and Rackett, despite getting her start later in life. She was born in Red Wing, and her birth might have had something to do with that. Tell me about the day you were born. I was six weeks overdue at that point, and my mother's OBGYN. ⁓ he was within a year of me being born, he was actually disbarred or fired. I don't what's what's the word for doctors? He had his license revoked because he was just very incompetent. But this was also in the seventies, so that was like par for the course. You're like, sometimes babies die. Six weeks overdue and I think at this point they were just gonna induce her. So She was out of hospital and they were like, well, we need to take her to a different hospital. I don't know why. So they had her in the ambulance. Think as they were wheeling her into the OR to do either the indu inducement wasn't working. ⁓ they were gonna do a cesarean. And then that's when I turned and came out. By then I was already six weeks along, I was already holding up my own head. I could track things with my eyes. They said it was really creepy. I remember my mom said the nurses were weirded out. 'Cause I was in an incubator, but I was like fully like I was lucid, I was like paying attention. Does your mom ever hold it against you though? No, she does talk about how the birth was so bad that she decided not to have any more children after that. So there's a little bit of pressure on me to ⁓ you know make it worth her while. It did ⁓ introduce a motif into my life that I was going to be ⁓ waiting until ⁓ the conditions were perfect. and before I would start something. So I was always I'm a late bloomer. I mean that's really all it is is now and I was a late bloomer to comedy. ⁓ most people are quitting comedy at forty five when they're realizing it's not going anywhere. And ⁓ I was like, ⁓ it's a good time to start right when right when I'm getting old and decrepit. I was recently misgendered at a comedy show. ⁓ the ⁓ C called me a baby and I made a very small joke about it on stage. But then after the show he walked up to me and he's like, you know Alexa ⁓ calling somebody they them isn't technically misgendering you, so you can't really be offended. And I'll somebody who thinks I'm non-binary. ⁓ you're really treating me like a woman right now. Gender affirming care I needed. I ⁓ And it was such a good fit, you know. When I first started comedy, I didn't think I was I didn't just didn't think it was gonna be a big deal. I just thought it'd be cool to tell people that I've been doing it on on stage, but ⁓ it was ended up being like a thing where I was just like, ⁓ I'm gonna be doing this now the rest of my life. So ⁓ I would just say, yeah, that's I start late. I wait until I'm good at all the things before trying something. I already had been writing. ⁓ I didn't have stage fright. So like all of these elements were sort of fell into place. I should have started when I was twenty four or twenty two. You know, after I I think I would have been fine. I don't think I would have progressed as fast if I had started at twenty two. I was already writing and and I was already wanting to be a writer at that point, but I don't think I would have had the ⁓ confidence and I think that would have held me back. So maybe the writing kinda would have been there a little bit. I still would have had to learn a lot. but ⁓ yeah, I I don't think I would I I feel like maybe I probably would have done it for a few months and quit. So maybe it was best that yeah. How old were you when you found out that you had a unique birth story? ⁓ my mom's been telling me that story forever. Yeah. And telling me how hard it was for her and how much she went through and ⁓ my god, I I never had another baby after you because and then she would tell me I was stubborn and so she was always just like, By the way, I've done a lot for you. Let's see, I don't really can can you ask the question again 'cause I'm just trying to like are we that's like, do I remember the question? ⁓ most of the time I say shit and it just goes right out into the ether and I've forgotten that I ever made that comment. Did you think well I'm never gonna have kids because I didn't want to go through that? Maybe you had a different reason. I don't know. Like I ⁓ my god, I never thought about that. I wow. Yeah, I didn't want kids and I I like kids. I'm like I'm not like anti kid or anything. I actually get along with them really well. But I think that probably played a really big role in me going, you birth is the worst thing that can happen to human beings. I never put that together. Okay. I always had these other reasons. Just a theory. Like I'm too cool. Too cool to have a kid. I didn't want to do what other women are doing and want to be different. But no, I think that's a that's a big reason why. ⁓ Like I don't I don't have like the sexy gene. And ⁓ if I press in any kind of skimpy way, it doesn't read as sexy. ⁓ it just looks like I ran out of clothes. ⁓ Everybody thinks I'm just a real nurse who's falling up. You can find Alexa online at Instagram and look for her during regular stand-up comedy gigs around the Twin Cities. She's also recently performed in Chicago as well as Tiny Jenkins, Minnesota. That all there is? ⁓ that that is it for the first episode. That is all. so ⁓ d I think we should say some thank yous. Well it would not be a proper Minnesota podcast without a long Minnesota goodbye. That's true. So we have to. So I think do you wanna thank anyone? Well, I yeah, we should probably thank our guests. Yeah. ⁓ Sandra Lichter, thank you. Thomas Steika, you rock. And Alexa Kaczynski. Yes, very fine. And also I want to make sure we thank Wyatt Overman at Overman Guitars for letting us use his shop. And Johnny who was hanging out and opening the doors for us? Yep. Okay. Well well