Simply Superior,June 26, 2020

Jim Richardson is one-half of the Richardson Brothers team with his brother, Allen. The duo hosts the Richardson Brothers Podcast, which presents stories, some in the style of the late William S. Burroughs; a novella, “Menno Zwonk: Amish Outlaw,” available on Amazon.com, and a youtube channel featuring Jim’s alter ego, Lake Superior Aquaman.

For Father’s Day, Richardson penned an essay on Perfect Duluth Day, re-evaluating stories from his childhood that his forebears had fought on both sides of the Civil War. Yet after his own investigation, he found his Confederate ancestry, more one-sided than he was led to believe, and joined Simply Superior host Robin Washington to share what he found.

Also, Lyz Jaakola of Cloquet is a trained mezzo soprano who’s performed with Lyric Opera of the North, the Arrowhead Chorale and others, including the Oshii Giizhik singers, with whom she’s presented Anishinaabe works particularly highlighting women. But for most of the pandemic, she’s been performing in her basement with her family members as the Isolation band. She discusses her versatile music repertoire with host Washington.