50th Anniversary Photos
Thanks to everyone who helped KUMD celebrate our 50th Anniversary on May 4th and 5th!  Photos from all of the events can be found by clicking the links below: Open house and live session Reception Dinner                                      More photos

50 Years of Life Stories from KUMD-FM Radio

As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, we're bringing you stories from KUMD alumni to find out where the years have taken them and how their time at KUMD has impacted their lives. Profiles, Part 4:  John de Graaf By Barb Olsen Today, you'll find KUMD alum John de Graaf hard at work on a documentary film for a PBS television station or leading discussions in venues across the country on subjects related to his nearly 40 films, such as “Affluenza” or “The Motherhood Manifesto.” But from 1974 to 1977, you would have been likely to find de Graaf in the recesses of KUMD studios, nose deep in a book or a newspaper. As KUMD’s Public Affairs Director at that time, de Graaf was known for his thorough research on the topics he tackled via the hundreds of books piled high in his home. Taking KUMD into a new level of local public affairs programming, John de Graaf produced his own programs and introduced our area to some of the most compelling local voices of the time—in politics, labor, and community activism.  He also interviewed prominent national figures such as Ralph Nader, Walter Mondale and Jonathan Kozol. ”My time at KUMD was what got me interested initially in the value of the media and in the communication of ideas,” de Graaf commented recently from his office at KTCS Public Television in Seattle, Washington. “I was an activist, and this was a way for me to get started thinking about issues and learn how to reach people using the media. KUMD gave me a chance to gain interviewing skills and the access to individuals for interviews. KUMD shaped my thinking.” It was during that mid-70s period that de Graaf met former U.S. Congressman from the Iron Range, John Bernard. A former iron-ore miner, Bernard was in his 80s at the time and renowned for having been the single vote in Congress in opposition to an arms embargo against Spain during the Spanish Civil War. John de Graaf did an interview with Bernard for a KUMD public affairs show, unaware the interview would launch his filmmaking career. De Graaf was intrigued with the courage of this common man from the Iron Range and began looking for an additional way to tell Bernard's story. The Faculty Advisor for KUMD at the time, Dan Johnson, connected John with filmmakers in the Twin Cities. By the summer of 1977, de Graaf and photographer Jim Mulligan had produced the documentary film, “A Common Man’s Courage: The Story of John Bernard,” which chronicled Bernard's stand against the Spanish embargo, the subsequent loss of his seat in Congress, and his life thereafter as a labor organizer and civil rights activist. The program premiered on KTCA-TV in St. Paul, and was shown on a number of PBS stations, including WDSE Channel 8 in Duluth. KTCA-TV submitted “A Common Man’s Courage” to National Public Television for its annual awards, and de Graaf’s film won the top award as the best locally produced public TV program for 1977.  “It was quite a shot in the arm,” de Graaf says today. “I realized I could do this sort of thing, although the production of that firm was definitely by the seat of the pants. The character of John Bernard was so compelling, viewers forgave the film’s weaknesses and fell in love with the guy.” De Graaf credits his work at KUMD radio for teaching him how to find compelling characters and stories. In the three decades since, John de Graaf has produced 37 documentary films. Among them is “Affluenza,” created in 1997. It was a PBS hit and is still a huge seller. “That,” de Graaf comments, “was my Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame.” The film and its companion book, which de Graaf co-wrote, have been used in more than a thousand colleges, universities, and high schools to discuss the troubling impacts of America’s love affair with consumerism. In recent years, de Graaf has helped to spearhead the “Take Back Your Time” effort, an initiative to challenge this country's epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling, and “time famine.”  As part of that campaign, he edited the book, “Take Back Your Time, Fighting Overwork & Time Poverty In America.”  This year, the campaign is attempting to win support for a national paid vacation law in the United States. But John is still making films. Recently, he wrote and produced “Silent Killer,” about world hunger and “Buyer, Be Fair,” about efforts to support fair trade and certified sustainable products such as coffee and wood. John de Graaf’s latest filmmaking project was “The Motherhood Manifesto,” about the difficult task of raising families in America while working longer hours to pay the bills. It’s the film version of the book co-written by MoveOn founder Joan Blades. When it was first released last year, “The Motherhood Manifesto” premiered at the U.S. Senate building in Washington D.C. and was introduced by Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy, and Chris Dodd. Clinton provided a copy of the film to every U.S. Senator. De Graaf will be in Duluth to host a showing of “The Motherhood Manifesto” and lead a discussion afterwards, on Sunday, May 6th at 6 p.m. in Montague 70 on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Co-sponsors for the event are the UMD Women’s Studies Department and the organization, Progressive Action. For more information on the film showing, which is free and open to the public, see www.prog-action.org. For KUMD alum John de Graaf, there is never a shortage of compelling characters and issues. These days, de Graaf is delving into the U.S. economy and what its goal should be—high gross domestic production, high Dow Jones numbers, or a high level of health, happiness, and sustainability for the U.S. worker. He expects his research to lead to another film on the subject. De Graaf lives in Seattle with his wife, Paula Wissel, and their son, David. -------------- Barb Olsen is the author of “Out of Order! A Field Guide to the Duluth City Council,” published in the Reader Weekly newspaper, and a commentator on KUMD’s Wednesday morning “Coffee Break.” She also serves on the steering committee of Progressive Action, an organization formed after the death of Senator Paul Wellstone to help continue Wellstone’s work on issues such as affordable housing and living wages (see www.prog-action.org). You can reach Barb at barbolsen@duluthmn.com