IBRT History

The Icebox Radio Theater, the company behind ‘Radio Icebox’, began in May of 2004 in International Falls, Minnesota.  Originally envisioned as a community theater group, the IBRT was brought to life by radio station KXBR, International Falls, which offered the company air time and equipment so long as they performed their shows live over the air.  With the slogan ‘Bringing the Northland’s Stories to the World’ the group set out to tell stories about their unique corner of the world known for frigid winters, colorful characters, and great natural beauty (not an easy thing to convey in radio).  These included shows like ‘Snowbank’ a 4-part mini series about a shoe less body appearing in the snow by the local high school; “Dome Dog” a comedy/super-hero series based on former IBRT president Harley Droba’s Minnesota Viking fan costume, ‘The Scoop Sisters’ a mystery/comedy series about a family of journalists solving crimes; and ‘The Thing on the Ice’ an award-winning horror story about an ice fisherman hunted on a frozen lake by the force of nature itself.

Over the next several years the IBRT performed these plays both on the air, and in front of live audiences in the International Falls area.  Along the way they begin distributing their shows on PRX.ORG and over 20 stations nation-wide licensed an IBRT play for broadcast.  In 2007, the company began its first podcast.  The IBRT stream has been steady ever since.  

In 2008, after bouncing around several homes in the area, the IBRT moved in to a basement studio at Backus Community Center right in the center of International Falls.  The studio becomes not only a site for recording sessions and rehearsals, but a meeting space, workshop space, live webcast studio, and occasional location for movie nights and gaming conventions.  

In 2015, after working as an anthology show for over a decade, the IBRT made a major change in focus. For the first time, the Icebox Radio Podcast would be a series based on recurring characters and situations in a strange (and fictitious) community called Icebox, Minnesota where radio and radio drama was still king.  

Today, the Icebox Radio Theater continues to expand its offerings with its flagship series ‘Radio Icebox’ as well as the live comedy show ‘Funny in a Small Town’ and a series of podcasts such as the Scoop Sisters Mysteries and Frozen Frights designed to give the IBRT archives a permanent home on the web.