The Roadhouse

Scientists are watching out for algae blooms on Lake Superior…it’s warm enough this summer for them to happen.

Bob Sterner, director of the Large Lakes Observatory at UMD, spoke with Ann about what algae blooms they are watching for and why.

Dance Attic is a duo from Duluth, MN featuring Suzi Ludwig (accordion, vocals) and Jimi Cooper guitar (guitar, ukulele, vocals).
They joined Will and Ann on Roadhouse to perform a few songs and talk about their unique sound.  You can learn more about Dance Attic here.

Community member Bill Hansen was in the middle of a Peace Corps stint in Uganda when the pandemic hit and he had to return home.  Bill joined Ann on The Roadhouse to update us on some of the projects he was involved in there and will be again when he is able to return to Uganda, including the women's coffee cooperative he worked with.

Bill will also be sharing his stories in an event through Cook County Higher Education Thursday, August 6 at 7 pm.  You can learn more about that here.

Sam Zimmerman is an artist who lives in Duluth, with roots in the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He was recently commissioned to do a public art project for the City of Grand Marais and the local Creative Economy Collaborative. Will chatted with Sam about what the public art project entails.

Duluth guitarist Kevin Buck joined Ann and Will on Roadhouse for a live performance.  You can learn more about Kevin here.

You may have seen photos on social media recently of Comet NEOWISE.  Will chatted with "Astro Bob" blogger Bob King about the NEOWISE and when we can see it along the North Shore.

With the focus on washing our hands frequently over the past months, we wondered why and how does soap work?  Ann spoke with Matt Simcik, professor of environmental health sciences at the U of MN school of public health, to dive deep into the science and history of soap.

Minnesota musician Jeremy Messersmith joined Ann and Will for a socially distant performance right outside the WTIP studios.

You can learn more about Jeremy here.

Comedy can play an important role in challenging people to address critical social issues, says Lauren Feldman, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information. Will spoke with Lauren to dive deeper into how this works.

It's been a different and strange summer - but people are still getting outdoors, in fact maybe more than ever before.  Ann checked in with Sam Cook, retired outdoors writer for the Duluth News Tribune (though he still contributes a weekly general column), about the trends he's seen this year.