The Roadhouse

The 2018 International Yacht Race began in Grand Marais on Saturday, August 4.  The course is 77 miles long, beginning right in front of the Grand Marais lighthouse and ending in Thunder Bay.  Bob Vander Ploeg is the fleet captain of the Thunder Bay Yacht Club, and he joined The Roadhouse prior to the start of the race to talk about yacht racing on Lake Superior.

The Grand Marais Public Library received a gift of 16 handmade cloth bags recently from the local Fiber Arts Guild, for use by patrons in carrying their books home. Roadhouse host Ann Possis spoke with Jo Wood, a Guild member and well-known bead and fiber artist, about this project. 

Musician Mary Bue recently stopped by The Roadhouse on her way up the North Shore for a gig at the Wunderbar.   She brought in her ukelele and guitar to give us a fantastic performance out of studio A.

Layne Kennedy is a world-class photographer whose work appears in places like Smithsonian, National Geographic Adventure, and Outside magazines, just to name a few.  He also teaches photography, and he was recently in Grand Marais teaching a class at North House Folk School.  While here, he stopped by the WTIP studios and chatted with Roadhouse host Brian Neil about his work.

After his father died, 17-year-old Jack Blackwell joined his grandfather, Alec Boostrom, on his trapline here in northern Minnesota's canoe country, and heard many stories about this grandfather's past.  Now, Jack tells his grandfather's stories in a new book called "Boundary Waters Boy," published by Northern Wilds Media.  Jack and his friend Bill Hansen joined The Roadhouse to chat with Dave and Jay about some of the stories included in the new book.

Local Arctic adventurer Lonnie Dupre recently stopped by The Roadhouse to talk with Jay about his recently released book, "​Alone at the Top: Climbing Denali in the Dead of Winter".  

Twin Cities-based bluegrass band The Thirsty River (Evan Jungbauer, Banjo; Jake Jungbauer, Guitar; David Anderson, Percussion/Keys; Mike Store, Acoustic Bass; Ben Jungbauer, Mandolin) returned to WTIP to play on The Roadhouse. They played a number of original tunes and talked about how the band came to be.  You can learn more about The Thirsty River here. 

The Bell Museum, Minnesota’s official natural history museum, was founded in 1872. They’ve just spent three years building a new, state of the art facility, and their grand opening is next weekend. Holly Menninger with the Bell Museum joined The Roadhouse to tell us more.

Folksinger, folklore scholar, and former president of the American Folklore Society Ellen Stekert joined The Roadhouse to share some stories from folklore.  Stekert brought a guitar along as well and performed one of her favorite songs.
 

Regular Roadhouse guest Jim McGowan stopped by The Roadhouse ahead of a couple gigs in Cook County, including one at the upcoming Hovland Arts Festival.  Jim played a few covers and spoke with hosts Dave and Brian about what he's been up to over the past year.