The Roadhouse

Local musician Fred Anderson revisited The Roadhouse the weekend of Radio Waves. Listen for his beautiful guitar on both originals and covers. 

If you're like most people, you don't know a whole lot about peatlands. But it turns out they're very important to the planet's health and to countering climate change. Jeremy Hance of St. Paul, a science writer for Ensia, mongabay.com, and other publications, recently wrote an article about peatlands. He joined Dave to explain what peat is and why it is so important.

Douglas Wood, longtime wilderness guide, is also a prolific author, perhaps best known for his first book, "Old Turtle." Now he's out with a memoir about the mysteries of the natural world, "Deep Woods, Wild Waters." He talked with CJ about the book and what he hopes to evoke and share with others about canoe country. 

Local favorites the SplinterTones are just out with a new CD of their delightful, eclectic music. Four of the band's members--Leah Thomas, Liz Sivertson, John Gruber, and Max Bichel--stopped by The Roadhouse to chat about their work and play a few cuts from the CD. Their big CD release party was Sat., Aug. 26 at Grandma Ray's. You can learn more about the SplinterTones here. 

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is considered one of the nation's premiere environmental and adventure film festivals. Johan Ehde, on-tour manager for the festival, joined Dave to talk about the festival's mission and goals. Selections from this year's festival will be shown in Duluth at Clyde Iron Works Sept. 14. You can click here for more info and tickets.

The University of Minnesota is celebrating 158 years at the state fair this summer. The U's vice president of university relations, Matt Kramer, joined CJ to talk about a few of the cool things the U is doing at the fair this year. You can learn lots more about it here. And WTIP will broadcast live from the fair this Wed., Aug. 30, starting at 8 a.m.

Local musical favorites Eric Frost (guitar) and Bill Hansen (dobro) visited The Roadhouse after way too long an absence. Listen for wonderful original music and fun chat. 

We've all heard walking is great for us...and good for community and the environment, as well. Jay Walljasper, writer, speaker, and authority on vital communities, chatted with Dave about what walking does for a person both physically and mentally. The National Walking Summit is Sept. 13-15 in  St. Paul.

Over many years, Grand Portage resident Rick Anderson and his family collected thousands of historic artifacts near the Boundary Waters. Now, he has donated this remarkable collection to Grand Portage National Monument so it may be studied and preserved. CJ sat down with Rick recently to hear the story.

Regular musical guests The Thunderheads made a return appearance recently on their way to a gig in Grand Marais. Listen for great original tunes as well as covers. The Thunderheads are: Steve Blexrud, guitar; Craig Paquette, guitar; Don Blue, bass; and Bill Boyce, percussion. Learn more about the band and their schedule here.