"Christmas City, wonderful city ..." You know the rest. Dave Jensch, vice president and station manager at KBJR, joins us ahead of Friday's Christmas City of the North Parade. "You know it's like one of the duties right up there. You know, make money. Do good journalism. And make Sure the Christmas City parade happens," Jensch said about his job. Hear the history behind the winter parade, how things work behind the scenes, and the greatest moments of the annual holiday tradition that began in th...
Nov 15, 2017•32 min
We are coming up on the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a shipwreck many people know about. But do you know about the Mataafa, or the Socrates, or the two French minesweepers that went missing after leaving port in what is now modern day Thunder Bay? With the Gales of November upon us, Duluth News Tribune editor Andrew Krueger, who accidentally became our resident shipwreck writer and historian, joins us this week to talk about a few of the storms and wrecks you may not know...
Nov 08, 2017•32 min
"All gave some, some gave all." You may have heard these words before, especially around Veterans Day and Memorial Day. For Duluthian John Marshall, they are words he carries close to his heart every single day. Marshall, captain of the Duluth Honor Guard, joins our podcast this week to talk about a variety of issues surrounding veterans. He shares his own own experience with PTSD, what it's like to attend so many funerals (of which he went to one right after we recorded this episode), and what ...
Nov 01, 2017•35 min
Employment equality, affordable housing, and making sure city services are accessible to all people are just a few of the things that keep Duluth Human Rights Officer Carl Crawford busy every day. On this week's episode, Crawford shares what his job is like, what things he's doing to improve the city, how he measures his success and how we are doing as a community. Have an idea or comment? Email us at podcast@duluthnews.com .
Oct 25, 2017•29 min
Whether you've been reading every sentence of every news story involving the sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein or you are just tuning into the #MeToo conversation, we've got you covered on this week's episode. Erin Naughton-Garrison, volunteer coordinator at PAVSA in Duluth, joins us to talk about sexual violence in a variety of its forms - victim blaming, "boys will be boys" mentality, rape culture, dress codes, etc. She also shares what you can do if you or someone you kno...
Oct 18, 2017•37 min
She was a pathologist for 20 years before shifting her focus to shamanic healing. Duluthian Sarah Seidelmann recently released her third book "Swimming with Elephants," in which she shares her experience of shifting from physician to shamanic healer. In this episode, Seidelmann, whose sister is well-known comedian Maria Bamford, explains what Shamanism is, how she got into it and how she has found it to help others.
Oct 11, 2017•37 min
You've probably read a story or two of his before. And if you are like Pressroom Podcast hosts Brady and Christa then you may be wondering, "How does he do it?" How does News Tribune outdoors reporter Sam Cook just embed himself in people's hunting shacks for a weekend every fall and come out with stories that resonate with just about everyone in the Northland? Well this week he tells us how he does that, how it's not as easy as it may seem and how he keeps the material fresh every year even tho...
Oct 04, 2017•37 min
Would you get up in front of a room full of people and share some of your most personal stories? If you answered yes, then there is a platform for you to do so and it's right in downtown Duluth. This week Adeline Wright, owner of Adeline, Inc., tells us about her new venture Gag Me With A Spoon, which is a "public storytelling platform" that happens the second Sunday of every month at Blacklist Artisan Ales. "I feel like we are so disconnected from actual relationships these days and I wanted to...
Sep 27, 2017•32 min
The college hockey season begins in just nine days. Yesterday, September 20th, was NCHC Media Day down at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. News Tribune sports reporter Matt Wellens was down there and got a chance to talk with all eight coaches in the conference as well as some of the players. At the end of the day, Wellens sat down with other college hockey beat writers to discuss their predictions for the 2017-18 season.
Sep 21, 2017•25 min
You may have seen his videos on Perfect Duluth Day or perhaps you've seen him in the act with his scaly-orange T-shirt diving into the big lake. Amateur freediver and video enthusiast Jim Richardson, aka Lake Superior Aquaman, shares his origin story with the Pressroom Podcast this week. With a GoPro and camera pole in hand, Richardson takes his viewers on a swim underneath the chilly waters of Lake Superior for a chance to see what many people will never see. Hear about his underwater experienc...
Sep 20, 2017•28 min
All the 20 Under 40 Award winners will be announced in Thursday's Duluth News Tribune, but we are going to give you a sneak peek of who made the list and how we decide who makes the cut. Laura Mullen, one of four co-founders of Bent Paddle Brewing Company, and Nate LaCoursiere, an assistant city attorney, join reporters and two of this year's award judges Christa Lawler and Brooks Johnson to share what they do, why they love Duluth and how they want to make Duluth a better place to work, play an...
Sep 13, 2017•31 min
He was raised here, went to Denfeld High School, and has spent the last 26 years on the Duluth Police Department. "Yup, I grew up in Morgan Park, Minnesota, as I always say," Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said on this week's episode. News Tribune reporters Brady Slater and Tom Olsen pepper the chief with questions ranging from what was young Mike Tusken like as a kid growing up in Duluth to what has he learned the most in his year and a half of being the top dog in the department. Not much is ...
Sep 06, 2017•35 min
This week Christa Lawler and Brady Slater catch up with Michelle Lee, former news anchor for the local NBC affiliate. In her first time back on air since her retirement 8 months ago, Lee shares what she is up to now. "That was one part of my life and I'm really proud of it and I love the people there, but I have not been back to the newsroom," Lee said about her time at KBJR. "I do a little social media with the folks I used to work with, but I'm trying to reinvent myself." She's finding that to...
Aug 30, 2017•31 min
You may recognize our guests' voices on this week's episode. You've probably heard them on your computer, in your podcast queue, or perhaps in the Underground theater in the Duluth Depot. Blake Thomas and Mary Fox with Take It With You join Christa and Brady to discuss where their idea for a live radio theater podcast came from, how they got started (one of our fav origin stories thus far) and what goes into preparing for a show. As always you can send your questions and comments to us at podcas...
Aug 23, 2017•40 min
You may have heard about this solar eclipse thing that is happening in a few days. Well we just happen to have two people in the newsroom who are traveling to the middle of the country to view the moment of totality. Photo editor Bob "Astro Bob" King and managing editor Andrew Krueger are traveling to Nebraska to view the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Bob shares his insight from viewing and photographing previous eclipses while Andrew shares what he hopes to see when experiencing his first tot...
Aug 16, 2017•30 min
Her parents started Alakef Coffee Roasters in Duluth in the early 90s and for the past few years Alyza Bohbot has been adding her own flare to the company with the addition of her socially responsible City Girl Coffee Brand. Her "unapologetically feminine" brand is sourced from women-owned or managed farms from all over the world and a portion of every sale goes back to the organizations that help support those women. Hear Alyza talk about her mission, how she got here, and what plans lie ahead ...
Aug 09, 2017•33 min
From her first paining on an attic window shade when she was a little girl to having her work recently featured in a New York City gallery, Duluth artist Kay Kurt joins the podcast to tell us how she got her start and how she found herself focused on painting giant pieces of candy. "The white chocolates was for me a liberation in a sense that I had no preconception about anybody ever having painted candy," Kurt says. "And that's what I needed. I needed a fresh subject." The Pressroom Podcast is ...
Aug 02, 2017•38 min
Whether it’s by bike, kayak, or pint glass, the way visitors (and residents) explore Duluth takes on many forms these days. And Dave Grandmaison, co-owner of The Duluth Experience has a little something to do with that. “There was a niche to be filled,” said Grandmaison, who started the tour company in 2012 with a few friends. On this week’s podcast, he shares with us how the Duluth Experience came to be, what types of tours they offer and what to expect when you book a tour with them. What we a...
Jul 26, 2017•33 min
Located in the "cave" of the Duluth News Tribune newsroom is where you'll find today's guests. Get to know the women behind two new community weekly newspapers. Western Weekly editor Teri Cadeau and Eastern Observer editor Elly Power share their journalism backgrounds and what they hope these print only publications will become for residents of Duluth. Have a guest or topic idea for a future podcasts? Let us know at podcast@duluthnews.com ....
Jul 19, 2017•32 min
The Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra begins its concert seasons this week. Artistic director Warren Friesen highlights the four concerts, including one that features Duluth-based violinist and singer/songwriter Gaelynn Lea Tressler. Last spring, Gaelynn Lea won NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" and gained national attention. She has traveled the world in the last year and she will be debuting a new work for the LSCO concert on July 27.
Jul 12, 2017•45 min
He was just 30 years old and only four years out of law school when Duluth heiress Elizabeth Congdon was discovered smothered to death in her bed at Glensheen Mansion, her night nurse Velma Pietila fatally beaten with a candlestick. Forty years later, then chief prosecutor John DeSanto joins the podcast this week to share his firsthand experience with Duluth's most well-known murder case. "The day of June 27, 1977, Monday. I remember it like it was yesterday," DeSanto said. To get in touch with ...
Jul 05, 2017•45 min
The driving forces behind "Duluth's Duluthiest website" join the Pressroom Podcast this week. "Another way to say it is we just do a lot of goofing off on the website, but it's all very Duluth focused," said Perfect Duluth Day president Paul Lundgren. Lundgren and co-creator Barrett Chase, along with food and drink reporter Lissa Maki, share how Duluth's community culture website came to fruition 14 years ago in a time before Facebook and YouTube. They also share some of their PDD posts from ove...
Jun 28, 2017•37 min
Holly Kostrzewski, Northeastern Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Coordinator, joins the Pressroom Podcast this week to talk about distracted driving and how to keep your loved ones safe on the road. She explains what Toward Zero Deaths is and how it's making drivers more aware of what they do behind the wheel. Holly has ridden in the car with state troopers and she shares some of the stories she has come across, including a lady who was playing Candy Crush on her cell while driving. As always you ca...
Jun 21, 2017•30 min
Grandma's Marathon veterans join the podcast this week to give you an inside look at what goes into covering Duluth's largest event of the summer. Duluth News Tribune editor Rick Lubbers, who has covered around 11 races, and retired sports writer Kevin Pates, who has covered 35 of the 41 total marathons, join Christa Lawler, who has ran the race multiple times, to share some of the more memorable moments both on an off the course that follows the shore of Lake Superior. You can follow the News T...
Jun 14, 2017•32 min
Duluth is becoming a "beer-cation" destination and local brewer extraordinaire Dave Hoops is adding to the scene with his soon-to-be open Hoops Brewing in Canal Park. On this week's Pressroom Podcast, Hoops talks about his new taproom and the types of brews we can expect to find there. He also shares a list of his favorite local summer beers to get us in the "beer-cation" mindset.
Jun 07, 2017•22 min
Now in its 8th year, the Duluth Superior Film Festival has gained a strong following and has supplied some very memorable behind the scenes. Festival organizer Richard Hansen joins us to talk about those unforgettable moments and this year's lineup, which includes a variety of shorts and cultural films featuring strong female and Native American leads. The free, five-day festival begins Wednesday, May 31. Email us at podcast@duluthnews.com...
May 31, 2017•35 min
They've eaten $70 cheese, touched jellyfish with their bare hands, and have even offered up their hair and skin for quick 2-minute videos. Holly Henry and Michelle Truax with our sister publication Duluth.com join us on the podcast this week to tell us where they get their story ideas from, what they do on a daily basis and what it's like to work at a fun new online publication. Contact us at podcast@duluthnews.com
May 24, 2017•28 min
You may have seen his most recent food review published last week about Duluth's new restaurant OMC Smokehouse. This week we invite News Tribune sports reporter and occasional food critic Jon "Taco" Nowacki on the podcast to see what goes into writing a restaurant review, how he got his nickname, and how he decides what places to critique. He also gave a rather blunt review of OMC Smokehouse's duck fat fries. We find out where Taco thinks the best fries are in town....
May 17, 2017•23 min
Are you still nursing a Homegrown hangover? Well, we've got your cure on this week's episode. News Tribune reporters Christa Lawler and Samantha Erkkila were out and about in Sup Town last Thursday and we asked fans, musicians and artists what they love most about Homegrown Music Festival. Hear their stories as of midway through the 8-day celebration of music in the Twin Ports.
May 10, 2017•12 min
His newest Jonathan Stride novel "Marathon" just hit shelves yesterday and yet best-selling author Brian Freeman still had time to join us on this week's podcast for a candid chat. Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Tom Olsen and editorial editor Chuck Frederick, who has a long history with Freeman and is even mentioned in some of this novels, pick Freeman's brain to find out why he picked Duluth as the focus for his popular mystery-thriller series, where his ideas come from and if he w...
May 03, 2017•26 min
