Send us a text February 1 is National Baked Alaska Day. April 14 is National Ex-Spouse Day, but April 22 marks Earth Day. We’ve had these (and more!) national days celebrating things silly and crucial, but we’ve never had a National Mississippi River Day. Until this year. It’s long overdue. On June 2, we’ll celebrate the first National Mississippi …

Send us a text In this episode, I have the pleasure of talking with accomplished chef and St. Louis area resident Josh Galliano. We talk about his path to becoming a chef and the family and cultural influences. He grew up in southern Louisiana near the Mississippi River, where he had regular access to fresh, seasonal products. Mostly, though, we ta…

Send us a text In 1964, four members of the Ku Klux Klan killed two African American men in Mississippi. The story of their murder and the following decades of stops and starts in the prosecution of their killers inspired my latest Frank Dodge mystery: Murder on the Mississippi. In this episode, I give some background on the murder of Dee and Moore…

Send us a text Living out of an RV or van seems more possible than ever before, and, based on what’s out there on social media, a lot of people have already taken the plunge. If you’re someone who is curious about what it takes to make the switch to full-time RV life, this episode is for you. I talk with Patti Hunt, host of the RV Life podcast, and…

Send us a text In April 1965, the Upper Mississippi River surged to heights never before recorded, threatening to swallow entire towns whole. This episode plunges you into the chaos as the perfect storm—deep snowpack, torrential rain, and frozen ground—transformed America's greatest river into an unstoppable force. Journey from the imperiled bridge…

Send us a text In this week's episode, we uncover the surprising story of Iowa's pivotal role in African American civil rights. From the groundbreaking 1839 court case that made Iowa a free territory to the remarkable story of Charlotta Pyles—a formerly enslaved woman who raised $3,000 through East Coast speaking tours to free her family members—we…

Send us a text You may never have heard of Dallas City, Illinois, but to the folks who grew up there, Dallas City was idyllic. The town had a small but diverse business community. Crime was rare and mostly petty stuff. The local streams, creeks, and woods fed a child’s curiosity. And the biggest playground, the Mississippi, challenged and calmed yo…

Send us a text What started out as one guy with a jon boat picking up trash along the Mississippi in his hometown has since evolved into one of the largest, best known, most inspirational organizations in the country. In this episode, Educational Facilitator Mike Coyne-Logan describes how Living Lands & Waters (LLW) grew from the hands and mind of …

Send us a text A busy year is coming to an end, so we’re going to ease our way out of 2024 with a short episode that features a note of thanks and bonus interview content. This year, I asked eight interviewees to pick a song that represents something about their experiences with the Mississippi River. I’ve spliced together their picks for this epis…

Send us a text Historian John Anfinson has spent much of his adult life working in jobs that keep him close to the Mississippi River, first with the US Army Corps of Engineers, then later with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a part of the National Park Service. In this episode, we have a wide-ranging discussion about his career …

Send us a text Every year, dozens of people load up their canoes or kayaks and set out to travel the length of the Mississippi River. Anne Sherve-Ose and two friends took a different approach. Over the course of 13 years, they paddled the Mississippi River one week at a time. In this episode, I talk with Anne Sherve-Ose about those trips. She descr…

Send us a text Steamboats revolutionized travel, dramatically shortening the time it took to get from place to place. When we think of the peak period of steamboat travel, we often picture images of tall boats with lacy trim and passengers dressed in finery relaxing in elegant lounges. But those steamboats were also prone to catastrophic failure th…

Send us a text In this episode, I talk with wildlife biologist Mark Vukovich about the unique area known as Snake Road. Located about 40 miles south of Chester, Illinois, Snake Road passes through the LaRue-Pine Hills and Otter Pond Research Natural Areas. It’s an area full of surprises any time of year, but it’s best known for a few weeks in sprin…

Send us a text Today, we all know—assume—that the Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. How did we figure this out? Why does it matter? In this episode, I dig into the history of how European and American explorers searched the swamps and forests of Minnesota trying to figure out exactly where the Mississippi River springs …

Send us a text Amy Janik has a passion for winged creatures, which is how her professional career shifted from birds to insects in the order Odonata—dragonflies and damselflies. In this episode, we go deep into their world. After Amy describes how she got interested in dragonflies and damselflies, she offers a few tips about how to tell them apart,…

Send us a text John A. Logan grew up in a well-to-do household in Murphysboro, Illinois, in the years before the Civil War. He had political ambitions early, maybe even from the moment he took his first breath, but the trajectory of his career took some remarkable turns. In this episode, I talk with Betsy Brown and Laura Varner from the General Joh…

Send us a text Aaron Brown is a writer, teacher, and lifelong resident of the Mesabi Iron Range, an area that has produced an enormous share of the iron ore that built America and won two world wars. In this episode, we take a look at the Iron Ranges of Minnesota with Aaron Brown as our guide. Aaron describes the geography of mining in Minnesota, t…

Send us a text Some people have the outdoors in their blood. Will Collins is one of them. From the time he attended his first summer camp as a child, he felt drawn to the outdoors. In this episode, I talk with Will about his path from childhood summer camps in Wisconsin to multi-week expeditions in remote areas. In 2017, he paddled source-to-sea on…

Send us a text Did a 70-foot-long river behemoth really lurk in the river’s channel in the 1870s? Are there monsters in the river’s depths that have eluded us so far? In this episode, we delve deep into the Mississippi’s murky waters and mystical swamps to uncover stories about the terrifying creatures that we have imagined prowl the river. We also…

Send us a text Very few people today have any memory of a relatively free-flowing Mississippi River. The scale and persistence of river engineering is staggering, and for many of us, the engineered Mississippi is the only Mississippi we have known. That’s one reason journalist Boyce Upholt’s new book is so important. In The Great River: The Making …

Send us a text This year marks a major milestone, not just along the Mississippi but for conservation efforts across the United States. In June, the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In this episode, I talk with Sabrina Chandler, Refuge Manager and Hallie Shulz, Visitor Services Manager about …

Send us a text If you’re like me, as you’ve driven along the Mississippi River, or even around the country, you’ve noticed communities that aren’t doing too well. Many of these are older urban areas, but I see plenty of small towns struggling, too. What’s going on? Isn’t this just the free market at work? To dig into this issue, I invited my brothe…

Send us a text For years, I’ve been visiting the places along the Mississippi and writing guidebooks about the history and culture of the towns and people. Now I’ve got something new to add to the list: a guide to the natural history of the river itself. In my new book, The Wild Mississippi: A State-by-State Guide to the River’s Natural Wonders, I …

Send us a text In July 2002, Trapper and Mandy Haskins set out an epic trip to row a handcrafted boat down the Mississippi. The boat performed great, but the grind of dodging industrial traffic around Baton Rouge wore them down, so they ended the trip at New Orleans. That decision turned out to be hard for Trapper to live with, so a few years later…

Send us a text In 1924, Will Dilg and the newly formed Izaak Walton League of America fought the proposed drainage of the lush Winneshiek Bottoms near Lansing, Iowa by lobbying for the creation of a new, unprecedented-in-scope federal refuge. In less than a year, they succeeded, and the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge was …

Send us a text The Mississippi River has inspired artists of many stripes, including Prairie du Chien-based sculptor Florence Bird. In this episode, I talk with Bird about her path into a career as a professional artist, how she found inspiration from the Mississippi, and the details of how she goes from idea to a life-sized bronze statue. Bird is …

Send us a text On April 8, 2024, a full solar eclipse will make is way across North America from Texas to the Northeast. It’ll cross the Mississippi River south of St. Louis. Much of southeast Missouri and all of southern Illinois will be in the path of totality, with some places experiencing the eclipse for just over four minutes, including Trail …

Send us a text In The Log of the Easy Way, John Mathews wrote about a honeymoon trip he and his wife took in 1900. No, they didn’t relax at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica; they traveled a couple thousand miles down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers in a homemade shantyboat. Their book is just one of many written by people who have taken a lon…

Send us a text What’s it like to work on a riverboat? Lee Hendrix entered riverboat work in 1972 as a deckhand, worked his way up to mate, then into the pilothouse. He has spent most of his adult life as a pilot of riverboats big and small, from tows pushing barges to elegant overnight cruise ships. In his new book, Peep Light: Stories of a Mississ…

Send us a text Men have dominated the world of outdoor adventuring and guiding for so long, that it’s easy to overlook the increasing presence of women in all spheres. More women now complete long-distance paddles on the Mississippi, as well as through hikes on the major trails. The world of guided paddling on the Mississippi reflects the trend. In…

Send us a text It’s easy to take weather forecasting for granted, especially given the difficulties with producing accurate forecasts, but at least we almost never get surprised by big storms. That wasn’t true in 1940, when an unusually warm November day turned deadly. In this episode, I tell the story of the Armistice Day Blizzard, a massive storm…

Send us a text Drive anywhere along the Mississippi or most any other river and you’ll see a levee, an earthen wall that parallels the river to keep water in the main channel and out of the adjacent floodplain. In this episode, I talk with Nicholas Pinter about levees and the good and bad that has come with them. We discuss the evolution in respons…

Send us a text I don’t know if there’s another animal that has been simultaneously reviled and admired like wolves. We have a primal fear of them—their howls can make the bravest among us pick up their pace. But wolves also occupy a unique place in many cultural myths representing family, loyalty, and intelligence. In this episode, I talk with cons…

Send us a text In this episode of the podcast, we wade into food traditions in the places along the Mississippi. Chef Regina Charboneau, a 7th generation Natchezian and author of Mississippi Current Cookbook: A Culinary Journey Down America’s Greatest River, is our guide as we talk about food traditions in places as different as Minnesota and Natch…

Send us a text Coffee shops, bars, diners, churches, bowling alleys—these are all important places in our social lives, so-called third places after home and work. When I’m traveling, I am drawn to them, whether I’m traveling for work or fun. They are not only great places to learn about the community, but I’ve also made new friends at many of them…

Send us a text Welcome back! Last week, I shared the first part of my conversation with General Gerry Galloway, the person chosen by President Clinton to lead a review what happened in 1993 and what could be done to prevent such extensive damage in the future. Because our discussion ran long, I split it into two episodes. Check out the previous epi…

Send us a text In 1993, the Great Mississippi River Flood upended lives throughout the Midwest, although the greatest damage was in the Mississippi River floodplain from the Quad Cities south to around Cairo, Illinois. Thousands of people were forced into temporary shelters, and 52 people. In the aftermath of the flooding, President Clinton establi…

Send us a text Louisiana is known for its swamps, and for good reason. In spite of some of the associations with have with the word swamp, I find them beautiful, mysterious, and magnetic. In this episode, I talk with Jessica Gauley about a section of swamp along the Pearl River known as Honey Island. Jessica grew up with the swamp and today runs Ho…

Send us a text Dense forests of white and red pine once ranged across northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Tall, ancient trees that were part of a rich ecosystem well-adapted to the northern climate and one that had evolved to rely on periodic fires to stay healthy. Those trees were also highly desired by logging companies and builders who needed vast…

Send us a text People in North America have been getting around in canoes for thousands of years. The basic design was so perfectly engineered that we’re still using it today. In this episode, I talk with Mark Neuzil, who co-wrote “Canoes: A Natural History in North America” with Norman Sims. We talk about the basic design, variations in materials …

Send us a text It’s summer, which means it’s a great time to get out on or along the Mississippi River, and this year’s version of River Days of Action is a great place to start. In this bonus episode, I talk with Michael Anderson, Director of Outreach and Education for the Mississippi River Network, about what’s happening for River Days of Action …

Send us a text What are the challenges involved with managing a small rivertown? And how does a dyed-in-the-wool Northeasterner and international business consultant end up living in a small town on the Mississippi River in the middle of America? That’s the path Philip Stang has followed to Kimmswick, Missouri, where he has served multiple terms as…

Send us a text On May 17, 1673—350 years ago—Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette began an epic trip from the Great Lakes through Wisconsin and down the Mississippi River, one that would prove to be enormously consequential for European colonial ambitions and for the lives of indigenous people in the region. In this episode, I talk with Micha…

Send us a text What’s your Mississippi River like? Why do you keep coming back? For many people, the Mississippi means barges and Mark Twain, but the river is so much more than that. In this episode, we hear from five people who have a strong connection with the river that doesn’t involve barges or Mark Twain: a writer and poet, a sculptor, two lon…

Send us a text It seems to be in our nature to draw lines that separate us from this or that. Rivers offer a convenient way for us to draw some of those lines, those boundaries, especially big rivers. In this episode, I tell a few stories about how we’ve used the Mississippi River to draw political lines, some of which didn’t quite go according to …

Send us a text Just across the main channel of the Mississippi River from downtown Winona, Minnesota, you’ll find a unique community of folks who live intimately with the river. Dozens of boathouses line the eastern shore of Latsch Island, and many of them are home to people who live there year-round. In this episode of the Mississippi Traveler Pod…

Send us a text Spring is in the air, at least for the lower two-thirds of the Mississippi Valley. Birds are on the move already, and early spring flowers are popping up in my part of the river. With migration season just getting going, it’s a good time to talk about a few places where it’s relatively easy to appreciate all those birds on the move. …

Send us a text Over 3,000 years ago, a community of people who lived off the land constructed a remarkable group of earthworks that includes mounds, a plaza, and a series of C-shaped rings where they probably built houses. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Diana Greenlee about this amazing place, Poverty Point World Heritage Site. We talk about the …

Send us a text If there’s one thing we love to debate, it’s history and what history we should teach and idolize. In this episode, I share a few thoughts about the history we know and why we should dig deeper into stories from the past. I also interview the founder of the Mississippi River Photos group on Facebook, Norman Schafer, and share a Missi…

Send us a text Bald eagles! January and February are popular months for eagle watching along the Mississippi River, as the birds congregate near open water along the river where the fishing is easy. In this episode, I go deep into the lives of bald eagles with Ed Hahn, Director of Marketing and Communications at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha…