Afleveringen
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A busy year is coming to an end, so weâre 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. Iâve spliced together their picks for this episode, and they cover a lot of territory, from classic river songs to a couple of unexpected choices. While I canât include the songs in this podcast because of the copyright police, head to Spotify and look up âMVT Podcast Episode 53 playlistâ to listen to them. I wish you all a relaxed and meaningful end to 2024.
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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 as a river historian. During his tenure with the Corps of Engineers, for example, he learned of the work of Henry Bosse, whose photographs and maps documented the Mississippi before the lock and dam system was constructed. We discuss the early history of the lock and dam system, including a brief overview of the forces that propelled that project forward. Anfinson also describes the origins of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, how theyâve driven greater engagement with the river, and the challenges they face just letting people know they exist. We conclude with a few thoughts about the future of the river, from short-term challenges to the hope that more people will get involved to shape the riverâs future.
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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 describes how the trips evolved and changed over time, shares an episode where they got stranded, and talks about the joys she experienced being on the river. We also talk about her history with outdoor adventures and taking adolescents and young adults on wilderness experiences, including a community college course she taught that included a week-long expedition in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area; students on that trip completed art projects to describe their personal experiences while camping and canoeing.
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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 that even the well-heeled passengers couldnât escape. In this episode, I describe the threats that steamboat passengers and crew faced every day: the dangers of floating debris in the river, worries about boat-engulfing fires, and the terror of a boiler explosion. I share a few first-hand accounts from survivors of steamboat disasters and describe a boiler explosion inflicted terrible suffering on one of our most beloved personalities, Mark Twain.
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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. Itâs an area full of surprises any time of year, but itâs best known for a few weeks in spring and fall when snakes move between the bluffs and nearby wetlands and the paved road is closed to protect them. In this episode, Mark talks about this unique ecological area and the 22 species of snakes that make it home. He offers tips for when to visit and how to be a respectful visitor and describes a citizen scientist project that he started. Mark also has responsibilities for forest management in the area, so we talk about the forests of that area, past and present, and the birds they attract. He offers a few thoughts to help identify migrating birds in the fall, when they may look and sound different from other times of year.
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Today, we all knowâassumeâthat 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 to life, as well as what motivated their searches. Henry Schoolcraft is usually credited as the person who figured it out, but he had a lot of help, wasnât even the first Euro-American to visit the lake, and doubters continued to challenge his claim for another 60 years. I finish by asking what exactly we mean by a riverâs âsourceâ and wondering if itâs time to think much more broadly about how and where rivers begin.
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Amy Janik has a passion for winged creatures, which is how her professional career shifted from birds to insects in the order Odonataâdragonflies 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, describes the species native to the Midwest near the Mississippi River, what they like to eat, and their life cycles. Based on her experiences in the field researching dragonflies and damselflies, she suggests a few places that offer especially good viewing opportunities. Itâs everything you ever wanted to know about dragonflies and damselfliesâand then some!
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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 John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro about his remarkable life and what lessons we might take from it. We talk about the early years of his political career, when, as a Democrat, he helped author laws that prevented Blacks, even free Blacks, from moving into Illinois. We discuss why he and most of his fellow southern Illinoisans opted to support the Union when civil war broke out and how Logan proved to be an exceptional military leader. We cover how his experiences during the Civil War had a profound impact on his view of slavery and African Americans, and how that led him to change political parties after the war and become a champion of equal rights for African Americans. After the war, Logan played a major role with a veterans group known as the Grand Army of the Republic, a group that helped establish the holiday that we now know as Memorial Day. Loganâs wife Mary was every bit as impressive as him, and we spend some time talking about her life, as well, and her accomplishments after John passed away. The story of Loganâs life is a big one, yet I think itâs largely been lost to the pages of history. I think youâll quickly see how the story of his life offers lessons for us now and for the future.
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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, the initial boom that drew thousands of immigrants to the area to work the mines, the experience of working in a mine, and how the continuous boom and bust cycles have shaped the lives of people in the area. We then talk about places folks should visit when they travel to the Mesabi Range and a few foods that should be on your short list. We finish with a few tips on how to connect with Bob Dylanâs history in the area (he was born in nearby Duluth but grew up in Hibbing.)
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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 the Mississippi River. I ask him how he planned for the trip, about the generosity of people he met along the way and the daily rhythms of a long-distance trip, and also about adjusting to life after the completion of a big expedition. The year after his Mississippi River trip, he paddled for 70 days on the Yukon River. He describes how that trip differed from paddling the Mississippi. Willâs love for the outdoors extends well beyond his own expeditions, so we finish with a discussion of his podcast, Buffalo Roamer Outdoors, and the guided trips he coordinates. Willâs enthusiasm for getting outside is infectious and may inspire you to get out for your own adventures.
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Did a 70-foot-long river behemoth really lurk in the riverâs channel in the 1870s? Are there monsters in the riverâs depths that have eluded us so far? In this episode, we delve deep into the Mississippiâs murky waters and mystical swamps to uncover stories about the terrifying creatures that we have imagined prowl the river.
We also take a deep dive into a much smallerâand deadlierâmonster along the river. The mosquito. We dig into stories about the swarms of mosquitoes that plagued early settlers, bugs that brought with them deadly diseases including malaria and yellow fever. We relate the stories of the devastating yellow fever epidemics that swept through cities New Orleans and Memphis, leaving a trail of death and despair.
Are you brave enough to venture into the mystical, monster-filled world of the Mississippi? Donât forget your lucky charmâyouâre going to need it!
NOTE: This episode includes graphic descriptions of the effects of yellow fever on the human body.
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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. Thatâs one reason journalist Boyce Upholtâs new book is so important. In The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi, Boyce details our century-plus history of tinkering with the natural Mississippi to remake it into a river that suits our wants and needs.
In this interview, Boyce and I talk about how he got interested in the Mississippi, the relentless engineering projects weâve pursued to alter the river for commerce and flood protection, who manages the river, and what values have ultimately been driving these changes. He describes the costs of these projects, not just the dollars but also the loss of ecosystems and wildlife. We finish by talking about the importance of making a personal connection to the Mississippi and how there are many ways to do so. This interview is ultimately a wide-ranging discussion of the riverâs past and future.
In the Mississippi Minute, I praise John Ruskey and the Quapaw Canoe Company for how theyâve influenced me and the importance of their work bringing people to the river. The Quapaw Canoe Company has been struggling financially since the Covid pandemic, and they are currently running a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to secure their future. Please consider helping.
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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 the past, present and future of the refuge. We talk about the early years, about the tasks the early managers faced to establish the refuge. We also talk about how the refugeâs conservation mission and public use have changed over time. We praise the thousands of volunteers, many organized as part of one of the Friends groups, who help care for these precious public lands. The refuge has been a success by nearly any measure, but they still face significant threats, particularly from climate change and invasive species. Still, this is a year to celebrate, so we finish by highlighting a few of the events happening this summer to mark the refugeâs centennial.
In the Mississippi Minute, I give a shout out to many other federal refuges that protect land and water along the Mississippi River.
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If youâre like me, as youâve driven along the Mississippi River, or even around the country, youâve noticed communities that arenât doing too well. Many of these are older urban areas, but I see plenty of small towns struggling, too. Whatâs going on? Isnât this just the free market at work? To dig into this issue, I invited my brother, Kevin Klinkenberg, onto the podcast. Kevin is an architect and planner who has spent much of his career working to improve communities. In this episode, we talk about what makes cities and towns good places to live. Kevin describes the traditional way that cities and towns developed and how we upended all that in the United States. Kevin briefly details some of the policies that transformed development patterns and the consequences of those policies. We finish by looking at two Mississippi River townsâone that is doing well and one that isnât. Kevin emphasizes that there are no silver bullets to magically turn places around, but communities arenât helpless, either.
In the Mississippi Minute, the American Queen has been in the news, but for all the wrong reasons. The company went bankrupt, and a rival bought their boats in the bankruptcy auction. Will the American Queen return to river cruising? We donât know, yet, but you can let the company know youâd like to see that happen.
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For years, Iâve been visiting the places along the Mississippi and writing guidebooks about the history and culture of the towns and people. Now Iâve 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 Riverâs Natural Wonders, I describe the complex and varied world of the Mississippi River and offer practical tips about how to experience the riverâs world. In this episode, just ahead of the bookâs formal release on May 21, I talk about The Wild Mississippi, so you know what to expect from it: how itâs organized and what content to expect. I also pull back the curtain and describe what I set out to do with this book and why I included what I did. But, wait: thereâs more! At the end of the episode, I read the preface, so you can get a sneak peek at whatâs to come.
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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, he and his family put the boat back in the Mississippi where theyâd left off in 2002. The last 100 miles presented more drama and challenges than they had imagined, but they made it to the Gulf. Trapper wrote a book about the experience called Crooked Old River that releases on April 13 (2024).
In this episode, I talk with Trapper about his childhood experiences with the Mississippi growing up in Memphis, how he got interested in boat building and the idea that sparked an interest in rowing down the Mississippi, how he and his wife prepared for the trip, his love of history and how that added to the experience, the circumstances around ending their trip early in 2002, and then going back years later. Trapper talks about how the trip changed him and how traveling on a river can encourage introspection and reflection.
In the Mississippi Minute, I look ahead to a busy summer of Mississippi-themed books to read. From sweeping histories of the river itself, to novels that reimagine river life from new perspectives, youâll have plenty to keep you busy this year.
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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 born. This year, events throughout the upper Mississippi mark its centennial.
Will Dilg was probably more responsible for the success than anyone else. He was one founder of the Izaak Walton League and intimately familiar with the channels and islands of the upper Mississippi River. In this episode, I talk with Steven Marking, a musician and riverlorian who was so fascinated by Dilgâs story that he wrote an entire show about him.
In this episode, Marking talks about his own childhood on and near the Mississippi and explains how he felt connected to Dilg. We talk about Dilgâs love of the upper Mississippi, a tragedy on the river that changed his life, his role with the Izaak Walton League and lobbying for the refuge creation. We also talk about some of Dilgâs character traits that didnât always endear him to others. We finish with a description of the new show that Marking created about Dilg.
In the Mississippi Minute, I preview some events coming up this summer to mark the centennial and mention a couple of my favorite spots.
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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 enthusiastic about her art and the Mississippi and was an absolute delight to interview. I start this episode with a brief review of the history of the area that Bird finds so inspiring.
In the Mississippi Minute, itâs spring! But itâs also very early for spring, especially Up North. I describe some of the action going on and wonder what youâre seeing in your part of the river.
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On April 8, 2024, a full solar eclipse will make is way across North America from Texas to the Northeast. Itâll 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 of Tears State Park just north of Cape Girardeau. Many of these places were in the path of another total eclipse just 7 years ago.
In this episode, I talked with Alison Dubbert from Missouri State Parks and Cory Jobe from Great Rivers and Routes in Alton, Illinois. We gave an overview of the places that will have a good view of the total eclipse in Missouri and Illinois, with an emphasis on public lands, and some of the special events going on to celebrate it. Accommodations will be hard to come by in the eclipse zone if you havenât booked a place yet, so we offered some tips about where you should look. We have some tips for daytrippers, too, and a few thoughts on how to deal with the expected crowds. (Hint: Be patient.) We also talked about some of the lessons learned from 2017, when crowds got very big in many places.
In the Mississippi Minute, I share a few memories about viewing the eclipse in 2017.
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In The Log of the Easy Way, John Mathews wrote about a honeymoon trip he and his wife took in 1900. No, they didnât 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 long trip on the Mississippi, from Charles Lanmanâs trip in 1841 straight to shantyboat travelers like Mathews and on to the present and the many books from long-distance paddlers on the Mississippi.
In this episode, I offer a few impressions about what these books have to say about the Mississippi, what it was like in the past and what it is today. While river travelers werenât shy about detailing what they liked and what they didnât, their stories go far beyond expressing simple preferences.Stories from people who traveled the Mississippi at different points in time illuminate how weâve changed the riverâs world. Wildlife sightings are less common than they used to be, for one thing. They also highlight the transition from the wonder travelers felt at the riverâs natural abundance to the days when we dumped anything and everything into the river to today when water quality is much better. The books document the increasing presence of engineers, especially from the Army Corps of Engineers, along the river, and the coincident decline in communities of people who lived off the river. The accounts of river travelers offer a peek inside those vanished river communities, along with unflinching descriptions of the deeply held prejudices toward African Americans and Native Americans, views that many of the travelers themselves shared.
Join me in this episode and letâs time travel along the Mississippi River!
In the Mississippi Minute, I suggest a few books from river travelers that I think youâll enjoy.
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