Pressroom Podcast

It was never our guest's intention to own a pig farm, but things kept falling into place for him and his family to keep going. Matt Weik of YKer Acres joins Christa Lawler and Brooks Johnson on the podcast this week to talk about their recent move to a new farm in Carlton and how the farm-to-table business model best suits them and the Duluth restaurants they supply.

Weik also shares some insight on life on the farm and how tough it was when one of their very first sows, Minnie, passed away last week. "My good friend and I have talked about this a lot and he says, 'If it's not hard then you shouldn't be doing it.' And I totally agree with him on that," Weik said.

This week we have with us a local business owner who looked at a vacant liquor store and saw a good place to spend his retirement. Bob Dobrow of Zenith Bookstore - which sells new and used titles - has been operating the popular West Duluth shop for about a year. Dobrow, who accumulated over 15,000 books before opening the shop, tells us how the stars aligned to make his dreams of owning a bookstore a reality. He also shares what new books and events are coming up this month.

Long time local DJ, perhaps the longest-running FM DJ in the city limits, Christine Dean joins Christa Lawler and Barrett Chase on the podcast this week. Dean is music director, webmaster, and host of KUMD's Music Throughout the Day and Live from Studio A, which includes interviews and in-studio sessions.

Dean shares her favorite behind-the-scenes stories from interviewing and recording with local bands in the studio, some of which made the liner notes in Volume 1 of KUMD's Live from Studio A album.

In 2015, Jared Munch spent 50 days circumnavigating Lake Superior on a stand-up paddle board. More recently, he performed the first SUP descent of the Steel River Loop in Northern Ontario.

Jared shares what life has been like since paddling around Lake Superior, how he got interested in whitewater stand-up paddle boarding and what other adventures he has in mind.

Maybe you've seen Troy Rogers pushing his music-making robots along the Lakewalk in Duluth: silver suit, gas mask, teddy bear affixed to his torso. Rogers, who performs as Robot Riskshaw, started as a composer - then he began incorporating robots into his work.

Shamanic healer, writer, and friend of nature Sarah Bamford Seidelmann returns to the podcast this time to tell us about her new book "The Book of Beasties: Your A-to-Z Guide to the Illuminating Wisdom of Spirit Animals."

Sarah shares how her core beastie ("everything from a bumbled bee to a bear to a dragon") and guest beasties have helped her learn more about herself. She also walks us through an exercise to allow a beastie to come forward during the podcast.

News Tribune reporter Jimmy Lovrien and his college roommate recently tackled 200 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail in 10 days.

Why 10 days? That's all the PTO the young professionals could take off of work.

Jimmy tells us about the grueling task of hiking from sun up to sun down, the wildlife sighting along the way, and how long it takes for a pair of socks to crust over.

She's been called Duluth's favorite runner. Two-time Olympian and 1996 Duluth East graduate returned to her hometown earlier this month to run the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.

She stopped by our studio a few days before the race and talked with News Tribune sports reporter Louie St. George III and features editor Beverly Godfrey about such diverse topics as body image, doping, her serious dog allergy and the fake Spotify playlist that bears her name.

Candace LaCosse's journey to learn how to make handcrafted shoes and leather products took her from Duluth to South Korea to Grand Marais to the East Coast, and back to Duluth again. Today she is the owner and operator of Hemlocks Leatherworks, located in the Lincoln Park Craft District.

News Tribune reporter Christa Lawler and features editor Beverly Godfrey sat down with LaCosse to dig into that journey, and to discuss where our clothing comes from, the ethics of leatherworking and the re-emergence of handcrafted goods.

Grandma's Marathon was started in 1977 by the North Shore Striders — a group known to sometimes paint their own mile markers straight onto the road. Scott Keenan was there at the beginning, when the restaurant was secured as a sponsor and the big names in a relatively young sport started spreading the word about the course that runs from near Two Harbors to Canal Park.

Keenan retired as race director five years ago, but told tales of the early days — and gave a shout out to a racer who never got her proper due — in this edition of Pressroom Podcast hosted by reporters Christa Lawler and Jon Nowacki.