My guests are Kristi Helmkamp, assistant director of the Kenosha Public Library System, and DJ Hanson, who is KPL's Marketing and Communcations Manager. We focus most of our conversation on the library's summer reading program, which culminates in a celebratory party in Library Park (outside of the Simmons Library) tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.

We speak with Luke Mickelson, founder of the national charity Sleep In Heavenly Peace (which has a Racine-Kenosha chapter, as well as several hundred other chapters across the country), will be one of the keynote speakers for the upcoming Inspire 2026 conference on October 16th at Journey Church in Kenosha. Part two features a brief interview from 2002 with former journalist Chris Matthews.

We speak with Robb Woulfe, executive director of the Racine Art Museum, about recent renovation at RAM Downtown, changes in admission fees and hours of operation, expansion of their studio art program, and an exciting multi-arts festival opening on September 18th titled "In/Between" in which RAIM will be extending itself into some intriguing places in the community.

We speak with writer Joel Dinerstein about his new book "The Last Jews of Ellis Island: a Brooklyn Memoir." Dinerstein's parents were among the last European Jews to enter the United States through Ellis Island- and they had Joel when they were both in their mid to late forties. Consequently, Joel was at the very end of that generation of children of so-called Ellie Island Jews. In his engrossing memoir, he not only chronicles what life was like in his particular family, but also the dramatic changes he saw in the Flatbush neighborhood where he grew up.

From 2005- John Grogan, author of "Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog"

From 2018 - Laurence Bergreen, author of "Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius."

Tiffany D. Jackson talks about her novel for young readers titled "Ghost in the Night." From the archives- we hear from Tim Federle, author of "Better Nate than Ever" - and John Feinstein, author of "The Walk On" - both of these books also intended for young readers.

Part One: Jim Zondlak, a board member with the Kenosha Sportfishing and Conservation Association, talks about the group's Pike River Clean-Up on Saturday, September 19th. This is the group's 19th annual clean-up event - a massive event that involves hundreds of volunteers. Part Two: from the archives- David Coggins, author of "The Believer: A Year in the Fly Fishing Life."

We begin the program with Gary Gronke, who is chairman of the board of Kemper Center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a plethora of events coming up this Saturday, August 22nd. We fill out the hour by replaying a portion of a conversation from 2022 with three women (Barb Axelson, Susan McMinn and Anna McGuire) who were students at Tremper Hall, the girls' school that operated for a century on the grounds of what is now Kemper Center. The occasion of that conversation was the 150th anniversary of the founding of Kemper Hall.

We speak with James M. Scott, author of "Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War." The book examines the very end of World War Two and what sort of discussion and debate behind closed doors led to the decision for the U.S. to drop the atomic bomb to bring the war to a close - when and where the bombs would be dropped - and why such a move was deemed to be necessary.