Pressroom Podcast

The man, the myth, the living legend. Duluth News Tribune outdoors writer and columnist Sam Cook shares his words of wisdom, outdoor expertise and the story behind yellow dog on this week's Pressroom Podcast. Cook recently hiked the entire Duluth portion of the Superior Hiking Trail, 32.5 miles, in one day with two other guys. He tells us his favorite parts of the trail, what he ate throughout the hike and whether or not he will do it again. "It was everything I wanted it to be," Cook said about the daylong hike. "It's just walking but it ain't walking on the Lakewalk." What we are into this week: Learning from our children, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and exploring the Northland trails. Can you guess who said what? We also respond to your best burger submissions. Thank you to all who responded and as always if you have a question or comment please email us at podcast@duluthnews.com.

Over a month ago, we declared our love for our favorite pizza pies in the Twin Ports. Now with grilling season in full swing, our mouths are watering over juicy, greasy, delicious burgers. "I just had a BBQ bacon cheddar burger and it's just really good," said Christa about the new burgers being offered at Toasty's in downtown Duluth. "I don't even feel bad about eating it. I could eat one every day and I'd never get the burger guilts." Putting all of their burger "guilts" aside Christa, Brady and Tom highlight their favorite go-to burgers around town, what toppings are acceptable and whether or not "craft" burgers, such as ones made with wild rice patties or served bunless, should be classified as actual burgers.  What is your favorite burgers in the Twin Ports? Email us at podcast@duluthnews.com What we are into this week: Brady is challenging his kids on the tennis courts, Christa dives head first into the Snapchat world, and Tom throws us a curveball. 

Well, we did it. We got Duluth Mayor Emily Larson to agree to be on our podcast and answer all our questions - less policy and more personality - sight unseen. Mayor Larson describes the moment when she officially felt like a Duluthian, what her favorite attractions are in the city and why she makes her guests jump in Lake Superior when they come to visit. Also back by popular demand, newsroom interns Kier Zimmerman and Kim Schneider get the Mayor's opinion on Millennials, her favorite female role models and Beyonce's new album Lemonade.  What we are into this week: Cavs winning the NBA Finals, the lively city of New Orleans, sitting on floors, Rock the Garden, Dolly Parton, and the Minnesota Lynx. Can you guess which one(s) Mayor Larson said? As always you can reach us at podcast@duluthnews.com with any questions, comments or topics you'd like to see covered. 

Meet our summer newsroom interns Kier Zimmerman and Kim Schneider as they offer their fresh, Millennial perspective of Duluth and its residents. Kier is a Duluth East grad who wrote for the Greyhound student newspaper, enjoys James Corden videos and hopes to teach Brady Slater a thing or two about pop culture. Kim is from the Twin Cities suburbs, has a passion for hula hooping and hopes to cover stories that focus on successful women leaders in the area. Already the two of them have written some of our most popular news stories in June. If you have a question for our interns email us at podcast@duluthnews.com and we will invite them back for another show.  

Happy Grandma's Marathon week! Duluth News Tribune sports reporter Louie St. George III, a marathon runner himself, joins us in this week's Pressroom Podcast to talk about one of Duluth's biggest events of the year.  Grandma's Marathon is the 11th largest marathon in the country. The marathon, which celebrates its 40th year running Saturday, and its other races will bring over 20,000 runners to the Duluth and the shores of Lake Superior.  Have you run Grandma's Marathon before? Will you be running it this year? We want to hear from you. Email us at podcast@duluthnews.com.  What we are into this week: Murder mystery (x2), the new family dog, and vegetarianism. How is that for variety?

After watching a handful of episodes, or the entire 13-episode show, the Pressroom Podcast crew sits down to critique the new Netflix Original Series "Lady Dynamite" starring Duluth-raised actor-comedian Maria Bamford.  Whether it's your introduction to Bamford's work like Brady Slater or you've been following her whole life's work like Christa Lawler, the Pressroom Podcast crew agrees Bamford's new show has something to offer everyone.  Have you watched the show? Tell us what you think at podcast@duluthnews.com. 

Duluth News Tribune's most read blogger Bob King, a.k.a Astro Bob, stops by the studio for a little astronomy lesson.  King, who is also the photography editor at the New Tribune, shares the story of when he first got interested in space, offers a little teaser to his new book to be published this fall and what to look for in the night sky right now. "The best thing right now is to just go out and face the southeast at night, just right over Lake Superior, and you will see this fiery bright star and that's the planet Mars," King said. "And you're like 'Wow, how did that show up in my life?' And it's just because you took a moment to look up. And a lot of people don't."  Visit his blog here for up to date "celestial happenings you can see from your own backyard." If you have a question for Astro Bob or the podcast crew, email us at podcast@duluthnews.com

Duluth's native son Bob Dylan turned 75 Tuesday. To celebrate the musician's milestone birthday, Duluth News Tribune reporters Christa Lawler, Brady Slater and Tom Olsen share their favorite Dylan songs, memories and find out who is the biggest fan among the three of them. Although, after this response we'd say it's a pretty lopsided contest. "If I'm in my care I've got Dylan. If I'm in my garage I've got Dylan. I've got the 'Freewheelin'' Dylan in my garage and I listen to that maybe once a week," Slater said. "I listen to '61 Revisited' while I'm in my kitchen once or twice a week. But like I said, I don't have the encyclopedic understanding of his career."  Do you have a favorite Bob Dylan song or memory? Share with us at podcast@duluthnews.com.    

Thin crust or deep dish? Tomato sauce or white garlic sauce? Veggie or meat lovers? Olives or no olives? "You know how they talk about how a person sort of changes every seven years? I have gone through phases of being into sauce. Phases of being a cheese guy. But right now, I'm in a seven-year crust phase," newsroom pizza expert Brady Slater said. "And the crust matters to me." From the best places in town to get a slice, to the best/most unusual toppings and the best finds in the freezer section at the grocery store, Slater along with Duluth News Tribune's trusted za experts Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen weigh in  on the popular pie.  

This week we bring you the first ever Podcast Potluck - a mix of the recent Twin Ports happenings that we've been wanting to talk about.  Topics range from the notorious Minnesota fishing opener weather to the new Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken. We put a few of these topics in a hat, a fedora to be specific, and Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater and Tom Olsen offer their two cents on the matter. Other topics include the new Maurices headquarters in downtown Duluth and new happenings in Superior as requested by one of our loyal listeners.  As always if you have a topic idea or comment, please email us at podcast@duluthnews.com 

For some the Duluth tourism season begins when the first Saltie passes underneath the Aerial Lift Bridge. For others it's when the Portland Malt Shoppe opens up along the Lakewalk.  Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen share what they love about tourism in Duluth and whether or not they take part in the larger events such as Grandma's Marathon or the Tall Ships Festival.  What is your favorite thing about tourism in Duluth? Do participate in the larger weekend events or do you tend to walk in the opposite direction? Let us know at podcast@duluthnews.com. 

Founder of Duluth's Homegrown Music Festival Scott "Starfire" Lunt joins us in the studio this week to talk about how the week-long festival started, how the local music scene has grown since and how he got his nickname. As Duluth News Tribune's arts and entertainment reporter Christa Lawler gears up for her "Super Bowl" event, which begins Sunday, May 1, she gives Homegrown newbies Tom Olsen and Brady Slater a lesson on the annual music event. Lunt also announce that his band, Father Hennepin, will be performing with a famous person during Homegrown. As a bonus, you can hear Father Hennepin's song "Grace and Despair" in our intro and outro this week.  Side note: if you've seen Lunt's green Guild Starfire guitar you are encouraged to return it to its rightful owner. 

"There is more space to let your freak flag fly. You are more willing to be yourself. Like, there's  other people like you somewhere. I just think it's a really accepting group." Yeah, the Millennial producer hand-picked that quote. But Christa Lawler, a proud Gen-Xer, did actually say it. So that should count for something, right? This week Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen join the hundreds of thousands of other people talking about the 20-30 somethings who grew up with the world at their fingertips.  What do you think about the Millennial generation? Let us know at podcast@duluthnews.com 

Slow news day? You are a mouthpiece for the city. You're just trying to sell papers.  Here it is folks. Popular misconceptions about the newspaper industry. Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen discuss some of the more popular newspaper misconceptions they hear from readers or see in comments on Facebook posts.  Did we miss any? Do you agree/disagree with these misconceptions? Let us know at podcast@duluthnews.com   

Mystery, drama and a superhero movie. Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen checked out a few new movies recently and here is what they had to say. Everything you need to know from Siskel, Ebert and the other guy.  New to the podcast, find out what the gang is up to on their regular assignment beats with our inside the newsroom segment "Your beat, my beat." 

After the recent news about Silver Bay pulling Bent Paddle beer from its liquor store, Duluth News Tribune reporters Brady Slater, Tom Olsen and Christa Lawler share their thoughts on the situation and the formation of the Downstream Business Coalition, of which Bent Paddle is a part of. The coalition is made up of "small business owners who understand that a sustainable economy in Minnesota's North is dependent on a healthy ecosystem and clean water." 

"I have to admit, I thought I would be basically off this week working on projects around the house I bought last summer. ... But nope, the Bulldogs are in the NCAA tournament, which is cool. It's fun. It makes my job more interesting yet." Duluth News Tribune college hockey reporter Matt Wellens wakes up early to join Christa Lawler and Tom Olsen on the Pressroom Podcast and talk about the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team, which is headed for the NCAA tournament this week in Worcester, Mass. Wellens briefs us on the Bulldogs' road to the tourney, their performance in the Frozen Faceoff and how they match up against Friday's opponent, defending national champion Providence. 

Not too long ago Subway was the only lunch option near our downtown Duluth office. Now there is more variety and more appeal to eating out for lunch. Duluth News Tribune arts and entertainment reporter Christa Lawler joins Tom Olsen this week to talk about a few of the new lunch choices they are making these days. Both Olsen and Lawler eat out for lunch everyday so one could say they are experts in the field. 

In the wake of a powerful obituary that was published in the Duluth News Tribune last week, reporters Brady Slater and Tom Olsen honor the family's wishes by breaking the "destructive silence on the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide." Story: Powerful obituary seeks talk about depression, suicide Obituary: Aletha Meyer Pinnow

"I come away pretty proud that (this movie) sheds a really good light on reporting. So this is a good moment for our kind," Duluth News Tribune reporter Brady Slater said about Academy Awards Best Picture winner "Spotlight."  This week Slater and Tom Olsen talk about the film (small spoilers, but nothing Earth shattering), why they think it deserved the award and what it means to journalists today and how they cover tough stories. Olsen has reported on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and offers his experience in covering these controversial cases. Let us know what you thought of the film. Send us your comments or thoughts to podcast@duluthnews.com