Tuesday Morning Show

DNR terrestrial invasive species coordinator Laura Van Riper joins Heidi Holtan and John Latimer on the Tuesday Morning Show to inform us about the invasive jumping worms.  Laura cautions gardeners and anglers to be on the lookout for invasive jumping worms. These destructive worms can quickly degrade soils and damage garden plants and lawns.

DNR bear biologist and research project leader Dave Garshelis joins Heidi Holtan and John Latimer on the Tuesday Morning Show to talk about bears.  Dave talks about bears getting into our bird feeders and garbage due to easy access and the 70% decline in natural foods over the past decades.  For more about living and recreating in bear habitat, visit the DNR website.

Bird experts John Richardson from Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, Laura Erickson from “For the Birds” and Harry Hutchins retired forest ecologist and longtime host of A Talk on the Wild Side, join John Latimer and Heidi Holtan on the extended hour of the Tuesday Morning Show to talk about birds.  They share what types of birds you can see and hear now and what they are eating.  They give us information on fledgling birds and the migration of many species at this time of year.  We get tips on the types of bin

This week we had a conversation on the Tuesday Morning Show about two recent studies from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine,both led by Associate Professor Declan Schroeder.

There's good news and there is bad news.  People of Minnesota and visitors to our state are getting outside more and using public lands.  But they are being jerks about it.  Cutting down trees, leaving behind garbage and human waste....

The people that take care of our lands - the US Forest Service and MN DNR are dedicated to this place we live....we should be treating it better.

Tracy Kampa is the children’s librarian at the Grand Rapids Area Library, she joins Heidi on the Tuesday Morning Show.  Tracy tells us about the permanent Storywalk, consisting of 18 stations that run along the river walk.  Readers start the story next to the fishing pier and end at the walking bridge.  The first book is “One Dark Night” by Lisa Wheeler. 

Tracy and Heidi give us tips on how to choose books to read and they share what they have been reading to get them through the pandemic.

Laura Erickson joins Heidi Holtan and John Latimer on the Tuesday Morning Show.  They talk about her upcoming Zoom presentations on birding that she will be offering to her listeners and followers through her new Patreon account.  For more information go to lauraerickson.com.

Laura also shares her knowledge of red-eyed vireos, robins, hummingbirds, sandhill cranes and more!

Black Birders Week is a social media campaign celebrating black naturalists, and black birders in particular.  The initiative seeks to interrupt stereotypes about who belongs in nature and science, and was prompted in part by the Central Park birdwatching incident.  Co-founder of the event, Chelsea Conner, joins Heidi Holtan and John Latimer on the Tuesday Morning Show.  They talk about the challenges faced by black people being outdoors to enjoy nature.

When schools closed in MN due to the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning began, John Latimer and I weren't sure we'd be getting student phenology reports anymore. 

We did. 

Rob Marohn teaches in the "outer reaches" of the Proctor School District at Pike Lake Elementary.  A group of his class thrived and dug in deeper on Phenology during home learning.  We talked with him this week to thank him for his contributions and on making it through a complicated school year.

Scott Stowell, a contributing writer for Northern Community Radio, is from Ely.  He shares an essay on a recent trip he took to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, "The Scariest Thing in the Forest" on the Tuesday Morning Show. 

You can learn more about Scott at Writer Outfitter here.