River Radio
News and information featuring interviews with prominent newsmakers from Minnesota, across the U.S. and the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Hosted by Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson, with technical director Matt Quast.
Episodes
76 episodes
October 5, 2024 – An Election Under the Microscope; A Surprising Source of Support for Olympic Gold Medal U.S. Gymnasts.
Host Jim Maher speaks with Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon about the pressure facing election officials as November approaches and how the state is preparing for it (5:00). Host Gayle Knutson talks with former Marine resident
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Season 6
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Episode 2
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46:23
September 21, 2024 – Did NAFTA lead to MAGA?, and The St. Croix River’s Turtle Mystery Solved.
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson kick off Season 6 of River Radio, speaking with Dan Kaufman, contributing writer, The New York Times and The New Yorker, on how NAFTA helped our neighboring ...
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Season 6
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Episode 1
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54:42
July 12, 2024 – Summer Special – Assessing the Supreme Court
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson welcome U.S. District Judge John Tunheim for an extended discussion about the just-completed term of the U.S. Supreme Court and its potential ramifications for governance and the country as a whole. They...
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Season 5
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Episode 16
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42:18
May 4, 2024 – Top summer book reads; planning your summer travel.
Gayle Knutson talks to Pamela Klinger-Horn of Valley Bookseller with her recommendations for great summer reads (5:00); and Jim Maher talks summer travel with Kyle Potter of Thrifty Traveler (27:00). Also included is an update of ...
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Season 5
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Episode 15
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56:10
April 20, 2024 – Amy Hagstrom Miller on the abortion issue; The Valley Chamber Chorale
Jim Maher talks to St. Croix Valley native and prominent national pro-choice advocate Amy Hagstrom Miller about politics and health care aspects of the abortion issue (4:30). Gayle Knutson talks about the world of choir music with Dar...
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Season 5
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Episode 14
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52:58
April 6, 2024 - It Really IS All About The River
Gayle Knutson conducts her yearly interview with Greg Seitz, writer and founder of St. Croix 360, about all things St. Croix River (4:30); and Jim Maher speaks with Deb Ryun who will soon be retiring after 15 years as Executive Di...
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Season 5
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Episode 13
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48:56
March 23, 2024 – A green energy progress report; and growing up in a religious cult
This week on River Radio, Jim Maher speaks with Robinson Meyer, New York Times contributor and executive editor of HeatMap about the state of our green energy transition (4:00); and Gayle Knutson talks with Darcy Becker, who recen...
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Season 5
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Episode 12
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53:28
March 9, 2024 – Today’s Environment for Law Enforcement and The World of Under Told Stories
Gayle Knutson talks to Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry about the challenges facing law enforcement and his thoughts on the recent tragic events that took the lives of three Burnsville, Minnesota first responders (5:00); and Jim Mahe...
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Season 5
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Episode 11
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54:15
February 24, 2024 – Securing the 2024 Election and Getting a Head Start on Your Garden
This week on River Radio, Jim Maher talks to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon about new state laws taking effect with the upcoming March 5th presidential primary election and preparations for the November election (6:00); and Gay...
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49:31
February 10, 2024 – The House Always Wins – America’s Gambling Explosion
Hosts Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher talk to, Dr. Timothy Fong, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program (5:00); and Brianne Doura-Schawohl, consultant and lobbyist on responsible gambling...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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52:37
January 27, 2024 – All Creatures Great, Small and Smaller
This week on River Radio, hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson talk to, Oliver Milman, Environment Correspondent for The Guardian and author of the book, “The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World" (5:00); ...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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51:41
January 13, 2024 - Resolved: Become a Better Money Manager and Learn to Create
Jim Maher conducts a financial roundtable with Chris Farrell of Public Radio’s Marketplace and Ross Levin, financial advisor and Star Tribune columnist (4:30); and Gayle Knutson talks to Kate Seitz, executive dir...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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51:07
December 16, 2023 - Buy Better Books and Build Baby Build!
This week on River Radio, hosts Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher talk to, Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, MN, about top choices for books to consider this holiday season (6:00); and Adam Rogers, senior corresponde...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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51:22
December 2, 2023 – Big Pharma vs. Americans; Extreme Athletes vs. The Impossible
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson talk about why drugs cost so much in America and how pharmaceutical companies are trying to defend their profits with Prof. Nicholas Bagley, law professor, University of Michigan (6:00); and hear from Marius An...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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52:02
November 18, 2023 – Tackling Environmental Challenges Far Away and Close to Home
Hosts Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher talk about the wonders of the Galapagos Islands and challenges created by climate change with longtime Galapagos naturalist Silvia Panchana (5:30); and hear about how to improve biodiversity in your own backyar...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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50:17
November 4, 2023 – The Long Slog to the 2024 Election and A Rapid Ride Down the Mississippi
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson talk politics with Lori Sturdevant, longtime political reporter for the Star Tribune and River Radio’s national political editor Brian Gruis (13:30); and learn about a Guinness World Record-setting Mississippi ...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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58:53
October 14, 2023 - The Supreme Court and Supreme Chocolate
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson speak to Hon. John Tunheim, senior U.S. district judge for the Minneosta district about the new Supreme Court session and other court matters (4:30); and award-winning chocolatier Robyn Dochterman of St. Croix ...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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52:48
September 30, 2023 – A Preponderance of Plastic and Local Actor Makes Good on Guthrie Stage
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning author (“The Sixth Extinction”) and New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert about the harsh realities of plastic and other major environmental matters (5:00); and local actor D...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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59:41
May 13, 2023 – From Hunter Gatherers to Artificial Intelligence
Hosts Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher speak to wild food enthusiast and educator Carson Gross, who shares his expertise on how to forage for mushrooms (4:30); and David Nguyen of the University of Minnesota's Technological Leadership Institute on t...
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Season 4
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Episode 16
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58:30
April 29, 2023 - Mother Earth – Globally and Locally
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson talk with world-renowned journalist and environmental advocate Bill McKibben about the state of climate change and what can be done from here (5:00), and William O’Brien State Park Supervisor Wayne Boerner abou...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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48:43
April 15, 2023 – Rollin’ Up AND Down the River; From Russia With Haste
Co-hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson talk to Minnesota native Aaron Bogott, a longtime Russia resident who fled the country after the war began, about his experiences and impressions of the situation in Russia (5:00) and Ryan Ramaley, captain o...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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48:49
April 1, 2023 – Trippin' and Trekkin'
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson speak with Dr. Dennis McKenna, ethnopharmacologist, on the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics (5:00); and Kyle Potter, Executive Editor, Thrifty Traveler, with advice for the upcoming traveling season (...
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Season 4
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Episode 13
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55:34
March 18, 2023 – Keeping a Watchful Eye on Sacred Treasures – The St. Croix River and Social Security
Hosts Gayle Knutson and Jim Maher speak to Craig Hansen, National Park Service Superintendent of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway about the latest on the river as spring approaches (4:30); and Nancy Altman, Co-Founder and President of Soc...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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53:19
March 4, 2023 - Preserving our American Idyll
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson speak to Greg Seitz, founder and editor of the St. Croix 360 newsletter, about news happening up and down the river (6:00); musician John Gorka about his upcoming Marine Library benefit concert (23:00); and Pol...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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51:08
February 18, 2023 - Did America's Electric Car Revolution Take a Wrong Turn? Are We Making Progress with Pollinators?
Hosts Jim Maher and Gayle Knutson speak with David Zipper, Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center for State and Local Government on what's going right and wrong in America's attempted conversion to electric vehicles (6:0...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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50:08