Episode 37: The Fight for the Upper Mississippi: Steven Marking on Will Dilg and the Birth of a Refuge

In 1924, Will Dilg and the newly formed Izaak Walton League of America fought the proposed drainage of the lush Winneshiek Bottoms near Lansing, Iowa by lobbying for the creation of a new, unprecedented-in-scope federal refuge. In less than a year, they succeeded, and the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge was

By |2024-03-25T17:44:30-05:00March 27th, 2024|Podcast|0 Comments

Episode 19: Revisiting the Legacy of the Marquette and Jolliet Expedition 350 Years On

On May 17, 1673—350 years ago—Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette began an epic trip from the Great Lakes through Wisconsin and down the Mississippi River, one that would prove to be enormously consequential for European colonial ambitions and for the lives of indigenous people in the region. In this episode, I talk with

By |2024-01-03T12:28:18-05:00May 17th, 2023|Podcast|Comments Off on Episode 19: Revisiting the Legacy of the Marquette and Jolliet Expedition 350 Years On

Cairo

Population (2010) 2,819 Introduction Once a bustling port at the confluence of two of the biggest rivers in the US, Cairo (pronounced CARE-o) today is a shell of its former self. The reasons for its shocking decline aren’t too hard to figure out. History The

By |2022-12-05T17:36:30-05:00December 11th, 2018|Illinois|Comments Off on Cairo

Illinois’ Little Egypt

The most southern portion of Illinois has been known as Little Egypt at least since the 1820s, and maybe earlier. Many early European settlers viewed the Mississippi River as America’s Nile, which, coupled with evidence that the area was inhabited by an ancient civilization (earthen mounds that often looked a lot like pyramids) probably

By |2018-12-08T17:36:14-05:00December 8th, 2018|About the Mississippi Valley|Comments Off on Illinois’ Little Egypt

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