Signal WSIU Public Radio
An Online Newsletter
Vol. 13, No. 1 • Januar y 2015
This Month on Morning Conversation
JANUARY 5-9
ILLINOIS BUDGET SPECIAL. As Governorelect Bruce Rauner prepares to take office, Jennifer Fuller looks at cuts to higher education, a possible give-back of FY15 funding, and drastic cuts for FY16.
JANUARY 13
ABOUT
Tune in at 7:45am Tuesdays & other weekdays, as scheduled. Questions or comments? Send an email to jennifer.fuller@wsiu.org or call (618) 453-6101. Check out our web page at wsiu.org/programs/ morning-conversation to listen to past broadcasts.
UNION COUNTY AMBULANCE SERVICE. Brad Palmer takes a closer look at new technological upgrades for the Union County Ambulance Service and how these changes will impact residents.
JANUARY 20
SIU SAFETY. Jennifer Fuller revisits the Safety Awareness Campaign launched at SIU Carbondale in 2014 and asks: What’s working? What do statistics show? And what can the SIU community expect in the coming semester?
JANUARY 21 & JANUARY 28
RACE CARD LISTENING PROJECT. Community members share their experiences with and perspectives on race, collected at WSIU’s NPR Race Card Project listening booth at the Carbondale Civic Center in November 2014 during a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Presented in partnership with Carbondale Community Arts. (See photos on page 3!) Host Jennifer Fuller. Photo: Kaitlyn Conrad.
JANUARY 26
SIU PRESIDENT RANDY DUNN. Dunn reviews events of the past semester and discusses what’s ahead in 2016 for the SIU campus.
WSIU ALMANAC *JANUARY (DATE/TIME TBA)
GROWING POTATOES AND BLUEBERRIES IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS WSIU Radio Community Engagement Producer Kevin Boucher talks with Nathan Johanning, an educator in local food systems and small farms with the University of Illinois Extension Service. Johanning offers tips on growing potatoes and blueberries here in southern Illinois and explains how backyard gardeners can have great success with minimal effort.
IN THE AUTHOR’S VOICE *JANUARY (DATE/TIME TBA)
AUTHOR JOEL GREENBERG
In the year 1800, it was estimated that 5 billion passenger pigeons lived in the eastern part of the United States and Canada. Naturalists of that time wrote of seeing huge flocks of the birds that would darken the skies for three days straight. For a variety of reasons, the passenger pigeon population diminished, and the last known bird – a female named Martha – died peacefully in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914. How could a resource so abundant go extinct in just over a century, and what lessons can we learn from this sad story? Author Joel Greenberg, who visited the SIU Carbondale campus in the fall of 2014, stopped by WSIU Radio to discuss his book, A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight to Extinction, and the lessons we can all learn from the bird. * Airdates/times will be added as soon as scheduled. We will upload a new copy of Signal when ready.
WSIU Radio Community Engagement Producer Kevin Boucher. Photo: Robby Ballard.
Join us at the next Community Cinema!
A PATH APPEARS January 17
2:30pm @ the Carbondale Public Library [405 W. Main St.] A Path Appears travels throughout the USA and to Colombia, Haiti, and Kenya to reveal the incredible adversity faced every day by millions of women and girls, while also presenting glimpses of hope and change. From the team that brought you the groundbreaking Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
NPR Music is throwing a Tiny Desk Contest to help fans discover unknown artists! The Tiny Desk Concerts series at NPR has long been a place to see well-known musicians, as well as a launching pad for many new and emerging artists. Now, NPR Music is looking for true unsigned performers. They’re asking bands and musicians all over the country to film themselves performing one song behind a desk of their choice. The winner will play NPR’s famous Tiny Desk in Washington, D.C. and travel to Austin, Texas in March 2015 to appear in Lagunitas’ CouchTrippin’ showcase. If the winning artist has a connection to WSIU Radio, NPR Music will give us a shout-out, add our station logo in the winner’s Tiny Desk Concert video, and explore other engagement opportunities.
Contest is open through January 19, 2015. Details at npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
NOW THROUGH JANUARY 19, 2015! Hashtag « #tinydeskconcert Rules « tinydeskcontest.npr.org/rules
– Article by Sarah Maher, WSIU
Jackie McFadden is still relatively new to Carbondale, though she’s been volunteering at the Southern Illinois Radio Service (SIRIS) for about a year. She and her husband moved to the area to be close to their daughter and grandson following retirement. McFadden was already looking for volunteer opportunities in the community when she discovered SIRIS. “I knew right away that SIRIS would be a good place to meet people while helping others,” she says. McFadden has always been involved in charitable work, so she’s no stranger to volunteer work. She helped with the PTA at her daughter’s school, worked with hospice, and volunteered for a number of political campaigns. When she heard on WSIU Radio that SIRIS needed help, “I thought ‘well gosh, I can read the newspaper.’” she says. “It’s not as easy as it seems, but it’s a great experience. I’m glad that I can help, and it keeps me informed. If you’re looking for an hour or two to volunteer each week, SIRIS will fit well with your schedule.” McFadden has only good things to say about the benefits of doing volunteer work and its importance to a community. She explains, “The old saying is, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ Well, I say, it takes a community to keep the community going.” She adds, “If you’re blessed with health and time on your hands, support the community because community is what we make it.” A native of Tinley Park, a south suburb of Chicago, McFadden also lived in Decatur, Ill. where she raised her daughter while working at Millikin University as an events planner and fundraiser. McFadden has been a yoga enthusiast for the past 15 years of her life. A year and a half ago, she began teaching yoga and is now teaching classes twice per week in Carbondale. “I teach restorative yoga,” she says. “It’s meditative, it’s mindfulness, it’s very relaxing, and it’s fun. I really enjoy it!” When McFadden isn’t volunteering or teaching yoga, she spends time with her family, gardens, walks, reads, swims, and does home decoration projects. “I have a growth mentality,” she shares. “I really enjoy when I can leave somewhere thinking, ‘Well, I didn’t know that before.’” McFadden is also a fan of NPR and PBS programming on WSIU. “I love listening to the local programs and classical music on WSIU Radio,” she says. “On TV, I enjoy programs like Antiques Roadshow, This Old House, and special documentaries. such as the Rockefeller films from American Experience.” Want to serve as a volunteer reader for SIRIS? Call (618) 453-2808 or send an email to sarah.maher@wsiu.org.
THE WSIU RADIO LISTENING BOOTH
SIRIS VOLUNTEER Jackie McFadden
WSIU Radio’s NPR Race Card Project listening booth at the Carbondale Civic Center in November 2014 invited guests to share their experiences with race, beginning with a six-word sentence. General Manager Jeff Williams (in blue shirt in photos) captured their stories for air on January 21 & January 28 at 7:45am! Stay tuned for more listening booth opportunities. [All photos: Pearl Franz]
SATURDAY 7PM & SUNDAY 6PM JANUARY 3 & 4 New Releases
We start the year with a first peek at some new releases, as well as return to recent releases from the past couple of years.
JANUARY 10 & 11 Child Ballads XI
THANK YOU! Please join us in thanking the underwriters who recently began, renewed, or expanded their partnership to make public radio possible:
This week we revisit for the 11th time to the traditional ballads of Scotland and England, as collected and numbered in the late 1800s by Professor Francis James Child of Harvard and as performed by some of today’s leading singers.
JANUARY 17 & 18 Banjo Bands
Farm Credit Illinois
Banjos have been moving to the forefront of more and more Irish and Scottish bands in recent years, and this week we explore that trend with tracks from We Banjo 3, JigJam, Dallahan, and other top bands.
JANUARY 23 & 24 Songs of Robert Burns
This week we celebrate the 256th birthday of Scotland’s great writer and collector of songs, Robert Burns, with help from singers like the late Jean Redpath, as well as younger singers from both sides of the Atlantic.
Fat Patties Carbondale
Neighborhood Co-op Grocery Carbondale
SIU University Communications Carbondale
Town Square Market
JANUARY 31 & FEBRUARY 1 24th Anniversary Show
This week we celebrate our 24th anniversary, having gone on the air for the first time on February 3, 1991. Suggestions for how to celebrate are welcome. Simply email the host at bcrow@siu.edu within two or three weeks of the broadcast.
WEEKENDS 6:30AM [HD1] SATURDAY 5:30AM [HD2]
Hear top news stories of the week in Illinois state government and politics with WUIS Springfield’s State Week in Review. Hosted by Executive Editor and former Statehouse Bureau Chief Bill Wheelhouse (above), the program features commentary by panelists Charles Wheeler, Director of the Public Affairs Reporting Program at UIS, WUIS News Director Sean Crawford, and WUIS Statehouse Chief Amanda Vinicky.
Carbondale
For a complete list of WSIU sponsors and information about sponsoring WSIU’s programs and services, visit us online at wsiu.org or call (618) 453-4344.
WSIU Public Radio Communications Building 1003 Mail Code 6602 Southern Illinois University 1100 Lincoln Drive Carbondale IL 62901 (618) 453-6101 wsiuradio@wsiu.org