Photo by Randen Pederson

Submissions through Monday, April 4 for contest; all submissions archived on WPR; public event on April 27

For story (fiction, nonfiction) and poetry submission guidelines, click here. WPR will accept song submissions about the St. Louis River that will be broadcast on KUWS during the “The Dean’s List” in May. Contact Walter Raschick (a.k.a Walt Dizzo) for more information: waltdizzo@gmail.com.

KUWS/Wisconsin Public Radio will feature a public reading of people’s stories about the St. Louis River on April 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Great Hall of Yellowjacket Union at UW-Superior. The free event is coordinated in collaboration with the One River, Many Stories project. Wisconsin Public Radio will accept submissions in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry, with deadline for submissions on Monday, April 4.

Mike Simonson and the roots of the One River project
“We applaud Paul Lundgren and his team for coordinating a massive storytelling and journalism undertaking in the Twin Ports on the St. Louis River,” said Danielle Kaeding, a longtime student, friend and colleague of former WPR reporter Mike Simonson. “Mike loved swimming in Stryker Bay. It’s a fitting tribute to combine Mike’s love of the river with his passion for telling stories.”

Lundgren recalls meeting with John Hatcher, University of Minnesota Duluth associate professor of journalism, about his idea to have media collaborate on stories about the St. Louis River. The idea came from a conversation between Lundgren and Simonson before Mike’s death in Oct. 2014.

“Mike Simonson had a project planned for his retirement,” writes Lundgren in an online essay. “That was the type of guy he was. I’d never heard him talk about retiring, and then the first time he mentions it he’s laying out a plan to produce an epic radio documentary about the St. Louis River … for fun.”

The goal of WPR’s collaboration with “One River, Many Stories” is to produce a Moth Radio Hour-like broadcast on how the St. Louis River is significant to people living in and around Duluth-Superior. The event is modeled after the successful “Writers Read” events that have been organized by writers living in the Chequamegon Bay area.

“It is exactly what we dreamed would happen with this project,” said Hatcher, a member of the One River, Many Stories grant team.

The public reading will be recorded and broadcast on WPR stations 91.3 FM in Superior and 90.9 FM in Ashland.

Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Extension. For more information about the KUWS contest and the April 27 event, contact Danielle Kaeding at KUWS at (715) 828-6392 or danielle.kaeding@wpr.org