Points North | Great Lakes. Great Stories.

A brief conversation about chestnut trees sends a hospice nurse down a rabbit hole that changes his life. ___________________________ *** We need at least 200 of you to step up and join the Points North Fan Club by the end of the year! It's just $5 a month. Sign up today for more unexpected stories from around the Great Lakes. Plus, we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

George Bernier spent long, cold nights as a sled dog mailman in Michigan’s wilderness in the 1800s. What did those nights sound like and feel like? ___________________________ *** We need at least 200 of you to step up and join the Points North Fan Club by the end of the year! It's just $5 a month. Sign up today for more unexpected stories from around the Great Lakes. Plus, we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

A small Wisconsin village is known for one thing: frog jumping. This yearly cultural competition has been happening for over 70 years and brings out hundreds of people. But all that tradition is ending, due in part, to one woman who says her mission is protecting frogs. ___________________________ *** We need at least 200 of you to step up and join the Points North Fan Club by the end of the year! It's just $5 a month. Sign up today for more unexpected stories from around the Great Lakes. Plus, we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Darren Bush has a rule about gifts. He won’t sell anything that was given to him. And, when the time is right, he will give that item to someone else. With one carbon-fiber paddle, that time came on a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Darren Bush is a writer , hospice chaplain, avid paddler and owner of Rutabaga Paddlesports in Madison, Wisconsin. ___________________________ *** We need at least 200 of you to step up and join the Points North Fan Club by the end of the year! It's just $5 a month. Sign up today for more unexpected stories from around the Great Lakes. Plus, we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Kevin Shafer's job is to prevent Milwaukee’s sewage from overflowing into Lake Michigan or people’s basements. After a Points North episode about him dropped, he got something unexpected in the mail. ___________________________ *** We need at least 200 of you to step up and join the Points North Fan Club by the end of the year! It's just $5 a month. Sign up today for more unexpected stories from around the Great Lakes. Plus, we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Marcia Bjornerud says we live in a time illiterate society. Most people don’t have a good sense of how extremely long the geologic chapters of earth’s history were. And she argues that’s leading to many of the environmental problems we’re facing today. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

One man in northwest Wisconsin thinks the deer population is out of control. And he’s willing to go to great lengths to rein it in. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Iceland has figured out how to use almost 100% of every fish caught – not just the filet. By making things like durable leather, beauty products and skin graft bandages, it’s increased the value of Atlantic cod from about $15 to over $5,000. Can this approach help the struggling Great Lakes fishery? _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Cheryl Steele didn’t want sleep. She once stayed up for 26 hours, just to avoid it. Because every time she drifted off, she dreamed she was in the middle of a storm on Lake Huron, clinging to a canoe with three of her friends. The reason she was having these nightmares was because she had lived them. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Brick is beautiful, and it’s full of all these hidden stories. At least that’s what Will Quam wants to convince you of on his tour of Chicago brick. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Something is killing moose calves deep in the woods of northeast Minnesota. The clues left behind are scarce: flecks of blood, bits of flesh, bone splinters. So to get answers, scientists are turning to dogs. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

A teen band in western New York is destined for greatness. Then cracks begin to form, starting with an unwelcome surprise from Lake Erie. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Michigan morel hunter Anthony Williams explains why he keeps his best mushroom spots secret—and why they're one of his family's most treasured heirlooms. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

In 1860, the steamship Lady Elgin was struck by a small schooner in Lake Michigan. Around 300 people drowned in the disaster, making it the deadliest shipwreck in Great Lakes history. The tragedy would have a major influence on maritime safety in the Great Lakes. This episode comes from Curious City , a podcast from WBEZ Chicago. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

When eight Bigfoot sightings were reported in just five days, northeast Ohio had the country’s attention. What was it like for these small rural communities to be at the center of the Bigfoot universe? And did it change what the people there believed? _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird in North America. But in 1914, they went extinct. Most of their last nesting grounds hugged the Great Lakes. What was it like to experience these birds? And what are we left with when we lose a species? _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

Owls are elusive birds of the night – part of this mysterious world we rarely encounter. Researchers are learning just how complex an owl’s communication is. We go into the woods to try to experience these birds for ourselves. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

For more overlooked stories from the past, check out HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts! On April 3, 1851, a man who escaped slavery to Boston was kidnapped by slave catchers. The Fugitive Slave Act turned cities across the North into hunting grounds. But resistance was growing. In Pennsylvania, William Parker was building a network to fight back. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

When Seth Swoboda’s trees started dying, he asked two scientists for help. Their theory: herbicides were drifting onto his private property from farm fields and killing his trees, and it was happening all over. They just had to prove it. This episode is based on a story written by Christian Elliott for bioGraphic Magazine. Read it here . _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .

After a boat captain notices strange black goo on his ship’s rudder, he scoops some of it into a cup. A few months later, that cup ends up in a lab, where scientists make a surprising discovery. _______________________ If you enjoy this episode, please text it to a friend! Help us get Points North out to more ears... Join the Points North Fan Club today! For just $5/month, you can support the show you love, and we'll send you some cool Points North goodies in return. Subscribe to the Points North Newsletter for more Great Lakes news. And follow us on Instagram .