Garrison Keillor (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News/Landov)
From the American heartland to the vast urban centers, humorist, writer, and hard-core Minnesotan Garrison Keillor offers an old-time variety show as homespun as it is savvy. Broadcast weekly before a live audience, A Prairie Home Companion combines live music, radio theater, and yarns spun from the fictional Lake Wobegon, complete with cowboys, Norwegians, starving artists, Lutherans, jingles for Powdermilk Biscuits, weekly solos, and singalongs.
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/
Show Staff
-
Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor's old style variety show and fake small-town gossip and news stories on A Prarie Home Companion finds the humor in the simple and and the luminary in the humble. The Writer's Almanac brings poetry to life for the common man.
Latest Stories from A Prairie Home Companion
Last updated: Monday, February 04 2013 05:48 PM
February 2, 2013: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 02 2013 06:00 AM
"It's been bitterly, bitterly, bitterly cold in Lake Wobegon. It was so cold that they did not do the fire drill up at the high school." A group of Miami tourists arrives in town on a bus tour, Dorothy puts together a last-minute meal for them at the Chatterbox Cafe, and Renee Rasmussen's husband Delbert returns for the first time in years.
January 26, 2013: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 26 2013 06:00 AM
"It's been cold, it's been cold. It's been in the low teens--highs in the day. We don't do wind chill in Lake Wobegon. It seems like bragging to us somehow." Memories of the terrible winter of 1951--including sheltering local deer in the high school gym and Seena Halvorson meeting her husband while ice fishing--and Margie and Carl Krebsbach have an awkward encounter with their son, who has just moved home.
January 19, 2013: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 19 2013 06:00 AM
"It's been cold out there but it's a dry cold, you know, so it's not painful or anything and of course we are used to it. But, the battle of the thermostat goes on in every house in Lake Wobegon." The town gathers firewood to prepare for the cold weather, Mavis celebrates her 75th birthday in Los Angeles, and Clint Bunsen reflects on missing the opportunity to move to the Southwest.
January 12, 2013: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 12 2013 06:00 AM
"We've gotten some snow, even better than that, we've gotten frost--frost, when you have a clear night and you have high humidity, you wake up in the morning and everything is covered with frost." Terrible flu hits Lake Wobegon, memories of ice skating and smoking in the warming house, storytelling around a bonfire on a frozen lake, and the Lutheran church ends the year with a surplus.
January 5, 2013: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 05 2013 06:00 AM
"It's been cold and gray, just a little bit of snow falling, children reluctantly going back to school. Lot of things had to be canceled because of that blizzard a couple of weeks ago." Texting disrupts a choir concert, Darlene resolves to find a man this year, and Clint Bunsen visits his wife's uncle in Omaha.
December 29, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 29 2012 06:00 AM
"We got a little snow -- a little snow Monday night. What a beautiful snowfall it was, and not all that cold out." In a monologue from January 2012, warm weather puts those who suffer from "Pump Handle Phobia" at ease. Plus, Mr. Hansen lends a hand around the neighborhood while his wife visits her sister in Florida, and reveals an unusual secret.
December 22, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 22 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been kind gray and cloudy, sort of drizzly, this last week, waiting for snow to come. We've had a little bit of snow but not as much as we deserve." Mrs. Hansen makes an anonymous donation, the Tolleruds are forced to change their Christmas dinner plans when their daughters invite a Brazilian exchange student, and Pastor Liz hosts guests who have nowhere else to go.
December 15, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 15 2012 06:00 AM
"We had our first really good snowfall of the year. It was predicted in the Gospel from St. Luke, which was last Sunday morning." The Lake Wobegon public schools get a snow day, Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church's seasonal decorations cause discomfort in the congregation, Pastor Liz visits the town's elderly residents, and the Bunsens comfort their daughter after her terrible week at work.
December 8, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 08 2012 06:00 AM
"Sort of balmy, balmy weather early in the week and then we got some drizzle and then finally last night we got some snow, snow, beautiful snow." Mavis and Vern continue their relationship despite Irene's objections (and become the talk of the town in the process), Pastor Liz visits elderly residents for the holidays, and the Chatterbox Cafe's potato sausage gives the town a festive aroma.
December 1, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 01 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been cold out there. It's been in the 20s and the 30s, big full moon this Wednesday, people putting up Christmas decorations." Dorothy and Darlene swap Thanksgiving stories, the Bunsens host a Thanksgiving dinner for people with no place else to go, and Mavis and Vern spend some time together despite their political differences.
November 24, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 24 2012 06:00 AM
"It's Thanksgiving this week and the exiles up from the cities for the traditional Thanksgiving, whatever that may mean nowadays. And then on Thursday, this ice storm hit and the roads became slick and slippery." Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility hosts the town's joint Thanksgiving service, women gather at the Bon Marche Beauty Salon, and Clint Bunsen puts up his Christmas lights.
November 17, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 17 2012 06:00 AM
"Winter came in Sunday night. A cold front moved in and the snow fell. Big beautiful flakes still falling on Monday morning." Memories of sledding in Lake Wobegon, Daryl Tollerud goes deer hunting and attends the Annual Meatball Dinner (formerly the Annual Lutefisk Dinner), and Pastor Liz discusses Gabriel García Márquez at a dinner party.
November 10, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 10 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been cloudy and chilly, a little rainy. It's been November weather and all these geese flew in--about 500 of them in a flock, along with about 10 swans." The election puts a damper on conversation in Lake Wobegon, Clarence Bunsen proposes the cancellation of the Christmas Lutefisk Dinner, and Mr. Hoppe dies on his way home from the Sidetrack Tap.
November 3, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 03 2012 06:00 AM
"The world has taken a turn towards the cold. The sun comes out but it's not warm anymore -- we've taken the big turn towards fall." Art's rules for staying at the Night o' Rest Motel, Dorothy urges Chatterbox Cafe customers to try pumpkin bread pudding, and Pastor Liz meets a carpenter named Michael at a bar in St. Cloud.
October 27, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 27 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been chilly and kind of gray and drizzly. Winter sort of arrived in a big rush on Thursday. It was briefly sunny, back on Sunday." Irene Bunsen and Mrs. Anderson argue about the ownership of an enormous pumpkin, Lyle points out a hard-to-see meteor shower, which draws a crowd of onlookers, and the last boxelder bugs of the season find refuge in Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church.
October 20, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 20 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been chilly and drizzly and rainy here this last week, and windy as well, so a lot of the leaves have fallen in town." Falling leaves herald conflicting yard work styles, Clint Bunsen makes some improvements to his deer stand, and memories of ill-gotten poker winnings.
October 13, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 13 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been chilly. It's been sunny out there. The gardens are all in--everybody's picked everything there is to pick. People are working on their yards now." Pastor Liz avoids giving a sermon about a difficult verse, the Bakkes move to Arizona to care for Jack's mother, and Darlene bumps into her old English teacher at the El Dorado Casino.
October 6, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 06 2012 06:00 AM
"It was warm and beautiful early in the week, and then Wednesday night you could feel the earth turn and the world change." The Pettersons host an enormous bonfire and Orville makes a friend while on a train trip to California.
September 29, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 29 2012 06:00 AM
"Fall has come on. There's a definite chill in the air and there are people who have to get up in the night and close their bedroom windows." The Hansens take a road trip to Yellowstone, Kurt visits Amsterdam after retiring as the janitor of the Lake Wobegon elementary school, and Pastor Liz goes on a date with a youth minister.
September 22, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 22 2012 06:00 AM
"A big wind came in yesterday and brought in a little taste of November for us. It turned chilly and cold almost right away." Jimmy Krebsbach returns from Texas to visit his friends and family (leaving behind his large collection of Cadillacs) and reveals the origin of a strange scar on his chest.
September 15, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 15 2012 06:00 AM
"It's a gorgeous, gorgeous fall here. Gorgeous nights--warm days, cool nights." Pastor Liz hosts a bonfire and Mr. Lofgren's orchard produces an exceptional harvest of his "Julia" apples.
September 8, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 08 2012 06:00 AM
"Mozart's 250th birthday this year. All over America, even in Lake Wobegon: choirs celebrating, singing Mozart." Recollections of choirs in Lake Wobegon, plus songs for "Mary Jo" and "One More Spring in Minnesota," in a monologue from 2006.
September 1, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 01 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm and humid this last week and we've gotten a lot of rain, which has been good for the gardens in my town." The town apprehends a band of mailbox vandals, Bruno the Fishing Dog tears through Irene Bunsen's tomato patch, the Whippets start their season, and thoughts on fresh produce in Lake Wobegon, in a monologue from 1999.
August 25, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 25 2012 06:00 AM
"It turned cold this week, to everybody's great relief -- to finally have winter here, for sure. No doubt about it. No going back and forth between fall and winter, but just winter. The real thing."
August 18, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 18 2012 06:00 AM
"We're coming to the end of this warm spell in November and it is none too soon. Need to get real here. If we go on much longer with this sort of weather in November and it just encourages people to entertain all kinds of illusions." A monologue from November 2001.
August 11, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 11 2012 06:00 AM
"The Whippets won last Sunday afternoon. They played the Freeport Flyers and they won by a score of 3-2. It was a great game--it was one of those close, tight games where everything that happens means a lot because it's so close." Babe Ruth visits the town for an exhibition game against the Lake Wobegon Schroeders, in a monologue from 1985.
August 4, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 04 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there--what we call warm. It's been in the 90s. It's been good tomato-growing weather." Irene Bunsen grows a crop of unique tomato plants and a potential buyer bartends at the Sidetrack Tap to get a feel for the place, allowing Wally to enjoy some time on his pontoon boat, in a monologue from 1999.
July 28, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 28 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there this week. Been up in the 80s--unusual for October. The trees are at their peak and everybody should've been happy." Clint Bunsen endures a talkative duck hunting companion, the Lake Wobegon High School football team faces a feared rival, and Pastor Liz chooses between three very different sermon topics, in a monologue from October 2011.
July 21, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 21 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there--warm enough so that people are now able to sleep at night with their windows open, which changes everything in a person's life." High school graduates prepare to explore the world, and a life-changing trip to the Grand Canyon, in a monologue from 2003.
July 14, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 14 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been gorgeous, it's been perfect, it's been sunny, it's been warm. The raspberries and the strawberries are coming in. The tomatoes are not too far away." Lake Wobegon enjoys the summer strawberry crop, and the story of Bernice and Earl, who served as missionaries in Ecuador before returning to a Minnesota rhubarb farm.
July 7, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 07 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm--got up to 100 degrees on the Fourth of July so everything has slowed down in town. Dogs are not chasing anything anymore." Pastor Liz checks in on the students at her Lutheran Bible Camp, the Lake Wobegon Whippets defeat the Avon Bards and their unorthodox third baseman, and the town celebrates the Fourth of July.
June 30, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 30 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been a beautiful, beautiful week. It's been warm and sunny--gets up into the 90s in the afternoon but the mornings are perfect." The town deals with a heat wave and the meanest woman in Lake Wobegon passes away.
June 23, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 23 2012 06:00 AM
"A lot of heat at the beginning of the week and storms -- sheets of rain coming down -- it was a beautiful, beautiful thing." Lake Wobegon celebrates Father's Day, Lake Wobegon Lutheran church celebrates the baptism of Roger Hedlund's granddaughter, and the sounds of the town interrupt the Sunday service.
June 16, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 16 2012 06:00 AM
"It was very brutally, brutally hot here this last week and the deerflies came in, which is a form of plague." Powerful storms roll into Lake Wobegon, Luanne Peterson copes with the arrival of a new patient in the pediatric intensive care unit, and a story to comfort Luanne when she breaks down under an overpass during the storm.
June 9, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 09 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm there -- what we would consider warm. It's been up in the 80s and it's been kind of rough on these Scandinavians." The high school graduation ceremony moves out of the air-conditioning-less gymnasium, the students are disappointed by the transit of Venus, Hannah Rasmussen overuses a metaphor in her valedictorian speech, and the Mueller children return to Lake Wobegon for their mother's funeral.
June 2, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 02 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been beautiful. It's been dry. It's been in the 70s, a little breeze coming in, very low humidity." The class of 1962 returns for a reunion, the class of 2012 plans their senior prank, the story of an epic food fight, a tent caterpillar infestation hits Lake Wobegon, and Corrine Tollerud discusses Kierkegaard and Christianity with Pastor Liz.
May 26, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 26 2012 06:00 AM
"It's summer at last and the rhubarb is coming in and the lilacs are in full bloom. Somebody's been cutting alfalfa. The crickets, you can hear them, and the frogs are singing." A rainstorm drenches the town, the Lake Wobegon Whippets begin spring training, local families open their lake cabins, and the Lutheran church switches to its summer service schedule.
May 19, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 19 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been hot out there and we're not used to it. Gets up into the 80s and it's very humid and people get nauseous walking back and forth into air conditioning and back out." The strawberries and blueberries are plentiful in Lake Wobegon, the junior high boys go skinny-dipping in the lake, and Pastor Liz arrives to much celebration and curiosity, in a monologue from 2010.
May 12, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 12 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been spring and the grass is lush and green and the flowers are up. It's just gorgeous. It's that time of year in Minnesota when it's too warm to snow again and not quite warm enough to go swimming." Corrine Tollerud returns from college having discovered Kierkegaard, Mr. Holmberg avoids a public speaking sentence, and Father Wilmer receives an unusual bequest.
May 5, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 05 2012 06:00 AM
"Kind of wet this week but nice and warm, up into the 80s. It's the real start of summer here. Spring is just a very brief season in Minnesota." Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church holds its annual book sale. Plus, the story of Dean Levine, who dreamt of becoming a cashier.
April 28, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 28 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been a beautiful spring. It's up in the 60s, been a little rainy but it's warm enough for us." Deer become a nuisance in Lake Wobegon, local high schoolers prepare for prom while the Good Shepherd Nursing Home holds its Sweethearts Dance, and Clarence Bunsen inherits a modest sum when his Aunt Astrid passes away.
April 21, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 21 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been kind of cold and rainy there this last week. We got a little snow on Monday -- we don't need to talk about that at all." The high school seniors prepare for their Senior Prom, the Sons of Knut do some spring cleaning, Pastor Liz ponders her encounter with a highway patrolman, and Mr. Nelson goes on a strange journey.
April 14, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 14 2012 06:00 AM
"Had a little bit of frost on Monday just to remind us where we live but otherwise it was warm. It was up in the 60s -- people had their windows open." The Lake Wobegon Whippets take some spring batting practice, Bud learns a lesson about friendship while putting the dock in the water, and Pastor Liz has an exciting evening on Easter Sunday.
April 7, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 07 2012 06:00 AM
"It is spring. The lawns have turned lush and green. The loons have arrived -- loons, who are monogamous, and one pair of loons will command a whole wide expanse of water out on Lake Wobegon." The town celebrates Easter, spring yard sales begin, the local Norwegian bachelor farmers wash their sheets, and Pastor Liz delivers an unexpectedly powerful Good Friday sermon.
March 31, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 31 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there. It's been windy. The ice went out on the lake a long time ago and even the old grumblers in the Chatterbox Cafe have had to admit that spring is here." March was a month of "firsts" in Lake Wobegon, Pastor Liz plans for Easter, and the story of aviator Wilbur Scott, who finds a final resting place at the Sidetrack Tap.
March 24, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 24 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been a big week in Minnesota weather. We had a little snow at the beginning of the week and it was cold and then it got warmer and the sun came out." The story of Mr. Turnblad, who built a sailboat, sailed the Gulf of Mexico for three months, and returned to Lake Wobegon a changed man. Plus, Darlene falls for a new bread deliveryman, and the town deals with rain on the night of the junior/senior prom, in a monologue from 2009.
March 17, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 17 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there -- temperature's been in the 50s and the 60s. The snow has melted, a good deal of it, except for very stubborn snow that hangs out in the woods." Lucille Tollerud leads a protest against changes to the post office, and other examples of "Irishness" in Lake Wobegon, in a monologue from 2000.
March 10, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 10 2012 06:00 AM
"We got a little snow out there this last week -- six inches but we don't care. We're not shoveling. The shovel's been put away. The snow plow is parked in the garage." Spring comes to Lake Wobegon and town constables Gary and Leroy respond to a dispute at the Magendantz home, in this monologue from 2011.
March 3, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 03 2012 06:00 AM
"We had a little snow here on Tuesday to try and freshen up our snow cover somewhat -- which was getting a little threadbare." Thoughts on ice fishing preparation, and Lake Wobegon Elementary students suffer the airborne effects of an unfortunate school lunch, in this monologue from 2007.
February 25, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 25 2012 06:00 AM
"It was a new moon on Monday so it was purely dark for three nights and there was very little snow on the ground to reflect any starlight or streetlights." Clint Bunsen turns to a vegetarian diet after his wife discovers a dangerous German cookbook, Pastor Liz makes a few pastoral calls, and they share an awkward encounter when Clint visits to repair her toilet.
February 18, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 18 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been warm there. It's been in the 30s — just a little trace of snow here and there, a sunny sky here today. Not winter as we know it. We will survive somehow." The town's Fourth of July committee meets to plan this year's parade, Daryl Tollerud encounters an angry skunk, and Clint Bunsen has a revelation about his ancestry.
February 11, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 11 2012 06:00 AM
"Valentine's Day coming up on Tuesday, so love is in the air." Cold weather returns to Lake Wobegon, the Lake Wobegon Leonards basketball team suffers a disheartening defeat, the Bunsens baptize a new granddaughter on Super Bowl Sunday, and Marilyn Tollerud tells the story of her grandfather, who outlived a dire prognosis.
February 4, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 04 2012 06:00 AM
"Barely-not-quite-winter -- in the 30s, low 40s, so there's not much snow around. People are kind of cranky as well." The Tolleruds have a gerbil loose in their house, reflections on hiding embarrassing photos and personal effects from your children, the town continues to deal with a warm winter, and Darlene defends a hair color mishap.
January 28, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 28 2012 06:00 AM
"We got a little snow -- a little snow Monday night. What a beautiful snowfall it was, and not all that cold out." The recent warm weather puts those who suffer from "Pump Handle Phobia" at ease. Plus, Mr. Hansen lends a hand around the neighborhood while his wife visits her sister in Florida, and reveals an unusual secret.
January 21, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 21 2012 06:00 AM
"It's been cold out there. It was one below zero here the other day and everybody felt pretty good about that." Kenny does some soul searching after leaving the Sidetrack Tap and getting stuck in a hidden snow tunnel, the Women's Circle switches from quilting to writing, and Pastor Liz has a revelation while "night swimming."
January 14, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 14 2012 06:00 AM
"Unseasonably warm early in the week but now, thank goodness, the temperature has dropped into the single digits, which is to everyone's satisfaction." The town's ice fishermen deal with an unexpected lack of ice, residents gear up for the Winter Festival, Lake Wobegon sets a world record, and Darlene is forced to stay close-mouthed.
January 7, 2012: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 07 2012 06:00 AM
"The crocuses are up and the tulips are up and then we got a little bit of snow overnight but nobody said a word about it." Dorothy wins the "Guess the Ice Melt" contest, the tundra swans return to Lake Wobegon, spring yard work begins, and Pastor Liz is forced to use her emergency sermon, in a monologue from April 16, 2011.
December 31, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 31 2011 06:00 AM
"It's been warm out there. It's been in the 40s so we had a brown Christmas -- we had no snow." Hawaiian visitors head to Lake Wobegon for a taste of winter, the Tolleruds and the Hansens fight over a good deed after a freezer malfunction, and some advice for 2012 as the town celebrates New Year's Eve.
December 24, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 24 2011 06:00 AM
"The snow is falling even now. I can imagine it -- snow falling across the lake, which is just starting to freeze here just a few days ago." The "city mice" visit the "country mice" for the holiday, and stories from four memorable Lake Wobegon Christmases.
December 17, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 17 2011 06:00 AM
"It's been much too warm out there. It's been raining. It looks dreary -- it doesn't look like the festival of lights whatsoever." Plus, a series of misunderstandings draws a crowd to Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility, the Tolleruds reluctantly accept a gift from a NYC relative, Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church celebrates St. Lucia Day, and the high school choir goes caroling.
December 10, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 10 2011 06:00 AM
"It's been cold and that snow that is on the ground is now there to stay and we're happy about that." -- Winter comes to Lake Wobegon. Plus, thinking twice about offering hospitality after a visit from Aunt Cooter, the Bunsens forego their usual holiday arguments, and the Living Nativity returns to Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility.
December 3, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 03 2011 06:00 AM
"It's been getting colder -- into the 20s. It's been trying to snow and we've been seeing a lot of Christmas lights." Plus, Pastor Liz reluctantly serves as a "healer" after a miraculous event at a Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church women's retreat becomes the talk of the town.
November 26, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 26 2011 06:00 AM
"This Thanksgiving--a fairly uneventful Thanksgiving, a little excitement up at the Magendantz home." A fire prompts reconciliation between the Bunsens and the Magendantzes after years of animosity, Clint Bunsen accidentally restores the Moonlight Bay Supper Club's neon sign, the Tolleruds welcome their daughter home from St. Olaf College, and thoughts on Thanksgiving meals.
November 19, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 19 2011 06:00 AM
"Oh, we knew it was going to snow. We could see that sky—that was a snow sky. People who have lived here for more than five minutes know what that snow sky looks like." Plus, discovering hidden treasures under the floor of Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church, Pastor Liz delivers a sermon on one of her least favorite Gospels, and Lake Wobegon exiles return home for Thanksgiving.
November 12, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 12 2011 06:00 AM
"This was the week that the weather turned. The big ship swung off to the North." Plus, Lake Wobegon prepares for winter, reflections on Veterans Day, and newly widowed Becky Beckman keeps a final promise to her husband Bradley by taking his place on an annual deer-hunting trip.
November 5, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, November 05 2011 06:00 AM
It's been gray, it's been chilly, it's been cold, and we had our first real frost out there -- frosty sidewalks early in the morning. Lyle Janske discovered that the other day. He came out to take his garbage out and he walked across the deck out behind his house, and suddenly without his anticipating it, his feet were up above his head.
October 29, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 29 2011 06:00 AM
It's been chilly here this last week--it's been very chilly. We got some rain and a little bit of snow. People were putting in bulbs for next spring when the first flakes of snow fell. Just a little tiny sliver of moon up in the sky so it's going to be very, very dark for Halloween on Monday night.
October 22, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 22 2011 06:00 AM
The world has taken a turn towards the cold. The sun comes out but it's not warm anymore -- we've taken the big turn towards fall. People are wearing hats in Lake Wobegon. People are turning on their furnaces.
October 15, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 15 2011 06:00 AM
This was the week that the chill moved in and the big full moon up there Tuesday night. And then on Wednesday a big rain came pouring down and the wind blew and so a lot of the leaves came down. That red maple tree out in the front yard of the Lutheran Parsonage just almost was stripped of leaves.
October 8, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 08 2011 06:00 AM
It's been warm out there this week -- been up in the 80s, unusual for October. The trees are at their peak and everybody should've been happy. Of course, the old complainers who sit and nurse their coffee in the Chatterbox Cafe found a way to complain about it after all.
October 1, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, October 01 2011 06:00 AM
It's been cloudy. It's been chilly out there. The sun has come out now and then. And then on Thursday this powerful wind came up -- it was very dramatic. Some people lost phone service and weren't even aware of it at the time and leaves blew off some of the trees completely.
September 24, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 24 2011 06:00 AM
It's the week of the fall equinox, when we turn towards the darkness -- and we have this week. It's been chilly, it's been cloudy, and the sun -- less of it. The sun going down, people eating dinner by lamplight again and all sorts of odd things happening when the darkness comes on us.
September 17, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 17 2011 06:00 AM
It's the beginning of fall. It's been cool -- good sleeping weather when people crawl into bed at night. It's warm under the extra blanket if you're sleeping with somebody else and you tuck yourself into your little envelope on these cool fall nights.
September 10, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 10 2011 06:00 AM
For a while I grew up the son of a Swedish sharecropper in North Dakota and I got on a toboggan in January and there was a prevailing wind out of the northwest which blew me down to Minneapolis and it just seemed like too much effort to go back. And they didn't seem as if they would miss me anyway so I stayed here.
September 3, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, September 03 2011 06:00 AM
Fall is in the air. The last of the gardens being brought in--bumper crops of tomatoes. Irene Bunsen had the great satisfaction this week of walking out of her back gate, out of her garden, and across the alley, and down the way, and into the back gate of her brother-in-law Clarence Bunsen.
August 27, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 27 2011 06:00 AM
It's gotten very cold there this last week. The temperature's been highs in the 20s. Cold, bitterly cold weather. It's the kind of weather we're used to. The Northern Lights have been so beautiful--these tongues of green, tips of orange at night.
August 20, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 20 2011 06:00 AM
We've had snow out there. We had about a foot and a half of snow here this last week, which just sort of killed some people who are just tired of winter. But it snowed anyway, despite their objections.
August 13, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 13 2011 06:00 AM
We got a little snow out there this last week -- six inches, but we don't care. We're not shoveling. The shovel's been put away. The snowplow is parked in the garage; Bud is not going to bring it out. That snow, it's just going to have to melt on its own.
August 6, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, August 06 2011 06:00 AM
The tundra swans came in this week -- hundreds of them. Beautiful white birds came sailing in and landed on the lake. They spend the winter in North Carolina -- most of them -- and they're on their way up to their breeding grounds, which is in the Canadian arctic.
July 30, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 30 2011 06:00 AM
Clint Bunsen sneezed so hard he threw his back out and he had to miss work for the rest of the week. At the Sidetrack Tap Wally, behind the bar, sneezed with such force that he blew a cigar the whole length of the bar.
July 23, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 23 2011 06:00 AM
It was so hot, a real change of life for people in Lake Wobegon. It is too hot to work -- it just is. And how do you stop doing what you have been practicing to do all of your life?
July 16, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 16 2011 06:00 AM
It's been beautiful out there this last week. You know, here we are: the end of March, the beginning of April and suddenly it was getting warmer and warmer and the ice was off the lake and the redwing blackbirds were everywhere and the crocus was poking up and still there were people in Lake Wobegon who were saying, "Just you wait, we're gonna get more snow."
July 9, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 09 2011 06:00 AM
It's been cool up there, been a little bit rainy—but not nearly rainy enough—and so the lake level is still very, very low, which means there's an enormous expanse of beach there.
July 2, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, July 02 2011 06:00 AM
It's been hot and humid out there. Some people are sitting around limp in the face of their air conditioners with their arms wrapped around them and a lot of people are not so troubled by 105-degree heat.
June 25, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 25 2011 06:00 AM
It's been a little wet out there. We got plenty of rain here this last week and it was cool, if that's the sort of weather that you like. It was the summer solstice on Tuesday -- Tuesday around noon.
June 18, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 18 2011 06:00 AM
Perfect weather -- absolutely beautiful, perfect weather out there. The sort of weather that makes some of us with dark imaginations feel uneasy, as if something is just about to happen on a day so perfect as this.
June 11, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 11 2011 06:00 AM
The gardens are starting to come in now. The first little radishes are coming in. The first asparagus has been cut already -- a great delicacy.
June 4, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, June 04 2011 06:00 AM
It's been gorgeous, just like it is here today -- temperatures in the 70s and blue skies, the smell of lilacs in the air. It's just perfect, perfect days that two months ago we would have spent a king's ransom to go elsewhere to find.
May 28, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 28 2011 06:00 AM
It's been gorgeous, beautiful weather. The lilacs are in bloom now -- that clean, sweet smell of lilacs in the air, the smell of fresh-cut alfalfa as well.
May 21, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 21 2011 06:00 AM
It's been a cold spring. Tuesday morning here, the temperature was five above zero, which was the lowest low from that day in history and the high temperature was 13, which was the lowest high in history.
May 14, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 14 2011 06:00 AM
Spring, spring. Spring came in -- came in on Monday, came in with that gorgeous spring thunderstorm. You never get tired of these gorgeous spring thunderstorms.
May 7, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, May 07 2011 06:00 AM
It's been warm out there. We've seen the first butterflies. The first wood ticks have shown up. The daffodils are up. The crocuses are even starting to fade right now.
Apr. 30, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 30 2011 06:00 AM
It's been chilly this last week and we got a little snow on Tuesday, snow after Easter--and Easter was late this year.
Apr. 23, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 23 2011 06:00 AM
It was warm. The week started out warm and then we got some snow here on Tuesday and we just ignored it, of course -- as you would ignore an embarrassing relative.
Apr. 16, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 16 2011 06:00 AM
The crocuses are up and the tulips are up, and then we got a little bit of snow overnight but nobody said a word about it.
Apr. 9, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 09 2011 06:00 AM
It's been warm out there, and sunny. It's been up in the 60s -- not all week, of course.
Apr. 2, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, April 02 2011 06:00 AM
We are happy it is warmer; it is beautiful to see green grass again.
Mar. 26, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 26 2011 06:00 AM
It is spring; we had a little snow, 6 inches, but we are not going to clear it as the shovels have been put away.
Mar. 19, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 19 2011 06:00 AM
We were hit by an enormous snowstorm on Thursday.
Mar. 12, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 12 2011 06:00 AM
The snow has melted a great deal except for stubborn show that hangs out deep in the woods.
Mar. 5, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, March 05 2011 06:00 AM
It has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon. In anticipation of spring... we expect spring in April, but are always disappointed.
Feb. 26, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 26 2011 06:00 AM
It is snowing again, despite people's objections.
Feb. 19, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 19 2011 06:00 AM
The snow is melting and people are able to walk around town again.
Feb. 12, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 12 2011 06:00 AM
We need snow this time of the year, everyone gets cranky during the month of February.
Feb. 5, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, February 05 2011 06:00 AM
Our skin and politeness is becoming thin and crackling as the winter goes on.
Jan. 29, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 29 2011 06:00 AM
School teacher Margie stays home under her quilts in a form of hybernation to escape the winter.
Jan. 22, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 22 2011 06:00 AM
Danger and cold weather brings out humor in Lake Wobegon.
Jan. 15, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 15 2011 06:00 AM
The slick roads in Lake Wobegon makes for some sudden introductions.
Jan. 8, 2011: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, January 08 2011 06:00 AM
Pastor Liz tends to Mr Carny's final moments.
Dec. 25, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Saturday, December 25 2010 06:00 AM
Four memorable Christmases.
Dec. 18, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, December 20 2010 06:00 AM
Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility prepares for their annual Christmas pageant, minus the "slaughter of the innocents" from last year.
Dec. 11, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, December 13 2010 06:00 AM
Lutheran's don't like to pretend to be happy, they would rather just stay home.
Dec. 4, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, December 06 2010 06:00 AM
In Lake Wobegon, even a huge snowfall doesn't cancel events - most of which would bring more pleasure if they were cancelled.
Nov. 27, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, November 29 2010 06:00 AM
Thanksgiving in Lake Wobegon brought fresh snow and a stream of exiles returning home.
Nov. 20, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, November 22 2010 06:00 AM
33 years after embezzling $200K from the Lake Wobegon State Bank, 92 year old Myrtle Anderson wants to come back home.
Extra download! Guy Noir
Monday, November 22 2010 06:00 AM
Guy visits Saint Augustine where he is given a offer that is difficult to resist from Rupert Murdoch.
Nov. 13, 2010: The News from Lake Wobe
Monday, November 15 2010 06:00 AM
The first large snowfall of the year finds Lake Wobegon residents unprepared.
Oct. 30, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, November 01 2010 06:00 AM
It's Halloween in Lake Wobegon, things get crazy, and we all learn a valuable lesson.
Oct. 23, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, October 25 2010 06:00 AM
Recollections of a trip to Aunt Eva & Uncle Jack’s farm about chickens, sad songs and a 30 foot fall (in the buff) from the haymow.
Oct. 16, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, October 18 2010 06:00 AM
Marilyn Tollerud decides not to go commercial with her famous pumpkin bread.
Oct. 9, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, October 11 2010 06:00 AM
Pastor Liz makes her way around town and loses $200 bucks in the Side Track Tap.
Oct. 2, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Tuesday, October 05 2010 06:00 AM
The Lake Wobegon Leonards lose their big homecoming game and the folks in town react to fall and cooler weather settling in.
Sept. 25, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, September 27 2010 06:00 AM
Clint and Irene Bunsen are away in Indiana, and the tomatoes in their yard are just perfect. But they won't last. So the folks in Lake Wobegon turn to pastor Liz for the right thing to do.
Sept. 18, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, September 20 2010 06:00 AM
Dorothy at the Chatterbox Café is raising eyebrows with a new hairdo.
Sept. 11, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, September 13 2010 06:00 AM
A review of summer vacations -- the historical low point of any good Lutheran's year.
Sept. 4, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Tuesday, September 07 2010 06:00 AM
Fall settles in around Lake Wobegon, which is a good thing, because we could only bear so much summer.
Aug. 28, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, August 30 2010 06:00 AM
The wild grapes are ripe along the East side of the lake and the Schroeder's have set about making their wild grape wine.
Aug. 21, 2010: The News from Lake Wobegon
Monday, August 23 2010 06:00 AM
The smell of freshly mowed grass becomes Proust's madeleine, conjuring up memories of young love on a summer afternoon.
About A Prairie Home Companion
From the American heartland to the vast urban centers, humorist, writer, and hard-core Minnesotan Garrison Keillor offers an old-time variety show as homespun as it is savvy.
Hosted by Garrison Keillor