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Rock Island Lines
Monday thru Friday 11 AM

A series of award-winning stories about our region's traditions, institutions, and people, past and present. Rock Island Lines is written and read by Roald Tweet, Professor Emeritus of English at Augustana College.

The stories in these three-minute modules are rooted in a specific place; a "kidney-shaped limestone island plunked down in the middle of the Mississippi River." It's the logical site for a storyteller. It is from the rich heritage of our region that Tweet spins his histories, biographies, and "stretchers."

Roald has spent much of his life travelling up and down the river, with forays overland, east and west, talking to the people, reading their journals, and enjoying the humor and history of America's heartland. His observations about life around Rock Island strike responsive chords across the region. It's a viewpoint that will enrich and enliven your day.

Listen below or subscribe on iTunes or RSS. 

Sponsored by
Quad City Bank & Trust

Latest Episodes
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.You remember the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof? "Tradition," Tevye cries, frightened by the changes the Russian…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Of the thousand or more island sprinkled on the Upper Mississippi River, only one is fit for that Biblical wise man:…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island. As with most rough river towns along the Upper Mississippi, Rock Islanders have had their share of sin. In 1903,…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.When it comes to saints, we Scandinavian Lutherans around Rock Island have a poor track record. We have only one—Saint…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.The Rock Island Lines steam engine passenger trains have been silent for more than forty years now, but I can still…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.We all know people who have grown up to fit their names. At least one town near Rock Island did just that.By 1843,…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Mark Twain held a very peculiar idea about literature. He thought that books ought to tell the truth. It’s a lesson he…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.The average Rock Islander wastes two hours, sixteen minutes, thirty-four seconds each day. Don't judge. If the truth be…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Are you one of those who feels the world is going by your window too fast, blurred like a video on fast-forward? Before…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Rock Island Lines is permitted two commercials a year. This is one of them.I won't mince words. If you have any small…