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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.Had Rock Island been a little less jealous of other Illinois cities back in the 1890s, she might have taken in a…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Every once in a while, I wonder Whatever happened to Paine's Celery Compound, and those other pills and medicines…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Growing up on the lonely Illinois prairie in the early part of the 20th century, 20 miles from Galesburg, George Stucky…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island."If you build it, they will come" is an Iowa idea that goes back at least as far as the beginnings of Iowa City.On May…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Had it not been for careful observation by Iowans, the world may never have discovered the heavenly message of the…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.In 1837, the United States government set about civilizing the Sauk and Meskwaki Indians living in six villages along…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Whenever a writing project is not going well, I leave my study and walk down to the Mississippi River for another…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Had it not been for the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Captain Kendrick W. Brown might have lived out his life running a…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.It took the fates only a fraction of a second to determine if John Rieke of Davenport would become a star, so famous…
  • Community
    This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Like most of the other 500 residents of St. Anthony Falls in the territory of Minnesota, Elmer Tyler had emigrated from…