The Story: James Stastny is old school: he packs a fishing rod, some bait, and a whole lot of patience. His son, Scott, however, uses sonar and an underwater camera and teaches us how technology has improved the art of ice fishing.
Update: Scott’s friend Mike McNett also appears in this story. He is now the the producer, director and host of a reality TV show about ice fishing called “Ice Men.”
More Info: For more info on the North American Ice Fishing Circuit, click here.
The Story: Saladeen Alamin and Gloria Farr have been heating up Chicago’s mambo scene since the 1950s…
More Info: Saladeen can now be found spreading his love of the mambo in his classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music and both Saladeen and Gloria were recently seen at the 2011 Chicago International Salsa Congress.
The Story: A Chicago woman battling ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) loses the ability to speak, but finds new ways to communicate about the experience of her illness. She give “speechless speeches” via PowerPoint and launches a website and blog: “KissMyALS.com.”
Update: Anne Marie Schlekeway died December 9, 2010.
Behind the story: How do you interview someone who has lost her voice? Her story was so compelling, but would this be possible? I don’t always have the luxury of meeting a subject in person before arriving to film the story, but this time I knew it was essential. But as soon as I met Anne Marie, it was clear that she was so engaging and so good at communicating in non-verbal ways that a voiceless interview would work fine.
More Info: Just doing a Google search of Anne Marie, you can see how many lives she touched. Here is her website, and here is a nice tribute to Anne Marie, who will never be forgotten.
Photo source: Elizabeth at bikecommuters.com
The Story: I’m an avid bicycle commuter and every year I plan to keep riding through the winter… but I never do. Meet some people who pull it off.
More Info: Here’s a local bike shop’s “5 Winter Bike Commuting Essentials”
The Story: Chicago high school students learn finance from one of the state’s top teachers.
More Info: Schurz High School Finance Academy website.
The Story: A story of the brave souls who venture out in the dead of winter…to surf on Lake Michigan.
More Info: Here’s a news article under the heading “Odd News” : Chicago surfers ride winter waves.
The Story: We visit the Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont to learn the “art” of cross country skiing.
More Info: Sagawau Nordic is open for skiing daily, when snow conditions permit, 9:00 a.m. or until 4:00 p.m., from late December until early March. For more information, click here.
The Story: It takes different training to teach in low income schools than in affluent ones. That’s the idea behind the Urban Teacher Education Program at the University of Chicago. We meet several young teachers.
More Info: Urban Teacher Education Program at The University of Chicago
The Story: An Evanston couple’s green dream house.
The Story: A Chicago high school that won’t take “no college” for an answer.
Update: As of March, 2010, every Urban Prep student was college-bound.
More Info: Urban Prep website
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