Daniel Wanschura
Host and Executive Producer of Points NorthEver since he was young, Dan has been fascinated with radio. From hearing the dulcet tones of John Gordon broadcast Minnesota Twins games, to staying up late listening to radio theater, he was captivated by the imaginative medium.
In 2012, Dan graduated from Thomas Edison State University. In 2015, he moved from the Twin Cities to northern Michigan to work at Interlochen Public Radio.
Dan has received numerous awards for his reporting including Edward R. Murrow regional awards and national PMJA awards. His work has also been heard on NPR, Minnesota Public Radio, Michigan Radio, and BirdNote.
Dan enjoys going on long walks his wife and son, going on road trips, and bonfires with friends at his favorite Lake Michigan beach. He is also a lover of the Oxford comma — much to the chagrin of his editors.
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There’s this biker in the Upper Peninsula. Seems like everybody knows him or knows of him. He competes in some of the most challenging mountain bike races, but he doesn’t even ride a mountain bike. He competes on a single-speed BMX bike. Why does he do it? -
We think of the Great Lakes as shark-free, but as legend has it, a young boy named George Lawson was attacked by a shark while swimming in Lake Michigan near Chicago in 1955. Is this story true or just a bunch of bull shark? -
It’s a dry spring – 1984 in Wisconsin – and all these suspicious fires are popping up. A conservation warden named Dave is pretty sure it’s arson, but he can’t catch a break. So, he and a pilot decide to get creative. -
For the second year in a row, the narrative podcast about the Great Lakes region is recognized with four awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association. -
Donna Martino stuck a photograph from the newspaper of a handsome kayaker on her fridge. A few months later, Donna matched with the guy on a dating website, and they decided to go out. This story is about what happens when two strangers take a chance on each other. -
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 an Atlantic cod from about $15 to over $5,000. Can this approach help the struggling Great Lakes fishery? -
When hunter Ben Karasch sees something move out of the corner of his eye, he assumes it’s a deer. But as Karasch gets a better look, he realizes it’s not a deer, it’s a cougar. And it’s slowly creeping towards him. -
Three guys went ice fishing on Lake Huron in February. Everything was great until it wasn’t. A collision of friendship, peer pressure and what it’s like staring death in the eyes. -
Red-eared sliders are one of the most common pet turtle species in the world. But they can grow to the size of dinner plates and can live around 40 years. Because of that, people often release their pet turtles into the wild. That causes a big problem. -
In 2011, Ann Raiho and Natalie Warren climbed into their canoe and pushed off the banks of the Minnesota River just outside Minneapolis. Their goal was to paddle to Hudson Bay, thousands of miles away in Canada. It was a huge test of physical strength and friendship.
