Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. After 12 years and 100 episodes, we are calling it a day. This is the final IV Podcast! Thank you so much to our guests, our sponsors, and our listeners. It's been fun.... Our sponsor for episode 100 is Mr. Sparkle Auto Spa. Music from the Show: Music from https://filmmusic.io "Vicious," "Secrets of the Schoo…

On Episode 99 John talked with author and NPR morning host, Dan Klefstad. Dan's latest book, Fiona's Guardians, was adapted by Artists' Ensemble Theater for their podcast Mysterious Journey. On this episode 99 bonus edition, we play a teaser for the podcast adaptation of Fiona's Guardians. The full podcast just dropped so if you like what you hear,…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. This week we welcome author and NPR morning host Dan Klefstad to the show. Unfortunately some skype issues knocked Clayton out of the talk, but John and Dan had a good time discussing Dan’s most recent book, Fiona’s Guardians. Dan also talks about his time with WNIJ and gives us some behind the scenes insight…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. This week we dive into some history with a local Streator legend, Clyde Tombaugh. We also discuss sports betting in Illinois, plus an old sports radio throwback segment. We finish up with our usual pod and miscellaneous talk. Thank you for listening! Please check out our sponsors for episode 98: Mr. Sparkle A…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. We have returned from the podcast doldrums! This week we revisit topics from our last episode including the 2020 derecho, Covid schooling, the Burgoo, and dog fines. We also touch on some new stuff including an update on the Starved Rock State Park & Matthiessen State Park land annexation. As usual, we talk a…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. This week we talk about anxiety with Covid-era schooling, some bad news for the Burgoo, hefty dog fines, the Peru Mall, and the destructive derecho the whipped through the Starved Rock area. Also, be sure to keep listening after the show. Just for the heck of it, we tacked on a throwback episode from 2010. Pl…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast. On episode 95 of the IV Podcast, John and Clayton dive into some local news: Ottawa I&M Canal, Peru utility bills, Streator’s downtown, and the LaSalle County Historical Society. We also mix in some history, current events, and pod talk throughout. Please check out our sponsors for episode 95: Mr. Sparkle Aut…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Podcast! We ditched the "Alternative" and are ready to go mainstream! On today's show, we spend the first half talking with Matt Hancock from Hancock PowerFit. Matt is truly inspirational and doesn't hold back with his story of finding and eventually teaching DDPYoga. Be sure to check out the link below to find Matt's…

On this episode of the IV Podcast, we sit down with Amanda and Davey Carter to discuss the LaSalle County Historical Society and the wonderful things they do. There is so much interesting history in our area, and we do our best to cover as much as we can. We talk Burgoo, Wild Bill Hickok, LaSalle Mission Cemetery, Indian Creek Massacre, Chief Shabb…

Long time friend of the show, Johnny Derango, has returned to the IVpodcast! Johnny is an Illinois Valley native and works in Hollywood as a film producer and director of photography. We talk about his career in film, what he has been up to lately, and of course - what podcasts he has been listening too. Check out his IMDB and keep an eye out for h…

Welcome to the second lockdown edition of the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast (hopefully our last). This week we talk coronavirus, the IVCC computer hack, Paw Paw Jeopardy, outdoor cooking, cannabis, Rita Crundwell, and our usual random nonsense. We would appreciate your support on Patreon. Find us on our Patreon page here: IV Podcast Patreon w…

Welcome to the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast. We are hunkered down in this episode for our first Illinois shelter-in-place episode and as expected, lots and lots of coronavirus talk. We would appreciate your support on Patreon. Find us on our Patreon page here: IV Podcast Patreon www.ivpod.com www.patreon.com Music from the Show: Music from h…

Amidst a global pandemic, IVpod is here to help! This week we talk about the coronavirus' impact on the local Illinois Valley. After that, some randomness plus our usual things of the week. Thanks for listening everyone! Please check out our show sponsor, Starved Rock Coffee. starvedrockcoffeecompany.com www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Music fro…

Long time friend of the show, Attorney Doug Kramarsic, joins the show to give a legal perspective on everything we could think of! Need legal advice? Doug's your man. Please check out our show sponsor, Starved Rock Coffee. starvedrockcoffeecompany.com www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Music from https://filmmusic.io "Vicious," "Secrets of the Scho…

On this episode of the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast, John and Clayton discuss a variety of local topics: OSLAD, the Starved Rock Lock and Dam, Streator 4th of July, the American Pickers at Herrcke, and some old timey stories courtesy of the Ottawa Times. Also, thanks to the NewsTribune for many of this episodes' topics. We finish up with our…

Welcome to 2020! On this episode of the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast, John and Clayton discuss new laws coming to the new year. After that, they hit up the top stories of 2019 and the top stories of the decade. Please check out our show sponsor, Starved Rock Coffee. starvedrockcoffeecompany.com www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Music from h…

It's the Christmas/Star Wars countdown episode....well, more like the Star Wars episode. This week we welcome the Spark of Hope Podcast host, Megan Cullinan, to talk about all things Star Wars. Megan's podcast is truly inspirational and focuses on individuals who have taken on a great challenge in life, and used Star Wars to find his or her's own s…

Convicted murderer Chester Weger was paroled on November 21st, 2019. The tragedy became a national story in 1960 and has haunted the Starved Rock area ever since. We talked with Steve Stout, author of the Starved Rock Murders to get his thoughts on the news. Today's sponsors: Radium City Brewery and Sketchmass www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Mus…

The best darn disc golfer to come out of the Illinois Valley has returned to the show! Dana Vicich, professional disc golf player and Ottawa Illinois native sits down with John to discuss his passion, disc golf. We talk about some of the events Dana has been involved with, the state of disc golf in the Illinois Valley, and tips for noobs. Check him…

This week the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast returns with a special guest, Mr. Jay Roach. Jay is a long time friend and supporter of the show. Our talk goes so many places that explaining it is not really doable. You will just have to listen to see what all the fuss is about. Enjoy the show and check out this week's sponsors..... Boz Jigs and …

IVpod 2019 is here! On this episode, we talk about the holidays. Also some talk about Alexa listening to our lives, and a follow up on flushing wet wipes. After that we run through the NewsTribune and Times top news stories of 2018. Oh, and big upcoming news....the IVpod Puppy CAM is coming! www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Vicious, Secrets of th…

This week IVpod and the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast return with some local housing market talk. After that we talk pod, which leads to Jake the Snake and our cherished wrestling memories. It's a doozy! www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Vicious, Secrets of the Schoolyard, and Five Card Shuffle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribu…

Learn about common conditions of the ear, nose and throat.

This week on IVpod we jump right into some exciting talk about the Starved Rock and Matthiessen Park expansion. After that, John and Clayton lay out some of their favorite area hiking destinations. It wouldn't be an IVpod without a little beer talk since there is exciting news: Tangled Roots is expanding! After that, a little election talk, podcast…

Happy 8 years of IVpod! On episode 78, we start the show by ripping off a local radio segment. Then we talk beer. After that, we have our "stuff you should know" segment about local bridges. Things finish off with some youtube and podcast talk. www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Vicious, Secrets of the Schoolyard, and Five Card Shuffle by Kevin Mac…

Welcome to IVpod! On this episode we talk asian carp, the Peru Mall, and the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center. We also talk about what podcasts we have been listening to, plus tangents galore. www.ivpod.com Music from the Show: Vicious, Secrets of the Schoolyard, and Five Card Shuffle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a CC Attribution 3.0. https:/…

IVpod | John Spelich & Clayton Jaquins

We are back and can you believe we have been podcasting for 5 years...! Five years talking about the place we know and love, the Illinois Valley. After a little patting ourselves on the back, John geeks out about Star Wars, and then we give our local beer update. We also talk briefly about the sand mines, plus the lovely Christmas lights around the…

The podcast returns with this beauty of a show. We talk a little about our summer fun and then a little story/lesson on our website outage. After that we hit up a bunch of topics like Mike Tyson's Punch Out, the local craft brew scene thanks to Radium City Brewery, Tangled Roots Brewery, and the Starved Rock Brewing Company. Fishing at the Hennepin…

Radium City Brewery is here! This week we welcome the guys from Radium City Brewery to talk about beer, how they came to be, and plenty of soon to be RCB trivia. The big release is June 12th and 13th. We got to sample some of their beer and we can honestly report, it is fantastic...! We would like to thank the Illinois Valley YMCA in lovely Peru, I…

IVpod | John Spelich & Clayton Jaquins

This week on the podcast we welcome the Rock and Roll Wizzard, Tim Moritz to the show...! Tim hosted the popular Wizzard's Juke Joint for over 30 years playing hits from the mid-50's to the early 70's. The radio show recently came to an end with the announcement that the Wizzard would be retiring. On the show we talk to Tim about music, his start i…

This week on the Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast, we hit up some local topics such as the cool things going on with the Carus Foundation. We also hit up the state's position on kids' standardized testing. After that we talk a little bit about Hoar frost and the local marijuana permits that were issued. Finally, we finish out the show with our f…

IVpod is back again with Part 2 of our special 2014 Review of the top headlines around the Illinois Valley. Lots of stuff covered again this week...here is a breakdown of topics: the Peru Superintendent letter to parents, local beer, speed limit impact, corn production record, concerts for a cause, iFiber, the Utica bridge, Oglesby man tazing, more…

IVpod has returned with a special 2 part review of the top news headlines around the Illinois Valley for 2014..! We talk about a lot of stuff, such as… the big bad winter weather of 2014, the wus-ification of the schools with cold weather, the Peter Miller Center at IVCC, e-cigarettes, littering laws, concealed carry, the IV drone, the Ottawa Trade…

IVpod | John Spelich & Clayton Jaquins

It’s time for some Illinois Valley Podcasting fun! This week on the show we start with some talk on our upcoming class out at IVCC. After that we do a little follow up from last week’s topics. Then we dive deep into the news that LaSalle County is purchasing some drones for search and rescue operations. After the techy discussion, we go old school …

Another episode is rocking the pod-waves! This week we start the show with all sorts of random chatter, but eventually we get the show back on track. We talk about the local gaming parlors that are popping up around the state. Plus we talk about the continued closures and ticketing at Starved Rock State Park. After that we hit up some usuals: apps,…

Welcome to the IV Podcast..! This week we hit on a bunch of local topics starting with a rundown on the local Facebook groups we have discovered. Then we talk about some NewsTribune articles such as the decrease in DUI's, the Grand Bear's search for money, and yet again the Peru fireworks. We also discuss some local gambling, sports, our favorite p…

Welcome to Episode 63 and Happy 4th of July!!! This week we chat about craft beer, an update on River City Panic, and the X-Race in Marseilles, IL. Then we welcome our guest, Kevin LaFollette! Kevin comes to the show to fill us in on the Cedar Point Classic. And just to be clear Google searchers, we are talking about the lovely little town in Illin…

Episode 62 is here! This week we are joined by Tyler Amm from River City Panic. Tyler is here to spread the word about his movie that will film in lovely Ottawa, IL. He also needs our help..! His movie Kickstarter ends this month so be sure to check it out (link below). We also talk with him about Fishsticks and Milk plus some positive thoughts on …

It took a while to break our slump, but we are back and ready to rock the air waves..! This week we get a return visit from Illinois Valley native and film maker extraordinaire Johnny Derango..! Johnny updates us on his movie Lost on Purpose, plus some of the new projects he is working on. Check out the interview around the 26 minute mark of the sh…

The Illinois Valley Alternative Podcast is back! In this episode of the podcast, John and Clayton give a run down of what they have been up to over the past few months. After that, they hit up some interesting news topics including the sand mines, winter weather, and Skydive Chicago. We also preview some upcoming guests. After that, we hit up the u…

This week we are diving into the IVpod vaults and rebroadcasting Episode 29 - Frederick W. Matthiessen - IV All-Stars 1B. This episode was posted back on November 30th, 2011. Around the area, the man's name is best associated with the natural wonders of Matthiessen State Park, just a jog away from Starved Rock State Park. While this is certainly no…

This week we get a little help from comedian and episode 56 guest host…Chad Errio! We start out by getting some background about Chad, how he got into comedy, the Rural Route Comedy Tour, and what he has been up to lately. After talking comedy, the team tackles some of the local news stories such as the new speed limit, a guy getting shot in the fa…

Welcome to IVpod. This week we start with a run down on some local summer events, plus a little plug for an up and coming Illinois Valley band, Curb 11. After that we talk about the police dog tragedies plus the cell phone break in. Then we hit on local skydiving news, in particular the death defying jump by escape artist Anthony Martin. Martin was…

This week we add a little music to our lives..! Things start out with a rundown on our first big event, the Downtown LaSalle Canal Market. Then the show starts kicking when we welcome Aterra Tale vocalist Scottie James to the recording booth. We talk about his start, his music, and his love of the Super NES. For more information about Aterra Tale m…

This is a hard one to summarize because we were off the hook..! This week’s show tackles all sorts of topics from the big Cedar Point Classic, to the Tim McGraw Concert for a Cause, local sporting news, and so much more. We also review some less known Illinois laws, plus a plug for our first public event - the Downtown LaSalle Canal Market on July …