Beginning 1995, historian and folklorist Dr. Roald Tweet spun his stories of the Mississippi Valley to a devoted audience on WVIK. Dr. Tweet published three books as well as numerous literary articles and recorded segments of "Rock Island Lines." His inspiration was that "kidney-shaped limestone island plunked down in the middle of the Mississippi River," a logical site for a storyteller like Dr. Tweet.
Memphis-born Joseph Donald Wooten was sent, at the age of 17, to the seminary at St. Ambrose College by Bishop Adrian of the Catholic Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee. After two years he left the seminary, but stayed on at St. Ambrose to pursue a degree in biology.