There are many ways to entertain yourself: movies, television, books and social media. And the most recent mass media option calls back to the original radio broadcast of old- podcasts. Albert Lea High School Principal Chris Dibble has started a podcast for students and the community.
ALHS “Tiger Talk” is a collaboration between the school’s publication program and high school administration. Every Friday, seniors Jack Skinness and Michael Olson meet in Dibble’s office to do a “one take no edits” podcast for the public.
“There are a lot of kids doing great things at this school,” said Dibble in Episode Zero. “We just want to fill people in on what’s going on.”
With a jazzy song to start, “Tiger Talk” is an entertaining way for students and parents to stay informed about what’s going on at the high school. Dibble is “excited to share what we know.”
The podcast has already been informative. Explaining things like why we had a Saturday afternoon Homecoming game, the effects of the new phone policy, talk about eLearning and snow days, and the relationship between Albert Lea Area Schools, Freeborn County, the City of Albert Lea and the Albert Lea Police Department.
“[The goal of the podcast is] spreading everything we know about the school and just informing people with what’s going on,” said Olson.
The podcast started Jan. 3 with host Dibble and co-hosts Skinness and Olson discussing what the podcast will be and potential future guests. The podcast has already hosted a handful of guests including Student Council adviser Therese Netzer, Activities Director Dave Langerud, Officer Conn, Mayor Rich Murray and Senator Gene Dornink.
While on the podcast, the “Tiger Talk” hosts and senator had an informative conversation about what is involved in being a senator and discussing topics about rules and standards in the school systems.
“I trust that you guys are professionals,” said Dornink on the podcast about the way the state decides on school standards. “Every district is different, every school is different. So we need to be more supporting of you.”
“Tiger Talk” co-hosts, Skinness and Olsen, are both in “Tiger Vision”, the high school’s daily broadcast news show. They have an interest in informing and entertaining the school and thought a podcast would be another fun way to do what they love.
“I really like doing something new. Talking about what’s going on at school… will always be fun,” Olson said. “And obviously we’re big into ‘Tiger Vision’. So you kind of just jumped on it [the opportunity].”
The latest guest was Albert Lea Mayor Rich Murray on Jan. 26. They discussed the council approving a referendum on April 9 for facility upgrades. The referendum is for improvements to the city pool, the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center, the splash pad and north lot, and the city arena. They also discussed Hockey Day and the Blue Zones.
The guest on Feb. 2 will be Janelle Koepke. She is a the Dean of Institutional Advancement at Riverland Community College. They will discuss the new scholarship program at RCC. New episodes post around noon every Friday on Google, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon and iHeartRadio.
