Tom Drake was one of the first readers for Mankato’s Radio Talking Book Network when its chapter began in 2000. commitment,” Piehle said. “It’s not like other volunteering where you sometimes don’t know what you’re getting into time-wise.” Piehle typically gets to the studio about a half an hour before the 7:00 session. She gets organized and makes sure she has the newspaper articles arranged so she can read them with a minimum of shuffling. “It’s kind of weird,” Piehle noted when talking about what it’s like to read the newspaper out loud. “You have to trust that people are out there listening because we don’t get a whole lot of feedback.” One listener who is willing to give feedback is Oak Terrace West resident Alfred Lahti. The 92-year old has been legally blind for the past six years and has been listening to RTB for about the same amount of time. “One thing that has kept me listening is the focus on the local news,” Lahti said. “I listen to the television stations but they don’t spend a lot of time on what’s happening locally. When I listen to the radio I get to hear a lot more of what’s going on in
Mankato and the towns around here.” Lahti enjoys hearing the news and also the editorials that are read during each broadcast. “If the local news is kind of thin, then they’ll read the editorials from other newspapers,” Lahti said. “I like it that the readers don’t spend a lot of time on national news. I can get that on television.” Another aspect of RTB that Lahti appreciates is the lack of advertising. “There are no commercials,” Lahti said of the RTB broadcast. “To me it’s a little more down-to-earth news.” Mankato’s RTB organization is always on the lookout for more volunteer readers. “People move on so we do need a consistent flow of volunteers,” Dickey said. People interested in volunteering can contact Sister Mary Donald Miller at Good Counsel, 389-4200, to schedule a reading test. M
“I’m a radio guy. I like knowing that people can listen to RTB and hear what’s happening locally,” Gorman said. “Thanks to RTB they have access to local news that they might not otherwise have.”
26 • september 2012 • MANKATO MAGAZINE