Tips for Winter Driving; Holiday Travel Update; Native American Food Systems

On the 21st: It's officially the dreaded holiday travel season. In Illinois, that means it’s cold outside, and it’s busy out on the roads and in airports. Today, we run down some tips for people driving out in the snow and getting your car ready if you’re hitting the road. Plus, we got the latest in travel news with NPR’s David Schaper. But first, farming has always been part of American life. But Native American communities have to do more with a lot less land. They’re also worried about how the government’s food policies will affect them.

In many parts of the state, we’ve already experienced some snow and icy conditions. So it’s time to start thinking about our car and how we should be driving it this winter.  

Michael Behrmann was with us to answer all our questions about how to get prepared to drive in the winter. He’s the Chair of the Automotive Technology Department at SIU Carbondale.

We were also joined by Julie Morris on the line from her shop in Urbana. She's the Manager of KCM Autocare.

Plus --

This week officially marks the start of the dreaded holiday travel season. Wednesday is the busiest travel day of the year - and if you’re flying in, out or through O’Hare you'll be among millions of travelers who are passing through - it’s projected to be the third busiest in the country.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, what do you need to know to survive the next month and a half? David Schaper was on the line with Niala to answer all of our holiday travel questions. He’s a correspondent for NPR’s Chicago Bureau.

But first --

As we’re all getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, our minds of course turn to the first Americans. During that first Thanksgiving meal, it was all about sharing the native food that was available at the time. But we may not think about how big of a role agriculture continues to play in the lives of Native Americans today, especially in Illinois and the rest of the Midwest.

Many Native American farmers often have to do more with less - while also preserving their own diets and traditions. And tribes have also often been left out of food policy discussions like the farm bill.

Dan Cornelius joined us to speak about this today. He’s a farmer in Madison Wisconsin and a member of the Oneida Nation. He’s also a technical assistant specialist with the Intertribal Agriculture Council.

And Colby Duren was also with us to share his insights. Colby is the director of the University of Arkansas’ Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative.