© 2026 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The art of the bale: Strawfest, Mt. Morris | Under Rocks podcast

Northern Public Radio | By Spencer Tritt,
Dan Libman, Susan Stephens
Published August 27, 2026 at 8:36 AM CDT
Dan Libman
/
WNIJ

Encore Mt. Morris has a mission: To create a unique rural arts environment in northwest Illinois. And boy, did they nail it with the annual Straw Sculpting competition. We meet up with organizer Jeff Bold and artists Chris and Cecelia Mann.

Susan Stephens
/
WNIJ

To see this year's winners and to find out how to enter your own work of art next year, visit https://strawusa.com/

1 of 4  — PXL_20260820_201726888.jpg
2 of 4  — DSC09813.jpg
Spencer Tritt / WNIJ
3 of 4  — PXL_20260820_191702963.jpg
4 of 4  — IMG_20260827_075247.jpg

Tags
WNIJ News Under Rocks
Spencer Tritt
Spencer's creativity shows up in a variety of spaces on-air and online for WNIJ. He graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Communications and Digital Media Production. Spencer's interest in multimedia comes from a mix of his love for arts and music with an interest in technology.
See stories by Spencer Tritt
Dan Libman
Dan Libman is an author, teacher, correspondent, and adventurous host of the WNIJ podcast Under Rocks.
See stories by Dan Libman
Susan Stephens
Susan is an award-winning reporter/writer at her favorite radio station. She's also WNIJ's Perspectives editor, Under Rocks contributor, and local host of All Things Considered.
See stories by Susan Stephens