She's been called Duluth's favorite runner. Two-time Olympian and 1996 Duluth East graduate returned to her hometown earlier this month to run the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon.

She stopped by our studio a few days before the race and talked with News Tribune sports reporter Louie St. George III and features editor Beverly Godfrey about such diverse topics as body image, doping, her serious dog allergy and the fake Spotify playlist that bears her name.

Candace LaCosse’s journey to learn how to make handcrafted shoes and leather products took her from Duluth to South Korea to Grand Marais to the East Coast, and back to Duluth again. Today she is the owner and operator of Hemlocks Leatherworks, located in the Lincoln Park Craft District.

News Tribune reporter Christa Lawler and features editor Beverly Godfrey sat down with LaCosse to dig into that journey, and to discuss where our clothing comes from, the ethics of leatherworking and the re-emergence of handcrafted goods.

Grandma’s Marathon was started in 1977 by the North Shore Striders — a group known to sometimes paint their own mile markers straight onto the road. Scott Keenan was there at the beginning, when the restaurant was secured as a sponsor and the big names in a relatively young sport started spreading the word about the course that runs from near Two Harbors to Canal Park.

Keenan retired as race director five years ago, but told tales of the early days — and gave a shout out to a racer who never got her proper due — in this edition of Pressroom Podcast hosted by reporters Christa Lawler and Jon Nowacki.

It's been three years since former Minnesota Duluth hockey player-turned-strength and conditioning coach Julianne "Montana" Vasichek woke up in a hospital and was told she had a new liver. 

This week, Vasichek, who suffers from several health disorders, recounts the harrowing experience that she's been able to piece together from what others have told her about the days leading up to the transplant, as well as the road to recovery that she is still walking today. 

What we are into this week: the Stanley Cup, "Recovery: Addiction and its Aftermath" by Leslie Jamison, and the Calm app.