© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Trail running through the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

We're going to take a quick journey to the tallgrass prairie of central Kansas. NPR's Brian Mann went for a trail run surrounded by birdsong and sent us this audio postcard.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Just before dawn, I let myself in through one of the cattle gates in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve north of Wichita.

(SOUNDBITE OF GATE CREAKING)

MANN: These fences, maintained by the National Park Service, actually keep a bison herd from roaming outside the preserve's 11,000 acres. I can't see any of the big animals from here, but as I lace up my sneakers to run, I realize the fields around me are flush with birds.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS SINGING)

MANN: I set off running west on the gravel trail, climbing toward an enormous full moon that hangs just above the horizon.

It is like a sea of grass around me. There's great waves of hills rising up, and the dawn light is just coming over the horizon. The birds - I mean, it's just crazy.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS SINGING)

MANN: At this hour, I'm the only human here. But up ahead, I see the herd of 50 or so bison, shaggy, big-shouldered beasts. They've gathered across the path, blocking it. I want to keep my distance, so I turn and wade into the waist-high grass. Then on a ridge ahead of me, maybe a football field away, a massive bull lumbers into view. Dancing around him are these calves, like, sprinting around through the grass, going in mad little playful dashes. I back away, turning down into a valley along a muddy creek, past a grove of cottonwood trees.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRICKETS CHIRPING)

MANN: There are wildflowers, just wildflowers everywhere. And, you know, I think of this as being kind of a rough, arid country, sort of cowboy country. But the wildflowers are just as delicate as you can imagine.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS SINGING)

MANN: Before running back to the gate, I stop and just look. Prairie like this used to cover 170 million acres of North America, most of it gone now.

(SOUNDBITE OF CRICKETS CHIRPING)

MANN: But standing here, I can see no human footprint. There are bison and swales of sweetgrass all the way to the horizon and a vast blue sky, all completely wild.

Brian Mann, NPR News, in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Brian Mann is NPR's first national addiction correspondent. He also covers breaking news in the U.S. and around the world.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.