Page "A Prairie Home Companion" Paragraph 40

On January 15, 2011, the program was hosted by singer Sara Watkins of San Diego, California.

The format was the same, but Keillor appeared only as a guest actor and to recite his weekly " News from Lake Wobegon " story.

He claimed he finally had the chance to see the show being performed himself.

According to Minnesota Public Radio, this may be the beginning of a trend toward Keillor's eventual retirement.

Keillor was briefly hospitalized in 2009 after suffering a minor stroke but was back on the air a few days later.

While plans were being made for the 2011 – 12 season, it was possible that there would be frequent guest hosts to ease the pressure on Keillor of preparing and performing a weekly show.

His guest on January 14, 2012, was Brad Paisley, who did a rendition of " Life's Railway to Heaven " by Charles Davis Tillman.