Curiouser

In this episode, we talk with Kelly about growing up in Waupaca, how he got an early start in the construction business, and how he moved from building houses to running a restaurant. We had a great time interviewing Kelly, and expect you'll enjoy listening. 

On this episode, we chat with Tammy Rae Wolter, owner of A Touch of Glass studio. Tammy's journey is inspiring - the sort of thing that happens when a strong need to create meets opportunities and obstacles. A wonderful conversation that we think you'll enjoy.

Over the past couple of years The Indian Crossing Casino (a.k.a., ICC) has transformed into a destination for food, music, celebration, and just hanging out. Andrew Jordan, General Manager has played a key role in that transformation and is our guest on this week's Curiouser. Great guy with an interesting story.

Another week, another great interview. Laura Brackley is the Director of Camp Elsewhere, and man is she a hoot! A great life story that begins acting in community theater in Sheridan Wyoming, makes stops in Seattle and along the Hudson in New York, and winds up in Waupaca, married to Todd Jones, who's been on our show before. Fun to learn about Laura and of course about Camp Elsewhere, which is very cool.

As a bartender and owner of the Grand National Lounge, Jenn Beland is more accustomed to listening than to talking, but we got her to tell her story, and it's fascinating.

Smile and say "cheese;" our next guest is teacher-turned-award-winning-photographer Tim Koll. Tune in to hear about Tim's active youth, the two criteria that led him to choose Waupaca after being downsized out of a teaching job in Minnesota, how he met his lovely wife and business partner Adriana, and what it takes to capture great photographs.

Saturday's guest grew up on a farm outside of New London and experienced first grade in a one-room schoolhouse. She had a career in video production, working in television and doing corporate video work before moving to Waupaca, where she decided to become involved in education. These days you might see her in a community theater production or singing in a choir. She's interesting, she's funny, she's Kay Ellingson.

Question: What do these things have in common: Tides, Storms, and Sue Krasniewski Abrahamson? Answer: They are all forces of nature.   Listen to our interview and learn about the roots of Sue's predilection for fighting a good fight, how she ended up in Waupaca, and what she's doing now that she's no longer leading children's programs at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

This man was born in East Chicago, but spent his formative years on a resort property near Eagle River. He took on rowdy college students as a bouncer at the same bar where he met his wife, Mary. He intended to pursue paper science when he entered college, but instead, he chose to major in math and earn his teaching certificate. The lives of those he has taught, as well as our community, are better for it.

Some people are just special. Kate Drury is one of those people. Her well of experience, knowledge, compassion, and wisdom is extraordinarily deep, perfectly equipping her to be what she is - a lawyer helping defendants seek justice. Such a pleasure to interview Kate.

As a teenager, Marty Milner would visit his father in California, and while there, would visit record stores, looking for New Wave and HipHop music. He would buy CDs and bring them back to Wisconsin, introducing his friends to music that hadn't yet made it to the Midwest.   Years later, Marty opened Back to the Vinyl - Waupaca, where he continues to introduce people to music they've not heard and reunites people with music music they grew up with, pressed into actual record albums.

Speak with Larry Thomas and you get a sense that he is like a spring loaded with energy made up of thoughts, experiences, and stories ready to be told. The result is an interesting conversation that probably could have gone on another hour.

This week's guest was born on a homestead that could have been the set for Little House on the Prarie, was a Division 1 Pole Vaulter for the University of Minnesota, once raised animals for school science classes, built two of the homes his family has lived in, including his current residence, and so much more.

This, from our introduction to this week's guest: "...if she were a car, she’d be an old Jaguar E-Type convertible. She’s long, lean, full of charisma, and has needed more than her share of repairs along the way."   We had a gas interviewing Ali from Iola (a.k.a. Ali from Iola, ofthe Iola Car Show), and you'll have fun listening. Two options:

If you live within 50 miles of Waupaca, chances are you have a friend or relative who was helped into this world by this week's guest. Jane Crawford-Peterson is more than a midwife; she is a legend among midwives, having played a role in training, certification, and legislation in Wisconsin and beyond.   Such an interesting and wonderful person, and a great and inspiring interview.

She is fluent in Russian, has worked to promote international trade for Wisconsin busnesses, to reduce homelessness in Wisconsin, and to promote democracy in countries around the world. Now she's the Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Waupaca. She's Julianna Stohs, and she's our next guest on Curiouser.

Great conversation with Mike Hawthorne, the President and CEO of Waupaca Foundry. Listen to learn about Mike, why he feels at home in a small town like Waupaca, the career path that led him here, and what makes Waupaca Foundry globally competitive.

A wonderful interview with talented singer-songwriter and now children's book author Hillary Reynolds. Learn about Hillary's connections to Waupaca, and how she's charted a path that includes coffee shop gigs, touring with a band, working as a studio musician, and co-writing a song that was featured on a Grammy-nominated album and performed at the Grammys.   Hillary recently released "Changing Seasons," and we took the opportunity of the interview to talk about and listen to a couple of tracks. Super interesting.

Mark Flaten is the Superintendent of the School District of Waupaca. Listen to learn how a day working out in the cold changed Mark Flaten's plans after high school, how international travel during college changed his outlook, how a desire to impact learning changed his career trajectory, and how he's taking on the job of leading the School District of Waupaca.

John Meyer is the Principal of the Waupaca Middle School. Listen, and you'll likely conclude: "Wow, are we lucky to have this man leading our Middle School!" Genuine. Pragmatic. Driven. Compassionate. Those are words that come to mind when reflecting on our discussion.

This week we interview two adventuresome souls, Julie Foote and Steve Wilson. They've been educators in five different countries, allowing them to experience five different cultures. The result? They have interesting perspectives to share and great stories to tell.

Sam Woolsey is a expert practitioner and terrific representative of his noble profession, plumbing. It is a profession without which we could not live modern lives as we do, free of many communicable diseases that threaten health and life.   Listen to Curiouser to hear how Sam was destined to be a plumber, and how he's putting his expertise to work helping the Navajo Nation address sanitation challenges in New Mexico.

After high school, Richard Sweitzer took a job working at Pine Ridge nursing home in Waupaca. A chance meeting with an employee of a local radio station turned into a career as an on-air personality at WDUX.   Several years into his career, Richard enrolled at UW Stevens Point and decided to major in English. A class in creative writing fit into his schedule, and soon Richard discovered he had a knack for writing, and yada, yada, yada he published the very popular Ode: The Scion of Narikan.

How often do you get to talk with a modern-day blacksmith who also happens to be an entrepreneur and proprietor of the W. J. Doran Company. We had great fun talking with Luke Philip Schwiesow, and if you like geeking out a bit on things like blacksmithing and building stuff, you will too.

Kyle Knoke - yet another example of a person our community is so fortunate to count among its citizens. Talented, interesting, and most importantly interested in making a contribution to culture and quality of life. Among other things, Kyle is the Founder and Program Director for Jazz Coterie, which brings top jazz performers to Northeastern and Central Wisconsin. Learn about Jazz Coterie and stay informed about upcoming evenets on the  Jazz Coterie Website, and follow Jazz Coterie on their Facebook Page.

We are fortunate to have Jeff Dolski providing guidance to kids at Waupaca High School. His life experience, education, philosophy, and personality combine to make him uniquely suited to connect with students and provide the advice and encouragement they need.

Tim Lencki is the owner of Adventure Outfitters in Waupaca. We talked with Tim about his youth in Waupaca, why he chose to build his career here, and of course, about what makes Waupaca such a great destination for lovers of so-called silent sports.

Every job has dignity, and every person deserves the opportunity to experience the dignity of a job. That's why it's worth celebrating that Opportunity Development Center (ODC, Inc.) has recently established a new location in Waupaca. In this interview, we talk with Erin Smith, CEO of ODC Inc. to learn more about her and the work of ODC.   Visit the ODC Inc. website to learn more about their programs and services. 

Melissa's career is a journey of helping people. In her current position as the Manager of Waupaca County's ADRC (Aging & Disability Resource Center) she continues to help individuals and families with information and resources that help them make the most of their lives. Visit the ADRC Waupaca web site to learn about their programs and services. 

In our interview with Carol, the Executive Director of the Waupaca Arts Hub, we learn that she grew up in Tucson, how an ambitious but poorly-planned adventure toward a new life after college resulted in Carol moving to Wisconsin, how her ambition to work in a museum was ultimately fulfilled, what's going on at the Arts Hub. 

In our interview with Laine Lazers, former President of Farmers State Bank, we learn about Laine, how he made his way to Waupaca, and the role of community banks like Farmers State in places like Waupaca. It was a great conversation that was both interesting and educational, with lots of Q&A around banking, technology adaptation, managing scams, and more.

As we say in our introduction of this week's guest: "he a sort of modern-day Willy Wonka. He doesn’t make candy, but he does work in a world of pure imagination." His name is Mike Ryszkiewicz, and he and his wife Amanda recently opened Lux Layers, a store that sells 3-D printed models, machines, and supplies in downtown Waupaca.

Oh what a fun interview this was! Tom Johnson is an attorney and Principal of the law firm Werner, Johnson & Hendrickson, but had he made another decision at one point in his life, he'd be running Ding's Dock on Waupaca's Chain o' Lakes. He's got lots of stories...a can't miss interview.

One of those interviews that could've easily gone for three hours. Patrick Wood has led a fascinating life that - among other things - involves living in Peru (twice), fleeing Communist rebels, a career at one of the world's top advertizing agencies, starting his own research and marketing enterprises, and growing a local media company with a strong commitment to local news. Wow!

An important, informative, and timely interview with Austin Moore, Director of Business Services for the School District of Waupaca. The main topic of the show is school funding. If you want to understand why so many schools in Wisconsin are running short of funds, this show will answer your questiions. And of course, we have plenty of laughs along the way.

Wondering what's in store for King Berry Farm? Listen to our interview with Travis Bremer, the farm and market's new owner.

When Dan led the music and theater program at Waupaca High School, over 300 students participated in one of the school's 8 music programs. Today, he continues to bring music and entertainment to our community as Chair of the Waupaca Fine Arts Festival and Director of the Waupaca Community Choir and Orchestra.

Do you know where your food comes from? Do you care? Tara Roberts Turner, General Manager of the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative hopes you do know, and that you do care if your food is grown by local farmers.   In our interview, we learn about Tara's life, career, what brought her back to Waupaca, how she and her father Ross helped to start the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative. Tara also talks about the vital role the Food Hub plays in helping local farmers get their products to market, and the Hub's new Tend and Table program.

It had been just 18 months since we first interviewed James Hamilton, but so much had happened in his career since then that we thought it would make for a good show to bring him back on. We weren't wrong.   It was fascinating to hear what's going on, his journey and rise in the poetry world, and what's next. And, James reads a couple of poems that are simply stunning.

Chris’s day job is serving as Quality Improvement Manager for Rawhide Youth Services, and when not working, he might well be found visiting a coffee shop, drinking and maybe taking pictures of coffee. His wide-ranging interests and interesting history made for a great interview.

Val has always had a heart for service. Tune in to hear her story and to learn how Foundations for Living is helping people in need in our community.

Tim Pucillo, founder of TAP Creative and teacher in the Digital Maker Space at the Waupaca Community Arts Hub. Tim has made a career at the intersection of art and technology, and now he's teaching youth in our community how to use technologies to express their artistic ideas.

Katie Zempel is a native of Green Bay who now lives in Waupaca. She's founder of 727 Media Agency, the digital marketing agency that helped the Waupaca Chamber create an award-winning tourism marketing campaign. Katie has a great story of passion, entrepreneurialism, and perseverence.