Inde Talks

After a visit to a local bookstore, Jeff Fox delivers trivia, nostalgia, and a highly entertaining discussion about our city’s business landscape of the past. How times have changed!

In this episode of Inde Talks we invite in Christina Leakey, CEO and President of Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity. We discuss the organization’s mission and updates on community housing. Christina also shares exciting news and how you can help your neighbors in Independence.

Join Laurie Dean and Dan as we welcome Allie Zaroor. Allie is a transplant to Independence, but you would never guess that with her level of commitment to our city as a volunteer civic and neighborhood leader. Allie shares her concerns, ideas, and adoration for her adopted city with us.

In this episode we have a conversation about the AI Data Center and the issues raised regarding it. The ground has been broken, Nebius is here, and while we cannot predict the future, we see an opportunity for our city. Isn’t it time to goconsider giving our new partner and our leaders the benefit of the doubt?

In this episode Jeff reminds us of the 1976 celebration of our country’s founding and what our city did to commemorate it.

In this episode Laurie Deann and Dan chat with Jackson, who just finished his Freshman year in high school. He’s a sharp, young man who loves sports, his family, and his community. He has a few concerns and we agree that city hall and the schools should hear from teens and involve them more in policies: The future is their’s after-all!

In this episode community member, Heather Christopher shares her faith journey as she mourns her beloved and goes through the healing process. We know that many are grieving whether in the loss of a friend or family member, a divorce, or even a job. We hope that our conversation helps. “With the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him there is plentiful redemption.” Psalms 130::7 ESV

Independence has a rich history. In this episode, Dan Hobart leads us through his vision for a new history museum.

Jeff Fox brings us an interesting memory that highlighted the celebration of our most famous citizen, President Truman. Following his death, a life-size statue was dedicated and now watches over our Courthouse. May 7, 2026, marked the 50th anniversary of that special day! Were you there?

As citizens know FIFA World Cup 2026 will arrive in the Greater Kansas City area in June. We invited Michael Young in to join Jeff and Laurie Dean as he served as a committee member for Independence during the many months of planning. To say he is excited for our city to experience such an event is an understatement, but we also wanted to address the question most of us have; are we ready?

We are seeking recommendations for naming our monthly history segments of Inde Talks. For now we call it, Living History with Fox. In this episode Jeff Fox shares with us editorials written by The Colonel of The Examiner or what the Sheriff thought more than a century ago. In it, we are encourage to think about drinking, the scourge of the local drug problem, the consequences for shackled bootlegg...

Another local election has ended and on this edition Dan and Jeff welcome new At-Large City Council Member, Cody Atkinson. Get to know Cody and hear his take as he begins serving the citizens of Independence, Missouri.

Join me for the new segment of Inde Talks that goes deeper in topics for the community of Independence. Monthly Laurie Dean Wiley will focus on engaging with a community member who has a story to share, a lesson to teach, or an encouragement to give. In our first feature I introduce you to my friend, entrepreneur, and community leader Bret Kolman. Bret shares his purpose and faith story in his new...

In this episode, we introduce you to the topic of our emotions. Our emotions such as grief or anger that get in the way of bold decisions for Independence. Join us today as we begin this conversation, "This town runs on feelings". The first of many as we break down our solutions for moving beyond the status quo.

Join us as Jeff Fox leads us through some of the thought provoking stories from The Examiner one-hundred years ago. As a regular segment of future podcasts, Jeff will remind us of our past as we think towards the future for Independence.