Ktown Connects

Today we get to know more than Mayor Antaramian. We get to meet John the Cowboy. We get to meet John the Gold miner. We get to meet John the college kid.  Kicking off our second season we sit down with Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian. We are aware that the sound level on Jason’s mic is a little loud in the beginning, this does clear up pretty quickly. Apologies.  This episode was recorded on January...

At Studio Moonfall, located at 5031 Seventh Avenue, Donovan Scherer’s house of art and stories creates illustrated novels taking readers of all-ages on adventures into worlds of fantasy, horror, and science fiction.  More recently, you may know him as the artist behind the Color of Kenosha coloring books featuring everyone who is anyone in our city! Visit these links to see more about Donovan and...

Samantha Jacquest took her love of books and made a career as the owner of Kenosha’s independent bookstore, Blue House Books, located in Downtown Kenosha at 5615 Seventh Avenue. Stop on down at Blue House Books where Sam will be happy to recommend something for you, or place a special order!  This episode was recorded on November 30th, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, 7531 39th Avenue. Big thanks to...

In 2017, Angie Cook and Ben DeSmidt took over ownership of what was then called Pete’s Place at 4520 8th Avenue. Now renamed Union Park Tavern, Angie and Ben have taken the things that made Pete’s special, particularly their award-winning Friday Fish Fry, and have expanded their business to focus on great food seven days a week and live entertainment nearly every day. Angie and Ben sit down with K...

While attending Carthage College, Chris Allen was new in town and accepted an internship at the Kenosha History Center – flashforward 11 years later and Chris is now the Executive Director of this non-profit organization which includes the Southport Light Station Museum. We these keys to our past, Chris brings us some interesting stories about himself and our hometown. Due to the pandemic, the His...

2020 did not go as planned for Alexandria Binanti, the Executive Director of Downtown Kenosha, Inc. In this exclusive interview we talk to Alex about what brought her to this point in her life and the variety of challenges she and the organization have faced in 2020. - www.downtownkenosha.org  Big thanks to our sponsors: Bluhorn Digital, https://bluehorn.digital/.  Bird of Paradox Studios, https:/...

After growing up watching his father, Frank Trecroci, transform real estate across Kenosha, Ben Trecroci is now the second generation of Trecroci Realty, located at 522 56th Street in Downtown Kenosha. We sit down with Ben and talk about old Kenosha, wrestling, and so much more! Visit their website here https://trecrocirealty.com/  This episode was recorded on November 2nd, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza K...

In July 2019, Jeanette and Michael “Mick” Kelly took over the business long known as Captain Mike’s, located at 5118 Sixth Avenue. While keeping the things that have kept the business a success and improving on things that needed it, Jeanette and Mick have turned Captain Mike’s back into a noteworthy downtown Kenosha establishment. Today we connect with Jeanette and Mick on how they met and took o...

Settle in with a nice cup of cocoa and gather everyone around the old Westinghouse 780 5-Band for this family friendly salute to Kenosha this holiday season. It looks like Donny has lost his holiday spirit!! Can Jason gather up some friends to help find it? Clean humor appropriate for all ages With: Donny Stancato and Jason Hedman Guest stars: Sara Kovach (Wink Beauty), Jake “the Weather Guy” Hoey...

Joy Schweitzer Ermert opened the doors at Lulu Birds five years ago and has been growing ever since!  Stop in at Lulu Birds, 720 58th Street, Wed-Fri, 11-5 – Sat. 10-4 – and Sun 11-3. They blend the old with the new to bring out the unique personality in your home! This episode was recorded on November 9th, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, 7531 39th Avenue.  Parental advisory – adult conversations. ...

Parental advisory – adult explicit conversations  From kid toys years ago while working at Toys R Us, to the adult toys at her own shop, In the Garden of Eden, we chat with Laurel Paschke about her “grown-up” shop. This one gets a bit racy as we have a little sex talk and find out how In the Garden of Eden can truly spice up your love life. You can probably hear your hosts Donny and Jason blush th...

Tamir Rice. Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Bobby Sherrod. Michael Bell. Aaron Siler. Johnathan Massey. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Stephon Clark. Alvin Cole.  These just a few of the names that are important to our guest, social justice activist Varnell Patterson.  Since the murder of George Floyd, Patterson has increased his work on exposing wrongdoings on our own Kenosha Police Department and...

Greg York, co-owner of Rustic Road Brewing Company, 5706 Sixth Ave., brought us some great gifts for this episode, including some of his great beer and his new venture – freshly roasted coffee! But there is much more to Greg, and we get into all the details on what connects him to Kenosha! Visit Rustic Road’s website here https://www.rusticbrewing.com/  Find out more about East View Coffee - https...

Today, we connect with Mike McTernan, President, and Gretchen Covelli, Marketing Director of the Kenosha Public Market. They are currently in their indoor season at 620 59th Street every Saturday from 9am – 1pm. Check out their KPM2GO easy pick-up options by visiting their website at www.kenoshapublicmarkets.com  This episode was recorded on November 9th, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, 7531 39th A...

It’s a full house at Luigi’s tonight – as we connect with the ladies of The Lettering Machine, 725 50th Street – co-owner Tina Chatmon, her daughter Caroline Serpe, and their design aficionado Rosemary Herr!  For all your embroidery and screen-printing needs, visit their website at https://theletteringmachine.com/ This episode was recorded on November 2nd, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, 7531 39th...

Today, we connect with Sam Unrath, owner of To and From Gift Shop, located at 5535 Sixth Avenue in beautiful Downtown Kenosha.  To and From is an eclectic gift shop offering unique and spirited items for every personality, including accessories, housewares, greeting cards, apparel, and more Like them on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/toandfromgiftshop/ This episode was recorded on October...

For the past ten years, Anthony Perrine has been the third-generation owner of Lou Perrine’s Gas and Grocery, 5145 Sheridan Road. Owning a popular gas station in the heart of downtown comes with some stories, and Anthony has a few to share! This episode was recorded on October 26th, 2020 at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen, 7531 39th Avenue. Parental advisory – adult conversations.  Big thanks to our sponsor...

We connect with Josh and Sam Vaughn, owners of Bird of Paradox Studios – specializing in fantastic portrait tattoo work and beautiful photography. They are located above The Lettering Machine at 723 50th St.  Visit their website at www.birdofparadoxstudios.com/ Find them on Facebook or call 262-496-9366 to make an appointment. This episode was recorded on September 14th, 2020 at Faded Barbershop f...

Back in 2010, Kevin Ervin and his wife Julie Rittmiller purchased the iconic Franks Diner in Downtown Kenosha. Today we connect with Kevin – what brought him to Kenosha – what big changes they made to Franks when they took over – Goat Talk – Cubs Trivia - and much more! Visit the Franks website here - https://www.franksdinerkenosha.com/ Drop us an email at ktownconnects@yahoo.com  Find us on Faceb...

Lenny Palmer has been a morning radio voice for Kenosha for over twenty years. Listen to him every morning from 8 a.m. – noon at www.wlip.com – download the iHeart Radio app to listen – or go old school and turn that dial on your radio station to AM1050 WLIP.  Find Lenny on Facebook to join in the discussion and tell him Ktown Connects sent you! Drop us an email at ktownconnects@yahoo.com Find us...

We connect with Sara Lucci of Lucci’s Grandview, 6929 39th Avenue. They open up at noon on weekdays and 11am on the weekends. Stop in for a great cold beer and some of their fantastic food! Like Lucci’s Grandview on Facebook here:https://www.facebook.com/luccisgrandview Your hosts are Donny Stancato and Jason Hedman  Theme music performed by Dropping Daisies, https://www.facebook.com/DroppingDaisi...

We connect with Sarah Kovach, owner of Wink Beauty Boutique, located in the upper floor at the Village Supper Club, 10909 Sheridan Road.  Find them on Facebook for your beauty needs. https://www.facebook.com/sarahsolutions This interview was recorded on September 7th.   This one might get a little bit dirty, we tried to edit out all the references to bleached ***holes, but it seemed to be a recurr...

It’s like looking into a piece of history! Luigi's Pizza Kitchen has been in the family for over 50 years and you can feel the love that’s been passed down from generation to generation. We sit down with third-generation owner Jake Ziccarelli! Order from Luigi's now and tell them Ktown Connects sent you !https://luigispizzakenosha.com/ Drop us an email at ktownconnects@yahoo.com Find us...

On today’s show, Daniel Thompson has been making local and national news, as he is now known as that unemployed editor who quit the Kenosha News over a misleading headline from a Jacob Blake rally. Thompson joins us to discuss this, his life, and much more! Find Daniel on Twitter at @olfashionednews - https://twitter.com/olfashionednews Listen to his music, 3 A.M. Saints on Spotify here - https://...

Today we talk with Jake Hoey of Jake’s Kenosha Area Weather Page on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/kenoshaweather Find his blog here https://magazine.happeningsmag.com/?p=6429 Your hosts are Donny & Jason Email us at ktownconnects@yahoo.com Theme song performed by Dropping Daisies  Written by James “Red” McLeod