Common Good Conversations

Send a text Meet an extraordinary-ordinary Michigander committed to the Common Good for West Michigan. Abby Klomparens for State Representative in District 86 includes the Greater Holland area and portions of Allegan County. In this episode you'll learn how to properly pronounce another Dutch last-name (Klomp-ar-ens), why the election of former President Trump was a catalyst for Abby's p...

Send a text Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Washington Post reporter Patrick Marley. Patrick writes about voting issues in the Upper Midwest and wrote a series of stories covering how divisive, Trump-style politics came to Ottawa County through Ottawa Impact. In this episode you'll learn about the Washington Post's series called Democracy in America , how m...

Send a text Over the previous year I've had the privilege of being in conversation with a handful of well established Republicans in Ottawa County to help me understand the state of local politics. The central question that I wanted to answer — and understand from their point of view — was:  What happened to my Ottawa GOP? Support the show Follow us on Facebook at Vote Common Good - primary

Send a text Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Dr. Paul Isely the Associate Dean and Professor of Economics for the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. For nearly a decade Dr. Isley has become somewhat of an economics guru in West Michigan as employers have used his historically accurate economic findings to help guide their business decisions....

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Doug Zylstra. Doug is the incumbent Ottawa County Board Commissioner representing District 3 (Holland) as a Democrat serving in his 3rd, 2-year term. In this episode you'll learn why it was important for Doug to foster dialogue with the Ottawa Impact Commissioners, what it means to have a record-breakin...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Chris Crothers. Chris is running for Ottawa County Commissioner in District 4 (Zeeland) as a Democrat. In this final segment from our live podcast event in Holland you'll learn how Chris started as a home brewer then started his own brewery, why he's running for County Commissioner, and what it mea...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Doug Pagitt the executive director of Vote Common Good. Nick and Doug both went to the US-Mexico border in Arizona and Mexico and talk about their shared experience. During this segment from our live event in Holland you'll learn about Nick and Doug's first impressions of the border wall from both...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Sarah Leach. Sarah is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and previously the regional editor for Gannett Media leading The Holland Sentinel and 14 other Michigan papers. During this second segment from our live podcast event in Holland you'll learn about dad-jokes, why Sarah was fired from the Holland...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Marcia Mansaray, the Democratic candidate running for State Representative in Michigan’s 85th District. Marcia was the Deputy Health Officer for Ottawa County’s Department of Public Health and emerged as a courageous voice for the community when she pushed back against efforts by Ottawa Impact to undermine a...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus-Lyons and Chief Deputy Clerk Robert Macomber. The two, both Republicans, have been educating voters about Michigan's new election laws and helping them overcome obstacles to election misinformation. In this episode you'll learn about the technical term for a cow&apo...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Josh Brugger “the man running to fill Roger Bergman's shoes in Ottawa County. Brugger is running as a Republican for the District 10 seat on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners after several controversial decisions were made by Ottawa Impact. Josh believes that “now is the time for those of us &quo...

Send a text Hey Everybody! Nick had the privilege of being in conversation with Sarah Matwiejczyk. Sarah is Ottawa County’s Chief Assistant Prosecutor and is running for Ottawa County Prosecutor as a Republican. In this episode you'll learn how to pronounce Sarah's last name ( Ma-toy-sic! ), her opinion on what's happened with the Ottawa GOP, what it means to be a "vetted"...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick had the privilege of being in conversation with Phil Kuyers the former Ottawa County Commissioner who was first elected to the commission in 2000 and served as board chair for three years. Phil, a Republican, is running again for the District 9 seat (Grand Haven Twp.), which he represented for more than two decades before losing to Ottawa Impact Republican Roger Be...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick had the privilege of being in conversation with David Gushee the author of a new book called Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies . The Rev. Prof. Dr. David Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and is one of America's leading Christian ethicists. In this episode you'll learn why Christians should...

Send a text Hey, West Michigan! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Becky Patrick of Allendale Twp. Becky is running to defeat Ottawa Commissioner / Vice-Chairperson and co-founder of Ottawa Impact, Sylvia Rhodea, in District 8 during the August 6th primary. In this episode you'll learn why Becky was one one of the most civically engaged citizens in Ottawa County in...

Send a text Hey, West Michigan! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with lifelong resident of Ottawa County Reverend Luis Cypher, a minister of Satan and co-head of the Satanic Temple of West Michigan. Reverend Cypher gave the invocation at the April 23rd Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting. In this episode we learn that the Satanic Temple of West Michigan does not w...

Send a text Hey, West Michigan! Shawn and I had the privilege of being in conversation with Jordan Jorritsma the Republican candidate running for Ottawa County Commissioner in District 2 (Holland). Jordan is running to defeat Ottawa Impact Commissioner Lucy Ebel in the August primary election if she wins her May 7th Recall Election. In this episode we'll lean into our theme of What Happened t...

Send a text Hey, West Michigan! Shawn and I had the privilege of being in conversation with Doug Pagitt, Executive Director of Vote Common Good.  In 2021 Doug traveled 3,000 miles along the U.S./Mexico border with his bicycle and experienced first-hand that the border was not as dangerous nor chaotic as its made out to be. Wanting people to experience this for themselves he is encouraging people t...

Send a text Hey, Everybody! Nick and Shawn had the privilege of being in conversation with Mayor Mark Northrup of Hudsonville. Mark is running to defeat Commissioner Board Chair and leader of Ottawa Impact Joe Moss in District 5 during the August 6th primary. And if you know anything about Ottawa County politics the primary election is where more often than not local elections are decided.   In th...

Send a text "On May 7, voters in District 2  will have the opportunity to vote in the special recall election for their county commissioner. I am running against Ottawa Impact-affiliated commissioner Lucy Ebel. Recently, Commissioner Ebel distributed literature within the district containing several false claims and misrepresentations. " - read by Common Good Candidate, Chris Kleinjans S...

Send a text Check out this clip we pulled from our LIVE! event in Holland. Chris Kleinjans is a Democrat running against Ottawa Impact Commissioner Lucy Ebel during a special Recall Election occurring on Tuesday, May 7. Chris is also a Common Good Candidate. - Learn more about our  Common Good Candidate  platform Support the show Follow us on Facebook at Vote Common Good - primary

Send a text Check out this 20-minute clip we pulled from our LIVE! event in Holland.  Mayor Mark Northrup discusses why Joe Moss' leadership with Ottawa Impact has led to a train wreck in Ottawa County. Support the show Follow us on Facebook at Vote Common Good - primary

Send a text Hey Everybody! Get ready for an episode packed with laughs and learning... Nick and Shawn had a great time with a live audience where they laughed about their father in-law wanting to try nasal irrigation, debating the correct way to pronounce the grocery store name "Meijer", and Nick testing for a red belt in karate.  Kia! Nick and Shawn also learned about Democratic and Rep...

Send a text *This is a shortened promo from our previous promo episode -- A few years ago brothers-in-law Nick and Shawn started doing the unthinkable at family gatherings – talking about politics and faith at the dinner table. While at times tense and cautious those conversations were filled with curiosity, nuance, grace, and humor. Wanting to lean into that experience they decided to start a pod...

Send a text *A live event recorded at Port 393 in Holland on March 10. -- How can we move from a politics of fear to a politics of faith? A discussion with local panelists Dr. Fred Johnson, Professor of Political Science, Hope College Sarah Leach, Editor of the Holland Sentinel Christy Berghoef, Communication Consultant Rev. Dr. Jared Cramer, Rector at St. John's Episcopal Church Moderator St...