Good Morning Aurora

Did you know that the man who created the Cadillac, Henry Leland, is also the namesake of Leland Towers? Neither did we! And also, at one time in American history it was the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago. And just like that, the morning show became a history show. Today's conversation with local author & historian Tracy Duran was fantastic. We had a great time perusing throug...

Care and respect for the individual, all from the east side of Aurora. That's what we saw, learned and discovered when speaking with Dr. Amanda Goldman of East Aurora Counseling & the Judah Robinson Foundation. Mental health has many stigmas associated with it and Dr. Goldman smashes those and truly goes above and beyond to help people. This is so special because many people are seeking help b...

Casting calls, remembering your lines and serving the community; these are just some of the topics discussed with our friend Ameya Patankar. When we spoke with Ameya we learned so much that we did not know about acting. In fact, one thing that was not well known is that waiting on a callback is very stressful. Mr. Patankar is an attorney so he detailed what his practice does and how they serve Aur...

Soul, family, professionalism, harmony and jazz perspectives; what a great way to enter the weekend! Today we got the chance to speak to Mr. William Small, the creator of Jazz Perspective. From sourcing and working with impressive talent to travel, we touched on so many things. Many times, our passions and our immediate needs are in conflict. Keeping our dreams and aspirations alive, however, is p...

Live on location, we learned even more about community power today. We took two interviews and combined them into one on Good Morning Aurora! Today we went live from the offices of Talented Tenths Social Services and spoke again with Natalie Bonner & Andre Pearson. Since last we spoke both have been working overtime on their collective mission so we got a lot of good news. From Neighbor Boxes...

It was a 'rise & shine' day on Good Morning Aurora for sure this morning. Today we were joined in the studio by members of the Aurora Sunshine club; Mr. Lewis Johnson, Mr. Judd Lofche & Mr. Charles Schmaltz. The Rotary Club has a long history of service in America, and Aurora especially. And each of these gentlemen bring their own stories of community and their own history to the discussio...

Good morning and happy Monday! What a great interview; we got the chance to sit down with 5th Ward Alderman Carl Franco today. It was an awesome conversation and we covered a lot of ground! We spoke about the job of an Alderman, Mr. Franco's upbringing and history and his vision for Aurora. Carl has been an advocate for not only his constituents but all Aurorans as a member of the Aurora City Coun...

Today it was 'Women In Business', coffee and also a remembrance of Sept. 11th and what it means as Americans. We went live on location today from Cotton Seed (8 N. Broadway Ave., Aurora) with our friend Yvonne, owner and founder. With an awesome store full of style Cotton Seed has quickly turned into a "must-visit" location in the downtown scene. There's a lot to see and experience when you walk i...

On today's episode we got a chance to sit down with Mr. Joel Frieders about life & emotional health. In addition to THAT, we also spoke about personal passions and understanding ourselves. We so often in life become wrapped up in what we have to do that we forget to take care of ourselves. Of the many topics we discussed we talked about depression, anxiety and how it manifests itself in those...

We took a trip back in time on this show today. Aurora history, cool spooky stuff and more! That's what we covered with our friend Diesel this morning. Diesel has been on the show a few times but this was his first on camera interview. Diesel is an Aurora native and is a well known, friendly face in town. We've had conversations about many things so today's chop up was especially poignant. He also...

It was more than shoes, belts, hats & accessories today, that's for sure! Today we had the opportunity to speak with a very cool person on the downtown Aurora scene, Susan Guinnane! She is the founder and owner of Offbeat Thrift & Vintage and this was another really cool part of our 'Women In Business' series. Located on Downer Place, Offbest is located in the basement of Wyckwood House (1...

It's Labor Day but the awesomeness doesn't stop! On this special edition of Good Morning Aurora we were pleased to interview the one and only Devan the Artist! Originally from Sandwich Illinois, Devan has become a fixture on the Aurora art scene. From postcards to coloring books, Devan does so much and has lots of things in the works. We spoke about life, art, her medium and what she's noticed as...

It's called 'soul', and you either have it or you don't. That element of emotion, wrapped in style, with a lemon wedge of quiet confidence. Today was really a vibe for sure and we were honored to sit down with the Hangovers; straight outta Central Illinois! Not only did we learn about new towns we'd never heard of we also learned about teamwork. We learned about the power of music as well. And wit...

We had fun in the studio today for sure! Today we did a #throwbackthursday episode and we re-hashed some of the original GMA episodes. And boy oh boy, was it interesting to see where we came from. This show started off from very humble beginnings and we've done so much, and we still have a lot to do. Our first episode was on May 11th of this year, so we're coming up on 4 months! A whole 4 months,...

Social justice, dedication and community; these are just a few of the principles our friend Chicano abides by. The interview today was fun and informative and we learned a lot! We also were proud to learn and highlight the activities of our friend Chicano and we look forward to his growth. He's got a lot going on and he's very involved in the community. From meetings, activities and his own person...

We had another great interview this morning and we met Mr. Andre Pearson of the O.N.U.S. organization. O.N.U.S stands for Our Neighbors United and Strong. This is an organization that is doing a whole lot of good in our city and they've become famous in a short amount of time. Taking personal responsibility and showing accountability are keys to personal growth. With those personal keys we as a so...

Dark roast, medium roast, hot chocolate or English Breakfast tea; there was more than Latte' being served this Monday morning! Today we had a great conversation with a friend of the show, Mr. Chad Dawes of Tredwell. We did a live show and it went very well, and it was fun and informative. As a business, Tredwell provides great coffee, wonderful pastries & has an awesome patio. As a community s...

Today is Friday, we always end the show on a positive note, and today we let Sarah set the tone for the weekend. It was awesome sitting down and talking with local author Sarah Sommer today. She has an awesome story and it's a creative one as well! From being on the stage under the lights to writing children's books, she has done a lot in life! Our conversation touched on many points and her persp...

It's all about our community, our youth, and the services we can provide them. In today's episode we sat down with a friend of the show, Mr. Simon Rodriguez Jr.. Great things happen when we share ideas and talk and we really did that today. Simon is a lifelong Aurora resident and Army veteran and his perspective on all issues Aurora is appreciated by us. There are a lot of disparities in educ...

From BMX riding to tacos, in this great episode we speak with Aurora local & operator of All Spoked Up, Mr. Jon Schratz. Jon is an Aurora native and this episode is especially cool because we were live on location! The bike shop is a cool place and they moved locations on Downer Street to simply one building over. We got to see the new place and meet Frances the cat, the store mascot. Much mor...

Today it was non-profits, life, food, family, personal self-growth and everything in-between. On this episode we sit down to talk with Natalie Bonner who is the owner and founder of Talented Tenths Social Services. In conjunction with other community partners, Talented Tenth has been doing a lot of good work in Aurora. By partnering with others, the ground has been shifting in regards to fairness...

Acting, directing, life and helping young people develop their talent; all in a day's work for Shannon Cameron. As the Director of Education & Community Engagement she has been a positive force for creativity and change in Aurora. Located on Galena & Stolp downtown, the Paramount School of the Arts is committed to bringing the arts to the community & highlighting talent. So many young...

What do you get when you put 'Enjoy Aurora' & Good Morning Aurora in the same room? You get all the Aurora you can handle! This morning we were joined by a great friend, Mr. James Cardis of the Aurora Area CVB. We talked all about life, Aurora, the Fox River and everything in-between. With his finger consistently on the pulse of our town James has been a strong advocate of our city and all we have...

Today we really knocked it out the park with this interview. We sat down with Brenda Rodgers who is a candidate for Kane County Recorder Of Deeds. Brenda has over 25 years of experience in Kane County politics and was formerly on the Elgin city council. From the power of voting to life in the south prior to coming to Elgin, Brenda was a breath of fresh air. We really learned so much today; Brenda...

Today was a motivational morning, we had a friend of the show, Mr. Rick Guzman on for an interview. We spoke about the history of the Neighbor Project and its contribution since to Aurora. With so much going on in our city and our country its welcoming to know that there are organizations & people consistently helping. The city of Aurora has a number of initiatives and programs available to he...