LIVE with Trans Northland

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Alex Iantaffi, Rachel Linder & Shelley Rorvick for Mental Health Awareness Month in May! Alex (they/them) is an award-winning author, cultural worker, Internationally-renowned speaker, podcaster, family therapist, and Somatic ExperiencingⓇ practitioner. Rachel (she/her) is a licensed professional counselor in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She specializes in work...

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Kobey Layne to the conversation! Kobey (she/her) is a progressive DFL candidate running for Minnesota Governor this year. She is a renter in St. Paul and a community organizer in the Twin Cities trans community. She is one lead of Tea Time, the largest peer-led support network for Transfemmes in the Twin Cities. Kobey is running for Governor to make sure progres...

We're excited to welcome Riley Barka to the Livestream! Riley (he/him) is a local leader in community health with a strong commitment to advancing health equity for the LGBTQ+ community. As a registered nurse and the Director of Community Health for Blackboots Twin Ports, Riley has focused on building community partnerships through expanding access to health services and harm reduction suppli...

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Raven/Selene and Cam Kruger to the show! Raven/Selene (she/her & fae/faer) and Cam Kruger (he/him) are the co-hosts of the amazing Transgenda Podcast – a funny, touching, and informative chronicle of Raven, a transgender woman and Cam, faers cisgender dad, as they share their experiences of growing together and hating bigots.  Show Notes: Follow them at @tra...

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Karter Starling to the conversation! Karter (he/him) is the Rural Elder Outreach Manager at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and serves as the Treasurer on the board of Itasca Pride. Karter came out as transgender at 16 and has several years of experience working in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and organizing in a variety of political climates from his hometown of Tuls...

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Carver Harries to the show! Carver (he/him) is the executive director of Ashland Area Development Corp, and he's also a trans man who came out and began his transition journey in his late 50s. Carver recently developed an informational comedy show that he performs for folks who want to learn how to become stronger allies for transgender people in a rapidly...

Join us as we welcome our latest guest star to the show, Courtney Cochran! Courtney (they/them) has years of experience as a clinical herbalist and even more as a social worker and community organizer in the Northland. Courtney runs Alseth Acres Apothecary & Herb Farm with their partner, and they're excited for their next adventure in community caretaking...offering massage therapy and bo...

Join us as we welcome Lara Crow to the show for our first episode of 2026! Lara Crow is an intersex woman, wife, mom, and business owner. She's a licensed attorney in Minnesota and Kansas, and her and her wife co-founded Crow & Co. Books, a small independent bookstore that specializes in "the Queer, the Weird, and the Wonderful." Lara also serves on our board of directors for Tr...

Join us as we welcome our latest guest star, Root Holden (they/them), to the show! Root (they/them) is a queer, disabled eco-spiritual care provider and celebrant based in Duluth, MN. To support their clients, Root provides spiritual discernment sessions, divination, ritual creation and facilitation, including seasonal celebrations as well as rites of passage, such as hand fasting, naming ceremoni...

Join us as Trans Northland welcomes the fabulous house mother and drag performer herself, ThatQueerIsa (she/her) to the show! ThatQueerlsa is a local drag performer here in the Twin Ports, and is Mother of the Haus of Queer! Isa produces and hosts drag shows & events throughout the Twin Ports & the Northland. Outside of the drag world, Isa dedicates her time to Trans Northland as our Vice...

11/5/25 – Join us as Trans Northland welcomes the hilarious, Danielle Thralow (she/her)! Sean and Danielle share a wonderful conversation where we get to learn more about Danielle’s story–how she always knew she was trans even though she didn’t have the words for it, how she took a chance on the “world wide web” in the early days which catapulted her businesses into success, and how she intentiona...

11/19/25 – Join us as Trans Northland welcomes long-time community advocate, Kathy Hermes (she/they)! Many in our community have connected with Kathy over the years for their outstanding work with Together For Youth, a program of Lutheran Social Services aimed at LGBTQ+ youth and allies. Or maybe you’ve met Kathy at one of their Friends, Family & Allies support groups that they’ve been facilit...

12/3/25 – Join us as Trans Northland welcomes Dr. Tara Richter (she/her) to the show! Our host, Sean, and Tara had a cool conversation about how cisgender people can experience gender joy, how Tara got into working with trans and gender expansive people in her mental health work & about the psychotherapy support group she facilitates for trans adults, and how we can all take good care of ourse...

10/22/25 – Join us as Trans Northland welcomes the amazingly talented, Octavia Forte (she/her)...aka the #themmefatale of the North, and the evil twin of Brinn Major (they/them)!! ICYMI: We're hosting a Halloween Party and we're thrilled that Octavia Forte will be spinning tunes and keeping the energy up all night! Brinn is a rapper, producer, and DJ from the Twin Ports area, and has bee...

9/24/25 -- In our latest episode of LIVE with Trans Northland, we welcome guest star, Dr. Nomi Ostrander (she/they)! Nomi served on our board of directors for Trans Northland in the past, and they have been an ongoing community supporter of our work here in the Northland.  Nomi and Sean discuss how important it is at this moment for each of us to be connecting deeper into community, and seeing oth...

10/8/25 – In our latest episode of LIVE with Trans Northland, we welcome guest star, the legendary Candi Stratton (she/her)!  ICYMI…October is LGBTQ+ History Month, and Candi is a member of the advisory board for the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. Sean and Candi had a great conversation about our community’s history here in the Midwest and beyond. They also talked about why it’s vital for us to...

In this first episode of "LIVE with Trans Northland!", Trans Northland's executive director, Sean Hayes (he/him) welcomes our first guest star, Heather Thonvold (they/them)! Heather is the board chair for Trans Northland, and has brought incredible ideas and expertise to our team since joining the board in 2024. Sean and Heather discuss the changing of the seasons, this current mome...