Living In Carver County Minnesota

In this time of uncertainty and unrest, it can help to have some constants and Cara Thorpe believes one of those is the power of life long learning.  People often talk about this idea but very few have the skills to teach people how they learn so they can harness the power within themselves.  Yellow Parachute is a place for kids and life long learners to gain that valuable insight so they can be t...

My guest for this episode is Elise Durbin, Director of Community and Economic Development with the Carver County CDA. We discuss the mission and purpose of Community Development Agencies and how they serve residents and businesses by filling voids left by the regular market. This is done with certain types of housing, counseling and also with the implementation of state and federal funds designate...

If you have driven on Jonathon Carver Parkway South of Hwy 212 in the past few months, you know Carver is experiencing a building boom.  A new elementary school, a brand new Kwik Trip and several hundred new homes all seemed to have popped up over night.  The small downtown is also having a resurgence with several new businesses.  We get to hear from Mayor Courtney Johnson discuss what's happening...

Lesley Wyman's day job is with Eastern Carver County School District, she specifically works at The Integrated Arts Academy in the district building.  What we got to talk about on this episode was about an ad-hoc, grass roots, start up that came about during the early days of Covid-19 pandemic for the purpose of providing a platform for various service groups, faith communities and governmental in...

Kendra Olson is THE Carver County elections expert. She explains how voting, vote counting and the sanctity of the voting process is handled and secured in Carver County and in Minnesota in general. Given the conflicting information bouncing around on the news and within social media, it seemed like a good idea to get straight talk and accurate information from someone who knows the real inside sc...

This episode is a lot closer to my day job than others and Missy Florek is a terrific home stager and frankly a little bit of a cross between a home style maven and a crazy bargain shopper. I'm always amazed at what she can do on sometimes minimal budgets. This is a nice visit about how people can plan ahead and make good choices about their living decor.

John Fahey and his family are well known on the western part of Carver County. Community involvement was something he literally grew up with as a young boy and he has continued to serve residents of Norwood Young America his whole life. John and his wife Janet are fixtures around Carver County and their hands are on many important initiatives. Also, if you've seen those cool quilts designs on rand...

Dan Keyport is a world traveler, community advocate, husband, father and owner of Carver County's coolest wine shop located in the Historic Chaska Depot. Dan talks about entrepreneurship, pivoting business models during a pandemic and the benefits of community involvement. He also speaks briefly about his goal of visiting 100 countries. The web site fornthe store is www.dolcevitawine.net

Even here in Carver County there are people losing their housing who need a place to stay and who need food and basic necessities. His House Ministry has locations in Excelsior and in downtown Chaska. Martha Brannon is the director and people may recognize her big smile as she's running around in a white Ford van picking up food and delivering to those is need. She works in conjunction with Carver...

I wanted to reflect on season 1 and the remarkable guests who were kind enough to spend a little time sharing their little or sometimes bigger corner in Carver County. I also wanted to share what I've been doing to improve myself during Covid-19 on what I called "my remodel project". Thank you for checking this podcast out and I hope you enjoy my new batch of guests. They are; "The people who make...

You've probably seen the "You Matter" signs around town. I invite you to meet the Matt behind the sign. Chaska resident and bundle of energy Matt Udermann talks about his thoughts on community, a sense of civic duty and his vision for our growing region. Matt has a lot of ideas and this is one of those podcast interviews where the best thing I could do was to get out of the way and give him the ti...

Lifetime Fitness personal trainer Corey Grenz and I riff about staying sain, fit and balanced during a quarantine and what he likes to read to stay on top of recent fitness trends. He also offers some breathing exercises to monitor how well you are pacing. He is available for personal consultations to help you cope with lots of "family time"

The stressors of "physical distance" could become too much for some families. In Carver and Scott Counties we are fortunate to have a resource to help. Christie Larson, Executive Director talks about the services available at SVABW and the shocking number of cases they see each year. There are many ways they come along side victims to help or advise about options out there. The web site is www.sva...

We are fortunate in Carver County to have direct access to over 14,000 acres of stunning wildlife refuge along the Minnesota River. Robert "Randy" Petzel is the president of the Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends and he wants us to know that despite the 2 visitor centers in Bloomington and Carver being temporarily closed, nature and the 40+ miles of trails are open and crowd free. Visit www.fws.gov/r...

Covid-19 is everywhere on media and sometimes it's useful to drill down to a local level to discuss how it is affecting us here in Carver County. Dr Richard Scott Carver County Deputy Director of Health and Human Services talks about the idea of "physical distancing" as opposed to "social...", what the county has in place and what you can do in your homes and work places. He also talks about the m...

In this episode I don't have a guest because of my social distancing boundaries. Also I have a ton of experience dealing with the topic of mortgage defaults. I wanted to give you some basic information to help calm some common fears and clear up misconceptions about what happens if, god forbid, you have to work through mortgage crisis. This is intended to be a public service and NOT legal advice....

Chaska High School principal Jim Bach discusses some of the successes and the challenges the administration, staff and students face in a changing community. He remains optimistic about the students and their futures in an evolving world.

Chaska High school graduate and current Watertwon resident Addie Miller is a smart, young lawyer, an accomplished horse expert and a passionate advocate for the under served. She also happens to be running for the Minnesota senate as one of Carver County's new generation of leaders. She talks about what motivated her to engage in the political process and to put herself out there.

The food purchasing choices people make have consequences beyond what ends up on their plate. The decisions families make about their food impact local and regional economies, environments and public health. In this episode, Lakewinds general manager Dale Woodbeck and Chanhassen store manager Katie Lewsader make the case for more conscientious deliberation when buying groceries.

Long time Cologne resident and advocate, Roger Storms talks about his business career as a successful electrical contractor. (His company wired the Metrodome and the MoA) He also shares about a life of service back to his community. He is a terrific guy and fun to spend time with on a sunny afternoon.

Julie Frick talks about the Carver County CDA and who it serves and what the impact is on Carver County residents for housing and small business through community development.

CEO Mike Senden of Auburn Homes and Serices talks about how they serve Carver County seniors with care and compassion from their campuses in Waconia and Chaska.

Dr Joel Wiggins, President of Crown College shares about how a small, private college stays competitive in a changing world. He talks about some of the partnerships, innovative programs and curriculum options they have developed over the past few years to adjust to the times while maintaining the faith based values that are the school's "True North".

Greg Boe, former Chaska City Council member and relatively new state representative for 47-b (Chaska, Chanhassen and Victoria) talks his slightly unconventional for a conservative, background and about the challenges of being new to MN statewide politics. He also discusses a few agenda items to be worked out in 2020.

From CA and FL gangster to small town cobbler, Tommie's life story is almost to colorful to believe and yet here he is being his iconic, outspoken and authentic self. He doesn't hold any punches and speaks with a bluntness that's unusual in "Minnesota Nice" Carver County. He is raw, unvarnished and honest.