The Public Works Nerds

Send us Fan Mail In this first episode of Season 4 we are talking about culture in Public Works. Culture is one of those words that can make field crews roll their eyes, until you tie it to the things they care about most: going home safe, working with less drama, and trusting the people around them. We unpack what “public works culture” looks like when it is real, measurable, and built on purpose...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I welcome one of my favorite Public Works Nerds, Brian Simmons from Bolton & Menk. Brian and I look back at our recent presentation on Artificial Intelligence in Public Works - titled AI in the Sky - at the 2025 APWA PWX in Chicago.  We also critique and marvel at an AI generated podcast that was created using just our slide deck from that presentation. In betw...

Send us Fan Mail Two Marks trade friendly jabs while making a serious case for APWA: vote, get involved, and mentor the next generation. Join Mark Ray and me, Marc Culver, as we walk through the Minnesota chapter ballot, unpack what the board actually does, and share practical ways to lead well and care for yourself. • APWA Minnesota election overview and why turnout matters • Department rebrand f...

Send us Fan Mail I'm excited to welcome my good friend and former colleague Ryan Johnson to the show. Ryan is the Environmental Manager for the City of Roseville in Minnesota and is my favorite storm water and water resources guru. Ryan joins me in this episode to talk about the underappreciated role of making sure that private stormwater BMP's are properly maintained. I know, exciting!...

Send us Fan Mail This episode a great deep dive into asset management with arguably the premier asset management system on the market today. I've been working with Cartegraph since 2010 and have been very impressed with their software and vision for constant improvement. Join me as I welcome Jon Kremer, self proclaimed Product CEO for the Cartegraph Asset Management System at OpenGov, and we...

Send us Fan Mail We really nerd out in this episode as we are joined by Steve Nelson and Ryan Stempski, both from WSB & Associates, to talk about PFAS in our drinking water supplies. There is much to unpack about this complex and important issue, and this is just the first hour in likely several hours of conversation on this topic in the months ahead. Enjoy! AI Generated Episode Description: T...

Send us Fan Mail A deep dive into the City of Rosemount's newly completed Police and Public Works Facility with Public Works Director Nick Egger and Oertel Architects President Andrew Cooper. They share insights on the planning, design, and construction of this $58 million, 160,000 square foot joint facility that addresses decades of space needs while planning for future growth. • Acquisition...

Send us Fan Mail Marc Culver returns with Season 3 of Public Works Nerds, sharing his career transition to Brooklyn Park City Engineer and welcoming back Mark Ray to discuss his recent professional journey to Australia. • Mark Ray's Australian Small Bridge Conference experience featured fascinating insights into bridge inspection methods • Australia uses standardized Level 1-3 inspection term...

Send us Fan Mail This week we start what will become a series of podcasts chronicling the journey of the City of Shakopee, MN through the APWA Accreditation process. Shakopee decided to take this on several months ago and a couple of months into the process at the time of this recording. This is a great conversation about why Shakopee decided to do this, how they found an internal champion and wha...

Send us Fan Mail In our 32nd episode we are joined by the City of Edina's Master Electrician and Supervisor Noah Silver. Noah guides us through this nerd session on Electric Vehicles and the required infrastructure to support them.  Join us for a transformative discussion on how the City of Edina is spearheading the future of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. With insights from o...

Send us Fan Mail This week we may have to temporarily rename the podcast "The Parks and Recreations Nerds" as we welcome Matt Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Roseville. Along with my guest co-host Bryce Shearan, a colleague of mine at Bolton & Menk and former Parks and Recreation Director at the City of Little Canada.  Bryce also hosts another podcast - MRPA...

Send us Fan Mail We are back for our 30th episode here at The Public Works Nerds! Here is the AI Generated Description. I have to call it out because I can't take credit for this prose: Unlock the secrets to transforming public perception and securing project funding through masterful communication with our esteemed guest, Sara Renney, Carver County's communications guru. Her rich tapest...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for Take 2 of the Nerds Unplugged where I sit down with Deb Heiser, Engineering Director for the City of St. Louis Park, MN, and Richard McCoy, Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Robbinsdale, MN. We recap the last four episodes and chat about some random topics like college tours, bridge collapses, and infrastructure funding. I plan to have these Unplu...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 8 of Season 2 features Chris Evers, a 2023 APWA Top Ten Public Works Leader award winner. That's why I contacted Chris, but I'm so happy I did for many reasons. First of all, I was finally able to nerd out on pavement maintenance. But I was also able to meet a pretty funny, smart, and gracious person in Chris Evers. And since Chris brought up Stuart Smalley in th...

Send us Fan Mail This episode took some time to get out there! Blame vacations and some tech issues, but I am finally dropping the 7th episode in Season 2 - and its a good one! Super fan and Tree Nerd Hannibal Hayes from the City of Minnetonka, MN joins me to talk about using technology to better manage the urban forest. We go off on some tangents about Emerald Ash Borer and tree species diversity...

Send us Fan Mail This week I'm joined by a Smart Cities team from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jim Alberque is the GIS and Emerging Technology Manager for the City of Raleigh and John Holden is the Smart City Manager for Raleigh. We talk about what does Smart Cities mean for Raleigh and how is the City focusing on different efforts under this umbrella.  We cover quite a bit of ground from asset m...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I sit down with my hometown Public Works Director, Sean Kershaw. As any public works nerd knows, we are at times over critical of those that serve us where we live, and we most likely have experienced that heightened scrutiny from current and retired public works professionals that live in our communities. It can be good, reaffirming, constructive, and frustrating....

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the first Nerds Unplugged episode! Deb Heiser, Michael Thompson and Mark Ray join me as a panel of opinionated Public Works professionals talking about random issues related to Public Works.  This is planned to be a monthly or so feature where we recap recent podcast episodes, talk about public works issues in the news and give updates to what's going on in our pub...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for our first of hopefully many conversations with an APWA Top Ten Public Works Leader. In this episode we are joined by a Public Works Nerds Podcast veteran, Russ Matthys. In 2023, Russ was one of 10 professionals named a Top Ten Public Works Leader by APWA. We talk to Russ about the award and what that means to him. We also talk about a new task force formed by the Minne...

Send us Fan Mail Discover the transformative power of recycling and how it intertwines with community economics in our latest Public Works Nerds podcast episode. I, Marc Culver, am joined by the insightful Kate Davenport, co-President of Eureka Recycling, who not only shares her personal journey from climate activism to leading a nonprofit recycling enterprise but also sheds light on the game-chan...

Send us Fan Mail Unlock the secrets of how cities are combatting the pernicious issue of lead in our drinking water, as Chelsea Alger and Dave Malm from Bolton & Menk join us to dissect the monumental task of lead service line replacement. With the Flint water crisis still fresh in our memories, we explore the complexities of updating water service inventories, the power of GIS technology in t...

Send us Fan Mail It's our 20th episode! Which is milestone in and of itself. Considering 90% of podcasts don't make it past 3 episodes, we're in pretty good company. I am joined by our first episode guest, Mark Ray, Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Crystal, MN. Mark, who is one of the most positive people I know, helps me review the season and highlight severa...

Send us Fan Mail This week we dive into the intricate world of waste management with Rachel Lindholm, the Sustainability Specialist from the City of Richfield, Minnesota. In this episode we talk about how Richfield implemented organized collection, managed recycling services and started both a drop off and curb side organics collection system.  Listen in as we nerd out about garbage! Show Notes: R...

Send us Fan Mail Join us and we talk with the Officers of the Minnesota Chapter of APWA. We talk about the history of the chapter, the committees, conferences, and their strategic plan. This is a lively and fun discussion with some very dedicated and devoted public works nerds! Our distinguished guests - President Monica Heil, Vice President Jupe Hale, Secretary/Treasurer Mitch Hoeft, Past Preside...

Send us Fan Mail In our 17th episode we talk to two GIS Nerds, Adam Carnow from ESRI and John Shain from Bolton & Menk. In the spirit of the AI movement, which we talk about in this episode, specifically GeoAI, I'm going to let the AI generated episode description say the rest - I usually consider this too wordy to use for the actual episode descriptions and end up writing a more succinct...