Curiouser

Some people are just special. Kate Drury is one of those people. Her well of experience, knowledge, compassion, and wisdom is extraordinarily deep, perfectly equipping her to be what she is - a lawyer helping defendants seek justice. Such a pleasure to interview Kate.

As a teenager, Marty Milner would visit his father in California, and while there, would visit record stores, looking for New Wave and HipHop music. He would buy CDs and bring them back to Wisconsin, introducing his friends to music that hadn't yet made it to the Midwest.
 
Years later, Marty opened Back to the Vinyl - Waupaca, where he continues to introduce people to music they've not heard and reunites people with music music they grew up with, pressed into actual record albums.

Speak with Larry Thomas and you get a sense that he is like a spring loaded with energy made up of thoughts, experiences, and stories ready to be told. The result is an interesting conversation that probably could have gone on another hour.

This week's guest was born on a homestead that could have been the set for Little House on the Prarie, was a Division 1 Pole Vaulter for the University of Minnesota, once raised animals for school science classes, built two of the homes his family has lived in, including his current residence, and so much more.

This, from our introduction to this week's guest: "...if she were a car, she’d be an old Jaguar E-Type convertible. She’s long, lean, full of charisma, and has needed more than her share of repairs along the way."
 
We had a gas interviewing Ali from Iola (a.k.a. Ali from Iola, ofthe Iola Car Show), and you'll have fun listening. Two options:

If you live within 50 miles of Waupaca, chances are you have a friend or relative who was helped into this world by this week's guest. Jane Crawford-Peterson is more than a midwife; she is a legend among midwives, having played a role in training, certification, and legislation in Wisconsin and beyond.
 
Such an interesting and wonderful person, and a great and inspiring interview.

She is fluent in Russian, has worked to promote international trade for Wisconsin busnesses, to reduce homelessness in Wisconsin, and to promote democracy in countries around the world. Now she's the Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Waupaca. She's Julianna Stohs, and she's our next guest on Curiouser.

Great conversation with Mike Hawthorne, the President and CEO of Waupaca Foundry. Listen to learn about Mike, why he feels at home in a small town like Waupaca, the career path that led him here, and what makes Waupaca Foundry globally competitive.

A wonderful interview with talented singer-songwriter and now children's book author Hillary Reynolds. Learn about Hillary's connections to Waupaca, and how she's charted a path that includes coffee shop gigs, touring with a band, working as a studio musician, and co-writing a song that was featured on a Grammy-nominated album and performed at the Grammys.
 
Hillary recently released "Changing Seasons," and we took the opportunity of the interview to talk about and listen to a couple of tracks. Super interesting.

Mark Flaten is the Superintendent of the School District of Waupaca. Listen to learn how a day working out in the cold changed Mark Flaten's plans after high school, how international travel during college changed his outlook, how a desire to impact learning changed his career trajectory, and how he's taking on the job of leading the School District of Waupaca.