24 JUN. 2024 · On this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes Mike Madrid, author of The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy. In 2020, Latinos became the second-largest ethnic voting group in the country. Today, they make up the largest plurality of residents in the most populous states in the country, as well as the fastest segment of the most important swing states in the US Electoral College.  Mike is not only a terrific author and one of the smartest people in politics in America, but he's also a well-respected, veteran American political consultant, one of the country’s authoritative experts on Latino voters, and a co-founder of https://lincolnproject.us/ Mike served as the press secretary for the California Assembly Republican leader, as the political director for the California Republican Party, and as senior adviser to both Democrats and Republicans. He is a partner in GrassrootsLab, a political consulting firm in California. Online: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Latino-Century/Mike-Madrid/9781668015261 In part two of this week's program, Phil speaks with Dr. David Pilgrim, Founder and Director of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University. *Last June, The Grand Rapids Public Museum hosted the premiere of JCM's original traveling exhibit, Overcoming Hateful Things: Stories from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Imagery.   That powerful exhibit explored the Jim Crow system, the African American experience through the Jim Crow era, and the legacies of the Jim Crow system in modern society. Most importantly, the exhibit shows how African Americans pushed back against racial injustice. The exhibit has since closed, but you can still visit the Jim Crow Museum on the campus of Ferris State University.    Update: In April of this year, the https://www.michiganmedia.com/broadcast-excellence-awards/ awarded this segment a "Best-in-category" award for long-form interview programs.  (*ENCORE PRESENTATION from June 2023). Online: https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/

24 JUN. 2024 · On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman, hosts of the popular Michigan travel show, “Behind the Mitten."  John and Amy joined Phil to highlight some hotspots for Michigan travel this summer and share some off-the-beaten-path places that are their favorites and highly worth checking out. Some of these places include northeastern Michigan on the Lake Huron shoreline, the Manistee area, and several of the delightful suburbs in the greater Grand Rapids area. “Behind the Mitten” is heard on over 20 Radio stations in Michigan, and their podcast has more than 400 episodes. John is a longtime journalist, early adopter of social media, and a member of the Central Michigan University Journalism Hall of Fame. Amy is a former chef with 20-plus years of experience, a craft beer expert, and a freelance writer. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as a "Best in Category" weekend specialty show. Online: https://www.amyandgonzo.com/

17 JUN. 2024 · In this segment, host Phil Tower welcomes Kerry Lynch, sales director with Shorts Brewing, and Richard Anderson, co-founder of Iron Fish Distillery.  Kerry and Richard joined the program to discuss the unique “Made In Michigan partnership with Iron Fish Distillery and Short’s Brewing regarding the return of the limited-release Soft Parade® Vodka. This special release celebrates a collaboration between two of Michigan's top craft beverage brands. The two Michigan companies have combined their expertise to create a unique spirit appealing to vodka enthusiasts and craft beer lovers. Soft Parade® Vodka is infused with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, the exact same fruit used in brewing Soft Parade® Beer. The 2024 batch is even more fruit-forward and comes in at 75 proof. Online: https://www.shortsbrewing.com/    Online: https://ironfishdistillery.com/

17 JUN. 2024 · On this week's program, host Phil Tower speaks with Jon Conkling, Grand Rapids Gran Fondo event director, and Jocelyn Detloff, Major Gifts Director with Mary Free Bed Foundation.   West Michigan's signature and largest road cycling event,  The Grand Rapids Gran Fondo, presented by Key Bank returns to downtown GR on Saturday, June 22nd. The start and finish of the race begins in downtown Grand Rapids.  Jon told us that bike routes will be available for all levels of riders: 80, 40 & 25-mile distances plus a 12-mile family ride. The Grand Rapids Gran Fondo Will be followed by a finish-line festival featuring craft beer, music, and more. This year,  The Grand Rapids Gran Fondo has chosen Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital as Fondo’s official charity partner.  100% of the fundraising from the event will support their mission and the work they do right here in West Michigan. The GR Gran Fondo  Will also include an appearance from 2024 Celebrity Rider,  Tejay van Garderen.Online: https://grgranfondo.com/

1 JUN. 2024 · On this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes  Paul Beachnau, Executive Director of the Gaylord Tourism Bureau. If you ask Paul, he’ll tell you Northern Michigan summers are the best… especially in Gaylord, Michigan.  If you haven’t experienced one lately, Paul covered the “Top 7 Reasons To Enjoy Summer in Gaylord, Michigan." #1 Biking. Gaylord is recognized as a top biking destination! The biking scene is diverse, from single tracks at Aspen Park, Shingle Mill Pathway, and Pine Baron Pathway to the crown jewel of all trails – the North Central State Trail.  Newly expanded and now running 73 miles from Waters to Mackinaw City, MI.  #2 Hiking. Hiking is available for all levels of hikers. There are plenty of paved and unpaved trails.  #3. Elk Viewing. Gaylord is home to one of the largest free-roaming elk herds east of the Mississippi. The Pigeon River Country State Forest is home to a herd of over 1,000 elk, and for a guaranteed sighting, head to the City Elk Park, just a few blocks from the downtown district.  #4. Lakes & Rivers. Otsego County is home to over 90 inland lakes and the headwaters of 5 major rivers. There’s plenty of water to boat, fish, and explore. #5. Downtown. Gaylord’s downtown boasts a newly remodeled streetscape, trendy new eateries, and unique stores with up-north charm.  #6. Events & Festivals. There’s the new Downtown Summer Concert Series, featuring weekly performers plus the Otsego Lake Fly-In, Michaywe Arts & Crafts Fair, Otsego County Fair, races, fireworks, and more. #7. Lodging. Gaylord has plentiful accommodation options, from beautiful resorts and cabins to vacation homes and trusted hotels. Online: https://www.gaylordmichigan.net/ In part two of our program, Phil speaks with Jill Wallace, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer/Vice President of Operations, at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids. Jill told us that Goodwill sells donated goods to fuel its mission of job training and placement opportunities to help people create better futures by building their skills and finding jobs.  Jill said that for every dollar spent at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids stores, $.90 goes directly towards job training and placement services for those in need in our local communities. Goodwill Industries has 18 locations in West Michigan and 155+ local organizations in the United States and Canada.  Goodwill even has a national online shopping site with incredible deals at shopgoodwill.com Online: https://www.goodwillgr.org/

24 MAY. 2024 · On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Tom Sinas, partner at The Sinas Dramis Law Firm.  Tom is a long-time advocate for those with head injuries and bicycle safety with the Lids for Kids bicycle helmet giveaway. Sinas Dramis Law Firm and community partners are hosting Lids for Kids, one of Michigan's longest-running and best-known free bike helmet giveaways.   Each year, events are held in Lansing and Grand Rapids, and this year's event is in Grand Rapids at Garfield Park on Saturday, June 1st. Tom told us that Lids For Kids draws families across West Michigan.  Online: https://lidsforkidsmi.org/grand-rapids/ In part two of our program, Phil welcomed the Collections Specialist & Historian Jay Follis with The Gilmore Car Museum.  The Mission of the Gilmore Car Museum is to tell America's history through the automobile. We foster experiences that connect people with the automobile's history, heritage, and social impact by collecting, preserving, and interpreting its story.  Gilmore also offers chauffeured rides in classic cars from the Gilmore Car Museum's collection, which is offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from May through September.  Jay also talked about their newest automotive exhibit, "Are We There Yet?"…. Focusing on America's favorite station wagons through the years, and highlighted the always popular model T driving school offered by the museum. https://gilmorecarmuseum.org/ https://gilmorecarmuseum.org/

18 MAY. 2024 · On the program this week, host Phil Tower, welcomes Bill Coderre, president and CEO of Junior Achievement Michigan Great Lakes. JA's primary focus these days is helping students with financial literacy.  A big reason for that push with Junior achievement is that a new law passed in 2022 by the Michigan legislature requires that students must take a course in personal finance that is aligned with the personal finance content expectations or take a course in which the content expectations are embedded. Students earn ½ credit once they have demonstrated learning about personal finance content expectations. Online: https://michigangreatlakes.ja.org/ In our second half of the program this week, Phil spoke with Kerry Ebersole Singh, Executive Vice President & Chief of Talent Solutions and Engagement Officer for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.  In mid-April, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation changed the focus of its STEM Forward program to “STEAM Ahead” by building in new internship roles and opportunities that focus on the intersection of arts and science, technology, engineering, and math careers such as front-end web developers and industrial designers. The MEDC also announced new incentives through the STEAM Ahead program that are focused on helping Michigan businesses of all sizes to hire interns, add work experience opportunities for college students, and potentially find long-term, highly skilled talent to hire Online:https://www.michiganbusiness.org/

17 MAY. 2024 · On this week's episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Rick Vuyst and Stacey Hirvela, hosts of the radio show and podcast Gardening Simplified from Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs. Rick and Stacey are life-long gardeners, and on every episode of Gardening Simplified, their passion is to share their love of plants and gardening.  Rick and Stacey shared their backgrounds with Phil. They talked about the show in general, including many of the more popular topics they've covered on previous episodes of  Gardening Simplified.    On every episode, Rick and Stacy cover a variety of topics suitable for beginning gardeners or long-time garden landscape experts. They stress that, regardless of your experience level, they'll have something interesting, useful, and helpful in every episode. Gardening Simplified is heard on WOOD Radio in Grand Rapids, at 106.9 FM/1300 AM on Saturdays at 9 am and Sundays at 7 pm. You can also https://www.youtube.com/provenwinnerscolorchoicefloweringshrubsor listen on https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-gardening-simplified-102365395/or your favorite podcast app. Online: https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/

5 MAY. 2024 · On this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes Nick Nerbonne, the Digital and Industry Relations Director with Travel Michigan. Nick joined us on the program to talk about the impact of sports and tourism on the state of Michigan.  Nick told us that sports tourism is a huge and very important part of the overall tourism picture for the state’s economy. The 2024 NFL Draft in downtown Detroit concluded in late April, and city officials anticipate the economic impact to be significant. Detroit ended the NFL Draft by setting the attendance record with over 700,000 fans at the event, beating the record of 600,000 fans set in 2019 in Nashville. Detroit also set the record for the highest attendance on Day one of the draft, with 275,000 fans. Nick also talked about The Pure Michigan Governor's Conference on Tourism, which was held in April and is the biggest event of the year for the entire tourism industry and related businesses. The conference tracks over 500 tourism leaders and industry representatives from across Michigan. Online: https://www.michigan.org/ In part two this week, Phil spoke with Bob Hughes and  Joe DiBenedetto, both Co-Chairs for this year's Armed Forces Thanksgiving celebration on May 17 at The J.W. Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids.  The Armed Forces Thanksgiving event was created in 2014 by a group of Grand Rapids businessmen to raise awareness and dialogue on the contributions our military personnel have made - and continue to make - on behalf of their families, friends, and country. The annual Armed Forces Thanksgiving celebration provides a vehicle for our community, from teens to adults, to understand, honor, and express thanks for the service of those who have served or are serving in our Armed Forces.  Funds raised after expenses are donated to the West Michigan Veterans Coalition so that they can continue their mission of improving the lives of veterans and their families by connecting them to all available support services and resources in West Michigan.  Bob and Joe stressed that the organization is still looking to attract more high schools and students to participate in the annual event.   Online: https://www.armedforcesthx.org/

27 ABR. 2024 · In this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes back Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at The Detroit News.   Chad joined us in this program to discuss a broad range of political topics, focusing first on Michigan politics and the recent criminal charges brought against former speaker of the house, Lee Chatfield, by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.  In mid-April, Nessel unveiled 13 criminal charges against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, saying he had flagrantly misused nonprofit dollars to pay off his personal credit card and fund purchases at wineries and luxury retail stores. Chad told us that the Michigan Attorney General's office has also brought charges against Lee Chatfield's wife, Stephanie, for her role in the alleged scheme. Chad also discussed the growing problem of many Michigan lawmakers having pockets of money available through funds connected with their office, a third-party pack, or some other group. Later, according to Livengood, we talked about Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, a potential presidential candidate for 2028 and possibly even for 2024. A major publisher is set to release a book this summer by Gretchen Whitmer about her life and years as governor of Michigan, another sign of a signal of the Democrat's expanding national profile. The book, titled "TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life We Are, Leadership, and Everything in Between," is set to go on sale July 9,  Link: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/chad-livengood/2024/04/20/michigan-legislature-lee-chatfield-dana-nessel-officeholder-expense-fund/73366968007/.