This Malaysian beauty may not look like her neighbors within small town Homer. However, she is fully embedded in the community and close-knit culture of Midwest Americana. From mompreneur to marketing maven, Nicole has been more than busy. This summer she, and many others, have decided to take a step back and slow down. Listen as Nicole talks about looking different than her childhood classmates, how she handles the haters, growing a thriving online boutique business and a loyal community of wom...
Jun 06, 2023•53 min
A long-ago St. Louis area transplant now has roots deeply embedded in our community. She has seen first hand how coaches, schools, parents and the youth in our area can lift you up when you are down. Share a kind word. Spread a message. Keep one young man's name alive and well so that your biggest fear following the loss of a child isn't realized--that child being forgotten. Listen as Prudence talks about the tragic accident that caused her to lose her only son and first born exactly three years...
May 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Blue Ridge School graduate, Retired Sergeant in the U.S. Army, stay-at-home dad turned Community Outreach Coordinator and Student Recruiter for the University of Illinois Chez Veterans Center tells his story of a post-September 11th war with humor and zero regrets. Listen as Garrett talks about 130-degree days in full body armor, marrying his now wife of 17-plus-years on a whim just days before deployment, trying to build relationships with Iraqis while never knowing a good guy from a bad guy wi...
May 23, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 62
This Champaign-based father and son (in-law) duo shares much more than business ventures. At the time of this recording, Dan and Greg were celebrating their 2nd year “kidneyversary.” When Greg’s kidneys were poisoned because of an undiagnosed prostate issue, family and friends around the globe stepped up to help in many ways. Listen as they retell the story of Greg’s dramatic health decline. A previously energetic and youthful Greg shares the moment things went down, literally, as he was dancing...
May 16, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 61
This townie actually attended middle school and high school at the same time as me! Different paths never intersected our stories, however, until this interview. Larcina hasn’t had an easy road, but she has remained steady and consistent in her choices—putting food, shelter and her two children at the top of her priorities. Listen as this Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) talks about finding out she was pregnant in high school, never actually talking to her mom about the pregnancy, her obsessive...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 60
This Centennial grad chose to enlist in the military to gain discipline, direction and to see the world. He got much more than he bargained for after September 11th tested the defensive infrastructure of our nation. Thousands of men and women were sent overseas to fight in a war no one was anticipating or prepared for. Listen as this United States Army Veteran talks about going from working at Bagelmen’s one day to being deployed to the Middle East the next, saying goodbye to his dad, his friend...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 59
This Decatur diva moved to the big city of Champaign to accelerate her career in hair design. Tara found that her destructive behavior followed her no matter what her zip code was. She found and partied with “connects” after hours until the party had to stop. After all, nothing changes if nothing changes. Listen as this creative, dynamic, outspoken beacon of light explains why she always aspired to be a “drug dealers’ girlfriend,” what was happening at home that made her want to escape, getting ...
Apr 25, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 58
My husband returns from the FIRST podcast episode over a year ago to document in real time, rather than reflecting on the past, the latest challenge in his recovery story. Listen as Andrew, fellow townie, shares the continuation of his battle to live a life free of substances. And not just any life. A life of peace, contentment and calm. As mentioned in the first episode with Andrew, pot has been a huge point of contention between us. His addiction to marijuana caused him to lie and keep secrets...
Apr 18, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 57
This Southern Illinois transplant found her talents wasted as an accountant wanting a lucrative career. She turned her focus on education and coaching in order to empower tweens and teens (and their parents) who made need a lesson in confidence and realizing their self-worth. Listen as this author, coach, speaker and unapologetically authentic lipsticked, top-knotted mom, leaves us with these little pearls of wisdom each day on social media and all throughout this podcast. Erin created the backb...
Apr 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 56
This townie tried to escape when touring the country as a traveling nurse. Now married to a farmer, living in the country and mothering to a little boy and girl, she has planted her roots firmly in the Midwest while working as a nurse practitioner. Listen as this guest (and fellow Franklin Magnet Middle School Knight) reunite to explain how she made friends while moving rapidly from city-to-city in the world of health care. A slip in the grocery store and a mom’s intuition turned what Leah thoug...
Apr 04, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 55
This townie turned Golden State golden boy is one of our nearest and dearest, oldest and bestest. He has made a life and a family on the west coast using his charm and knack for sales as a springboard into a new, booming venture with seemingly endless possibilities. Listen as this guest explains how losing his sales job in an ailing company propelled him into the frenetic world of cannabis sales. Brian explains how the game of cat and mouse is a huge part of the appeal of the vast world of sales...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 54
This longtime Champaign resident and neighbor of mine is a kindred spirit. She has created businesses based on her knack for organizing and her ability to disarm those she helps with a non-judgmental, sweet-natured approach. Listen as this guest explains the cluttered, unsafe and unhygienic environments she has found herself spanning the past 15 years in this business. Karen explains the endless amounts of books, files and papers she has found herself surrounded by. Literally piece by piece and ...
Mar 21, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 53
If you keep sharing stories and keep listening—I will keep going CU (and beyond). I recorded a storytime after a meeting that was decades in the making. I was waiting and debating about when to put it out. This seemed like the right moment—this milestone episode celebrating the podcast. I’ve also included an opportunity to win a $100 gift card to any of the previous sponsors. Prove that you’ve shared this podcast (audio note, screenshot, email forward, etc.) to my email efletcharr@gmail.com, and...
Mar 14, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 52
This retired City of Champaign employee, owner of Anything Wild Animal Control and rural Urbana resident tells some crazy tails (pun intended) of the most common animals in our area: beaver, coyote, fox, geese, possum, racoon, skunks and more. Listen as this guest explains the behaviors of area troublemakers with decades of knowledge and field experience behind his encounters. Skunk sprays, subduing angry geese, cockroach couches and midnight bat emergencies are all on Steve’s extensive list of ...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 51
This honest mama and Villa Grove native talks candidly about body image, mental health, disordered eating and the connection with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and a childhood that caused the need for peace and stability. Listen as the self-appointed CEO of ACE Homes, workhorse, content creator and full-time working woman, Alyssa, talks about building a 13K social media following while documenting the creation of their dream home and an aching struggle with mental health post-baby. Why did...
Feb 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 50
My couple friends return from episode 7 to talk about what happened after we stopped recording 10 months ago. Listen as Mike, Champaign native, and Jordan (Oakes), Tolono honey, share the continuation of their fight to conceive, the importance of advocating for yourself within the labyrinth of the medical system, chilly nurses, resentments and never shaking the feeling that something will go wrong. Did this couple get what they have invested, stressed and dreamed over? Download to find out. Are ...
Feb 21, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 49
This Urbana native has limitless talents and titles. She can sing, play multiple instruments, landscape, build outbuildings, nurse and has made a business out of being a chandler. AKA a candlemaker! Kayla did it all until she couldn't anymore. Listen as this member of three local bands talks about how a personal need turned into a thriving business, Fire Doll Studios, why her "interesting" childhood led to a few bad habits and why she graduated high school with a different class than her own. Fo...
Feb 14, 2023•56 min•Season 1Ep. 48
My husband and defensive driving expert, Andrew Harrington, and I travel with our two little ones overnight (and well into the next day) from Illinois to Florida. While making our own memories, we reflect on the road trips of our own childhood. Listen as two townies hit the dusty trail already behind schedule and with bad moods setting in. Vomit, coffee-cup pees and an expensive meet-and-greet with a Georgia police officer are all documented periodically during the course of this long trip where...
Feb 07, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 47
This spirited townie has an intuitive nature. She senses, sees and feels what a typical passerby may not. From local haunted houses, to premonitions regarding someone's future to guiding the lost through a potential minefield, Deb has a way with interpreting someone's thoughts and feelings. Listen as this former flower child, costume designer, creative and current intuitive talks about the resurgence in popularity of mystical practices like crystals, saging and reading tarot and the difference i...
Jan 31, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 46
This Naperville transplant has a voice that likely everyone in the Champaign-Urbana area has heard. From WDWS to the University Of Illinois sports announcements, Scott is there covering games wherever he is needed for the love of sports, for the love of transmitting information and for the love of a dream that he will never let die. Listen as this broadcaster talks about pivoting from engineering and music to broadcast journalism, how being the one answering the personal questions is a lot harde...
Jan 23, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 45
In the fall of 2008 I went to Amy Armstrong's house as green as her front lawn. She was one of my first interviews as a big girl, full-time journalist. I was there to talk to Amy about her toddler, Larkin, and Amy's advocacy initiative, Larkin's Place at the Stephens Family YMCA. Fifteen years later, Amy and I talk about the next phase of Larkin's life and how Amy and her husband have to prepare to legally take control of Larkin before the age of 18 hits. Listen as this momologist and long-time ...
Jan 17, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 44
One well-known townie and one transplant fall in love and move overseas to continue his dream of playing basketball for a living. A traumatic birth to twins and a need for familial support brought the couple back to the states TWICE to start a more pedestrian life filled with familial support and two more baby boys. Listen (literally, as two littles were at the recording) to how this thoughtful mom and dad function as a family of six. Moving through life with a team mentality and a lens of "us,"...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Fellow townie, Central Maroon and thoughtful, "I need to sleep on it," personality, Devin Lietz, talks about her no-second-guesses needed road to adoption. The road, however, had a few false starts. Listen as this former social worker details her process and decision to adopt rather than pursue other interventions. Devin always had adoption in the back of her mind as she married and then started "trying" to get pregnant. A miscarriage led her and her husband to believe getting pregnant may be mo...
Jan 03, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 42
University of Illinois student athletes, Jer'Zhan Newton (St. Petersburg) and Keith Randolph Jr. (Belleville) are powerhouses on the defensive line this year. This dynamic duo was even given the moniker the "Law Firm" by their fearless leader Bret Bielema for their exceptional teamwork. Listen as these two friends, roommates and teammates tease each other while expressing what the true life of a student athlete looks like. Their different personalities show through as they discuss the pressures,...
Dec 27, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Rantoul resident turned Urbana homeowner tells tales that the best fiction writer could not put into words. Tony's childhood debauchery quickly goes from juvenile to criminal spanning coast-to-coast. Listen to Tony discuss his wrap sheet starting in early adolescence with a legitimate wildfire. This spark began a snowball effect of moves, booze, drugs, arrests and a baby girl. After too much being sick and tired of being sick and tired, Tony resorts to homelessness to rehab himself and clean up ...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Former Centennial Charger explains how a recession landed her in a position that is never boring, mostly stressful and always comes with a long line of upset customers. This boy mom to two little ones impresses with legalese and consistent compassion for her clients as a local public defender. Listen to Lindsey talk candidly about how much she makes, theft versus burglary, defending a former classmate, finding the good in even the most wanted, how poverty and how someone grew up should plays a p...
Dec 13, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 39
A Champaign townie and former local media young gun turned Nashville anchor, spends his time tracking wins and losses, baskets, touchdowns and RBIs. With a face for TV, Steve transitioned from radio to primetime and has even made it to the big show on ESPN+. Listen as Steve recalls three pivotal moments that changed the trajectory of his life: a career-ending sports injury, being in the right place at the right time during a momentous sports moment and a critical car accident. The recent car acc...
Dec 06, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 38
A Champaign born-and-raised dear friend and female BOSS recently leapt up the corporate ladder into a new position in Nebraska. Champaign’s loss and a big gain for the Huskies. We first met when she stole my middle school boyfriend, but we became fast friends in high school. This is where I met her family and her mom for the first time. Behind closed doors, you never know what someone is dealing with. I surely didn’t know. Listen as Jackie, a tough, strong and typically unemotional person, stoic...
Nov 29, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 37
My husband and podcast super fan, Andrew Harrington, and I talk in detail about our terrible, horrible and no good experiences (mostly mine) with the once illegal, now legal and more and more prevalent, wacky tobacky. Listen as two townies swap stories of brazen lunch-hour busts in open air Jeeps, the smell of skunk permeating chemistry class, drinking lemon juice to kill a buzz, watching Die Hard and the clock, uncontrollable leg tweaking and the 72-hour high that I never came down from. Tune i...
Nov 22, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Shanovia (NoNo) landed in Champaign after being taken out of Chicago with the intention of a happier upbringing. She left behind sadness, poverty and ailing or deceased caregivers. With little food and living conditions unfit to thrive in, Shanovia and her sisters moved to Champaign to face a new set of challenges. Listen to why NoNo didn't let her environment define her. Why her inner light would shine on the path that would lead her to a future of service for others, further education and the ...
Nov 15, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 35
