The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

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Episodes

The Spark Team travels to the 109th Pennsylvania Farm Show

The 109th Pennsylvania Farm Show highlights Pennsylvania’s agriculture. It is also the largest indoor agricultural event in the country. The Spark Team traveled to the farm show to experience food vendors, live animal exhibits, farmers and more. On this episode of The Spark, you’ll hear from King View Mead , the Steinmetz Family Farm , Altmeyer’s Western Wear , The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau , and the Future Farmers of America . You will also hear commentary from Producers Emma H...

Jan 10, 2025•23 min

PACB and CSCU lobby for new law to protect seniors from elder financial abuse

The Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers are pushing for new laws to better protect seniors from elder financial abuse. Kevin Shivers, President and CEO of PACB, and Christina Carden, VP of Marketing and Communication at Cross State Credit Union Association were guests on The Spark to shed light on this issue. Below is a op-ed from PACB that explains their partnership on this effort and what they would like to see happen in 2025. Letter to Santa to Protect Older Pennsylvanians Dear Sant...

Jan 10, 2025•15 min

Central Pa. might experience more snow this weekend

Central Pennsylvanians have been experiencing cold weather for the past week. ABC 27 Meteorologist Dan Tomaso says it’s due to low pressure that has been keeping slightly below average temperatures. “It's not extremely cold, but it's cold enough that we're seeing highs around freezing, maybe a little bit below nighttime. Temperatures in the 20s, nighttime temperatures in the teens and the coldest spots, but also the really persistent wind. And I think that's what people really get ti...

Jan 10, 2025•9 min

High School students invited to participate in MLK Jr. International Poetry and Storytelling Festival

The World Affairs Council of Harrisburg is inviting high school students in Central Pennsylvania to take part in their annual Martin Luther King Jr. International Poetry and Storytelling Festival on January 19 . This year’s theme is “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”  Joyce Davis, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg, says she hopes students stop and think about the ideals of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr....

Jan 09, 2025•21 min

Pa. Farmer shares memories of friendship with Jimmy Cater

Wayne Harpster, owner of Harpster Farms in Huntingdon County, developed a friendship with the late President Jimmy Carter through their love of fly fishing. Harpster met Cater in 1978 at a Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club member meet up. “I didn't know he was coming. ” The former president arrived in his helicopter and landed on Harpster’s field. He offered to cut his fence so the president and first lady Rosalynn could get to the stream. However, the president did not allow him t...

Jan 08, 2025•22 min

Adams County Historical Society assumes ownership of Shriver House Museum

The Adams County Historical Society has recently announced it has assumed ownership and management of the iconic Shriver House Museum, located in downtown Gettysburg. Abbie Hoffman is the new Director of the Shriver House Museum and believes that this will help to tell the story from a civilian perspective of life during the Civil War era. “The Shriver House Museum is dedicated to telling the civilian experience during the Battle of Gettysburg. And what the beauty of the museum is that we ...

Jan 08, 2025•22 min

Milton S. Hershey: They story of a man who shaped the candy industry for generations to come

Milton S. Hershey is a man who turned sweet dreams into a global legacy. Hershey was born in 1857 near Hershey according to Amy Zeigler, Senior Director of The Hershey Story Museum, Hershey Gardens, and Hershey Community Archives. “He had two parents who were very different from each other, but he really seemed to get the best of both of them. So, his mother was a pretty strict Mennonite. She was very hard working, family focused. He went to school until he was 14, but she really wanted hi...

Jan 08, 2025•22 min

Brightside Opportunities Center offers fitness programs for the youth and seniors

Brightside Opportunities Center in Lancaster is changing lives with its innovative programs from fitness and wellness to education and youth initiatives. Sally Winchell, Wellness Director at Brightside, has been at the center for ten years. Winchell helped to design the layout of the fitness center. “We have strength and conditioning. We have some Zumba classes. We have a senior pound class. I work with younger people with lifting weights, doing personal training all the way up through peo...

Jan 07, 2025•22 min

Author Andreja B. Gunjaric shares about her debut book, Where the Nile Meets the Sea

Where the Nile Meets the Sea: Mystery of the Great Giza Sphinx is a fictional tale about two characters Geb and Luna. Local author, Andreja B. Gunjaric was a guest on The Spark to share more details about her debut book. Ten percent of Where the Nile Meets the Sea royalties earned will be donated to Tree Aid, a international NGO supporting communities to tackle poverty and the climate crisis through the power of trees. Their project supports the Great Green Wall- an initiative to prevent the Sah...

Jan 07, 2025•21 min

Debunking health myths for 2025

For many, the new year means new fitness and wellness goals. Jesse Cracco is a certified personal trainer , functional nutrition coach, and behavior change specialist who works with women to naturally speed up their metabolisms so they can stop the dysfunctional yoyo diet cycle and learn to maintain fitness and health for the rest of their lives. “So my background in school is in psych psychology and wanting to help people. So I went to school to eventually do a clinical psychology path, a...

Jan 06, 2025•24 min

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