Bryan Mayhew, Assistant Chief of the Portage Department of Public Safety - Police Division joins host John Hart to discuss the 2025 Thin Blue Shoreline Ride.

Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected].

John Hart, the new Multimedia Specialist joins host Mary Ruple to discuss his new role with the City of Portage.

Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected].

Brianna, the Portage Farmers Market Manager, joins host Mary Ruple to talk about Opening Day, the 2025 Market Season, and more! Make sure to visit us on Facebook and Instagram @PortageMarketMI for more information. Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

Paarth and Hameed from the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) join host Mary Ruple to discuss the 17th Annual Green-A-Thon and more! Find out more at https://portagemi.gov/440/Youth-Advisory-Committee. Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

Officer Fisher and Officer Martin from the Portage Department of Public Safety- Police Division join host Mary Ruple to discuss the Community Engagement and Resolution Team (CERT) Program and more. To learn more about the CERT Program and the team, visit portagemi.gov/345/.  Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

Aanya & Sonya from the Youth Advisory Committee joins host Mary Ruple to discuss the third annual Recycled Art Contest and more. For more information or to enter the contest, visit https://portagemi.gov/878/YAC-Events. Do you have a podcast idea? Send us an email at [email protected]. 

Brianna Wurtsmith, the Farmers Market Manager, joins host Mary Ruple to discuss vendor opportunities for markets and events, the farmers market opening day, and more! Visit portagemi.gov/634 to learn more and apply. Do you have a podcast idea? Please send an email to [email protected]. 

Brandi Janes, the Director of Emergency Management at Kalamazoo County, joins host Mary Ruple to discuss severe weather planning, Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the Statewide Tornado Drill on Wednesday, March 19, at 1 PM. For more information and resources, visit www.weather.gov, www.michigan.gov/miready, www.kalcounty.gov/206/Emergency-Management, and portagemi.gov/372/Emergency-Management. Do you have a podcast idea? Email it to [email protected]. 

Nick Haines, the Deputy Director of Streets & Parks, joins host Mary Ruple to discuss the 2025 Spring Cleanup Program, the NEW Food Scraps Collection Program, and other collection programs. For more information on these programs, visit portagemi.gov/279. Do you have a podcast idea, send us an email at [email protected]. 

Join us for this Special Edition of Portage Connect. Guest hosts Councilmember Ledbetter and Councilmember Young interview the featured speaker of the 2025 Black History Month Presentation, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. This year's presentation takes place at the Portage Zhang Senior Center (203 East Centre Avenue) from 6 to 9 PM. Doors open at 5:30 PM. The event is FREE and open to the public. No registration is required. For more information, visit portagemi.gov or our social media pages @CityofPortageMI. If you have a podcast idea, send us an email at [email protected].