HyperLocal(s)

This Paxton-Buckley-Loda graduate faced a few back-to-back, dream-crushing disappointments that changed the direction he was going each time. A knee injury and something as seemingly benign as not being picked up for an appointment, led Matt where he always wanted to be. After leaving a few steady labor jobs and a downward turn in our nation's overall perception of law enforcement, Matt became a Champaign Police Officer. 

 Listen as Matt tries to enter the military twice and finally listens to the universe's advice to find another dream. This dream comes from an overall need to serve others. In the wake of George Floyd's death, rioting, looting, ransacked businesses on North Prospect and across our nation, Matt "ran into the burning building," so to speak. From going to help repair and clean up the areas of unrest in our community, he joined the local police force when applications dwindled and positions became more prevalent. Working nights, worrying family and friends, drawing your weapon and pulling a girl off the train tracks. Of course, I have to ask about my recent ticket for not having a front license plate, ticket quotas, if crying helps get out of a ticket and why he will pull you over every time for driving and being on your phone.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

These Champaign-adjacent residents of Pesotum were born in Paxton (Dave) and Ivesdale (Heidi). To say this couple has been through it would be an understatement. For much of their married life, Heidi has fought to be understood, heard and taken seriously for a rare health condition which caused her misery. While Heidi fought to be heard, Dave listened, remodeled a basement, took care of the kids and worked at the Urbana Fire Department. 

 Listen as these once exhausted lovebirds tell their story of meeting in a Dallas & Co., dressing room while learning about pirate dickies! These two reclaimed their lives through therapy, new hobbies and a consistent line of communication. These tools have helped them overcome the emotional damage caused by the rare Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. This disease is caused by a severe allergic reaction. For Heidi this meant drinking water felt like gasoline going down her throat, rashes, fever, mental exhaustion and mucous membranes like eyes and cheeks "melting" or "sloughing." Heidi had to undergo a tedious process of elimination to determine her triggers as she kept undergoing allergic reactions that would land her in the hospital where many wouldn't be able to help. Homeopathy, suicidal thoughts, a self-published book, the loss of identity and ultimately the Post-it note that made Heidi feel seen, are all outlined in this mega episode. 

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This transplant from the Chicago projects and sweet soul meets me at Kitchen Table Studios to tell me his come up story. From childhood instability and addiction coupled with poor choices and rough crowds, Thomas was destined to fall through the cracks.

 Listen as Thomas rebounds from getting shot twice in one week, losing jobs, losing relationships, losing kids, selling drugs, abusing booze and several DUIs. Along the way he functioned through work and coaching his daughter's basketball team; fueled by ego and pride. Thomas missed the final opportunity to see his sister the night before she died. He chose booze over visiting her. This final price he paid became the pivot point that led him to Champaign for treatment. He used every available resource to slowly climb his way into an ethical, hard working steward for others in need with a recovery house for men who want to turn their lives around. Now, a people person, he prides himself on "turning someone's worst day into their best day."

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

Jenna (Yambert) Galli. HyperLocal(s) Podcast episode 71.

My dear, sweet fellow classmate from Champaign Central High School 02' shares the haunting and beautiful story of her father's unexpected and unusual death. 

 Listen as Jenna worries about doing her dad's memory justice within the words of this podcast. Through tears and pure admiration for her late father, Jenna explains her dad's quirky personality. The oldest of five siblings, Jenna describes a local ER doctor, lifelong learner, avid hiker, outdoorsman and engaged father. Specifically he would come home from a 12-hour shift in the ER and shoot hoops with her in the driveway, take the bar in an effort to help a son study to become an attorney, invent and do science experiments where sub-zero temps and broken glass were involved and often unknowingly tuck his undies into his scrubs. He used nature to reset from the pressures and tragedy common within the ER. Hiking unimaginable heights, terrain and weather became his passion and a recipe for a "sleep when you're dead mentality." The beauty and irony of this story comes to a head in Colorado, now Jenna's home, where he goes missing on a visit to Jenna's mountainous homestead. Jenna became an investigator in the search for her father who they ultimately recovered. A few years later, Jenna is just now at the point of being able to reflect on a man many admired deeply.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

This now sweet, small-town guy from Whitehall, IL (yes, I’ve never heard of it either) was once self-admittedly not-so-sweet, living in one of two opposing worlds: having no self-worth whatsoever or the mindset of, “I’m better than everybody else.”

 Listen as Terry starts the pod stating his mother gave birth to him, was married and widowed before the age of 16. This premature start and the immediate absence of his alcoholic, biological father set Terry up for a tough road. This road included, but was not limited to, a daughter he discovered when she was 6, a Hepatitis C diagnosis, multiple incarcerations, failed relationships, seeing his partner overdose and die beside him from “body bag dope” he bought a few times a week (not his rock bottom) and watching history repeat itself in a son. A son that is angry and placing blame on his dad. Terry and I have a back-and-forth on the likelihood and reality of passing on the disease to your children. Terry isn’t sure he was born with alcoholism or drug addiction but for certain he says he suffers from moreism. His sobriety and the people who helped get him to where he is today: gainfully employed, relatively healthy and in love, is not lost on Terry. His tears and gratitude are very apparent in this brutally courageous conversation. 

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

A Mahomet athlete, turned bartender, turned soldier, turned law office personnel, turned Reiki Practitioner, turned sound healer, turned real estate entrepreneur turned wife and mom (and not necessarily in that order) has lived a thousand lives. Amanda uses hard work, serenity and a mindset of evolution as the basis for her personal growth. 
 
 Listen as Amanda tells me about carrying crystals in her pocket during basic training, choosing a (mobile) home as a place to spread seeds over planting roots, changing the trajectory of her life after a DUI, learning from failed and abusive relationships, marrying the nice guy, the challenges of being a new mom and what the majority of this episode focuses on—holistic modalities. Holistic modalities!? ASMR, crystals, meditation, Reiki, sound healing and yoga. Amanda will play a variety of instruments that create healing, meditative sounds much like the ones you’ll hear in the increasingly popular ritual of sound baths. These sounds make me MELT, and I hope you’ll find them hypnotic, too. Amanda is the most fascinating mix of assertive and sweet, soft spoken and spirited.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

An East Coast transplant has landed in our town to change the lives of those struggling with addiction. Passionate, smart and well versed in the complexities of the addict mind, Ozie has trudged through many treatment paths. From his own alcohol-ism to alcohol-wasm, he has educated himself on how to help others and pursued careers that do just that. 

 Listen as Ozie takes me through the buried traumas of his youth, the unavoidable genetic component that killed his dad, high school years fueled by liquor stashed in his locker, multiple failed marriages and gambling losses that started in his elementary school bathroom. In spite of all the ongoing personal destruction, Ozie made his way through higher education (getting drunk and lost on his way to graduation) and many careers helping others solve their own problems. He put himself through multiple treatment programs, denial and lies, wearing a sign that says, "I'm a Baby" in one program and cleaning ashtrays, sweeping and getting coffee at addiction meetings. Listen as he talks about going from the crack house to the White House, figuratively speaking, in the week's sweet and sassy episode.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

An Atwood-born, Arthur adjacent, former Amish congregant talks candidly about leaving the church at age 11 with her immediate family. Why? In broad terms, her parents wanted to emphasize the family’s relationship with God and worry less about the stringent rules set forth by the church. 

 Listen as this fearless young woman confidently explains why the rules: using a riding lawnmower, going to a play, taking part in meals with people outside the church led to ex-communication until a formal apology is issued. Gayle talks about how she just wanted to be like everyone else, how her family was bad at being Amish, how you had to earn the right to know her history, how her remaining Amish grandparents are still her favorite people, the FASCINATING custom of Rumspringa and how the retention rate, despite the strict rules, remains high in the community. Clothing, education, food, marriage, technology and woodworking are all discussed. Listen up to learn about a mysterious community so close to us yet light-years away.

🎅📷 🎅📷I’d like to thank this episode’s sponsor, Pixels by Emily. Pixels by Emily is hosting a FREE and EXCLUSIVE (are there two better words?) Christmas in June event on Thursday, June 29th and Friday, June 30th at her NEW Mahomet Studio, 704 E. Franklin St., in Mahomet. Here, Santa will be surrounded by decked halls, yummy treats and a personalized frame for each child to take home. Listen to Santa’s tales from his summer vacation on the 9:30 and 10:30 hour. Feel free to pop in when you can. Make sure your name is on Santa’s nice list before the event! Visit pixelsbyemily.com/storytime-with-santa to register!🎅📷 🎅📷

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

My dad's childhood friend and townie in the truest sense of the word, Steve Flynn, and I talk about his family's involvement in the Deluxe Restaurant. This 1935 billiards and bar establishment is now home to Legends on Green Street in our beloved campustown. 

 Listen as one generation tells the other about a time when everyone knew your name, neighborhoods were neighborly and safe and food was fresh, fast and sought after. The Deluxe fish sandwich was the backbone of this restaurant. Steve's dad literally gave everything he had to ensure its success. He was shot right outside the building, never fully recovering. Many years later, after the building was sold, Steve made the fish sandwich at his backyard parties and various restaurants in the hopes of finding a way for the sandwich to live on without compromising taste and quality. This has been a road with lots of misses, according to Steve, as it's a delicate balance that Steve knows through years of practice in both prep and taste. Steve has finally landed on packaging the dry ingredients to ensure the concoction is just right. Tune in for a ride down memory lane.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.

My husband and dog whisperer, Andrew Harrington, and I talk in about our overly anxious and under trained mini-Australian Shepherd, General Heppenheimer Harrington aka Hep. 

 Listen as two townies tell their revisionist sides of history regarding who wanted to bring a puppy into the fold, who trained or improperly trained the canine, who considers him a comrade and who considers him an enemy, who endures the wrath of his spite poops and exactly how many people has he bit? Tune in for some tales of a dog who only remains in our house because my husband is loyal—to a fault.

Thank you so much for listening! However your podcast host of choice allows, please positively: rate, review, comment and give all the stars! Don’t forget to follow, subscribe, share and ring that notification bell so you know when the next episode drops!

Also, search and follow hyperlocalscu on all social media. If I forgot anything or you need me, visit my website at HyperLocalsCU.com. Byee.