Meet the new Northern Buttes District Superintendent for CA State Parks. Matthew Allen has always loved our great outdoors, and talks about the balance between preserving nature, and making sure people can live near it and safely interact with it. That means strategizing for wildfires, wolves, bears and lions, invasive plants and yes, even arsonists.

Many of you may feel like you know Tom Arnold after watching him for years on "Roseanne", or you saw him in the movie "True Lies". But the comedian might surprise you. He shares a few stories about stealing cake from Madonna & snubbing Hugh Grant, plus tells us what he really thinks about Californians. You can catch him live at Feather Falls Casino in Oroville on January 24th.

Audrey Denney comes from a grape farming family and since then she's done it all! Bartending, consulting, teaching agriculture... she even spent a year volunteering in El Salvador. Hear why she believes as a Democrat she can meet the needs and values of rural Northern Californians in the U.S. House of Representatives District 1.

This local non-profit founder started Veterans Flags & Flowers when he was just 10 years old. A decade later, and he says there's more work to be done. He's both humble and humorous as he talks about meeting President Trump and the First Lady, and shares stories about traveling across the U.S. and overseas to honor those who served our country.

This week on Straight from the Source we hear from Colleen Cecil, Executive Director of the Butte County Farm Bureau about pesticides, wolf management and the impact of tariffs. This local dairy farmer advocates for seeking truth and checking our sources when it comes to where we get our information about the food we eat.

This local developer started with a t-shirt company and expanded into developing cities within the city. We talk about his vision and progress at Meriam Park, including water intrusion issues involving more than one contractor. We also discuss medical care expansion there, and what's in store at Barber Yard.

Tod Kimmelshue is from a family of farmers, but taking on the post-retirement job as Butte County Supervisor has taught him a lot about public health, public safety and everything else that matters to his community. We talk about getting through the pandemic, why groundwater management matters for all of us, and what could come next for the Oroville Hospital after the bankruptcy filing. Plus, why he and his fellow supervisors have so much respect for one another.

This bay area native comes from a family of farmers, and argues that the Democratic Party can represent the needs of rural District 1. He's looking to replace Rep. Doug Lamalfa in the next election cycle. We talk about why he believes he can bring better jobs, health care and education to Northern California. Plus, you'll learn a little bit about his family, background and pop culture preferences.

Chico's long-time Director of Public Works-Operations & Maintenance just promoted to a new role: Assistant City Manager. It's a job that Erik Gustafson's former role prepared him for well, as he oversaw homeless camp clearouts and management under the Warren Settlement, efforts to bring commercial flights to the Chico Regional Airport, constant road repair projects and of course the ever-important management of Chico's trees, which cover 36% of the city.

This Butte County leader does it all! The 90-hour-or-so work week includes cracking down on crime as a Lieutenant with the Chico Police Department, representing the interests of District 2, and of course being a husband and father. Public safety, affordable housing for the average family and flood control are key issues he wants to keep working on. But he still carries fond memories of his time as a School Resource Officer at Chico Unified, and let's not forget his prior career as a Major League Baseball umpire.