Sun Prairie Rising Podcast

On this episode, Andy has some thoughts on Corn Fest and where it needs to be MORE diverse.  Then stay tuned for a delightful conversation with Sara Klemme, President of Madison Festivals, the non-profit responsible for "Taste of Madison."  Listen for some great "behind-the-scenes" info about how Taste was affected by COVID this year.  They also talked about the importance of community events in general, restaurants, volunteering and more!

Andy's guest on this episode is Mary Ellen Havel-Lang.  Mary Ellen is a registered write-in candidate for the Dane County Board District 20 special election on Aug 10th!  They talked about her extensive background serving on the Sun Prairie School Board and Youth & Families Commission.  Andy also shares his thoughts on the concept plan for new single-story rental units being proposed on North Bird St, and previews the Taste of Madison.

This week's "What Are We Building?" addresses a "hot topic" in Sun Prairie right now- the petition circulating to change the way we elect School Board seats.

My guests this week are two of the women leading the effort: Lisa Goldsberry and Tracy Frank.  We talked about voting, representation and how decisions made in the school district can impact the foundation of what we're building as a community.

I also weigh in on the proposal for a new self-storage facility on the west side of town.

As usual, you can listen live at 2pm Tuesdays & Thursdays on 103.5 FM, on the Sun Prairie Media

Another fun episode with Kristin Grissom - we talked about her background and SEVERAL new projects at different parks around Sun Prairie.  Plus, Andy talks about being involved in 2 potentially illegal activities at the beginning & ending of the episode, as well as the Scavenger Race event on July 31 and his new TV show "Roundabout Sun Prairie" starting this month!

Steve Hanrahan has lived in Sun Prairie for 37 years, so he's especially pleased to see Habitat for Humanity undertaking a massive new project in town.  We talked about Habitat's process and the many benefits to volunteers, families and the community as a whole.  Plus, updates on development at 2 hugely important locations: the old McGovern's site at Main & Bird and the site of the gas explosion at Main & Bristol.

In this episode Andy gives an overview of the plans to bring new bus service and BRT transportation to Sun Prairie.  Then he's joined by Analiese Eicher, Chair of the Dane County Board of Supervisors.  They talked about a bunch of stuff she's involved with at the city and county levels, like the Planning Commission, Landfills, Parks, and COVID.  As a self-described millennial and the youngest person to chair the Board, we also talked about how to get younger people more involved in politics and issues that affect their community.

In Part 2 on my interview with Jim Durham of Quarra Stone, we dive into why Quarra chose Sun Prairie as the location for their new headquarters, as well as the building itself and how the space will help them interact with the artists who create their stone pieces.

Quarra Stone's work is known all around the world, but their new headquarters will be in Sun Prairie, WI.  I spoke with Jim Durham, Quarra's President and Owner, about their amazing projects from the US Capital and MIT, to the incredible monument to enslaved laborers who built the University of Virginia.  It was such a fascinating conversation that we broke it into 2 parts - stay tuned for Part 2 on the next episode of "What Are We Building?"    

Andy opens the show with a recap of ongoing construction projects around town (and some things that aren't happening yet), as well as the city's recent ban on Conversion Therapy.  

On this week’s “What Are We Building?”,  I spoke with Hugh Cha about our shared experience growing up in Wausau, and his evolution into a reluctant leader for people of Asian descent in Sun Prairie. I also talked about getting nominated by Mayor Esser to serve on the Museum board and the importance of our shared history as a foundation for what we’re building today and into the future…

To open the show I had one more thing to say about speed limits on Main St...then we get an update from Bill Connors about several new parks being built in different areas of the city, along with some other development projects and plans for new single family homes.

Then, this was one of my favorite interviews I've done so far!  I talked to Adam Bougie, owner of Glass Nickel Pizza in Sun Prairie about how he got started in the pizza business, his experience on the day of the explosion downtown, and his efforts to get a new location built.  Plus, some promising news about progress at the site of the explosion on Main & Bristol.