A shopping staple of the Chippewa Valley for decades hasbeen the SCHEELS located at the Oakwood Mall, with a brand loyalty that is super-glue adhesive. This week we sitdown with Kate Lyons, the Marketing and Events Lead at the local store to learn more about the make-up of the store, the company’s focuses and what goes into generatingthe loyalty that they have. We insight into how much autonomy the local decision-makers have, ways they try to connect with the community and what makes many of their 300 local employees true “experts” in sporting goods.

#shoplocal #brandpodcast #buildingabrand #brandloyalty #sportinggoods #sportsequipment #businesspodcast #wisconsin

The Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, was recently announced at 2.8% for 2026. Pat and Jesse discuss this and what it means for its recipients in terms of taxes, inflation and more.
The Purpose Driven Retirement Podcast is the podcast version of the weekly radio show with Pat Couture and Jesse Becker, financial advisors with Keystone, an Eau Claire, Wisconsin based firm. The program takes a look at topics related to retirement planning and the necessary areas to cover in putting together plans which are individually tailored to suit the needs to any particular individual or couple.

The area has no shortage of stories of entrepreneurs who’ve built “board by board” and this series will highlight those individuals and their stories. On the debut episode, we meetthe series host Randi McVinnie (owner of BONDS in Altoona) who details her own business story and the goal behind the show. She shares insights into her successes and setbacks, the oddest things she’s had to overcome and what she hopes future guests will share about the Chippewa Valley’s emerging businesscommunity.

Get ready to BEE amazed! The 2nd AnnualChippewa Valley Bee Expo comes to the Northern Wisconsin State Fairground this April and Director Galen Klisiewicz gives us all the buzz about the event that will showcase everything about bees from pollination to the countless uses forhoney. Along the way, we learn what the biggest issues are for bees in our area, the simple things everyone can do to strengthen our bee population and tips for those afraid of getting stung.

#beekeepers #beeculture #pollinatorpower #honeybees #thingstodoeauclaire #thingstodochippewafalls #wisconsinbees #podcastrecommendations

A familiar member of the community is bringing hertalents to the McDonell community. Katie Phernetton is the new strategic communications manager following a career local television news. The Green Bay native (and passionate Packers fan) shares her story of what brought her to EauClaire, to MACS and her own catholic school and catholic faith upbringing. She tells us how she hopes her background in journalism will allow her to bring the MACS story to the community. What excites her about this opportunity?

#catholicpodcast #faithandlearning #catholicschools #educationwithpurpose#chippewavalley #wisconsinschools

A local medical innovation company sees Eau Claire potentially as the next Memphis?!?!

Brewers manager packs the Pablo

Jeremy Gragert and Scott Rogers begin their City Council Presidency Campaigns

Time spent at the Boys and Girls Club is not simply a purgatory filler between the end of school and when parents get off work. Instead it’s a structured environment, within emphasis on social, emotional learning. Ashley Magaard with the Menomonie location, takes us through what social/emotional learning “SEL” looks like on a typical day and how they take pride in making this a focus of the program.

Presented by Jackie Hunt's State Farm Agency

In Menomonie they’re taking a proactive approach with Project Hope, a series of initiatives that work with both youth and adults identified as being at risk of committing crimes. Aaron Bergh with the Menomonie Police Department oversees this and joins us to go into detail. We learn how individuals are identified, the use of diversion/deflection tactics and what the ultimate goals are.

#menomonietalk #localpodcast #podcastrecommendation #menomoniewi #westernwisconsin