Podcasts about mankato

Josh Vanderberg: Building a Business Leaders Can TrustIn Episode 147 of the Get Deep Podcast, we sit down with Josh Vanderberg—President and CEO of Vanderberg Clean and a second-generation leader in Southern Minnesota's janitorial industry.Josh's story begins in Mankato, learning the business from his grandparents, founders of Sharon's Cleaning Service in the 1970s. But early in this episode, he opens up about something far more personal—his mother's mental health struggles and how those challenges shaped his resilience, faith, and drive to build something stable and meaningful.Today, Vanderberg Clean is far more than a residential carpet cleaning company. Over 90% of its work serves commercial clients across Southern Minnesota. Under Josh's leadership, the company delivers more than a clean environment—it delivers confidence. Confidence that your facility will be handled professionally. Confidence that your space will remain secure. Confidence that the job will be done right, every time.We also dive into scaling, culture, and Josh's commitment to learning from leaders in every industry to continually improve his team and systems.This is a conversation about faith, growth, resilience, and building a company local leaders can trust.

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on February 22, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Genesis 22:1-14 (NKJV) Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."   Theme: A Foreshadowing of God's Sacrifice 1. A Father Willing to Sacrifice His Son 2. A Son Willing to Sacrifice Himself

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on February 15, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: John 11:47-57 (NKJV) Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48  “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” 49  And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51  Now this he did not say on his own [authority]; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52  and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53  Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 55  And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 57  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him. Theme: One Man Would Die for the People 

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Finding Home on Highway 14: Episode 5 Madison's Nicole Gruter has been travelling the historic U.S. Highway 14, bringing us the stories of those who live along the iconic road.  This time around, she brings us a report from Mankato, Minnesota, where we meet the generous chef and punk rocker “Dagger Chuck.” Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Finding Home on Highway 14: Episode 5 appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Weldie and Andrew babble about the men's team sweeping Arizona State, the women's team splitting against Mankato, whiskey, playoff positioning, robots, Nick Blackburn, goalie tandems, and NPI math. Give it a listen! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro, whiskey tasting, Waymo review 10:30 Recap of men's sweep at ASU 56:00 Preview of men's series vs Colorado College 1:17:00 Recap of women's series vs Mankato 1:34:30 Preview of women's series vs Bemidji 1:50:00 Listener questions

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on February 8, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: John 11:20-27 (NKJV) Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."   Theme: Our Death Defying Savior 1. Announces His Coming Victory 2. Invites Us to Declare His Victory

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on February 1, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV) Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42  “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  Theme: One Thing Is Needed

Hello Interactors,Minnesota has seen federal incursion and overreach before. And not just in 2020. These removal tests we're witnessing are rooted in the premise of US ‘manifest destiny' and how quickly the notion of ‘home' can be made fungible by a violent state. But likeminded bodies always resist being bullied.SCAFFOLD, SOVEREIGNTY, AND SEIZUREOn December 26, 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, Minnesota. The execution, staged as public theater, was not a solemn judicial act. A special scaffold was built, martial law was declared, and an estimated 4,000 spectators witnessed the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The spectacle mattered because it carried meaning beyond Mankato. The hanging marked the end of the six-week U.S.–Dakota War of 1862. This brutal conflict devastated the Minnesota River Valley and left deep trauma in Dakota communities. It also conveyed that the state could swiftly and effectively attempt control of contested land by violent force.Mankato was the visible climax, but Fort Snelling was the quieter cruelty that continued. After the war, Dakota families — women, children, elders — were confined in harsh conditions near the fort during the winter of 1862–63. Disease and exposure killed between 130 and 300 Dakota people. Execution and exile worked together. One provided public power, the other attempted to ensure territorial outcomes.Here's what Dakota Chief Wabasha's son-in-law, Hdainyanka, wrote to him shortly before his execution:“You have deceived me. You told me that if we followed the advice of General Sibley, and gave ourselves up to the whites, all would be well; no innocent man would be injured. I have not killed, wounded or injured a white man, or any white persons. I have not participated in the plunder of their property; and yet to-day I am set apart for execution, and must die in a few days, while men who are guilty will remain in prison. My wife is your daughter, my children are your grandchildren. I leave them all in your care and under your protection. Do not let them suffer; and when my children are grown up, let them know that their father died because he followed the advice of his chief, and without having the blood of a white man to answer for to the Great Spirit.”This moral failing was part of a larger burgeoning political economy. In 1862, the Twin Cities were still emerging, with mills, river commerce, and infrastructure. Yet the region's future as an urban, financial, and political center depended on converting Dakota and Ojibwe homelands into transferable property. The spring prior to the massacre, in May 1862, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, handing out 160-acre chunks of stolen land labeled now as “public.” Colonizers and immigrants could occupy this land, and be defended by the US government, if they showed they could “improve” it through five years of occupation.This act negated all Dakota treaties, seized 24 million acres of Minnesota lands, and mandated removal of what were now called Dakota “outlaws.” This converted communal Indigenous homelands into surveyed “public domain” eligible for homesteading, auctions, and rail grants, directly feeding wheat production for Minneapolis mills. Speculators and railroads exploited the act via proxy filings, reselling “cleared” parcels at profit to European immigrants.By 1870, non-Native population surged from 172,000 to over 439,000. The “clearing” of land was not metaphorical. It was the prerequisite for surveying, fencing, settlement, rail corridors, and the wider commodity circuits that would bind the Upper Midwest to national and global markets.That is what Harvard historian Sven Beckert calls war capitalism. He argues that global capitalism's ascent was not a clean evolution toward free exchange. It relied on coercion, conquest, and violence. As his book on the history of Capitalism lays out, state funded war capitalism fundamentally relied on slavery, the dispossession of Indigenous peoples, imperial expansion, armed commerce, and the imposition of sovereignty over both people and territory. In this framing, the Dakota and Ojibwe were obstacles to industrialization and commodification. The frontier needed to be safe for settlement and investment of Germans, Irish, and Scandinavians, as well as railroads and industry. This included these two flour mills, the world's largest by 1880: General Mills and Pillsbury.The gallows in Mankato were the blunt instrument that made the state-capital alliance credible. The point was not only to punish alleged crimes, but to demonstrate a capacity and will to kill. The American state needed to show it could override Indigenous sovereignty and reorder space. The subsequent removals and confinement at Fort Snelling completed the transformation. “Home” was recoded from relationship into asset. This land was no longer lived geography but extractable territory, from stewarding real soil to the selling of real estate.TOPHOPHILIA, TIES, AND TENSIONSWar capitalism is not merely to punish resistance, but to convert a lived place into a fungible asset. But violence plays a deeper role than just legal rearrangement. It has to break this constant of human life: our attachment to place.Behavioral geographer Yi-Fu Tuan borrowed the term topophilia to describe this attachment — the “affective bond between people and place or setting.” The phrase can sound soft and sentimental but it can also cause friction in projects of political economy.The state may be able to abolish or rewrite a treaty, redraw a border, rename a river, and issue new deeds, but it still confronts bodies that have been oriented by firm ground. It's on these grounds that paths are walked, food gathered, relatives buried, stories anchored to landmarks, and seasonal rhythms internalized as a habit of life. The obstacle is embedded and embodied in the physiology, including cognitive, and grounds to location.Modern neuroscience gives a concrete account of how place becomes part of a person. The hippocampus plays a central role in spatial memory and navigation, and research on place cells shows that hippocampal neurons fire in relation to specific locations in an environment. Familiar surroundings are not only around us they are within us. The brain builds spatial scaffolding that links location to memory, routine, prediction, and emotional regulation.When cognition is tied to the specificity of place, it becomes hard for a parcel to be made equivalent to another. Commodification demands interchangeability. A home cannot easily be made equivalent to another home when it's part of the nervous system — not quickly, not cleanly, and often not at all. When the state-capital alliance imagines territory as a grid of extractable value, it is implicitly trying to override how humans experience territory. That is why “simple” displacement so often produces disproportionate harm. Psychiatrist Mindy Fullilove coined the term root shock to describe the traumatic stress that follows the destruction of one's “emotional ecosystem.” Root shock is not only grief or nostalgia. It is a stress response to the sudden loss of the social and spatial cues that stabilize daily life. The shredding of a mesh of relationships, routines, and meanings embedded in a neighborhood or homeland.The root shock of the state violence of 1862 was not just incidental to the project of transformation. It was structurally necessary. If topophilia is a biological and psychological anchor, then a purely legal or economic strategy (bureaucratic coercion) will often be insufficient because the anchor of topophilia holds. To clear land at speed and scale, the state reaches for tools that can sever attachment abruptly. Public executions, mass incarceration, forced marches, and exile doesn't just relocate people. They're violent attempts to scramble the conditions under which people can remain attached at all. It transforms topophilia into vulnerability.Work on social exclusion and “social pain” helps explain why. In a widely cited fMRI study, Naomi Eisenberger and colleagues found increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during experiences of exclusion. This parallels patterns seen in physical pain studies where distress is tracked with painful activities. The point is not that social threat is “just like” physical injury, but that the brain treats social severing as a serious alarm condition. It's something that demands attention, vigilance, and behavioral change to overcome.ROOTS, RESISTANCE, AND REPAIRTopophilia doesn't end with the so-called frontier or attempts at ‘removing' its inhabitants. It reappears wherever people form durable bonds. That includes the streets and schools, churches and parks, language, kin, and the local economies and cultures war capitalism eventually built. The Dakota and Ojibwe were never “removed” in any final sense. Many live and organize in and around the Twin Cities today.In South Minneapolis, the Indigenous Protector Movement, a biproduct of the American Indian Movement, works out of the American Indian Cultural Corridor along Franklin Avenue — an immediate target for ICE. The protectors made their presence known as a form of ongoing place-based care and defense. It is a living archive of tactics for defending attachment under pressure through direct action, community building, patrols, and the mundane discipline of showing up. What it offers is not merely a critique of state violence, but vigilance without spectacle, care without permission, and solidarity as a daily habit rather than a momentary sentiment.Other areas of Minneapolis show how when federal enforcement turns public space into a zone of uncertainty, topophilic neighbors often respond by adopting exactly those same “weapons” of persistence — care, documentation, rapid communication, mutual aid — that have long characterized Indigenous resistance and slavery abolitionist networks.Standing Rock, where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies gathered in 2016 to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline, demonstrated how quickly infrastructure can scale when a place becomes a shared object of defense.The #NoDAPL movement assembled a broad coalition of Indigenous nations and allies, over 200 tribes, alongside legal support, medical care, and communications systems designed to withstand state patience. The 2020 George Floyd uprising in Minneapolis also revealed how love of place can become a platform for organized care rather than retreat. Alongside protest, residents built mutual-aid channels, street-medic networks, food distribution, and neighborhood defense efforts that treated the city as an emotional ecosystem worth repairing. What looked to outsiders like spontaneous eruption was, on the ground, a rapid layering of roles that included medics, legal observers, supply runners, translators, and de-escalators. This ecology of participation made it possible for large numbers of people to act without centralized command.Social psychology helps explain why these movements generate allies rather than only sympathizers. One key concept is collective efficacy — the combination of social cohesion and a shared willingness to intervene for the common good. It blossoms when people repeatedly see each other act, learn local norms of mutual obligation, and build trust that intervention will be supported rather than punished. All rooted in topophilia.Place attachment can bridge boundaries that would otherwise keep people separate. Work in community psychology and planning shows that place attachment and meaning can support participation and collective engagement, especially when development or coercion threatens everyday life. In other words, topophilia is not just private feeling. When it's under threat it can become public motive and an engine for coalition.The coalition in Minneapolis is being characterized by the federal government as terrorists. This borrows from a long history of resistance to violence because war capitalism has never been only domestic. The United States and its allies refined coercive governance overseas through night raids and “capture-or-kill” operations in Afghanistan, midnight house raids in Iraq, and broader militarized campaigns that treat homes as “searchable terrain” and communities as “intelligence environments.”Many of the officials, contractors, and voters who authorized or normalized these methods rarely imagined the same atmosphere of violent seizure in their neighborhood. As unimaginable as it may be watching unmarked vehicles, sudden detentions, and public uncertainty coming to American streets — used against the very citizens and taxpayers who fund such operations — it's not to those victims overseas in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, or even inner city America.That return is what the poet and politician Aimé Césaire called the “imperial boomerang” effect, the idea that techniques tolerated in peripheral countries can come home to roost. In the U.S., the boomerang has long “landed” first on people of color. It emerges through surveillance and disruption campaigns like the two decades of the covert and illegal COINTELPRO program where the FBI targeted counterculture groups of the so-called New Left.Or the “Palmer Raids” of 1919 and 1920 targeting largely Italian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants and their left-leaning politics. These led to riots in 30 US cities and culminated in the bombing of the home of A. Mitchell Palmer, the US attorney general. These programs all reflect the notion that war can come home — just look at the increased militarizing of policing complete with SWAT tactics. And the same history that produced the scaffold of war capitalism of the past also produced reservoirs of resistance we see here and now. When neighbors anywhere respond to incursions not only with fear but with organized vigilance and material support, they are adapting older strategies of care found in Indigenous, abolitionist, and other movement-based defenses of people and places against infiltration, intimidation, and attempted violent removal.We can see how war capitalism endures. Mankato's 1862 gallows aimed to clear Dakota homelands of their people for homesteading, rails, and mills. Meanwhile, today's Operation Metro Surge includes thousands of federal agents raiding Minneapolis homes and streets, attempting to sever immigrant attachments to allegedly enforce labor control and national security. These militarized spectacles of warrantless entries, tear gas, and shootings echo what Beckert has uncovered. They treat people and place as obstacles to commodification rather than roots of stewardship.Yet topophilia also persists. These cross cultural rapid-response networks are not new to these lands, even though the US government tried to erase them centuries ago. The inspiring actions we see in Minneapolis reflect the values of compassion, positiveness, and respect for all relatives with neighborly solidarity that the first occupants of that land embraced. They're now woven with their allied 21st century neighbors in common and shared resistance. As best expressed here by Indigenous studies and political ecology scholar Melanie Yazzie. (and the longer version here) Minneapolis, like those acts of resistance in the nearby Dakotas, enacts and rehearses an alternative form of civil governance that centers mutual obligation over coercion and extraction. It shows how cities can survive the strain and stay alive — not through fear and gain, but through care that grounds and sustains. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on January 18, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: John 1:43-51 (NKJV) The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."   Theme: Prove It! 1. The Invitation: “Come and See” 2. The Affirmation: “I Saw You” 3. The Future Vision: “You Shall See”

Rev. Luke Ulrich, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Mankato was preacher for this service. Luke 2:45-49: So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?”

CAS 1-13-2-2026 Dean Bowyer-Legendary College Baseball Coach at Mankato by Calling All Sports

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on January 11, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (NKJV) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Theme: It's not the Container, it's the Contents!

Host: Josh Loew, PA-C, MPASGuests: Ashley Vitale, DHSc, PA-C, CPAAPA and Natalie Trueman, PA-C   In this special episode of the MAPA Podcast, host Josh Loew, PA-C sits down with Ashley Vitale, DHSc, PA-C, CPAAPA, recipient of MAPA's 2025 Preceptor of the Year Award.  Ashley shares her journey as a surgical PA with Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato and reflects on nearly two decades of mentoring PA students.The conversation explores why precepting is essential to the future of the PA profession, how mentoring students has shaped Ashley's own clinical practice, and what makes a truly great preceptor. Ashley offers candid insights into surgical education, adaptability in clinical training, and the powerful two-way relationship between students and preceptors.    Josh also speaks with Natalie Trueman, PA-C, MAPA's 2025 PA of the Year, to discuss her journey into hospital medicine, what meaningful patient care looks like in practice, and how recognition can help sustain clinicians through burnout.Natalie reflects on her path to becoming a PA, her role as a hospitalist at Regions Hospital and Methodist Hospital, and the privilege of caring for patients from all walks of life. She shares powerful insights on goals-of-care conversations, end-of-life decision making, mentorship, and the importance of honoring patient dignity. 

We trace Ariana's path from a small-town church and a turbulent home to anxiety, addiction, striving, and finally a clear identity in Christ. A Friday night with Scripture and a single line—“feelings aren't Lord”—becomes the hinge that shifts her marriage, her mind, and her future.• growing up Adventist in Mankato amid family alcoholism and divorce• public school pressures, validation through dating, and early boundaries with substances• academy years of rules, comparison, and a hunger for real faith• college loneliness, intentional dating, marriage, and vocational twists• hidden pornography struggle, cycles of confession, shame, and effort• long commutes with the Bible, reframing Old Testament lives, asking harder questions• testimonies and Wave clips leading to the key insight: feelings aren't Lord• practicing truth-telling over stored lies and reframing identity in Christ• freedom from addiction, anxiety, and depression by rooting identity in Jesus• how marriage dynamics changed when identity shifted from feelings to Christ

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on January 4, 2026. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: 1 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. Theme: Great is the Mystery, Great is the Joy!

Rachel Wilke & Molly Jones: Breaking Cycles and Building “Therapy is Cool”In this deeply personal and powerful episode of the Get Deep Podcast, we sit down with Rachel Wilke and Molly Jones—licensed therapists and co-founders of Therapy is Cool, a Mankato-based mental health practice focused on helping children, families, and entire generations heal.Rachel and Molly share their winding paths into the world of therapy—from childhood experiences and early career burnout to their first meeting at a local mental health center, where their shared vision for a new kind of practice began to take shape. The two bonded over a belief that therapy should be approachable, proactive, and rooted in long-term impact.Together, they explore intergenerational trauma, emotional patterning, and the life-changing power of understanding your own coping mechanisms. Rachel also opens up about her experience working in high-intensity environments across multiple states, her family's battle with infertility, and how those experiences shaped her empathy and drive.We also dive into the behind-the-scenes journey of building Therapy is Cool—including how the South Central SBDC helped them turn their vision into a thriving private practice. Throughout the episode, Rachel and Molly share practical tools for managing stress, anxiety, and mental health in the workplace—reminding us that therapy isn't just for when things go wrong. It's a tool for anyone, at any time.

**REUPLOAD** (Correct version this time) Weldie and Andrew babble about the Huskies' upcoming games in the Cactus Cup, the ongoing World Juniors and Spengler Cup action, whiskey, blurry Mankato memories, the 2013 Frozen Four, prop bets, and the hosts Pick the Field for both the women's and men's tournament. Give it a listen! Email this episode's passcode to huskieshockeypodcast[AT]gmail[DOT]com by Sunday, January 4 by 12 noon CT for a chance to win FREE TICKETS to one of the Huskies-Ohio State games on January 9-10! Listen for all the details.  Weldie's Venmo: @Travis-Weldon-2 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro, Whiskeys of the World 9:00 Cactus Cup preview, 2013 Frozen Four memories 43:00 Women's exhibition game vs St. Thomas 53:00 World Juniors/Spengler Cup talk 1:09:00 Pick the Field - women's side 1:44:00 Pick the Field - men's side  

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on December 28, 2025. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel. Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 (NKJV) For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. Theme: Christmas Confidence 1. The Hope of Heaven 2. The Guarantee of the Spirit 3. The Eyes of Faith

Very mild temperatures persist through Saturday with falling temps Sunday as arctic air moves in, producing some snow showers. Hundreds gather in Mankato today to honor 38 Dakota men hanged there 163 years ago.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Tonight, with Scott live from Mankato, and Paul on Long Island we talk WJC pre tournament games; look ahead to holiday tournaments in the NCAA; and hear from Michigan's Will Horcoff, Wisconsin's Logan Hensler, and two Boston College Eagles James Hagens and Teddy Stiga.  Join Scott & Paul on ITHSWpodcasts.Podbean.com, or wherever you get your favorite podcast! For more, click like and subscribe and go to ITHSWpodcasts.podbean.com  

Ritchie Schaefer: Hive Minds, Bee Drama, and the Rise of B2B HoneyIn this episode of the Get Deep Podcast, we sit down with Ritchie Schaefer—beekeeper, entrepreneur, and founder of B2B Honey. A Mankato native with a love for agriculture, Ritchie takes us deep into the world of bees, hives, and honey with a mix of science, passion, and raw honesty.Ritchie's path to business ownership was anything but conventional. After studying ag at North Dakota State and spending years in agricultural sales, he was moved to start beekeeping following the sudden passing of a young beekeeper whose hives were kept on his family's farm. That moment sparked a personal transformation—and a new calling.Now the founder of B2B Honey, Ritchie shares how he built his operation from the ground up, starting at the Mankato Farmers Market and Schell's Brewery before scaling into a migratory beekeeping business, with hives moving between river valleys in Minnesota and heading south for the winter. Along the way, he's faced steep learning curves and major setbacks—including losing bees in California and a particularly angry hive incident that required help from the fire department's water truck (no flames, just a creative rain simulation).We dive into the fascinating social structure of bees—how they pick homes, the ruthless competition to become queen, and what makes hive life tick. Ritchie also treats the hosts to a tasting of his ever-expanding product line, proving that honey is just the beginning.

Southern Minnesota families face mounting challenges as the senior population surges twenty percent. Discover how user-friendly service menus, in-home assessments, and VA benefits are helping families find the right care fit for loved ones in Owatonna, Mankato, and beyond. Freedom Home Care, LLC City: Owatonna Address: 1065 S.W. 24th Avenue Website: https://www.freedomhomecarellc.com Phone: +1-507-387-4663

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on December 21, 2025. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel. Sermon Text: Matthew 1:19-25 (NKJV) Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” 24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. Theme: O Come, O Immanuel

In the season's final chapter, Dakota Spotlight returns to Rapidan, Minnesota—to the classmates, friends, and families still living in the shadow of Ray Dahms's murder. Host James Wolner traces the final years of Brian Lee Hendrickson, from later crimes and manipulation to his eventual downfall. This episode also brings together two people whose lives he forever changed—Mark Hendrickson, the killer's brother, and Michelle, one of his victims—for a conversation decades in the making. From courtrooms and archives to quiet Minnesota cemeteries, this conclusion reflects on truth, forgiveness, and the slow turning of justice. A Dakota Spotlight true crime podcast rooted in investigative journalism, it's a story about accountability, empathy, and how truth, though buried, endures. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, how community members involved in the annual ceremony remembering the Dakota men hung by the United States government in 1862 in Mankato will now honor the Dakota women present, too. Plus, a look at the first Ojibwe broadcast of a hockey game in the country – here in Minnesota.-----Producers: Chaz WagnerEditing: Chaz Wagner, Emily Krumberger Editorial support: Emily KrumbergerAnchor: Marie Rock Mixing & mastering: Chris HarwoodPhoto Credit: Dan Ninham----- For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media. instagram.com/ampersradio/instagram.com/mnnativenews/ Never miss a beat. Sign up for our email list to receive news, updates and content releases from AMPERS. ampers.org/about-ampers/staytuned/ This show is made possible by community support. Due to cuts in federal funding, the community radio you love is at risk. Your support is needed now more than ever. Donate now to power the community programs you love: ampers.org/fund

Paul Bunkowske: A New Chapter Shaped by Collecting and CommunityIn this heartfelt episode of the Get Deep Podcast, we sit down with Paul Bunkowske—the founder of Bunk's Card Corner, Mankato's go-to destination for sports cards, Pokémon, Disney memorabilia, and more. Paul shares his honest and powerful journey from struggling with alcoholism to finding purpose and community through sobriety. Recovery was not the end of the story—it became the starting point for purpose, community, and a new direction. That path eventually led him into the world of trading cards and to launching his own business.Paul opens up about his early years selling cars across the Midwest, his lifelong love of sports, and how that passion became the fuel behind Bunk's Card Corner. What started as a personal interest grew into a retail and wholesale operation that has become a hub for collectors, hobbyists, and fans of all ages.Now, Paul is preparing to open a brand-new storefront next to Crumbl Cookies off Adams Street in Mankato. The space will be Minnesota's largest dedicated trading card retail location and the central home for his growing wholesale business—exciting news for the local collecting community and for small business in Southern Minnesota.Tune in for a raw, honest, and uplifting conversation about recovery, the joy and obsession of collecting, and what it takes to turn passion into purpose—and a business that brings people together every day.

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on December 14, 2025. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Luke 1:76-79 (NKJV) “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” Theme: O Come, O Dayspring  

A tribute to Jim "Gully" Gullickson and Karen Wright.In 2014, Jim Gullickson and Karen Wright, the general and operations managers of KMSU-FM in Mankato, Minnesota, took a chance on a young adult hoping to make it for himself as a broadcaster. Throughout 2015 and early 2016, these two people would become Wes' mentors. Jim Gullickson retired in 2019, and Karen Wright will be retiring at the end of 2025. In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes pays tribute to the two people who became a very influential part of his life, and thanks them for everything. The title of the episode is misleading, but that is intentional as it is addressed to both Gullickson and Wright and NOT a podcast series finale.Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook page (facebook.com/TCTrekkiesPod), or by emailing them at tctrekkiespodcast@gmail.com. Twin Cities Trekkies is also available on Instagram (instagram.com/twincitiestrekkiespod). Find us on Blue Sky! You can also leave us comments on the Spotify feed. Just keep in mind the feedback you may give may be featured in an upcoming episode of this podcast.Twin Cities Trekkies is available on many platforms!This episode is sponsored by It's an Honorable Life, playing at the Historic Mounds Theater in St. Paul, MN from December 5-21. Tickets can be bought here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35708/production/1256831 - use promo code "tctrekkies" to get $5 off your general admission ticket!

By the early 1980s, Brian Lee Hendrickson was still working at the Minnesota Home School in Sauk Centre, supervising teenage girls. When one of them—Michelle—spoke up, she was dismissed as unstable and her accusation brushed aside. Hendrickson walked free again. In this episode, Michelle tells her story, while Hendrickson's brothers and Michelle's husband reflect on how this could have happened. Dakota Spotlight revisits a Minnesota courtroom case where no one seemed to realize that the man on trial had already been convicted of murder years earlier. Through careful investigative journalism, this true crime podcast examines how blind faith in rehabilitation allowed history to repeat itself—and how one survivor's courage brings long-overdue clarity to a broken justice system. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Colleen VanBlarcom: McDonald's Operator, Legacy Builder, and Culture ChampionIn this episode, we sit down with Colleen VanBlarcom—owner/operator of 11 McDonald's restaurants across Southern Minnesota. With a career spanning four decades and roots in one of McDonald's most storied family lineages, Colleen shares what it takes to lead a growing, values-driven organization under the Golden Arches.From scrubbing floors as a teen to managing multi-unit operations in Mankato, Owatonna, Waseca, Medford, and Eagan, Colleen's story is steeped in grit, growth, and generational wisdom. She opens up about her father's early days with McDonald's—back when there were just over 200 locations nationwide—and how his legacy shaped her path as both a business leader and community builder.Colleen reflects on small-town adjustments, lessons learned from corporate legends, and how a surprise visit from Ray Kroc changed the course of her family's journey. She shares insights on leadership, problem-solving, and what it takes to maintain a strong culture in one of the world's most recognizable brands.And in a Get Deep exclusive, Colleen reveals the future location of Mankato's newest McDonald's restaurant—news you'll hear here first.Stick around for a heartfelt conversation about service, resilience, and the human side of fast food—plus powerful stories about her team's impact through the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Weldie and Andrew babble about the men's team's encouraging-yet-fruitless weekend against UND and their upcoming series vs Denver, the women's team's positive weekend at Mankato, literature, the Wisconsin Rule, whiskey, the NPI, and non-depressing music. Give it a listen! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro, Literary Debate, Whiskeys of the World 13:00 Recap of men's series vs UND 47:00 Preview of men's series vs Denver 1:01:00 Recap of women's series at Mankato 1:29:00 First-half recap - women's team 1:54:30 Listener questions

This recording is a recording of the meaning of the Advent Wreath used during the season of Advent. To hear the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on December 7, 2025, go to our YouTube Channel. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12   The Prophecy Candle is the 1st candle lit the first week in Advent.  It is symbolic of the long years of waiting during which the prophets, inspired of God, kept alive the hope that the Son of God was coming to redeem His people from their sins. "Therefore... rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13) The Bethlehem Candle is the 2nd candle lit.  It symbolizes the peace that comes to sinners and the preparations God made for the coming of the world's Savior. The prophecy in Micah 5:2 that foretold Jesus' birthplace at Bethlehem may seem to be a minor revelation, but it shows how God prepared even the least detail for the coming of Christ. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” (Micah 5:2) The Shepherds' Candle is the 3rd candle lit and reminds us of our responsibility to share the Savior and His promises. The shepherds left their task and went with haste to see the Christ-child; then they returned to joyfully tell others about the good news of the Savior. “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people." ...  Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. (Luke 2:11,17) The Angels' Candle is lit the 4th week of Advent.  It reminds us of the activity of the angels before and after Jesus' birth, bearing messages, ministering, protecting, praising; they will be with Jesus at His final coming on Judgment Day, to gather the nations. "All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God" (Revelation 7:11) The Christ Candle is the white candle in the center, and is lit on Christmas Eve. It signals that He Who is the Light of the world has been born.   The light these candles put forth seems small;  so does the gospel at times.  But to those in lonely darkness, it is the powerful light which shows the way to Heaven.

This episode looks inside Minnesota's prison and parole system during the years when Brian Lee Hendrickson was behind bars—and how shifting attitudes toward rehabilitation vs punishment helped lead to his early release. We hear from Brian's brothers, Mark and Gary, about the shock of seeing him walk free after just five years for murder, and how he soon ended up working for the State of Minnesota at the Minnesota Home School in Sauk Centre. Through interviews, records, and careful investigative journalism, Dakota Spotlight examines the Minnesota parole experiment that failed to protect the vulnerable and reveals how the optimism of reform collided with the realities of crime and manipulation. A Dakota Spotlight true crime podcast that uncovers how one man's early release exposed deep flaws within Minnesota's corrections system—and how the consequences still echo decades later. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on November 30, 2025. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Isaiah 11:2 (NKJV) The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Theme: O Come, O Wisdom

This recording is a condensed version of the sermon preached at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota on October 19, 2025. You can watch the full recording on our YouTube Channel.   Sermon Text: Luke 13:24-30 (NKJV) 24  Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  25  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,'  26  then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  27  But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  28  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  29  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  30  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last. Theme: Come Home Through the Narrow Gate

Hey guys, we're pretty stoked about this episode. James Wolner, the mind behind a podcast enterprise called Dakota Spotlight, joins us to discuss at length the latest season of his true crime podcast empire: "Meanwhile in Mankato." In six episodes Wolner takes a deep dive on the 1965 murder of Ray Dahms at the hands of Brian Hendrickson. But it's not just a story of a murder. It's also the story of a system that failed dramatically when it let Hendrickson go free after just a few years in prison, leaving him free to commit more crimes.

Check Playlist This was a special Thanksgiving episode of The Five Count! During the show we discussed our favorite memories of the Mankato music store Ernie November, chose which sitcom characters we would pick for a five-on-five cage match, and learned turkey hunting techniques and wild turkey calls. Happy Thanksgiving!

Meanwhile in Mankato: Lies, Silence & Murder in Minnesota In 1965, a teenager killed a gas-station clerk near Mankato and was sentenced to forty years. He served five. Decades later, Dakota Spotlight retraces his path — from prison to parole, from murder to manipulation — and discovers new revelations that still shock those who lived through it. *** Listen to Dakota Spotlight: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dakota-spotlight-true-crime-cold-case-investigations/id1451783176 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 3 follows Brian Lee Hendrickson's case through late 1965 and 1966, as court procedures, psychiatric evaluations, and a Minnesota trial unfold under the state's Youth Conservation Commission. At the same time, a new Supreme Court ruling on Miranda rights reshapes the very laws surrounding confession and sentencing. We meet Hendrickson's brothers, Mark and Gary, whose memories of that era reveal a family story caught between denial and discovery, and we open a parallel thread on Michelle's early life — the beginnings of a second tragedy yet to come. Through careful investigative journalism, Dakota Spotlight continues this true crime podcast journey through Minnesota's justice system, where one decision inside a courtroom still echoes six decades later. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's November again, and that means a bunch of people on the internet are giving up masturbation for the month. While “No Nut November” is a relatively recent phenomenon, it actually has deep roots and reflects humans' longstanding and very complicated relationship with self-pleasure. In this show, we’re talking about the history of masturbation and why people are so conflicted over it. My guest is Dr. Eric Sprankle, an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and the co-director of the Sexuality Studies program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He’s also a licensed clinical psychologist and AASECT-certified sex therapist affiliated with the Minnesota Sexual Health Institute. His latest book is DIY: The Wonderfully Weird History and Science of Masturbation. Some of the specific topics we explore in this episode include: Where does the idea of masturbation as sinful originate? Historically, how have religious and political figures dissuaded people from masturbating? When did masturbation start to become a public health concern? How has the rise of social media coincided with the rise of negative views of masturbation? You can visit Eric’s website to learn more about his work. Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology. *** Thank you to our sponsors!  The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is where the world turns to understand sex and relationships. Now, you can help continue its expert-led research. This month, the Match Group is offering an incredible 2:1 match for all gifts to the Kinsey Institute Research Fund. Learn more and make a donation here: https://knsy.in/giftmatch  Head to https://paired.com/JUSTIN and download the #1 app for couples to start maintaining your lasting love today. A bad mattress can ruin your intimate life. If you want to upgrade your sleep, check out Brooklyn Bedding, where you can try a 120-night comfort trial. Go to brooklynbedding.com and use my promo code JUSTIN at checkout to get 30% off sitewide.  *** Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for previous articles or follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, or Bluesky to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram. Listen and stream all episodes on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon. Subscribe to automatically receive new episodes and please rate and review the podcast! Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.

On PRETEND, we tell stories about people who build false identities and hide the truth in plain sight. This week, we are featuring a case that fits right into that world. It is the newest season of Dakota Spotlight, titled “Meanwhile in Mankato.” In 1965, an 18-year-old gas station attendant named Ray Dahm was murdered during an overnight shift at a rural Minnesota truck stop. The person who killed him was a clean-cut 17-year-old who looked harmless, the kind of kid no one would ever suspect. On the surface, it seemed simple. A robbery. A terrible act of violence. Case closed. But that was only the beginning. Reporter James Wolner later uncovered that the killer did not stay locked away for long. Within a few years, he was quietly back in the community, working around teenage girls who had no idea they were interacting with a convicted murderer. His past had been buried, ignored, or conveniently forgotten. “Meanwhile in Mankato” is a story about manipulation, vanished accountability, and the people who were left to carry the fallout of one man's lies. It is exactly the kind of story we look at on PRETEND, because it shows how someone can reinvent themselves while everyone else looks the other way. If you follow PRETEND, you will want to hear this one. It is sharp reporting, unsettling truth, and a reminder that the most dangerous story is often the one no one bothered to check. Subscribe to Dakota Spotlight on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZqpK6FfXIvS35TUYjckd6?si=fe79cf9a61264247 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the aftermath of Ray Dahms's killing, Blue Earth County investigators launch a Minnesota murder investigation that soon points to a local teenager, Brian Lee Hendrickson. When they finally bring him in for questioning, Hendrickson shocks officers with a murder confession that seems to close the case almost as quickly as it began with the justice system.  Episode 2 of Meanwhile in Mankato revisits those first tense hours of the Mankato Gas Station Murder and the community's mourning for Ray Dahms, whose death left Rapidan searching for answers. Through careful investigative journalism, Dakota Spotlight explores how a small-town murder rippled across Minnesota, shaping perceptions of truth and accountability. A Dakota Spotlight true crime podcast where every answer reveals another question—and where justice proves far more elusive than anyone imagined. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The state's official Veterans Day program is at the National Guard Armory in Mankato. Officials from the Minnesota National Guard and the state Department of Veterans Affairs will join elected officials and others for the event.Minnesota has begun distributing SNAP benefits to recipients — but there continues to be widespread confusion over whether that will continue as the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to again freeze the payments. County administrators are struggling to keep up with the constant changes to the status of the program.A deal to reopen the federal government could imperil Minnesota's hemp-derived products industry. Wayzata-based Cargill is one of four meatpacking giants under investigation by the U.S. justice department. The City of St. Paul is the one of the lead plaintiffs in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of clean energy grants. The city is part of a coalition that said Democratic-led states were unfairly punished with the cancellation of $7.5 billion in projects for things such as electric vehicle charging stations, solar energy incentives and measures to prevent methane leaks. Teachers have reached a tentative contract contract agreement with the Minneapolis school district avoiding a strike that was scheduled to start Tuesday. The union wanted smaller class size caps and pay increases for teachers, adult educators and support staff. A spokesperson said the new contract includes agreements on those demands. Teachers will vote on whether to officially accept the contract on Thursday and Friday.

The state's official Veterans Day program is at the National Guard Armory in Mankato. Officials from the Minnesota National Guard and the state Department of Veterans Affairs will join elected officials and others for the event.Minnesota has begun distributing SNAP benefits to recipients — but there continues to be widespread confusion over whether that will continue as the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to again freeze the payments. County administrators are struggling to keep up with the constant changes to the status of the program.A deal to reopen the federal government could imperil Minnesota's hemp-derived products industry. Wayzata-based Cargill is one of four meatpacking giants under investigation by the U.S. justice department. The City of St. Paul is the one of the lead plaintiffs in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration over the cancellation of clean energy grants. The city is part of a coalition that said Democratic-led states were unfairly punished with the cancellation of $7.5 billion in projects for things such as electric vehicle charging stations, solar energy incentives and measures to prevent methane leaks. Teachers have reached a tentative contract contract agreement with the Minneapolis school district avoiding a strike that was scheduled to start Tuesday. The union wanted smaller class size caps and pay increases for teachers, adult educators and support staff. A spokesperson said the new contract includes agreements on those demands. Teachers will vote on whether to officially accept the contract on Thursday and Friday.

The Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum is partnering with Lakeland PBS and Pioneer PBS to bring the Veterans Day Film Festival 2025 across the state Tuesday. Audiences in Mankato, Stillwater and Little Falls can see three films about three different Minnesota veteran experiences.Randal Dietrich is the executive director of the Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum in Little Falls. He called MPR News host Nina Moini from the official State of Minnesota Veterans Day Ceremony in Mankato to talk about the film festival.

In 1965, seventeen-year-old Brian Hendrickson committed a small-town murder when he walked into a gas station outside Mankato, Minnesota, and shot clerk Ray Dahms twice at close range. Sentenced to forty years, he served just over five.The case would later be remembered as the Mankato Gas Station Murder. In this opening episode of Dakota Spotlight's twelfth season, host James Wolner takes us back to 1965 and the small town of Rapidan, Minnesota. We meet the classmates and friends of Ray Dahms, shot down at the age of 18 in this Minnesota murder case — people who have never forgotten him. The episode traces Ray's final hours on September 25, 1965, and introduces us to seventeen-year-old Brian Lee Hendrickson, whose own path that night would lead to tragedy at Rothfork Truckstop in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Dakota Spotlight is a true crime podcast dedicated to investigative journalism, revisiting cold cases and small-town murders across the Midwest. Learn more about the Mankato Gas Station Murder at DakotaSpotlight.com. Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen. Check out the full catalog and everything Dakota Spotlight: https://dakotaspotlight.com/ Get all episodes early, ad-free, and more. Subscribe to Spotlight PLUS: https://dakotaspotlight.com/spotlight-plus/ Sign up for the Dakota Spotlight newsletter: https://dakotaspotlight.com/newsletter/ Email: dakotaspotlight@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/dakotaspotlight X/Twitter: @dakotaspotlight Instagram: @dakotaspotlight TikTok: @dakotaspotlight Bluesky: @dakotaspotlight.bsky.social YouTube: @dakotaspotlightpodcast4800 Proudly produced by Six Horse Media: info@sixhorsemedia.com Advertise your podcast or brand in Dakota Spotlight episodes: info@sixhorsemedia.com All content in this podcast, including audio, interviews, and soundscapes, is the property of Six Horse Media. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or rebroadcast of this material without the express written consent of Six Horse Media is strictly prohibited. For permissions or inquiries, please contact info@sixhorsemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host John Biewen reads an essay from his newsletter, Keeping ScOR. After a visit to his hometown, Mankato, Minnesota -- the subject of the Scene on Radio episode, "Little War on the Prairie" -- John reflects on the changes there and America's latest assault on history. Music by goodnight, Lucas. To read see the Keeping ScOR newsletter archive or subscribe to receive it, go here: https://buttondown.com/KeepingScOR#subscribe-form Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Announcing Season 12 Meanwhile in Mankato: Lies, Silence & Murder in Minnesota arrives this November. Episode 1 premieres for all listeners on Thursday, November 6. Spotlight PLUS subscribers can hear — and binge — the entire season ad-free that same day. Learn more at https://dakotaspotlight.com/meanwhile-in-mankato-true-crime-podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send us a textU.S. Congressman Brad Finstad (R - Minnesota) joined Liz Collin on her podcast for a wide-ranging conversation. Congressman Finstad is a Republican who represents Minnesota's first congressional district. He's also a fourth generation farmer from the New Ulm area—and joined Collin from his combine for the interview. Rep. Finstad weighed in on the government shutdown; the Minneapolis mayoral race; his calls for a Mankato professor to resign in the wake of abhorrent posts on social media; and legislation he introduced that would block foreign governments for protecting fraudsters.Support the show

Five years in the making...the REAL Bret Michaels joins the show ahead of his concert in Mankato on September 13th