Episodios

  • Hacking the Car Market: Auto Analyst Karl Brauer On How to Save Over $2,600 on Your Next Vehicle(12-28-25)

    Hacking the Car Market: Auto Analyst Karl Brauer On How to Save Over $2,600 on Your Next Vehicle(12-28-25)
    Dec 27 2025
    In this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Karl Brauer, Executive Analyst with iSeeCars.com.

    Karl joined us to break down the results of a recent study from the team at iSeeCars.com.
    The Study revealed that the prime season for finding a used car deal is predominantly November through March, and the single best day to purchase a used car is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which offers 65.5% more good deals than average, according to the latest iSeeCars.com study.

    The study analyzed over 40 million used car sales to calculate the chances of finding a good deal at specific times of the year, with a good deal defined as saving at least 10% (approx. $2,689) off the average price of a used car ($26,889).

    See the full study from iSeeCars.com and all the Best/Worst Times To Buy A Car.
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    16 m
  • Spotlighting The Great Lakes Winter Trails Council: Your Best Guide For Enjoying Michigan's Great Outdoors (12-28-25)

    Spotlighting The Great Lakes Winter Trails Council: Your Best Guide For Enjoying Michigan's Great Outdoors (12-28-25)
    Dec 27 2025
    In this episode, we welcome Brittany Primeau, the Director of Communications at Crystal Mountain, and Caroline Rizzo, Communications Manager with Grand Traverse Resort.

    Britney & Caroline joined host Phil Tower in-studio in this segment to discuss the benefits of enjoying the great outdoors during wintertime in Michigan.

    Specifically, we focused on the MyWinterTrails.com website.

    The site is packed with helpful information for those who love winter sports, and 80 includes a list of 17 Michigan ski resorts and winter sports destinations comprising the Great Lakes Winter Trails Council. These destinations in Michigan alone offer some of the best groomed cross-country skiing trails and snowshoeing terrain in the Midwest.

    Outdoor activities highlighted at MyWinterTrails.com include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fat-tire biking, winter rafting, Nordic ski walking, and more.

    We also discussed the numerous activities scheduled across the state for My Winter Trails Day on January 10, 2026.

    Online:

    Crystal Mountain

    Grand Traverse Resort
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    11 m
  • Unity Without Uniformity: Lessons in Peacemaking with Rev. Tanner Smith at The Colossian Forum

    Unity Without Uniformity: Lessons in Peacemaking with Rev. Tanner Smith at The Colossian Forum
    Dec 21 2025
    In this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Rev. Dr. Tanner Smith, Chief of Staff, The Colossian Forum.

    About our guest: Rev. Dr. Tanner Smith serves as Chief of Staff at The Colossian Forum, a Christian nonprofit based in Grand Rapids.

    The Colossian Forum equips believers, churches, and organizations to engage conflict not as something to avoid or fear, but as an opportunity for growth, deeper relationships, and spiritual formation. Their work is rooted in the conviction that “all things hold together in Christ” (Colossians 1:17).

    The Colossian Forum’s work is guided by a compelling and timely mission:
    to help Christians think, act, and lead more like Jesus—especially in moments of disagreement and tension—so that churches and communities can embody unity, compassion, and maturity even amid big differences.

    Episode Overview:

    In this conversation, Rev.Tanner Smith explores how Christians can faithfully navigate conflict in personal relationships, work life, church life, and many other places—without retreating into avoidance or hostility.

    Topics Discussed
    • The programs, trainings, and presentations offered by The Colossian Forum
    • What it means to be a non-anxious presence in an anxious and divided culture
    • Navigating tense holiday gatherings and extended family relationships
    • Approaches to healing or engaging with an estranged family member
    • Why avoiding conflict altogether is not a faithful or effective solution
    Key Themes: Conflict resolution • Faith and spirituality • Emotional and spiritual maturity • Unity amid political division • Christian leadership in polarized times

    Learn More: The Colossian Forum
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    28 m
  • SAFER by 2030: Michigan's Aggressive Effort to Reduce Traffic Fatalities (12-12-25)

    SAFER by 2030: Michigan's Aggressive Effort to Reduce Traffic Fatalities (12-12-25)
    Dec 13 2025
    We welcome Alicia Sledge, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and chair of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission (GTSAC), for this segment of West Michigan Weekend.

    Alicia joined host Phil Tower for an overview of a serious and aggressive effort to reduce traffic fatalities in Michigan.

    SAFER by 2030…. Is the name of the initiative AND SAFER is an acronym for “Statewide Action to Reduce Fatalities Encountered on our Roadways” by 30 percent by 2030.

    The new program involves several state of Michigan agencies and departments working collaboratively to create a culture of safe driving in Michigan, to work towards Zero Traffic Deaths.

    In 2024, 288,880 traffic crashes in Michigan took the lives of 1,099 people. Those 1099 fatalities were an increase over the 2023 number of 1095 automotive fatalities.

    The SAFER by 2030 initiative focuses on three key areas of Awareness, Engagement, and Enforcement.


    Helpful Links:

    MICHIGAN OFFICE OF HIGHWAY SAFETY PLANNING

    LeaMichigan.gov/saferby2030
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    14 m
  • Unpacking West Michigan's Economic Health: The Right Place's 2026 State of the Region Report (12-12-25)

    Unpacking West Michigan's Economic Health: The Right Place's 2026 State of the Region Report (12-12-25)
    Dec 13 2025
    In this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes back Randy Thelen…President and CEO of The Right Place.
    He joined us for this segment of West Michigan Weekend to take a closer look at the economic health of our region as we head into 2026.
    The Right Place—West Michigan’s leading economic development organization—just released its annual State of the Region report in early December. It provides a detailed look at trends in jobs, wages, business growth, population, and more across our 13-county region.

    Randy helped us unpack some of the key takeaways from the State of The Region Report, which measured several economic benchmarks, including the local job market, wages and cost of living, housing affordability, industry strengths, and emerging sectors, the state of regional talent and population trends, the small business climate in the region, and the state of local infrastructure.

    Online-The Right Place

    Download the complete State of the Region from The Right Place.
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    15 m
  • Legally Haunted!? How To Carefully Navigate Selling a Ghost-Inhabited Home (12-07-25)

    Legally Haunted!? How To Carefully Navigate Selling a Ghost-Inhabited Home (12-07-25)
    Dec 6 2025
    In this episode, host Phil Tower speaks with Cooley Law School Professors Mark Dotson and Jim Hicks.

    Legal experts Dotson and Hicks joined us for a most unusual but relevant conversation they called, “So You Think Your House is Haunted?

    The professors advised that before listing your home that you feel may be haunted, you should first consult a legal expert.
    Disclosing a home’s paranormal activity when it is time to sell varies by state.

    Cooley Professors Mark Dotson and Jim Hicks noted that local and state laws may affect sales of homes that individuals believe to be “haunted,” including the famous New York case, Stambovsky v. Ackley, which is the most famous or notorious case involving the disclosures of paranormal activity during the sale of a home.

    Under Stambovsky, when a homeowner tells others their home is haunted, they would have to disclose this information. If a home has a reputation or is known as a haunted house, it will need to be disclosed. The house in the Stambovsky case had both the reputation and media coverage about it being haunted, to required that it be disclosed.

    The "Legally Haunted House

    Cooley Law Online
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    18 m
  • How Iron Fish Distillery and the Conservation Resource Alliance are Protecting Michigan Rivers(12-07-25)

    How Iron Fish Distillery and the Conservation Resource Alliance are Protecting Michigan Rivers(12-07-25)
    Dec 6 2025
    In this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Troy Anderson, Marketing Manager with Iron Fish Distillery.

    Troy joined the program to talk about Iron Fish Distillery's exciting new limited seasonal release, Riverbed Whiskey. Troy said that Riverbed Whiskey represents the pinnacle expression of Iron Fish’s Mad Angler brand.

    Troy shared that the Mad Angler name was drawn from the writings of Northern Michigan writer Michael Delp, whose work is deeply rooted in the advocacy for preserving and protecting the region’s rivers. Riverbed Whiskey is blended from the most distinctive single barrels of four mash bills and slow-proofed for balance and depth.

    A limited amount of Riverbed Whiskey has been released statewide at select Michigan retailers through the holidays. In conjunction with the Riverbed Whiskey release, Iron Fish has partnered with the Conservation Resource Alliance (CRA), an environmental nonprofit that has spent more than 50 years restoring rivers and habitats across northwest Michigan.

    Through its signature River Care program, CRA reconnects fragmented streams, reduces erosion, enhances aquatic habitat, and strengthens watershed resilience across 16 watersheds in the region.
    Learn More: Mad Angler Riverbed Whiskey
    Visit: Conservation Resource Alliance
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    11 m
  • Unpacking The Complete Storm Team 8 Winter Outlook with Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca (11-28-30)

    Unpacking The Complete Storm Team 8 Winter Outlook with Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca (11-28-30)
    Nov 28 2025
    In this extended episode, host Phil Tower speaks with Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist, Ellen Bacca. She joined us for a look back at some of the biggest weather stories from 2025 and for an in-depth look at the Storm Team 8 Winter Weather Outlook for 2025-2026.


    Some Key 2025 Michigan Weather Events:
    •     A Historic Northern Michigan Ice Storm (March 28–30): An "unprecedented" ice storm struck northern Michigan, coating surfaces with up to 1.5 inches of ice. The event caused extensive damage, and Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency.
    •     Record-Active Tornado Season: In fact, Michigan had one of its most active tornado years on record, with a total of 33 confirmed tornadoes by September, more than double the annual average of around 13. The majority of the 33 tornadoes in 2025 were weak, classified as EF-0 or EF-1, which typically cause tree and minor property damage rather than significant structural devastation.
    •     We also experienced a uniquely hot summer, as the summer of 2025 was noted as one of the hottest on record, not necessarily due to extreme daytime highs, but because of consistently high overnight temperatures.

    For the remainder of the conversation, we asked Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca to highlight some of the key points of their recently released winter weather outlook for 2025-2026.
    Storm Team 8 identified some key forecast drivers and a big wildcard that will impact our winter ahead, namely, a weak La Niña to start the winter--Teleconnection signals in the Gulf of Alaska and the impact of the Siberian snowpack and polar vortex activity on our weather locally.

    Ellen said the official Storm Team 8 forecast indicates a good chance that La Niña will fade by January, with neutral conditions favored from January through March.

    TAKEAWAYS:
    Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca added that no two winters are ever the same, especially in West Michigan.
    Winter outlooks can help shed light on trends by examining past years and established scientific linkages. Winter outlooks are based on more than a dozen variables worldwide. Changes in just one variable can have an impact on our winter here in West Michigan.
    This upcoming winter is expected to start cold and snowy, with active lake-effect conditions in December and a good chance of heavy snow systems in January and February.
    This winter is expected to wrap up on time with near-average snow for the season and above-average snow in the month of December. Seasonally, Grand Rapids typically averages 76-78 inches of snow on average.


    The Complete Storm Team 8 Winter Weather Outlook:

    Weather “Teleconnections” Explained
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    25 m