After 35 years, Dan Merkamp has gotten pretty good at teaching. He went from a kid learning how to make every sound possible on a taped-together trumpet, to a young man surrounded by mentors whose wisdom has stuck with him. These days, he has stepped wholeheartedly into the role of mentor himself, and considers it […]
Mike Emery was the last man standing at another area newspaper until he joined the Western Wayne News in 2022 as a reporter and layout editor. In this episode of the WWN podcast, Kate talks with Mike how and why he became a journalist, the importance of building trust with sources, the ways layout and […]
Clayton Smith has been an educator for more than 20 years, and is currently the Middle School Principal at Northeastern Wayne School Corporation. When he sat down with Kate on this episode of the Western Wayne News podcast, he shared his love for Wayne County and his passion for teaching the next generation about its […]
“The strength of a small community is knowing each other, and stepping up when someone is going through a hard time.” Liz Ferris learned this important lesson when her father got sick, and the entire town of Milton, Indiana came together to make sure his crops were brought in on time. She has taken that […]
Elisa Worland spent five years at Purdue Extension in Wayne County as a Community Development and Health & Human Sciences Educator. Her years here began in the thick of the pandemic, and were sandwiched between her time with the Peace Corps in Paraguay, and her current position at UC Santa Cruz in California. In this […]
In this episode of the WWN podcast, artist India Cruse Griffin talks with Kate about how culture, family and faith have shaped her work and driven her to create art that provokes emotional connection for and between people who experience it. While she calls her early creations “the art of a perfectionist,” she now uses […]
Terri Logan, this week’s guest on the WWN podcast, says “art is one of our first languages.” It was certainly one of hers, growing up in Winchester, Indiana. She would go on to double major in sculpture and psychology, and then begin her professional life as an art therapist. After 12 years in private practice, […]
It’s time to get to know your podcast host a little better! On this episode of the Western Wayne News podcast, WWN publisher Chris Hardie turns the tables and sits down with Kate Jetmore to talk about her history in Wayne County, her years performing on tour and in New York City, and how her […]
In this episode of the WWN podcast, Kate talks with artist, traveler and teacher Sontina Reid about her creative process, how she aims to bring order out of chaos, where she finds hope and inspiration, and the importance of speaking the truth in challenging times. Enjoy! This conversation has been edited to beep out some […]
As a high school student, John Wessel-McCoy witnessed sweeping strikes at three of the four large manufacturing plants in his hometown of Decatur, Illinois. Observing who came out on top, who stood together, and where power came from would later inform John’s own work and life. He engaged in organizing work in places like Chicago, […]
