My 1st Gig: From Taco Bell to City Hall with Rosalynn Bliss

My 1st Gig: From Taco Bell to City Hall with Rosalynn Bliss

Before she was mayor, Rosalynn Bliss was working the counter at Taco Bell and waiting tables in Sault Ste. Marie. She'll tell you those jobs taught her more than she realized at the time. On this episode of My 1st Gig, Ryan Brown sits down with former Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss — now Assistant Dean and Chief External Relations Officer at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine — to trace a career built not on big breaks, but on showing up, raising her hand, and following through. Rosalynn reflects on her first professional role as a medical social worker at DeVos Children's Hospital, how community involvement organically led her to public office, and what 19 years of serving Grand Rapids taught her about leadership, relationships, and earning trust. Plus, her advice for young professionals just starting out: say yes to new things, follow through on your word, and invest in people. The rest tends to take care of itself. My 1st Gig is produced by Truscott Rossman. New episodes drop weekly on Spotify and YouTube.

Beyond Both Sides: The World Cup Is Here | Episode 31

Beyond Both Sides covers Michigan politics. But the World Cup is here — and we're taking a detour. Chris Moyer and guest host Ryan Gajewski are both former soccer players, and they made a deal a long time ago: if the World Cup came back to the U.S., they'd talk about it on whatever platform they had. This is that episode. Their guest is Darrius Barnes, President of AC Grand Rapids — West Michigan's new MLS Next Pro club launching in 2027 at the new Amway Stadium. Darrius played eight seasons as a defender with the New England Revolution, worked at the MLS league office, and is now building Grand Rapids' first professional soccer club from the ground up. They get into what it actually takes to build a club that connects with a community, how the World Cup coming home echoes 1994 (the moment that launched MLS and changed the sport in America), and what it means for the next generation of players and fans. Plus: predictions. Darrius has the US winning the group. Ryan is less sure. Chris is cautiously optimistic. Nobody agrees on Portugal. Smart. Civil. Real. — and this week, a little passionate about the beautiful game.

Beyond Both Sides: The Race Redrawn | Episode 30

Mike Duggan is out — and the Michigan governor's race just got a whole lot clearer. In this week's deep dive, Chris and Allie break down why Duggan's departure was the right call, what the numbers actually showed, and what a two-person race between Jocelyn Benson and the Republican primary winner really looks like. Is this Benson's race to lose? What does she need to say — and do — between now and November? And what should voters make of a closing Mike Cox versus a name-recognition-heavy John James on the Republican side? Then, we cross the river. Ryan Donally, President and CEO of the Windsor Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, joins the show to talk about the Detroit-Windsor relationship most Michiganders are sleeping on. With nearly 5,000 Canadians commuting to Detroit every day and one-third of all U.S.-Canada trade crossing this border, the stakes of getting this relationship right — especially amid today's tariff tensions — couldn't be higher. Ryan also shares what the long-awaited opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge means for the region, and why he launched his own podcast, Beyond 2 Bridges, to connect the two communities. And in Disagree Better: the Level Up Michigan coalition launched at Mackinac with a simple, powerful message — Michigan already offers two years of free post-secondary education. Only 30% of residents know it. Here's what's being done to change that.

Beyond Both Sides: The Quest for Common Ground | Episode 29

Michigan's leaders are heading to Mackinac Island this week for Mackinac Policy Conference with an urgent message and a big question: can urgency and relationship-building happen at the same time? Chris and Allie break down what the Detroit Regional Chamber's "house is on fire" alarm actually demands of conference attendees, why the new format is a genuine improvement, and how to use your three days on the island strategically rather than just socially. Then, Diallo Smith, CEO of Life Remodeled, joins the show. A native Detroiter, Cass Tech graduate, and former ExxonMobil and IBM Consulting professional who came home to build something different, Diallo has transformed vacant buildings into one-stop community hubs serving tens of thousands of people on Detroit's northwest side. He talks about what Michigan's economic crisis looks like from neighborhoods that have been living with distress for decades, and what it really takes to build something that lasts. Plus, in Disagree Better: the Grand Rapids Chamber's city commission candidate forum and why that kind of civic disagreement is exactly what local democracy needs more of.

Beyond Both Sides: A Messaging Bill With Legs | Episode 28

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno just introduced legislation to ban Chinese connected vehicles from the American market — what Slotkin called "a driving surveillance package on wheels." The bill is bipartisan, the auto industry supports it, and Allie Walker calls it "a messaging bill with legs." But here's the question Chris Moyer and Allie dig into: is this the move of a region confident it can out-innovate — or one buying time because it's not sure it can compete? Chris pushes back with a scarcity-vs.-abundance frame, and Allie raises the question nobody's asking: if Chinese cars are a national security threat, why are we still letting Chinese-made phones into every American pocket? Then Chris and Allie sit down with Devon O'Reilly — President and CEO of Fair Lane: Home of Clara and Henry Ford, and newly elected Dearborn City Council member — on the meticulous decade-long restoration of the Ford estate (Thomas Edison laid the cornerstone of the powerhouse, and Clara Ford drove an electric car in the 1910s), the O'Reilly family's three-generation public service legacy, and what he wants the rest of America to know about Dearborn: "Dearborn knows how to get along. The hostility comes from outside." Plus, in Disagree Better: Van Andel Arena turns 30 — and the story of how one public-private bet in the early '90s reshaped downtown Grand Rapids.