22 APR 2024 · Episode 30 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Jim Barnhardt. Jim is the founder of The Dream Center which offers a variety of programs to those in need in our community.  By providing services that many take for granted, The Dream Center provides Help for Today. Hope for Tomorrow. Jim is married to Cindy and has 2 grown daughters and a grandson. Jim is a lifelong resident of the Bismarck/Mandan area. He has worked in retail business his entire adult life. Jim considers himself fortunate to have traveled extensively over the years, and firmly believes Bismarck/Mandan is the best place to live. Jim’s story of creating a Dream Center in the city of Bismarck started in 2016, when he woke with a vision for a meal ministry and services to help those in need firmly planted in his mind. After many meetings with community leaders, Jim and Cindy chose to partner with The Banquet in his quest to serve the people of our community. Jim got involved first as a Banquet Board Member  and then served as Banquet Board Chairman.  In 2019,  Cindy and Jim made a trip to the Dream Center in Los Angeles to confirm Jim’s Dream Center application sent several months earlier. By May, Dream Center Bismarck was officially sanctioned. Fast forward to today, Dream Center Bismarck is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to “Find a Need & Fill It”. In 2019, the Dream Center Adopt-a-Block program was started in Bismarck and currently serves up to 1,000  households each week. In May of 2021, Jim and Cindy made the commitment to build the new 24,300 square foot Dream Center Bismarck facility  with construction completed in April of 2022. Today, The Dream Center Bismarck has gone far beyond Jim’s expectations. Tens of thousands of hours of meaningful volunteer opportunities are provided for the community and community needs are being met on a much larger scale than Jim ever anticipated. Jim believes no one should be food insecure, and the low-income people of our community deserve a chance to improve their life. Jim is semi-retired from his retail business and plans to spend the next several years leading Dream Center Bismarck in filling unmet community needs.

8 APR 2024 · Episode 29 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Mandy B. Anderson. Mandy is a life and leadership coach who inspires women daily. Mandy B. Anderson, a highly skilled Certified Executive Coach and captivating TEDx Speaker, is the brilliant Co-Founder of RAYMA Team™, a renowned life and leadership coaching company. With her invaluable expertise, she played a pivotal role in the development of their groundbreaking leadership curriculum, RAYMA Foundations™, which revolves around the core values of RAYMA: Resilience, Authenticity, a Yes mindset, Motivation, and Assertiveness. This innovative program seamlessly merges the power of effective life coaching techniques with timeless principles of leadership. Born with a life-threatening disease called Cystic Fibrosis, she has devoted her life to turning disappointments into meaningful experiences and overcoming the obstacles life throws at her. In addition to her remarkable achievements, Anderson has also earned the prestigious title of Best-Selling Author for her critically acclaimed book, Dangerous Hope: Planting Something Meaningful in the Soil of Disappointment. This exceptional literary work garnered a 2022 Illumination Book Award, solidifying Anderson's position as a true literary luminary. When she's not transforming lives and inspiring others, Anderson can be found running, biking, or enjoying a steaming cup of coffee while viewing a beautiful sunrise in Mandan, North Dakota, where she resides with her loving husband, Nate, and their adorable goldendoodle, Indigo.

25 MAR 2024 · Episode 28 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Megan Carranza. Megan saw a need in the community and founded Carranza Immigration Law. Carranza Law is a high quality law firm dedicated to United States immigration and nationality law.  Megan Carranza is an immigration attorney who lives and works in Bismarck. She dedicates her law practice exclusively to United States immigration and nationality law.Megan is a graduate of Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University.In undergraduate school, Megan majored in Spanish, minored in Latino/Latin American Studies, and studied in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Spain. In 2005, she began working in immigration law as a paralegal. Later, Megan handled immigration-related congressional inquiries for U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp.Last year, Megan founded Carranza Immigration Law to fulfill her dream of providing high-quality immigration legal services in central North Dakota. Part of Megan’s work includes contracting with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota to provide pro bono legal assistance to asylees, refugees, and immigrants in North Dakota.In her free time, Megan enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and three children.

12 MAR 2024 · Episode 27 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Kevin Cavanaugh. Kevin is a business owner who gives back  to our community as well as a teacher focusing on the need for building entrepreneurs. 

27 FEB 2024 · Episode 26 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Dr. Jacob Retzer. As the owner of Unbound Physical Therapy, Dr.Retzer works with people across the lifespan. His drive to treat the whole person has allowed him to stand out in his profession, and his dedication to giving back is what makes him standout as a changemaker in our community. Dr. Jacob Retzer is owner of Unbound Physical Therapy. He grew up in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico where he enjoyed spending time outside hiking, camping, hunting, biking and snowboarding. When not outside his time was spent training in martial arts and competing at an international level in TaeKwonDo. After graduating high school he attended the University of New Mexico where heI received his bachelors degree in biology and psychology. Jacob then received his doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota.Upon completing his doctorate, Jacob and his family moved to rural Montana where he honed his skills as a therapist working with individuals across the lifespan. He was able to work with outdoor athletes, weekend warriors, crossfitters, gymnasts, highschool athletes, and those who wanted to get back to daily activities without restriction. Being a primary care provider in a rural area helped solidify the importance of treating the whole person including nutrition, sleep, mental health and not just the physical ailments that they are experiencing. After four years in Montana Jacob decided to move back to Bismarck where he worked in multiple settings before deciding to open his own clinic. This decision came from the desire to provide individuals with the highest level of one on one care helping them to take control of their health. His goal is to help patients alleviate pain, increase performance and assist them in becoming the best version of themselves through increased knowledge in various areas of patient care including strength and conditioning, manual therapy, dry needling and pain science. He enjoys working with clients of all ages and impairments but has a high interest in outdoor athletes, especially archery hunters.When not in the clinic, he enjoys being outdoors with his wife and their two children, camping, hiking and hunting. He also enjoys participating in Crossfit and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

12 FEB 2024 · Episode 25 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Sarah Dahl. Sarah is a change maker in our community due to seeing a need for services and filling that need by starting her own non-profit, Power of Play. Power of Play provides comfort through play for pediatric patients. Sarah Dahl is the president and founder of Power of Play Foundation whose mission is to provide comfort through play for pediatric patients in Bismarck and Mandan. Sarah (Wehmhoefer) Dahl was born and raised in Bismarck, ND. She attended Northridge Elementary, Hughes Middle School, and Century High School. She studied Biology, Cytotechnology, and Molecular Biology at the University of North Dakota and received her Master of Business Administration from University of Illinois. She worked as a laboratory director, physician educator, and a childrens' hospital project manager for 12 years. With her husband, Dr. Brian Dahl, Sarah is raising her two kids, Graham and Vivia, in Bismarck. Sarah realized the importance of access to toys and items of comfort in the pediatric areas of health care after seeing the profound effects these items made on her daughters' recovery after brain surgery at an out of state hospital in 2017. She began to collect items and place them throughout the healthcare systems in Bismarck. Power of Play Foundation was created in 2019 and currently serves both Bismarck pediatric inpatient units, OR's, emergency departments, and multiple clinics in Bismarck/Mandan. Her goal is to grow the Power of Play Foundation so that all levels of healthcare for pediatric patients are able to foster the best environment of comfort and support possible here in Bismarck/Mandan.In addition to supporting Power of Play's mission, Sarah is a part-time elementary librarian at her kids' school, serves on her church council, is a Sunday school teacher, a Cub Scout leader, Critter Care Companion at the humane society, and tennis player. She is grateful to raise her kids in the wonderful community she grew up in and be witness to the generosity and support of our community over the years.

29 JAN 2024 · Episode 24 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Robert Fuller. As a teacher, coach and professional athlete, Robert makes an impact daily in our community. Robert Fuller grew up in North Pole, Alaska. After high school, he went to college in Arizona before transferring to the University of Mary. He played football at the University of Mary. He also went on to play in the Indoor Football League for a team in Madison, Wisconsin. He has coached at the high school, college, and Indoor Football League levels. He is an IFL Hall of Fame Inductee. Robert has been competing in powerlifting competitions for 16 years. In 2023, he was the gold medalist for the North American Championship in Puerto Rico. Robert is currently in his tenth year teaching at Wachter Middle School and is also a football coach at Bismarck High School.

16 JAN 2024 · Episode 23 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Zoe Wergeland Manstrom. As the Executive Director of the American Red Cross of ND, she believes in the power of strong communities and having an impact on those in a time of need. Zoe the Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Western North Dakota. The Western North Dakota chapter supports communities in the counties of Adams, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, McHenry, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Oliver, Renville, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Ward, Williams; as well as the Mandan, Hidatsa, & Arikara Nation (Three Affiliated Tribes) and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission.Zoe earned an MBA from the University of North Dakota and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and International Studies from North Dakota State University. Zoe believes in the power of strong communities and enjoys spreading the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross throughout Western ND.

1 JAN 2024 · Episode 22 of "These are Your Neighbors" features Jenny Maatala. Jenny is a change maker in our community due to seeing a need for services and filling that need by starting her own non-profit, Soul 57. Soul 57 provides grief support at no cost to children who have lost a parent, caregiver or sibling. Jenny has a background in English, Marketing, and Communications, working with both publishing houses and nonprofits in their marketing departments. Her love of writing and editing has provided a steady source of freelance opportunities over the last eight years as a stay-at-home mom, taking on clients for proofreading and copyediting services to keep her professional skills from getting too rusty. Jenny earned an MFA in Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, her specialty being writing therapy, and in September 2023 she opened the doors to Soul 57, a nonprofit that provides group therapy to youth who've lost a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver, as well as workshops providing ongoing tools using art, music, writing, and recreation. When she isn't reading, writing, or spending time with the fam, Jenny is teaching cycle class at the Bismarck YMCA or Mandan Family Wellness Facility.

18 DEC 2023 · Episode 21 of "These Are Your Neighbors" features Tyler Auck. Tyler was asked to be a guest because of his passion for helping others who suffer from the disease of addiction and mental health issues. Tyler is a changemaker in our community by showing people through his personal experiences that fulfilling your dreams after a life of destruction is possible. Tyler Auck was born and raised in Bismarck, ND. He has a Bachelor’s of Science and is currently an Addiction Counselor on a specialized team. He is a husband, father and most importantly a proud member of the recovery community. Tyler is also the author of Broken Gifts, a memoir of his tumultuous life. He has a passion for helping other people who suffer from the disease of addiction and mental health issues. He strives to help people build strong foundations of hope, survival, strength and recovery. His goal is to show people, using his personal experiences, that full filling your dreams after a life of destruction and pain is possible.