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Dr. Kamruz Darabi didn’t take the obvious path. Trained in Germany, New York, and Ohio, fluent in four languages, he could have practiced anywhere. He chose Chaska — and then chose to go out on his own. In this conversation, Greg Anderson talks with the founder of Darabi Dermatology about what that journey actually looked…

If you drive Highway 5 between Chanhassen and Victoria — or you own property anywhere near that corridor — this is the episode to listen to before construction season shifts into full gear. Carver County is in the middle of a $116 million Highway 5 overhaul. A 3.5-mile stretch from Highway 41 in Chanhassen to…

What does it actually take to keep a community’s most vulnerable families from falling through the cracks? In this episode, Greg sits down with Molly Koivumaki, the first Executive Director of Beyond New Beginnings — a supportive housing program in Chaska that provides safe, stable homes for young moms and their children as they work…

Chaska City Manager Matt Podhradsky returns to the podcast to talk about the city’s brand-new $48million Public Safety Center, set to open in just weeks. Greg got a privatetour of the facility and sits down with Matt to unpack the full story — fromwhy the old buildings couldn’t keep up, to the historic Chaska elements…

What do you do when your parents have 40 years of stuff in a 4,000 square foot house and they need to move to a 1,200 square foot assisted living apartment? Most families are paralyzed by this question—and Ernise Beckel has spent her career solving it.Ernise is a registered nurse with 20 years of experience…

From social worker to sourdough entrepreneur—Elaine Dubbe turned a friend's encouragement and a 106-year-old sourdough starter into Hello Simple; a business teaching hands-on sourdough classes across Minnesota. Elaine moved to Cologne, Minnesota in December 2023 and started by simply posting in the local Facebook group asking if anyone wanted to learn sourdough. Twenty-five people said…

Melodie Bridgeman from the Carver County Community Development Agency pulls back the curtain on programs most residents don’t know exist. We dig into the CDA’s down payment assistance offering up to $50,000 in forgivable loans for first-time buyers, break down how Community Land Trusts let families purchase $400,000 homes at $250,000 price points, and Melodie…

Seventy-five million Americans are caregivers. That’s one in four adults—and the media is calling it our nation’s largest mental health crisis. But what does caregiving actually look like behind closed doors? In this raw and candid conversation, Michael Boylan shares his 20-year journey caring for his son Connor, who was diagnosed with Williams syndrome at…

Estate planning attorney Karl Tsuchiya pulls back the curtain on the legal decisions families face when a loved one starts declining or when life throws unexpected curveballs. This conversation gets real about capacity issues, protecting vulnerable adults, and why every family needs certain documents in place regardless of their net worth. Karl’s a partner at…

Why does downtown Chaska look the way it does? How did a small river town of 8,000 people become one of the most sought-after suburbs in the Twin Cities metro? This is the first episode of “Origins”—a new series exploring the backstory of things Carver County residents take for granted. And there’s no better place…