Disability and Progress-September 12, 2024-Wingspan and Made in the Shade 2024 and Fall Pledge Drive 2024!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: KPI.org. [00:00:59] Speaker B: Greetings, everybody, and thank you for joining disability in progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about, excuse me. And discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam Jasmine. I'm the host of this show. Charlene Dahl is my research pr person. Hello, Charlene. Hello. And it is pledge. It is pledge. Show us your support. Show us the love, as they say, and call 612-375-9030 or go to kfai.org. excellent. Just a couple housekeeping things. Charlene, I want to remind you that we do take suggestions for the show. That's how we survive and that's what we like to hear. And we've been getting them. That is good. So please, if you have comments, questions, if you have somebody you'd like to hear on the show, you may call. Not call, you can, you can email me at disability and progressamjasmin.com, disabilityandprogressamjasmin.com. let those suggestions flow in because Charlene, I need to put her to work. She's getting kind of, you know, lackadaisical. So we love to hear your comments. So please do so. And then certainly, you know, we've been around a long time. This show has been around a long time. It's gone through some name changes, but it's been around a long time. So please show us your support and give us a call at 612-375-9030 or kfai.org for today or whatever you want to look at it as. We have a speaker. We have Keller. Keller is. Hi, Keller. Keller Carlstrom is community engagement specialist for Wingspan Life Resources. Hi, Keller. Are you there? [00:02:50] Speaker A: Thanks so much for having me. [00:02:51] Speaker B: Sam there. Sorry. You know, we have a little bit of a weird start. That's what happens when I take a month off in the summer. You know, I come back and it's just like, who? Who? Where am I? But that's the joys of radio. You know, it's kind of uncut and you get the blemishes. [00:03:10] Speaker A: And wherever you go, there you are. [00:03:12] Speaker B: That's right. Exactly. But thank you so much for joining me, Keller. Can you, would you be willing to start out, can you just tell us, our listeners, what wingspan's mission is and who you serve? [00:03:29] Speaker A: Of course. Our mission at Wingspan is to inspire community by empowering people impacted by disabilities to live their best life. We are celebrating our 51st anniversary of serving people with developmental and other disabilities throughout the greater twin Cities Metro. We currently have 33 group homes as well as an in home program for those who live with their families or independently. Now, in the past we've only served adults, but this year we expanded our programming to provide services for youth age twelve to 17 who have developmental disabilities. We're so excited to be able to serve this very critical need in our community. [00:04:13] Speaker B: And Keller, I'm wondering, how did you come to wingspan? Tell me, like, who are you anyway? [00:04:22] Speaker A: Well, I came to Wingspan. I did a lot of nonprofit work, and that was my major, actually, in college was nonprofit administration. I also had some HR schooling in there, so I did some more hr things right after college, but at a certain point I just got the itch to go back into the nonprofit sector. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Just couldn't resist. [00:04:48] Speaker A: Yep. And I just kind of by chance, thank you indeed for bringing me to wingspan and Darlin Gray, who is. [00:04:59] Speaker B: Oh, darling, she's awesome. [00:05:01] Speaker A: My boss there, the development director or officer at Wingspan. Yeah. Fantastic person to work for and great organization. [00:05:09] Speaker B: Yeah. And I want to thank you for doing the job you do because, you know, sometimes these are a little bit of a thankless job and I know you guys are underpaid in many respects and you put in a lot of time and a lot of your heart and energy. So thank you for doing that. I want to expand. I'm hoping that you'll expand a little bit. And tell me more about how wingspan, you know, how this goes about helping or about the youth program. So how did Wingspan decide that that was something you needed to do? [00:05:52] Speaker A: Well, it's always been something that we've looked to expand into. There are, there's red tape with all, all of this, with getting group homes, with getting your certifications for who you're caring for within them. And we've just recently had the capacity to go for it. So our executive director, Therese Davis, really led the charge very well and provided leadership for getting into this program expansion. [00:06:31] Speaker B: And I'm curious, when did the program expansion start? [00:06:36] Speaker A: Well, we've been expanding as well into crisis housing over the past few years. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Oh, geez. [00:06:43] Speaker A: So that's for more acute cases with larger staff to client ratios in the homes. And the homes have to be completely renovated to be safe for the clients that we have there. Things completely bolted down and silverware completely changed out with safe things, rocks taken out of the landscaping, things you'd never think of. [00:07:10] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:11] Speaker A: But, yeah, we've been going into this crisis housing and now the youth over just the past few years. So it's all very new and exciting and very much needed. [00:07:22] Speaker B: And presumably the crisis housing is for people with disabilities. [00:07:27] Speaker A: It is as well, yes. [00:07:28] Speaker B: And would that be one of the requirements for getting into that crisis housing? [00:07:35] Speaker A: Yes. So it's usually people who have developmental or things like TBI, traumatic brain injury, and their current living situation with their families or with in home staff, just they don't have the capacity to be able to care for that person. And in a perfect world, we're able to bring them into one of our homes and provide the care needed to get them back into their usual care setting. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Right. [00:08:11] Speaker A: So that's what our goal is with the crisis homes. [00:08:16] Speaker B: So tell us more about how wingspan goes about helping clients live their best lives. Do you guys offer special programs? [00:08:26] Speaker A: We do. And in regards to helping clients live their best life, we're proud at wingspan to be among the pioneers of person centered planning. So our direct service professionals are the heart of our organization. And you talked about being underpaid and underappreciated. That's the core of direct service professionals nationwide is certainly in need of love and more pay. So that's always been our goal as well with advocating for state funding. But those direct service professionals, or dsps, they work closely with clients to determine their interests and also to encourage them to try new things, branch out, get out in the community to the extent of their abilities. And they do all that alongside the clients, guardians and social workers. And for just one example of our special programs, we have a glee club that's been going strong for eleven years and twice a year. This ten week music program of ours. This gives clients of all abilities the opportunity to sing and express themselves together. And we cap it all off with an amazing concert that's open to the public. We also offer plenty of enrichment residencies, and that's in partnership with teaching artists from Compass, Minnesota. [00:09:51] Speaker B: So I'm wondering, does anybody play instruments in the glee club, or is it just all singing? [00:09:57] Speaker A: We have musical accompaniments. We have a regular piano player, Sean, who comes in and helps us. And we have people who like to play their triangles and their drums. And we have a lot of other programs where a lot of music playing and instrument playing takes place as well. [00:10:16] Speaker B: Excellent. I know you, you have, you were talking about your enrichment programs, your residencies. So I'm going to ask a couple of specific, because I know you have music, which is something that you guys have kind of capitalized on, which is, I think, awesome. But you also have some really good other ones that spoken word. Can you tell me a little bit, expand a little bit more about the spoken word program? [00:10:46] Speaker A: Yeah, that's one thing I love. And that the fact that we were the first organization to offer a spoken word and poetry club for people with disabilities. One thing that I love about that is just the fact that one of our clients in particular comes and she's largely nonverbal. But she sat down at this poetry club and just wrote and wrote and wrote. And we can't really reading it. You don't really understand what the whole narrative of this writing is, but it's so clear that she had something that she needed to express and so she's passionate about it. And we're just so proud and glad that she was able to have that opportunity to be in a space where she felt safe to express that thing that she was passionate about. [00:11:46] Speaker B: And how more does it work? Do people get to read their poems or whatever they're working on out loud if they want? [00:11:54] Speaker A: You have to get to read and share with the other members of the club. And as long as they're comfortable with it, I know I can be scared to share my poetry with other people. So sometimes that happens to. But yeah, we've also offered things like dance classes, theater classes, a mosaic making class, and we've even hosted a nine week french club in partnership with Alliance Francaise of Minneapolis St. Paul. [00:12:21] Speaker B: So tell me a little bit about. Let's step back. I want you to tell me a little bit about the dance class. How does that work? [00:12:29] Speaker A: Yeah, so this dance class, we had an awesome teacher from Compass, Minnesota come in and she just brought such enthusiasm. They go through just a little bit warm up at the beginning of the class, limber up a little bit. People can stay in their chairs to dance along with these songs, but it's also, it's really like a moving your body type class and just getting comfortable with striking a pose or twisting and bending and just doing little things, whatever you're capable of, just to get up and move a little bit. [00:13:13] Speaker B: And then what about the french class? That's cool. That really sounds. How did you guys decide to what language you were gonna do? [00:13:24] Speaker A: Well, that's all. Darlin my boss. I wasn't actually around for the french club when last we did it. Darlin is a big francophile and I'm sure she was the one who pushed for the french club. And yeah, just to have that dip into another culture, which we're big on. And I'll talk a little bit more about our cultural programs later. But yeah, that's just so great that to come and just learn a little bit about new language, new people and France is great. I went there last year. [00:14:07] Speaker B: Oh, did you? [00:14:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:09] Speaker B: You sure didn't bring me. Well, lucky you. I took two years of it in high school, but. [00:14:17] Speaker A: Oh, cool. Yeah, I learned enough to ask for a table for two. Oh, not much beyond that. [00:14:24] Speaker B: Hey, well, you know what? It's all good. You learn what you can and then hopefully you can expand on it. [00:14:34] Speaker A: Well, next time I will be participating in the french club. Next time we offer it. [00:14:38] Speaker B: Excellent. I'll expect a lesson when you come back. [00:14:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:42] Speaker B: So what has been the outcome of these programs, do you think? Like, you know, how have people been reacting to them and what have you heard? [00:14:53] Speaker A: Yeah, well, our clients always do a great job with whatever we offer and we focused on their ability and not their disability. And as long as they have a blast participating, we're happy. Even more than the learning aspects of what we offer, these programs offer an opportunity for socialization for the clients. For many, it's a chance for them just to get out of the house and just have fun and hang out with others. We've seen so many strong friendships be forged and a lot of clients ask to participate in multiple activities just so they can stay connected to their buddies throughout the year. [00:15:33] Speaker B: That's the way it always goes though, regardless if it's disability or non disability. Right. When you see people who are not disabled, they go to camp, they want to hang with their buddies. That's what they want to do, so. [00:15:46] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. And that's like these just community education programs that are offered through St. Paul. Like me and my fiance have gone and done that, met some friends and anybody should just have that opportunity to go to an extracurricular type setting and outside of work and outside of your home and meet people in a third space. [00:16:11] Speaker B: Right? Speaking of third space, there is a made in the shade event, which we have done before, but with you guys. But can you tell us a little bit about it and how it works and all that good stuff? [00:16:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Made in the shade is one of my absolute favorite annual events and it's celebrating its 33rd anniversary this September. It's put on in collaboration with seven partner organizations, all working together to raise awareness and funding for people with disabilities and these seven nonprofits. They include Wingspan Life Resources, Pai, Episcopal group Homes, Homeward Bounds Partnership Resources, Phoenix Residence, and Tse Inc. All great organizations. We're going to gather on Saturday, September 21 at Lake Biteman for a morning of food, fellowship and fun, and hopefully sun as well. [00:17:16] Speaker B: And there really is a lot of people that come there, so if you have never participated in it, you should stop by. How can people find out more about the maid in the shade? [00:17:29] Speaker A: Well, I'll tell you that we're gathering at the lake at 09:30 a.m. you can also find us on Facebook, any of these organizations websites. But to tell you a little bit more about it, if you're just around the lake at that time, you're going to see many of our participants wearing our brightly colored shirts. We're wearing sangria shirts this year. And if you're like me and don't know what Sangria looks like, it's like purplish pink. Our vendors will be out there providing free food, water, fruit and snacks to go through kind of the day. We're going to be starting out with a fun warm up exercise and then participants can walk, run or roll around the lake, or they can just sit and enjoy the music and sing along near the stage by our big tent. And our emcee this year is Shayla Reeves from WCCO, who is phenomenal and is coming back from last year. And we have entertainment by a duo called showstoppers who are very talented. [00:18:41] Speaker B: So how many group homes does Wingspan have again? [00:18:47] Speaker A: 33. And does this, we just added a couple more. [00:18:51] Speaker B: Does this count to the group homes, like for the new ones that you talked about, like the. [00:19:00] Speaker A: Well, we're still getting people into the, into the very newest homes, but for all the homes that we have established, funding will be going to each of them for all their needs. And at Wingspan, every one of our group homes makes a wish list for themselves, for things like new appliances, furniture, a new handicap accessible van, wheelchair friendly flooring ramps, bathroom remodels, resurfacing and driveway. The list always goes on. Or a home might request funds just for something fun, like a special outing in the community or going to summer camp, going on just a fun weekend trip together, things like that. [00:19:48] Speaker B: Can you tell me the youth program that you've started, are any of the group homes for them, too, or are they still at home and it's just a day thing? [00:19:58] Speaker A: We do have a group home that they will be live in residence for. [00:20:04] Speaker B: And how many residents does it support? [00:20:08] Speaker A: You know, I don't know for sure. I think it is, too. But we will have that information for sure up on the website at some point. [00:20:16] Speaker B: Excellent. Yeah, I'm sure that that's, you know, that's a big deal when you get that going because you really do need, like you said, extra certifications for some of that. [00:20:30] Speaker A: Yeah. And all the modifications that go in. And it is a huge undertaking and our maintenance teams are always working around the clock on those, and it takes an endless well of funding to be able to do those things. And that's a big reason why, like, for a crisis, homes that their families that they're living with just don't have the capacity that it's expensive to make those modifications. [00:20:56] Speaker B: How many crisis homes do you have? [00:21:00] Speaker A: We have, I believe, four crisis homes. [00:21:06] Speaker B: And that's counted in with the 33, correct? [00:21:10] Speaker A: Correct. Yeah. [00:21:11] Speaker B: Okay. [00:21:11] Speaker A: That's a great question. [00:21:12] Speaker B: And the 33, are they all around the twin Cities or how far out do you go? [00:21:19] Speaker A: All throughout the metro. We have big concentrations of them in the kind of the Bloomington, Ridgefield area, the Roseville area as well. But they are scattered all over the place. [00:21:35] Speaker B: Yeah, cool. The farthest one out. But you don't have any up north, right? They're just all in the. In the vicinity of the metro area. [00:21:48] Speaker A: Yep. All in the Twin Cities metro. Great question. [00:21:51] Speaker B: Gotcha. Well, we need to talk a little bit about it. Is fundraising time for us, so we are. We are doing pledge, and it's very important that we. That you show your support, because we have been doing this show a long time and we want to keep bringing you the show. And we are truly volunteers. Charlene and I, we don't get paid. We don't. We do. We come here most weeks. I take a little bit of time off. They do let us have water. Yeah, they do. Don't they add bathrooms and a bathroom? That's right. We get water. We get bathrooms. You know, that's all good. And we get the equipment to talk to you. So that is really good. And that costs costing to keep it up. We know you cherish this, so we want to see your support. 612-375-9030 [email protected] and for all those who have donated and do year after year, thank you. Thank you for believing us in us, and thank you for doing that. We definitely know you're out there and really appreciate that. Kvi.org rg or do you remember the number 612-375-9030 it's our station. Id 90.3. So. And we do really appreciate that. So, Keller. All right, back to Keller from Wings band. I'm wondering, Keller, do you get to volunteer to do, like, do you get to work in as many of these different activities as you want, or are you kind of constrained to certain ones? [00:23:58] Speaker A: I am. I do a lot with volunteers, with our organization, and that's one of my favorite parts of my job. So I go to all of our group homes and get to see, meet the people working there, meet who's living there just through being able to help out in their yards. And, yeah, I can talk a little bit about our volunteer opportunities, if you'd like. [00:24:29] Speaker B: Keller, before you get started on, you know, your. The volunteer things, I have to tell you, I was very, very jealous to see the llama therapy that's coming up to your office. I love llamas. I actually, they're, like, one of my favorite animals, besides the cat. But I think llamas are just kind of amazing, and they just have these wonderful long necks, and they have this amazing fur that you could just touch and llama yarn. That's amazing stuff. So talk a little bit about, and by the way, all those of you who say llama yarn, they don't die. You shave the llamas and you turn it into yarn, or you sell the llama wool, and they do a lot of different things with it. But tell us about the llama therapy. [00:25:25] Speaker A: Yeah. I can't believe it, but, yeah, we have six llamas from llama mama, Minnesota, coming to our office. [00:25:32] Speaker B: I didn't even know we had a llama mama. [00:25:34] Speaker A: I'm super excited to meet them. I've never met a llama in person. [00:25:36] Speaker B: Really? [00:25:37] Speaker A: I hear they're. It's good to hear from you that they're. They're great creatures. [00:25:41] Speaker B: They're very personable or can be. [00:25:45] Speaker A: I hear they can be very chill. And, I mean, these ones, they're therapy llamas, so. [00:25:50] Speaker B: Yeah. So they probably really use it. That's right. I I remember being at this fair in this llama. I had very long hair, and this llama kept following me around. I couldn't. He'd put his head on me. All the time I'm trying to figure out, what are you doing? And turns around. I turn around, I'm like, I feel this tug, and I pull out this, like, two foot hair. But he was eating my hair, so he was really, really trying to get in touch with me, so to speak. [00:26:20] Speaker A: He's gonna try and make some sam yarn. [00:26:22] Speaker B: Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking, dude. But it was so funny that he just followed me and followed me. I had no idea he was lunching on me. [00:26:32] Speaker A: He knew you were a friend of the llamas. [00:26:35] Speaker B: Exactly. So what will happen during this time? What will they do? [00:26:41] Speaker A: Yeah. So if you join us on September 15, that's this Sunday, we'll be doing some yoga. We'll have some snacks, refreshments, and we'll have llamas from ten to 11:00 a.m. that will be at 30 East Plato Boulevard in St. Paul. The cost is $20 and this is for people of all abilities, ages eight and up. [00:27:03] Speaker B: Oh, cool. [00:27:04] Speaker A: After yoga at eleven, we'll be having a free education session about the therapy llamas. And, yeah, they're just going to be there to be pets and hugged and you can take a picture with them and learn a little bit about them. [00:27:19] Speaker B: Well, you'll have to get your first experience with llamas then. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I thought they were so much fun. [00:27:26] Speaker A: I'm so excited. [00:27:30] Speaker B: You should be. You get to see them. I probably won't be able to get there, but that's okay. Anybody who can get there and see the llamas, they are really fun. And I. Did you know that the alpaca is like the miniature llama? The alpaca. [00:27:52] Speaker A: I didn't know that they were smaller than llamas, but I think llama mama has one alpaca and I wonder if she'll be ringing it. [00:27:58] Speaker B: Oh, she might, she might. So anyway, yes, so you'll get to learn stuff. So this wingspan, let's talk about the volunteer opportunities now. I know you were dying to get into that one, so let's go. [00:28:16] Speaker A: Yeah, so I'm always dying to get into the volunteer opportunities at Wingspan and we always have them. Our biggest need is for spring, summer and fall yard cleanup. Of course, our first priority for staff living in our homes is for taking care of the people we serve. So it's not always possible for those staff to get out and take care of things in the yards, at the group homes. That's why volunteers are absolutely essential for keeping our yards looking beautiful and just like their neighbors, our clients deserve to come home to a welcoming yard. So whether it's volunteers, planting flowers, weeding, laying down mulch, breaking leaves, painting a deck, it's all a giant help. [00:29:01] Speaker B: It sounds like you won't have to clean up after llamas, so don't worry about that. [00:29:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I think some of our clients might want to get some llamas. They'll be on the next made in the shade wish list. [00:29:12] Speaker B: That's right. For our llama, for the yard. But alpacas, I think alpacas are, they can be, they're more home friendly, smaller. [00:29:22] Speaker A: Fit through the door. [00:29:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, yeah, you can just put a little pen out in the yard, you know, a little bit. [00:29:27] Speaker A: There you go. Yeah. Well, yeah, I can attest that all this is great to get out in the fresh air. And it's awesome for me to, as this part of my job, to be out with the volunteers and see the smiles on their faces as they make a difference and see our direct service professionals and clients as they come out of the homes and see a transformed yard. People can sign up as an individual or as a team. Many groups come from schools, colleges, clubs, churches. Local businesses are a huge help, and we provide all the tools and snacks needed to get the job done. [00:30:03] Speaker B: Where do they go? To find out how to get a hold of. [00:30:08] Speaker A: Somebody can get a hold of me at my email, if I'm good to give my email out here, my email is k. Carlstromingspanlife.org. and that's k a r l s t r o m, as in Mary K. Carlstromingspanlife.org. or you can find more information on our [email protected], excellent. [00:30:33] Speaker B: Do you guys ever do any, like, gardening or anything? Because I could see that being a big therapy thing for people. [00:30:40] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, we do. A lot of our houses have spring planting or summer planting, have flowers put into their landscaping, and our volunteers will go and plant some flowers or care for the flowers that are already there. Yeah. So a lot of it is just fun gardening, things like that. Actually learned a lot about gardening and landscape things just. Just through this job. So that's been an extra perk. [00:31:15] Speaker B: I could see, like, doing vegetables being a fun thing and people would, you know, really, it feels like, I don't know about you, but for me, like, I garden, I do raised bed gardens, and it just, when you get that first bunch of peas or beans or cucumbers, it's so rewarding. It just feels so great, you know, going out there. If I could just get my kid to leave enough on there for me. But, you know, it just. It's a great thing that just feels really rewarding when you're getting stuff that's coming off, that you're actually eating and. [00:31:55] Speaker A: Yeah, you earned it. [00:31:56] Speaker B: You earned it. That's right. [00:31:58] Speaker A: Yeah. One of our direct service professionals, Natin, he, at one of our crisis homes, he has the clients go out and teaches them how to garden, and they all grow all their own flowers and vegetables, and they will bring flowers to our offices after they're coming in. And that is such a great way that he's connected with the clients and to, yeah. Just provide a therapeutic and fulfilling pastime for them at the house. [00:32:34] Speaker B: Do I know that sometimes the pay grade has been hard to keep staff. Do you feel like it's getting any better? What do you see happening with, you know, retention? Staff retention? [00:32:51] Speaker A: It's still an issue. Still. Definitely an issue. And every year in March, we and many, many group home organizations throughout twin cities in Minnesota go to the Capitol to advocate for higher wages for direct service professionals. And that's just been a persistent issue. It has been increasing over the past few years. We've gotten some better health and human services funding, but we still have a long ways to go. And as many people can advocate for, direct service professional pay, I think, is a great thing, both for the people working there and the clients, just to be able to build trust with somebody who's well paid and is sticking around because of it, not having to go through all that turnover with who's caring for them. [00:33:48] Speaker B: Well, yeah. Yeah. Because not a lot of pay promotes a lot of turnover. Funny how that happens, huh? [00:33:55] Speaker A: Yep. [00:33:56] Speaker B: So I. I wish you good luck with that. I know that that's a big deal, and especially when they are. They're taking care of, you know, people who need that. I. This isn't just in your area. I mean, I know it happens to. It's relevant for the nursing homes and anything pertaining to, you know, people that are working, that kind of caregiving type of thing. So what would you like to see happen for wingspan in the future? If you were king, what would you like to see? [00:34:38] Speaker A: Well, I mean, that is kind of the. If I were king, it would be. It would be paying a respectful and deserved wage to the direct service professionals and making sure that our clients continue to receive person centered care and person centered planning in their daily lives. And that trust that they build with somebody over years can be huge. You see direct service professionals who have stayed around for a long time, they become like family to clients. So seeing. Seeing more of that and seeing everybody get the most out of their lives because of the support that they get from their state governments and from our organization would be amazing. [00:35:34] Speaker B: Yes. Yes, indeed. And I presume that, you know, people. I know, we try to. Disability in progress is a global show. I always promote that. And this is kind of. This is about our metro area in Minnesota. But this stuff is very similar to every state that has, you know, facilities that have people with disabilities in it. And some states don't even get as much as Minnesota does. I know. So I would encourage you, if you don't know what your state gets for people with developmental disabilities in a resident type situation, to do some research on that. And look, that up because it is amazing how much or how little that, that they do get so. Well, Keller, I want to thank you. Could you give one more time how people can reach you in regards to the volunteer and also another plug for made in the shade. [00:36:46] Speaker A: Yeah. First of all, made in the shade. September 21 registration at 09:30 a.m. it's Lake Bitumakaska. Come look for the sangria t shirts and you can reach me at K. [email protected] dot. [00:37:07] Speaker B: Any other things you'd like to let us know about before you go? [00:37:13] Speaker A: No. Come see the llamas at wingspan. Come hang out made in the shade. Meet our staff, meet our clients, meet the families who are hanging out there and have a good time with us. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Well, Keller, I really appreciate you being on it. I also want to shout out to Daryl, and Daryl, and thanks for helping set this up and for outlining things with everything. She's just a wonderful wealth of information and I just love working with her. So thank you. [00:37:45] Speaker A: She's the best. [00:37:46] Speaker B: Thank you, Keller. Thanks for coming on. [00:37:49] Speaker A: Thank you, Sam. [00:37:51] Speaker B: This is disability in progress and I'm Sam Jasmine and Charlene Dahl's here with me. I forgot to say that Erin is my podcaster. Thank you, Erin. I wouldn't be able to have the podcast without you. Well, maybe it would, but it'd be a whole lot harder, so you make things easy. Thank you. Well, we always love to hear from you. And you can call us at 612-375-9030 right, Charlene, when you were last at Kaya, Ethan. And we're gonna, we're gonna stop that one right now. And we were talking about our favorite things, our favorite show that may have, we may have done. And I think I really liked the show we did on measles vaccine because I, I feel kind of a passion for educating people. And I think people weren't aware so much of sometimes how things get out of hand because nobody's vaccinating or much fewer people are vaccinating. I shouldn't say nobody. Definitely people are. But we need more people out there that are doing that. So anyway, if there's things you want to hear, you can go to kfai.org and email us at disability in progressamjasmin.com. and we'd love to hear from you. And you can also pledge. So thanks for joining us, and we'll talk to you next week. If you've been listening to disability and progress, the views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of KFAI or it's board of directors. My name is Sam, and I'm the host of the show. Charlene Dahl is my research pr person. Erin is my podcaster. And you are tuned to KFAI, 90.3 FM, Minneapolis and kfai.org. and you can email [email protected]. tonight we were speaking with Keller Karlstrom from Wingspan. And special thanks to Daryl and Gray for helping set that up. We hope you're doing well and certainly take care and stay safe. Fresh fruit is up next.