Episodes

  • TAYN Ep. 68 - Kate Herzog

    TAYN Ep. 68 - Kate Herzog
    Nov 4 2025
    Our guest today is Kate Herzog. Kate grew up in Mandan, ND and graduated high school there. She then graduated from the University of North Dakota with honors, earning a BA in Communications while working at the Grand Forks Herald and living in Downtown Grand Forks. She moved back to the Bismarck area and worked for the Bismarck Tribune before volunteering and then working for the Downtown Business Association starting in 2010.
    From there she became the Chief Operating Officer, as well as the Founder and President of the Downtown Bismarck Community Foundation 501c3 development arm, and President and Founder of the North Dakota Downtown Coalition. She currently sits on numerous public and private committees and boards throughout the Bismarck and North Dakota region. She coaches high school girls golf and teaches junior golf lessons through her work on the DJGA board.Her passion is creating and supporting great communities. Over her time working in Downtown Development, Bismarck has seen a turnaround in Downtown property values (up 150M), jobs, businesses, walkability, livability and housing. In her spare time, she loves to golf, coach, drink too much coffee and spend time with her family and friends. She is revitalizing her small 1930s cottage home and enjoys bringing it to life.
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    35 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 66 - Cassie Staiger

    TAYN Ep. 66 - Cassie Staiger
    Oct 7 2025
    Cassie Steiger is the owner of Curated Travel Co., a travel agency she launched in 2014 to offer a more personalized, concierge-style approach to travel planning. What began with destination weddings and honeymoons has grown into custom European getaways, African adventures, cruises, and warm-weather escapes—always with the same high-touch service at its core.Born and raised in North Dakota, Cassie values the small-town pace of life but has always felt the pull to explore the world—and help others do the same.

    In 2021, she was named North Dakota Women’s Entrepreneur of the Year for her innovative response to the pandemic, launching a training program to empower other travel advisors. Today, she continues mentoring advisors while planning unforgettable trips for her clients.Now entering a new season of motherhood with one daughter off to college, Cassie is embracing the change with gratitude, intention, and a few more stamps in her passport. When she’s not working or traveling with her partner Brad, she’s cheering on her youngest daughter Avery in sports, catching up over coffee, visiting her granddaughter or practicing yoga—next stop: Mexico!
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    30 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 65 - Jason Grueneich

    TAYN Ep. 65 - Jason Grueneich
    Sep 25 2025
    Jason Grueneich is fighting for HIV advocacy and recovery support in North Dakota. Drawing on his experience as an HIV-positive man who has experienced homelessness and addiction, he has helped launch and lead transformative initiatives: North Dakota’s HIV Peer Navigation Program, Bismarck’s first LGBTQ+ recovery group and the state’s first nonprofit dedicated to people living with HIV—Shine Bright & Live.

    Jason leads with vulnerability, wisdom and a strong belief in people’s capacity to heal. He is known for his magnetic presence, charismatic communication and ability to bring people together, even in tense situations. He chairs the North Dakota HIV Advisory Board, has shaped public policy around LGBTQ+ inclusion and HIV awareness and built coalitions that include doctors, police departments, libraries and faith leaders. He knows what it’s like to feel hopeless—and what it takes to walk through fire and emerge as a force for others.

    With his Bush Fellowship grant, Jason will focus on personal healing as a foundation for his growth as a leader, deepen his nonprofit leadership skills and develop a long-term vision for destigmatizing HIV in rural America.
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    33 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 64 - Tim Lucas

    TAYN Ep. 64 - Tim Lucas
    Sep 9 2025
    Tim grew up in the Bismarck/Mandan community and returned to the area about 15 years ago.
    He has lived in four other states and has a very wide resume in terms of vocations which helpedprepare him to be able to relate with virtually any group of people. He serves as Pastor at 3:16Church in Mandan, ND; which he helped plant in 2017. He also serves the first respondercommunity through Crisis Care Chaplaincy. He holds positions on two non-profit boards andfinds time to get to the golf course occasionally too. He is married to his wife, Cindi, and theyhave a Doberman named Jake, whose Sleep Number is 53. He also has an adult daughter wholives in Fargo. Tim believes in getting involved in our community and serving others.
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    31 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 63 - Sherrice Roness

    TAYN Ep. 63 - Sherrice Roness
    Aug 25 2025
    Sherrice Roness is the Students in Transition Coordinator or Homeless Liaison forBismarck Public Schools. She has been in this position for 9 years. She has been aLBSW (Licensed Social worker) in ND for 25 years. All 25 years of her career havebeen dedicated to working with at risk youth and their families. She has worked inmultiple positions including a School Social Worker on the Standing Rock Reservation, Coordinator of the South Central Juvenile Drug Court, In- Home Case Worker forBurleigh County Social Services, and a Guardian ad Litem for youth.
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    33 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 62 - Katie Cashman Fitzsimmons

    TAYN Ep. 62 - Katie Cashman Fitzsimmons
    Aug 11 2025
    Katie Cashman Fitzsimmons is exactly one half of The Cashman Auctionisters, the auctioneering sisters. Her partner in crime is her Bozeman-based sister Missy. Since 2016, Katie and Missy have auctioned at over 250 events for charities, non-profits, organizations, and individuals. Those auctions have brought in over $18,000,000, allowing those groups to further the good work they each do for their communities.

    Katie resides in Bismarck, North Dakota where she serves in her day job as the Director for Student Affairs for the North Dakota University System. In this role, she works with the 11 state colleges and universities (who enroll roughly 45,000 students) to advance all the initiatives that take place outside of the classroom. That includes substance misuse prevention, sexual assault prevention and intervention, student mental health, initiatives that support belonging and community, student health insurance, student access to voting, and many other things that pop up along the way. This would also involve briefing the State Board of Higher Education and developing policy that they approve which are in effect for the campuses. In addition to that, Katie serves on the legislative team for the System Office which consumes an inordinate amount of time every other year.

    Auctions and higher ed aside, her real full-time gig is wife to her firefighting husband Owen and mom to their three young kids, Maggie (9), Connor (8), and Tommy (5). Katie has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, used to enjoy running half marathons (ha! As if my joints would tolerate such abuse now), and holds the title of “First to all Fifty States” amongst her five siblings (but is tied with her sister Missy on the continent count). Katie loves playing cards, hiking, long walks paired with a podcast, baking, and spending time with her family. She is terrible at going to bed but really good at sleeping; she’s also terrible about planning meals but really good at eating; and she loves talking a bit game with Christmas lights but chickens out when it gets too cold and slippery.
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    36 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 61 - Amanda Yellow

    TAYN Ep. 61 - Amanda Yellow
    Jul 29 2025
    For nearly 12 years, Amanda has served as the Sales & Marketing Manager at the Bismarck Event Center, where she gets to do what she loves most: connect with people, support our community, work in the entertainment business and help bring unforgettable events to life. Before this role, she got her start at Agency MABU as a college intern, then joined the team full-time. From there, she took on a management role at AAA Travel and Insurance and later worked with Rasmussen College as a Professional Development Coordinator — each experience helping her to learn how to lead, collaborate, and grow.

    Amanda earned her bachelor’s degrees in Business Communications and Business Administration from the University of Mary, and went on to complete her Master’s in Management and Organizational Behavior from Benedictine University in Chicago. Along the way, she also became a proud graduate of the Bismarck-Mandan Leadership Academy and was honored to be named the Bismarck-Mandan Business & Professional Women’s Foundation “Woman of the Year” in 2016. Amanda was also the Sakakawea Award winner for the Young Professionals Network and most recently was recognized by the Dakotas-Manitoba Minnesota Optimist District in 2018 as the Optimist of the Year and then the Bismarck Optimist Club 2022 Outstanding Optimist of the Year.

    Outside of work, she loves giving back. Amanda has served on many different boards and volunteered in different capacities in the community, but some of her most favorite include coaching Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer for Bismarck Special Olympics, volunteering her time with the Bismarck Optimist Club on many different projects including the annual Easter Egg Hunt and Bowling Tournament and her previous involvement with the Young Professionals Network. In her free time, she enjoys camping, traveling and spending time with her husband, two kids and mini-labradoodle.
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    37 mins
  • TAYN Ep. 60 - Megan Dooley

    TAYN Ep. 60 - Megan Dooley
    Jul 14 2025
    Megan Dooley is an occupational therapist and the founder of Innovative Therapy Solutions & Consulting, a mobile outpatient clinic that brings therapy and support directly to people across North Dakota—especially in rural and underserved areas. She specializes in working with individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, brain injuries, and other neurological conditions, helping them stay safe, independent, and connected to their communities.

    Megan is a proud member of the Bismarck Parkinson’s Support Group Board and collaborates with the Alzheimer’s Association and North Dakota Brain Injury Network to offer education, support, and hands-on therapy to individuals and their care partners. Her passion lies in walking alongside families through life’s hardest transitions—offering both expertise and encouragement when it’s needed most.Whether she’s adapting a home to support aging in place, leading wellness groups, or mentoring other healthcare providers, Megan is rooted in the belief that strong communities start with neighbors looking out for each other.

    When she’s not working, Megan enjoys coaching and playing volleyball, boating, camping, and spending time with her family. She’s proud to call Bismarck/Mandan home and to be part of the network of helpers that keep this region strong.
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    31 mins