Access To Democracy

A Special Video!
This celebrates Access to Democracy’s 25th Anniversary. We have a review of many years, highlighting special guests over the years and many events and times. Special host is Don Shelby, a legendary TV Personality in Minnesota and the country!

(Thank you, Don!)

Enjoy!

Caring for some 5,000 animals at the MN Zoo is an enormous, complex responsibility. We learn a lot from Kurt Heizmann, Director of Animal Care at the MN Zoo, about how it’s done and who does it.

With host Bill Raker asking questions of curiosity, Kurt tells how the Zoo “sources” its animals; he explains the roles of “ambassador animals”; and he exposes which group of animals is “a handful to manage”.

This is a fun and informative conversation!

Eagan City Council Member, Cyndee Fields, shares her passions, experiences and perspectives reflecting on her 23+ years serving on the Council with host Bill Raker.

It’s a bit of a “civics lesson”, as we learn how Eagan’s City Government functions with elected officials, professional administrative staff, and volunteer advisory commissions all working together to develop plans, goals, strategies and actions to provide for the general common good of the community.

The results: Eagan is consistently rated highly as a “best place to live” in numerous categories.

Our health care expert, retired Mayo Clinic Dr. Geoffrey Thompson interviews Dr. Adrian Vella in this informative interview about diabetes.

Millions of Americans are either pre-diabetic or have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the number of patients dealing with diabetes continues to increase.

Dr. Vella discusses steps that you can take to reduce your risk of developing diabetes as well as how diabetes can be managed with medications and life-style changes, such as exercise and a healthier diet. Diabetes can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other health complications. Learn more about this disease from Dr. Vella.

Who’s taking care of “our portion” of the Mississippi River? Why and how are they doing it? Alex Roth, Conservation Director for Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) talks with host Bill Raker about FMR’s mission and its projects to help answer those questions.

What is so special about the River, and why is it so important to “befriend” it? The Mississippi is one of the world’s major river systems in size, habitat diversity and biological productivity; and it’s one of the world’s most important commercial waterways.

Alex explains some of the threats and challenges to the sustainability and health of the river and how friends of the Mississippi are working to protect this great asset.