Yxe Underground

Two years ago, Saskatoon was preparing to host the Juno Awards. Covid-19 was definitely in the news, but it had not reached our community yet. All systems were ready to go celebrate the best in Canadian music. For myself, I was excited to release a pair of YXE Underground episodes highlighting the behind the scenes work it took to bring the Juno Awards to Saskatoon and to host the JunoFest concert series.All of that changed when the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Saskatchewan. The Junos were cancelled. School was quickly moved to online learning at home, and my job as Communications Leader at Sherbrooke Community Centre, a long term care home in Saskatoon, quickly focused on crisis communications. We are now two years into the pandemic and I wanted to tell that story through the lens of registered nurses in this episode. Every day, I see the incredible work performed by nurses and I know the positive impact they are having on residents, patients and families in our community and across the province. 

It's 9:30 on a cold January morning at the Saskatoon Field House and 85 year-old George Parchomchuk is right where he wants to be. He is walking on the track!For the past 20 years, George has been a member of the Coronary Artery Rehabilitation Group. He suffered his first cardiac event in 2001 and is grateful for the education and support he has received in the group. I know this because George Parchomchuk is my uncle and he sparked the idea to do this episode.CARG is a non-profit, peer support group for people who have experienced a cardiac event. It offers supervised exercise and educational programs to its members and does an excellent job of creating community here in Saskatoon. Members are easy to spot on the Field House track thanks to their bright red shirts. The significance of these red shirts is explained by Al Sather in the episode. Al, who was a member of the Saskatoon Police Service, became a CARG member in 2016 after undergoing open-heart surgery. Al is joined in the episode by CARG President, D

“It’s the hardest thing for them to walk through the door because nobody wants to be in that position. It’s their reality now. They are a bereaved by suicide person. So when they rip off that first Band-Aid and they come in, they’re just met with such warmth, caring and a level of understanding. It sort of gives them a place where they now belong. That community of belonging is so special.”This is one of the many quotes from Jill Cowan that stuck with me after our conversation. She is compassionate, full of empathy and not afraid to talk about a subject that many, myself included, feel uneasy to discuss.In 2015, Jill's 16 year-old son Max died by suicide. It was a devastating loss for Jill and her family and they looked for support to help them with their grieving. This proved to be very difficult. Jill experienced a gap in services many families in Saskatchewan have experienced when looking for support after a death by suicide. This experience sparked her to co-create, along with her friend and social worker

When I think of a fire department, I think of red fire trucks with ladders reaching towards the sky and fire fighters who are willing to sacrifice themselves to save the lives of others. All that is true with the Saskatoon Fire Department, but there is another side to this department that is making a difference in our community through empathy, dignity and respect. This episode looks at the work of the Saskatoon Fire Department's Community Risk Reduction Team. This group is lead by Assistant Chief Yvonne Raymer and supported by Chief Morgan Hackl. They are the featured guests in this episode and do an outstanding job of articulating how important this team's work is in Saskatoon.The Community Risk Reduction Team focuses on issues such as homelessness, addictions and mental health challenges. It engages our most vulnerable population through meaningful conversations and then works with other community groups such as CUMFI to ensure people who need help finding safe housing or mental health supports do not fall

For Nahanni Olson, the best way of reaching Indigenous youth in our community is through meaningful relationships, and that’s why I think she is the perfect person to lead this new University of Saskatchewan mentorship program called BIRM. She is all about relationships!BIRM stands for Building Intercultural Resilience Mentorship. The program is in the pilot stage and is partnering with two local high schools, Mount Royal Collegiate and Bedford Road Collegiate, to connect Indigenous high school students with university students. I think it's a wonderful program with so much potential to make a meaningful difference not only in the lives of high school students but in the university mentors as well.Nahanni has been making a difference in our community for years. She has been a teacher in the Saskatoon Public School Division since 2008 and spent the past four years as Bedford Road Collegiate's first Indigenous Student Advocate before taking on this new role with the University of Saskatchewan. Educators can hav

"In rural-speak: head out of the city on 22nd Street and stay on Highway 14 for about 10km."This is how Katie Suek started an email this summer when we were coordinating this podcast episode. Despite the fact that it's a short drive from Saskatoon to the Suek acreage, as soon as you step foot on Restoring 71, you do feel like you are light years away from the city.In 2015, the Suek family purchased an 80-acre acreage west of Saskatoon as a way to reconnect with nature and offer their children the opportunity to spark a love for the natural world. They used nine of those acres to build a home and left the remaining 71 in the hands of mother nature. Today, those 71 acres have become an incredible conservation and restoration project, and the really cool thing is that Katie wants you to come visit her backyard for free! Since the Covid-19 pandemic started in March of 2020, Restoring 71 has hosted hundreds of visitors, including elementary and high school students, seeking to connect with nature in a meaningful w

Welcome to Season Four of YXE Underground. I am very grateful for your support of this local, independent podcast and I am excited to be sharing another season of stories with you. We begin Season Four with an in-depth look at safe and affordable housing in Saskatoon. This is an issue that has come up time and time again throughout the podcast. Whether it is looking at mental health issues in our community or focusing on addictions, the lack of safe and affordable housing in our community comes up as a root cause of these issues. I have been looking for a way to approach the issue on the podcast for over a year now but was struggling with finding a way into the story. Luckily, I received an email from Sheri Benson this past summer. Sheri is the CEO of the United Way Saskatoon and a YXE Underground listener. She told me I should do an episode on safe and affordable housing and I said, "sure...but I will need your help!" We met for lunch and came up with three people who we thought would make great guests on th

I’m very excited to share with you a conversation I had last month with a really insightful and caring person named Lisa Grieg. Lisa is a social worker by trade and has worked as a therapist in the past. Currently, she works as a Student Affairs Professional at the College of Dentistry at the University of Saskatchewan and is about to have her second child. Lisa also has a wonderful podcast called Highlighting Real as well as a great Instagram Page with the handle Lisa Grieg Wellness. Through her Instagram account and podcast, Lisa shares stories and sparks conversations centering on mental health and wellness, but what I love about Lisa is she does this in a very authentic and genuine way. In no way does Lisa try and tell people how to feel or sell them something as a quick fix to mental health challenges. Instead, she shares what is going on in her busy life...Lisa has a husband with great musical tastes named Ross and a son, Holden…and the challenges they all face. I really admire how Lisa discusses mental

Welcome to a special summer bonus episode of YXE Underground. I hope you are having a great summer so far and are managing to stay cool in what has been a sweltering summer here in Saskatoon. I want to share with you a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a really amazing young man named John Langan. John is a member of the Canadian Military and the Saskatoon Police Service, and on July 21st, he will make his debut as an author. John has written a memoir entitled Iskoces Tipiskak. It is a remarkable look at his life, the role indigenous spirituality and culture plays in everything he does, the impact of residential schools on his family and the role indigenous peoples will play in our country’s future. In the last few months, we have all been reminded of the terrible atrocities committed on Indigenous peoples across Canada. The discoveries of unmarked graves on the grounds of residential schools in Kamloops, BC and Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan are a terrible legacy of colonization that will impac

When you walk into Saskatoon's Prince Philip School, a wave of hospitality and community hits you. It's a small elementary school tucked away in the city's south end and it holds a special place in Mindy's Macdonald's heart. Mindy attended Prince Philip as a child and now teaches kindergarten in a carefully classroom to ensure her students are kept safe during the pandemic. Seriously, I just stood in amazement at the amount of empathy and creativity Mindy put into her classroom this year. She does a wonderful job of explaining why she had to organize the space in this way during the first few minutes of the episode.My nephew, Everett, was the first person to tell me about Mindy Macdonald. He is six years-old and is in her class. He loves how enthusiastic Mrs. Macdonald is and the fact that she allows animals and plants in the classroom. After spending an hour with Mindy, I can see why my nephew thinks so highly of her.I am biased in my support of teachers. I had a brief two year career as a teacher and my wif

Jordan Stovra's character cannot be contained behind a mask and a hairnet. For the past eight years, the 24 year-old former football player has worked pretty much every job you can imagine at the Varsity Common Sobeys on 8th Street and Cumberland in Saskatoon. Whether it's cutting halibut steaks in the seafood department, collecting carts in the parking lot, checking lottery tickets or even trying his hand in the produce section, there's nothing Jordan can't do in his store. He loves his job and is a joy to be around.I've seen Jordan every weekend for the past year. My wife gives me a shopping list and off I go to the Sobeys to purchase groceries. I love doing it. It gives me purpose and makes me feel like I am in control of at least one part of my life when so many other things are no longer within my grasp. I wouldn't be able to do this without essential workers like Jordan coming into work every day to make sure the shelves are stocked. I wanted to recognize the work of grocery store workers in this pandem

On a December evening in 2017, Andrea Schick's life was thrown into chaos. The health of her four and a half year-old son, Sebastian, quickly took a turn for the worse. Doctors in Regina didn't know what was wrong and because Saskatchewan didn't have a children's hospital at the time, Andrea and her family were forced to travel to Edmonton so that Sebastian could receive care. It was in Edmonton that Andrea and her family relied on the Ronald McDonald House organization to provide the structure and support they desperately needed during Sebastian's time in the hospital.Sadly, Sebastian's story did not have a happy ending. He passed away and as you'll hear in this episode, the loss will forever stay in Andrea's heart.What will also stay in her heart is her support of the organization that helped her family through such difficult circumstances.In this bonus episode of the podcast, Andrea shares her son's story and explains how the Ronald McDonald House supported her and her family when they needed it most. She

Spend some time in the Ronald McDonald House here in Saskatoon and you will feel a lot of things.You will feel the kindness of staff as they work to serve the families that are calling the house home while going through extremely challenging times.You will feel creativity as you discover all the big and little things within the house designed to make a family's stay as pleasant as possible.And I think you will feel the strength of an organization that has people pulling in the same direction to serve families.I feel fortunate to have spent a morning back in February in the Ronald McDonald House and that I get to share that experience with you in this episode.The Covid-19 pandemic, as you will hear, has made the mission of the Ronald McDonald House (which is to provide programs for families with sick children that positively impact the health and wellbeing of the entire family) a bit more challenging to fulfill. What you will also hear are people who love what they do at the house and are working together to e

March 20th was the first day of spring and it felt like a day to be outside. I woke up early to go for a haircut and run a few errands, including picking up lunch for my wife who was at home participating in an all day zoom conference. I think seeing her sitting in front of her laptop inspired me to make the most of the afternoon and headed out for a walk.I parked off of 14th Street close to Broadway and headed towards the Broadway Bridge. I knew I wanted to end at the Remai Modern and enjoy the Meewasin Trail and River Landing, but as I approached the Broadway Bridge, I wanted to get away from the sound of cars. So I veered left towards the Traffic Bridge.I haven't walked that bridge in months and you'll hear more people and bikes in this part. I forgot how great the views are of the river on the Traffic Bridge. I also saw lots of lovely puppy dogs and it took all my strength not to walk up to them and say hello...Social distancing played a role in that decision as well!Once I hit the Meewasin Trail, I heade

"If I allow praise to be why I do this job or get wrapped up in that life-saving mentality, I would worry about the job I'm doing. You have to keep some humility."Jen Rondeau is a very humble and wise woman. As a Critical Care Paramedic, her job is to help those who need immediate medical help. She works with Air Ambulance and Road Ambulance based at Medavie Health Services West in Saskatoon's Stonebridge area. She works with others to save lives. What I quickly learned, however, is that accepting praise and then letting it go is really important for Jen and she explains why in this episode.I met Jen last summer when I walked into her yoga studio, Ivy Yoga House. Two things quickly stood out to me. The first was how welcoming the space was. Sometimes I feel intimidated in a yoga studio because I'm just not that good, but there is a great feeling when you enter the studio that instantly puts you at ease. The second was that Jen was there to greet and say hello to everyone. It's a small but I think important ex

How are you doing?It's a question I have asked my friends, my family, my colleagues and plenty of strangers during the last year. It's been a hard year for many in our community due to the pandemic. I think it's fair to say we've all had to deal with various mental health challenges. As we approach one year of the Covid-19 pandemic here in Saskatoon, it seemed like the right time to see how we are all doing in terms of our mental health. I am grateful that Samantha Horswill and Colleen McBride agreed with the timing and to appear on the podcast.Dr. Samantha Horswill is a Registered Psychologist at Chartier Arnold Shimp and Associates here in Saskatoon. Colleen McBride is a registered social worker and counsellor who has a private practice called The Practice. You might remember Colleen from a Season One episode looking at cancer care in Saskatoon. Samantha and Colleen share not only their experiences throughout the pandemic, but so much wisdom and insight when it comes to mental health. You will hear me say s

I love speaking with Scotty Dicks.In Season One of YXE Underground, Scotty appeared on the podcast to talk about his work in growing Saskatoon's culinary scene. A wonderful chef who loves collaborating, Scotty worked with different restaurants and pubs in the city developing their menus while teaching classes at The Local Kitchen and running his own catering company. He was influential in educating our community where our food was coming from and why that was important to know. At the end of that episode, Scotty revealed he was ready to get back in the kitchen and was set to open a new restaurant called Odla. In the span of a few years, it has become a staple in Saskatoon's culinary scene and has garnered national attention. Scotty and his team were really hitting their stride when Covid-19 arrived in Saskatoon. In the span of a few days, everything at the restaurant changed. The menu was revamped, a website was created and Scotty was suddenly left wondering what the future had in store.What you will hear in

I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Jodi Grant for the past four years. Jodi is a resident at Sherbrooke Community Centre, which is where I work, and her life has been full of challenges. However, one of her constant sources of joy has been reading stories out loud to students. At Sherbrooke, Jodi reads to grade six students as part of the iGen program. iGen, which is short for Intergeneration Program, is a unique partnership between Sherbrooke and the Saskatoon Public School Division. I have seen how much joy Jodi receives from reading to the students and how captivated those students are with Jodi's flare and grace for storytelling.I think reading out loud is a real art. A person can truly bring a story to life with their voice, their energy and understanding of the text. Jodi is a master storyteller and I am very grateful she said yes to my idea of having her read a Christmas story this year for the podcast.It has been a challenging year for Jodi in terms of reading out loud to this year's iGen class. D

Yulissa Campos has a wonderful presence to her. It's a mix of confidence and conviction, fuelled by a lot of passion to tell and share stories on a stage before an audience.At the age of 26, Yulissa has accomplished a great deal in Saskatoon's local theatre scene. She has written and performed plays that are uniquely her own and has started her own theatre company, Ay Caramba! Theatre. She takes pride in telling diverse stories and sharing them with people of all backgrounds, and she is working hard to ensure that newcomer and diverse voices are being heard and celebrated in Saskatoon. I felt Yulissa's presence this past summer when I was hosting a television series focusing on important issues in Saskatchewan's theatre scene. Yulissa was one of the guests for a diversity panel and right away I was just hit with her energy and insights. I knew I had to get her on the podcast! Yulissa and I met in mid-November, a few weeks after a big dump of snow. I mention this because Yulissa is from Ecuador and is no fan o

I was very excited and nervous for this interview. I mean, how often do you get to meet people who are literally trying to save the world? In my mind, Andrea Kroeker and Jill Van Kessel are superheroes and it was a real thrill to speak with them.Andrea and Jill are Research Technicians at Saskatoon's VIDO-InterVac, an organization located on the University of Saskatchewan that has been researching viruses and developing vaccines for decades. This year, VIDO-InterVac has been thrust into the global spotlight because of its work on developing a Covid-19 vaccine. I have loved reading and listening to stories about the work being done at the VIDO-InterVac facility. I think it's wonderful that national and international news organizations are paying attention to what is happening at VIDO-InterVac, and I also think the local media have done a great job of explaining why the work is so important. My friend and former CBC colleague Alicia Bridges wrote a really interesting story in August that you must read, and The