County News Podcast

NACo Executive Director Matt Chase interviews County News Podcast Host Charlie Ban about a new book chronicling NACo’s first 90 years.

Commissioner Melody Villard and Economic Recovery Corps Fellow Sasha Nelson discuss the transition Moffat County, Colo. planned to diversify its economy after the closure of coal mines and a power plant decimated its property tax revenue.

Greenbrier County, W.Va. Commissioner Tammy Tincher, Cook County, Ill. CIO Tom Lynch and NACo CIO Rita Reynolds discuss the pilot CIO Reserves program, which offers IT experts to help rural counties assess their technology and cybersecurity needs.

Berrien County, Mich. ensures that all residents and visitors can access emergency services regardless of their primary language thanks to a translation and interpretation service.

Shinica Thomas, a Wake County, N.C. commissioner and a member of NACo's AI Exploratory Committee, talks about her process for learning about artificial intelligence, its limits and challenges and some applications for use in county government.

Modoc County, Calif. Supervisor Ned Coe outlines how ideas from county government have helped the U.S. Forest Service do its job.

Johnson County, Texas Commissioner Rick Bailey shares his experience in the trucking industry and as a county commissioner in charge of maintaining his roads and why heavy trucks threaten local insfrastructure. 

Mariposa County, Calif. Supervisor Miles Menetrey and Eagle County, Colo. Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry discuss the coalition building necessary for counties to succeed when much of their land is managed by the National Forest Service and National Park Service. 

Allegheny County, Pa. Director of Housing Strategies Ed Nusser introduces the 500 in 500 initiative for moving people out of shelters and NACo’s Mike Matthews discusses the county role in developing affordable housing.

Clay County, Iowa Supervisor Barry Anderson joins the County News Podcast to describe the compounding effects from a generational flood his county seat faced in June. Anderson outlines the county’s responses to the challenges and NACo Legislative Director Brett Mattson shares federal resources for counties and provides an update on legislation that could help counties facing natural disasters.

Two Southern Utah commissioners - Tammy Pearson from Beaver County and Jerry Taylor from Garfield County - discuss building relationships outside of their network of public lands officials, in hopes of educating and winning new champions.

Two county supervisors from California — Jeff Griffiths from Inyo County and Heidi Hall from Nevada County — talk about balancing serving their residents and drawing tourists to their mountain communities.

NACo President James Gore joins the County News Podcast to talk about what brought him to county government, the challenges Sonoma County, Calif. has faced while he has been a member of the Board of Supervisors and and how he views county government.

Coconino County, Ariz. Supervisor Patrice Horstman and Hawai’i County, Hawai’i Councilmember Sue Lee Loy contrast their public lands leadership experiences in very large and relatively small counties. 

Miami-Dade County, Fla. Administrative Judge Steve Leifman joined the County News Podcast to outline systems that can be put in place in counties across the country to help direct people in mental health distress toward resources that will help them receive the treatment they need.

NACo President Mary Jo McGuire spoke to the County News Podcast about National County Government Month seen through the prism of her presidential theme: ForwardTogether — connect, inspire and lead.

A handful of county officials and a federal exhibitor talked on the County News Podcast about the connections they hoped to make and what they hoped to learn during the Federal Agency Expo at the NACo Legislative Conference.