
The Public Works Nerds
Your Guides to the Latest and Greatest in Public Works
Episodes
37 episodes
PFAS: Responding to the forever chemical in our drinking water supplies - Episode 1
We really nerd out in this episode as we are joined by Steve Nelson and Ryan Stempski, both from WSB & Associates, to talk about PFAS in our drinking water supplies. There is much to unpack about this complex and important issue, and this i...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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1:01:11

Rosemount's Public Works and Police Campus
A deep dive into the City of Rosemount's newly completed Police and Public Works Facility with Public Works Director Nick Egger and Oertel Architects President Andrew Cooper. They share insights on the planning, design, and construction of this...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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1:06:05

Season 3 Kicks Off with Mark Ray: Bridges, Bathtub Curves, and Global Public Works Insights.
Marc Culver returns with Season 3 of Public Works Nerds, sharing his career transition to Brooklyn Park City Engineer and welcoming back Mark Ray to discuss his recent professional journey to Australia.• Mark Ray's Australian Small Brid...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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42:05

APWA Accreditation: Shakopee's Public Works Journey with Bill Egan, Alex Jordan, and Barb Kraemer
This week we start what will become a series of podcasts chronicling the journey of the City of Shakopee, MN through the APWA Accreditation process. Shakopee decided to take this on several months ago and a couple of months into the process at ...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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39:08

Electrifying Edina: Noah Silver on EV Infrastructure and Fleet Transformation in Public Works
In our 32nd episode we are joined by the City of Edina's Master Electrician and Supervisor Noah Silver. Noah guides us through this nerd session on Electric Vehicles and the required infrastructure to support them. Join us for ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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54:20

Becoming Parks and Rec Nerds - EAB and Park and Rec Accreditation with Matt Johnson and Bryce Shearen
This week we may have to temporarily rename the podcast "The Parks and Recreations Nerds" as we welcome Matt Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Roseville. Along with my guest co-host Bryce Shearan, a colleague of mine at ...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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1:00:33

Project Communications in Public Works with Sara Renney
We are back for our 30th episode here at The Public Works Nerds! Here is the AI Generated Description. I have to call it out because I can't take credit for this prose:Unlock the secrets to transforming public perception and sec...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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49:55

Nerds Unplugged: Take 2 with Deb Heiser and Richard McCoy
Join us for Take 2 of the Nerds Unplugged where I sit down with Deb Heiser, Engineering Director for the City of St. Louis Park, MN, and Richard McCoy, Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Robbinsdale, MN. We recap the last f...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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1:06:19

Innovative Technologies in Pavement Management with Chris Evers
Episode 8 of Season 2 features Chris Evers, a 2023 APWA Top Ten Public Works Leader award winner. That's why I contacted Chris, but I'm so happy I did for many reasons. First of all, I was finally able to nerd out on pavement maintenance. But I...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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1:13:44

Technology in City Forestry with Minnetonka's City Forester Hannibal Hayes
This episode took some time to get out there! Blame vacations and some tech issues, but I am finally dropping the 7th episode in Season 2 - and its a good one! Super fan and Tree Nerd Hannibal Hayes from the City of Minnetonka, MN joins me to t...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:08:34

Raleigh's Smart City Efforts with Jim Alberque and John Holden
This week I'm joined by a Smart Cities team from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jim Alberque is the GIS and Emerging Technology Manager for the City of Raleigh and John Holden is the Smart City Manager for Raleigh. We talk about what does Smart Citie...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:06:11

St Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw and his Unorthodox Path to a PW career
In this episode I sit down with my hometown Public Works Director, Sean Kershaw. As any public works nerd knows, we are at times over critical of those that serve us where we live, and we most likely have experienced that heightened scrutiny fr...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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53:26

Nerds Unplugged February 2024: CEAM Conference, Richard McCoy and Episode Recaps
Welcome to the first Nerds Unplugged episode! Deb Heiser, Michael Thompson and Mark Ray join me as a panel of opinionated Public Works professionals talking about random issues related to Public Works. This is planned to be a monthly or s...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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1:08:42

Infrastructure Resilience with Russ Matthys - an APWA 2023 Top Ten Public Works Leader
Join us for our first of hopefully many conversations with an APWA Top Ten Public Works Leader. In this episode we are joined by a Public Works Nerds Podcast veteran, Russ Matthys. In 2023, Russ was one of 10 professionals named a Top Ten Publi...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:02:22

The State of Recycling with Eureka Recycling's Kate Davenport
Discover the transformative power of recycling and how it intertwines with community economics in our latest Public Works Nerds podcast episode. I, Marc Culver, am joined by the insightful Kate Davenport, co-President of Eureka Recycling, who n...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:09:38

Challenges and Solutions for Water Service Line Inventory with Chelsea Alger and Dave Malm
Unlock the secrets of how cities are combatting the pernicious issue of lead in our drinking water, as Chelsea Alger and Dave Malm from Bolton & Menk join us to dissect the monumental task of lead service line replacement. With the Flint wa...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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51:36

Season 1 Recap with Mark Ray
It's our 20th episode! Which is milestone in and of itself. Considering 90% of podcasts don't make it past 3 episodes, we're in pretty good company. I am joined by our first episode guest, Mark Ray, Public Works Director and City Engineer for t...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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49:22

Solid Waste: Organized Collection, Recycling and Organics with Rachel Lindholm
This week we dive into the intricate world of waste management with Rachel Lindholm, the Sustainability Specialist from the City of Richfield, Minnesota. In this episode we talk about how Richfield implemented organized collection, managed recy...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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57:56

A Conversation with the MN Chapter of APWA: Events, Committees, Strategic Plans, and Professional Development
Join us and we talk with the Officers of the Minnesota Chapter of APWA. We talk about the history of the chapter, the committees, conferences, and their strategic plan. This is a lively and fun discussion with some very dedicated and devoted pu...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:06:03

GIS and GeoAI in the world of Public Works with Adam Carnow and John Shain
In our 17th episode we talk to two GIS Nerds, Adam Carnow from ESRI and John Shain from Bolton & Menk. In the spirit of the AI movement, which we talk about in this episode, specifically GeoAI, I'm going to let the AI generated episode desc...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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1:03:12

The City Engineers Association of Minnesota and how it helps distribute MN's gas tax with Deb Heiser
In this episode Deb Heiser and I nerd out about the City Engineers Association of Minnesota, a unique organization of municipal engineers. We talk about CEAM's mission, committees and purpose. We also dive into what role CEAM plays in the distr...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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56:06

Implementing Adaptive Level Control Systems for Stormwater Ponds with Ross Bintner
Meet Ross Bittner, Engineering Services Manager from Edina, Minnesota, who has an extraordinary passion for water resources and a knack for innovation. Ross and I nerd out in this episode about a new Adaptive Level Control System that the...
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1:00:13

How To Handle A Public Works Crisis With Nick Egger
This week we are joined by Nick Egger, Public Works Director for the City of Rosemount, MN. Nick steps back to his time with the City of Hastings, MN and the management of a water contamination event in 2018. Nick talks about how they discovere...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:12:39

Exploring Pipe Condition Assessment and Trenchless Technologies with Paul Pasko
In this episode Marc and guest co-host Deb Heiser talk to Paul Pasko from Electro Scan, Inc. Paul talks about using new technologies to assess the condition of water and sewer pipes. We also talk about using trenchless techniques to rehabilitat...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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1:05:30

Traffic Engineering for Cities with Marc and Mike
Marc and Mike go solo in this episode focusing on Traffic Engineering for Cities. Leveraging Mike's years of compiling data and producing reports and guides for various traffic related issues at the City level, the Public Works Nerds tackle a c...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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58:05
