My co-host Gina Lombardi and I realized that we were in the middle of the most life-changing interruption, as we all were in lockdown.

And the more we thought about it and realized– I’m interrupted a thousand times a day as a mother with kids, and she’s interrupted with her life and family and work– it’s a pretty common theme that many people experience.

We’re all interrupted in life, and it’s inevitable.

But it’s how we pick ourselves up again, and how we use those interruptions to learn and grow to become the biggest, boldest, best version of ourselves.

“Health Interrupted” covers all sorts of health topics and interruptions– mental health, spiritual health, physical health.

We’ve talked to people who have faced really traumatic accidents, people who have various diseases or disabilities.

We really covered the gamut of interruptions, but we tried to stick to mental, spiritual and physical health interruptions.

Click below to listen to Health Interrupted on your favorite audio platform:

1. Jeff Mauro, known as “The Sandwich King” on Food Network, says that the grilled cheese sandwich from Mars Cheese Castle is one of the 8 best sandwiches in the country.

2. Car manufacturer AMC, in a partnership with Renault, developed the Renault Alliance in the early 1980s, which won “Car Of The Year” in 1983 from Motor Trend.

3. Take a ride down the Pike Bike Trail to see three spots on the National Register Historic Districs, Lake Michigan, and historical lighthouses.

4. Kenosha is home to a number of famous people including actors Mark Ruffalo, Orson Welles, inventor Thomas B. Jeffery, Chef Tony Mantuano, and Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler.

5. Native Americans originally called Kenosha “Kenozia”, or “place of the Pike.”

6. Kenosha ranks in the top 50 high tech economies nationwide, and high tech industries add nearly $3.5 billion into the local economy.

7. Franks Diner in Kenosha appeared on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

8. Kenosha is close to Milwaukee, but is actually part of the United States Census Bureau’s Chicago combined statistical area and metropolitan statistical area.

9. The last stop on Chicago’s Union Pacific North Metra Line is Kenosha.

10. There’s a prehistoric woolly mammoth skeleton featured in an exhibit at the Kenosha Public Museum, and is estimated to be 14,5000 years old.

11. Kenosha is a great place to meet your neighbors! We hosted a free summer concert on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at Pennoyer Park with performances from Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., Joe Piscopo and more.

Here’s a great recap of the concert from my friends at Kenosha News:

WATCH NOW: Miss America and Kenosha native Laura Kaeppeler’s star-studded Celebrate Kenosha event weathers storm

Gregory Berg:

You’re listening to The Morning Show on WGTD-HD, Your Gateway to Public Radio. I’m Gregory Berg.

And what a happy day it is for me to be reconnecting with Laura Kaeppeler. And of course, many of you know that name very, very well as Laura Kaeppeler, originally from Kenosha, proud Carthage graduate, and Miss America 2012. And Laura has extended a very generous hand to the city of Kenosha and to her alma mater, with the Laura M. Kaeppeler Scholarship Fund. And we’re going to be talking with her about what prompted her to do this, we’ll look back at her time at Carthage College, and why she felt like she wanted to do this for future Carthage students. Laura Kaeppeler, we welcome you back to The Morning Show!

Laura Kaeppeler:

Thank you, Greg, thanks so much for having me.

Gregory Berg:

I’m just so happy to be hearing your voice again. And also to have such a happy topic to be talking about. So before we talk about the scholarship fund, let’s kind of turn the clock back to when you were looking at colleges. And what prompted you ultimately to select Carthage? You are from the class of 2010. So I assume we’re talking about the years of 2005 or 2006, that you’re first looking at colleges. What were you looking for? And what did you think Carthage would have to offer you?

Laura Kaeppeler:

Well, I was looking for a great music program, first and foremost. I had grown up with music and was a vocalist and knew that I wanted to pursue my higher education in music. So a stellar Music Department was what I was looking for number one.

Number two, I went to a really small high school. I went to St. Joe’s. Well, now St. Joe’s the Catholic Academy, when I went there with called St. Joe’s, in Kenosha, so I really enjoyed a small community where everyone knew one another, you know your teachers pretty well. And the school community, everyone knew each other’s names. And so I was looking for that environment in a college as well.

I’m also from Kenosha, so I enjoyed the idea of being home and being able to be close to my family, who I’m very close to. And so, for me, Carthage was checked all of those boxes, and ultimately became such a great decision because I look back at my time there and have such wonderful memories of meeting my college dorm roommates who are still my best friends to this day. We’ve been in each other’s weddings and through the good and the bad of life.

And then I think about my music education and how that has helped me to go on in professional settings to really be able to hold my own, among other very impressive musicians. So I look back at my time at Carthage with nothing but fond memories, and am so grateful for the experience.

Gregory Berg:

I’m just curious, you came from Kenosha, and you could have made the decision as some Kenoshans or Racinians do to live at home. But you chose to go to, sort of dive pell-mell into a full collegiate experience living on campus. Can you take us back to making that particular choice? And what was behind that choice?

Laura Kaeppeler:

Well, I love my family, but I didn’t know that I wanted to stay with them for four years. While I was in college, I think I just wanted a normal college experience living on-campus, living in the dorms, and I think quite a few people do that. A lot of people who go to Carthage who are from the area still live in the dorms, and that experience is really valuable. I don’t know that I would be able to look back at my college experience and feel like it was the same had I not had the on-campus experience.

Gregory Berg:

You were a music major at Carthage. But of course, Carthage is a liberal arts school and so you end up studying a number of other things outside of the major. I mean, that is what a liberal arts education is all about. Do you have one or two high points that you look back on in terms of what you studied at Carthage outside of the specific music major that you were pursuing?

Laura Kaeppeler: 

Actually, I do remember a lot of courses that I enjoyed outside of music. And you know, Greg, that music is so all-encompassing that it’s sporadic how you have your general education courses mixed in with all of your music courses. But I do remember my sociology course, Sociology 101 with Ellen Hauser. And I loved that class. I loved it so much that I even thought about possibly minoring in sociology. I loved my professor, and that’s part of the Carthage experience as well. Even though you’re in a certain department, you have interactions that are meaningful outside of that department. Even though music was my focus, you have those other strong interactions that I don’t know if you find in other campus settings.

Gregory Berg:

There are certainly places you can go and major in something, but that becomes really your sole focus. And, and a place like Carthage is, is a place where you will experience a lot of other things. But I certainly want you to say a word about some of the most powerful experiences you had within your music major. And you don’t have to go on and on about singing Pamina in “The Magic Flute” and Opera workshop, although that’s, of course, a very pleasant memory for me and for everybody who was part of that. But aside from that, what would be some of the high points in terms of experiences you had as a music major at Carthage and, and maybe people who paid played an important role in some of those experiences for you?

Laura Kaeppeler:

Well, first and foremost, the music department faculty played the biggest role. And I speak for many of my friends who I’m still in close communication with that we all look back at our time in the music department so fondly, because of our professors. Because that is really where the heart and soul of the music department is starting there. And so I look back at all of our time with you in rehearsals and choir rehearsals just so fondly and had and we had so much fun.

But next to that, I would definitely say the Christmas festivals are another experience in the music department that I look back at so fondly. They are so professionally done, and so beautifully orchestrated and put together. That was always a high point as a music student myself.

But beyond that, our recitals and to have all of the different travel experiences abroad that the music department has offered, really helped shape all of us, my friends that I’m still close to, into really great overall musicians.

And I don’t know that I really understood that until I moved out, until after I graduated and was in the real world, how the Carthage music education really creates a strong overall musician with great musicianship skills. And working with other musicians in Los Angeles and in other parts of the country that maybe didn’t have a music education background, don’t always have that same understanding of musicianship skills. I think that’s a really impressive component of the music department.

Gregory Berg:

Nicely said, for those of you just joining us, I’m speaking with Laura Kaeppeler, who is a 2010 graduate of Carthage College and of course, 2012 was crowned Miss America.

We need to talk about the scholarship that is in your name. But first, I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t take a moment here to just have you reflect on that extraordinary adventure you had being Miss America. And when you look back at it now, it’s not quite 10 years ago, but nearly 10 years ago. I wonder how you view that whole adventure and experience now, with 2020 hindsight, what did that mean to you? What did that experience mean to you?

Laura Kaeppeler:

I do look back at it through a different lens now that I’m approaching 10 years, which I hadn’t really thought of until you said that. Time has flown by! But it was an amazing experience. And I was able to travel and meet so many different people that were doing incredible things. I really look back and feel proud of the work that I was able to do with my platform, to advocate for at-risk youth, and all of the nonprofits that I was able to work with through my platform.

And then I look back at all the other experiences that I would have never had in life. All of the public speakings, meeting and greeting people and composing yourself to be in front of a crowd, which also stems back to my Carthage music experience, performing and being on stage really lends itself well to the Miss America experience.

Miss America is approaching its 100th anniversary this year. And so I hope that the tradition continues, as an older woman now I look back at it through a different lens. Sometimes I wonder if the woman I am today would be brave enough to do some of the things that I did back then! I was very young and maybe a little naive, but it worked out. And it was a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and I certainly wouldn’t be who I am today had I not experienced it.

I really hope that the program is able to continue and carry on the amazing tradition that it’s been able to sustain for almost 100 years now.

Gregory Berg:

And it’s wonderful to have you be part of that great story. So let’s talk about these scholarships, eight of which will be available to freshmen entering Carthage College.

Laura Kaeppeler:

The eight scholarships are the Carthage Kenosha scholarships. And Carthage created a scholarship in my name after I became Miss America, which is the Laura Kaeppeler Kenosha scholarship, and that’s one of the eight full-tuition scholarships under the Kenosha scholarships umbrella.

And so what I wanted to do after Kenosha had such a difficult year, not only with the pandemic but also with all of the social unrest and rioting, I really felt compelled to give back to a community that has given so much to me, and has supported me for so long.

And one of the ways I could give back was to create an additional scholarship at Carthage called the Laura M. Kaeppeler scholarship fund, which is an endowment that will help the Laura Kaeppeler Kenosha scholarship live on in perpetuity.

Gregory Berg:

Fantastic. And I thank you for clarifying that. So let me ask again, did anything, in particular, serve as a catalyst for you to want to extend your generosity in this way?

Laura Kaeppeler:

I have been thinking about it for quite some time. And I think this last year, we’ve all just been trying to get through the pandemic, and we’ve all been holding on for dear life to just try and get through.

I have two little kids, and so I was just really focused on my family for this last year. But now as the dust is settling and we’re seeing normal life carry on a little bit, and things go back to normal, there was the notion of wanting to give back for quite some time. I was feeling like this was the time to do it, now that the dust has settled. It’s just felt like a nice time, and something that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time.

Gregory Berg:

And I know that at carthage.edu there is all kinds of information available on what is involved in applying for any of these scholarships. And this is a scholarship that we’re talking about for the following school year. And we hope that people will seek out information and, and investigate this really exciting possibility. I should think that when it comes to something like legacy and leaving something behind, you feel really good that your legacy can include this.

Laura Kaeppeler:

It does, and that’s a funny notion– your legacy, and what you want to leave behind. It feels it feels really nice to give back and especially to a place like I said, that has been so supportive and encouraging of me. And it’s so nice to talk to you Greg because I think back of my time at Carthage, and you pop into my mind right away, and so many other professors that I still talk to pretty frequently. So thank you for talking with me about it.

Gregory Berg:

Laura Kaeppeler, 2010 graduate of Carthage College, and of course, Miss America for 2012. Laura, great to hear your voice again! Very best wishes to you and yours, and thanks for being part of The Morning Show today.

Laura Kaeppeler:

Thanks so much for having me, Greg!

About Laura Kaeppeler

Laura Marie Kaeppeler is a nationally recognized performer, advocate for at-risk youth, and inspirational speaker, originally hailing from Kenosha, Wisconsin. In 2012, Laura Kaeppeler became the 86th woman to be crowned Miss America and the second Miss America from Wisconsin. As Miss America, Laura became the Goodwill Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and her personal platform, Advocating for Children of Incarcerated Parents.

An acclaimed classical vocalist, Laura has been a featured soloist with orchestras across the country and has performed the national anthem at numerous sold-out venues, including Angel Stadium, Lambeau Field, Miller Park, Wrigley Field, and Yankee Stadium. Laura has also performed for members of the United States Armed Forces and their families with the USO. Laura is passionate about advocating for children of incarcerated parents and has been invited to speak at The White House and partner with organizations including the U.S. Dream Academy, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America, Operation Open Arms, and others.

Laura Kaeppeler is a 2010 graduate of Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Music and Vocal Performance. For more information, visit https://laurakaeppeler.com/about

About Gregory Berg

Gregory is the host of The Morning Show on WGTD 91.1 FM Kenosha, and is also a member of the Carthage College music faculty. Listen to interviews with local and national authors, newsmakers, and intriguing members of the community. Learn more at https://www.wgtd.org/program/talk/morning-show.

I’m thrilled to announce the conclusion of the Health Interrupted Podcast’s first season, featuring an interview with world-class ‘Soul Surfer’ Bethany Hamilton.

I co-host the podcast with my friend, celebrity fitness trainer Gina Lombardi, and together we have uncovered inspiring stories from real people discussing how they’ve overcome health interruptions in their lives.

Featuring guests like Clint Malarchuk (NHL goalie, tragic accident and suicide survivor and now mental health advocate), Stephani Victor (actress turned Paralympic Gold Medalist), Cory Smith (aka Miracle Man and survivor of four brain surgeries after a basketball injury), Bryan Anderson (American Veteran of the Iraq War and triple amputee), the finale celebrated the milestone 25th episode with great tips and an amazing Call to Action from Bethany Hamilton.

Bethany Hamilton has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of determination, faith, and hope. At 13, Bethany lost her left arm to a 14-foot tiger shark, which seemed to end her career as a rising surf star. One month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water and had won her first national title within two years. In 2007, she realized her dream of surfing professionally, and since then, her story has been told in a New York Times best-selling autobiography and the 2011 film, Soul Surfer. You can also watch her documentary called UNSTOPPABLE on Netflix. Bethany is involved in numerous charitable efforts, including her own foundation, Friends of Bethany, which reaches out to amputees and youth, encouraging and offering hope to overcome through Jesus Christ. Using her platform as a professional athlete to promote living a fit and healthy lifestyle, she authored Body and Soul in 2014. Bethany’s latest project, Unstoppable, a surf documentary that showcases her as one of the best women surfers in the world, was released theatrically in the USA on July 12, 2019, accompanied by a photo book and a children’s book. Passionate about helping young women be unstoppable in life and faith, Bethany has launched a new website and online course for sharing content and facilitating connections. Her greatest joy is being a wife and mother, and she continues to touch and inspire lives globally as a professional surfer and motivational speaker.

You can listen to Health Interrupted Podcast on any audio streaming platform and Healthintrruptedpodcast.com. It is available on iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, GooglePlay, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Audible (July 28, 2021). Every Wednesday, you can check out a new episode with the ladies as they talk to real people who achieved wellness despite health setbacks big and small, as well as experts who reveal their secrets to optimal health. If you’re struggling to get your health back on track or already have a solid health plan but are looking for tips and bio hacks, this podcast is for you.

Health Interrupted is a community that supports, encourages, and inspires all of our listeners to live their healthiest life. They get down to the grit of the matter and share usable information in all areas of wellness, nutrition, fitness, workouts, mental and spiritual health, and of course, products they love that add value to your life!

There’s always a fad diet, and people always think there’s a shortcut that you can take.

And the truth is, you’ve got to eat well, and you have to exercise.

There’s really no getting around that, and those two things haven’t changed.

I don’t think they ever will.

But sometimes we get interrupted by life, family or even health challenges.

That’s why Gina Lombardi and I created the Health Interrupted Podcast, which is where talk to real people who have achieved wellness despite health setbacks.

We also interview experts who reveal their secrets to optimal health.

So if you’re struggling to get your health back on track or already have a solid health plan but are looking for motivation and inspiration, this podcast is for you.

Listen here https://healthinterruptedpodcast.com/

The second overlooked factor to good health is this: sometimes we can lack dedication.

And so when you get down or it’s hard to get your exercise in that day, or stick to a meal plan, we give up easily.

So I think dedication and knowledge are the two biggest ways in which we don’t succeed.

Here’s my interview on WKLH radio.

So if you’re a Kenosha student applying for college, take a look at Carthage College and the Kenosha scholarships that are available.

Carthage College is an amazing school, and to this day, I still keep in touch with many of my professors and friends.

Carthage really helped shape who I am today, I learned so much about music and performing from the faculty at Carthage, and my music studies program.

And I’ve always remembered who’s helped me along the way, and where I come from.

I think that’s really important.

So giving back just feels natural and wanting to help kids who have gone through a hard time with the pandemic too, is something that I feel passionately about.

I know the cost of college can be overwhelming at times, and having gone through the pandemic I know that a lot of students are facing struggles.

So the Laura Kaeppeler Scholarship at Carthage College is a way that I can give back.

To this day, I get letters from all the students that have received that scholarship, and that’s really cool to see what they’re up to and what they’ve studied.

So if I could help in just a little way, I’m really grateful!

What drew you to the Miss America program, and motivated you to enter?

When I first competed in Miss Kenosha, I was actually recruited by a friend of mine who was in the music department with me at Carthage College, we were both in choir, and we both were vocalists.

And she suggested that I compete because they had a talent portion of the competition, and also had a scholarship portion of the competition.

So she said, “You could do really well because you’re a singer. And if you’re looking to earn some scholarship dollars, you can do so through this program.”

So I had grown up attending the Miss Kenosha pageant, and like I said, Kenosha is such a small, close-knit community that the Miss Kenosha pageant was a community ordeal!

And a lot of people would go to watch. But I never thought of entering myself.

It wasn’t until I was in college, about 21 years old, and realized that I was going to be graduating soon with a lot of student loans.

So it became a perfect opportunity to pay off some student loans, and an opportunity to perform.

And the more I learned about the organization, it really was an opportunity to give back and do some good.

What advice would you have for anyone considering entering a pageant?

I’ve worked with a lot of girls through the years who have wanted to enter a pageant, and my best advice is to be yourself.

I think young women think they have to conform to a stereotypical “pageant person”. And that’s not really the case!

I think the young women who do the best are the ones that haven’t had a lot of experience in that world and who can just be themselves.

It should be fun and you shouldn’t have to change who you are to feel like you fit into doing that.

What was it like working with the United Service Organizations during your time as Miss America?

Traveling as Miss America was one of the most incredible experiences because I was able to do so much, and meet so many amazing people.

And one of those incredible organizations was working with the military in the USO.

I visited military bases all around the country, and I was able to perform for some of the troops at the bases that I went to.

The gratitude you feel when you actually are in the space that our troops spend most of their time is remarkable.

And so to this day, I still thank the men and women I see who are out and about in uniform. I always shake their hand and thank them for their service because it’s important.

Describe the experience of performing the national anthem at iconic places like Wrigley Field and Yankee stadium?

Those were really great experiences as a vocalist. My goal was to place in the top 10 in Miss America, so that I could sing on national television.

And then actually winning and being able to perform across the country at places like Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field and other stadiums across the country was a dream come true.

That’s just the icing on the cake for any singer!

I was happy to organize this free summer concert, together with generous sponsorships by ULINE and Carthage College.

The event featured classics from the “All American Songbook”, performed by an all-star cast backed by Wisconsin’s Water City Jazz Orchestra at the park’s bandshell.

Here’s my recap!

Dark clouds rolled in along the Lake Michigan coast and threatened the show’s 1 p.m. Sunday start time. After huddling backstage with the show’s production team, organizers made the decision to have show opener Joe Piscopo kick off on time to reward the waiting crowd rather than postpone for the rain that was quickly approaching.

Piscopo, the “Saturday Night Live” legend best known for starring alongside friend and castmate Eddie Murphy, started his set with a heartfelt salute to our active duty and military veterans, police, fire, and first responders in attendance. Piscopo performed a swinging rendition of the National Anthem before the show was put on a temporary weather hold.

Attendees were given just enough time to make it to their cars for shelter before the rain started, with a promise that the show would resume just as soon as the fast-moving storm passed.

About 45 minutes later, the rain was gone, the sun was shining, the stage was dry and “Jersey Joe” Piscopo resumed his set with his tribute to Frank Sinatra, who he had lovingly impersonated with Sinatra’s approval on Saturday Night Live (Sinatra once called Piscopo the “The Vice-Chairman of the Board”).

The TV, movie and radio star wrapped up his set behind the drum kit, pounding out the Buddy Rich classic “Sing, Sing, Sing”.

American Idol alum Haley Reinhart took the stage next, wowing the crowd with her powerful vocals and stunning stage presence on her million-selling version of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” and Peggy Lee’s sultry “Fever”.

Next, attendees took a trip back to the 1950s with the longtime former lead vocalist of the legendary Platters Joe Coleman. The dapper showman took the audience on a trip down memory lane with a powerhouse take on “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and the Platters very first number one hit record, “Only You”.

Coleman then introduced me, and by the way we recently recorded a new duet together in LA (more on that song to come!) I performed a rendition of the George Gershwin classic “Embraceable You”, which

Hollywood-based jazz singer Dave Damiani hit the stage next, and took the audience on a musical trip to his frequent stops of Las Vegas and Atlantic City with the Four Seasons classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”. The old school vocalist was joined for a duet with Oshkosh jazz vocalist and Michael Bublé protege Erin Boheme on a smoky “Nice ‘n’ Easy”.

Donny Most was up next, and he received an especially warm Wisconsin welcome. Most will forever be known for his iconic role as jokester Ralph Malph on the TV classic “Happy Days” which was set in nearby Milwaukee. Most surprised attendees with his powerhouse vocals on Great American Songbook classics, and with his touching tribute to his friend and late Happy Days co-star Al Malinaro. The Kenosha native played the owner of Arnold’s Diner, “Big Al” Delvecchio.

Most welcomed “America’s Got Talent” season six winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. for a duet on the Sinatra classic “That’s Life”. The singer of Sinatra and Soul classics tore through a set of songs and stories of his rags to riches story (Murphy was once homeless, and was working as a car washer when he auditioned for AGT) before wrapping up his set with the crowd favorite “My Way”.

The entire Celebrate Kenosha cast then took to the stage for a rousing rendition of “New York, New York” and was rewarded with an extended standing ovation from the enthusiastic audience. One smiling event attendee remarked as they were leaving the park that they couldn’t believe that much talent was on one stage, for a free show, “in Kenosha of all places!”

I hope to make “Celebrate Kenosha” an annual event! Hopefully you feel this way too.

Click here to view the photos on Facebook.

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