Show: On The Town Station: KNCO File: 9:18.mp3 Air date: 2026-09-18 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 30.6 MB to 6.1 MB --- transcript --- 1133, 69 degrees, and it's time to connect with Tom Fitzsimmons at Grass Valley Brewing. Good morning, Tom. Well, good morning, Moe. Yes, Grass Valley Brewing Company in downtown Grass Valley, always a great place to be. You know what? A couple of things about Grass Valley Brewing, this really basic stuff, family place. Really encourages the families to come in here and enjoy themselves. It's also dog-friendly outside in their kind of garage area, I guess you could say, where dogs are allowed, but also the patio has been rocking and rolling all summer long here in Grass Valley, without a doubt. They're actually changing... You know, it's very rare I walk over here and see Megan up on a pedestal where she belongs. Now, Megan, I don't know if you realize this, but Tom was here. And then he disappeared. But I think he's coming. I think it has to do with menu changes that are happening here at this restaurant. Tom, how are you doing, sir? Are we on? Yes, we are. Hey, good morning. How are you, Tom? I'm doing fine. How about you? Outstanding. You ran away because you said, where's the effect? Menu change. Yeah, I wanted to make sure I was talking with Chef Moritz about what we've got coming up. So when there's a menu change, does the chef tell you, you tell him, or you work together on this? We all work together and come up with different ideas based on what public opinion is asking us. We'd like to see this on the menu, what different options we don't have or we'd like to see. And we base it off of that. Does it have to do with temperature outside, things like that, or what? Well, sometimes, yeah. Absolutely more heartier meals coming this time of year and stuff, and then more lighter fare throughout spring, summer. Megan up on a pedestal is kind of nice. You know that? She's like a little statue up there. She's been on a pedestal for almost nine years now because she's been here since the very beginning. She's like a cornerstone. She's like the fabric. She's part of the interior design, in my opinion. All right, yeah. So what's she doing up there? She's just changing the menu board around to make things more visible. We have our new, or our old, but back again, our Citra Ass Down just came out today. Say that again? Citra Arse Down. Okay. Right? That's our cold IPA, flooded with a lot of Citra hops. Our Fest beer just came out a couple days ago. It's fantastic, and we'll be serving that until it runs out, which that will coincide with our Oktoberfest celebration coming up on September 26th. Very cool. And don't forget the Downtown Beer Fest, October 3rd. That's coming up. Oh, we also have a Bohemian Pilsner coming up in a couple weeks. That's going to be a lot of fun. You're rocking and rolling here. We're changing it up as we go. What's on the menu change? Anything big? So he's looking at more of like kind of maybe some Asian-inspired options, like an Asian chicken salad wrap. Oh, yeah. And we're talking about adding other wrap options. And actually, the secret menu is a Philly cheesesteak, but ask for a Philly cheesesteak wrap. Philly cheesesteak wrap. It's unbelievable. I like how you're whispering this. I know, because it's like on a couple. It's on the DL menu. It's kind of like In-N-Out. On the down low. Right, yes. On the down low. So he's going to— See, I stay right with you there. You understand. Yes. Now we have Von Mee is going to be back. He's going to do his bao bao sliders that he's done before. And we're going to do pork rinds, cracklings. Very good. Yeah. Oh, man, that's all good stuff. Oh, and new hours. We've got new hours coming up. We're going to start opening for lunch hour. So we'll be open at 1130, seven days a week. Seven days a week? Yep, starting—Megan? October 5th. October 5th. Yes, I've heard that before. I think I did, too. From the pedestal girl. Oh, my short term's caught up with me. Yes, yes. Yes, we just got to get some medication for you, that's all. Yeah. By the way, I'm just curious about one thing up there. I saw a pickle popper thing or something. What is—am I looking at that right? It's kind of— Michelada. Yeah, so that's a regular michelada with our house michelada mix. And we add pickle brine to it. What is michelada? Michelada. What does that mean? It's like a Bloody Mary, like a red beer. A red beer, okay. Spanish style, but more spicy. B, C. Yeah. All right, yeah. It's probably in, yeah. I can go bilingual on you, right? And we also—actually, the lager, which is down now, since the fest beer is on, you can actually ask for that beer, too, with a splash of pickle juice in it. Pickle beers are fantastic. Especially on a hot summer day, and you've been out working all day, you get some electrolytes in your beer. Yes. Well, starting October 5th, this is the place to be for lunch. You know what? I always find parking here. I really do. Maybe I time it good, but I always find parking. I do, too, incredibly. Yeah. Yeah, in front of the firehouse. I block the firehouse. Well, that's all right. They don't have no calls. Well, we rent it. Yeah. And this is the place to be, because the service is great. You have Megan on a pedestal when you come in. You can't beat it. We have a great, great crew here, and they do fantastic customer service, and we're very fortunate for that. What's your neighbor's name? Yeah, Pedestool. Oh, Pedestool. I could mean a lot of things, but I don't know if that's good. Yeah. We probably can't go there on air. Yeah, I know. I appreciate it, Tom. Well, thanks for hosting us here on the town. Anytime. We love having you guys. All right. Thanks, Tom. Great being here. All right. We're going to take a quick break, check in on Wall Street, then we're talking the duck race. Yes, it is this weekend. I think it's the highlight of the entire weekend. We'll be right back. It is 1139 and 69 degrees, and time to chat with Rick Fisher, financial advisor with Ostro Financial Consultants, LPL Financial, member SIPC. Yeah, the duck race, that's one of the things going on. And, Rick, we've got the Draft Horse Classic and the Constitution Day event. Busy weekend. And the Yuba River cleanup is going on tomorrow, and also it's Nifty Kitty Day at Sammy's Friends. You can go meet up and maybe adopt a kitty. I guess, in a cat's case, they adopt you. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. So don't get out there too much because we don't want you overworked. We need you back on Monday with your updates. Okay. Well, I appreciate that. And speaking of which, how's it looking today? Well, we're in an improving market, but still a mixed market. The Dow is still down, down just now 105 points to 51,673. S&P 500 is off a little more than three points to 7634. The NASDAQ was positive, went negative, is positive again, but statistically flat up less than six points to 26,424. Taking a look at commodities, we've got crude oil off about $1.29 to $95.95 a barrel. Gold's up $29 to $4,428 an ounce, with silver up almost 2%, up $1.26 to $67.36 an ounce. And last but not least, we've got the 10-year Treasury yield at 5% even. So that's where we are this beautiful late summer Nevada County afternoon. Actually, morning. Yes, but not for long. And we'll count on you to update us on the final numbers for the week right after the 5.30 newscast this afternoon. So until then, this has been Rick Fisher of Ostroff Financial Consultants Incorporated, LPL, inviting you to call us at 273-4425 and discover the difference when you think beyond investments. Have a wonderful afternoon. Rev up your weekend at the California Crossroads Car Show. Saturday, September 26, the Crossroads Church parking lot comes alive with an incredible collection of cars and trucks, from classic American hot rods and vintage muscle cars to European classics, newer rides, and everything in between. Whether you're a serious collector, a weekend gearhead, or just love checking out beautiful cars, there's something for everyone. Bring the entire family. General admission is free. Enjoy the cars, family-friendly activities, live music, kids zone, art show, great raffles, vendors, food, and more. All while supporting a great local cause, the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Cancer Center. Special thank you to our title sponsors, Grass Valley Provisions and Holtz Collision. Got a vehicle you'd love to show off? Cars and trucks of all years, foreign or domestic, are welcome, and registration is available online. It's the California Crossroads Car Show. Saturday, September 26 from 9 to 2 at Crossroads Church. 10,042 Wolf Road in Grass Valley. Get all the details or register your ride at cccarshow.com. Alright, welcome back out of the town, Tom Fitzsimmons here at the Grass Valley Brewing Company. Always a great place to be, and it's very exciting, October 5th, they're going to be open 11.30, seven days a week for lunch, so a great place to be. As Kevin Miller's here, he's the president-elect of the 49er Rotary Breakfast Club. It is tough to concentrate with the kind of barbecue smell coming on, isn't it? I'm telling you, Tom, it's just a wonderful smell and just a great environment in here. You just walk in and you're ready to order some barbecue and a beer, but really nice environment here. What's really nice about Kevin, he kept his tennis shoes on because I was going to check for web feet, because he has a couple of different roles coming up. One is ductator, because the 49er Rotary Club Duck Race is coming up this weekend. That's right, and so as president-elect, one of your duties is, they call it the ductator, and you really are responsible for the oversight of the duck race, which is this Sunday, September 20th, as part of the Constitution Day Parade. As you know, Tom, it's one of the 49er Rotary Club's biggest fundraisers, and really, really important in regards to how we operate in getting money back to the community through the form of scholarships and community programs. Beyond that, just the fundraising piece, it's just a great day and a lot of fun if you're out there participating in the duck race. Have you had to put on the duck costume at all for any events at all? Fortunately, I have not. What's that? That's a plus. I skipped it, but there's been many brave Rotarians that have put it on, including on the Fourth of July Parade, where it's a little warmer, and the duck will be at the duck race. The duck's identity is always secret. The duck will be on the back of the convertible in the Constitution Day Parade on Sunday. Who's driving the car? Mimi Simmons is driving the car, our local realtor, so I'm sure a lot of people know Mimi, and she'll be driving, and she is a member of our Rotary Club as well. That is a happening Rotary Club. It's kind of funny because it's almost counterintuitive. A lot of people wouldn't think that Rotarians want to get up that early to have breakfast and such, but it sounds like it's just the opposite in Nevada City. Absolutely. As you mentioned, it's an early start time, 7 a.m., so you've got to wake up pretty early to get there by 7 a.m., but we're having breakfast and fellowship and some great speakers throughout the community. Again, it just reflects, I think, the commitment that our Rotary Club has to the community and full participation, not just in community events, but participating in the actual weekly meetings. It's a very big weekend for Nevada City, and the duck race is part of it. There's obviously the Constitution Day Parade that happens. There's a Revolutionary War, historical reenactments at Pioneer Park, things like this, but the duck race, I think, is a great family event. It's a great fun event. Visually, it's an incredible event, but there's always people that are new to the area, Kevin. Could you explain what this duck race is and how it happens? Yeah, Tom. First, the opportunity to participate is still available. The tickets, you can buy a duck for $5, and you may just win $5,000 if your duck comes home to win in the final sheet. There's a day of ticket sales there on site in Nevada City, but it's basically, there'll be 2,000 ducks in four heats, so 500 ducks in each heat. It starts at about 2 o'clock, and the ducks are set in Deer Creek. The course is about 300 yards, and they start at the top, come at the bottom, and if your duck is lucky enough to be in the front of the other ducks, it goes into the final heat. It's a lot of fun. I think I mentioned to you that we have an announcing crew that creates a more... Roger Krill. Roger Krill and Marcia Birch, and they make it more exciting. And while you're there, we have food trucks, ice cream, Red Dog BBQ, our local Interact club led by Marty Lombardi and Liam Apple. The kids will be there doing face painting. The parade, which we mentioned the duck, actually starts at 1.30, and they'll be marching down Broad Street. So just a bunch of great things going on Sunday. For everybody out there, these aren't live ducks. These are rubber duckies, similar to what Bert and Ernie used to have. You know, rubber ducky, you're the one, right? Look, it's exactly like this. Thanks for clarifying that. They're not live ducks. But, yeah, just like a Bert and Ernie rubber ducky, and it's got your number on it, and so pretty easy to float through the creek, and a lot of fun. When did you first hear about this race? Well, where I first heard about it is when I became a member of Rotary Club four years ago is when I first learned about the 49er Rotary Breakfast Club's rubber ducky race. It's a perfect thing, because did you think they were pulling your leg at all? Because it's almost like too funny to believe. It is, especially when you hear the things like the duck tater and the duck costume, and I was exposed to that, I think, my first year in Rotarian. It was July 4th, and so we get all dressed up for that. But it's just a great event, and, again, the money goes back to the community, which is fantastic. And it's so much fun, but the thing is, that's serious money. Like you said, there's 2,000 ducks, $5 a pop. Yeah, so that's just through ticket sales, and I think it's important to mention that, and the sponsors board will be up there. So we have, I think, close to 50 sponsors, people of 50 businesses and different avenues of business have come out, and our sponsorship number, just in sponsorship sales, a little over $25,000 in sponsorships from Grass Valley, Nevada City businesses, and, again, that money goes back to scholarship programs, et cetera. So pretty nice to get that, and then we'll generate another $20,000 from ticket sales. So it's about a $45,000 fundraiser, which is big for us. That is awesome, and it's a lot of fun. You guys, of course, being with Rotary, totally involved with kids and making things happen for schools. For the 49er Rotary Club, do you have specific schools or groups of kids you work with? You know, we have a great relationship with Nevada Union because our local interact club is out of Nevada Union. But I think what's important is that we try to reach out to any avenue of service, if it's youth, if it's seniors, if it's adults. Again, we try to connect with as many groups as we can. Rotary, service above self, that's our motto. And, again, trying to get that philosophy of trying to serve Nevada City, Grass Valley, is important to the 49er Rotary Club. I can't think of any event that has that many business sponsors. I'm talking fair and everything. That's an incredible number of sponsors. And really fantastic. It shows you that the word is out. People understand what the duck race is. They like to participate. And then we also have a special race. It's a sponsorship race. All the sponsors get a duck, and we have a sponsorship race as well. So that's pretty cool. And all those sponsors will be out. They'll be publicized on a board out there. And, again, just like anything else, we would encourage people to patronize those businesses. It's all the up and up, right? I mean, it's all like a fair start. You're not greasing anybody's palm or web foot up there or anything like that. It's all the up and up. And we actually have a whole team of people that are in the creek to make sure that it goes smoothly. But, you know, it's just, I guess, fate and luck that if you've got that lucky duck, you're going to be pretty happy if it crosses the finish line. Maybe have a little bit of a drink before you see Marty Lombardi in the creek with those legs. It's kind of a scary type of thing to think about. Anyway, we're going to have to take our one break. I'm going to do that right now. We are on the town here at Grass Valley Brewing Company with Kevin Miller talking about the 49er Rotary Club's duck race. A quick break. We'll be right back. With the possibility of El Nino storms this winter, now is the time to make sure your home is ready. All About Gutters and Awnings installs seamless gutters that move rainwater safely away from your home, protecting your roof and foundation from costly water damage. Choose from 26 different colors. And in most cases, installation only takes one day. With leaf guard options, you'll spend less time cleaning and more time enjoying the season. All About Gutters and Awnings. Protecting your home season after season. AwningsAndGutters.com Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at ThisIsPretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Around here, when there's work to do, we roll up our sleeves and get it done. Rental Guys helps you do it right. Tell us what you're tackling. From a weekend property project to a full-scale construction job, our local team will find the right equipment and keep your job moving. From excavators, skid steers, and lifts, to generators, concrete equipment, and yard tools, every rental is cleaned, inspected, and ready to work. Third generation and family-owned, Rental Guys has proudly served our community since 1959. We've grown to 13 locations, but our promise hasn't changed. Take care of our customers, stand behind our equipment, and help you finish strong. Visit 302 Railroad Avenue in Grass Valley, or 2021 Live Oak Boulevard in Yuba City, or start at RentalGuys.com. Rental Guys. Rent it right the first time. Oh, it's going off, what's going on? Welcome back here on the downtown. Fitzsimmons here at the Grass Valley Brewing Company in downtown Grass Valley. What a great place to be. Can't say enough. I'm very excited for our October 5th start of them being open seven days a week for lunch, because we're smelling the barbecue going. They have their smoking weekends going, so the barbecue and Pitmaster Tom, man, how's it going? Smells pretty good to Kevin Miller and myself. Of course, you got the duck race going on. It is part of like a big weekend of activities in Nevada City. So really, it's important that people kind of realize, there's stuff going on starting tomorrow and Sunday, really all day long for all the events out there. Absolutely. And I think Tom and I were, you mentioned that. Go out and it's going to be great. It's going to be a lot of, both days, Saturday and Sunday, a lot of fun. But more importantly, it's an opportunity for people to engage with your friends and your family and share an ice cream cone or go grab a beer and just enjoy the day. So it's a good time to get out. Important to Nevada County to support your friends and family. So I'm looking forward to seeing everybody out there. Yeah, it's going to be really good. And the parade is a very fun parade. It has marching presidents. Have they tried to draft you to be a president or anything like that? You have kind of a presidential look. No, not yet, but we'll probably be behind the presidents. And I do know it starts at 1.30. The parade starts at 1.30 on Sunday, and they'll be marching down Broad Street and it's going to be a lot of fun. I don't know if anybody's told you, you kind of have that smile right now. You have a good head of hair, like a George W. Bush thing, throwing out that first pitch. Has anybody ever told you that? No, but thank you, Tom. That's very nice. And again, I think part of the reason, the smile, I'm smiling because I'm really looking forward to Sunday as being part of the 49er Breakfast Club. So thank you, and thanks for giving us the time to promote it. It's going to be a great day. This means you're going to be president next year. President-elect right now, you're going to be president next year. When you become president, do you have in your mind some things that you might want to accomplish or some things you'd like to do? I'll start to think about that. I've been really focused on the duck race, but they do give you as the incoming president the opportunity to create your theme for the year. But what's so important, and just like any successful group, it's the team behind you, right? It's the people that contribute that are leading avenues of service. It's presidential leadership, but it's rotary leadership and the team leadership. And it's amazing how many people just step up unselfishly and agree to serve others, which it's a nice club to be a part of. And the other nice thing about this year's race is that the bridge project is done. It is up and running. It looks beautiful. I know a lot of people, if it's not in their routine of going to Nevada City, this is another great reason to go out there and enjoy it, because you're telling me the way it's set up, it's actually better than it's ever been. Absolutely. I think it's going to be the best venue they've had because of the bridge repair project. It's beautiful, and it actually gives you better access throughout Nevada City. It's just a nice site, and it creates its own excitement through the races and watching your duck, and hopefully it comes across first in that finish line. But the environment, just Nevada City downtown, just the history there of just a beautiful downtown area, to be celebrating Constitution Day there and having the duck race being a very important part of that on Sunday is awesome. Kevin, you joined the Rotary Club here in town, and you joined that specific one. Was there a reason why you did that one? Not specifically. The reason how I was introduced to the Nevada City 49er Breakfast Club was through a member who I was doing some work at Toys for Tots in Grass Valley, and I was volunteering there. Who was the member? Debra Wilder. Did Debra get fined for this by chance? She probably should, maybe, on Wednesday. I knew Debra when I was working in the Bay Area in Foster City. I worked for the city of Foster City for 34 years, and she served on the city council. She now lives here. I live here. She came up, and she said, Would you be interested in coming to a breakfast meeting? The rest is history. Talk about philanthropy. She's part of the Law Enforcement Fire Protection Council Board. I talked to her there on Thursdays. She's also with, I think, Interfaith Food Ministries on their board, too. Absolutely. You talk, again, somebody who models service above self. It's Debra and her husband, Russ. But Debra Wilder is a great leader in our Rotary Club. You guys have worldwide efforts that go on trying to eliminate polio and stuff. Does it frustrate Rotarians? I'm just kind of curious about that. Just because we've had this lax thing about vaccinations in general, and we see measles coming back and rearing its head and stuff, is that kind of frustrating? Yeah. I think it's frustrating, but at the same time, we have some great members. Dr. Scott Kellerman, who is a leader in what's happening with some diseases, et cetera, in Uganda. A Rotary group goes to Uganda to deal with a different type of disease. We have a program that Debra leads about women's hygiene in Mexico. So frustrating, in a sense, to see it happening, but very encouraging to know that Rotary, as an international group, will continue to be persistent and a leader in trying to fight those type of diseases to eradicate polio, et cetera, those things that you see that start to come back. So that's positive and encouraging. Positive. Now, I ask this about everywhere that comes on with me. Kevin, I don't know if they told you this, but you're with the Nevada City 49er Rotary Breakfast Club. Why is that the best one? I think there's like five Rotary clubs in our area. Why is that the best one? So there are. There's four clubs. There's two in Grass Valley and one in Nevada City, so a total of four. I've actually met the other Rotarians in the other clubs, and they're fantastic too, right? But I think our club, I'm just, again, it's where I spend my time, and I can see just the great efforts in a bunch of different areas that our Rotarian, our 49er group does, and that's why I think they shine. And it's consistent. It's not week-to-week. It's not month-to-month. It's year-to-year, year-to-year, year-to-year. So it's sort of this champion's mentality that we are good at what we do, and I'm glad to be part of that. You might have left out the Penn Valley Rotary Club for that fifth one. What do you think of that? What do you think about that? They're probably great. I just never met anyone yet in the Penn Valley, but the two Grass Valley clubs are great. The other Nevada City Club is good, but 49er Breakfast Club is pretty darn good. It really is. They've got a lot of heavy hitters there and stuff, and you being president, that's a very exciting thing. So what date do you become president? I'll become president July 1st. So I'm listening right now. If they want to get involved, get a duck. Can they do it the day of the race? Should they do it now, today, find a Rotarian, or go online? How do they do it? I think the best approach, Tom, would be do it the day of the race. They need to do it a little before 1.30. I think the ticket sales close around 1.30, but there'll be a ticket booth. They're $5, so not real expensive, and it'll be fun. You know you have a duck in the race. So day of ticket sales, and there'll be a big sign right there at the bridge in the parking lot at Deer Creek. --- end of transcript ---