City of Marion launches new podcast

The city of Marion has started a new podcast designed to inform the community about the different city departments.

“How Marion Works” is a podcast hosted by Layla Price-Bodkin, Supervisor of Marketing and Community Development for Marion. The first episode was released on Monday, Jan. 13 and focuses on the City Development Department. 

In each episode, Price-Bodkin said she will interview government leaders about their department in hopes of answering any questions the community might have.

“I think that whether you’ve lived in the community for a long time, or you’re new to the community, or maybe you’re just here for a short time, like you’re a student at a school, and you just want to understand how a community operates this can give you a sense of how Marion works, but really how a city in general operates,” Price-Bodkin said. 

The podcast’s first episode featured Deana Vice, Neighborhood Association Coordinator for Marion. Vice said throughout the podcast she and Price-Bodkin discussed a variety of topics such as traveling town halls, citywide cleanup and their own personal backgrounds.

While the main focus of the podcast is on what each department does, Vice said she also thinks it’s important for the community to know who their leaders are. 

“I can’t stress enough when someone has an issue, it’s important that they know who to take that issue to so that they can get the problem fixed as quickly as possible,” Vice said. “That’s what we are here for.”

Not only did she get to share what she does for work, Vice said she also got to share a bit about her personal interests. She said she hopes listeners will be able to get to know her as a person and not just a government official. 

“I think it’s important to remember the human element in all of this,” Vice said. “We are all people. We are all just people who are working and thriving, living together, trying to make the city a better place because we all live here.”

Episodes will air biweekly on Mondays. Episode two will be released on Jan. 27 and will focus on the Transportation Department.