Raglan Community Radio

12/10/2026

Over 100 staff reportedly leaving, an executive leadership team almost halved and the Strategy and Growth group disestablished - all part of a major restructure at Waikato District Council.

The restructure comes as council faces mounting pressure to control costs and now CEO Craig Hobbs is stepping down after just 18 months in the role.

His relatively short tenure has coincided with a period of major change for local government, including the transfer of water services into IAWAI Flowing Waters, the Government’s Head Start council reform process and a succession of legislative changes affecting how councils operate.

Whāingaroa Ward Councillor Lisa Thomson joins us to discuss the changes, the CEO's departure and why council may hold off appointing a permanent replacement.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation on Raglan Community Radio:

Waikato District Council is preparing for a change at the top, with chief executive Craig Hobbs set to finish at the end of October after 18 months in the role.

09/10/2026

At just 14, James Downes made a choice. Growing up surrounded by hardship, he wanted something different for the family he would one day have.

This beautiful short film from Joe John Wilson at Lots of Little Fires follows James and his whānau, and the legacy of love and care that has grown from that decision.

It’s a powerful story about breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and how healing can begin within whānau and communities themselves.

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRhQVRug-Cs

08/10/2026

A bit of 1950s jazz is coming to the Old School tonight!
Odhran Devlin and Greg Taylor have formed a brand-new duo, Upright, especially for this month's Live & Local.

Odhran joins us in the studio to talk about the new collaboration, just how many bands he and Greg are involved in and the worst audience he's ever played to (don't worry, it wasn't in Raglan!).

Have a listen to our chat, then catch them live tonight from 7:30pm at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre!

https://raglanradio.com/captivate-podcast/odhran-devlin-upright-at-live-local/

08/10/2026

If you've ever thought about growing your own food forest but aren't sure where to start, listen to our conversation with Merve from Hakea Permaculture Farm!

Ahead of their new Food Forest course later this month, we chat about the design process and the practical steps involved in creating your own productive, thriving ecosystem.

Listen now on Raglan Community Radio: https://raglanradio.com/captivate-podcast/design-your-own-food-forest/

06/10/2026

Raglan Community Media is more than a radio station. We help keep our community connected through local news and interviews, community conversations, music, podcasts, event coverage and a platform for the people and organisations that make Whāingaroa what it is.

From getting important local issues on air, to giving community groups a voice, supporting local events and creating opportunities for people to make their own radio, it’s independent community media made for and by our community.

But keeping local voices on air takes ongoing support.

By becoming a regular supporter of Raglan Community Media, you’re helping ensure Whāingaroa continues to have a place where our stories can be told, our issues discussed and our community heard.

❤️ Become a regular supporter and help keep local voices on air.
Visit https://raglanradio.com/help-keep-whaingaroa-connected/ to get behind us.

06/10/2026

On the most recent episode of Heart Talks with Jane Forkert , she chats to local musician Lynne Wilkins - who shares her story, her creative journey and some of the experiences that have shaped her music and writing.

Lynne is still making music too, performing solo and alongside husband Michael as WilkieMac. You can catch them around town during the Raglan Country & Blues Festival , 23–26 October.

Check out the full conversation at this link: https://raglanradio.com/captivate-podcast/heart-chat-with-lynne-wilkins/

05/10/2026

There’s been plenty of local discussion about Raglan Lawns no longer mowing council-owned open spaces around town, so we asked Waikato District Mayor Aksel Bech what happened and how the new contracting system came about.

Under the old system, CityCare held one large 10-year contract covering parks and reserves across the entire district, with Raglan Lawns carrying out local mowing as a subcontractor.

When that contract expired, council split the work into six smaller packages in an effort to give smaller contractors more opportunities to compete. They could either team up with other businesses to bid for a package, or seek subcontracting work from the company that won.

Downer ultimately secured the southern parks and reserves mowing contract and Raglan Lawns did not retain the Raglan mowing work.

Aksel also explains why council changed the model, what it hoped to achieve, why the outcome has not worked as intended for Raglan and what it could mean for local contracting in future.

🎧 Read the full story / listen to the interview: https://raglanradio.com/raglan-lawns-outcome-tests-council-push-for-more-local-contracting/

02/10/2026

Got something growing? Or just want to buy more food grown locally?
After several months of testing, Hua Whenua Whāingaroa is opening up to more local growers and looking for more locals to shop through the platform.

Hua Whenua is an online click-and-collect market connecting Raglan Growers Market, making locally grown produce available during the week too.

Orders open Saturday and close midnight Tuesday, with collection from Raglan Refill on Thursday from 5–6pm.

We talk to the team about how the system works, why they're looking for more growers and buyers and the bigger goal of strengthening Whāingaroa's local food resilience. openfoodnetwork.org.nz/hua-whenua-whaingaroa-shop/shop

Listen to the interview on Raglan Community Radio: https://raglanradio.com/captivate-podcast/growers-and-buyers-wanted/

01/10/2026

Former writing professor and author, Peter Raffel, taught at Columbia University - home to one of the oldest creative writing programmes in the US, so we took the opportunity to pick his brain about what makes good writing work.

Peter is considering running a second workshop after his upcoming one at the Raglan Old School sold out. We talk about the workshop, his forthcoming book Bad Faith and how he built a career around writing.

🎧 Listen to the full interview on Raglan Community Radio: https://raglanradio.com/captivate-podcast/creative-writing-workshop/