Sara Spoors Lundquist
Sara Spoors Lundquist—wife and mother of two children. Program director and morning show host for KSCR/KBMO RADIO, Western Minnesota. Blogger. Hearing loss forum moderator. If it seems like Spoors Lundquist is a busy woman, you would be right!
Spoors Lundquist, who suffers from moderate mixed hearing loss due to numerous ear infections as a child and many ear tube surgeries says she is oral but knows some sign. “My son, who is 10, also has a hearing loss and wants to learn more sign so that may be in our future,” Spoors Lundquist explains.
When describing the daily flow of her life, Spoors Lundquist says her biggest job of her workday is her morning radio show. Titled “Sunrise with Sara”, the show is three hours in length and covers a variety of topics. Spoors Lundquist says, “I have a variety of music, fun stories, local sports, local news, corn prices (rural area) also famous birthday and local birthdays. I host the superintendent of schools a couple times a month, the mayor and the city administrator during the month also.”
Spoors Lundquist goes on to explain, “My hearing doesn’t seem to be a problem during my show. I have headphones I can crank the volume up on. I watch all the meters and such to know what levels things are playing at. I have a phone flasher and phone amplifier in the studio. I do morning trivia every day for a prize and I need to hear and see those phone calls come in. My least favorite part of the show is the phone. If it is taking requests of music or an interview there always seems to be a few ‘Can you repeat thats’ said. My favorite part I get to be creative. I get to choose my content. I do a lot in May about hearing loss. I can choose my guests—I have had Mandy Harvey, Karen Putz and other deaf and hard of hearing individuals. We are creative and let technology work for us. My other parts of my job include recording and producing commercials and lots of computer work with developing a 24-hour log of music and content for everyday of the year. My least favorite parts of my job, [are the] early hours and the phone.”
When not working at her day job, Spoors Lundquist writes two blogs, “Ausomemomma—Musings of a Momma” and “Prairie Grass and Hearing Aids” She says “Ausomemomma” is about everyday life and a son who is on the autism spectrum. On the other hand, “Prairie Grass and Hearing Aids” is centered on hearing loss in a small town. Spoors Lundquist says, “If you are rural you might drive a couple hours to an audiologist or to get hearing aids fixed. It is writings from my heart about hearing loss and also being a parent with a child that has an IEP at school and wears hearing aids. I am hoping this blog keeps growing and feeds a need for writings about hearing loss. You can check out Prairie Grass and Hearing Aids at www.prairiegrassandhearingaids.com. [I] would love to have you subscribe.”
In addition to her busy life as a wife, mother, radio host/producer, and blog writer, Spoors Lundquist also donates her time being a list rep for The Say What Club, a Worldwide Forum for People with Hearing Loss. Being a list rep means that Spoors Lundquist deals with emails that contain different topics that she mediates. She also welcomes new members to the group and answers questions. Spoors Lundquist joined seven years ago and instantly made friends with members she says.
As others carry on their hearing loss journey, Spoors Lundquist has some advice: “I was told once, ‘Find your tribe.’ I believe finding like people in hearing loss is that tribe. Look for people that know the struggles of communication. We can all learn from each other and hold each other up. Your tribe is out there.”
