St. Paul radio host using platform to help others with developmental disabilities
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A young St. Paul man living with autism is using his platform as a radio host to help those like him thrive in our community.
You can listen to Conor O’Meara live with his cohost Scott Applebalm every Monday at 10 a.m. on 94.1 FM Frogtown Community Radio (WFNU).
From hot sports takes to whether Door Dash should deliver Target popcorn, Conor’s Corner is filled with an array of topics each week.
“I talk about sports and life,” O’Meara told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “[We] talk a little bit about everything.”
Conor O'Meara, right, cohosts Conor's Corner with Scott Applebalm, left, at Frogtown Community Radio's studio in St. Paul.[KSTP]
O’Meara isn’t your typical radio DJ, but he still has aspirations to fit in with the best. When asked about what his future may look like, he said he’d like to take over Paul Allen’s chair at competing station KFAN — that was said with a big smile from O’Meara and a good chuckle from cohost Applebalm.
As of November, Conor’s Corner had been on the airwaves for a year. To mark the anniversary, O’Meara started a GoFundMe to support others living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Applebalm says O’Meara has been an inspiration for many, including some die-hard listeners who also live with disabilities.
“We’re laughing and having fun and then he’ll say something about some of the struggles that he even goes through,” Applebalm said. “You go from laughing, to crying, to laughing again.”
“He’s says this all the time [that] he’s living his dream, and ‘Why can’t you?’ So, I think it’s such an important message,” Applebalm added.
Their goal is to raise $25,000 for the Conor’s Corner 501(c)(3) nonprofit. As of this weekend the GoFundMe was shy of $14,000. To help and learn more about their mission, click here.