Midwest Action is a group of awesome creative people based in Chicago with a simple mission - galvanize the artistic community in the region to help everyone recognize how excellent local art (musical, visual, etc.) can be. We really like that. So we were really excited to feature them on this month's Your Stories! In this episode, you'll hear from group founder Alyssa Lee Welch as well as a wonderful group of local comedians and other artistic talents. Also, there's some sweet, sweet music (and much more where that came from in part 2!). Here, enjoy:

• Cover Stories: Badlands
• Cover Stories: Stuck Between Stations
• Kevin Budnik: Fall Memories
• Nathan Robert: Heart Geography
• Natasha Samreny: Grandma's Peanut M&Ms
• Araceli Vargas: The Thriller
• Alyssa Lee Welch: Action
• Cover Stories: Jack and Diane

Check out Midwest Action's monthly music showcase at Quencher's tomorrow night! And hit up the Logan Theatre Thursday for Nerdologues Alpha, a local game playtesting event!