If you’ve ever lost something on the American River, Karl Bly can help find it.
The kayaker and founder of American River Lost & Found made it his mission to reunite owners with items lost in the currents. It’s his obsession.
“My dad introduced me to the river,” Bly says. “He would go out diving and I would kayak or canoe above him and follow his bubbles around. By the time I was 6 or 7 years old, I could paddle a boat.
Aniko Kiezel and I have something in common. We both hate to have our picture taken. But to Kiezel’s credit, I’ve never had more fun—or liked a photo of myself more—than when she photographed me for Inside Sacramento.
“Above all, I try to make the person I’m photographing feel comfortable,” says Kiezel, who photographs for Inside along with other publications and private clients. “I like to put them at ease and make them know I’m going to make them look good. If I’m having a good time, you’re going to have a good time.”
Kiezel photographs all kinds of people—artists, business owners, politicians, students, actors and more. She’s expert at striking up conversations with strangers.
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For LuTisha McGregor, principal at Umoja International Academy in East Sacramento, it’s all about love.
“I lead with love,” says McGregor. “I tell my students and staff I love them every day and the parents every week. That’s the type of leader I am. I want to come on campus and feel and see the love.”
Leading with love led to the school’s name change. Long known as Kit Carson, the combination middle and high school was one of three Sacramento City Unified School District campuses renamed in what Sac City officials call a “commitment to address school facility names that do not support the district’s values.”
Matt King knows how to get creative. He was named 2024 Volunteer of the Year by the city’s Department of Youth, Parks, & Community Enrichment, thanks to his creative efforts to revitalize William Chorley Park in South Sacramento.
“Even the parks department didn’t want to go there,” King says. “It had been ignored for about 10 years. The grass was 7-feet high. There was graffiti all over the bathroom. There were feces and needles all over the playground, drug and gang activity. It was bad and just got worse.”
A longtime South Sac resident, King took matters into his own hands after he saw a post on Nextdoor lamenting the state of the park. He realized uplifting this asset in his neighborhood would align with his own “journey to uplift.”
