One of the things we like to highlight on the podcast is events that bring in people from outside of Kansas. Whether drawing from other states across the US or pulling in people from other countries, these events are not only good for the Kansas economy, they are a chance for us to show off our state, teach people about who we are as Kansans, and hopefully do a little bit of stereotype busting. We’ve highlighted a lot of these events over the years:

• Kansas Storytelling Festival
• Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival
• Dynamic Discs has made Emporia the center of Disc Golf across the world
• Opera workshop in the Flint Hills that draws people from across the country
• And just last month, Unbound Gravel, a bike race in Emporia that draws people from 45 countries to race through the flint hills each June.

And, today is another one. In June, Overland Park will be hosting the International Master Gardener Conference for 2023. My guest today is Dennis Patton, a Horticulturist with the Johnson County Extension office. Dennis is also one of the chairs for the Conference, along with 2 other dedicated gardeners who are volunteers. 
Show Notes:

• International Master Gardener Conference website
• Events open to the public
• To learn more about becoming a Master Gardener: search for your county + extension office to see if your local county has a program.
• Episode 0504: Monarch Watch
• Episode 0209: Kaw Valley Farm Tour

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What is a Master Gardener
• What training is needed to become a Master Gardener
• What is the International Gardener Conference?
• What are the events that are open to the public at the International Gardener Conference
• What is the Kansas Extension program
• How do you access Kansas Extension programs

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

If you are a cyclist, you already know what Unbound Gravel is. If not, today, I’m going to take you into the world of cyclists and how Emporia Kansas has created an event that draws people from 45 different countries. 
I love to highlight how Kansans make their visions come true. Today’s episode is a great example of a small group of people who came together around their passion for cycling in the flint hills. 
Fast forward 17 years, and now Unbound Gravel brings in 4,000 riders the weekend after Labor Day.
My guests today are Ben Sachs is the Race Director and Kristi Mohn is the Marketing Manager. You’ll hear how Kristi has been involved with the event from the beginning and Ben since early on and it is a great conversation to understand how the event got started, and what it has become today. I was really interested to hear what it takes to plan the event, and especially the routes for the races. The other thing that was so interesting to me is how the towns along the way participate. 
As Ben says - hope to see you at the Finish Line!
Show Notes:
Unbound Gravel website
Dynamic Discs Episode
Volunteer with Unbound Gravel
Get to Know a Kansan

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What is Unbound Gravel?
• How Unbound Gravel started
• How to volunteer with Unbound Gravel
• How Unbound Gravel routes are planned

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Setting Kansas up to succeed in the future means diversifying into industries that have not traditionally been associated with our state. 
In today’s episode, you are going to learn about a Goodland company that is doing just that.
I like to highlight Kansas companies that are having an impact outside of Kansas. Today’s guest is not only doing that, but they are also working to change some of the fundamental issues that we are currently facing in Kansas. 
We are losing people to other states because of jobs.
We are unable to fill all of the jobs we have in Kansas because of lack of the correct skills.
We are in the process of transitioning into a state with a vibrant technology industry.

GoodlandTech is a Kansas company that is addressing all of these huge challenges at once with their business model. My guest today is Ben Coumerilh, one of the founders of Goodland Tech. I met Ben at the Ad Astra Technology conference back in September in Wichita and was grateful that he agreed to be a guest.

I always enjoy my conversations with our guests, but this one is really close to my heart because we talk about a topic I’m passionate about. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Show Notes:
Goodland Tech website
Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center website
Northwest Kansas Technical College
Building a Bookshelf website
Contact Geoff here 
Green Guitar Episode

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• About Kansas business Goodland Tech
• What a workforce development company does
• About Building a Bookshelf

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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We are going to time travel in today’s episode. My guest, Ann Anderson is the author of Posts of a Mid-Century Kid, a memoir about 1950s and 60s Kansas.
Today’s episode is as much about our ability to be present and appreciate what we have - in all aspects of life - as it is an episode about Kansas. There are so many quotes from Ann in this episode that I would love to pull out and put on a t-shirt. I am certain that one of them will make an impression on you - leave you with goosebumps.  
Show Notes
Ann’s Website
Ann’s Facebook Page
Posts of a Mid-Centry Kid - link to Bookshop.org where you can buy the book and support a Kansas bookshop at the same time
Topeka Kansas
Lake Shawnee

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• About Author Ann Anderson and her book Posts of a Mid-Century Kid
  
• About Topeka Kansas circa 1950s and 1960s
  
• What to do outdoors in Topeka
  
• Popular 1950s recipes
  

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

​

We are trying to help the Kansas Office of Broadband get the word out about the Federal Communications Commission broadband funding deadline that is January 13 2023. It requires that you take action by the 13th to help ensure that Kansas get the appropriate allocation of Federal funding to invest in high-speed internet. 
 The funding will be based on a map that determines what portion of each state has access to broadband. The issue is that the map is not always accurate. What the Kansas Broadband Office is asking all Kansans to do is to make sure you are accurately represented on the map. 

So - here is what you need to do:

1. Go to https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/challenge/
2. It has all of the instructions. 
3. When you get to the map, you are going to  check your location to make sure your house or location has the service location pin in the right space. Some places have shown outbuildings or barns as points of access. 
4. When looking at your internet service provided. Review the list of broadband providers and services. If you are unable to access the speeds or services listed, click the Availability Challenge link.  

If you find that either of these things is wrong on the map, you’ll want to click on the link for “Location Challenge” or  ‘Availability Challenge”  depending on what the issue is.

I wasn’t sure if I needed to do this because I’m not located in a rural area and I have broadband coverage in my home, Megan assured me that it is important that we all verify that the map is correct. 

The other way you can help is to get the word out. Please tell your family,  friends and neighbors 
About this and ask them to take action. And, if you have older relatives who that may not feel comfortable using site you can help complete this challenge. 

Again, the deadline for making challenges to the map is January 12th 2023 so time is of the essence here. 

Let me tell you the important websites again:

https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/challenge/ 

Broadbandmap.fcc.gov 

We’ve reached the last episode of the year, and today I’m talking with Branden Dross, the City Manager for the city of Herington Kansas. I have been interested for a while in better understanding what the role of a city manager is, and so I took the opportunity to learn more for myself while sharing what I learn with you. That is the best part of having a podcast. When I want to know more about something, I can do that, record it, and share it with you. 
So, I hope you walk away from this episode with a better understanding about what a city manager is, what its like to run a city, and more about Herington Kansas, a small town on Hwy 56 west of Council Grove and Hwy 77 south of Junction City.

Show Notes
Herington Kansas
Dodge City Distillery episode
Bookshop.org

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What the role of the city manager is
• About Herington Kansas
• About the Flint Hills Trails expansion
• That people fly into the Herington airport to eat at the restaurant there
• About the revitalization plans for the WPA era pool and bath house 

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

My guest today, Joe Summers describes Guerilla Art like this - you make a thing and put it out into the world for people to find. 

Joe works with his students and children to create robot sculptures that they then take to different locations around the state and leave behind for someone to find. This episode is about Joe and his robot art program, but it turns out to be a travel episode as well because Joe covers so many Kansas towns and sites as part of his program.

Rules for leaving robot art in the world:

• At least an hour from the house
• Nobody could see you
• Drop off is a place that is arts focused
• Attach a note to them 
• Go get breakfast at a local restaurant

Get to Know a Kansan

• Linn County
• Chanute Kansas
• Lawrence Kansas
• Mass Street Soda Shop
• Lucus Kansas
• Goodland Kansas - Giant Van Gogh painting
• Original Jayhawkers

​How to Support the Podcast:
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Follow us onInstagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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Today I’m joined by Shelley O’Brien and Mary Boller, two Kansans working in the State’s library system. Reading is my primary hobby - I’m currently sitting at 76 books read so far in 2022 - so as you can imagine, this episode is going to be one I remember for a long time.
What I’m hoping you take away from today’s episode is what my guest, Mary Boller says - that libraries have become the hub of the community. If you still think that libraries are just about books, you need to get out to your local branch and see what has changed. 
Supporting our local Kansas libraries is a great way to support our local communities. So, I’m hoping you find out something you didn’t know, and that we maybe spark something new for you today. 

Show Notes
Northwest Kansas Library System
Northeast Kansas Library System
7 regional library systems
Golf Course Superintendents Association
Talking books program
Lawrence Library recording studio
STEAM Punk Makerspace Lab
Dane G Hansen Foundation
Which libraries you can get a state park pass
Prairie Dog State Park
The School for Rural Culture and Creativity
Episode 0407: Kansas Book Festival and Author Tim Bascom
Episode 0306: Kelly Yarbrough Artist

​What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• How the Kansas library system is organized
• How the Kansas library system coordinates
• That libraries are much more than just books
• That it is ok to talk above a whisper in a library!
• What Family Place Libraries are all about
• How the Kansas Library system and Kansas Parks system is working together to encourage people to get out and go to the state parks.
• Some of the challenges of being a rural library

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Have you ever dreamed of just taking off and traveling the world? That’s exactly what my guests  did. 
1 year, 24 countries, 4 continents….
Their Instagram account says it all: Kansas Meet World. I can’t wait for you to meet this Kansas family and learn about their gap year. 
This trip was about so many things - seeing the world, learning how to support locals, experiencing other religions, figuring out what you can and can’t live with, and how important it is to live your life connected to those who are most important to you..
It happens to me very often that I’m someplace outside of Kansas and I run into Kansans. For the Lewison family, it happened in places like Zanzibar. We may be a fairly small population, but we show up in a lot of exotic places!

What I ultimately take away from my conversation with the Lewisons is that it is important to explore the world AND our home in Kansas. 
Kansas Meet World Instagram
What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• How a family of 5 traveled the world for a year
  
• What is a whirling dervish?
  
• About the Kansas Burger in Portugal
  
• How the Kansas school system allowed kids to travel the world and still stay in school
  

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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From 0 murals to 25 murals in 2 years seems like an impossible task, but that is exactly what they’ve done in Clay Center Kansas. Today I’m talking with Brett Hubka who has been spearheading the effort. 
I’m no art expert, but I feel like I’ve noticed a resurgence of murals in towns across the country and it is a welcome trend. Coming into a new town, looking at the murals on the downtown buildings gives you a sense of the history of the town, the things that are important, and an overall sense of what the town is like. 
Over the years, we’ve interviewed or highlighted artists across the state, and it is really a testament to the people of Kansas that we have such a rich art tradition in our state. 
So, this episode is about art, and about how a town can come together to accomplish something amazing in as little as 2 years. It is also about how much pride Kansans have in our state and how much life is being lived in our smaller rural communities. 
Show Notes
Mural Movement Facebook Page
Mural Movement Instagram - Mural Movement Clay Center
Mural Interactive Map
Clay Center Kansas
15-24 Brewhouse website
Tasty Pastry Bakery - they don’t have a website
Little Mill Creek Trail
Sept 2018
Get to Know a Kansan
Medicine Lodge
Peace Treaty Festival
Gypsum Hills
Episode 0108: Big Kansas Road Trip
Bill Snyder Stadium
Dwight D Eisenhower Museum
Kansas Speedway
Learn a little more about Dwight D Eisenhower in this episode: Kansans Favorite Kansans
What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• How the Mural Movement got started in Clay Center
  
• How many murals are there in Clay Center?
  
• How a brewery and the mural movement partnered
  
• Why Clay Center Kansas is a great place to live 
  

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Today’s episode came from a trip we made to Sabetha Kansas to have lunch at the Brick Street Furniture Company and Wine Lounge. Friend of the podcast, Kate Miller from Hiawatha recommended that we eat there. And, now I’m recommending it to you too. While we were at Brick Street, Dustin recommended to us that we take a trip 5 miles north of Sabetha to Sycamore Springs. He mentioned that they were revitalizing the skating rink and we should stop in and see it. We thought - sure - let’s check this place out. You don’t hear about skating rinks much anymore. 

So, we thought we were heading to a small little town with a skating rink. What we found was something we could have never imagined. You’ll learn more about it in this episode, where I interview Kent Grimm. 
​
As I say at the end of the interview - I set out to tell our listeners about this really cool place that Geoff and I found on a somewhat spare of the moment trip. But, what this episode is really about is someone who has taken on the challenge of saving a piece of history and modernizing it so that it can continue to be relevant into our future. 

Sycamore Springs White Tails Ranch website

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What you’ll experience if you go to Sycamore Springs in Sabetha, Kansas
• How the Grimm family is revitalizing Sycamore Springs
• About Old Albany Days and threshing bee in Albany, Kansas
• The oldest working pipe organ in Kansas is in Albany, Kansas 

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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We have been doing our format of Get To Know a Kansan for a while now, and thought it would be fun to focus an episode on the stories behind the people that have been named when we ask ‘who is your favorite Kansan from history?”
So, in this episode, I’m going to talk about the accomplishments of Amelia Earhart, John Stuart Curry, Dwight D Eisenhower, and William Stafford.
Listen to the episode about Gordon Parks

Watch the documentary about William Stafford

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What Amelia Earhart accomplished
  
• About the impact John Stuart Curry had on the Regionalism Art Movement
  
• How many major events in American history were impacted by Dwight D Eisenhower
  
• About the impact William Stafford had on poetry in America
  

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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Cottonwood Falls is a small town - population about 800 - a nationally and internationally known town for its music. The well known Symphony in the Flint Hills is based in Cottonwood Falls and so is the Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills. When you think of Kansas, opera probably isn’t in the top 10 - or even 100 - things that come to mind. 

But, thanks to my guest, Martha Sharp, people come from across the country, and even from other countries, each July to attend the Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills. In our conversation, you’ll learn about the workshop, how it is tailored to the attendees, and maybe a little bit about opera along the way.
​
We also talk about Martha’s career in Europe and her move to Kansas, which is a really interesting story as well.

Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills website
Episode 0110: Chase County Christmas
Episode 0503: Dynamic Discs
Episode 0212: Publishing in Kansas: Emanuel Haldeman-Julius
Chief Theatre in Coldwater Kansas
Granada Theatre in Emporia
Folly Theater in Kansas City
Lyric Opera in Kansas City
Disc Golf World Championship website
Girard History Museum

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• How the Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills started
• How a small town comes together to support the Opera
• How an opera workshop helps build skills 
• How you can support Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode
​

Monarch Watch is an internationally reaching education, conservation, and research organization dedicated to the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration based right here in Kansas. Join Rachel in this episode where co-founder Chip Taylor takes Rachel to butterfly school.

Monarch Watch website
Monarch Watch Facebook page
Kansas Eco Regions
What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• What is Monarch Watch?
• What is Butterfly Tagging?
• How Monarch Butterflies migrate
• Why Mexico is important to the Monarch Tagging process
• What makes the monarch butterfly migration unique
• Why milkweed is important to monarch butterflies
• Why it is important to plan native milkweed
• What is the monarch watch program?
• What is the Bring Back the Monarchs program?
• Why nectar and pollen are important to monarch butterflies
• Why it is important to have everyday people involved in citizen science

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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Did you know that Emporia Kansas is considered to be the disc golf capital of the world? I didn’t realize it until I talked with my guests Doug Bjerkaas  and Jackie Morris from Dynamic Discs, an Emporia Kansas business that sells discs and other disc golf equipment and operates events for the popular sport disc golf.

I like to focus a few episodes each season on Kansas businesses that have a national impact. Kansas has a deep history of businesses that grow beyond the state and, in a lot of cases, become a household name. Ever heard of Garmin? What about White Castle? These are just 2 businesses founded in Kansas that fall into the household name category. 

Dynamic Discs falls into this category. If you know about disc golf, then you know about Dynamic Discs - it is a household name within the sport. I didn’t realize that until earlier this year when something quite unexpected happened to me at my day job - you’ll hear more about it in the episode. 

This episode made me feel so good about the things we have going on in Kansas. The story about how Dynamic Discs grew from a dorm room start-up to an internationally known business is such an interesting story and then you throw in the community support that Dynamic Discs gives to Emporia and the community support that Emporia gives to Dynamic Discs. It’s just a great all-round story and I’m sure you will enjoy this episode. 

And, if you do, please tell your friends about it. It is the best way you can support the podcast. 
​
Also, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram.  And if you are a LinkedIn user, I’d love to connect with you there. You can find me at Rachel Berbiglia and just mention that you are a listener so I don’t ignore your connection request as spam.


Show Notes
Dynamic Discs website
Halfway to Everywhere music festival

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• Why Emporia Kansas is the disc golf capital of the world
• About Kansas business Dynamic Discs
• About the Halfway to Everywhere music festival

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

My guest today, Wichita native Jennifer Strong McConachie, has traveled around the world competing in global endurance sports. Today, we are going to talk about how she uses the Kansas outdoor landscape and weather to prepare for these competitions around the world.

Whether you are sporty or not, you’ll get a lot of ideas from Jennifer for adventures you can take in Kansas. Unless you are already into adventure sports, you are going to walk away from this episode with a whole new viewpoint on our state. 

Links to things we talked about:
Go Far: How Endurance Sports Win at Life book website
Jennifer’s Instagram
Jennifer’s Facebook
Lexington State Park Trail Map
El Dorado Lake
Cheney Lake
TallGrass Prairie Nature Preserve
TallGrass Prairie Trail Map
(Geoff and I took the Scenic Overlook Trail to the Prairie Fire Loop to the Davis Trail)

​Get To Know A Kansan:
Wichita Kansas
Toronto Lake
Kayaking the Kansas River
Laura Ingalls Wilder

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• How to adapt the Kansas landscape to create your own adventure
• How to connect with others over Kansas stereotypes
• How our pioneer roots can help us with adversity training
• How to create a adventure event of your own

​How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Hero worship is a characteristic of American culture. For good and bad, it is something our society lives with. Athletes, music stars, and actors or actresses are visible roles in our modern society. And that constant visibility often encourages people to feel like they know these people and fosters a desire to imitate them. 

Our kids see these visible people as the definition of success and meaningfulness. Yet as adults we recognize the chances of anyone making a living playing professional sports or performing to a sell-out crowd in an arena is very small. As a result, it is important for kids to be exposed to all of the different ways people make a living and contribute to society and, in so doing, serve as heroes in their own right, albeit through less publicized roles, like banker, graphic designer, plumber, software developer, or entrepreneur. 

Real Men, Real Heroes based out of Wichita, Kansas is an organization driven by the understanding that it is important for children and young adults to see someone who looks like them engaged in activities that can excite the imaginations and interests of the youth in order to, as shared by Kyle Ellison, Executive Director of Real Men Real Heroes, Open up their minds to new ideas, new thoughts and help with the evolution of who they are becoming.

In this episode, Rachel talks with Kyle Ellison and learns about the history of a program and how it has innovated and changed over time to include a broader base of Kansas children and young adults in 3rd through 8th grade opportunities to look behind the curtain and gain firsthand experience to many societal roles and functions that they may be unfamiliar with and that are often not routinely given extraordinary attention to like certain entertainment roles are given.  
​
Real Men Real Heroes website
Contact <at> realmenrealheroes.org
Real Men Real Heroes Instagram
Real Men Real Heroes Facebook

What You’ll Learn in this Episode

• About the Wichita based program Real Men Real Heroes
• Why it is important for young boys to have role models that are not just famous people
• The history of Real Men Real Heroes
• How to expose kids to careers that they didn’t know existed

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Uncovering Kansas was founded based on the idea that we frequently overlook the great things that are right in our back yard. As a matter of fact, right on the home page of our website is this quote from Dagobert Runes:

People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.

My guest today, Lisa Stewart is going to tell us about her experience meeting people and exploring Kansas at 4 mph on horseback. It is a good reminder that we all have one fundamental thing in common - we are all Kansans. Whether by birth, by choice, or by circumstance, we are all neighbors. 

Links from the Show:
Lisa Stewart: The Big Quiet website
Kansas Book Festival Episode
Atwood Kansas

Get to Know a Kansan Questions:
Prairie Village Kansas
Somerset Wine Trail
Miami County Farm Tour
Robert Day - The Last Cattle Drive

What You'll Learn in this episode:

• ​What it is like to travel across Kansas on a horse
• A reminder that humanity is fundamentally good
• About the memoir The Big Quiet: One Woman’s Horseback Ride Home
• That Kansas isn’t flat!
• The benefit of traveling slowly
• Why Prairie Village Kansas is a great place to live
• About the Somerset Wine Trail
• About Kansas writer Robert Day

How to Support the Podcast

• Tell a friend about us
• Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
• Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
• Send us a recommendation for an episode

The Saturday after Thanksgiving has become Small Business Saturday - a day set aside to encourage people to shop in small businesses.

At Uncovering Kansas, we want to encourage you to not only shop small, but to shop local. Shop Kansas!
Back in late summer, we asked you to nominate your favorite local business for an upcoming episode. We’ve selected 2 of these shops for today’s episode. We’ll be doing our Get to Know a Kansan format - talking to 2 Kansans about their passion - their shops - and then seeing Kansas through their eyes.
Links mentioned in the show
Modern Cowgirl Boutique website
Modern Cowgirl Boutique Instagram
Modern Cowgirl Facebook

Soul Sister Ceramics website
Soul Sister Ceramics Instagram
Soul Sister Ceramics Facebook
What you’ll learn in this episode:

• All about Madison Kansas
• All about Courtland Kansas
• Two unique ways Kansans are combining agriculture with non-agriculture business

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Follow us onInstagram or Facebook
Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
Send us a recommendation for an episode

Happy Fall Kansas! And welcome to our October episode.

We are carrying through the Halloween theme from the previous episode. When Geoff originally pitched the idea, I was sort of like “Wha? Say it again.” He wanted to focus on spirits. Several meanings contained within the word spirit. Not only the spirits we usually think about when we prepare and celebrate Halloween but the holiday spirit and the associated community spirit that often runs alongside the holiday. Halloween is, at least in America, sort of the official kick-off to the longer holiday season. And what do many people choose to celebrate with… other than food? You guessed. Spirits! Liquor, wine and beer. We are going to focus on two of these (liquor and beer) in this episode. 
Kansas has had an interesting and peculiar history with alcohol and a key figure of historical importance. Carrie Nation. And while we, as Kansans, appreciate that history, our state is arguably still haunted by her ghost. Efforts are underway to exorcise the ghost of Carrie Nation but until the rite of exorcism is completed, artisans and entrepreneurs wanting to operate within the alcohol beverage industry must possess courage and bravery. And we have a panel of three representatives from three different Kansas companies located across the state to discuss and share their company story with you.
Links mentioned in the show
Kansas Territory Brewing
Boot Hill Distillery
Boiler Room Brewery
Dodge City Episode
What you’ll learn in this episode:

• About the unique opportunities and challenges of running a brewery or distillery in Kansas
  
• Kansas was the first state to implement prohibition and the last state to repeal prohibition
  
• How some of Kansas’ liquor laws make it difficult for businesses to thrive in Kansas
  
• How breweries and distilleries are bringing a sense of community to small towns
  

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
Follow us onInstagram or Facebook
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Send us a recommendation for an episode

There is a stereotype about the crotchety old person who watches out their window and when kids step one foot onto their lawn, they run out onto the porch, shaking their fist and yelling ‘get off my lawn you hooligans!'

Well, today we are going to learn about a Kansan who has impacted our culture simply because she wasn’t the kind of person who would fall into that stereotype. Instead of shaking her fist and yelling at the neighborhood kids, she looked for a way to be more creative and more positive in her approach to keep the kids off her lawn.

What exactly did Elizabeth Krebs do to change culture as we know it? Well, find out in my interview with Katie Miller, President of the Hiawatha Chamber and Visitor’s Bureau.

One note about the audio in this interview. There are some audio problems that I wasn’t able to fix in editing. I didn’t hear them during the actual recording, so I wasn’t able to address it at that time. My apologies about that. They aren’t going to take away from how much you will learn in the episode, I promise!
​
Links mentioned in the episode:
Halloween Frolic facebook page


What You’ll Learn in this Episode:

• Our modern Halloween traditions were started by Kansan Elizabeth Krebs in Hiawatha, KS
• What the Halloween Frolic is all about
• The longest continuous Halloween parade has been going in Hiawatha since 1914
• Who is Elizabeth Krebs
• What to expect if you attend the Halloween Frolic in Hiawatha, KS
• Children’s author Bill Martin Jr., author of the famous book, was born in Hiawatha
• Riverdale, in Archie comics is based on Hiawatha

How to Support the Podcast:
Tell a friend about us
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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
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This month, Rachel talks with Ryan Biergert, festival co-chair of Svensk Hillingsfest, a festival that celebrates our state’s Swedish Heritage, hosted in Lindsborg. According to the Kansas Historical Society, the first Swede arrived in Kansas in 1864, and he encouraged others to emigrate and file claims for land in what is now Lindsborg Ks. By 1890, there were 17,000 Swedes in Kansas. 

Lindsborg is a town that celebrates its Swedish history, and not just during the festival. Visit any time of the year, and you’ll feel the Swedish culture everywhere you go. There is a lot to see and do in Lindsborg, and I hope you add it to your list, whether you go during the festival or at another time of year. 

What You'll Learn in this Episode:

• What you'll be able to see and do at Svensk Hyllingsfest this September
• While in Lindsborg, you can also visit Raymer Society
• Stop by the Birger Sandzen gallery
• Places to stay when visiting Lindsborg
• Other things to do in the area of Lindsborg like Maxwell Wildlife Refuge and Coronado Heights

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• Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
• Send us a recommendation for an episode

This month, Rachel talks with Tim Bascom, author and Executive Director of the Kansas Book Festival. The Kansas Book Festival is a great opportunity to learn about Kansas - authors who are from Kansas or write about Kansas or topics that are germane to Kansans. Spending a day at the festival will no doubt open your eyes to something new. 
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After covering the festival, Rachel and Tim talk about Tim’s experience spending part of his childhood in Ethiopia. Tim gives us a feel for what it is like to grow up in two very different cultures and how it continues to shape him today. 

Links to topics discussed in the episode:
Book Festival website: Kansas Book Festival
Book Festival Facebook page: Kansas Book Festival - Home
Tim Bascom’s website: Tim Bascom, Author – Writing my way around the world
Troy, Kansas

Ethiopian Restaurants on the Kansas side of the state line of the KC metro:
Elsa’s - Overland Park Elsa's Ethiopian Restaurant: Home
Selamta - Lenexa Selamta Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar - Restaurant in Lenexa



What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• What the Kansas Book Festival is all about
• Who are the speakers at the Kansas Book Festival
• About Kansas author Tim Bascom’s experience splitting his childhood between Kansas and Ethiopia
• Why Ethiopian food is so good
• Where to find Ethiopian restaurants in Kansas

If you haven’t listened to our September 2020 episode which was an interview with public officials from Pittsburg Kansas about how they were managing the pandemic, I’d encourage you to go back and listen to it. This episode is a follow-up to see how things have changed since that interview.

​We’ve all been through this shared experience, and although it meant something a little different to all of us, being able to follow the story of covid in one specific town gives us an appreciation of how we pull together to get through our toughest challenges.

How to Support the Podcast:

• Tell a friend about us
• Follow us on Instagram or Facebook
• Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
• Send us a recommendation for an episode

Our topic today is a very important, very heavy one: mental health. Rachel introduces you to a very important and innovative program in Kansas that is working to make the stigma that surrounds talking about mental health issues a thing of the past. 
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Zero Reasons Why is a program that is teaching teens the skills they need to be able to make mental health a normal part of our daily lives. Rachel talks with Kyra Fuchs, who is a teen council member of Zero Reasons Why. 

Because this is such an important topic, we want to provide some resources in case you, or someone you love is struggling with mental health issues and could use some help: 

• The national suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255
• You can text the crisis line by texting 'Home' to 741741
• And, if you are struggling with mental health, but not suicidal, you can find a lot of mental health resources at www.mentalhealth.gov.

How to Get in Touch with Zero Reasons Why:

Zero Reasons Why website
The Playbook referenced in the episode

The social media accounts for #ZeroReasonsWhy:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

How to Support the Podcast:

• Tell a friend about us
• Follow us onInstagram or Facebook
• Buy a Kansas Travel Journal 
• Send us a recommendation for an episode