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
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
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.  
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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

Rachel sits down with kristopher swanson from The Neighboring Movement, a Wichita based community development organization. They talk about how to uncover the unique assets you have in your own neighborhood, and the similarity and parallel of the missions of both organizations. Uncovering Kansas: to inspire Kansans to learn more about the gifts we have within our state. The Neighboring Movement: to connect people with their neighbors as a way to help restore the social fabric and health of our neighborhoods.

After listening to this episode we hope you go out and talk to your neighbors. Learn something new about their unique gifts and build a stronger relationship that creates a more enriching environment for you to live in. 
Neighboring Movement website
The Neighbor Next Door Podcast
Asset Based Community Development Institute

There is no ‘they’ that fixes what needs fixing, or improves what needs improving. There is ‘us.’ You. And me. Kansans understand this. In this month’s episode Rachel talks with Lisse Regehr of Thrive Allen County, an organization convening, coordinating, and championing the ideas and efforts of Allen County residents. Listen to examples of a community converting an abandoned cement factory into usable community space and volunteers shaping trails for health and wellness. Efforts undertaken to improve the lives and conditions not only of its residents but those who visit, those today and tomorrow. 

Episode Links
Wichita Eagle article- 14 Regional Podcasts to add to your Playlist
Uncovering Kansas - Manhattan for Nature Lovers episode
Thrive Allen County website
Links to all of the trails discussed on the episode
Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Prize
Rural Health Initiative
A Bolder Humboldt
Uncovering Kansas - Kansas Framework for Growth episode

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Economic Development in Kansas is changing. A banner program and important effort driving this initiative is the Kansas Framework for Growth, a comprehensive strategy for economic growth in the coming 15-20 years. More than 1,000 Kansans have given their input into the process. We first heard of the strategy and program as citizens. And, wanting to engage in the process, we attended two different events. In this episode, Rachel talks with Deputy Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce, Patty Clark, about the outcome of the study and current status of the program.

Note: This episode was recorded before the effects (closures and self-isolation protocols, etc.) related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We are unaware of any curtailments to the rollout process of the Kansas Framework for Growth and, because we believe in the importance of the effort, are releasing this episode per our original schedule for March. Please visit the website to discover how you can get involved and any impacts or changes to the calendar or events as a result of pandemic protocols.   

Kansas Framework for Growth
Kansas Department of Commerce
Kansas Main Street Program
 
Get to Know a Kansan (links)
Symphony in the Flint Hills
Kansas State Parks (Cabin reservation info)
Depot Theater Company
Dodge City (Amtrak information)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (Presidential Library)

Kansans,
Were you aware that there is a group of Kansans providing thought leadership in the area of caring for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and seniors? In this month's episode, Rachel talks with Mike Strouse, CEO of Goodlife Innovations. Remember KC Pop Co? They are one of Goodlife's innovative life enrichment and skill development programs. Rachel sits down to listen and learn (uncover) how they are delivering the kind of life people they support want to lead, and how other agencies are looking to them in order to implement similar models across the country.

Goodlife Innovations Website
Learn more about a Neighborhood Network
Learn more about the Worforce 101 workshop

Love frozen snacks? How about all natural ingredients, do they make you smile? Does the thought of small businesses creating jobs that foster skill development and increased independence for people living with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID/D) make you smile from ear to ear? We're a 'YES' for all three and that’s why Rachel interviewed Ky Kanaman of KC Pop Co for the November ‘19 episode.

Enjoying an all natural ice pop for breakfast during the Kaw Valley Farm Tour. Believe it or not, that's how we discovered the Kansas business featured in this month's episode. Unexpected, yes. But what would you expect in the Land of Oz?

KC Pop Co is a small batch manufacturer of ice-pops whose kitchen facility is located in Baldwin City, on Midnight Farm. We learned of KC Pop Co while participating on the Farm Tour, and fell for KC Pop Co’s mission and approach. Sure, it may be a little colder outside while you’re listening to this. But, this is Kansas. We may get a 66F day in January. And, besides, summer gets closer with each passing day and frozen natural treats will soon be needed. Even for breakfast, to which Rachel can attest.

On this episode, we uncover a unique program in Johnson County Kansas that enables and encourages commercial art-making by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Papercrete Works is a program created by Johnson County Developmental Supports (JCDS) that marries art, commerce, and recycling to create an opportunity for clients of JCDS to earn an hourly wage. I learned of the program’s existence when I visited their open studio at InterUrban ArtHouse.

The term Papercrete is used to describe a mixture of cement, water, and recycled paper that gets poured into molds to make flower pots, picture frames, paperweights, decorative bowls, and other art objects. The process requires a wide range of skill sets, and allows people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to put their skills to work for an hourly wage. Some people shred the recycled paper, some mix the concrete, others fill the molds, use fine motor skills to paint the items, and even learn sales and marketing skills when the items are sold at art shows or other events.

One of my goals for Uncovering Kansas is to help educate Kansans about interesting and innovative things going on in Kansas and to start conversations that discuss and challenge stereotypes. And I think Papercrete Works art studio does this. There are many ways to look at programs like this, but as soon as I walked into the Papercrete Works art studio, I knew this would be an enlightening interview for me. I sat down with Micah Wickstrom, Ben Koontz, Jaimie Cureton, and Deb Bartholomew to talk about the program. Michah is the Papercrete Works Program Coordinator, Deb is a JCDS Team Lead, and both Ben and Jaimie are clients of JCDS who are working for Papercrete Works.
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I enjoyed learning about the success the program is having in just 2 ½ years. The program assists people like Ben and Jaime with necessary skills development to participate in the the community. To learn more about the program, check out their website. If you are in Johnson County, their open studio at InterUrban ArtHouse is on the 3rd Friday of each month.

In this episode we uncover an innovation approach to solving one of the issues facing our foster care system. (Note: the podcast is an abridged version of the interview.)

The foster care system in Kansas is facing some pretty big challenges. With about 7,600 children in foster care in Kansas, there are only about 2,700 approved foster families. This means that a lot of foster children are sleeping in a different location every night, or in the foster care offices on couches or cots.

Sarah Oberndorfer has come up with a plan to help address this issue by creating a community of foster homes in Basehor, Kansas, called Joy Meadows. By creating a neighborhood where all of the homes are foster families, there is a built-in support structure that will reduce foster family burnout, increase capacity for foster children, and ensure more siblings get to stay together. In addition, the neighborhood will have a community center that will allow social services to come to the families, reducing the amount of time spent driving to and from appointments.

On this episode of Uncovering Kansas, we talk to Sarah about foster care and her plan for Joy Meadows. We think that you’ll learn a lot about the state of foster care in Kansas and find that another innovative Kansan has come up with a great idea to help improve the system.

To learn more about Joy Meadows, please visit the Joy Meadows website.