While Josh always dreamed of one day owning and operating a farm, there was one problem: neither he nor I had a family farm to come back to. We heard through the small-town grapevine that a farmer named Jim in Harrington was getting ready to retire and didn’t know yet what he wanted to do with his farm. “What’s the worst he can say? No?”

I know growing up in a small town and a farming community has helped me exponentially in life, from work ethic to common knowledge and motivation to go out and accomplish something I want to achieve. I want my children in the future to know the value of hard work and a handshake...I want them to grow up in a community like this.

People often wonder what is going on in Harrington and why there is such a buzz about it. I promise if you sit in The Post & Office and listen to a few conversations you will understand. The community pride, new and old friends, and a sense of home...we’ve got it here.

This week on the podcast we’re in Harrington, Washington (pop. 424) with Justin and Heather Slack of The Post & Office — a local coffee shop and co-working space. As self-described ‘accidental business owners,’ Justin and Heather are sharing about their quick move to Harrington and the adventures that have followed.

This week we’re in Harrison, Montana (pop. 137) with Nikki Edmundson of Canty Boots. Nikki’s sharing how a custom pair of boots she made for herself turned into an international business.

For the past nine months I’ve made my home base in the quaint town of Adel, Iowa. But after 19 years of living in the city, I felt the pull to go back to my small town roots and live the life I was sharing with the world through Rural Revival.

This week we’re in Chugwater, Wyoming (pop. 212) with Jill Winger of The Prairie Homestead. After growing up in the suburbs, Jill and her husband Christian knew they wanted a life in the country. So they went all in and started building what we now know as The Prairie Homestead — and pioneering the way for today’s homestead movement.

This week we’re in Belleville, Kansas (pop. 1,991) with Dan Douglas of Belleville Hometown Lumber. Dan is sharing about his unlikely path as an entrepreneur, and how he was able to come back to his hometown and open a business.

This week on the podcast we’re in Fairfax, Oklahoma (pop. 1,380) with Emily Myers of Lantana Made. Emily is a ranch wife and mom who crafts western handmade bags out of her home on the ranch, putting her own mark on the western fashion world.

This week on the podcast we’re in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (pop. 3,377) with Steven and Tiffany Poe, owners of The Grandview Inn. Steven and Tiffany are sharing how a homeschool group connection introduced them to The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, which led to them moving to Pawhuska, and how they now have their own piece of Drummond history at the Inn.

We road tripped to Prairie Grove, Arkansas (pop. 4,380) for this week’s podcast with Zack and Laura Kraus, creators and owners of Flamingo Springs Trailer Resort. Zack and Laura are sharing how they decided to quit their multiple jobs in LA, sell their stuff, and ultimately move to Arkansas and open a trailer resort that really is as awesome as it sounds.

This week on the podcast we’re in Bedford, Iowa (pop. 1,440) with Sandy Schubert of Hedgie’s Books, Toys, and More. From taking a chance on a new town, to the success of her store, to the way this community has embraced her and her husband, you’ll love hearing Sandy’s story and how this move was so right, in so many ways.

This week on the podcast we’re with Natalie Kovarik and JaTanna Williams of Ranch Wives Beef Co., based out of their ranches in rural Nebraska and Montana. From their Montana roots to pharmacy school and now back to the ranch, you’ll love hearing about the ‘why’ behind Ranch Wives Beef Co. and how they make it all work.

As all citizens of a small town know, our local economies are dependent upon supporting one another – believing in one another. Our staff know this not only from the community banker perspective, but also from the small business owner perspective as they each have their own ventures on the side.

The year was 2009. As I bounced on a small seat in the corner of a public transportation bus I saw an advertisement for The Salon Professional Academy. You see, I was attending a university in hopes to become something I wasn’t. It was there my life would be forever changed.

We’re in Corning, Iowa (pop. 1,635) for the podcast this week with Anne Greenwalt of Carver’s Ridge. Anne is a fifth generation entrepreneur and is sharing how she and her husband Tyson started a boulder engraving business that has since grown into an amazing product line of handcrafted, personalized gifts.

Located just four miles north of Corning, the traffic and the people that Lake Icaria brings through the Corning community helps sustain many of our local and main street businesses. For a community with such a small population we are blessed to have so much to offer!

"Don't fall in love with it too quickly, we don't know how much this costs," I told Jill when we first laid eyes on what would become Primrose Restaurant almost three years ago. We met almost 15 years ago. I was the city kid still trying to find a job I truly liked (let’s be honest, I was lost in the job world). Jill was the farm kid who had moved to the "big" city to find her dream job.

In the Summer of 2016, shortly before the birth of our second child, I broke the news to my wife, Allie, that I wanted to build a carwash in Corning. I’m not sure if it was hormonal delirium or sleep deprivation but she was 100 percent on board from day one.

If you travel through the rolling hills of Southwest Iowa, past the corn fields and beyond the bustle of the busy interstate, you may be surprised to discover a small community with a thriving entrepreneurial population and local personality to rival even the largest of cities.