Looking for a good read to get you through the #coronapocalypse? I’m always up for a good story of adventure and grit. Here are a few of my favorites (and I will continue to add more). Enjoy!

This week on the podcast we’re in Ainsworth, Nebraska with Haley Miles of Sandhills Blue. Haley is a small town love wedding photographer serving rural and ranch couples, with a heart for entrepreneurship and a passion for creating opportunity in small towns.

This week on the podcast we’re with Keith and Sandi Mitcham of Mitcham Livestock. Keith and Sandi decided to move across the country with a few cattle and their life savings to go all in on reviving this feedlot that had a great past but needed a little love.

I get asked all the time, what does it take to start reviving a small town? I can honestly say there are two key ingredients I see over and over in rural communities that are thriving: vision and momentum. So, what are some ways to create momentum?

For this week’s podcast episode we met up with Tess Maune in Pawhuska. Tess is an avid hunter, noodler, and outdoorswoman, as well as an award winning journalist and founding board director for the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation.

This week on the podcast we’re in Brookville, Kansas (pop. 262) with Ryley Wimer of Savannah Sevens, an online western boutique that mixes mainstream fashion with rodeo and western style. Ryley’s sharing about her journey from a degree in construction management to creating an online boutique.

This week we’re in Enid, Oklahoma with Kent and Becky Evatt of Red Bird Farm, a working Christmas tree and blackberry farm that also hosts seasonal events and workshops, a petting zoo, and offers fresh produce and apparel.

This week on the podcast we’re in Virden, Illinois (pop. 3,354) with Katie Dowson of Seed Life, a lifestyle brand and one stop shop for all things seed. Katie’s sharing all about how she’s built this business and carved her own unique spot in the ag world.

In our fast-paced world, there’s something special about slowing down and recording your travels in a journal. Plus, time can become distorted when on the road, and writing and documenting can help link your experiences to exact dates and people and places.

This week on the podcast we’re in Riverside, Iowa (pop. 993) with Lynne Thomas of Barnstorm Coffee. Lynne is a self-taught barista with a mobile coffee shop, where she does pop ups and events all over the midwest.

I will be honest that I would not have had the courage to say we are road trip worthy. But our incredible customers and visitors are the ones who began commenting: “Worth the drive!”, “Plan a road trip here” and “We will be back!”

This week on the podcast we’re talking with Hannah Esch of Oak Barn Beef in Unadilla, Nebraska (pop. 311). Hannah started Oak Barn Beef to sell her family’s beef direct to consumer, all while being a full-time student.

This week we’re in Moville, Iowa (pop. 1,613) with Melissa Nelson of Hungry Canyon, a farm and ranch-related greeting card business that got its start from a valentine Melissa made for her husband when they were dating in college.

This week on the podcast we’re with David Hernandez and Tereasa Surratt of Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, Wisconsin (pop. 10,084), where they have transformed the camp from a dilapidated property into one of the top 100 hotels in the world.

I recently attended a FarmHer Grow event as a mentor to the high school and college girls in attendance. We had some great conversations about careers and next steps and figuring out what to do with your life. One of the questions I asked each group of girls was, do you want to live rural? Their answers lit a fire in me.

With 2019 drawing to a close, we’re looking back on these great small towns we’ve been able to highlight over this past year. You’ll notice all of these towns have populations less than 5,500 — proof that no town is too small for revival!

This week on the podcast we’re in West Salem, Wisconsin (pop. 5,026) with Cassie Everson of Wanderlust Skulls. Cassie’s sharing about her journey from agronomist to stay-at-home-mom to entrepreneur.

This week on the podcast we’re in DeSoto, Iowa (pop. 1,050) with Jason and Nicole Smith of DreamDirt, a Midwestern-based farmland auction and real estate company where they are forging a new path for farm and machinery sales in the auction industry.

Red Oak Fabrication has been in the Fort family since 1913, and my brother Jacob and I are the fourth generation to continue in the business. Jacob and I were fortunate enough to grow up around the business and knew this is where we would end up.

My wife Traci and I are owners of the Five One 8 and longtime residents of Red Oak, Iowa. Traci is a behavioral health nurse and I manage a manufacturing plant, but music and art have always been a part of our lives.The Five One 8 is an attempt to bring something truly unique to our community.