Bill Frederick & James Holz are owners of Iowa Cover Crop, based in Jefferson, Iowa (pop 4,136).

Here's their story in their own words:

Before they were business partners, Bill Frederick and James Holz were 4-H buddies and classmates growing up in Greene County, Iowa, near Jefferson.

In 2014, they founded Iowa Cover Crop (ICC) as a way to help a few neighbors and diversify their family farm operations. ICC now has a growing dealer network and offers seed and application services throughout Iowa and the Midwest.

Combined, Bill and James have 20 years of experience growing cover crops. They have personally seeded rye grain, rye grass, oats, spring and winter wheat, peas, hairy vetch, common vetch, rapeseed, forage kale, crimson clover, radish, and turnips on their own family farms. Through this diverse first-hand experience, ICC provides personalized farmer to farmer advice to customers.

When they aren’t selling cover crops, Bill and James can be found raising row crops, cattle, small grains, and kids on their respective family farms in Greene County.

This was a very entertaining conversation! If you want to learn more about how you can get involved or keep up with this business as it continues to grow, check them out here:

Website: https://www.iowacovercrop.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iowacovercrop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iowacovercrop/

Mary Lewellin is the owner of Red Dragon Herbs & Teas based in Polk City, IA (pop 5,751). She also happens to be one of my best friends!

I had a blast sitting down to talk to her about the origins of Red Dragon and the transformation it's been through in recent years. I'm sure this is the first of at least a few conversations we'll have for the pod.

Here's the story of Red Dragon in their words:

You might say our story begins back in 2015 with filing some official papers or maybe when we first went in front of the public on a chilly spring morning at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market. I think our story goes deeper than that. The real origin of Red Dragon Herbs is the cups of tea we’ve had in exotic locales around the world, the cups of homegrown herbal blends we’ve had in our backyard, the folklore and herbal wisdom we’ve absorbed over the years and the conversations we’ve had together as husband and wife over a kettle of tea.

Red Dragon Herbs is first and foremost a family owned business. Ryan and Mary are the owners, but it’s not uncommon at all to see our kids pitch in to help. We also value the personal relationships we’ve been able to make with our customers and other entrepreneurs as we’ve come along.

Since our humble inception here in Des Moines, Iowa, we’ve made a name for ourselves locally and way beyond by providing high quality, unique and interesting tea blends along with the personal touch that only a small family business like us could provide.

Thank you for checking us out. We hope that you can become part of our story too.

Find them here:

Website: https://reddragonherbs.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedDragonHerbsandTeas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddragonherbsandteas/

Robin Collins & Amy Cox are the mother-daughter duo behind The Vinery. The Vinery Flowers is a flower farm located outside of Nevada, Iowa. Both Robin Collins and Amy Cox are both born and raised in Iowa and descended from a long line of farmers. As the fifth generation on their land, they are proud to be the first in their family to farm flowers.

I really enjoyed this conversation about building a small, specialty farm from scratch (all while working with family!)

Find more about the Vinery here:

website: https://www.thevineryflowers.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevineryflowers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevineryflowers/

Meagan Ausborn is the heart & soul behind Blue Moon Holistic Wellness. Her journey to business ownership begins in healthcare and includes her own trials and tribulations with a sudden-onset, still not-really-diagnosed autoimmune condition. I really enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too.

Here's a bit more about Meagan in her own words:

"My name is Meagan Ausborn and I am the owner of BlueMoon Holistic Wellness. I am a certified Usui/ Tibetan Reiki Ryoho Master- Teacher, a Certified Karmic Reiki practitioner, an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT-200), a Health Coach, a Registered Nurse, and a Licensed Massage Therapist. Every job I have ever loved has involved working with the human body and energy. I am dedicated to improving the lives of those I have the opportunity to serve and I strive to empower my family, friends, and clients to live better, more balanced, healthier lives connecting the body, mind, and spirit through a trauma-centered approach. I am a firm believer in a holistic approach to help you heal your body naturally. I bring my positive spirit and light-hearted approach to my work, combining practical Western modalities and a holistic attitude to whole-body healing. I am committed to the constant refinement of my practice and treatment methods to achieve the highest level of value and efficacy. I formally received my Yoga Alliance teacher training in 2014. I will always be a student of the practice and am deeply grateful for the loving wisdom of many great teachers over the years. In my yoga classes, I aim to link breath with movement through creative sequencing and music that adds a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration to deepen your practice. I have been in healthcare for over 20 years and all of these joys come together for me in massage therapy. My goal is to meet my clients where they are and to provide treatment to help them live the very best life they can. I use a variety of modalities (Swedish, deep tissue, trigger point therapy, sports, myofascial release, lymphatic and neurokinetic therapy just to name a few) depending on the needs of each client in each session.

I am Iowa-born and raised and am passionate about encouraging the growth of the physical and spiritual self, oftentimes exploring the interconnectedness to each other, to the world, and to the universe at large. I provide a safe space where humans of all backgrounds, beliefs, and levels can thrive by nurturing and combining body, mind, and spirit."

To connect with Meagan:

website: https://www.bluemoonholisticwellness.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueMoonHolisticWellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemoon_holistic_wellness/

Jessica Lenahan is the owner of Landy Lou & Devie Too. This all handmade shop started about 12 years ago when her first son was born. Her talents have grown right along side the business. She started with onesies and has moved into full outfits and crib sets. Over the course of the last couple years, she's added women's clothing.

She's also one of the founders and organizers of the Locally Grown Showcase. Locally Grown Showcase is an event that's held 4 times per season. It is an all local, handmade market with only Iowa vendors.

Here's where to find her:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LandyLouAndDevieToo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landylouanddevietoo/

Website: https://landylouanddevietoo.com/

Locally Grown:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/locallygrownshowcase

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/locallygrownshowcase/

Website: https://www.locallygrownshowcase.com/

Nathan Tricky Allen is an Iowa-based, nationally-touring comedian / magician for adult crowds. His shows are a blend of sleight-of-hand magic, stand-up comedy, dangerous tricks, stupid stunts, immature pranks, and hilarious (and unpredictable) audience interaction.

We get into Nathan's first paid magic show when he was 12 years-old, his brief stint in college, the shift in his act from purely magic to comedy + magic, and more.

I really enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too.

You can find him here:

Facebook: facebook.com/AdultsOnlyMagic

Instagram:instagram.com/AdultsOnlyMagic

SnapChat: snapchat.com/add/AdultsOnlyMagic

Twitter: twitter.com/AdultsOnlyMagic

YouTube: youtube.com/AdultsOnlyMagic

Kimberly Turner grew up in the small town of Colo, IA in a very entrepreneurial family.

She met a marine, fell in love & lived the military spouse wife - following her husband where the Marines told her. After having kids and leaving her nursing career, she started baking for friends on base while living in Hawaii. As more orders came in and another change of station to Virginia had her in yet again a new spot, she knew she was on to something. Though she didn't know how long their stay would be once they got to North Carolina, she decided to take a leap of faith and open a brick & mortar bakery...

I REALLY enjoyed this conversation and can't wait to see what Kimberly continues to build out of her inspected home kitchen in rural Rhodes.

If you want to learn more about Kimberly & her delicious baked goods, here's where you can find her:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frostediowa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frostediowa/

Website:

Today's guest is Logan Pejsha-Davis. She's a badass mom-preneur and the soul of Dahlia Darling & Co, The Bus Guys LLC, and now the Shipley School Project.

In this conversation you'll hear how Logan's penchants for hard-work & need to support her family have taken her from college dropout to patient coordinator to building businesses & finding her purpose.

I really enjoyed catching up with Logan after nearly 20 years!

Here's where you can find all of the things she's working on:

Dahlia Darling & Co:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090689385899

https://www.instagram.com/dahliadarlingandco/

Bus Guys:

https://www.facebook.com/BusGuysLLCPartyBus

https://www.instagram.com/busguys_partybus/

Shipley Schoolhouse:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555368518388

Jenny English is the owner of Well+Fed Life based in Maxwell, IA. She is a veteran, former vaccine researcher, and now, a nutrition coach.

You can find Jenny here:

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/metabolismmakeoverforoverthinkers

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/wellfed_jen/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@wellfed_jen?lang=en

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@wellfed_jen

Bill Menner is a man of MANY hats. He's the founder of the Bill Menner Group, the former head of Iowa USDA Rural Development, executive director of the Iowa Rural Development Council, and a contractor with the current Iowa USDA Rural Development administration.

Though not native to a small town, Bill has been living and working in and around small towns in Iowa for over 30 years. He is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to programs that help rural Iowans and connecting the movers and shakers of rural development.

For more info about the IRDC:

https://iowardc.org/