The 39/94

A laser engraver his mom couldn’t find time to use became a garage hobby for Luke Powers. Now it’s Laser Tailored, the business behind the 238 hats that are everywhere on St. Joe’s South Side right now. Luke works full time as a maintenance tech at Nestlé, has three kids and is closing in on a goal he set publicly: $100K in sales in a single year.

He and Jodie talk about the 100-hat order he said yes to before he knew he could fill it, why a maintenance background is a secret weapon for a small business, and how growing up without his dad shaped the father he is now.

In this episode:

• Why “238” became a badge of honor
• Trading a baseball dream for a family and a trade
• The $100K challenge, tracked weekly with his boys
• Custom hats with no minimums, and design tips before you order
• Being present over being perfect

Find Laser Tailored

www.lasertailored.store | Polished Porch, St. Joseph | Facebook, TikTok & Instagram

Give back this season: Volunteer with United Way or Second Harvest to help families in need this holiday.

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!

Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors: North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu

Scooter’s Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah)

Wollenman Family’s Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina’s Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Special thanks to Hair by Morgan (Facebook: Hair by Morgan Hontz) for supporting this episode.

Kendra Pickering-Clements went to the doctor thinking she had a sinus infection. Seven months after losing her husband, Brad, to pancreatic cancer, she learned a tumor in her chest was the real cause of her swelling. It was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and the treatment that saved her life also left her in a coma for a couple of weeks at just 36.

This week on The 39/94, Jodie sits down with Kendra, the executive director of Leadership Northwest Missouri, to talk about grief, survival, an unexpected love story, and the idea that wouldn’t leave her alone. Kendra remembers how much little notes in the mailbox meant during the hardest years of her life. Now she’s paying that kindness forward with A Little Good, a new monthly mail subscription for anyone who could use some extra love.

In this episode:

• Caring for Brad through his cancer battle while raising two boys
• The surprising way she met her husband, Stuart, and how they blended their families
• How CAR T-cell therapy taught her cells to be “ninjas”
• Relearning to walk after her coma
• How A Little Good works and who people are sending it to
• What Leadership Northwest Missouri does for the 19-county region
• Her advice for anyone in a hard season or sitting on a buried idea

Links & Resources:

• A Little Good: Find Kendra on Facebook. Three months is $30, and a full year is $110.
• Leadership Northwest Missouri: leadershipnorthwestmissouri.org

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!

Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon, or reach out to [email protected] for sponsorship opportunities.

THANK YOU to our sponsors:

North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu | Scooter’s Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah) | Wollenman Family’s Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ | Gina’s Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ | E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ | Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Harry F. Duncan was born in Savannah, Missouri, in 1899. He left in the 1920s to build a hamburger empire called Little Tavern, and he never lived there again. But he never let go of his hometown either. His widow, Anneliese Duncan, has spent more than three decades making sure Savannah keeps feeling his love.

In this episode, Anneliese shares:

• Leaving Germany by boat at 18 to work as a nanny in Miami
• How a Jewish family, the Goldbergs, became her safe place and taught her the truth about the Holocaust
• The St. Patrick’s Day shamrock that stole her heart, and the dinner where she told Harry, “God sent you into my life”
• Why she says she married Harry for his character, never his money
• The torn-up prenup, and the trust that still guides the Harry F. Duncan Foundation
• The stories behind the Andrew County Museum, Duncan Hills, and NCMC’s new nursing center
• Her advice for anyone asking philanthropists for support: build a real relationship first

It’s a sweet, funny, honest conversation with an 88-year-old woman who still picks up every piece of trash she sees.

Visit the Andrew County Museum on East Duncan Drive in Savannah. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and free for kids under 12, historical society members, and veterans.

Special thanks to Jane Glenn for helping produce this episode.

The 39/94 Podcast: new episodes every week! Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors:

North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu

Scooter’s Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah) Wollenman

Family’s Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina’s Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

For 38 years, Mike Bracciano has been the voice Northwest Missouri trusts when the sky turns green. Some folks in St. Joseph can’t remember a time he wasn’t on their TV. On this episode of The 39/94 Podcast, Jodie sits down with her former KQ2 colleague and good friend to hear the stories behind the forecast.

Mike tells us how he went from watching storms roll in as a kid in Lawrence, Kansas, to a first day on air in July 1987 that ended in the GM’s office. He explains why he kept turning down bigger markets: he never wanted to uproot his four kids, and he only ever wanted to be happy doing what he loves.

Along the way, Mike looks back on helping launch Live at Five, doing the weather from his basement during COVID and the Flood of ‘93. He also shares how close he came to not being here at all, and how he still checked on the morning show from his hospital bed.

And of course, there are plenty of laughs. There’s the great Spam jelly debate, viewers delivering Cherry Cokes, a bride asking for her wedding-day forecast seven months out, the bell choir his wife directs, and an overseas flight story involving no shirt and no pants that Mike STILL won’t finish. (Mike, we need answers.)

Mike also takes us back to the days of AP and UPI wire printers, dial-up weather maps, and a radar from World War II. Then he tells Jodie what he hopes people remember about him 50 years from now.

In this episode:

• How Mike landed in St. Joe in 1987, and the rough first day that almost ended it
• Why he chose community and family over bigger markets
• Helping launch KQ2’s Live at Five
• The Flood of ‘93 and the storms he’ll never forget
• Why the bicycle helmet advice is no joke
• How weather technology changed from dial-up maps to today’s satellites
• The appendix scare that nearly cost him his life
• Grandbabies, bell choir, Spam jelly, and a pants-less mystery
• The legacy Mike hopes to leave

Have an opinion on Spam jelly? Let us know in the comments! 🥫

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!

Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors:

North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu | Scooter’s Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah) | Wollenman Family’s Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ | Gina’s Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ | E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ | Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

And for this episode: Hair by Morgan (Facebook: Hair by Morgan Hontz)

On the worst day of your life, who shows up at your door? Usually someone wearing a badge. But between that first knock and actually getting help, there's a gap. Jen Gentry-Ton has spent 13 years as one of many who stand in it.

Jen is the Director of the Behavioral Health Liaison team at Family Guidance Center. Her team works alongside law enforcement, the courts and hospitals to connect people in a mental health crisis with the help they need. When the state created the role, Jen was the only liaison covering nine counties. Today she leads a team of ten, and they meet people wherever they are: at home, at the hospital, in jail or on the street.

In this episode, Jen talks about why rural communities struggle to talk openly about mental health and why so many officers and jail staff are "social workers with badges." She explains why it can take three to six months to see a therapist in our region, and how her team keeps people connected so they don't fall through the cracks while they wait.

Jen also gets personal. Mental health runs in her family, and after the 2020 loss of two members of our local first responder community, she found herself in a depression of her own. She talks about finally practicing what she preached. For Jodie, this conversation is a full-circle moment, because Jen was the person who answered her call when she needed help.

In this episode:

• What a behavioral health liaison does and how the program grew from one person to ten
• How law enforcement, courts and mental health professionals are working together
• Why small towns stay quiet about mental health, and why "it's okay to not be okay"
• The therapist shortage and why insurance companies call our area "saturated"
• Telehealth and other ways to reach people in rural counties like Worth and Gentry
• Mental health support for kids and young people in our schools
• Jen's own story of grief, burnout and asking for help

If you or someone you love is struggling:

• Call or text 988. You don't have to be in crisis to call. It's there even if you just need someone to talk to.
• Behavioral Health Urgent Care is on Frederick Ave. in St. Joseph, across from Meierhoffer, and is open Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Walk in, no appointment needed.
• Family Guidance Center: https://fgcnow.org/

If this episode helped you, or made you think of someone who needs help, share it with them. It might be the easiest way to start a hard conversation. 💛

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!

Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors:

North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu

Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph: https://www.facebook.com/ScootersCoffeeSavannah

Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Hair by Morgan: https://www.facebook.com/hairbymorganhontz

Bob Wollenman has been doing business in St. Joseph since 1967, and Deluxe Truck Stop has served the trucking and agriculture industries since 1979. Today it's much more than a fuel stop. It offers truck washing, a tire shop, and food-grade, kosher-certified tank washing that handles well over 100 trucks a day.

In this season two episode, Bob talks with Jodie about more than trucks. He describes leaving his father's business and later mending that relationship while caring for his dad. He explains how a 30-year-old's "young and dumb" confidence in 1979 led to a lease, a locked-in purchase price, and the property Deluxe sits on today.

He also shares how 55 years of marriage to Connie gave him the courage to lead. Bob reflects on how St. Joseph has changed, from the stockyards and local leadership to the value of getting to know candidates as people. He also talks about his work nationally against human trafficking and distracted driving, and why he keeps giving back through United Way, the St. Joseph Chamber, and Progressive Community Services.

• Growing up in his father's business and graduating with Missouri Western's Class of '72
• 55 years with Connie, and how she gave a "too timid" young man the confidence to lead
• Walking away from the family business and finding healing with his dad
• The "young and dumb" 1979 deal that became Deluxe Truck Stop
• Adapting to change as agriculture and the Stockyards evolved
• James, the employee who has shown up since 1980
• From national Corvette club president to national truck stop leadership
• How truck stops are fighting human trafficking and protecting highway workers
• Why giving back matters, and what St. Joseph has lost in local leadership
• Getting to know candidates as people, not parties
• How a neighborly request from Nestlé Purina launched a kosher-certified tank wash
• Bringing son Nick into the business and doing it differently the second time around
• And, of course, the King Hill flag "weather forecast" for washing trucks 😂

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week! Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors:

North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu

Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah)

Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Season two of The 39/94 kicks off with one of the most fearless young entrepreneurs in Northwest Missouri: Miu Sutton, founder of Miuze Marketing.

Born and raised in Bangkok, Miu grew up in Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Laos, and Australia, learning English after moving abroad and making friends from around the world at international schools. A college fair in Bangkok led her to Missouri Western State University, where she arrived alone at 18 in 2013. Only after she was accepted did she realize she'd spent childhood Christmases in Savannah, Missouri, where her aunt lives.

Miu shares how her mentor Annette Weeks helped shaped her path, and how she built Miuze Marketing into an all-women boutique agency serving St. Joseph and Kansas City. She talks about helping to launch Palmer's Ice Cream and Desserts from the ground up, her advice for camera-shy business owners, life as a proud single mom to five-year-old Leon, and her newest venture: Pour Before, a coffee and beverage shop she's opening with business partner Alexis in Kansas City's Parade Park development near 18th & Vine.

In this episode:

• Growing up across four countries and landing in St. Joseph

• A "God-coordinated" connection to Savannah, Missouri

• How mentorship and programs like Leadership Savannah shaped her journey

• Building Miuze Marketing: social media, websites, SEO, and ads

• Advice for business owners who'd rather stay behind the camera

• Going into business with a best friend, and how to protect the partnership

• Why Northwest Missouri is home

Connect with Miu: miuzemarketing.com | @miuzemarketing on Facebook and Instagram

The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!

Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast

Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon

Our sponsors: North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu | Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah) | Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ | Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ | E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ | Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

The 39/94 is officially one year old! 🎉

For this special anniversary episode, the microphone changes hands.

Gina Calderwood of Gina’s Café & Catering turns the table and interviews Jodie (after Jodie asks a ton of questions). We hear about Gina's journey and they discuss female friendships, but we also get the story behind the podcast and everything that has happened during its first year.

Jodie and Gina talk about:

• How The 39/94 began and why local storytelling matters

• The people who encouraged Jodie to believe the podcast could work

• What Jodie has learned after more than 50 podcasts

• The importance of friendship and having people who will tell you the truth

• Gina’s passion for cooking and the story behind Gina’s Café & Catering

• The challenges of staying authentic in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and AI

• Why local voices and local journalism still matter

• The evolution of The 39/94 and what’s ahead for Season Two

• And, of course, Gina's unforgettable San Francisco Waymo adventure 😂

This conversation is part anniversary reflection, part friendship conversation and part "look behind the scenes/peak behind the curtain" of The 39/94.

Most of all, it’s a thank-you to the people who have shared their stories and to everyone who has listened, watched and supported the show during its first year.

Gina Calderwood is the owner and head chef of Gina’s Café & Catering in Cosby, Missouri. She returned to her hometown and followed her passion for cooking, building Gina’s into a destination for home cooking, catering, meal kits and more.

Learn more: Gina’s Café & Catering

The 39/94 Podcast – New episodes every week!

▶️ Watch more episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@the3994podcast

❤️ Support The 39/94 Podcast on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/the3994

Scooter's Coffee – Savannah & St. Joseph

https://www.facebook.com/scooterscoffeesavannah

Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop

https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina's Cafe & Catering

https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction

http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial

https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Pankakes, Pups & Suds

https://www.facebook.com/cpankake/

North Central Missouri College

https://www.ncmissouri.edu/

Mentioned in this episode:

• Missouri Western State University
• KQ2-Mike Bracciano
• Lute Atieh
• Patterson Foundation
• Annette Weeks

Louie Guardado joins The 39/94 for a conversation about finding his path, building a career in real estate, becoming a husband and new dad, and learning what it means to give back.

After struggling to figure out what came next, Louie joined the Army, a decision he says was one of the best he ever made. Today, he's a young realtor navigating a competitive industry while building relationships and establishing himself in Northwest Missouri.

Louie and I also talk about the whirlwind of the past two years. He and his wife got married, moved to a new city, bought a house, got a dog and had a baby.

We get into fatherhood, faith, family, the challenges of being an introvert in a relationship-driven business and the lessons Louie has learned along the way.

Louie is also spearheading The One Invitational, a golf fundraiser supporting Sisters of Solace. We talk about why giving back is important to him, the challenges of organizing his first fundraiser and what he hopes the event will accomplish.

And, of course, we have to talk about his 10-month-old son, who apparently doesn't believe in quietly waking Dad up. 😂

The One Invitational golf tournament (Oct 9, Fairview Golf Course) for Sisters of Solace

Register to Play or Become A Sponsor: https://birdease.com/THEONEINVITATIONALSTJOE

The 39/94 Podcast – New episodes every week!

▶️ Watch more episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@the3994podcast

❤️ Support The 39/94 Podcast on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/the3994

Scooter's Coffee – Savannah & St. Joseph

https://www.facebook.com/scooterscoffeesavannah

Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop

https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina's Cafe & Catering

https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction

http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial

https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Pankakes, Pups & Suds

https://www.facebook.com/cpankake/

North Central Missouri College

https://www.ncmissouri.edu/

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Realty One Group Cornerstone
• Sisters of Solace
• Fairview Golf Course
• Wellspring Community Church

Tom Brand, St. Joseph author, storyteller, and weekly columnist for about 12 Missouri newspapers, and director of the St. Joseph Community Alliance joins Jodie O'Brien this week on The 39/94 to talk about his unusual hobby of buying old photographs at thrift stores and inventing fictional stories for the strangers pictured in them, a project he sees as a way of preserving people who might otherwise be forgotten....but that's not all.

The conversation moves through his writing life, from his newspaper columns to his books, including the origin of his memorably titled first book, a tribute to his father through personal essays, and his kids' book inspired by Pony Express rider, "Johnny Fry".

Tom also opens up about surviving a massive heart attack and bypass surgery in 2013, including the moment his heart stopped and a surgeon held it by hand to keep him alive, reflecting on how it reshaped his outlook on life.

The episode closes with a candid, deeply personal conversation about the loss of his son, Alex, to suicide in 2015, suspected ties to CTE from repeated concussions, and how he and his wife have carried that grief while continuing to find meaning and gratitude.

Topics Covered:

• Preserving forgotten lives through fiction inspired by discarded photographs
• The evolution of a weekly newspaper column into published books
• Family, faith, and rural Missouri as recurring themes in his writing
• Practical guidance for first-time authors on publishing and independent bookstores
• Surviving cardiac arrest in 2013 and the perspective it produced
• Losing a child to suicide, the role of concussions, and living with grief
• Building community through the St. Joseph Community Alliance

You can learn more about Tom here: https://tombrandwrites.com/

The 39/94 Podcast – New episodes every week!

▶️ Watch more episodes on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@the3994podcast

❤️ Support The 39/94 Podcast on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/the3994

Scooter's Coffee – Savannah & St. Joseph

https://www.facebook.com/scooterscoffeesavannah

Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop

https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/

Gina's Cafe & Catering

https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/

E.L. Crawford Construction

http://www.elcrawford.com/

Greater Than Financial

https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/

Pankakes, Pups & Suds

https://www.facebook.com/cpankake/

North Central Missouri College

https://www.ncmissouri.edu/

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• KFEQ
• EL Crawford Construction
• Greater Than Financial
• Gina's Cafe and Catering
• Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop
• Pankakes, Pups and Suds
• Scooters Coffee
• North Central Missouri College
• Pony Express Museum
• Richardson Press

Links referenced in this episode:

• richardsonpress.com