The Lanyard

Ryan Martinez is bringing the Siouxland Coffee Festival back and we hear about the growth of the industry and many of the entrepreneurial endeavor he's lead in Sioux City. 

For episode #43 I thought I would upload the audio from Nick Schmeichel's interview with me for The Tale Feather Podcast. 

Go subscribe to Nick's podcast on any podcast platform.

It's easy to listen on PodBean at https://talefeatherpodcast.podbean.com/

Nate Welch runs the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company, but his path to being a champion for Vermillion is really fun and interesting. He was on KSFY and KDLT, but you probably saw him at many sports games and you didn't even know it. That's because Nate is an accomplished mascot and we spent some time talking about that business before we dove into how towns like Vermillion are fighting for growth. 

The Ewald family took over an iconic downtown business and they are currently quadrupling the size of the store. Brennan and Mandi run day-to-day and I wanted to hear why they choose to live in this small town, how they are making it better, and how they are growing their business. 

Brent Patterson was a college football player working his way toward a normal career path when something hit him. It was the idea that 2000 kids per day die because they don't have access to clean water. His campaign Drink Local Think Global is partnering with craft breweries all over (including mine) to help dig more wells and change the lives of some people who aren't able to hep themselves.

Jen Kolb is creating a new coworking space targeted at women with some amenities you typically don't see - like childcare within the space. It's a good conversation about the needs of women in the workforce.

Stacie Suedkamp has woven through many different jobs and they all lead her to a life in cookies. From starting a scooter gang in Minneapolis to taking over the coffee shop / pizza place / liquor store in a small town, she has lots of interesting lessons along the way. But her cookie business is thriving and they taste great, by the way.

Chad McKinney is a musician with Doktor Barkey, the Velcro Ultrasound, and other projects. He used to run the home brew supply shop at Taylor's Pantry. Right now he's building a brand new brewery called Look's Beer Company in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I had a chance to chat with him when he was in town to brew a collaboration brew with us at Ben's Brewing Co.

In a random year you could see Zeke Hanson co-produce a film festival, release a couple feature films, release dozens of short films, write comic books, film brain surgeries, head to Afghanistan or Nepal, co-publish a magazine, photographs bands, and a few other creative projects. He does this all from his home base of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Kim Bartling grew up in South Dakota and has filled her life with interesting stories. These days she's helping other people tell their stories with Plains Speaking People. I was particularly moved by her conversations about Belize and a woman she met in New York City.