Uncovering Kansas

From 0 murals to 25 murals in 2 years seems like an impossible task, but that is exactly what they've done in Clay Center Kansas. Today I'm talking with Brett Hubka who has been spearheading the effort.

I'm no art expert, but I feel like I've noticed a resurgence of murals in towns across the country and it is a welcome trend. Coming into a new town, looking at the murals on the downtown buildings give you a sense of the history of the town, the things that are important, and an overall sense of what the town is like.

Over the years, we've interviewed or highlighted artists across the state, and it is really a testament to the people of Kansas that we have such a rich art tradition in our state.

So, this episode is about art, and about how a town can come together to accomplish something amazing in as little as 2 years. It is also about how much pride Kansans have in our state and how much life is being lived in our smaller rural communities.

Show Notes

Mural Movement Facebook Page

Mural Movement Instagram - Mural Movement Clay Center

Mural Interactive Map

Clay Center Kansas

15-24 Brewhouse website

Tasty Pastry Bakery - they don't have a website

Little Mill Creek Trail

Get to Know a Kansan

Medicine Lodge

Peace Treaty Festival

Gypsum Hills

Episode 0108: Big Kansas Road Trip

Bill Snyder Stadium

Dwight D Eisenhower Museum

Kansas Speedway

Learn a little more about Dwght D Eisenhower in this episode: Kansans Favorite Kasans

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How the Mural Movement got started in Clay Center
• How many murals are there in Clay Center?
• How a brewery and the mural movement partnered
• Why Clay Center Kansas is a great place to live

How to Support the Podcast:

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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal

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Today's episode came from a trip we made to Sabetha Kansas to have lunch at the Brick Street Furniture Company and Wine Lounge. Friend of the podcast, Kate Miller from Hiawatha recommended that we eat there. And, now I'm recommending it to you too. While we were at Brick Street, Dustin recommended to us that we take a trip 5 miles north of Sabetha to Sycamore Springs. He mentioned that they were revitalizing the skating rink and we should stop in and see it. We thought - sure - let's check this place out. You don't hear about skating rinks much anymore.

So, we thought we were heading to a small little town with a skating rink. What we found was something we could have never imagined. You'll learn more about it in this episode, where I interview Kent Grimm.

As I say at the end of the interview - I set out to tell our listeners about this really cool place that Geoff and I found on a somewhat spare of the moment trip. But, what this episode is really about is someone who has taken on the challenge of saving a piece of history and modernizing it so that it can continue to be relevant into our future.

Show Notes

Sycamore Springs White Tails Ranch website

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• What you'll experience if you go to Sycamore Springs in Sabetha, Kansas
• How the Grimm family is revitalizing Sycamore Springs
• About Old Albany Days and threshing bee in Albany, Kansas
• The oldest working pipe organ in Kansas is in Albany, Kansas

How to Support the Podcast:

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We have been doing our format of Get To Know a Kansan for a while now, and thought it would be fun to focus an episode on the stories behind the people that have been named when we ask 'who is your favorite Kansan from history?"

So, in this episode, I'm going to talk about the accomplishments of Amelia Earhart, John Stuart Curry, Dwight D Eisenhower, and William Stafford.

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• What Amelia Earhart accomplished
• About the impact John Stuart Curry had on the Regionalism Art Movement
• How many major events in American history were impacted by Dwight D Eisenhower
• About the impact William Stafford had on poetry in America

How to Support the Podcast:

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But, thanks to my guest, Martha Sharp, people come from across the country, and even from other countries, each July to attend the Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills. In our conversation, you'll learn about the workshop, how it is tailored to the attendees, and maybe a little bit about opera along the way.

We also talk about Martha's career in Europe and her move to Kansas, which is a really interesting story as well.

Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills website

Episode 0110: Chase County Christmas

Episode 0503: Dynamic Discs

Episode 0212: Publishing in Kansas: Emanuel Haldeman-Julius

Chief Theatre in Coldwater Kansas

Granada Theatre in Emporia

Folly Theater in Kansas City

Lyric Opera in Kansas City

Disc Golf World Championship website

Girard History Museum

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How the Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills started
• How a small town comes together to support the Opera
• How an opera workshop helps build skills
• How you can support Opera Workshop in the Flint Hills

How to Support the Podcast:

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Buy a Kansas Travel Journal

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Monarch Watch is an internationally reaching education, conservation, and research organization dedicated to the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration based right here in Kansas. Join Rachel in this episode where co-founder Chip Taylor takes Rachel to butterfly school.

Monarch Watch website

Monarch Watch Facebook page

Kansas Eco Regions

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• What is Monarch Watch?
• What is Butterfly Tagging?
• How Monarch Butterflies migrate
• Why Mexico is important to the Monarch Tagging process
• What makes the monarch butterfly migration unique
• Why milkweed is important to monarch butterflies
• Why it is important to plan native milkweed
• What is the monarch watch program?
• What is the Bring Back the Monarchs program?
• Why nectar and pollen are important to monarch butterflies
• Why it is important to have everyday people involved in citizen science

How to Support the Podcast:

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Did you know that Emporia Kansas is considered to be the disc golf capital of the world? I didn't realize it until I talked with my guests Doug Bjerkaas and Jackie Morris from Dynamic Discs, an Emporia Kansas business that sells discs and other disc golf equipment and operates events for the popular sport disc golf.

I like to focus a few episodes each season on Kansas businesses that have a national impact. Kansas has a deep history of businesses that grow beyond the state and, in a lot of cases, become a household name. Ever heard of Garmin? What about White Castle? These are just 2 businesses founded in Kansas that fall into the household name category.

Dynamic Discs also falls into this category. If you know about disc golf, then you know about Dynamic Discs - it is a household name within the sport. I didn't realize that until earlier this year when something quite unexpected happened to me at my day job - you'll hear more about it in the episode.

This episode made me feel so good about the things we have going on in Kansas. The story about how Dynamic Discs grew from a dorm room start-up to an internationally known business is such an interesting story and then you throw in the community support that Dynamic Discs gives to Emporia and the community support that Emporia gives to Dynamic Discs. It's just a great all-round story and I'm sure you will enjoy this episode.

And, if you do, please tell your friends about it. It is the best way you can support the podcast.

As you know, we don't have any ads in the podcast. We are working hard to keep it that way, and hope to be able to cover the cost of the podcast through sales of our Uncovering Kansas Travel Journal. It is available on Amazon if you'd like to buy a copy. I really like being able to look back at what we did this year and remember the things I saw, the people I met, and the experiences we had - as well as some of our favorite places to eat!

Also, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. And if you are a LinkedIn user, I'd love to connect with you there. You can find me at Rachel Berbiglia and just mention that you are a listener so I don't igore your connection request as spam.

Show Notes

Dynamic Discs website

Halfway to Everywhere music festival

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• Why Emporia Kansas is the disc golf capital of the world
• About Kansas business Dynamic Discs
• Why
• About the Halfway to Everywhere music festival

How to Support the Podcast:

Tell a friend about us

Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Buy a Kansas Travel Journal

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My guest today, Wichita native Jennifer Strong McConachie, has traveled around the world competing in global endurance sports. Today, we are going to talk about how she uses the Kansas outdoor landscape and weather to prepare for these competitions around the world. Whether you are sporty or not, you'll get a lot of ideas from Jennifer for adventures you can take in Kansas. Unless you are already into adventure sports, you are going to walk away from this episode with a whole new viewpoint on our state.

Links to things we talked about:

Go Far: How Endurance Sports Win at Life book website

Jennifer's Instagram

Jennifer's Facebook

Lexington State Park Trail Map

El Dorado Lake

Cheney Lake

TallGrass Prairie Nature Preserve

TallGrass Prairie Trail Map

(Geoff and I took the Scenic Overlook Trail to the Prairie Fire Loop to the Davis Trail)

Get To Know A Kansan:

Wichita Kansas

Toronto Lake

Kayaking the Kansas River

Laura Ingalls Wilder

What You'll Learn in this Episode

• How to adapt the Kansas landscape to create your own adventure
• How to connect with others over Kansas stereotypes
• How our pioneer roots can help us with adversity training
• How to create a adventure event of your own

How to Support the Podcast:

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Our kids see these visible people as the definition of success and meaningfulness. Yet as adults we recognize the chances of anyone making a living playing professional sports or performing to a sell-out crowd in an arena is very small. As a result, it is important for kids to be exposed to all of the different ways people make a living and contribute to society and, in so doing, serve as heroes in their own right, albeit through less publicized roles, like banker, graphic designer, plumber, software developer, or entrepreneur.

Real Men, Real Heroes based out of Wichita, Kansas is an organization driven by the understanding that it is important for children and young adults to see someone who looks like them engaged in activities that can excite the imaginations and interests of the youth in order to, as shared by Kyle Ellison, Executive Director of Real Men Real Heroes, Open up their minds to new ideas, new thoughts and help with the evolution of who they are becoming.

In this episode, Rachel talks with Kyle Ellison and learns about the history of a program and how it has innovated and changed over time to include a broader base of Kansas children and young adults in 3rd through 8th grade opportunities to look behind the curtain and gain firsthand experience to many societal roles and functions that they may be unfamiliar with and that are often not routinely given extraordinary attention to like certain entertainment roles are given.

Real Men Real Heroes website

[email protected]

Real Men Real Heroes Instagram

Real Men Real Heroes Facebook

Uncovering Kansas was founded based on the idea that we frequently overlook the great things that are right in our back yard. As a matter of fact, right on the home page of our website is this quote from Dagobert Runes: People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home. ​ My guest today, Lisa Stewart is going to tell us about her experience meeting people and exploring Kansas at 4 mph on horseback. It is a good reminder that we all have one fundamental thing in common - we are all Kansans. Whether by birth, by choice, or by circumstance, we are all neighbors.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving has become Small Business Saturday - a day set aside to encourage people to shop in small businesses.

At Uncovering Kansas, we want to encourage you to not only shop small, but to shop local. Shop Kansas!

Back in late summer, we asked you to nominate your favorite local business for an upcoming episode. We've selected 2 of these shops for today's episode. We'll be doing our Get to Know a Kansan format - talking to 2 Kansans about their passion - their shops - and then seeing Kansas through their eyes.

Links mentioned in the show

Links mentioned in the show

Modern Cowgirl Boutique website

Modern Cowgirl Boutique Instagram

Modern Cowgirl Facebook

Soul Sister Ceramics website

Soul Sister Ceramics Instagram

Soul Sister Ceramics Facebook

What you'll learn in this episode:

• All about Madison Kansas
• All about Courtland Kansas
• Two unique ways Kansans are combining agriculture with non-agriculture business

How to Support the Podcast:

Tell a friend about us

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook

Buy a Kansas Travel Journal

Send us a recommendation for an episode