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Category: Community vitality

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Ethan and Morgan Jones, LaSada Lodge

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“LaSada.” That is said to be a Native American term for “place of peace.” It is also the name of a beautiful hunting lodge, shooting range and event venue located in rural Kansas.

man and woman standing in front of Kansas sunset
Ethan and Morgan Jones

Ethan and Morgan Jones are the owners of LaSada Lodge near Russell. Ethan grew up in Arkansas as an outdoorsman, hunting and fishing. He joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Riley. He later transitioned to the National Guard and studied Wildlife Outdoor Enterprise Management at Kansas State.

Morgan is originally from Colby and came to K-State where she earned a degree in journalism with a minor in business. One of her roommates was dating a soldier who introduced her to Ethan, and Morgan and Ethan ultimately married.

The young couple considered their future careers. “She wanted to have an events center, and I wanted to do something relating to hunting,” Ethan said. Then they learned about the LaSada Lodge near Russell.

LaSada Lodge has a rich history. It began as a dairy barn constructed in 1898 on a foundation of native limestone collected on the property. Years later, the barn was remodeled to become lodging for a hunting lodge. Previous owners named it LaSada, a “place of peace.”

In 2018, Morgan and Ethan purchased the LaSada Lodge. They remodeled and expanded the facility. Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Ethan and Morgan Jones, LaSada Lodge” →

Joe Sedlacek, the Joe Chute

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Let’s go Down Under to Australia.

A special shipment is arriving from the United States. It is a working chute for cattle – but not just for any cattle: This is a chute designed for Texas longhorns. Now, customers are discovering the chute is excellent for handling other types of animals as well.

extra wide livestock handling chute
The Joe Chute

Last week we met Joe Sedlacek, owner of Lazy J Longhorns near Greenleaf, Kan. Since 2008, he has been working fulltime at raising world record-setting Texas Longhorns. One of Joe’s home-raised steers was a three-time world champion because of the steer’s long horns.

Joe continues to raise and market longhorn steers and breeding stock. He also uses a registered Charolais bull to cross with certain longhorns. This produces a beefy, naturally hornless calf which is excellent for the market. “It also keeps the quality higher in my registered longhorn herd,” Joe said.

Joe points out that there are several advantages of the longhorn breed, perhaps because they originated in the wilds of Texas more than a century ago.

“Their eating habits are more like a goat than a cow,” Joe said. “They will eat more types of vegetation than a typical beef cow, so I can run more longhorns per acre than straight Angus. Longhorns are really good moms and are really intelligent.”

As with other animals, longhorns need occasional vaccinations and other herd health procedures. Many cattleman have metal working chutes and headgates to hold the cattle still while they get their shots.

Continue reading “Joe Sedlacek, the Joe Chute” →

Joe Sedlacek, Lazy J Longhorns

Posted on by Pat Melgares

A crew from the Guinness Book of World Records is recording a video of a new world record holder. And where do you suppose this world record holder is found? Would you believe, in rural Kansas?

Steer with very long horns
Lazy J Longhorn steer

Today we’ll meet a family that is producing longhorn cattle that are setting global records.

Joe Sedlacek is the owner of Lazy J Longhorns near Greenleaf, Kan. He was born in the nearby rural community of Frankfort, population 726 people. Now, that’s rural.

Joe grew up around cattle as his father ran an Angus cowherd. But Joe became interested in another kind of cattle: Texas longhorns.

“I was always fascinated with longhorns,” Joe said. “I’d watch every old western just to catch a glimpse of a longhorn. If we were traveling and happened to see a longhorn, we’d have to stop and take a picture.”

In August, 1996 when Joe was 15, he bought three longhorns as a hobby. “By Christmas of that year, I had 50 head,” Joe said. That is definitely a hobby that grew. After graduation, Joe did accounting work to keep books for several companies while growing his longhorn herd.

“Those book-keeping skills would come in handy (for the longhorn business) because you have to track a lot of data and measurements,” Joe said. In 2005, he married Stephanie who had grown up in nearby Hanover. They bought ground and built a home near Greenleaf.

Continue reading “Joe Sedlacek, Lazy J Longhorns” →

Stan Weber

Posted on by Pat Melgares

What can we learn from sports? Sports can teach us the excitement of competition, the value of hard work and preparation, the sting of defeat and the thrill of hard-fought victory.

Portrait, Stan Weber
Stan Weber

Stan Weber has experienced all of this: As a player, a commentator and as a dad.

As his last child reaches the end of his collegiate athletic career, Weber recently reflected on the value of athletics – not just the lessons for sports, but lessons for life.

Weber is a lifelong sports fan. “No one I’ve met yet loved sports as much as I do,” he said.

He couldn’t get enough: “When I was four years old, I’d be watching games on TV. My friends wanted me to come out and play, but I’d tell them to wait until halftime.”

Weber grew up playing multiple sports, living in the suburbs of west Wichita. He attended school in the nearby rural community of Goddard, population 5,084 people. Now, that’s rural.

Weber was an outstanding athlete, named MVP of the Shrine Bowl his senior season. He was even named by the Wichita Eagle as the state’s Male Athlete of the Year. He was recruited elsewhere by future superstar coaches such as Jimmy Johnson and Pat Dye, but chose Kansas State. He appreciated the whole package of K-State’s sports, academics…and especially the people.

“I came to K-State because of the people,” Weber said. “These are true Kansans with a love for each other.”

He overcame an injury to win the starting quarterback job in his junior year, became a team captain and led the team in rushing while earning Academic All-American honors his senior season. He also met his future wife, K-State cheerleader Nancy Freshnock of Manhattan.

Continue reading “Stan Weber” →

Senator Bob Dole

Posted on by Pat Melgares

The businesses downtown are active. The brick streets are quiet. Two schoolboys are walking home with their bookbags. To the south, pickup trucks and livestock trailers are clustered around the sale barn. Downtown, a large 4-H clover is painted on the intersection of Main Street and Wisconsin Street.

Portrait of Senator Bob Dole
Senator Bob Dole

This is Russell, Kansas: Quintessential small town America. The flags in this community are flying half-staff today, because the citizens of this rural community are mourning their favorite son who served his country his entire life.

Robert J. Dole was born in Russell in 1923. His parents had modest means, operating an egg and cream business. Young Bob was a bright and athletic kid who went to the University of Kansas to play basketball. His studies were interrupted when World War II hit and he enlisted in the U.S. Army.

In 1945, as a second lieutenant, Bob Dole was leading his troops into battle in the mountains of Italy when he was struck by an enemy shell. When his fellow soldiers saw the extent of his injuries, they gave him a shot of morphine and used his own blood to write the letter M on his forehead so a medic would know that he had already been administered the drug and would not give him another shot which would prove fatal.

In the military hospital, his fever soared to nearly 109 degrees. It looked like he would not survive, but his life was saved by a new medicine, streptomycin, which was an experimental drug at the time. He pulled through but was despondent about losing the use of his right hand and arm.

Continue reading “Senator Bob Dole” →

Larry Goodwin, Goodwin Industries

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Would you like to buy a four-door truck for $180? How about a semi truck for $225? Maybe a stock trailer for $150? Those prices can’t be real, so you must know that I’m just toying with you.

Shelf with miniature toys
Goodwin Miniatures

Today we’ll meet an innovative Kansas company that has diversified its product line to include miniature-sized trucks and farm equipment — toys that are being shipped coast to coast and beyond.

Larry and Teresa Goodwin are owners of Goodwin Industries in Burns. One of the company’s product lines is Goodwin Miniatures.

Larry grew up near Burns. He worked with his father, Ron Goodwin, who we previously profiled years ago. Ron produced a line of smokers for cooking meat.

“I learned the skill of welding from my dad,” Larry said. While in high school, he attended tech school in Emporia. Larry opened his own welding shop in Burns and did the manufacturing of the smokers that his father was selling.

In 2006, Ron retired and sold the smoker line. Larry’s business is now known as Goodwin Industries.

Goodwin Industries produces several products in addition to doing custom metal work. They now build another model of the family smoker. The company makes a corn header sweep to go on a combine to help with corn harvest. “We do custom work for individuals and other companies,” Larry said.

Continue reading “Larry Goodwin, Goodwin Industries” →

Cody Liming, Back Roads Broadcasting

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“Friday night lights.” That phrase refers to the exciting atmosphere of hometown high school football games, played in communities across the nation on Friday nights.

Three men wearing headsets, Back Roads Broadcasting
Back Roads Broadcasting. Pictured l to r are Eddie Greer, Isaiah Dobbins and Cody Liming

The sights and sounds of those games are part of the fabric of small town life. Today we’ll meet some innovative Kansans who are finding a way to bring the excitement of those Friday night games to many more people, using the tools of technology.

Cody Liming is the co-founder of Back Roads Broadcasting, which he founded with his friend Cody Roche. Both of them graduated from Rock Creek High School in Pottawatomie County, where Cody Liming had played football, baseball and wrestling. Cody Liming now works for the Kansas Division of Emergency Management and Cody Roche is a systems engineer at K-State.

The two Codys did some video production on the side. Over time, they accumulated more cameras and video production equipment.

“We came to realize that we had an entire set of live video production equipment,” Liming said. “We could use this to benefit the community.”

In the spring of 2020, Covid-19 hit and people were not allowed to gather in person. “The athletic director at Rock Creek reached out to us to see if we could livestream a couple of games so that people could see them,” Liming said. The broadcast was fun and generated positive reaction from the viewers.

When the 2021 football season came around, they decided to livestream the whole season. “Let’s invest in more equipment, get some commentators and go whole hog,” Liming said. Continue reading “Cody Liming, Back Roads Broadcasting” →

Roxie Yonkey, 100 Things to Do in Kansas

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“Is there anything to do in Kansas?”

“Oh, yes. There are a HUNDRED things to do in Kansas!”

Woman smiling, Roxie Yonkey
Roxie Yonkey

If you don’t believe me, take the word of author Roxie Yonkey. She recently wrote a book titled “100 Things to Do in Kansas Before You Die.”

Roxie was born and raised in Nebraska and always enjoyed writing. At college in Virginia, she became a staff writer.

Roxie came to Kansas for a job opportunity at the Goodland newspaper. Her plan was to stay for a year. More than 30 years later, she’s still here.

When Roxie took the job in Goodland, she met a good-looking guy at the next desk. Four years later, they would be married. Roxie and Eric bought a newspaper in Syracuse and sold it in 2000.

They came back to northwest Kansas. Roxie found that she enjoyed writing about Kansas attractions. She designed the regional travel guide called the Ultimate Guide to Northwest Kansas, worked for the Sherman County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and became administrator for the Kansas I-70 Association.

When those positions ended, she was not sure what to do next. “I was sitting and staring at my computer, asking myself, `What do I do now?’ Then it was as if a voice said to me, `What do you have in your hand?’ I answered, `A computer mouse…’ I realized I could become a travel writer and blogger,” Roxie said.

Continue reading “Roxie Yonkey, 100 Things to Do in Kansas” →

Landon Oldham, Heartland Soil Services

Posted on by Pat Melgares

If you have a sore foot, you don’t want your doctor to treat you for a headache. If you have a stomachache, you don’t want your doctor to put a cast on your hand.

The treatment should be driven by the precise diagnosis.

Landon Oldham, head and shoulders picture
Landon Oldham

Such is the case in modern agriculture, where farmers are recognizing that different types or amounts of soil treatments can be applied more precisely exactly where they are needed. Today we’ll meet a company that is helping farmers use data to apply their inputs in a more efficient, effective and environmentally friendly way.

Landon Oldham is the founder and owner of Heartland Soil Services, headquartered in Cunningham with representatives in several other Kansas towns. Landon grew up in Cunningham, working for multiple farmers in the region. He met Vicki in grade school and they would eventually marry. He earned a degree in agribusiness at K-State.

During and after college, he worked for a Missouri company installing precision agriculture equipment. “It seemed to me that there was a missing link,” Landon said. “Farmers needed more data in order to use those systems to their full potential.”

He saw how more information would help farmers use this equipment more effectively and thought there might be a business opportunity there.

“It was the end of 2009,” Landon said. “My wife was eight months pregnant with our first child and we had signed a contract on a house. I told her my idea and she said, `Yes, it could work.’ I said, `Well, I hope it does, because I quit my job today.”

Continue reading “Landon Oldham, Heartland Soil Services” →

Brian Stucky, Hallowed Hardwood

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Let’s hit the hardwood. No, I’m not referring to chopping firewood for winter.

Book cover, Hallowed Hardwood
Hallowed Hardwood, by Brian Stucky

In this case, hardwood refers to the hardwood floor of old-time basketball gyms across Kansas. Today we’ll meet a Kansas author who has written a book about classic basketball gyms in towns small and large across the state.

Brian Stucky is a retired teacher, author and artist in Goessel. He grew up on a farm near Goessel and attended Liberty Rural Grade School. He credits his parents, Ransom and Mary Stucky, for spurring his interest in basketball.

“Dad taught us fundamentals and mom was our number one fan,” he said. The senior Ransom even made the all-conference team while playing for Bethel College in 1948.

Brian carried on his father’s interest in basketball. At Moundridge High School, Brian played on the school’s first state champion team in 1971. He went on to play at Bethel College himself, including the tournament team of the 1973 KCAC champions.

Brian pursued a long and successful career in teaching and coaching basketball, volleyball and track at high schools and junior highs in Buhler and Goessel before retiring. As a track coach, he coached 13 individual state champions and two AAU national champions. In 1984, he carried the Olympic torch in the torch relay.

Continue reading “Brian Stucky, Hallowed Hardwood” →