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Lannin Zoltenko, Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain

Posted on by Pat Melgares
Woman and man posing for camera
Melanie and Lannin Zoltenko

“We deliver the male.” No, I’m not referring to the U.S. Postal Service.

 

In this case, it refers to a business that delivers selected male genetics to pork production operations across the Midwest. This same innovative farm family is also pursuing blockchain and bitcoin mining from its location in rural Kansas.

Lannin Zoltenko is president and managing partner at Zoltenko Farms and Wildcat Blockchain. His family’s farm is in Jewell County, just one mile from the Nebraska state line. Five generations of the family have lived here. The farm became a century farm in 2017.

Zoltenko’s folks are James and Sherryl Zoltenko. Lannin and his wife Melanie have two boys: Chandler, who is farming, and Taran who is at Kansas State University, which is also her father’s alma mater.

For decades, the Zoltenkos had a traditional diversified livestock farm raising cattle, crops and pigs. The hog operation was farrow-to-finish, meaning that the males (boars) were bred to the females (sows), which gave birth to piglets that were then raised to market weight.

In 1997, Zoltenko was considering whether to come back to the farm. His parents were trying to decide whether to retire or expand.

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Clay Wallin, Heartland Game Birds

Posted on by Pat Melgares

This Kansas business is for the birds – gamebirds, that is. Today we’ll meet a young ruralpreneur who has created a business of raising pheasants and guiding pheasant hunts in his home region of rural Kansas.

Group photo, Heartland Game Birds
Pictured (l to r) Bethany Wallin, Clay Wallin, Nathan Lindberg, Shanna Lindberg

Last week we learned about Bethany Wallin, who founded a physical therapy and fitness center in her community of Courtland. Today we’ll meet her husband and learn about his business.

Clay Wallin and his friend Nathan Lindberg are owners of Heartland Game Birds. Wallin and his wife are from Republic County originally. Clay went to K-State and earned degrees in golf course management and agronomy before he and Bethany were married. He worked in crop seed sales in Kansas and Nebraska. For six years, they lived in Manhattan.

In 2018, Bethany took a position at the hospital in Belleville and they moved to Clay’s hometown of Courtland. Clay became an independent Channel seedsman and raised corn and soybeans.

Clay also joined his boyhood pal Nathan Lindberg and another friend in creating a pheasant business. “We grew up pheasant hunting together,” Wallin said. He remembered the excitement of the beginning of pheasant season. “Opening weekend was better than Christmas for me.”

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Bethany Wallin, Pivotal Health & Wellness

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease,” said Thomas Edison in 1902.

Portrait, Bethany Wallin
Bethany Wallin

Today we’ll meet an innovative physical therapist whose focus aligns with this quote by bringing essential health resources closer to her hometown region.

Bethany Wallin is founder and CEO of a budding non-profit organization called Pivotal Health & Wellness. Wallin grew up on a four-generational farmstead near the rural community of Republic, population 82 people. Now, that’s rural.

“From a young age, community involvement through 4-H, school and sports planted the desire to volunteer and serve,” Wallin said. She earned her bachelors degree in Life Science from K-State and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

She also married Clay, a fellow Republic Countian. They now have three children, ages six and younger, with another on the way.

Wallin has worked as a physical therapist for more than 11 years. After living and working in more urban locations, Wallin and her family moved back to Republic County where she took a physical therapy position at the hospital in Belleville

“We have an awesome team of health-care providers in our area who are doing their best to meet the needs of their patients,” Wallin said. ”Unfortunately, the gap continues to widen with regard to meeting those demands with the limited resources available, especially for our rapidly aging population. My business partner, Robin Carlson, and I saw an opportunity to better serve our hometown communities and bridge that gap.”

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Shanna Lindberg, Soul Sister Ceramics

Posted on by Jason Hackett

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

“Soul sister.” The term implies a kinship, a virtual sisterhood, a deep connection. Today we’ll learn about two young women who have formed a creative business together and are now connecting with customers across the nation.

Shanna Lindberg, Michelle Lindberg
From left, Shanna Lindberg and Michelle Lindberg

Shanna Lindberg and Michelle Lindberg are co-founders of this remarkable business known as Soul Sister Ceramics. Shanna grew up in Scandia in north-central Kansas.  She earned a degree in broadcast journalism at the University of Kansas and married a farmer from Courtland. She worked for the local radio station for a time and then stayed home when her children were born.

Among her friends in Courtland was Michelle Lindberg, a local nurse. “Our husbands are first cousins,” Shanna said. The two young women hit it off.

“We were talking about finding a hobby that we could do together,” Shanna said.  “Michelle had a mug that I really loved.” That inspired them to try making ceramic pottery.

“We bought a kiln on Craigslist and made some pieces of jewelry,” Shanna said. Not only was it fun, other people wanted to buy their products. This became a business. At first, they listed their products for sale on an Etsy page. Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Shanna Lindberg, Soul Sister Ceramics” →

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dawn Gabel – National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

“Creating a classroom.” That’s something that teachers do frequently. Today we’ll learn about a Kansan who is creating a classroom for agriculture, but not inside a traditional school. This Kansan is leading a national center which provides a living experience to help people of all ages learn about agriculture.

Dawn Gabel is the new director of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
Dawn Gabel is the new director of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas.

Dawn Gabel is the new director of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The ag center, as it is sometimes called, has deep history in Kansas. Congress approved a federal charter for the center. It was signed by President Eisenhower in 1960.

However, no funds are appropriated to support the center, so it relies on private sector funding.  Today the facility has grown to include 10 buildings and tens of thousands of visitors – but a lack of funding caught up with the center in 2014.

When the previous director left, the board decided to close for the 2014 summer months. Now a new director has been hired and the center is again open and active.

Dawn Gabel is the new center director. She has deep roots in rural Kansas. Her family homesteaded in Jewell County. Dawn grew up at the rural community of Courtland, population 322 people. Now that’s rural.

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Jenny Russell – JenRus Freelance

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

World Wide Web. Of course, that’s the term that we see on the Internet. It reminds us that Internet technology operates far beyond our borders. Today we’ll meet an Internet marketing company which is using the tools of technology to transcend the traditional limitations of distance in rural America. Special thanks to Nex-Tech and writer Steve Herrs whose article in Connections provided content for this Kansas Profile column.

jennyrussell
Jenny Russell

Jenny Russell is the owner and founder of JenRus Freelance, a marketing company which does both traditional and Internet marketing. Last week we learned about her associate Luke Mahin, who also serves as economic development director for Republic County. Jenny and Luke are officed in the rural community of Courtland.

Jenny grew up nearby in the rural community of Glen Elder, population 428 people. Now, that’s rural. She went to Bethany College and earned a degree in Business – Communications and Marketing.

“My dad farmed and my mom teaches school,” Jenny said. “My mom always asked, ‘Wouldn’t you love to move back?’ I said, ‘Sure, but what would I do if I moved back?'”

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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Luke Mahin – Courtland Fun Day

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Fun Day. No, not Sunday, as in the first day of the week or an ice cream treat. I refer to an event called Fun Day in Courtland. For 50 years, the rural community of Courtland has put on a community Fun Day.

Luke Mahin is the economic development director for Republic County, Kansas.
Luke Mahin is the economic development director for Republic County, Kansas.

Luke Mahin is the economic development director for Republic County and is the one who told me about Fun Day in his hometown of Courtland.

In 1964, businessmen in Courtland wanted to have a community celebration. It morphed into an annual community picnic and much more. It is called Courtland Fun Day. Posters, koozies and t-shirts commemorate the event yearly.

The event is held annually on the last Saturday of July. During the week preceding Fun Day, called Fun Week, a downtown clean-up is held on Monday. “Everybody pitches in to clean up the town,” Luke said. “They will literally bring brooms downtown and sweep the sidewalks.” Talk about a hands-on way to take responsibility for your community’s well-being!

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