Kansas State University

search

Kansas Profile

Tag: Dane G. Hansen Foundation

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Gary and Glennys Doane – Downs Community Garden

How does your garden grow? Today we’ll learn about a community garden in a rural Kansas community which has grown into more than a resource for produce. It has become a connector for the community.

Gary and Glennys Doane live west of Downs in Osborne County. Gary farms and Glennys is a longtime volunteer in the schools. They are involved with this innovative effort on the community garden.

For three seasons, a small garden had been grown on a volunteer’s lot where vegetables were produced which went to a local food bank. Others in the community became interested in the potential of the garden, so a group of local citizens got involved.

Gary and Glennys Doane joined others in a strategic approach to enhancing the community garden. They formed a committee which adopted the following mission statement: “The Downs Community Garden exists to provide a nutritious food source, an opportunity for a healthy lifestyle, and a path for learning from each other in a setting available to the entire community.”

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Gary and Glennys Doane – Downs Community Garden”

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dane Hansen – Part 2

 From scholarships to strategies, from volunteers to entrepreneurs, from rural health care to community betterment: All those elements are being supported by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation which is investing deeply and strategically in northwest Kansas.

Betsy Wearing is coordinator of programs, communications, and new initiatives for the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Betsy was a long-time director of the Greater Salina Community Foundation before joining Hansen.

Last week we learned about successful entrepreneur Dane Hansen. His estate plan provided part of his assets for a foundation in his hometown of Logan to benefit northwest Kansas. A group of excellent trustees has grown those assets through the years.

For decades, the Hansen Foundation has been known for the scholarships it provides to students in northwest Kansas. There are several categories of these renewable college scholarships which can provide a student up to $10,000 per year. Last year 280 total scholarships were made available.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dane Hansen – Part 2”

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dane Hansen – Part 1

What do you do with 100 extra mules? That’s probably not a problem you’ve dealt with lately, but it’s an interesting sidelight on the early career of a Kansas entrepreneur years ago. He became a titan of Kansas business, a behind-the-scenes leader in the nation’s government, and a tremendous benefactor of rural Kansas.

Dane Hansen was born in 1883 to pioneer parents. His father was a Danish immigrant who came to Kansas and met and married a young schoolteacher in Logan. Logan is in Phillips County in northwest Kansas.

Dane grew up in Logan. He had the mind of an entrepreneur. As a child, his father had a grist mill. Young Dane would go to the river crossing to watch for farmers bringing wagon loads of wheat to town to be processed. Dane would ask for a ride and then direct them to his father’s mill, until it was time to go again for the next prospective customer.  That’s pretty creative.

Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Dane Hansen – Part 1”