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Dave Mueller, Tampa

Posted on by Pat Melgares
Photo, head and shoulders, Dave Mueller
Dave Mueller

It’s the same old story: Small town population is aging, the average age is creeping upward, and young people are moving out.

It’s a story heard all over Kansas – except where it is not.

Today, in the second of our series about Tampa, Kansas, we’ll learn about this remarkable community that is seeing an influx of young couples and youth.

Last week, we met Dave Mueller, a Marion County farmer who purchased and renovated several buildings in Tampa. Those buildings now house the Santa Fe Trail Café, the Tampa Trail Stop grocery store, a hair salon, community room and fitness center.

Mueller’s cousin is Gary Fike, director of K-State Research and Extension’s office in Riley County. Fike said Mueller revitalized Tampa by working with others to create the grocery store, café, and more.

All the while, Mueller has seen Tampa’s demographics change. “Over the past 10 years, we have had a lot of young families in their 20s and 30s move in here,” he said. “Our average age has dropped dramatically.”

Continue reading “Dave Mueller, Tampa” →

Dave Mueller, Tampa Trail Stop

Posted on by Pat Melgares
Steel highway sign, Tampa, Kansas, ox pulling covered wagon
Highway Sign outside Tampa, Kansas

“Success builds success.”

“One thing leads to another.”

Those observations describe the positive momentum that is happening in a rural community in central Kansas.

Dave Mueller has played a leading role in the resurgence of the town of Tampa in Marion County. Mueller grew up on a farm near Tampa. After attending K-State, he worked for a national feed company before coming back to join his father on the farm. Mueller raises crops and runs a cow-calf operation on the family farm today.

Tampa is a historic community. It was a frequent stop for wagon trains traveling along the Santa Fe Trail. Over time, it experienced the typical struggles of smaller rural Kansas communities, such as declining population and outmigration. By the late 2000s, most of the businesses in downtown Tampa had closed.

“My aunt and uncle, Butch and Phyllis, had operated Butch’s Café (in Tampa) since 1980,” Mueller said. By 2009, Butch had passed and Phyllis was wanting to retire. “I bought the building so that the café could continue to operate.”

Next door to the café was an abandoned building. Mueller approached that building’s owner about purchasing it, but the owner was unwilling to sell. One day while Mueller’s crew was replacing the roof on the café building, the roof on the abandoned building next door collapsed. Continue reading “Dave Mueller, Tampa Trail Stop” →

Deanna Munson – Munson’s Prime

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

It’s time to name the Grand Champion at the American Royal. And here it is! But this isn’t the grand champion steer, it is the grand champion steak. The American Royal has wisely started to honor a top quality end product, in the form of a steak, as well as the traditional grand champion steer. The Grand Champion steak for 2013 is from the Munson Angus farm near Junction City, Kansas. The Munson family are high quality beef producers and innovators in marketing their product all the way to the consumer.

IMG_20150128_135714421-1
Deanna Munson makes ice cream at Munson’s Prime restaurant in Junction City, Kansas.

Deanna and Chuck Munson are owners of the Munson Angus farm and a new restaurant, Munson’s Prime, in Junction City. Counting their grandchildren, there have been six generations of the Munson family in Geary County going back to the 1870s. In 1924, they started breeding Angus cattle for their superior meat production and quality.

Charles and Deanna and son David now operate some 200 Angus cows and 2,000 acres of pasture plus 3,000 acres of crop ground. Friends and neighbors started buying Munson beef directly from the farm and then the Munsons opened a retail outlet for fresh beef in Junction City. One constant through all the years had been the hearty meals prepared for family and farmworkers each day, and those could be marketed to others too. The Munsons discussed trying to get all their enterprises under one roof.

Meanwhile, a Munson steak was entered in the competition at the American Royal. The purpose of this competition is to identify the best tasting steak in America. The winner, based on a sensory lab and trained judges, was the steak from Munsons.
Continue reading “Deanna Munson – Munson’s Prime” →