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An engineering problem-solver, known for its design and precision fabrication of equipment and controls for the energy and aerospace sectors, is based in rural Kansas. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how this rural company helps mostly Fortune 50 companies – not Fortune 500 companies, but Fortune 50 companies – who are looking for solutions to an engineering or fabrication problem.
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A contest to settle an argument between two restaurants over who had the best meatloaf has become an annual event for one rural Kansas community. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains this unique contest and how the community continues to attract new businesses.
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Baseball is known as America’s pastime because it was probably the most widely played sport in the 19th and early 20th century. The best double-play combination in the early 1900s was the Chicago Cubs’ Joe Tinker to Johnny Evers to Frank Chance. Tinker was born in rural Kansas. Now, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says Tinker’s hometown is honoring him by repurposing the city’s old water tower tank to create the world’s largest baseball – complete with baseball stitching on the outside and a museum on the inside.
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A dairy in rural Kansas is producing cheese that’s being sold from coast to coast. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how a third generation dairyman is adding value to his milk by making artisan cheese on his own farm.
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A national magazine has named Butler County as one of Twenty Rural Counties to Call Home. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says there are many reasons why American Cowboy magazine chose Butler County as a desired rural location.
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An historic bed and breakfast and retreat center in the middle of Kansas is combining murder, mystery and restored rooms to attract guests from coast to coast. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how this small town bed and breakfast has grown over the years from one historic home to a collection of historic homes that offers 18 rooms with private baths and an opportunity to solve a murder mystery during dinner.
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A SEED Center for entrepreneurs is an educational center in rural Kansas that’s helping students to create and operate their own “real-world” businesses. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the SEED Center has already created more than 50 businesses and is planting seeds that may enable students to return home and open a business after college.
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A grassroots initiative to create a home-owned department store and another to save the local hospital demonstrates how teamwork and creative thinking can make a positive difference for that community and for all of rural America. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, shares this community’s remarkable story – a story that has made it all the way to the United States Senate chamber in Washington, D.C.
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Thanks to a parody music video about agriculture that went viral on the Internet, three brothers from rural Kansas have been making national news – including a trip to New York City to appear on FOX News. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, spotlights these young men and their advocacy for agriculture and rural Kansas.
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A young Kansas farmer has found a creative outlet in creating music videos to post on the Internet. According to Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, the music videos focus on things closest to the musical artist: family and farm.
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A tractor rolling across a field is a common sight in rural Kansas, where tractors and farm equipment are a significant part of daily life and the rural economy. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a lifelong interest in tractors is helping a rural entrepreneur build an equipment-trading business – with a little help from modern technology.
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The corner store. Many towns have those typical, traditional stores on the corner of main street. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a corner store was recently repurposed by a community foundation which is pursuing several strategies to keep the community viable.
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Kansas is often referred to as the “Bible Belt” so it should come as no surprise that an effort called PRAY – Project Rescue of Amazon Youth – was founded in 1999 by three women with Kansas connections. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how PRAY is helping children in Brazil who are living in abject poverty with no home, food or healthcare.
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How can small grocery stores compete with larger stores? It may boil down to having the right operating formula. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the owner of a grocery store in rural Kansas believes in having the cleanest, friendliest store with good value and best possible service. And, that formula appears to be working.
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An innovative Kansas company has found ways to harvest the power of magnets – which can be used to generate electricity or to pull or repel metal – in products it markets around the world. The company started in Chicago and moved to four different locations as it grew. According to Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, the owner of the company moved his operation to rural Kansas in 1979 because he wanted to find a location with enough land so that when he needed to expand, he wouldn’t have to move again.
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Teamwork is vital for success in athletics, communities, businesses and organizations. But how can we build better teams? How can more successful teamwork be achieved? And, how can we create high-performing teams? Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the K-State Leadership Seminar has been enhancing the leadership skills and capacities of the K-State community and communities throughout Kansas for more than 15 years.
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Can a farmer in a rural community of fewer than 300 people be successful in reaching a mass audience to answer questions about how food, fuel, feed and fiber are produced? Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the answer is yes…if they know how to utilize Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs and other social media services. And, that’s exactly what one Kansas farmer is doing to help thousands of people learn more about agriculture.
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The Santa Fe Railroad played a significant role in Kansas history. A rural Kansas couple has a remarkable private collection of Santa Fe memorabilia. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says that collection, dating from the early 1900s, is now being shared with the public.
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The newspaper and television are two different and competitive forms of communication. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that the owner of a newspaper and the owner of a TV station didn’t have a lot of respect for the other medium. However, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says an innovative newspaper publisher saw the value in launching a local cable television system in Kansas.
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In 1892, a newspaper with a starting capital of only $50, became the eighth paper in Lawrence. Today, that newspaper has merged with 50 or more newspapers and is one of the leading newspapers in the state. In the first of a two-part series, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, traces the history of how the Lawrence Journal-World got its start.
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Some people are just naturally better at “mending fences” than others. While that typically applies to personal relationships, it also applies to actual fences which can get loose or the wires can start to sag. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a Kansas “ruralpreneur” is a distributor for a product that allows everyone to be better at mending fences.
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A lot of the furniture made today is considered “disposable furniture” because it’s cheap and easy to make. However, some people still prefer furniture that’s “built to last” and are willing to invest in refurbishing well-made, lasting furniture. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a man from rural Kansas repairs and refinishes the type of furniture our grandparents might have had.
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Would you travel 27 hours to learn about civic leadership? That’s exactly what one man did to attend a global gathering hosted by the Kansas Leadership Center. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says an email invitation to visit the KLC resulted in people from 13 countries, 17 American states, and the District of Columbia wanting to learn more about center’s civic leadership development work.
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A long-time dairy family in Pennsylvania moved its operation to Kansas when it needed room to expand. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the family made the move to Kansas because the “fit” felt right. He talks about just how right the “fit” has been for the family and rural western Kansas.
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A family with century-old roots to the dairy industry in Pennsylvania wanted to expand. However, they didn’t feel there was any long-term future for a dairy operation in Pennsylvania that had to be big enough to support five families. As a result, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says this family decided to relocate to western Kansas – and the move has been good for the dairy operation and the surrounding community.
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The challenge of shipping any product is making sure it arrives without being damaged. However, some things are harder to ship than others. These products often require custom-made containers and pallets. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a crating and pallet business in rural Kansas builds crates, boxes, skids and shipping containers that are used for shipping a variety of odd-sized products and materials around the globe.
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Doing design work for a multi-million dollar project, being a volunteer fire fighter, serving on the city council, and helping put up the community’s Christmas lights is all part of the job for an engineer living in a rural Kansas town of fewer than 200 people. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, discusses how this civil engineer helps his community by tackling so many local projects.
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It’s common to see free Wi-Fi offered at fast food restaurants, but how about small town cafés? Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says a café in rural Kansas responded to a community need for a computer lab by adding a few computers so people could check e-mail, surf the Internet and get lunch.
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Kansas State University football coach Bill Snyder has a habit of taking small-town kids who flew under the national radar and helping them fulfill their potential as a player. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the starting center for this year’s squad, B.J. Finney, is a perfect example.
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”Who out there wouldn’t buy a soldier a steak?” It was that thought that resulted in the formation of the All American Beef Battalion, an organization which provides steak feeds for soldiers. Since April 2008, the organization has fed more than 140,000 people in 18 states. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says the idea for the steak feeds for soldiers came from a fourth generation cattleman from rural Kansas who also happens to be a marine and a veteran who was wounded in the Viet Nam war.
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Many Kansas communities have Christmas parades, but there’s just one that features only horse-drawn vehicles. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how the Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade got its start and how it became an annual event that’s attended by thousands.
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In the conclusion of a two-part series about Hooves of Heaven, an equine-assisted learning organization for troubled youth, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, discusses some of the miraculous things that have happened when kids and horses get together.
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A dog may be thought of as “man’s best friend” – but a horse just might be a troubled youth’s best friend. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how a rural Kansas man combined his love of horses with his knack for helping troubled youth to found Hooves of Heaven, an equine-assisted learning organization in northwest Kansas.
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There’s a new city in Kansas. It has buildings, streets, and cars, but no people. In fact, the only permanent residents are dummies. To make matters worse, its name is Crisis City. While this city appears to be a nightmare for the Chamber of Commerce, Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says this city is important to the future of the state and can literally help save lives.
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A love of photography, a willingness to share personal photos, and the ability to connect with others through today’s digital world is enabling a woman to post images relating to her hometown. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, spotlights how this avid photographer shares her photos one day at a time.
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We never know what events will shape our future. For a boy growing up on a farm in south central Kansas it started with soaring through the air and clearing the high jump bar. However, two other life experiences would send him soaring to new heights. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how this high jumper from rural Kansas became a member of the Thunderbirds – an elite U.S. Air Force fighter pilot squadron.
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A young girl who sang with her brother on the family’s back porch and in her dad’s band when she got a little older, eventually formed her own band and went on to open for country music superstar Garth Brooks. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, traces the roots of one of country music’s biggest stars…topping the singles charts six times and selling more than 18 million albums.
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Walking into an old-time soda fountain and ordering drinks made from scratch by blending syrup, soda water and other flavorings may seem like a scene from an old movie, but it’s something people in one rural Kansas community do every day. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, looks at how this business has given new life to the downtown community.
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CARS – which stands for Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists – is a rural Kansas business that is keeping older automobiles out of the junk yard and on the road. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, explains how the owner of CARS learned the trade first-hand from his father while growing up in Stafford County. Now, he is running a successful business of his own in the rural community of Parkerfield.
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Whether it’s a man cave or a 26-foot-tall observation tower, a rural Kansas construction business can handle the project. In fact, this family-owned business builds houses, larger buildings and commercial projects. Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University, says this company – with just 11 employees and a sub crew – has built its business volume to about 2-point-5 million dollars.
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