Last episode, I told you about my plans to buy a new building for the brewery. Well that has happened and we even have a podcast studio. Here's the details on what I've been up to and about the new space. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

It's been far too long! Here's what I've been working on and why I haven't been able to ship out a regular schedule of episodes. But I do think that will change for the better in the months ahead. To follow our progress on the new building, you can follow @bensbrewing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 🍻 --- Send in a voice message: https://podca…

Amy Daws is a full-time author in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We talk about how she runs her business and about how she found inspiration to write in a tire shop waiting room. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Billie Sutton was recently a gubernatorial candidate in South Dakota. He's currently working on the Billie Sutton Leadership Institute, some relief efforts around Burke, and on expanding his family. Here's my interview with him on May 28th, 2020. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message…

Denise Blomberg returns to Yankton to sit down for an interview. We talk about her role with Samaritan's Feet and about the phone call no parent ever wants to receive. She's an amazing connector and advocate. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

I'm busy today with the children, so I thought I'd introduce you to them. Meet Jane & Jill Hanten. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

From the time he was a young boy, Kory Anderson wanted to see the 150 Case tractor. That's a 14' tall tractor that weighs over 30 tons. The problem is, only nine were ever made and they weren't around anymore. No problem for Kory.... he just started to build a life where he could make his own. He eventually bought a foundry and after 10,000 + hours…

Wes Eisenhauer is an amazing talent in music, photos, video, social media and so much more. He's surrounded himself with an amazing cast of supporters and accountability partners. It's a fascinating story and he's just getting started.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message…

Marc Long was in law enforcement and broadcasting before finding his way to academia. These days he is president of Mount Marty College, which will soon be Mount Marty University. During his five years at the Mount, it's been one big announcement after another. We learned how he helped take a private school that was kind of treading water to one th…

Ben Brunick is my neighbor, a fellow podcaster, and an amazing craftsman. And I may be just a little jealous at all of his Instagram followers. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Thanks for an incredible first season! Here's what's ahead on The Lanyard. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Marcus Mahlen is from my hometown of Webster, SD (home of the Bearcats). These days he's working in commercial real estate in Sioux Falls and we talked about some of the trends and challenges facing Sioux Falls and the small towns of the Upper Midwest. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message…

Lawrence Diggs is a longtime friend. He challenges everyone to look at the world differently and I learned that at about the age of 15. It was a lot of fun to go into his background of Radio Caroline, life in a commune, vinegar in Japan, building a vinegar museum, and so much more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sho…

Josh Rieck was going about his music performance degree - specializing in the double bass, when a professor told him he didn't think that was the best path for him. Still wanting to stay in music, Josh pivoted to becoming a luthier - someone who makes and repairs stringed instruments. 15 years later Josh has J. Rieck Lutherie and he has built a fol…

Zach DeBoer is an artist, teacher, community builder, and guerrilla urban planner. We had a great conversation about how design our streets, our flags, our murals and more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Miles Krajewski is a 14-year-old badminton phenom with his eyes set on the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. His father Mike is helping Miles pursue this goal and the two of them have been all over the world. Hear their story. You can follow Miles on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MilesKrajewskiParaBadminton/ --- Send in a voice message: https://pod…

Dennis and Ann Menke sold Boston Shoes to Boots a couple years ago and I wanted to hear some of his philosophies on business and life. It's a good one. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Scott Kooistra conducts upwards of 1500 interviews a year, he does play-by-play, and he is a hall of fame cribbage player. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

David Lias is the editor of the Vermillion Plain Talk. We spend some time talking about his background in journalism and the future of print media in the area. We also spend a lot of time talking about Maria Butina, the Russian agent that was recently deported. She spent quite a bit of time in South Dakota with Vermillion-native Paul Erickson. --- …

Shannon Cole and Kelsey Collier-Wise told me they want to start a podcast and that they wanted to sit-in on one of my interviews. Instead I thought I'd interview them to learn their stories and then we talked about podcast possibilities. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message…

Ryan Martinez is bringing the Siouxland Coffee Festival back and we hear about the growth of the industry and many of the entrepreneurial endeavor he's lead in Sioux City. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

For episode #43 I thought I would upload the audio from Nick Schmeichel's interview with me for The Tale Feather Podcast. Go subscribe to Nick's podcast on any podcast platform. It's easy to listen on PodBean at https://talefeatherpodcast.podbean.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message…

Nate Welch runs the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company, but his path to being a champion for Vermillion is really fun and interesting. He was on KSFY and KDLT, but you probably saw him at many sports games and you didn't even know it. That's because Nate is an accomplished mascot and we spent some time talking about that business before …

The Ewald family took over an iconic downtown business and they are currently quadrupling the size of the store. Brennan and Mandi run day-to-day and I wanted to hear why they choose to live in this small town, how they are making it better, and how they are growing their business. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sho…

Brent Patterson was a college football player working his way toward a normal career path when something hit him. It was the idea that 2000 kids per day die because they don't have access to clean water. His campaign Drink Local Think Global is partnering with craft breweries all over (including mine) to help dig more wells and change the lives of …

Jen Kolb is creating a new coworking space targeted at women with some amenities you typically don't see - like childcare within the space. It's a good conversation about the needs of women in the workforce. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/message

Stacie Suedkamp has woven through many different jobs and they all lead her to a life in cookies. From starting a scooter gang in Minneapolis to taking over the coffee shop / pizza place / liquor store in a small town, she has lots of interesting lessons along the way. But her cookie business is thriving and they taste great, by the way. --- Send i…

Chad McKinney is a musician with Doktor Barkey, the Velcro Ultrasound, and other projects. He used to run the home brew supply shop at Taylor's Pantry. Right now he's building a brand new brewery called Look's Beer Company in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I had a chance to chat with him when he was in town to brew a collaboration brew with us at Ben's…

In a random year you could see Zeke Hanson co-produce a film festival, release a couple feature films, release dozens of short films, write comic books, film brain surgeries, head to Afghanistan or Nepal, co-publish a magazine, photographs bands, and a few other creative projects. He does this all from his home base of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. --…

Kim Bartling grew up in South Dakota and has filled her life with interesting stories. These days she's helping other people tell their stories with Plains Speaking People. I was particularly moved by her conversations about Belize and a woman she met in New York City. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelanyard/…

Frank Marx has spent a lifetime in the beer and baseball business. I came to know him first from his epic Opening Day baseball parties. He held 25 of those parties in his small white house on Phillips Avenue in Sioux Falls. The parties became so big that he decided to install permanent bleachers in his living room. --- Send in a voice message: http…

Jennifer White is the amazing artist who calls Post Pilgrim Gallery her home for creativity. We sat down over beers at the White Wall Sessions studio and talked about process, bucking expectations, selling your work, and so much more. Find more about Jennifer's work at Post Pilgrim on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/postpilgrimartgallery/ --- …

Andrea Baer and Josh Hofer join us on the podcast to talk about the South Dakota Chislic Festival. It was such a huge hit in year 1 that they couldn't keep up with the crowds. Year 2 went much better. But they are also running a new chislic restaurant and it's a great episode talking about chislic and living in the small town of Freeman, SD. --- Se…

Celia Miner started off on the oboe. Then she became a teacher. After realizing people weren't taking her seriously on a board she was serving on, she decided to try law school in her late 30s. She became a game changer in many fields and she helped shape many communities. I loved the anecdotes about her friend Tom Brokaw and I loved her tenacity. …

Rich Show is one of the most prolific songwriters in South Dakota history. Bands like Violet, Flag with Hank, and No Direction were pioneering groups in Sioux Falls. We talked about the process of songwriting, about recording at Prince's Paisley Park, and about the struggles and triumphs. I loved this interview! --- Send in a voice message: https:/…

Phil Schreck has been a meteorologist for 34 years. He thought Sioux Falls would be a short stopping off point in his career, but 30 years later he's still doing it there with no plans to move or retire. We talked about the changes in his field and the television industry in general. We talked about baseball, graduating high school in South Korea, …

Melissa Waldner grew up in the Twin Cities. Yet she's happy as can be in Webster, South Dakota (my home town) which only has a population of 1857 people. Listen to how she's built a life out of making Webster an important place on the map and how her family is farming differently. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show…

Mary Beth Holzwarth recently launched Globetrotter Coffee Co. in the small town of Gettysburg, SD. She roasts amazing beans and is shipping them all over. She is also a tireless leader and advocate for the prevention of child sexual abuse. That 10-year journey started when two of her own children came forward with their story. --- Send in a voice m…

Carla Jean Lauter is a beer writer out of Portland, Maine. On TheBeerBabe.com or @beerbabe on Twitter she often writes about ways for beer to be more approachable by all populations. We talked about inclusivity, design, beer economics, and beer trends. It was a lot of fun. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelany…

Nick Schmeichel grew up on a farm in Salem, SD and found his way to Brookings for college. As a student he interned at Daktronics which led to a job and eventually a business. Today Sideline Productions helps produce major events, festivals, and concerts, across the country, but Nick has chosen to base his company and life in Brookings. We talk abo…

Mike Hilson has been playing at my bar for years and years. Usually it's with the duo Mike & Jay, but occasionally it's been with the Austin Buescher Band, or a solo show. We talk about how he makes his way through the gig economy. It's a fun conversation with a music performance in the middle. Thanks to The White Wall Sessions for becoming a new s…

So when you produce a podcast, you get two frequently asked questions.... #1, can you help me produce my podcast? And #2, what podcasts do you listen to. On today's bonus episode, I thought we'd address #2. I listen to podcasts from about 6am - 3pm and 9pm - 11pm every day! Here are some of my favorites. Mentioned are: The Lanyard Three Ravens Seri…

Nathan Johnson grew up on a dairy farm in Crofton, Nebraska. He wanted to be in political science. His "master's degree" in it didn't come from a formal program (he tried that), but rather through years of observing as a journalist and then running for city commission. He is now serving his second term as mayor of Yankton. We spent a lot of time ta…

On this special episode I talked with George Milos who books the entertainment at the Deadwood Mountain Grand, the site of the HBO premiere party for Deadwood the movie. George was also leading the Deadwood Convention and Visitor Bureau when the show debuted in 2004! It's a fun conversation on the show and its impact on the small town of Deadwood, …

Carla White grew up on the farm near Salem, SD. Somehow she found herself working with the Pentagon, Microsoft, NASA, and more. But when things weren't going well for her, she started a new daily habit. That habit became an iPhone app at a time when very few people knew how to make an app. It changed her personal life and her career. --- Send in a …

John Meyer and I go back a long way. As you'll hear in this interview, we first met via Twitter probably in 2009. There weren't many of us using Twitter at that time, especially in South Dakota. Over the years I've watched John create great businesses and a ton of "side hustles." He has always been a source of inspiration for me; I love anyone tryi…

Larry Ness was working at a bank in Mitchell, South Dakota when he saw a print ad looking for a president of a struggling bank in Yankton. He put his name in the hat and the rest is history, as they say. But that struggling bank (the oldest in Dakota Territory) had one location and $40 million in assets; today that bank has 19 locations and $1.7 bi…

1 Million Cups is a weekly meeting for where entrepreneurs tell their stories and talk about the businesses they are building. So when I was asked to present about The Lanyard podcast, I thought it would be more fun to just broadcast a live show to the audience. I brought in my friend Matt Fockler, an amazing singer songwriter from Montrose, South …

I was so excited to sit down and talk with Sarah Werner. She has the Write Now podcast and the audio drama Girl in Space. She's definitely one of the early pioneers of podcasting and probably the most successful podcaster in the area. You may have read her articles on Forbes. You may know her from technology conferences. It was a fun conversation a…

Will Bushee is a lot of things. He's a tech guy who has worked in data mining, he's helped startups, and he's held countless coding camps for kids. He's working to bring coding to girls and minorities. He's a hacker who has rewired Alexa to say some interesting things. He gets more done than most and we talked about the education, mentorship, and d…