K-State Research and Extension News

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.

5/16/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Butler County

“Twenty Rural Counties to Call Home,” the cover of the national magazine proclaims. Inside, the magazine describes desirable rural locations in 20 states, including one in the heart of Kansas, which is the subject of today’s Kansas Profile.
5/15/2013 8:00:00 AM

CLARE MOORE – HENDERSON INN... Play Audio

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.

5/9/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Clare and Nancy Moore - Henderson Inn

Guests are gathering for dinner at a vineyard in Napa Valley, Calif., when suddenly disaster strikes. The owner of the vineyard has been murdered! Is this a mystery novel? A new TV show? No, it’s the scenario for a murder mystery dinner, hosted by an innovative, historic bed and breakfast and retreat center in the middle of Kansas.
5/8/2013 8:00:00 AM

MARY JO TAYLOR – SEED CENTER... Play Audio

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.

5/2/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Mary Jo Taylor - Stafford Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (SEED) Center

Planting seeds. That’s what gardeners do in the spring. Today in Kansas Profile, we’ll learn about a community which has a SEED Center – not for gardeners, but for young entrepreneurs. In another of our series on the community of Stafford, Kan., we’ll learn that this SEED Center is an acronym for an innovative entrepreneurial learning center and laboratory for youth, conducted by the Stafford school district.
5/1/2013 8:00:00 AM

Kansas’ PRIDE Communities Share Successes, How-to Ideas

It’s true: Many hands make light work, and Kansas communities – and their residents – stand to benefit.

4/29/2013 8:00:00 AM

STAFFORD MERCANTILE... Play Audio

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.

4/25/2013 7:00:00 PM

KARL Training Ends on High Point in More Ways than One

A month after reaching the Andean mountaintop village of Patabamba, Peru at 15,000 feet and Machu Picchu at 8,000 feet – a class of 30 agriculture leaders hit another milestone – graduation.
4/25/2013 8:00:00 AM

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural - Phyllis Hager – Stafford Mercantile

January 30, 2013. Washington, D.C. In the United States Senate chamber, one senator is describing the challenges facing a rural community and the way the citizens of that community rose to the challenge. This senator is talking about Stafford, Kansas, where citizens came together to create a home-owned department store of their own and also save the local hospital through a grass-roots initiative.
4/24/2013 8:00:00 AM

THE PETERSON FARM BROTHERS... Play Audio

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.

4/18/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Greg Peterson - Peterson Brothers

FOX News television studio, New York City. Today’s guests are an unlikely trio: Three young farm boys from rural Kansas. They are making national news, thanks to a parody music video which they created about agriculture. Today, in the conclusion of our two-part series, we’ll learn about these creative young men and their advocacy for agriculture and rural Kansas. Thanks to the Kansas State Agriculturist magazine at Kansas State University and writer Amanda Spoo, whose article provided a source for this feature.
4/17/2013 8:00:00 AM

Agribusiness Offers Leadership Opportunities for Women

A Kansas State University agricultural economist is optimistic about agriculture, which, he claims, “is the only business that will not go out of business.”
4/16/2013 8:00:00 AM

KLINGENBERG FARMS STUDIOS... Play Audio

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.

4/11/2013 7:00:00 PM

K-State Master of Agribusiness Program Now Available Tailored for Animal Health Professionals

Kansas State University’s award-winning Master of Agribusiness (MAB) distance degree program is now offering an MAB tailored to individuals working in the animal health industry.
4/11/2013 8:00:00 AM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Derek Klingenberg - Klingenberg Farms Studios

What is your creative outlet? Playing piano? Singing in the shower? Doodling on a napkin? Today we’ll meet a young Kansas farmer who found a creative outlet in creating music videos to post on the Internet. In doing so, he is helping communicate about agriculture and rural life.

4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM

NICK GERETY – GERETY TRACTOR... Play Audio

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.

4/4/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Nick Gerety - Gerety Tractor

A tractor rolls across a field. That’s a common sight in rural Kansas, where tractors and farm equipment are a significant part of daily life and the rural economy. Today in Kansas Profile, we’ll meet a rural entrepreneur whose interest in tractors is helping build an equipment-trading business – with a little help from modern technology.
4/3/2013 8:00:00 AM

Community Garden Grant Program Expanded

While some might caution, “you can’t have too much of a good thing,” the Kansas Health Foundation is choosing to infuse nearly $50,000 additional dollars to fund a bumper crop of exceptional Kansas Community Garden Grant applications.

4/1/2013 8:00:00 AM

JOAN NOTHERN – GLASCO... Play Audio

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.

3/28/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Joan Nothern - Glasco

The corner store. Many towns have those typical, traditional stores on a corner of main street. Today we’ll learn about a corner store which was repurposed by a community foundation which is pursuing several strategies to keep the community viable.
3/27/2013 8:00:00 AM

Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Service earn Five Kansans Leader of the Year Awards

How does a person build a new dairy halfway across a continent? How does a person help schools and businesses succeed with social media? How does a person honor the military with steak dinners across the nation? How does a person encourage creativity in a small-town café? How does a war orphan from Korea become a Kansas judge and a nationally-renowned speaker?
3/27/2013 8:00:00 AM

KATHY FOX – PRAY... Play Audio

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.

3/21/2013 7:00:00 PM

Kansas Profile - Now That's Rural - Kathy Fox - Project Rescue of Amazon Youth

Let’s go to the governor’s mansion at Cedar Crest in Topeka. A holiday reception is underway. The governor and first lady are visiting with their guests. But this is not some fundraiser with big political donors – in fact, it’s not a fundraiser at all. This is a reception to honor missionaries, volunteers and supporters of a project which is serving needy children overseas.
3/20/2013 8:00:00 AM

WILLIAMS BROTHERS SUPERMARKET... Play Audio

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.

3/14/2013 7:00:00 PM

BOB BUNTING – BUNTING MAGNETICS... Play Audio

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.

3/7/2013 6:00:00 PM

K-STATE LEADERSHIP SEMINAR... Play Audio

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.

2/27/2013 6:00:00 PM

DARIN GRIMM – AG CHAT... Play Audio

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.

2/21/2013 6:00:00 PM