Operation T-Bone and the Beef Industry (with Dale & Duane Sloth)

Buckle up, pod fans, because this is (probably) the best episode yet! In Emily's return to Shorts Weather, she shares the mic with Bob Harris, Iowa entrepreneur and auto racing legend. As Emily's former employer, Bob is able to dive right in and let the stories start rolling. From humble beginnings of junk yard cars and meat packing jobs to a stint with Joe Gibbs Racing on the NASCAR circuit, Bob has no shortage of tales to tell. And, if you make it to the end of the episode, you'll even get to hear Bob's retelling his and Emily's Gilligan's Island-style trip home from a racing school in Wisconsin. The episode may eat up a few hours of your time, but there's plenty of sidebite to keep you locked in!

Bob Harris has been involved in the racing world for more than 30 years and has truly become an expert in the industry. His modified chassis design has become legendary with over 10,000 recorded feature wins in two different countries. His research and development has redefined the racing industry. Starting his racing career out as a crew member for the late Bob Shryock and then moving into the cockpit himself as a late model driver has helped Harris to learn all aspects of the race car. Many well known late model drivers such as Ken Schrader, Willy Kraft, and Steve Kosiski have benefited from Bob's  experience and set-up knowledge. His expertise has launched race teams to national, regional, and Super National titles, as well as numerous area & track championships in IMCA, NASCAR, UMP, USMTS, WISSOTA, and many other sanctions. Today, he owns and manages Bob Harris Enterprises (BHE), headquartered in Ames, Iowa, and also leads in-person and virtual training seminars through his education platform Race Tech Info.

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No excuses here.. Emily procrastinated finding a guest for this week's episode during her busy season so it's another solo-hosted hosted episode. This week, she takes advantage of the situation she's created for herself by diving into her thoughts behind taking a break from creative projects and the burnout that can come without it. Knowing when your schedule, mental space, or abilities are asking you to take a step back can be challenging, so Emily breaks down her experience with feeling uninspired to work on things, even when she knows they are a passion of hers. Come for the reasoning behind the upcoming hiatus, but stay for the comparisons drawn to Top Gun: Maverick and the Catholic church's teachings? Yep.  Sit back and enjoy the fruits of the episode that almost wasn't and see you back here in a month!

Prepare for second-hand embarrassment: As a consolation prize for another solo-hosted episode, Emily pulls out all the stops with her middle school yearbook. As we adventure through expert advice columns from 2007 like "Top 10 Ways to Get the CUTEST CRUSHES" and rating systems for said middle school crushes, we also toss in some funny school memories and a shallow dive into the effects middle school can have on us today. Most importantly, however, Emily unravels the fever dream that was DUSO the Dolphin and some questionable primary school counseling tactics. 

Well, sometimes procrastination gets the best of us.. in this historic solo-hosted episode, Emily pulls out her old 4-H record books and dives into some of her favorite stories from her years with the clover. As the famous Iowa State Fair takes place in Des Moines this week, we walk down our own fair-tastic memory lane. We also deep dive into some of the meaningful takeaways for 4-Hers (besides learning that peppers *aren't* an edible garnish??). Most importantly, Emily shares her dialogue on why county and state fairs are so important to our communities and makes a case for getting back to the fairs of years gone by... if you want to hear that conversation and forget all the reminiscing, you can skip to the end of the episode!

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The best way to learn something is from the source, and that's exactly the mission of this episode. In this week's edition of Shorts Weather, I sit down with Audubon County cattlemen and father-son duo Dale and Duane Sloth to discuss the (somewhat) recent history of the beef industry in the midwest. As a follow-up to our last episode covering the Union Stockyards in Omaha, Dale is able to provide some firsthand stories and memories of selling cattle at the yards in the 50's and 60's. Our conversation also lends itself to deep-diving into the background and history of Operation T-Bone, which proves to have a much deeper meaning than the town celebration I grew up with. Finally, we discuss the historic highs and lows of the beef industry, Dale's return to the farm after his time serving as an Army medic in the Korean War, and why being a cattleman is a special title to those who hold it. The end of the episode also features some more first-hand stories of Operation T-Bone from the history books. If you grab a cup of coffee and gather around the kitchen table while you listen, you'll truly feel like you're a part of the conversation in this episode!

Dale Sloth is an Audubon County cattle producer, Korean War veteran, and proud proponent of the beef industry in Iowa. He and his son, Duane, fed cattle together for many years and are passionate about the promotion of quality, Iowa-raised beef. Both played integral roles in Operation T-Bone throughout their careers.

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The stories of the late Union Stockyards, lovingly known by many as the Omaha Stockyards, are a cultural icon and marker of years gone by. In this episode, regional historian Ryan Roenfeld gives us the *beef* on the rise and fall of the Omaha Stockyards. We discuss the factors and influences that led to the stockyards’ development and rapid boom. Then, we dissect the demise of the yards and some of the economic and cultural impacts of the stockyards that remain today. As a special bonus, Ryan also shares his insight on some other Omaha historical icons, including the Old Market historical district. Even if you’ll never be caught dead saying “Go Big Red,” this episode will have you feeling like an honorary Husker!

Ryan Roenfeld is a 6th-generation resident of southwest Iowa and the author or co-author of numerous local historical works concerning the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area. He has also had short fiction published by Thirteenth Floor Magazine of Omaha, Nebraska and Text-Lit Mag of Nanaimo, British Columbia, several nonfiction articles in Omaha magazine, as well as poetry by Off-Beat Pulp of Kansas City, gloomcupboard.com, and the University of Iowa's Daily Palette. Mr. Roenfeld also published extensive music reviews in the Iowa City Icon newspaper as well as the West Coast and Northeast editions of Performer Magazine.

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Check out Ryan’s work at https://www.amazon.com/Ryan-Roenfeld/e/B003RGU1DA.

We kick off the month of July with a very special episode tackling a hot button topic with one of the coolest people I know: Tiffany Tomlin! Tiffany is a high school agriculture education instructor and fellow northern Iowa transplant. Today we dive into teacher shortages, especially in rural areas. Just how “bad” is the issue, and what are the factors that have contributed to the lack of trained educators in schools across the midwest? As someone who grew up in a large city *with* a Walmart (#jealous), Tiff also details the challenges and opportunities of living in a rural area and being “the new girl in town” in Small Town USA… including the United States Postal Service? Yep. Come for the insightful chit-chat on education, stay for the laughs and cameos by Creo the corgi!

Tiffany Tomlin is a high school agriculture education teacher and FFA advisor in Iowa. After graduating from Muscatine High School, Tiffany started her post-secondary career at Black Hawk College in Galva, Illinois where she earned an associate’s degree in agriculture and was an active member on the livestock judging competition team. She transferred to Iowa State University to finish her bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education. Upon graduation in 2020 she moved to northern Iowa to begin teaching in a high school ag ed program, where she will be entering her third year.

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Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @tomlintiffany.

Our first Sconnie guest! In this episode I’m joined by John McHugh, Director of Corporate Communications, Leadership Development, and Training at midwestern convenience store chain Kwik Trip. Folks who stan Kwik Trip (or Kwik Star, depending on where you live) will tell you there’s something special about their gas station of choice. John and I dive into some of the elements in Kwik Trip’s culture and values that help make their stores stand out, as well as the story of their brand’s cultural revolution and the role compassion played in those changes. Later in the episode, we dive deeper into the role compassion plays in our lives and the importance of being compassionate towards others and ourselves. With a theological background, John brings a unique perspective to the topic so this is one of my favorite episodes yet!

John McHugh is the Director of Corporate Communications, Leadership Development, and Training at Kwik Trip. He’s been with the Wisconsin-based convenience store chain for over 17 years with heavy experience in coaching, media and communications strategies, and sales. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor of sacred theology from the Gregorian University in Rome.

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St. Norbert College Keynote: https://youtu.be/EfuQmGpbmlk

TW: Brief mention of assault/harassment in the workplace (18:46)

If you’re a lover of stories and scotcheroos you’ll eat this episode up. Marketer, foodie, and storyteller Darcy Maulsby joins me for a deep dive into the wild world of storytelling, both for brands and ourselves. We explore what elements make any story a well-told one, including the history of Darcy Maulsby and Co. My favorite section of this episode is our discussion on midwestern food history, trends, and culture. Why is the midwest so obsessed with food? And how did the beloved combo of chili and cinnamon rolls first begin appearing on school lunch trays? Darcy and I round out the episode by discussing some of the topics covered in two of her books, “Classic Restaurants of Des Moines and their Recipes” and “A Culinary History of Iowa”. If you like to eat (and who doesn’t?), you’ll devour this episode! 

If you enjoy true stories well told, you have a lot in common with Darcy (Dougherty) Maulsby. As Iowa’s Storyteller, Darcy believes anyone who eats has a connection to the things she’s most passionate about, including food, farming and history. As a 5th generation farmer, business owner, author, marketing specialist, historian and speaker, Darcy helps businesses uncover their “wow” stories and share them to inspire people to dream bigger, revitalize their rural communities and change the world for the good, one story at a time.

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Connect with Darcy at www.darcymaulsby.com.

More midwestern rants and rambles at shorts-weather.simplecast.com.

Let freedom (of self-awareness) ring! In this episode of Shorts Weather I’m joined by strengths development professional Brad Baier to extend a conversation that oddly started at a 4th of July celebration. First, we visit about Brad’s role in developing the skillsets of his clients’ employees using tools like CliftonStrengths/StrengthsFinder, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and DiSC Profile. Then, if you’ve ever wondered what to do with the results from a personality assessment once you’ve received them Brad explains some ways to get the most value out of professional development tools. We round out today’s episode by discussing some of the great (and not-so-great) side effects of society’s obsession with personal development, including my own “horror story” of a strengths assessment in the hiring process. This episode is a “Yankee Doodle Dandy!”

Brad Baier has over 30 years of experience in the world of agricultural sales and skills development. He holds degrees from Northwest Missouri State University and Drake University, as well of a variety of assessment-specific certifications. Helping high school and college students find a career is also something he’s passionate about and coaches youth through identifying and assessing their strengths. 

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Connect with Brad at winnpathways@gmail.com.

More midwestern rants and rambles at shorts-weather.simplecast.com.