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Ron Wilson

As seen in: The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
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Articles by Ron Wilson

Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Huck Boyd

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University As of today, there have been 1,791 editions of a weekly Kansas Profile – and this is the last one. This writer is retiring from Kansas State University and from the Huck Boyd Institute, so the Kansas Profile series is ending. It has been my honor to write about Kansas ruralpreneurs and community leaders for the past 34 years.
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K-State, Huck Boyd Institute for Rural Development announce Leaders of the Year

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Left to Right: Jeannine, Jimbob, and Ellie Bowman of Prickly Pear Farm and Home in Kinsley-- Photo Credit: Prickly Pear Farm and Home Rural entrepreneurs and organizations to be honored for outstanding work MANHATTAN, Kan. – Growth, innovation and service are among the hallmarks of the businesses and organizations to be honored by K-State’s Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development as the 2026 Huck Boyd Leaders of the Year.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Rick Aberle, Apostolic Home

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Rick Aberle “Living to serve.” That phrase is part of the FFA motto taught to high school agricultural students. It has been taken to heart by a rural Kansan who has applied his service to developing the best possible residential living and care for senior citizens in his community. Rick Aberle is executive director of the Apostolic Christian Retirement Village in Sabetha. He grew up on a farm where he was active in FFA near the rural community of Morrill, population 218 people. Now, that’s rural.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Roger Minniear, MM Fiber Mill

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Roger Minniear This is quite a yarn. In fact, it is all about yarn. This is the story of a fiber mill that spins various kinds of natural fibers into yarn, and ships it across the nation. Roger and Penny Minniear are the founders, owners and operators of MM Fiber Mill near Louisburg. Roger grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. Penny grew up in Bucyrus. They met at a friend’s wedding. Roger and Penny married, lived in Bucyrus and then moved to Louisburg. “I happily followed her out here,” Minniear said.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Marcia Fish, alpacas

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
A package is arriving in Japan. It is an item made from alpaca fiber, crafted by an artisan and alpaca producer halfway around the globe in rural Kansas. Marcia Fish and her husband are the owners of Alpacas at Orchard Hill Farm in northeast Kansas. She is the person who created the fiber item which went to Japan. Marcia grew up in Topeka but always wanted to live in the country and eventually moved to Jackson County.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Shane Curry, Perry Milling

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Kelli and Shane Curry, Perry Milling From large cattle ranches to backyard poultry flocks – and even to hens producing specialty eggs that are shipped across the nation. All of these animals need feed. Today we’ll meet an innovative animal feed processing company that is growing rapidly to serve a wide variety of customer needs. Shane Curry is the owner of Perry Milling Feed & Supply.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Rory and Remington Clements, Clements Welding

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Mar. 18, 2026 (extension.k-state.edu) — Have you ever tried to stretch a truck? That would take a lot of muscles. In fact, the only real way to stretch or extend a truck chassis is to cut it and weld additional sections into place to lengthen it. Today we’ll meet two rural Kansas craftsmen who can make all kinds of alterations and repairs to a trailer and even stretch a truck – and they can also create artistic designs with their metal.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Thomas Eisenbarth, Grounded Ag

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
March 11, 2026 (extension.k-state.edu) — How does a wheat plant survive the Kansas winter? Among other things, it must be well-grounded in the soil. What about the farmer who plants and grows that wheat? In order to withstand the stresses of modern times, he or she must also be well-grounded in a supportive environment. Today we’ll meet a young Kansas farmer who is working to assist farmers with mental health issues by grounding them with the support they need.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Lance Stafford, Musician - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Lance Stafford (Photo credit: K-State Extension News Service) March 4, 2026 (k-state.edu) — Let’s go to Pennsylvania. A band is setting up for their show, as part of a tour that has taken them halfway across the continent from Kansas. Last week we learned about Layne Stafford. In addition to being a muralist, he also plays in a band. That band is led by his twin brother, Lance Stafford.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Layne Stafford, Murals - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
This artist needs to think big. That’s because his proverbial canvas isn’t just a small square on an easel, it might be the side of a building. Today we’ll meet a rural Kansas man who is creating murals for communities across Kansas and beyond. Layne Stafford is the artist who has created murals around the state. He grew up in Hill City where his father was a music teacher. “Creativity was encouraged at our house growing up,” Stafford said.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: John Tietjens, Little River - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Members of the leadership team of the Little River Development Group include (l to r) Lucas Raleigh, John Tietjens and John Wempe. (Courtesy Photo) “A winning attitude.” That’s how one Kansan describes the attitude in his community, which is fitting for a town with the No. 1 ranked high school girls basketball team in the state. But this goes beyond athletics: He was describing the spirit that has enabled this community to invest in housing, education, senior care and more.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Mike Ball, Remote Worker - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Is Kansas the middle of nowhere? A place with nothing to attract people to come, live, work and play? Today we’ll meet a man who was born and raised in the western United States. As he transitioned to work remotely in his career, he has found he can do his work from virtually anywhere — and has chosen to live in rural Kansas. Mike Ball is a software developer working remotely from Kingman, Kansas. He grew up in Oregon, studied economics at Oregon State, and took training on software programming.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Wade Newland, Ag Drones - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Wade Newland (Photo Credit: K-State Research and Extension News Service) Modern technology makes it possible for farmers to do remarkable things with their ground. Now, modern technology is making it possible for farmers to do remarkable things through the air. Today we’ll meet a ruralpreneur who is using aerial innovations to enhance farm operations across Kansas and beyond. Wade Newland is the founder of Newland Ag Drones. He grew up on the family farm near Neodesha.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Sarah Bell, Kansas Museum of History - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
What is Kansas? Why Kansas? Those are fundamental questions that demand thought and reflection, and would benefit from a place to learn and share the history of our state. Such a place exists at the Kansas Museum of History, which recently reopened after a multi-million dollar renovation. Dr. Sarah Bell is director of the Kansas Museum of History, located west of Topeka. Bell is a Nebraska native who earned a master’s degree in museum studies, and a doctorate in history at the University of Kansas.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Charles Marlatt, Food Protector - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Last week in this column, we learned about David Fairchild, an historic food explorer. Today, we’ll meet an historic food protector. Together, these men were two of the nation’s leading scientists at the time, and both of them came from rural Kansas. We’ll explain how their lives intertwined – and conflicted. Charles Marlatt was an internationally renowned entomologist. He was born in 1863 in the rural community of Atchison, Kansas, population 10,885 people. Now, that’s rural.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Cody Stufflebean - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
The home football team sets up for a goal-line play, trying to score a go-ahead touchdown and help cement a winning conference record. As the play clock runs down, the players take the field. But in addition to the quarterback and running back, there are two other players in the backfield that we’ve never seen on the offensive side of the ball. It is two senior starters from the defense, now in the offensive lineup for this key play.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Darrell Westervelt, Blueville Nursery - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
Darrell Westervelt (K-State Research and Extension) MANHATTAN, Kan. (Dec. 3, 2025) — “We’re not really in the plant business, we’re in the people business.” That may seem an unusual statement for the owner of a nursery and landscape company, but it describes the philosophy that has helped this business to succeed. Darrell Westervelt is the retired owner of Blueville Nursery near Manhattan. On April 28, 2025, he turned 90 years old and is still sharp as a tack.
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Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: John and Shelley Gardner, Christmas at Pumpkin Pants Ranch - Ad Astra Radio | Your Hometown Radio Stations & Local News Source

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By Ron Wilson, Ron Wilson
| The View From The Pressbox, with Scott Hogan and Brad Hallier
“Make Christmas magic.” That’s the goal of one family that is using their rural Kansas facility to create special holiday memories for kids and families. As we have previously described, John and Shelley Gardner are the founders of Pumpkin Pants Ranch. Since 2023, they have operated their pumpkin patch in the fall on their 80 acres near Arkansas City.
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