The Flyover Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Flyover Coalition
We spotlight the success and struggles of people, organizations, and companies from all around Flyover Country.
Join Flyover Coalition Editorial Associate Shelby Kearns as she talks with Sean Spoonts, the editor-in-chief of SOFREP.com, a special operations report that has been reporting news, information, and entertainment on military affairs for 10 years.
They’ll talk about the relationship between flyover states and military recruiting and values as well as the ways coastal media portrays military and heartland affairs – often incorrectly.
Spoonts was a Navy helicopter rescue swimmer and anti-submarine warfare operator and his work has appeared in Newsweek, Insider, Fox News, The Western Journal, and other news publications here and abroad.
To catch up on the latest around Flyover Country or to learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit https://www.flyovercoalition.org
In this episode, Flyover Coalition Editorial Associate Shelby Kearns hosts Antonella Pisani, the founder and CEO of Eyeful Media, a digitially focused consulting firm and marketing agency.
As a world traveler of nearly 40 countries and successful business owner, Antonella shares some of her experiences with different company and cultural values. She’ll tell us a bit about what makes Eyeful Media a great place to work and how she manages to lead a remote team around the country without a headquarters.
Eyeful Media has won awards not only in the Dallas area, but also across the United States after placing No. 12 in Dallas and No. 542 nationwide on the Inc. 5000 list. To learn more about the company, visit: https://www.eyefulmedia.com
And to catch up on the latest around Flyover Country, visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
On this episode, Calli Newberry, the editorial director at The Flyover Coalition, interviewed Mailani Veney, a serial entrepreneur raised in Hawaii who’s taking her grit, leadership, and aloha spirt to the heartland.
Mailani has founded several companies throughout her career and now she’s the CEO of Kana Systems — a data analytics company based in Nebraska that’s helping to modernize decision making for the United States Air Force and other organizations.
Out of eight small businesses recently chosen to take part in a brand new accelerator program to update the technologies used by the Air Force, Kana Systems was the only one to not be from the East or West Coasts.
In this episode, Mailani shares with us what sets her company apart, why she thinks collaboration is vital, and why small businesses are key to success across America. She’ll even share a few practical tips based on her experience to help other small businesses gain momentum.
To connect with Mailani, click here to visit her LinkedIn profile.
To learn more about Kana Systems, click here.
And to catch up on the latest around Flyover Country, head over to The Flyover Coalition website.
In this week’s episode, Dale Buss talks with Gregg Wassmansdorf, the chair of the Site Selectors Guild in North America and senior managing director for global strategy and consulting at Newmark.
As a leader in economic development, Gregg brings an interesting and insightful perspective to the podcast as he and Dale discuss up-and-coming megaprojects throughout our region as well as the requirements for a healthy, holistic economic view that will allow these projects to succeed.
To catch up on the latest around Flyover Country, be sure to visit www.flyovercoalition.org
Located in Morehead, Kentucky, AppHarvest and its team of innovative agriculture technologists are raising tomatoes across 60 acres of climate controlled spaces. They use 90% less water and still produce yields up to 30 times more per acre. Their tomatoes can be found across the region in Kroger, Walmart, Costco, and even on your favorite Wendy's burger.
Listen to this week's episode to hear from AppHarvest Founder and CEO, Jonathan Webb, as he shares his story and the impact AppHarvest is already making on Flyover Country – and they're just getting started.
To learn more about AppHarvest, visit: https://www.appharvest.com
To learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
In this week’s episode, The Flyover Coalition's Editorial Director Calli Newberry talks with Shelby Kearns, a new writer whose article titled, "Flyover State of Mind: A Requiem for America’s Heartland" was recently published in The American Spectator.
As someone who's lived, studied, and worked in several Flyover States, we’re excited to have Shelby on the podcast to hear her perspective on what makes the region’s culture so interesting, how and why we should preserve it, and what inspired her to write the piece.
To read Shelby's article, visit: https://spectator.org/flyover-state-of-mind-a-requiem-for-americas-heartland/
And to follow Shelby, you can visit her website at: shelbykearns.com
And as always, to catch up on the latest around flyover country, visit www.flyovercoalition.org
For more than two decades, Dr. Michael Swanson has been hard at work offering unique perspectives and helpful insights as the Chief Agricultural Economist for Wells Fargo, and on this week’s episode of The Flyover Podcast, Dale Buss got to sit down with Dr. Swanson and hear his thoughts on inflation, entrepreneurism, and the future of farming in the heartland.
To visit Dr. Swanson's blog titled, "Food For Thought," visit: https://global.wf.com/food-for-thought/michael-swanson-blog/
And to learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
In this week's episode of the Flyover Podcast, Calli Newberry, the editorial director of The Flyover Coalition, interviews Theresa Winters, a single mother exploring the world and encouraging others along the way as a travel agent and owner of Far Away Places Travel.
Theresa shares stories of traveling and finding community all around the globe, why she chooses to call Michigan home, and a bit of advice for flyover country fans to foster more collaboration within the region.
And at the end of the episode, she’ll share her favorite summer destination.
To learn more about Theresa and Far Away Places Travel, visit: www.farawayplacestravel.com
To catch up on the latest around flyover country and learn about The Flyover Coalition, visit: www.flyovercoalition.org
In this week’s episode, Flyover Coalition Founder and Executive Director Dale Buss sits down to talk with Aaron Jagdfeld, the president and CEO of Generac, a $4-billion company best known for making back-up generators.
They’ll discuss Generac’s tremendous growth over the last several years and how the availability of engineers and manufacturing capabilities in Wisconsin and other states within the region have helped set Generac apart.
To learn more about Generac, visit: https://www.generac.com
For the latest news and updates from The Flyover Coalition, visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
Flyover Coalition Editorial Director Calli Newberry hosts this week's Flyover Podcast episode as she sat down with Alex Taylor, the founder of Orb Aerospace — an untraditional aircraft company based in Lowell, Michigan.
Alex founded Orb Aerospace while he was still in high school and now, at 21 years old, his company is venture backed and making tremendous headway in the world of aviation. He’ll share the unique and compelling mission of the company, why he’s chosen to stay in Michigan, and the way Orb is going to change lives around the world.
To learn more about Orb Aerospace, visit: www.orb.aero
And to learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit www.flyovercoalition.org
During this great reshuffling, which cities, or kinds of cities, are people moving to? What even makes a successful city? And what do their futures hold?
In this week’s episode, Dale Buss finds answers to these questions as he talks with J.H. Cullum Clark, the Director of the Bush Institute - SMU Economic Growth Initiative.
They’ll dive into Cullum’s recently published reports, including one titled, "The Evolving Geography of Opportunity: Leading Cities of the Past, Present, and Future," and they’ll focus specifically on what this means for flyover country, covering everything from manufacturing and remote work to the housing markets and more.
To download Cullum's report, visit: https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/resources-reports/reports/evolving-geography-of-opportunity-leading-cities.html
And to learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
This week's episode concludes the series taken from our recent virtual forum, "Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country."
In his closing remarks, Flyover Coalition Founder and Executive Director Dale Buss leaves Flyover fans with a word of encouragement and a bit of motivation. He calls for more collaboration from the Flyover states and their people, making a strong case as to why it will be imperative for our success as people are looking to, and even moving to, Flyover Country during what they’re calling, the "Great Reshuffling."
Guests will also hear a special message from Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb. This is an episode you won’t want to miss.
To learn more about The Flyover Coalition, please visit: www.flyovercoalition.org
With the continual rise and impact of social media and marketing, storytelling has become more important than ever before, and it’s transforming the food and beverage business.
In this week’s episode, Flyover Coalition Founder and Executive Director Dale Buss talks with three leaders and key storytellers in Flyover Country as they share their stories, experiences, and advice for navigating the ever-changing landscape of marketing.
They are:
Chad Hancock, Chief Design Officer, Puris Holdings
John Harsch, President, Sustainable Environmental Consultants
Julie Smolyansky, CEO, Lifeway Foods
Their discussion occurred during The Flyover Coalition's’ recent online forum, Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.
For more information about The Flyover Coalition, please visit: https://www.flyovercoalition.org
In this week’s episode, Flyover Coalition founder and executive director Dale Buss talks about the ongoing economic development narrative regarding the food storage industry. Businesses and consumers alike are facing the rise of e-commerce along with complex supply chain issues that have made proper storage more important than ever before.
Join Dale in an encouraging conversation with three leaders from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan as they discuss the source of these issues and the solutions that are being created right here in Flyover Country. You'll hear from:
Tim Derickson, Food & Agribusiness Lead, JobsOhio
Larry Gigerich, Executive Managing Director, Ginovus
Jeff Rivera, Chief Operating Officer, Lineage Logistics
Their discussion occurred during The Flyover Coalition’s recent online forum, Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.
To learn more about The Flyover Coalition, visit: www.flyovercoalition.org
What are the differences among traditional, plant-based, and cultured meat, and why do they matter to Flyover Country? Our region is facing a dilemma in the meat industry, but can there also be opportunity?
Join Julian Mellentin, a friend of The Flyover Coalition and the publisher and editor in chief of New Nutrition Business as he moderates a lively discussion and confronts some of the industry’s biggest questions with Rob Dongoski, the Food & Agriculture leader at EY Reporting, and Seth Goldman, the executive chairman of Beyond Meat, the leading and high-profile alt-meat brand.
They’ll discuss all things health, science, and economics as it relates to traditional meat and its alternatives.
Their discussion occurred during The Flyover Coalition's recent virtual forum, Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.
There’s been an explosion of innovation on the farm that’s transforming agriculture across Flyover Country and it’s boosting our global predominance.
In this week’s episode, Flyover Coalition Founder and Executive Director Dale Buss talks with three leaders within agriculture technology, innovation, and education from our region:
Matt Crisp, CEO, Benson Hill
Mike DiPaola, Chief Commercial Officer, Taranis Global
Weston McCary, Director of Precision Agriculture, Northwest Kansas Technical College
They’ll dive into current issues and progress that’s been made relating to crop production, soil health, and technology, and also discuss current market potential and opportunities for companies to better serve the farmers in the fields and meet consumer demands.
Their discussion occurred in The Flyover Coalition’s recent virtual forum, Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.
For more information about The Flyover Coalition, visit: www.flyovercoalition.org
We know big food and beverage companies based in Flyover Country still dominate the industry, but they’ve been altering the strategies to remain vital. In this week’s episode, The Flyover Coalition founder and executive director Dale Buss talks with three Heartland leaders within the CPG industry:
Ken Harris, managing director, Cadent
D’Anne Hayman, VP of global innovation, Kellogg's
Brigette Wolf, global head, SnackFutures, Mondeléz International
They’ll talk about current trends, strategies, and new opportunities for food and beverage product companies.
Their discussion occurred during The Flyover Coalition’s recent forum, Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.
Learn more at: https://www.flyovercoalition.org/podcast
In this week’s episode, we are talking about diversity in the heartland and how entrepreneurial women and people of color are finding new solutions and blazing new trails with startups across the region.
Join us as our Founder and Executive Director Dale Buss talks about the progress that’s been made and challenges that are still ahead with Brian Albert, co-owner and chief managing officer, Amped Kitchens; Riana Lynn, CEO, Journey Foods; and Michelle McBride, founder and CEO, GoodSport.
Their discussion occurred during the Flyover Coalition's recent virtual forum, "Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country.”
Learn more at: https://www.flyovercoalition.org/podcast
The only way for Flyover Country to restore our rightful position in the American economy is to create ecosystems where big legacy companies, startup entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, universities and NGOs can work together to flourish. Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis are making progress in this way in the food and ag-tech industries.
In this week's episode, Kathleen Gallagher, executive director of the 5 Lakes Institute, talks about what we need to do with Brett Brohl, managing partner of Bread and Butter Ventures and managing director of the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator, based in Minneapolis; Kishan Vasani, CEO of Spoonshot, a startup based in the Twin Cities; Alan Reed, executive director of the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network; and Dennis Pruitt, vice president of business development for the Missouri Partnership.
Their discussion occurred during The Flyover Coalition's recent virtual forum, "Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country."
Learn more at: https://www.flyovercoalition.org/podcast
This episode is taken from our recent conference on the future of the food and agricultural businesses in Flyover Country. It is about the importance for our region of restoring our traditional lead in these industries. But the discussion applies to flyover country generally, and to our role in the national and global economies.
Join Dale Buss, the founder and executive director of The Flyover Coalition, as he moderates a discussion with Jeff Grogg, founder of JPG Resources, Aaron Renn, publisher at Heartland Intelligence, and Luke Saunders, founder & CEO of Farmer's Fridge.
Learn more at: https://www.flyovercoalition.org/podcast
What is "Flyover Country"? We define it as America between the Appalachians and the Rockies, and the Great Lakes and the Gulf Coast. In this episode, Dale introduces The Flyover Coalition, our mission, and the rationale behind our first event: "Reimagining the Food Business in Flyover Country."
This episode kicks off a new series taken from our virtual forum with more than a dozen CPG and food service executives, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists talking about the current and future conditions of the food business in Flyover Country.
Learn more at: https://www.flyovercoalition.org/podcast