Sue Balcom  1:04  
I'm delighted to be asked to be with you, Jan.

Jan Stankiewicz  1:09  
This is great. So I can just I'm just so excited for our conversation. So let's start with a little bit of background for you. And you in regards to the Bismarck Farmer's Market. Where does all this start? I know you've been involved in local foods and farmer's markets for quite some time. But just tell us a little bit about how it started for you. 

Sue Balcom  1:31  
Boy, you're not gonna like this, because my history goes back a long ways. You know, sometimes you forget how old you are, and how long you've been on the planet. But when I started in local foods, officially, I didn't even know it was called local foods. And it was about 2008 when I got a job at the Ag Department as the local foods marketing specialist. But the only qualification I think I have for any of the work that I've been doing since then, including the farmer's markets, is that I have lived a local economy. I grew up in a local economy. If it wouldn't have been for gardening, when we lived in Fredonia, we would have probably had a very limited diet. But my mom was an avid gardener. My memories start way back then. And so when I found out that people were didn't know where a potato came from, or didn't know how to garden, or can I was like, What do you mean, like this is craziness. And so getting started in the local foods movement in North Dakota was really exciting. And I remember Roger Johnson, who was the ag commissioner at the time, he said to me, you don't really think Sue is going to get these people to start canning do you. And look at what's happened since then it's really taken off. And so about, oh, I'd say maybe seven years ago, I did research for a book on the German Russian food culture, because I really wanted to know how people gardened, canned, preserved, butchered, stored meat without electricity. Like, how do you bake bread with cow pies? You know, like, how do you regulate an oven? Where do you keep meat in the wintertime? Like, these are questions I really wanted to know. And in the course of all of this research, now, everybody wants to know the answers to these questions. So one of the parts of that whole scenario with the books that I did was the everlasting yeast, which is actually a sourdough starter, and all the ladies had one in their root cellar. So I thought, Oh, this is so fascinating to me, I think I'm gonna start baking bread. And so I started my culture back then. And then I ran into somebody named Diane Schmidt, who had been doing farmer's markets and Mandan. I was one of her customers for 40 years. And she encouraged me to join the farmer's market. And I did. And of course, the rest is history because I've been a street vendor for many years as an artist and this fell right into my, the way I wanted to live my life and how I wanted to make money. And so when our markets kind of like grew and split, I became the market manager for Bismarck Farmer's Market and let me tell you, that's been a real learning experience.

I can imagine I really like how you talk about like the different worlds you know, you live in a world or were raised in a world where local foods wasn't even a term because it was just your lived experience. And then being exposed to or having insight into other people's worlds where it's a completely different experience. So I just really like that you can, you know, local foods allows us to kind of step in and out of that or, or see different ways of of living and experiences that's really interesting.

Jan Stankiewicz  5:00  
So Bismarck Farmer's Market that is, of course, in Bismarck. Tell us a little bit about your role as a market manager because I think maybe, maybe some people don't know all of the work that it takes to get markets set up on Market Day. 

Sue Balcom  5:18  
Heck, I'd probably wouldn't have taken this job had I known how much work it was. 

Alright. 

First of all, you really, we're really strict. I hate using that word, but we're really committed to being a farmer's market. So one of the things that we require is that the people are actually growing their own vegetables, we don't do any resale. So in order to ensure that we can maintain the integrity of the market, we set ourselves up as a nonprofit corporation each, and that requires paperwork, and lots of paperwork, lots of paperwork, and annual paperwork to it didn't just stop there.

We file every year with the Secretary of State's office under our name, our official name, Bismarck Farmer's Market, and, of course, we are insured because nowadays, you can't do anything without insurance. So as a market, we have insured all of our vendors while they're on the property selling. Finding a place to have a market is sometimes a challenge. You know, we we have such a following now that the parking issue is, is almost overwhelming, like all of the people that are coming to visit the market. But you know, on a daily basis, I get phone calls, inquiring when the market is. I have to do the website updates. I do a Facebook page, we do Facebook posts all the time, not just on Saturdays, our market runs four days a week. So we're doing promos all the time. And then of course, people want to join the market. So who do they call? The market manager? And anytime anybody even has questions about where to park they call the market manager. Like, leave me alone. I'm trying to market my own stuff. Okay?

Jan Stankiewicz  7:07  
Yeah. 

Sue Balcom  7:09  
Well, there's there's bookkeeping, you know, you have to keep track of people, you have to keep track of their membership dollars, you have to be responsible to them. So you have meetings and you report to them what you've done with their dollars and what benefit they're getting. But farmers are independent thinkers. So sometimes I think even the vendors aren't cognizant of what a market manager is doing for them behind the scenes. 

Jan Stankiewicz  7:32  
Mm hmm. Right. And that is that something to also kind of make note of is that farmer's markets operate very differently. So Bismarck Farmer's Market, sounds like you guys are very set up and like you said, committed, that's a good word. Committed to operating and having integrity around your products and your vendors. But there is differences across markets too. Other markets are more open or more forgiving or loose on their, like rules or regulations or anything. So just for, you know, shoppers or customers, it's just interesting to see the differences in how markets are operating. 

Sue Balcom  8:13  
 I kind of have a theory about that. And that is that I think sometimes people don't take us seriously. You know, I think sometimes they thi...

Transcript

Sue Milender: Welcome to Thriving on the Prairie, a podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspires North Dakota movers and shakers and community makers to engage in lifelong learning. I'm Sue Milender. I'm Barnes county extension agent. And today I'm honored to introduce you to Rachelle Vettern who is a professor and the leadership and volunteer development specialist for North Dakota State University. In her extension role, she conducts research and provides education for both youth and adults in the areas of leadership, ethics, generations, youth development and volunteer development. You know, she works in both the NDSU Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development as well as family and community wellness. In her faculty role she teaches online classes for Great Plains IDEA I-D-E-A youth development master's program. You are busy Rachelle. She has her B.A. in psychology and an M.S. in counseling and human resource resource development sorry, from South Dakota State University and her PhD is in counselor education and supervision from NDSU. And she lives in Hawley with their 17 year old son and 13 year old daughter, Emily, like I said, we're sure you are really busy.

Rachelle Vettern: Well, thank you, I appreciate you reading all of that I didn't know how much I should share with you. So thanks. Um, yeah, it's fun to talk to you on this Finally, Sunny spring day with all sorts of exciting things happening, our 4-H club meetings are starting or groups are starting to meet face to face and spring sports is happening. So it's great to have a chance to chat.

Sue: I know and you know, 4-H season is gearing up. And I as a 4-H coordinator in Barnes County, I’m calling all sorts of volunteers to the task of judging and looking at different projects. And so I've been doing some reading on volunteerism and I what I've noticed, Rachelle, is that it has really changed. So the book that I've been reading is called, The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer, by Jonathan and Thomas McKee. And what what captured my attention was the 21st century volunteer not, you know, I'll be the very first to admit I'm old. And when I think of volunteering, I think of gosh, I've got to commit my firstborn when I volunteer, because I'm there for life. And I actually took a step back, and I was calling all these volunteers. And Rachelle, I was getting so frustrated, because I was like, Oh, these aren't the same kind of volunteers and, and attitudes that I had back in the day, or that my mom demonstrated for me back in the day. And so I thought, well, where are these passionate volunteers? And then of course, as we all do, I went into this defense mode. And I said, well, it's not my fault. Everyone is so busy and sports consume people. And, gosh, there isn't time to turn around, let volunteer. But then I started reading this book. And Rachelle, I realized, gosh, it is my fault that I am not reaching these volunteers because times have changed. And the way people want to volunteer has evolved in this 21st century. So I'm not alone in this. I know that there are lots of people who are trying to gather volunteers, churches and civic organizations and schools. And that's why I thought it's so important for us to understand what the 21st century volunteer looks like. And so that's why I'm interested in talking to you and finding out how you can, you know, steer us in the right direction so that we can gather all these wonderful people.

Rachelle: I am excited to talk with you about this too, because it is such an important subject. And I don't want to say gone is that are the days of that 30 year volunteer, but it it volunteering does look different for just the reasons that you talked about. We are looking because of the different opportunities that we all have as far as getting engaged in our communities. Volunteers want to try on different things. And so we have to offer things in a different way. Much like what the book that you read talked about. So I would love to get into some of those details related to how that kind of looks. But I know I think you have some more questions for me.

Sue: I do. So what I'm thinking is that I need to learn about maybe how to empower volunteers to serve in ways that meet their needs as well as my needs and I have to pay attention to the needs that they have and what they want to get out of volunteering.

Rachelle: Well, so I think really thinking through the kind of volunteer that you're looking for, and what your needs are for your organization, whether for us, it's extension, but if as you look in communities, like you mentioned, faith communities and other places that use volunteers, what are really those volunteers that you are looking for? And then what kind of qualifications Do they have, because you have have to have really a good idea, a clear idea of what you're asking before for before you ask those volunteers, because in this day, and age, volunteers want to know what they're committing to, they want a role description or position description that tells them, okay, this is what they're asking of me. And this is the time commitment they're looking for. Again, maybe it's that I'm going to volunteer once a month for three hours a month, or maybe it's going to take some more prep time. But they do want those specifics. And then they a lot of times, they really want to be recruited for their expertise. So if you have someone that you know, is excellent, as we talked about, in managing social media, maybe you've just you follow them. And you've realized that they really great at getting messages out. And you know that an event that you're having, or having coming up, maybe it is something related to a church function or an extension function, you say to that individual, you know, I know you're busy, but your skills I have noticed in social media are amazing. Would you be willing to contribute to this community function that we have coming up, and helping manage the social media. So it'll be for the three months coming up to that event. And then it'll be done, you know, or maybe some posts afterwards. So it isn't like this, I'm asking you, and it's gonna be 10 years, you're gonna have to help me out with this. That makes sense?

Sue: It does make sense. I really like the idea of having not only that designated timeframe, but also what the roles and responsibilities of that position are. Because sometimes, my guess is that, at least, when I volunteered, I didn't really know what my role was. And sometimes I felt like I was doing some sort of, well, role creep or mission creep, where I would, I didn't want to step on anyone else's toes. And then I also didn't always understand my terms, like, okay, I am, I'm on for this particular role, and it will be three months. And I think people are so busy now with all their kids’ activities, and, and, you know, wanting to travel, if you're older than you really don't want to be kind of stuck forever, and then feel like you can't get out. So that would really help. And I love your language about noticing what they're good at, and then plugging them into something that they're feeling comfortable with?

Rachelle: Well, that's really what I know, specifically, our baby boomer volunteers out there, because of the travel probably being retired wanting to spend time with their grandchildren, a great way to recruit them is to say, you know, I realized you're rea...

Katie: Thank you for having me today.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah, so why don't you tell us a little bit about your role with Bismarck Burleigh Public Health?

Katie: So I am the nutrition services coordinator at Bismarck Burleigh Public Health. And what that entails is just focusing on community livability, health and wellness for the entire city of Bismarck and our residents and just looking to make our community  a healthier place to live.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah and that's a really nice partnership, so too, full disclosure, Katie and I work together on many projects, so Extension and public health has a really strong partnership in the Bismarck community so, this is a really, what we're going to be talking about today, is just a really great tie-in for the that kind of a partnership. Which brings us to the topic of blue zones, which people might be wondering what blue zones are, maybe they've heard of it. But I think in North Dakota it might be a little bit of a new topic, Katie what what what is a blue zone or what are we talking about when we, when we reference blue zones.

Katie: So blue zones are areas of the world that share and benefit from a set of habits that they call the power nine and we can get into those in a little bit. But that help that those practices together help increase longevity, health, and happiness. And individuals that live in these pockets across the world are living well into their 90s, 100s, with little or no chronic disease, which is huge because in the United States, what we see is, for sure as we age, chronic disease increases, but we're also seeing that in younger ages too and based off some of maybe our behaviors or habits that we take on individually and maybe even as a nation. And so these pockets of blue zones really have kind of the the if you would the perfect way of living and are great role models for other communities to pick up on some of their their habits and practices.

Jan Stankiewicz: yeah and it really is astonishing, so I think it's, is it five areas across the globe that have these like little pockets of people who live very long in life, have really good quality of life too, so that's something, that it's not just about living to be 100 or more years old. It's that they can live well for that long.  And so it is kind of, you know, lots of people when we talk about health and wellness or food and nutrition people always want to know what the magic pill is or what's one thing that they can do, but blue zones is kind of like,  it's just, it's more about a culture it's more about just the way things are done and it is kind of astonishing to see the impacts of those kinds of things that's evident in in you know, like the longevity and low rates of chronic disease like you mentioned.

Katie: Yeah I think you said it perfectly, it is more about the culture and the whole, the whole way of living, not just the physical aspect, and not just trying to reach a magic number, to say you you live to 100, but you did so in great in a great way and in a good quality of life.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah, so in your introduction you mentioned the power nine, so let's tell folks what that is and what that kind of means in you know, health and wellness and blue zones conversations.

Katie: So the power nine are broken down into different areas of healthy living. So there's the the move section, the right outlook session section, eat wisely and connect. And so I'll go through each of those and kind of break them down a little bit more, to start with the move and the move, naturally. And what that really comes down to is that the environments, the blue zone environments and what blue zones tried to tries to do is create environments that constantly nudge people into moving without thinking about it. So it's just a natural fit to encourage movement and walking, versus forceful forceful things that are maybe right in your face, it's just things that are done without having you really realize it. Residents in the blue zones, they move all day because that's how their environments are set up and so it's just a natural way to do so. And their sedentary lifestyle, or a sedentary lifestyle of sitting throughout the day. won't necessarily be fixed by going to the gym but you need that constant movement throughout the day and so these people in the blue zones, it's not like they're going to the gym every day and i'm not saying that we don't want you to go to the gym if that's what you like to do, but that's not what they're doing. They're just moving naturally throughout the day at a consistent, consistent times and they're finding that that movement is enough to improve their physical health.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah and so when we, you know when we hear, in the United States, adults should move you know 60 minutes most days of the week, you know those kinds of things and a lot of the times. We do think “go to the gym” or do some sort of “sport” or engage in those kinds of things, whereas what they found in these blue zones is that they don't have to even like follow those, that 60 minute guideline, because the impact of them moving all the time, throughout their day, in a natural way like it makes up for those kinds of things. Is that right, like is that?

Katie: Absolutely yeah they don't have the necessarily it's not a number, they're not fixated, on all these rules and examples will go through aren't necessarily fixed on an exact number. While those are guidelines and recommendations that are helpful for people, it is just more of that natural way of living and just engaging in, in those movements, and so I think if that's something we think about in our communities here, how can you continue to move naturally throughout your day that just encourages more steps, or just more movement up and down versus the constant sitting that many of us are familiar with. Not, not just here in the Bismarck Community or North Dakota but across the United States.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah and I think too, it comes down to you know, like walking to go get some groceries or walking to the library or to school and those kinds of things, I think that those are all ways that, you know, where it gets bigger and beyond our own individual choices, so yeah.

Katie: So the next one that we have is the right outlook section and this talks about having a purpose and downshifting. And so, thinking of having a purpose is, why do you wake up in the morning? What is your what, what is your sense? And this has shown to have significant impact on life expectancy and blue zones has shared that it can, having a sense of purpose can add up to seven years of life expectancy. Which I think is really significant, just by waking up and knowing your your worth for that day. And I think that's really something that's internal for people, but something maybe to consider if you're looking to add more wellness components to your your own life and really finding value and understanding to your day to day.

Jan Stankiewicz: Yeah and going back to you know have it not having like a specific number to meet. So if, and if you kind of reverse it and say you know if we don't have a purpose, it can take seven year...

Jodi Bruns- Good morning and welcome to Thriving On The Prairie, a podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspires North Dakota movers, shakers and community difference makers to engage in lifelong learning. I'm Jodi Bruns, leadership and civic engagement specialist with NDSU extension, and I'm joined here today with my colleague Kari Helgoe. Kari, would you introduce yourself this morning?

Kari Helgoe- Jodi, thanks for inviting me um my name is Kari Helgoe. I am the Pembina County um Extension family community and wellness Extension agent up in Cavalier. 

Jodi Bruns- Thanks for joining us, Kari. And we're also joined by Brenda Stallman from Hillsboro, Brenda, would you say hello this morning?

Brenda Stallman- Yep. Good morning, Jodi, and listeners. I'm Brenda Stallman, Director of Traill District Health Unit in Hillsboro. I've been in my position for 30 years now, and I'm happy to be here. 

Jodi Bruns- Thank you-  Rachel?

Rachel Morrison- Good morning. Thanks for having me. I'm Rachel Morrison. And I'm the executive director of the Cavalier Area Chamberof Commerce. 

Jodi Bruns- Thanks, everyone, for joining us and talking a little bit about our Community Impressions program and your involvement with that. So we're here today, like I said, to talk about Community Impressions, and what exactly this program is. It is  an NDSU extension community program. Ah Essentially, I like to tell people, it is a secret shopper program for communities. But really Community Impressions, helps communities learn about their strengths, and weaknesses, as seen through the eyes of a first time visitor. Knowing about the strengths and weaknesses helps those who want to be proactive about the growth of their home communities, and who want to make them more vibrant places to live and work. Ah so maybe we'll just get started. So when communities reach out to me or an agent like Kari and ask about the Community Impressions program, if they have an interest in doing this, immediately, I try to find a community that has some similarities, we often look at demographics, ah or business community, community involvement, we like to have some similarities in North Dakota clearly is a small state, and so everybody in Cavalier has certainly heard about Hillsboro. But we try to be far enough apart, or you don't know all of the intricate details about each community, but enough, just enough to know about it. Maybe your community and your school has been involved in athletic events, or maybe Speech and Debate or you know, there are some connections. So I look at census numbers. And according to that, Hillsboro’s population is about 1624 residents. And Cavalier stands at about 1238, give or take, right? So pretty close in size. And so when we start this program, I reach out to the local agent like Kari, and talk about our orientation program process. So we like to go into the community and talk about a team, a team approach. So finding that group of volunteers who are willing to participate in the program. And then we do an orientation, so you know what the expectations are. So Kari, if I could ask you, when you first approached the community about this, how did you proceed with orientation? And we do have kind of a script that you can talk to community members about, but what did that look like in Cavalier? 

Kari Helgoe- Well, the first person that I reached out to was Rachel, you know, I mean, and talked to her and asking her, you know, I sit with her on the chamber board, and is this something that they'd be interested in doing, of course, I had visited with you as well about, you know, what would be a good matchup and which way we go, and Rachel is just one of those individuals that she is actively always promoting the city of Cavalier, and looking towards the future and some different growth pieces, so, and she's got a lot of great connections. So when we talked about an orientation, I kind of put it into Rachel's lap a little bit, you know, I mean, looking for some of those ones that she might that might be interested in doing this. And we met for a couple hours in the afternoon, if I remember right, Rachel around a conference table and one of the banks and we kind of just went through all the guidelines, and we had a full table of people that were interested at, you know, just coming to check it out to see eventually, you know, what would it all entail and go through and we went from top to bottom, some of the difference when you say like a secret shopper. Not only is it just retail, but it also involves all of the, the aspects of the community, from the hospital, in the schools, to the parks and a lot of the businesses so a lot of different entities and kind of thinking about coming at it from different ways, Rachel had such a wide variety of people that she brought to the table, not only male and female, but also younger families, some that were established in the city for a while, so a lot of different inputs, and at the end of the orientation, we really just kind of sat down and talked about their time. And could they, you know, invest in it because it meant traveling either, you know, at least one time, if not more, and what they could do and how they could divide it out. 

Jodi Bruns- And you make a really good point that, I think it's important not to bring the same 10 people who are always involved in the community, which we, we need those people 125%. However, I think it's really important to bring people perhaps who are new to the community, because their perspective would certainly be different than those who have lived somewhere their entire life. And not that one is better than the other, but certainly a different perspective. So that's a great point. So Brenda, I'm curious, why did you get involved with community impressions? 

Brenda Stallman- Well,

as you know, Jodi, Jodi and I met through the rural leadership program through NDSU. And so that was our first meeting. And you actually asked me if I would be interested in so I was it's a personal passion of mine to visit small communities and look for those hidden treasures and things that you don't often hear about or see driving by on the interstate. So it was a perfect fit for me. As you know, the the transfer of the leadership of this program went from myself to the the extension office, and then and then subsequently, our county agent transferred to a different community out of our state. So that probably made a different look for how we approached it here in Hillsboro, and really, I think, speaks to how it was done in Cavalier and the necessity of having a strong team, and looking outside your traditional associations um  that you always go to and find those new people in your community

And those that might have a different eye when looking at a community. 

Jodi Bruns- good points, good points. Rachel why did you get involved? Why did you think this would be a good program for Cavalier? 

Rachel Morrison- Yeah, when Kari came and talked to me about it, we just kind of visited about the importance of that fresh perspective on your community. I have lived in Cavalier my entire life. So it's easy to drive past maybe that same eyesore every day, and it just kind of fades into the background or, like I dropped my kids off at school every day. So I know where to find it. I don't need the signs. So to have somebody come in and say, Hey, we couldn't find your school, you need some signs, or, hey, that building on Main street, ohhh, yikes, it was just something that that fresh perspective, it was...

More about the Community of Care model, https://communityofcarend.com/

Transcript:
Jodi Bruns: Welcome to Thriving on the Prairie. A podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspire North Dakota movers, shakers and community difference makers to engage in lifelong learning. I'm Jodi Bruns, Leadership and Civic Engagement specialist, with NDSU Extension. I'm joined today with Jane Strommen, NDSU Extension gerontology specialist and I'm glad that Jane has decided to talk to me today about the Community of Care program. And what that's all about, how it is impacting communities across the state of North Dakota. So welcome, Jane, and thanks for joining me.

Jane Strommen: Thanks for having me, Jodi, looking forward to it.

Jodi: So I started working with.. with Jane and her team who works on community of care to facilitate some meetings, thinking about making this opportunity available to other communities. And so, I think it's important that we share exactly what is this program, Community of Care and what's happening with communities that are embracing this particular program.

Jane: Community of Care is a nonprofit organization that started in rural Cass County back in 2003. And it was really started by the Good Samaritan Society as a pilot project. At that time, the Good Samaritan Society was interested in how to help older adults and their family members that were living in the community because their core business was on skilled nursing facilities across the country. And so they wanted to do a pilot and they chose Arthur, kind of as the foundation area to do this project because that was where the company was founded. And so we had some seed money from the Good Samaritan Society and at that time also a grant from the Almstead Commission, to look at how do we start addressing the needs of older adults that live in a rural community. And so it really started as a pilot project and just engaging members and the community and talking about what's going on in rural Cass County. There's a lot of rural communities, small towns that comprise kind of the geographic area. And so, it began as a conversation, inviting people to be part of some meetings and tried to get representatives from all of the different geographic areas and communities, as well as making sure we had, you know, business and commerce, education, faith communities, healthcare, social services, government, whether it was the city or county. We had some legislators, and invited people together and when we learned about what was going on in our state. What were some of the challenges and then we started doing some discussion and needs assessment around what are the needs in this particular area, rural Cass County. And so that's that was kind of how it first started.

Jodi : So what were you hearing from people? I assume that there were older adults who were part of this planning process. And when they came to the meeting and said, “We think we want to be part of this in our community needs this” why... what.. what we're hearing at that time? 

Jane: Well, when we did a kind of a needs assessment. We went through a fairly structured process to to identify the needs and there were alot.  There were a lot of needs identified, but the ones that really rose to the top of the list was the need for a volunteer program that could do…. provide a lot of different services for older adults, but the biggest area was around transportation. Rural Cass County and you know,  had some, some services in the county you know a dentist, part time clinic, those types of things, but for a big portion of folks living here they needed to travel to the Fargo/Moorhead area for services. And so that became a kind of the top need, as as well. There was a need also for just information. How do people find out about services and, you know. Because it's not something that you just know or or often you... you're really not interested until maybe a crisis occurs and all of a sudden, where do I get this? And you know, you don't even know what questions to ask. So, they talked about, you know, let's let's develop some kind of a resource center where there are staff that can help people that would be local where people could go. So those are some of the first things that we started with, is developing a volunteer program and developing a resource center staffed by a social worker, a care coordinator that could help people with whatever it was that they needed help with. Not being constrained by any kind of government funding that says you can only serve people of this age or you can only do, you know, your program areas, only this kind of narrow window. We were, we had great flexibility and how we were able to serve people

Jodi: So I think it's interesting. I read a statistic this morning that said between 2010 and 2025 the number of adults ages 65 and older in North Dakota is expected to grow by 52%. In 1980, older adults were 12% of the population, by 2025 they're expected to be 18% of the state's population. So older adults continue to be an economic driver in our rural communities. And I think this program is one way to make sure that our older adults can remain as active citizens in our communities all over the state. 

Jane: Absolutely. You know, our older adults, you know, we have a higher percentage of older adults living in rural counties than we do our metro areas. And we know that older adults really contribute to to their community in in great ways. In addition to just the economy and financially, but they are also great volunteers. And I'll just give you an example, community of care has a volunteer program and the majority of their volunteers are older adults. They're retired and they're stepping up to fill a need in the community. And it's really a win-win situation. And, you know, they're a key element of success for Community of Care because they're supporting it in so many ways. And to be able to help our older adults feel like their community is a good place for them to retire and continue to live as they age is, I think, really important work.

Jodi: I read also today that some North Dakota older adults far exceed the national average in volunteering in communities. Statewide 41% of older adults volunteered in 2017 compared to the national average of 29 and a half percent. That, I mean, that's amazing that people continue to see value in helping neighbors and helping each other and just the value of prolonging people staying in their community and in how important that is. I think that's that really says a lot about the integrity of our communities and the people who live there.

Jane: I think it speaks to like who we are in North Dakota and beyond. Where we help each other. We... we want to help our neighbors, our friends. And older adults, just because they get to a certain age don't stop doing that, they're continuing to serve on the church on the school board and and volunteering for, you know, there are many times, keeping the community going because of their community service. So it's, it's, you know, they are a real asset in our state and we have a growing number. And in addition, you know it's it's really important as a person ages to to feel like they have a purpose. You know, everyone needs to have a reason to get up in the morning and to be able to have things that are you're passionate about that you can contribute to. I think it's just a win-win for, for everyone.

Jodi: So the expansion of this program I think is pretty important. So it's obviously been very succ...

Transcript
Jodi Bruns: Welcome to Thriving on the Prairie. A podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspire North Dakota movers shakers and community difference makers to engage in lifelong learning. Hi. I'm Jodi Bruns, Leadership and Civic Engagement specialist with NDSU Extension.Today we're joined with three of my colleagues who I work with on a pretty regular basis. And the topic today we want to share with you is regarding our remote work certification program that we kicked off in August. So I'd like our other presenters here to introduce themselves. I'll start out with Marie.

Marie Hvidsten: Thanks. Jodi, good morning. I’m Marie Hvidsten and I'm the rural leadership specialist with NDSU Extension. And I've been working with the remote work course the past several months. And I'm really enjoying it and appreciate the opportunity to work with the other three from NDSU as a coach.

Jodi: Thanks Marie. Macine.

Macine Lukach: Thanks Jodi. I’m Macine Lukach. I'm a Program Coordinator for NDSU Extension in the area of leadership and community development. And I, like Jodi and Marie, I’ve been working with this program and have found it very beneficial and hope to see others benefit from it also.

Jodi: Thanks, Maxine and Andrea.

Andrea Bowman: I’m Andrea Bowman, and I also work for NDSU Extension in the area of Leadership and Civic Engagement as a program coordinator and I, too, have been working with this program since last spring, and I'm excited to bring it to the people of North Dakota.

Jodi: Thanks, everyone. So what brings us here today is not unlike many people, most Americans, many Americans, we found ourselves working remotely about mid-March and really thinking about what do we do next, what does this look like? And certainly, sometimes we have done this when weather has prohibited us from driving to our office or workplace, but all of a sudden we found ourselves working at our dining room tables at our home office and so forth. So, we were introduced to a program that Utah State University Extension had been offering on remote work. It's a certification program. So the four of us decided to take that in April. And we felt it was so beneficial that we needed to bring this to North Dakota. And so I'll start with Andrea, so you have done a little research on the data and you know who exactly was working from home and what that looked like. Could you just share some of that information with us?

Andrea: Yeah, so for most of us, remote work became really real in in March, probably in North Dakota here and going forward. But when we look back on remote work was actually growing already. And in that you flex jobs in globe Workplace Analytics they focus major upward trend on people working remotely. They've they've noticed that over the years. So in the US from 2016 to 2017 remote work grew 7.9%. If they look back at the last five years, it was a 44% increase, in the last 10 years a 91% increase. So definitely already trending up in the amount of people that were working remotely. Then when we look at when we get into the pandemic time and when everyone had to make the shift quite quickly; in May of 2020, 100 million Americans were working from home and in June, according to some research at Stanford, and one of their economists, Nicholas Bloom, has some interesting research on remote work. But in June on June 29, 42% of us were working from home. 33% were not working at all. And 26% mostly essential workers were working on site. That's kind of interesting to to look back and realize that remote work was already growing a lot before everyone was kind of thrown into it without a choice. So the exciting thing about this course is that there, there's huge potential for remote work going forward and organizations, allowing some flexible work environments. So we're excited to help people continue to work remotely, but also build those skills that they need, even if it….it was something that they didn't necessarily plan on doing right away.

Jodi: When you read those numbers I shouldn't be surprised, but I am surprised. You know, we kind of live in a bubble and we drive and get in our cars in the morning, we go to work and I just don't think that trend has necessarily hit us. Maybe it's the upper Midwest, or even just, you know, specifically to North Dakota. I also read once that in December, a year ago zoom had 10 million daily participants and then four months later, there were 300 million participants. And the other... zoom isn't the only platform. So I think that that is astounding how people have just, as we've said so many times, pivoted to to remote work. Marie, I wonder if if you could tell us about, so when we went and enrolled as students in a remote work course they really focused on three kinds of specific work: a freelance, an entrepreneur, or a virtual employee. Could you tell us a little bit about each of those or what the definition of each of those are?

Marie: Absolutely. So some of us as Andrea talked about probably were working remotely and so you had that opportunity to maybe do something a little bit more what they call freelance. And that is you... you don't have the same employment with the same person or same company, but you are out there looking for, like if you were maybe a writer. Maybe you do an article for a journal, maybe next you do something for a university. Maybe you're going to write a grant so you're, you're kind of skipping around a little bit, but you're finding the work. Another one is starting a business, being an entrepreneur. And I'm guessing that some individuals, now, who, because of their job loss, maybe have started started to think about a a job that they want to or business they want to create. You know, when I was doing my research for my doctorate, I did that on women entrepreneurs in North Dakota. And it was so interesting to hear why someone started their own business and mainly it was flexibility. And when you're doing remote work, you have some flexibility with your working hours, you have some flexibility maybe with how you think about what you are going to work on, especially if you start your own business. So that freelance... that entrepreneurship... those are great opportunities for someone in remote work. And then some are full time employees. So they just don't go to a building, but they're at home, and for many people, that is now that they've experienced it, maybe that's what they want to do for their future.

Jodi: I think, if anything, the pandemic has just reinforced that old adage that necessity is the mother of invention and for many people, certainly in our experience as we have coached people through this remote work, that they are able to find maybe they're doing some blogging or some copy editing or, like you said, writing, which is great. I mean that's helped to keep keep people afloat and supplement their income. And so I appreciate that definition and really thinking about being deliberate and choosing some of those work experiences.

Marie: I think a lot of people are thinking about where do I want to live and then I'll work there. And now remote work allows that. Because there was one of our previous participants here in North Dakota, who is now gone through the program. That's what she said, I wanted to come back to rural North Dakota and yet I can work across the US doing the same work that I was doing in a building. ...

Carrie Johnson: Yeah, so we're quickly entering this holiday season of 2020 you know this year, more than others, has been a difficult year to plan for the future. So it can really almost feel like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. Ideally, people would have started saving for the holidays. Shortly after the New Year, in January. But many people’s circumstances changed so rapidly this year or uncertainty is really impacted people's ability to save. It does feel like the holidays came a little earlier this year than they typically do.

Susan: I know Carrie, just really seriously snuck up on me and you know, I love that you said, ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ because I can continue with that thread. By saying that I don't want to be a grinch this holiday season, even though I didn't really plan. So, you know, after all, this is the season of COVID. So who can really plan? Every day is totally different. Right?

Carrie: Exactly. 

Susan: So, you know,  …..And I think that the holidays are stressful enough. And then we add this unpredictable nature of our economy and shutdowns, and maybe like less hours at work or less items on the store shelves, or….. gosh, delayed deliveries and not to mention that social distancing factor. So I guess I could go on and on, but, you know, Carrie I sound like a negative Nelly, sorry.

Carrie: Yeah. You know, I think we could be negative about the 2020 holiday season. Or we could change our attitude and find that silver lining. Even though this year might look a little different than it has in the past, it could really be an opportunity to re-envision and reimagine what we think of the holidays. A word I've been trying to use a lot lately is pivot. So now I know not everyone likes change, family holiday traditions are a big part of this time of year. And it's really fun to dream about something that looks like one of those hallmark movies or a Pinterest picture, but we really need to be careful not to compare ourselves with others. Everyone's circumstances are different. The reality is that if we're strategic and we make a plan, we can really find ways to celebrate the holidays this year without breaking the bank.

Susan Milender: Yeah, so, you know, Carrie, right now as you were talking, I was thinking about Christmas coming up and all of the holiday traditions. So, you know, if I were sitting on Santa's knee right now. I think that I would ask him for that holiday season filled with sugar plum fairies for everyone, just like you said, I love that Pinterest pictures because I had those rolling through my mind. But you know what the reality is with this year, some people are facing tough financial times. And yet others have had that good fortune of being able to continue on their regular path. So, you know, either way, we all want to be really smart with our money, and we don't want to end up with that debt hangover in January. So I'm really thankful that you're going to walk us through some tips for our finances in this holiday season.

Carrie Johnson: Yeah, exactly. And there are some tips that we can all take away, like you said, whether you've had some issues with financial or some financial issues recently, or things are status quo and they’re normal. Everybody can always look at some financial tips in their lives. So the first thing I really wanted to share this time of year is to set a holiday budget, which is going to be different than your typical household monthly budget. You know, how much can you realistically spend without causing future financial problems this holiday season? Will you spend the same amount that you typically do that you have in past years? Or are you gonna be spending more because you might not be traveling? Or are you going to be spending less just to save for the future a little bit and not put yourself in a financial strain? But either way, we really need to have a dollar amount set to make sure that we don't overspend.

Susan: You know, Carrie, I think you just swore - I think budget should be like a four-letter word sometimes. So, you know, we're getting closer and closer to Christmas. And I'm going to just say, I have not made out a holiday budget. So where would I start?

Carrie: First thing you need to do is make a list, I would say. Make a list. Check it twice. Write down absolutely all of your expenses that you typically have this time of year. Do you buy gifts, your food for meals for get-togethers, which you might not be having as much this year. Or baked goods, maybe your travel expenses, decorations - are you going to purchase more decorations. This year, more than ever, people are starting to decorate a little earlier to bring up their spirits. So maybe you are going to spend a little bit more on decorations and thinking of other things like postage and shipping. 

Susan: Oh boy.

Carrie: So when you're listing your gifts, especially list every single person that you usually buy something for along with the amount that you plan on spending for that person. Include all people. This means small gifts, like your office gift exchange, you might not think of $15 as being a big deal, or your child's teacher's gifts. But all of these small expenses really add up fast.

Susan : Yeah, you know Carrie, I’m always surprised when I think back to my Christmas and I... I look at all the big gifts, but I never think about all the stocking stuffers and little gifts that I hand out here and there, jeeze you’re right they can really add up. But you know what Carrie, I love, love, love your ideas of lists and I do make a list of ideas for people. But here's where I run into a problem. And frankly, I'm not sure that you can help me with this problem because it's a discipline problem, but I'm going to hope that you have an idea. So here's what happens. I buy gifts for somebody on my list and then as it gets closer to them closer to Christmas or the holidays, I end up buying something more, and then just because I have this fear of being unfair, I buy... I feel like I have to buy for everybody else, to up the ante. So if I give five gifts to someone, I want to give five gifts to someone else, if I spend $25 on somebody. I want to spend $25 on them. So it becomes this vicious circle. So I guess I have to just stick to my list???

Carrie: You know, it is difficult to stick to a budget and stick to a list sometimes, it takes commitment. You know, creating a budget is one thing. And I just do also want to want to stick this in there when you said you love lists, but budgeting, not so much. Think of a budget as a list, right? If you like to cross things off on a list. Think of your budget as a list and tracking is kind of like you're crossing things off. Just a little non holiday trick for you.

Susan: I love that. That's empowering for me.

Carrie: Yeah, there you go. You know, but creating that budget...

Resources

• Find out more about the Diabetes Prevention Program
• Connect to a community health class or program through the ND Community Clinical Collaborative

Transcript

Jan Stankiewicz: Welcome to Thriving on the Prairie a podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspires North Dakota movers, shakers, and community difference makers to engage in lifelong learning. I’m Jan Stankiewicz, community health and nutrition specialist, and I with my colleague and friend, Nikki Johnson also a community health and nutrition specialist. Nicki is here to lead us in a conversation about the diabetes prevention program. A national program that is truly changing people's lives. Nikki, it's so nice to have you here today.

Nikki Johnson: Thanks for having me, Jan.  
Jan: Yeah. Great. So we’re just going to again be talking a little bit about, umm, diabetes in North Dakota and something that's called pre-diabetes. And then a program we have that Extension offers that you, kind of, are in charge of, called the diabetes prevention program. So if you just want to kind of, like, open up a little bit about what diabetes is, the current state of diabetes in North Dakota, or maybe even the nation. So, what kind of information do you have to kind of start us off with?

Nikki: Sure, so maybe let's just start off thinking nationally. So in the U.S. right now there are over 34 million adults with diabetes. On a more localized level, there’s over 54,000 North Dakotan adults that have diabetes. 

Jan: 54,000. Okay. 

Nikki: 54,000. And if you put it into perspective, that’s about 1 in 10 people. So when you think about going to the grocery store and you know standing in the produce aisle or in the produce section there, you know 1 in 10 people that you are being surrounded by likely has type 2 diabetes. 

Jan: And then I guess that's something to clarify it’s Type 2 Diabetes right, Nikki?

Nikki: Yes. Type 2 diabetes and that’s going to be a little bit different than type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, nothing you can do about developing type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes on the other hand has some preventable factors to it and it's more linked to lifestyle rather than genetics.

Jan: Yeah and that’s where the term chronic disease comes in, right?

Nikki: Yes. So, type 2 diabetes is considered one of those chronic diseases. It’s longer term. It has some adverse health effects if you're not managing it or you're not controlling it. And like I said, it is something that is preventable.

Jan: Yeah, so when we’re talking about type 2 diabetes what does that mean? So we've got a large amount of people in North Dakota with type 2 diabetes. What does that mean for those individuals, and then what does that mean for, you know, community members or the state? Why are we concerned about those kinds of things?

Nikki: You know, it's going to be different for every individual, of course. Everybody’s journey with any chronic condition is going to look a little bit different but there's a couple common pieces. So, an individual with type 2 diabetes is going to have to be very diligent about their health. Type 2 diabetes is categorized as having blood glucose are blood sugar levels that are outside of the normal range. And if you're not watching those your body can experience some very adverse health effects, right? And so they have to be very concerned. So that means they're going to have to go to the doctor more frequently. They're probably going to have to have a team of physicians that they're going to need to work with or of healthcare providers. So thinking they’ll have to work with a dietitian. They need to get their eyes checked regularly. They need to have their feet checked. They’re going to need to talk to their regular family care physician just to make sure that their blood levels are where they need to be. And that's going to mean that not only higher medical cost for them, but it's also going to affect their employers and potentially family members and things like that. Just thinking about the amount of days you have to be out of work, or maybe there's days that your blood sugar you just can't get it under control and say you have to miss because you're not feeling well. And if you're not feeling well you know who's taking care of you? You might need that support person in your life to help you out. So there are a lot of implications to developing type 2 diabetes. And maybe i’ll go back just to the money piece for a second there. You know nationally, we spend over $327 billion on diabetes. 

Jan: And billion with a B? 

Nikki: Billion with a B. $327 billion. And that's not all direct medical costs. A good chunk of it is medical cost. I think a person spends 2.3 times more money annually if they have diabetes versus if they do not have diabetes.

Jan: Okay.

Nikki: And that's on a personal level, but you have to think about all those other medical costs and implications for that for your employer or health insurance companies, the healthcare system and things like that. And then part of that is going to be those indirect costs. So thinking about absenteeism from work or presenteeism for that matter. 

Jan: Umm hmm. Yeah. So the impacts kind of build upon each other and then you feel them further and further down the line, yeah. So our healthcare system is set up in a decent way to treat these kinds of things. So there's medications that folks can get on. But again taking a step back, looking at it, you know, more from a preventative side. So that's where pre-diabetes comes in right?

Nikki: Yes. So prediabetes, I would say, is this newer….newer term. And maybe I use that in quotations. But it’s one of those newer terms and it's really just stating that people are getting close to having type 2 diabetes. They've got these elevated blood sugar levels but they're not quite to the point of type 2 diabetes. And it's this stage in a person's life where you can make some lifestyle modifications and actually prevent developing type 2 diabetes. So you can prevent eventually getting that chronic condition.

Jan: Yeah that is really something, especially going back to, you know, thinking about the numbers of people who are impacted by type 2 diabetes and the dollars that are associated with it. So if there's things that we can do to stop that from happening, yeah I think that would really peak some people's interest and I, yeah, I just find it it's so interesting that you know when the terms come up and I can...you know when you said…. you had your air quotes and we could hear it in your voice.

Nikki: Laughing

Jan: When we, even if we can't see it. So yeah, so how does somebody know if they have prediabetes? 

Nikki: And that’s the tricky part. So, prediabetes is not something that you're just going to all the sudden feel all of these symptoms. You know if you've got... you got a cold or you're running a fever you can…. you can feel those... those symptoms, right? Prediabetes, you're not going to... you're not going to notice those. The way you're going to be able to tell is really by going to see your healthcare professional and getting your blood glucose levels checked. But there are certain risk factors that you might be able to check off, that would maybe push you to go see a healthcare professional to get tested. You do need to have a blood glucose test to know whether or not you're not you have pre-diabet...

Transcript
Jodi Bruns: Welcome to “Thriving on the Prairie,” a podcast exploring issues concerning families and communities that inspires North Dakota movers, shakers and community difference-makers to engage in lifelong learning. Hi, I’m Jodi Bruns, leadership and civic engagement specialist with NDSU Extension. Today, I will be visiting with Deanna Sand from Prairie Soul Meats. Deanna took a leap of faith and left her career and city paycheck to be an entrepreneur in a livestock industry.

Jodi: Alright, so thanks for joining us today for the NDSU Extension podcast. So we're kicking off this inaugural podcast in celebration of women's entrepreneurship week and our guest today is Deanna Sand. And Deanna is from the Ashley area, and I'll have her introduce herself. Good morning, Deanna.

Deanna Sand: Thanks for having me. Well, I ranch west of Forbes in between Ellendale and Ashley, so we have every address and phone number possible. So we ranch in the hills, and we raise grass-fed beef, all home-raised. It’s lived here it’s whole life. We have also sheep and pigs, and we have a business called Prairie Soul Meats where we direct-market our beef.

Jodi: So you guys have been, you ranch with your husband Cody, and I know that your three kids...here’s a disclaimer, Deanna and I have known each other I would say most of our lives through 4-H, and then our kids were in school together. So, I've watched you on this journey here. And when, when you quit your job, I thought you were a brave soul. So how did you decide to take that leap of faith to quit your job and really embrace this entrepreneurship venture?

Deanna: We had taken an holistic management class in 2011, so we kind of changed over from conventional ranching, really doing everything the hard way, to really learn about more holistic and different grazing. So when we did that there was a grant available for fencing and water infrastructure. And anybody who knows my husband knows he’s like  all in on everything so instead of putting up like one cross fence we did like seven miles of pipeline and 27 water tanks and 65 primitive pastures. And so it was a lot of work and a lot of things. So he asked me, he's like would you consider quitting your job and I’m like No… (laugh) ...Pretty scary.

Jodi: Yeah, right.

Deanna:  Yeah so I quit my job and then that changed into just grazing different and doing more things and then 5 or 7 years later all the sudden we have a grass-fed beef business. 

Jodi: Well that's exciting. You had quite a commute everyday and you know I did that too, and fought bad weather and roads. And you know I don't miss that but do you miss the interaction with people every day, and going to work or any regrets with that?

Deanna: Not anymore (laugh) 

Jodi: Yeah good. That's good. 

Deanna : I worked for an optometrist for twenty years, and that’s what I went to school for. I was an optometric assistant. So I drove an hour one way every day for roughly twenty years. I miss the patients but then I get to run into them at farmers markets and things like that. And it’s funny... when I call down to work it's still my voice on the answering machine. So it’s like I’m still there and never left. 

Jodi: Nice.

Deanna: 6 years of not working and when I quit, all three of the kids were still at home. Our oldest was probably a junior….a sophomore or junior, so it was fun to be able to be around for that chaos and not have to drive.

Jodi:  You know thinking about you know what's the best part about being an entrepreneur and maybe the worst part? Is there a worst part? Or is everyday like ``Oh, I'm so glad we did this?”

Deanna: Well it is super fun once we’ve gotten into the meat business. It’s really such a  blessing to be able to provide a good nutritional product to people who are looking for it. There's people who have issues like fibromyalgia and some other kind of internal issues and they literally cannot eat beef anymore and whether it's for whatever reason they can eat our beef.  We don't use any chemicals on the land or the cattle. And they're always on grass so there's just something about it that's more natural and it doesn't bother them. So it's fun when you find those people who you're really helping and and that's a blessing.  The entrepreneur part I mean it's sure fun when you go to work and then somebody gives you a paycheck all the time no matter what you do…. you show up and then you get a paycheck.

Jodi: Yeah there’s that. (laughs)

Deanna: So this is different for sure. And then when COVID hit that was great and horrifying at the same time. We had already had some beef processed and in the freezer, planning ahead for farmers market. And then we had got approved to go to Fargo farmers market and at the same time we had butchered it... set up luckily hoping we could get in there. But then COVID hit and everything is just in chaos and you can't get in. So we're fortunate we still have stuff set up for next year. But then do you go bigger and find a different bigger plant? Do you stay where you are? Do you just hope it’s fine? So yeah, all that stuff. It’s a lot of moving parts.  

Jodi: So your business has expanded. I mean when you when you first started this, I mean you now you're like you said, you mentioned the Red River Farmers Market and I saw you there this weekend. And I was shocked at how busy... you know...  people were just asking you... it was so many questions and I could hear people asking you about your ranch and about the beef and the process and so what is,  what are some of the things people ask you? What do they want to know about your ranch or your process?

Deanna: They want to know how it’s raised. If it’s always ours or if it comes from somewhere else. So people usually want to know that. You know it's funny when you get in an urban setting, like Fargo. There's so many people that just if you're at the market, they just assume that what you say is what it is and they expect it to be a certain caliber. You know they expected it's not going to be the same stuff they're getting from a random grocery store. There’s some people very happy to have us there which is really pretty cool like they're seeking us out and that's pretty neat 

Jodi: Well I think part of that is the reputation you’ve built. And you and Cody have been very approachable. What would you say is your business philosophy?

Deanna: I don’t know if we have one. Maybe that's a problem. Maybe we should get one of those.  

Jodi: (Laughs)

Deanna:I think just really being pretty transparent and really welcoming to whatever. The first week we were at the market, there was a young girl in her twenties and her and her mom, I think were there, and we were super busy so I didn't actually get to meet her that day and Cody did. She emailed a day later and said, “It was great. It was amazing. Can we come tour your place?” And they came just a couple weeks ago for like an all-day tour. And it was you know... they wanted to see what we do, what the place looks like, how they're raised? You know all kinds of food questions and that is like so fun. That's the b...