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In this episode of The Hot Dish, hosts Heidi and Joel Heitkamp announce the 2025 Rural Champion Awards before highlighting the Christmas Spirit of Kellie Smith, a small-town entrepreneur from Perham, Minnesota. Kellie shares her inspiring story of creating a community space for those in need during the holiday season, emphasizing the importance of leadership and community support in rural areas. The conversation also touches on the significance of traditions and the spirit of giving in small towns.
Join us on The Hot Dish every week, where we serve up hearty conversations that resonate with every corner of the country. The Hot Dish is brought to you by the One Country Project, making sure the voices of the rest of us are heard in Washington. To learn more, visit https://onecountryproject.org or find us at https://onecountryproject.substack.com/.
Join us on The Hot Dish every week, where we serve up hearty conversations that resonate with every corner of the country. The Hot Dish is brought to you by the One Country Project, making sure the voices of the rest of us are heard in Washington. To learn more, visit https://onecountryproject.org or find us at https://onecountryproject.substack.com/.
- (00:00) - Celebrating Rural Champions
- (01:18) - Introducing Community Hero Kelly Smith
- (03:25) - The Heart of Perham: A Small Town's Spirit
- (04:19) - Creating a Community Giving Tree
- (07:28) - Community Response and Support
- (09:38) - Breaking Barriers: Accessing Help
- (12:48) - Unity in Diversity: Bridging Divides
- (14:22) - Inspiring Neighboring Towns
- (15:39) - Leadership in Rural Development
- (16:33) - Encouraging Community Involvement
- (19:16) - Christmas Traditions and Family Memories
- (28:25) - Creating Lasting Memories Over Material Gifts
Creators and Guests
Host
Heidi Heitkamp
U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013 – 2019. he is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America. Heidi was recently named the Director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, a university she has long been committed to and a place where she enjoys engaging with students over civic discussions while encouraging them to seek opportunities in public service to our country. Heidi also serves as a contributor to both CNBC and ABC News.
Host
Producer
Cheri Brisendine
Assistant Producer at Voxtopica
Guest
Kellie Smith
Born and raised on a Colorado ranch, Kellie Smith followed her lifelong passion for service and creativity to Minnesota, where she now brings people together through thoughtful community-driven projects. A florist and event coordinator, she considers herself a curator of experiences designed to spark connection and joy. Guided by a belief in leading with “yes,” Kellie strives to create spaces—both big and small—that leave people feeling seen, supported, and uplifted.
What is The Hot Dish?
Former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and her brother, KFGO radio talk show host Joel Heitkamp, engage in animated discussions with newsmakers, elected leaders, and policymakers who are creating new opportunities for rural Americans and finding practical solutions to their challenges. Punctuated with entertaining conversations and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry, The Hot Dish, from the One Country Project, is informative, enlightening, and downright fun.
Heidi (00:05)
Welcome to The Hot Dish, comfort food for rural America. I'm Heidi Heitkamp.
Joel Heitkamp (00:09)
And I'm Joel Heitkamp. Today, we've got a great story of small town folks coming together to help others in their community.
Heidi (00:18)
But first I want to tell you about the 2025 Rural Champion Awards. Every year, the One Country Project recognizes elected officials who have provided leadership and legislation to improve rural life, support agriculture, and diversify our rural economy. Everyone awarded this year has worked tirelessly to better the lives of rural people, whether that's through legislation, maintaining social security benefits, championing
paid family leave, improving rural healthcare, or increasing broadband internet access nationally. So please join us in congratulating many of my friends,
Ron Wyden from Oregon, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada,
Representative Christy Houlihan from Pennsylvania, Representative Craig from Minnesota right next door, Senator Tom Tillis from North Carolina,
and Governor Michelle Lujan Grissom.
from New Mexico.
Joel Heitkamp (01:18)
If you want to learn more about these rural champions, visit onecountryproject.org. That's onecountryproject.org. Now, let me introduce today's guest.
Kellie Smith owns Kellie Smiths Floral in Perham, Minnesota, a town of 3700 people about 90 minutes west southwest of Fargo. Kellie saw people in need Christmas.
and decided to step up and do something about it.
Kellie, welcome to the hot dish and thanks for joining us.
Heidi (01:46)
Kellie, welcome to the hot dish and thanks for joining
us. Kellie, know, Joel and I grew up in a town of 90 people and we know that nothing happens in a town like that without leadership from folks like you. But before we talk about, know, what got you engaged and involved in, in, um, this, this work, why don't you tell us a little bit about how you ended up in Perham?
Kellie Smith (01:49)
Hey, thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here with you.
Yeah, absolutely. would love to. So I was born and raised on a ranch in Northwestern Colorado. ⁓ both my parents were entrepreneurs and in the service industry. So that's kind of where my heart kind of just grew to appreciate the acts of service. ⁓ My family's originally from Minnesota, both rural towns in Minnesota. So in the summers, we'd come back to Minnesota and ⁓ spend time at my grandparents' resort. So eventually...
years later, graduated college. ⁓ They were looking for somebody to run the resort for a season. I ran it for a season, which turned into 10 seasons. ⁓ And I met my husband. Yes, it's so much work, but it was so gratifying to be able to say like, I know how to change a septic pump and I can rewire electricity stuff. And, you know, and I got to live at the lake, so I couldn't complain. But that's where I met my husband, who is originally born and raised here in Perham. So that's kind of what
Heidi (02:49)
⁓ you're a brave woman. That's so much work.
Hahaha!
Joel Heitkamp (03:00)
You
Kellie Smith (03:10)
put me here.
Heidi (03:11)
So you're not really a transplant. Plus you look a little Norwegian, so we're gonna count you as one of ours. You can't escape. ⁓
Kellie Smith (03:15)
No.
Yeah. Yes. No, I definitely
look the part of being a Minnesotan.
Heidi (03:25)
You know, for
people, people don't, ⁓ who, are listening or watching the podcast, they don't know about Perham and Perham is like a beautiful, beautiful small town. Can you tell us a little bit about your small town? And then we can talk about what you've been doing to make Christmas, ⁓ Christmas a happy day for everyone in your small town.
Kellie Smith (03:37)
Mm-hmm.
Absolutely, yeah.
Yes, of course. I agree, Perham is a gem. It was one of the towns that I was originally drawn to when I first started coming back to this area in Minnesota. It is a thriving community. It has lots of industry. It's very progressive with wanting to ⁓ provide new access to a lot of things for people that live here and bring in tourists to the area too. So all of our small businesses can really thrive. ⁓
We have a lot going on in Perham for such a small town. It feels big, but with a very nice small town feel.
Joel Heitkamp (04:19)
So Kellie, not everybody is nice and perm. I just want to go on record on that. I refereed some I refereed some football over there and you know, I called it. Actually, I think I got a couple wrong. So yeah, everybody is nice and perm. So Kellie, tell people what you're doing to make Christmas special for everybody.
Kellie Smith (04:23)
Hahaha
Yeah.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, thank you so much. ⁓ So it started honestly just driving around with my daughter. Like I said, Perham has so many things going for it, but we took notice that there wasn't a community tree and a community space where people maybe if they needed an extra hand or an extra just helping, I guess, helping hand or gifts during the holiday season, there was nothing like that for anybody. So my daughter and I were like, you know,
It doesn't seem that hard to do. So why don't we just come from a place of yes and figure it out? So this idea came to us early November and ⁓ we're like, okay, we need a tree. We need lights. ⁓ I reached out to some good friends of mine and I had a friend build a shed and we reached out to the community and people have been donating all these wonderful gifts, non-perishable food items, clothing, blankets.
mittens, hats, everything you can imagine into this shed next to this community tree that's lit up downtown and people can access it whenever they need. So people can take what they need. ⁓ They don't have to, you know, register. They don't have to, you know, ask to take anything. And then if people are in a space to provide extra gifts for our community, they can leave them at that shed too and then enjoy the extra joy from the tree.
Heidi (05:40)
Take what they mean.
So how have people, I mean, how have people kind of received it? Like, why didn't we do this years ago? Or, ⁓ you know, wow, this is a great idea. I want to help. Let's expand it and maybe do something more regionally. What's been the reaction?
Kellie Smith (06:07)
Yeah.
So the city of Perham was fantastic. ⁓ I am known to come up with these random crazy ideas. So John Smith, our city manager, I'm sure when he gets my text messages or phone calls, he's like, it's Kellie. Like what's happening? So I reached out to him and he's just like, no, this is a fantastic idea. And usually we have to go through, you know, certain steps to get permits and everything to do something like this. But they're like, there's such a need, especially now. And the holidays are always a time that are
Heidi (06:21)
Yeah
Joel Heitkamp (06:22)
You
Kellie Smith (06:36)
hard for people. So he's like, let's just do it and let's see what happens. And if it is a good thing, we're just going to continue it every year. So that was very promising and encouraging for me. ⁓ The community itself has been very supportive. Like I said, put out a little article in the newspaper about it. And that day there was so many gifts brought into the shed. And then it was nice to see that as you would go back each day, gifts would be gone. So people are utilizing it.
and then new gifts would be brought in. So it's a beautiful display of how our community shows up for one another, and how we just all want to support each other. We're all family, regardless of political affiliation, anything, religion, we're all here because we all love each other and we can just show up however is easiest. So it's been great. Everybody has a great response to it.
Joel Heitkamp (07:28)
All right, Kellie,
I want to know about the shed. You don't just build a shed. mean, your friend that built that shed, when you pull in the driveway, does he go, here comes Kellie again?
Heidi (07:32)
a shed, you know, just fill a shed. mean, your friend that built that shed, when you pull in the driveway, just go, here comes Kellie.
Kellie Smith (07:33)
Yeah.
⁓ Well, actually,
Heidi (07:41)
Well, actually, so I got this idea, like I was just thinking of some
Kellie Smith (07:41)
I, throughout this idea, like I was just thinking a smaller, like the public libraries where people can grab books. I was envisioning something not super large, but it's actually my friend Darcy, and she's just like challenge accepted. And she built it in two weeks and it's four foot by four foot building. And it's beautiful. She painted it to look very festive and holiday. It has shelving, it has these windows as a beautiful overhang. ⁓
Heidi (07:54)
Wow
Kellie Smith (08:09)
Yeah, and I was like, this is huge. hope we have enough to fill it. Jam packed with items the first day. So it was, it was amazing. The shed is, is the biggest gift. So I have to give props to my friend Darcy.
Heidi (08:09)
Yeah, and I was like, this is huge. hope we have enough to fill it. Jam packed with items the first day. it was amazing. The shed is the biggest gift.
I think that what we always forget is there's so much talk about division in communities. There's so much talk about political rancor or, you know, neighbors not getting along. And that's what makes viral TikTok videos, I guess. But, you know, there's not a lot of attention to the kind of work and the kind of collaboration across, you know, all kinds of divides, all kinds of
Kellie Smith (08:31)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Heidi (08:50)
ideological divides that ⁓ we don't get a lot of attention to that. And it just seems to me that this is something that can help bridge those divides, can help build those relationships and communities that will prevent the deterioration of kind of the social fabric of small towns.
Kellie Smith (08:55)
I agree.
Mm-hmm.
I agree. You know, and one of the things that I've noticed too is I think everybody always wants to help. ⁓ But sometimes they just don't know how, or they don't have the, ⁓ maybe they're a little nervous to put themselves out there. So that's where it's been really nice to just have this available and people can do what they can to help. And if they need to use it, they can just use it. And ⁓ it's kind of just there for everyone and they don't have to put themselves out there and feel uncomfortable either. So.
Joel Heitkamp (09:38)
So knowing
Purim the way you know it, ⁓ I bet it didn't surprise you as much that it filled as much as that it emptied. And just the way rural people are made, you know, it's like, you know, do I, do I, do I? ⁓ How good did it feel when it emptied?
Kellie Smith (09:40)
Yeah.
Right. Right.
⁓ You know, honestly, I have gone out there, like I go out every other day just to check things and every single time I get emotional because it's so wonderful that the people that need the support are getting it and that our community is showing up for them too. So it's, it amazes me every single time I go out there.
Joel Heitkamp (10:14)
So the little kids, know, to me in school, you know, you're always looking for a way to teach your kids to give. Did the schools work with you as well, Kellie?
Kellie Smith (10:23)
Yep.
So I sent out ⁓ details to the schools, to the secretary program, so they shared it with families and the kids. ⁓ And there's been people that have posted pictures on my personal Facebook page of them taking their kids to drop off items. ⁓ So it's been really cool to just watch that that became part of their holiday season, part of their learning to give or learning to support with their families. ⁓
Heidi (10:40)
Oh So it's been really cool to just watch that that became part of their holiday season, part of their learning to give or learning to support kids with their families.
Kellie Smith (10:52)
Kids are definitely involved ⁓ and they've had different
Heidi (10:52)
Kids are definitely involved and they've had different...
Kellie Smith (10:55)
organizations too, like the Kinship and stuff have brought their clients out there and kind of dropped off things. And some will just go out there and help organize items because so much is brought in every day. So it's just been a beautiful, beautiful project that in my heart, I had no idea that it was gonna get this big and be celebrated like it is. And so it's been wonderful.
Heidi (11:01)
Some will just go out there and help organize items.
I think sometimes, and Joel and I grew up in an affluent area, lots of wealthy farmers, but yet there's need. And I think that it's hard sometimes for communities to see that because number one, rural people have a lot of pride. They don't want people to know that they're struggling.
Kellie Smith (11:24)
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Heidi (11:34)
Has that been a barrier to people coming and getting some assistance or how has the community responded to the amount of need that you're demonstrating ⁓ as you run this project?
Kellie Smith (11:47)
Yeah, you know, that's a great question. And I am not 100 % on how to answer that because I think Perham offers so many great assistance programs, too. We have a wonderful food pantry. We have someplace safe. We have the kinship. And the churches in our community are wonderful. So I feel like there's always places for community members to get help. And I feel like maybe this giving shelf that I started is just another way for them to get it with maybe not having to
talk to somebody or face somebody. Like they can just go at their leisure. It's open 24 hours a day. So we have a little motion light in there. So if they're uncomfortable and they don't want judgment or they feel insecure about any part of it, they can go at midnight and no one would know any different. But we just want it. That was important to me is I just wanted it to be accessible like around the clock. So, or if somebody is working shift work, they can still go and get something for their children if they need or food. So,
So I hope that it's just been received really well that way.
Joel Heitkamp (12:48)
You know, Kellie, you mentioned religion, ⁓ you know, oftentimes, and I notice it at weddings and funerals and other things where they come together. You know, we're priests and ministers. And ⁓ this is one, as you mentioned, it doesn't matter what denomination you are, ⁓ that everybody comes together. They're not getting wrapped up in the fact that this is Lutheran. This is Catholic. This is that's got to feel good. The fact that everybody's working together ⁓ through the pulpit on this.
Kellie Smith (12:55)
Yeah.
Yep.
Great.
Heidi (13:06)
everybody comes together. You're not getting
wrapped up in the fact that this is Luther, this is Catholic, this is... That's gotta feel good.
Kellie Smith (13:11)
Right.
Yes, ⁓ feels fantastic and you know as I am getting older I realized that I just really like to ⁓ provide a service or encourage ⁓ any way that I can help support people and make them feel seen and celebrated. So that for me has been wonderful to just know that people have access to it regardless of of denomination or political record you know anything. People can just enjoy it and use it as they need.
Joel Heitkamp (13:40)
Mm hmm. Yeah, what? What?
Heidi (13:43)
One more for me, Kellie. If I were a neighboring town, and believe me, I know the neighboring towns, they yell, yes, they're calling me. If I were a neighboring town,
Joel Heitkamp (13:43)
One more for me, Kellie, if I were a neighboring town and believe me, I know the neighboring towns and they yell at you at a football game too. ⁓ If if I were a neighbor neighboring town, I'd look at the blueprint. I'd come in and say, OK, what did you do here? You know, and how did you do it? I want to copy this. I want to mimic this. Have you been getting any calls from other towns?
Kellie Smith (13:45)
Yeah.
Right. Yeah.
Yep.
Heidi (13:58)
Okay.
Kellie Smith (14:06)
⁓ I have not been getting any calls, but I would love that and I would celebrate that and help with whatever I can. Honestly, it was just from me and my daughter saying, yes, this is easy, let's do this. So I think other communities could easily do it as well.
Heidi (14:22)
Yeah. Well, Joel, just be glad you weren't a hockey referee. Because that might be ⁓ more dangerous in, than... So when you look at the kind of work that you do, I mean, being a small business person, I will tell you, I do a lot of work on rural development. I just signed on to chair a national initiative on...
Joel Heitkamp (14:26)
I
Kellie Smith (14:26)
Right, very true because that could be... Yes. Right? Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Heidi (14:49)
trying to revitalize rural communities. And people always ask me, what's the secret sauce? What, I mean, and I just say leadership. It's people with vision. It's people who can see an opportunity to help or people who can see an opportunity to build community. Way too often we think that this is about the big bright shining object, but it really is about people like you saying, look.
Kellie Smith (14:52)
Awesome.
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Heidi (15:15)
I'm just gonna do it and all of a sudden the community chips in and that makes a difference and it builds the reputation. And we see it in Hanketson where Joel and I, you know, where Joel's from and I spent some time there, went to high school in Hanketson. The leadership that you've demonstrated here needs to be populated across rural America, whether it is...
in your business and keeping your business open and being a successful entrepreneur, working hard at that, or whether it's giving back to the community. What advice would you have for someone who maybe says, look, I'm tired of living in the cities or I'm tired of living in Colorado and Denver. I want to find an opportunity someplace else. ⁓ You obviously did. Obviously you had a lot of family connections, but what advice would you give to them?
Kellie Smith (15:59)
Yeah.
Right.
I mean, my advice would just come from a place of yes, I think life is short and experiences are, we can have as many experiences as we allow ourselves to. I don't think cutting yourself short to trying things is ever a good idea. So ⁓ I always just say any gifts you have, regardless of what it is, if you know how to build something, if you know how to market something, just share those and.
you're still making a difference regardless of what you're doing. So small acts of service make a big impact. So I think you just go for it.
Joel Heitkamp (16:39)
Well,
Towns have traditions, you know, and you know that we just went through Santa Claus Day and Turkey Drawing Day where I live. You know, you give out a bunch of turkeys and you give out a bunch of hams. And the biggest question. Yeah. ⁓ yeah. The biggest question that every day is who's playing Santa Claus, ⁓ you know, and so that that adds up the big one. And I always get accused of playing Santa Claus and I never do. I'm the one that hands.
Kellie Smith (16:44)
Right. Yep.
Fun. ⁓ nice. ⁓
Heidi (16:53)
Everybody wins a turkey, don't they, Joel?
Kellie Smith (17:01)
yeah.
you should!
Joel Heitkamp (17:08)
I'm the one that hands out the turkeys and I've done that. Well, you know, and ⁓ I'm a feminist.
Heidi (17:10)
You have a face for Santa Claus, Joel. Why wouldn't you?
Kellie Smith (17:12)
Yeah!
Joel Heitkamp (17:15)
Quite frankly, Heidi, this suit would fit you better. But Kellie, we need to resolve this before we let you go. OK, is it per him or per half?
Kellie Smith (17:17)
You
Yeah.
Well, I say per ham, but a lot of people do say per ham too. ⁓
Joel Heitkamp (17:27)
There, Heidi. Heidi, you said per ham earlier, and it's not per
Heidi (17:29)
I know. I always say Perham
because that's how it's spelled. I get, you know, full disclosure, our good friend Tessa Gould, you know, I always say, you know, Tessa, are you in DC? Are you in Perham? No, we know it's Perham. I think our grandmother wasn't, you know, she was raised not too far from there. And so that's country that we know and we love.
Kellie Smith (17:35)
Yep.
Right? I feel like it's tomato, tomato. Yeah.
Joel Heitkamp (17:47)
Yeah.
Kellie Smith (17:55)
Yeah.
Heidi (17:55)
I, you know, it's beautiful, beautiful Lake country, but it's got a lot more than just, you know, resorts to offer. It's got a community vibe and you're adding to that. And that's an amazing story, but it's a story that needs to be repeated every place. mean, Perham is a place that, you know, lot of tourism, a lot of people, you know, seasonally come and that's got to help your business. But that doesn't mean that that's the only thing that happens in Perham.
Kellie Smith (18:02)
It sure does.
I appreciate that.
Mm-hmm.
I agree. Thank you. Yes, Perot special.
Joel Heitkamp (18:22)
Well, and let me add, that's the
reason I talked about turkeys. ⁓ You know, Kellie, mean, the Perimaria knows a little bit about turkeys, fair.
Kellie Smith (18:29)
Yeah.
Oh yes, very fair, yeah, that's a fair statement.
Joel Heitkamp (18:34)
Yeah,
Kellie Merry Christmas to you and Merry Christmas to everybody who did this. ⁓ It says so much about your community and I I will ⁓ be telling the towns that I know so well and travel to that this happened in Perham and you know there's a blueprint and a game plan here and so all we all we gotta do is find that person to be willing to donate the or build the shed and you watch the giving will happen so.
Kellie Smith (18:38)
Thank you.
Heidi (18:41)
Yeah.
Kellie Smith (18:53)
Please do. Yeah.
Joel Heitkamp (19:03)
Thanks for coming on the hot dish, Kellie. Appreciate it.
Heidi (19:04)
Terrific.
Kellie Smith (19:06)
Yes,
thank you so much for having me. This was wonderful. Yes, Merry Christmas to you both.
Heidi (19:07)
Terrific, Merry Christmas.
Heidi (19:16)
So, so Joel, I remember when our oldest nephew, Michael, ⁓ was dating Bobby, who is now his wife, and she came to the lake for Christmas. And you have this tradition where you go out to the lake and you pump some water, put a little snow embankment, pump some water and create a nice smooth.
nice smooth ⁓ ice rink. And ⁓ Bobby said, it's like a Norman Rockwell painting. That was such a nice thing for her to say, think, kind of all the work that goes in, that all the work that you do to make Christmas really festive at your house for the family. Aren't I nice to you today?
Joel Heitkamp (20:02)
Yeah, it.
Yeah, thank you. And it's actually fun. ⁓ The time I did it this year, ⁓ the weather was around 30. There was no wind, so it was perfect. I got the pump from real water, which is where I used to work. And all I got to do is drop off a case of beer and all that. And, you know, I have to tell you, it went well this year. It's going to be smooth. But there's so many people in the family that play hockey.
And it's fun to go out and watch them and start that bonfire and sit around and just have fun.
Heidi (20:33)
Well, and lots
of different generations. I mean, from the very littlest one, your granddaughter Tess, she's going to be one mean hockey player.
Joel Heitkamp (20:38)
Yeah.
Well, she better she better get mean. Yeah, I watched her yesterday and she's too kind. She needs to learn to check a little bit. But you know, she's a good kid. Well, yeah, kind of. I mean, but I mean, here's the thing, you know, everybody thinks of us in the North Country as being very cold. And many, many times you are spot on. Right. I don't argue with that. But it's it's been a fairly warm winter. ⁓
Heidi (20:50)
You don't get to check as a child. Yeah. ⁓
Joel Heitkamp (21:11)
And it makes a difference when you live by a lake. And by the way, Heidi has a place by the lake too. So it's just as much hers. But right now, if you come ice fishing in my fish shack, what you're in my fish house, what you're going to find is about 12 inches of ice. And so if you're ⁓ heavier than me, which it takes some to do, I'll send you out there first. Because if you go through, then then I don't have to worry about it, right?
Heidi (21:36)
Well, I remember, the other thing people don't realize is taking wood out onto the ice and starting a bonfire. And people are like, you got fire on this ice flow? And you're like, well, yeah. mean, it's pretty deep. It take a lot of wood to burn through 12 inches of ice, making that possible. I probably reveal a little bit more than what I care to. But I remember I used to drink 64 beer, which was like,
2.2 % alcohol and we were out there. mean, yeah, we were, but we were out there and it was, man, it must've been 20 below, but dang it, come hell or high water, we were gonna go out on the lake for that Christmas. And I remember tipping the beer and it was frozen.
Joel Heitkamp (22:09)
which is water by the way. You should be acting in the series, Landman.
Yeah, yeah, you know, and here's the thing, you know, if you look out on the lake, what you're going to see is only about 10, you know, fish houses right now, which tells you that the fish aren't biting. It's easy to tell, you know, it's just a little lake I live by and you know, lot of times you look out there and there'll be a couple hundred fish houses and
Heidi (22:34)
That's what you get.
Well, there also
was the Christmas, Joel, where the water was pretty much wide open. And we, you know, it's a spring fed lake. And I just have to say that somebody had an idea that they should do a polar plunge, right? Yeah, no, it wasn't my idea, but somebody had to, right. Somebody had to represent our generation, Joel. Somebody had to be out there. We can't just let those whippersnappers, you know, take all the credit.
Joel Heitkamp (22:59)
Yeah.
That was you and you yeah, but you did it
I was I was proud of you. Well, here's the other part. I can't to this day figure out how you graduated law school because, you know, it wasn't the brightest thing you ever did, but it looked fun. But it looked fun. I wasn't going to do it.
Heidi (23:21)
I think there's still videos someplace on YouTube.
Hey, you
know the advice that I give and I have a chance to talk to a lot of students and I give one piece of advice. say every year, you know, as you're thinking about your new year's resolutions, figure out something that you can do that scares the hell out of you, that you don't want to do, that that is not, it takes you completely out of your comfort zone because the more you can do that,
Joel Heitkamp (23:54)
Yeah.
Heidi (24:02)
the more you grow. And it doesn't matter if you're 30, know, 25, 30 or 70, do something every year that is frightening to you. And I think, I think that is what's kept us young. We just keep doing stuff that, that a lot of people don't think we should be doing.
Joel Heitkamp (24:22)
Well, it but here's the other thing where we live where we grew up. It's flat, right? And so if you want to sled, you gotta go to the interstate and sled. That's as big of a hill as what you're going to get. So I made a hitch or went to my buddy who's a blacksmith and he made it machinist. I guess is what they try to call him now. They're blacksmith and he made a hitch to hook it to bargain to the back of my snowmobile and now my Polaris Ranger.
Heidi (24:31)
You
Joel Heitkamp (24:50)
And so the kids hop on now I wore one out and in hiding you've wrote on that too. And so in my radio show, I mentioned that I wore out of Tobago next thing I know I got a call from a guy in North Fargo who said I got one. It's used we don't use it anymore. Come up and get it. This one's two feet long, so we can fit one more kid on it. The problem is we don't got a lot of snow. But you know what, we're gonna run it anyway. I'll hook it up to the rig and
Heidi (25:09)
This one's two feet long.
Yeah.
Joel Heitkamp (25:19)
You know, you know how I run at height. We'll see how many I can get off at one time.
Heidi (25:20)
You know how I run a tight, you see how many I can get off. You
know, there's just a lot of people who get really discouraged about the materialism of Christmas. And do we have a lot of presents? Yeah. But you know, there's Christmases at our house where it's almost an afterthought. Oh yeah, we better open up those presents. I mean, it's pretty amazing because all of these experiences that you create for young people, whether it's going out sledding,
whether it is running a hockey tournament on the lake, whether it is starting a bonfire and sitting around, those are the things they're gonna remember. They're not gonna remember that one extra toy that somebody may have given them. And so I think the real lesson here is, kids are much more interested in the time that you give them than the things that you give them.
Joel Heitkamp (26:14)
Well, and here's the other part of don't care if you're the youngest of seven and you didn't get a Christmas gift that year because I mean, here's the here's the thing. Mom and dad didn't have nothing. Well, I hang in there for the story, would you? OK, so. Well, so mom and dad didn't have a lot, so they gave the three youngest kids a dog, which pretty cool, right? One dog.
Heidi (26:25)
⁓ wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, no. That, I, no.
Joel Heitkamp (26:40)
And the oldest one of those three, Melanie, took the dog. And I don't think I ever got to pet the dog. She named the dog, the dog slept in bed with her. Every time I mentioned I got a third of that dog, ⁓ you know, I didn't get it. And the dog didn't hunt. And so I didn't want the dog anyway.
Heidi (26:57)
The dog
was ⁓ a, ⁓ an eight inch Pekingese. on, the dog did.
Joel Heitkamp (27:04)
It was a mutt. Let's
you
know, years later, Melanie got me my Red Ryder BB gun, so no whining. I got to let it go. ⁓
Heidi (27:10)
⁓ and she let
you drive her. I mean, she was one of the first to buy actually a nice car because she worked food service when she was in college. And you get to drive that car on dates. She let she's she was nice to you, Joel.
Joel Heitkamp (27:20)
Yeah.
Yeah, well,
try to make out with a girl in a pinto, you know, so let's just be honest. Except well, no, wasn't that there was a stick. It wasn't exactly the biggest car for a football player like me. But hey, I did get the car. I will acknowledge that.
Heidi (27:27)
Worrying about whether you're going to explode. ⁓
⁓ wah, wah, wah, wah. Well, listen,
you know, we hope that everybody listening thinks about the kinds of memories that they're making with their families, the kinds of opportunities that you have, like Kellie, to participate in the community. It's, it's, it's an ethic. think, you know, I'm not one of those people, Joel, who always says, rural America has got so much more ethical behavior, but
This is a rural tradition to help out, especially during the holidays. And so ⁓ if you're listening, ⁓ the holiday is 12 days and make the most of it. And it is truly factual. It is better to give than it is to receive.
Joel Heitkamp (28:25)
Well, and here's the thing. If you don't have traditions in the holidays like the high camps have, start them. I mean, start traditions and then do it again next year and find out what was fun. And the next thing you know, ⁓ you know, you'll be saying, I can't wait to get home and do that again. And that's what one country is all about. It really is.
Heidi (28:41)
And
as somebody who once upon a time did 20 gingerbread houses with young people, ⁓ you can get rid of some of those traditions too. It was, I mean, you know, but now they're all older and you so you adjust and you adapt and you know, used to make them all sing Christmas carols and play whatever instruments they had in the band.
Joel Heitkamp (28:49)
Yeah.
Yeah, it was pretty cool what you did though, Hyde. was, yeah.
Yeah, that was.
Everybody
sees Holly coming on the holidays. They run the other way. We all love her next thing you know we're playing Christmas trivia and she's got sheets already this year height so be happy. Yes, be be happy that you had a new grandbaby and you're on the West Coast. You know because you don't have to play him so folks.
Heidi (29:16)
Does she really?
Well, Merry Christmas, Joel.
Joel Heitkamp (29:27)
Yeah, Merry Christmas to you Hyatt and Merry Christmas to that family and that beautiful new granddaughter you have
Heidi (29:36)
Thanks for joining us today on The Hot Dish, brought to you by One Country Project, making sure the voices of the rest of us are heard in Washington.
Joel Heitkamp (29:44)
Learn more at onecountryproject.org. That's onecountryproject.org. Follow us on Substack, Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. We'll be back next week with more hot dish comfort food for rural America. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Heidi (30:00)
Merry Christmas.