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A podcast focusing on the perspectives, lives, and stories of Kansans to provide greater insight into the state we all call home.
AAK_Ep53
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Funny Socks Cold Open
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Sydney Collins: [00:00:00] So I've been holding onto something
Gus Applequist: that's a dangerous, okay,
Sydney Collins: my socks.
So I dunno where these socks came from, but they've been in my sock drawer. I think my husband put them there. And I put this shirt on today, I am like, you know what? Today's a good day to wear whatever these, they're, so they're definitely not meant for my wide calves. So they're really distorted, but it's got like lipstick and little funny characters on 'em, and.
Gus Applequist: I had no idea. There you go.
Sydney Collins: It's the little hidden gems.
Gus Applequist: There you go.
Sydney Collins: I was inspired. 'cause yesterday we had Creative Connect with Michael and I was inspired by his funny socks.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Our friend of the podcast, Michael Freeland. Uh, yeah. Every day. Apparently a different,
Sydney Collins: yeah. Every day I wanna see his So drawers probably really big if he has
Gus Applequist: mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: Fun socks for every day. There you go.
[00:01:00]
Episode Setup Made in Kansas
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Sydney Collins: Welcome back to Askin,
Gus Applequist: a podcast amplifying, connecting, and uncovering Kansas.
Sydney Collins: So today we have a really cool episode, um, about things made in Kansas.
Gus Applequist: Yeah, this, this was fun. I, I think that you may have seen the branding from the Land of Kansas before this episode sort of dives into that. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and Sammy does a great job of just kind of explaining how this all works.
So, but before we get that, oh yeah. I'm just gonna tease. Uh, you may have caught, uh, in our social media. Oh yeah, that, that I've been talking kind of negatively about the Kansas flag lately. Catching some flack online, which is fine.
Sydney Collins: I wouldn't say negative. I would say you are bringing awareness.
Gus Applequist: Okay, thank you.
That's very kind of [00:02:00] you. But uh, if that's at all interesting to you, stick around after the interview 'cause we're gonna have a little bit more or less fun with flags. So, without any further ado, here's Sammy.
Sammy Joins the Show
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Sydney Collins: Hello. Welcome. How's it going? Good. How are you? Welcome, welcome.
Gus Applequist: We always thought when guests bring stuff, so this is really exciting.
Sammy Gleason: Thanks
Sydney Collins: for having me. Thanks for coming. Pleasure. We'll let you get comfy here.
Sammy Gleason: Okay.
Sydney Collins: So, uh, for our audience, can you introduce yourself for us?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. My name is Sammy Gleason.
Um, I'm with the, from the Land of Kansas program within the Kansas Department of Ag.
Sydney Collins: Love it. So what do you have for us?
Sammy Gleason: You
Sydney Collins: brought goodies
Sammy Gleason: today. Hi. Yeah.
Kansas 250 Gift Box Unboxing
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Sammy Gleason: This is a special edition box. We've never done this before. Um, for the Kansas two 50, um, to celebrate the birthday.
Sydney Collins: Yep. We, I think we heard about these from Rosa when she came to talk about Kansas two 50, so it's fun to actually put eyes on it, so it's fun to actually see it.
Sammy Gleason: Yes, yes. I watched that interview so. She did a great job. Do you want me to open it? We would love to see what's inside. Okay.
Gus Applequist: Unless it's a secret that you're,
Sammy Gleason: it's not a [00:03:00] secret. No, it's, it's online. Um, but it actually is already to be shipped, so. Okay, cool. Sorry I didn't have all the packaging, but now you know exactly what you're gonna get.
Sydney Collins: It's, it's the box unboxing here. I can hold
Gus Applequist: stuff for you. We're, thank
Sammy Gleason: you.
Gus Applequist: Like passionate merch people and so,
Sydney Collins: so we get, we love it.
Sammy Gleason: Okay. Okay. So what's inside is it tells what's in the box mm-hmm. Too, and then where it's from. And then you can also write a personal gift message.
Sydney Collins: Ah, that's really cute.
Sammy Gleason: Yes. And then who packed the box? Do you wanna? Yeah. Okay. And then who packed the box? Big Lakes Development Center. Um, so they, um, ones that are just intellectual needs or they need jobs for their, um, clients, so they Oh, cool. They pack the bags. Okay. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: That's
Gus Applequist: wonderful.
Sydney Collins: Okay. Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: And then what's inside?
So you want me to tell you what's inside? Yeah.
Sydney Collins: Tell, tell us what's inside.
Sammy Gleason: Okay. Um, we have, um, some kettle corn popcorn from strangle popcorn.
Gus Applequist: Nice.
Sammy Gleason: And then you can see our logo, our from the Land of Kansas logo there on the back. Oh yeah. And some of our members put that inside.
Gus Applequist: It says here that this recipe has been used [00:04:00] in their family for generations, which is pretty cool.
Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Yeah. And then we have honey, of course, from, of course, um, Manhattan area, Manhattan, Kansas. And then what's a Kansas box without some like burger barbecue. Burger row. So we added that in there. And then
Gus Applequist: Is that
Sydney Collins: Pat Daddy's? Yeah. Yeah. Pat Daddy's.
Sammy Gleason: Oh yeah. Say he's got the list. Well, we really package about it.
It says,
uh,
Gus Applequist: that, that has savory spices, herbs, and salt that adds delicious flavor and a nice crust to your burger.
Sammy Gleason: I like that.
Sydney Collins: I actually know all the words in the ingredients.
Sammy Gleason: That's important. I
Sydney Collins: think that's the bonus for me.
Sammy Gleason: Sometimes. You might not know all the words in this one. Actually, this might be a different one for you.
This, and we really package these well because they're glass and we don't want anybody, I
Sydney Collins: mean, I love that
Sammy Gleason: we don't want anybody to get, I feel
Sydney Collins: that
Sammy Gleason: we're like destroying this
Sydney Collins: packaging,
Sammy Gleason: but it's okay. I'll fix that. I do like
Sydney Collins: the idea that
Sammy Gleason: this is a beautiful jar, so Cocoa [00:05:00] vino. It is a red wine chocolate sauce.
Oh, that's so and so. Yeah. You might not know some of those words in there. That's one of our most unique dark
Sydney Collins: chocolate number one ingredient. Yeah, I, I know that one.
Sammy Gleason: Um, no, it's actually pretty simple. Um, but it's just a fancy, fancy name. I think. I love it. No fancy packaging.
Gus Applequist: I didn't know that was a thing.
Then we have one thing left.
Sammy Gleason: No, we have 2 0, 2 things. Three things actually. So we have like our promo gift, you know, for from Lane to Kansas. Um, measuring, yeah. Measuring, yeah, measuring. Sorry. Double
Gus Applequist: ended.
Sydney Collins: I'm really intrigued in this.
Sammy Gleason: It's okay. I knew you would be
Sydney Collins: chocolate and wine. Put in one thing. It's like a superpower for me.
Sammy Gleason: Um, and yeah, that's in the Overland Park area. Sorry. Yeah, I am really ruining this bubble wrap I wasn't planning on.
Sydney Collins: We'll get you a new bubble wrap.
Sammy Gleason: It's okay. Um, and then of course we have sandhill plum jelly of course. So that's a state fruit. Yes. So have to have that in the Kansas.
Sydney Collins: I love it. Box.
Gus Applequist: [00:06:00] So if you, if you have friends or family that are celebrating a birthday over the next year.
Yes. Later in the summer, um,
Sydney Collins: anniversary.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. We've actually had several Thank you gifts. Consumers buy for happy birthdays. Mm-hmm. Um, even if you're a realtor, like as a gifter. Oh, that's a really good idea. Your client. Yeah. Um, send that. So, um, and then last but not least, some lip balm.
Sydney Collins: Heck yeah.
Sammy Gleason: That's important.
Especially with this dry air right now. Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. It is super dry. A hundred
Sammy Gleason: percent. I hand that. Do you?
Gus Applequist: Well, thank you for like breaking this down for us. It's okay. So we can show people actually. Oh, that's an interesting flavor combination,
Sammy Gleason: but we package it really well. I mean, we have to have, it's just so it doesn't break.
And then we have these fancy stickers on the top as well. Love it.
Gus Applequist: This is like the best way to get into what you do at. Where the land from? Of Kansas?
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
What Is Land of Kansas
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Sydney Collins: Can you give us a little bit of what from
Sammy Gleason: the land? Oh, Kansas, for sure. So from the land of Kansas, we're the state trademark program. Okay. And the program is designed to promote all products grown, raised, and [00:07:00] produced in Kansas.
excuse me. We're in the Kansas Department of Agriculture, um, in their ag marketing department, and there's other ways that we're promoting Kansas Ag, but from the Land of Kansas promotes all value added products, specialty crops, any farm, ranch, or Kansas small business is what we're promoting.
And it's been around for 48 years. The program has been Oh, wow.
Gus Applequist: Wow.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. I don't think a lot of people know that. 'cause have you heard of this before?
Gus Applequist: Yes.
Sydney Collins: Okay.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah,
Sydney Collins: I have. Yeah. Well, cool.
Sammy Career Path to Program
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Sydney Collins: So how did you find kind of your role? How long have you been there?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, I've been there for six years.
I started in 2020. So fun year to start. Yeah. Fun year to
Sydney Collins: start anything.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Um, so I started online learning about it. Um, I was in marketing before for champion team wear. Oh, okay. So marketing there. But I wanted to do something that I was more passionate about. Mm-hmm. So, I applied. For this position and it, and it's perfect because I've always liked marketing, but now I'm like super passionate about helping these Kansas businesses and connecting with, with the members.
Sydney Collins: What's kind of the, [00:08:00] the hidden gem, do you think, I know you have a lot of different products, but is there something that you have found that you're just like, I had zero idea. Until you started your job.
Sammy Gleason: There's a lot of things, probably a lot that I'm like, Hmm, I didn't know we had that in Kansas. Um, I mean, the Coco Vino one is definitely a unique one.
I don't think people think about that, um, a lot. There's a lot of spices right now that people are doing. Um, but I, I can't pick a favorite for sure because they're all my favorite, products. But yeah, sunflower oil. Sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is a good one there in Bird City. That I didn't really know of before.
Kansas Roots and Marketing Origin
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Sydney Collins: So I guess give us a little bit of your background.
Yeah. Born and raised here, kind of where? Where from Kansas do you?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. I'm from North Central Kansas. Smith Center, Kansas.
Sydney Collins: Okay.
Sammy Gleason: Close to the Nebraska border. Far from a Walmart or any, any, anything. So my friends thought it was crazy that we [00:09:00] had to drive an hour to the closest Walmart. Growing up, but wouldn't have changed it for anything.
We're known for football. Smith Center is. So most people have heard about us for that. my dad's a fourth generational farmer. mostly, soybeans, corn. Wheat when I was growing up. So grew up around agriculture, but I didn't know a lot about it.
Sydney Collins: What, um, got you interested in marketing?
Sammy Gleason: I went to school to be a nurse actually. Okay. And I watched a cataract eye surgery and I passed out. So I thought, Well, this isn't the job for me, but I went in for, I wanted to be a nurse because I cared about people connecting with people. Working with people. So I thought, okay, I'll get a degree where I can still work with people, but I'm not gonna pass out when I see something.
So, really that was my passion. Um, I got my degree in actually leadership studies, so being a leader in any company. and then I got my first job, As a social media [00:10:00] coordinator, so that's a funny story. I was working in a restaurant like, I believe everybody should work in retail or the service industry.
Sydney Collins: I preached this for years
Sammy Gleason: because you learn a lot, a lot that education cannot teach you. School can't teach you. Um, working with people and the people that you see. So I was serving a table and she was an owner of a car dealership.
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Sammy Gleason: so I was taking care of their ta. They were, I think they were celebrating Christmas.
Mm-hmm. At the time, and I was waiting on them all night. Had a great conversation with them and she, at the end of the night, she gave me her card and said to call her. So then I called her and she gave me a job as a social media coordinator. At the car dealership. And so that's what got me into marketing.
And it was, I learned a lot, let's say that working at a car dealership. but it was great experience to start off, you know, they did different, you know, newspaper ads. Mm-hmm. Magazine ads, but social media was like, [00:11:00] it was just becoming more popular at that time.
Sydney Collins: How did you end up a champion? So I feel like that's a pretty cool gig.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. My husband, so we were in the Kansas City area, that's where I got that job. He was a police officer in Leewood and he got hired with KHP. So we had a move, um, to Riley. county. And I was just applied for a marketing job since I had the experience.
and that's how I got the job there.
Sydney Collins: Brilliant. Cool.
Gus Applequist: How many of you are on the, the team from the land of Kansas?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, so there's three of us. I'm from the land of Kansas, but in our ag marketing department we have usually like 10 to 12, and so we help each other with certain events. Wow.
Gus Applequist: And so do you interface directly with the farmers and stuff?
Sammy Gleason: Yes. Great. Yes, so we travel all over the state meeting with them. That's the best part. Um, going to see them, talking with them. Yeah. There's a lot I learn about each business and just the relationship that we have with them, [00:12:00] so.
Sydney Collins: What's kind of the, the hardest product to sell to Kansans,
Sammy Gleason: I don't feel like there's a hard. Product. I mean, food is easy to sell. Food. Yeah, that's right. So maybe a non-food item would be mm-hmm. Um, the hardest product to sell because you can't taste it.
And when we do like work the state fair on when we sample the product, we sell more every time. if they taste it. So I would say a non-food item then. Would be the hardest. Cool. Just because you can't try it.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: That's fair.
Membership Process and Marketplace
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Gus Applequist: Let's say somebody's sitting at home and this is like super intriguing to them, like, I wanna make something food wise and sell it.
What, what is the process like for, for getting the, from the land of Kansas? Um, designation. Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: so they had to be established business, you know, with like food licensing. Um. Then they apply for our program and they do have to meet, um, any. food safety regulations and we ha we have that as a [00:13:00] requirement.
So they'll check the list of what they have. so we kind of come in after that. We have an ag business development where he helps them with like, just getting started and all checking all those boxes and then sends them to, from the Land of Kansas, where we start marketing their products and they just have to check those boxes so they fill out, it's free to become, they fill out an application.
It's free to be a member of our program. and then they can like sign up for added benefits if they want.
Gus Applequist: And do you actually help with distribution or anything like that, or are you just more on
Sammy Gleason: the
Gus Applequist: marketing
Sammy Gleason: side? Yeah, yeah. No, we do. Um, so we have a marketplace, an online, um, e-commerce site, where they'll go and they can purchase people.
So we're really, I guess, connecting, you know? Mm-hmm. They, the members are shipping it from, I guess to answer your question, yes and no. 'cause they're shipping it from their
Sydney Collins: mm-hmm. Store.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, well it's
Sydney Collins: like, but for specific Kansas Islands.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, that's a great way to explain it. 'cause they don't wanna explain it like Amazon because Yeah, it's not because.
It's still direct to consumer, [00:14:00] online. We have that, that shop, it's just giving them that other platform and then they ship it from their own home directly.
Gus Applequist: So the website is from the lane of kansas.com or?
Sammy Gleason: Yep. So, uh, the e-commerce site. So you go to from the lane of kansas.com and then just hit shop at the top.
Or you can go to shop from lana kansas.com and. That goes to our e-commerce site. So we kinda have two sides of it where it's just like the informational side, uh, from the land of Kansas where members, you know, sign up, shop, and then that e-commerce site.
Beyond Food Products and Other States
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Gus Applequist: Are other products, that aren't food marketable through for the land from Land Kings?
Sammy Gleason: Yes. Yes. So I brought a candle I think too. Um, so we have candles since, um, a wheat art. Oh, cool. Yeah, there's
Gus Applequist: Rita right behind you that I just haven't.
Sammy Gleason: Oh, [00:15:00] beautiful. Yes. That is so pretty. Um, but it has to have an agriculture tie though.
Okay. So you can't just like, oh, I made a candle, but it doesn't have lavender or soy. It has to have that ag tie to be that product. So food's a lot easier to establish like, oh, you're, you know, Kansas made. but yeah, we do have several other products that aren't food.
Gus Applequist: So I have a difficult question that Do you feel like, from the Land of Kansas is something that really sets Kansas apart from other states in the Midwest? Or, you know, is this something that other states have too? And this is just our kind of version of it?
Sammy Gleason: There are other states have other branded programs.
They call 'em their branded programs. Mm-hmm. So Missouri Groan, um, Oklahoma made, I think it is the name. They're all different names. Mm-hmm. But this is our unique name that we have. Um, I think Texas Proud, but we get together once a year, like in person with these other branded programs, and we talk about ideas like what they're doing in their state to advertise their products like ours.
The gift boxes, actually the holiday gift boxes we started [00:16:00] with from the Land of Kansas and then other states started doing the same thing. That's correct. So that's
Sydney Collins: way to be a mover and shaker.
Sammy Gleason: So that's really, really neat. and then there's other things that they've done and we are like, oh, we're gonna do this.
Like, we just did a Meet the buyer's event in Kansas City where we were trying to connect. Our members with buyers. And we've learned, you know, that from other programs too, that have done it like ours was on a way smaller scale. 'cause we're just starting than theirs. But it's really nice to learn from other states to see what they're doing too.
Gus Applequist: Hmm.
Sammy Gleason: Right? Mm-hmm.
Using the Trademark Sticker
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Gus Applequist: So if I go to a, you know, a county store and I see another bag of. Schlegel, excuse me. Schlegel popcorn. That's a hard one. Um, they're, they're all gonna have that, not just the stuff that you sell on your website. Like this is a brand mark that they can use in any of their products that they're selling.
Is that true?
Sammy Gleason: It has to be a Kansas product.
Gus Applequist: Okay.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Right. Like some, and they are able to Yes. Use that trademark, um, if it's a Kansas product and they're not necessarily, might not be on our website. Mm-hmm. Um, but they. [00:17:00] Have that. Um, so for example, we have, um, Hogan v, sauerkraut, which he puts, he just puts the stickers, put his stuff.
Yes.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: He, there, he puts the stickers on top of it. He just puts the stickers on it, like, oh yeah, that
Sydney Collins: makes sense.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Like Slagel. And we have those on our website for our members to, um, purchase those stickers. Awesome. We can ship it to him. He, like Ray likes to come, um, the owner and come to our office and purchase 'em, which is really nice.
'cause Aut Ray. Yeah, I get a, I I love that he stops by, 'cause it's, it's nice to see him and catch up with him and when on his deliveries, like that's in Hy-Vee, and Manhattan and he just is, he's so adamant about that sticker. He's like, they just sell better with that sticker on there. I have to have it.
Um, so that's a great story I think.
What Products Are Missing
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Gus Applequist: Are there any products that you guys feel like you're missing and you're looking to connect with a producer?
Sammy Gleason: Yes. So sunflowers, sunflower seeds, I mean like, not sunflowers, sorry. Sunflower seed. You're like we're the sunflower state. Yeah. but I don't have [00:18:00] any sunflower seed vendors really.
but yeah. Yeah, we're sunflower. You would think. And then
Gus Applequist: I'm thinking like Gragg Peterson, do you a past guess Shout
Sydney Collins: out to Gragg. Gragg
Gus Applequist: the farmer. We needs some sun, sunflower seed, the farmer sunflowers.
Sammy Gleason: So we have, um, the chocolate cupboard, sunflowers, you know, like that. But no, like what sunflower seeds that you could take, you know, with like ranch or, yeah, like the dill or ranch or barbecue.
DI mean, we have so many members who are doing, um, the seasonings, but mm-hmm. I think that that would be a huge one, especially since we're, you know, call ourselves a sunflower state to have some sunflower seeds and then, crackers. So duck nuts is one of our members. And duck.
Gus Applequist: Duck nuts.
Sammy Gleason: Duck nuts. You love it.
Have to have some. Yes.
Shelf Stable Vendor Needs
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Gus Applequist: Never heard of it.
Sammy Gleason: Um, I actually just gave my dad some last night at my daughter's, um, softball game and he ate almost the whole thing already because it was so good. but also he had some crackers too. He was sampling. We just had an event actually at the Capitol celebrating, um, Kansas Ag Month, um, on Wednesday, and he was sampling [00:19:00] his nuts and crackers and I was like, you need to make more crackers.
and he was like, oh, I think I'll just stick with the duck nuts for now. But I was like, I need more crackers in the state vendors. So if you have crackers and sunflower seeds are the ones that I can think of that we don't have. Very many have some.
Gus Applequist: Right. So it's, it's, I assume it's kind of important that it's shelf stable then, then can last a while.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. But not all of our products, um, are, but if you want us to like sell at State Fair or at a pop-up store, yeah. Mm-hmm. They need to be en unless you have your own cooler.
Freeze Dried Space Ice Cream
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Sammy Gleason: 'cause we have Flint Hills, pints ice cream. That they sounds good. Yeah. And that's not shelf stable, but they also, but actually they've just created, um, a space ice cream.
It's called You'll have to like a
Gus Applequist: freeze dried.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Free. Yes. Wow. Yeah. So you'll have to check that out. Tried that and they just, um, are launching that. So then that can be shelf stable, but they're ice creams to die for. They just ran out of all samples at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Sydney Collins: Oh no.
Gus Applequist: I'm known for, sorry.
[00:20:00] Do you have a question? No. Okay. I'm loving that I'm known for asking an occasional deep question.
Making Kansas Products Stand Out
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Gus Applequist: I was fortunate, uh, a couple years ago to go to France and they do such a good job in France of like. Sort of selling what in other parts of the world are commodities? Like they, they're valuing, like wine is one that everybody knows, or cheese is another one.
Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: Or like cheese from a specific region is worth more just because they slap that, that name on it.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: And so with, with a few of our past guests, we've kind of talked about this. Is this something that Kansas is missing out on? Um, obviously the products like we have on the table here are ones that are, are relatively easy to differentiate.
But some of our other, like the things that are grown in quantity here, like wheat and, and uh, soybeans mm-hmm. And those things, it's a little bit harder to differentiate some of those things. So I guess forming all this into a real question, like are there, is that something you guys see too from, from your perch at, um, from the lane of Kansas is like, how do we set.
Kansas apart through [00:21:00] these products.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. How do we make more, um, soybean or products outta soy and wheat? Is that what you're asking?
Gus Applequist: Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: Or,
Gus Applequist: and, and I guess it doesn't have to be specific to that, but just what, what can we do as Kansans to set our state apart in a way that attracts eyes to us in an even bigger way?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. I think too, like creating, you know, um, boot Hill, distill Distillery, they've created, you know, value added products out of their whiskey. Mm-hmm. Uh, or excuse me, out of their grains into whiskey. which I think is huge too. And then you said like, setting wine apart. Well, Kansas wine, people just think, oh, Kansas wine, but.
Really it's about the experience. You go and you see Kansas and you're drinking the wine and it's really, it's not bad. Mm-hmm. It's, it's good. So I think just like setting us apart with our experiences in Kansas with those products and showcasing, like how beautiful Kansas really is. I don't, I think that sets us [00:22:00] apart,
Gus Applequist: but
Sammy Gleason: that's a
Gus Applequist: great answer.
Yeah.
Kansas Wine Tour Ideas
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Sydney Collins: Do we have a Kansas wine tour? I feel like we need to set that up.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, I think we,
Sydney Collins: Tanner, I need you to set
Sammy Gleason: that up. We're actually working on one, like in the Amigo area. Okay. There have been several between like Amigo and, St. George or like basically Amigo in Manhattan. They've had several wineries popping up around there.
Sydney Collins: Brilliant.
Sammy Gleason: so yeah, wine is a big one. I don't wanna, like, we have a lot of wineries as members too. but yeah, the experience like Kansas is. Lovely. And we just need to bring people here to see our state. and they're shocked, like with the, the other state branded programs. So we go to their state and we had them come to Kansas and they said that Kansas was their favorite.
Which, I mean this year it's in Hawaii, so that might be a little hard, but,
Sydney Collins: well, yeah.
Sammy Gleason: And others, but they had been all over, you know, in different states and they really loved Kansas. I think they were just really surprised. Or we just, I mean, I can't take credit 'cause I wasn't here yet. They, the employees that [00:23:00] were here just really gave a great tour of what Kansas had to offer and showed that.
So I think we just have to show off.
Gus Applequist: I think one of the things that, sorry, I'll stop talking. Go ahead. I'm talking so much in this episode, I apologize. Um, like a lot of people come in with like low expectations for Kansas. Yeah. And that allows us to really exceed those
Sammy Gleason: expectations, I think. And I think that maybe that was the case.
Maybe they came in, they're like, oh, we're going to Kansas. And then they are just, were blown away. Like, wow, I didn't think this was gonna be so much fun or so many, you know, great products and tours that we have to offer and experiences.
Retail Partners Across Kansas
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Sydney Collins: How is the partnership with, um, or is there a partnership? I guess this is something I don't know, between, um, land of Kansas and like for instance, in Salina we have like Prairie Land Market mm-hmm.
That, um, sells, you know, local products or anything like that in other stores. Is there, is there a connection between that? Yes. And, and what does that look like?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, so they're a member of our program.
Sydney Collins: Oh, okay.
Sammy Gleason: Um, if you sell three or more from Atlanta, Kansas products in your retail store, you can be a member [00:24:00] of our program that qualifies you.
Oh,
Sydney Collins: okay.
Sammy Gleason: So they're qualified, um, and they are a member of our program. Brilliant. Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: That's a nice low bar. Yeah.
Sammy Gleason: I know three or
Sydney Collins: more. I love it.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Yeah. I
Gus Applequist: That should be easily achieved.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Everyone member. But it is like, you go and visit and you're like, oh, you can see like one Kansas product in there.
I'm like, oh, if you get, you know, just a couple more, you could be a member. And they're like, really? And they get really excited about it. And, um, anyway, yes, I love going to, right. They're so, is so nice.
Sydney Collins: It's
Sammy Gleason: very nice. Yeah. New one. Um, there, if you walk in there, you do see several, um, from Lane Kansas stickers in there too.
If you go in there.
Sydney Collins: Are there any other stores around Kansas that are like that?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, so Wilkins Acres in Abilene, um, they actually, um, reached out to be a member of our program and they did not have, um, they were like just getting started. And that was one, for example, that I was like, if you carry this many products, you can be a member of our program.
And so then, but she just expanded like the whole store is just Kansas products. That's
Sydney Collins: awesome. I did not know that.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, you, you should check it [00:25:00] out.
Shipping Gift Boxes Nationwide
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Sydney Collins: so we've talked about people in Kansas buying products.
What does it look like? Marketing outside of Kansas, buying products.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Um, so our holiday gift boxes, I showed you this special edition, two 50, which we just shipped one to New York actually for a birthday. Oh. but we ship all over the US with those, we ship, I think it was 46, 47 states.
Sydney Collins: wow.
Sammy Gleason: Last year.
during the holiday season. So Really? Yeah, we are, that's why our holiday gift box benefit, it fills up right away as soon as I send out that link. It fills up [00:26:00] because we do a lot of advertising with, for that box magazine ads, um, social media ads, radio ads, and then, it's going to other places besides Kansas.
So people all over the US are getting these Kansas products.
Sydney Collins: It's funny how that works because even with the podcast, some of our top like mm-hmm. People on social media are like from Vegas and Oklahoma. Really? Yeah. Wow. They're, they're Kansans who used to live here but had to move away. And so it's a piece of Kansas that they can listen to and interact with and still feel like home.
So I feel like the would boxes be, do the exact thing.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Um, yeah. Florida and Texas are big ones that we ship to like people, and that is like people that are. Have loved ones that are, have moved to a different state. They're shipping that to them, um, as a gift. So yeah, it's a great gift for that.
Next Big Program Goals
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Sydney Collins: looking forward, what are some goals that you guys are trying to achieve in the next, you know, [00:27:00] three years, five years or how, however,
Sammy Gleason: however, we Yeah. Well, we'll have our 50th anniversary coming up. Oh, wow. So we're gonna have to. In the next, yeah, three to five years. Yeah, it's a 48, so we're gonna have to come up with something big.
Um, we've been talking about that, but that's a surprise. Can't, we can't share that secret. Um, and we wanted to do more events like the meet the buyers to connect, um, our members directly with the buyer. 'cause a lot of our. Member one to get in more stores. Like we're trying to help them take their business to the next level.
Mm-hmm. Um, so that's another big thing. But we still focusing on our state fair and our gift boxes and how can we make the gift box even better. You know, that's always something that we're thinking about. We're thinking about maybe even having three different kinds of gift boxes this year. Um, so we're sharing, you know, more Kansas products with, with more people.
What Kansas Producers Are Like
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Gus Applequist: I guess I just have, I have one, one more question just to sort of wrap up, and that is you get to interact with, with so many of the different people that are producing this stuff.
Sammy Gleason: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: Do you have any observations about what, what these farmers and, and other producers [00:28:00] are like?
Uh, for, for people that may be listening?
Sammy Gleason: Yeah. Well, they're wonderful. Um, it, that's the, the best part about my job. It's so rewarding getting to know them and having relationships with them, learning about their families. They work so hard. I mean, I couldn't do it. But I love being able to promote their products, and that's where I come in because they're so focused on creating the product and making sure that it is perfect and safe.
And then I'll help them with their marketing because how does anybody have time for all of that? Mm-hmm. yeah, and that's the best thing about Kansans too, is the people. I say it all the time and it just kind of sounds like, oh, okay, everyone says the people. But it truly is like, I've traveled a lot of different places.
Throughout, you know, in different states. And it's the people that keep bringing you back and they're hardworking, Kansans, that just want, and they're so proud. They're so proud of their product and I think that that's really important. Like there's the passion behind it.
Sydney Collins: yeah, thank you so much [00:29:00] for Thanks being on the podcast today.
Sammy Gleason: Thank you guys for having me.
Sydney Collins: This has been great.
Sammy Gleason: Yeah, no problem. Yeah.
Post Show Product Curiosities
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Sydney Collins: Well, thank you for joining us, uh, for that conversation with Sammy.
Gus Applequist: Yeah, I, it's always, interesting. There's some things we expect that are made in Kansas.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: The chocolate wine sauce, not something I expected.
Sydney Collins: Yeah. I am gonna have to buy that.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: Just outta pure curiosity, I just, I wanna know what you use it for because I, I didn't get a fully like read on the label of like what it's best on.
I am assuming. [00:30:00] A really good like steak sauce because I can imagine that, um, I
Gus Applequist: like a sweet sauce on a steak. Yeah. Yeah. Or a dessert sauce perhaps.
Sydney Collins: Or, and some
Gus Applequist: cheesecake.
Sydney Collins: Well, that's really kind of jelly that you put like over cream cheese.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm.
Sydney Collins: It's really kinda a spice jelly. I don't know. I'll have to buy it and I'll have to tell everybody,
How to Be a Podcast Guest
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Gus Applequist: listeners, do you have a favorite, uh, item made in Kansas or, or from the lane of Kansas?
We'd love to hear about it.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Um, or if you're a producer and maybe you'd like to come on the podcast at some point. No, no guarantees there, but, uh, reach out.
Sydney Collins: Yeah, reach out. that's a good little plug. If you are interested in ever being on the podcast, there is a form on our website called Be Our Guest.
fill it out, it goes directly to us. Um, and then I forward it to, it really comes to my inbox and then I forward it to Tanner, our producer, so, um, that he can keep all of those, organized and we can get those, get everyone on. So,
Gus Applequist: yeah. Not every person or story is the right fit for Ask Kansan, but, but there are a lot that do [00:31:00] work and, and we plan months ahead of time.
So, uh, just be aware of that when you reach out.
um,
Flag Design Rules Recap
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Sydney Collins: I see a another less fun, but more fun with flags part two.
Gus Applequist: Yes.
Sydney Collins: Is that, is that the
Gus Applequist: Yeah. A few episodes on our episode with Deb Goodrich. Yeah. I introduced the North American Vex Logical Society, sorry, associations, five Rules of Good flag design.
Um, and I made a case that our, our current Kansas State flag. Doesn't do very well. Mm-hmm. And, uh, so we, we posted that, I'm just gonna run through those rules one more time, super quick. Yeah. Let's
Sydney Collins: refresh.
Gus Applequist: So, uh, rule number one is keep it simple. Uh, rule number two is use meaningful symbolism.
Number three, stick to one to three basic colors. Number four, no lettering or seals. Number five, make it distinctive. It should be recognizable from a distance and shouldn't be easily confused with another flag in our Kansas flag. God love it as a detailed seal, the word [00:32:00] Kansas, right across the bottom.
And enough tiny detail that you'd need binoculars to appreciate it from across the parking lot. I
Sydney Collins: mean, I can barely see some of the detail and I'm sitting right here.
Gus Applequist: Fair enough. So I put out the challenge to, to try to redesign it. Um, our team took a crack at that. We had some viewers send in designs.
And so I, I also, I just need to acknowledge that we, we did get a little bit of flack. We had several bit people that said we have no business redesigning the state flag. And, you know, everyone is entitled their opinion. I'm not here to like bash you with, with the need for a new flag. However, I, I think like it is, Kansans are capable of creating good flags, right?
Yeah. And, and just to nail that point home, I'm gonna show you a couple of my favorite city flags from the state before we we go through those designs. Okay.
Sydney Collins: Alright.
Best Kansas City Flags
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Gus Applequist: So I'm gonna give out a few awards, to, to, to city flags that I feel like are really something special. So my first award goes to. [00:33:00] Manhattan for the best use of a Sobriquet.
Sydney Collins: Sobriquet.
Gus Applequist: Sobriquet is a, one second. I want to use my, it's a well-known nickname or alternate name for a person, place, or thing. And what is Manhattan's? Oh, it is. It's the Little Apple. The Little Apple. And so I feel like this design is a wonderful nod towards that. I'm also just gonna give you a little bit of the symbolism here.
so they, they had a public contest in 2019. Get this, they had 120 designs to pick from. this is what the winning designer said that the flag represented. The apple rising out of the hillside symbolizes the city's growth as a lane of opportunity and recognizing Manhattan's nickname as the little apple.
The shape of the hillside is a reference to the gently rolling flint hills and the green color represents a wealth of natural resources in the area. Moving right along to my second award for today.
Sydney Collins: I am a little sad that it's not purple.
Gus Applequist: Well, you know, I, I guess I'm guessing if you live guess all in Manhattan, you, you get a lot of purple in your life.
Maybe it's nice to [00:34:00] change things up. Um, my second flag goes to use of best symbolism and a flag design. And this is a flag that was designed that represents both Kingman City and Kingman County. Um. Just f Yeah, I'll just, I'll just dive right in. So they also did a flag redesign competition in 2019.
They adopted their new flag in 2020, and here's what it means. The elements of the flag represent both the city and county of Kingman. The gold Chevron represents the Golden Valley of, uh. Nka, sorry, I had to practice that. Nka, the white sun represents the prosperity and forward thinking of the residents in each community in the Golden Valley, as well as the Sundance of the Kiowa Tribe that historically inhabited the area.
Red and black are the colors that are identified with the unified Kiowa tribe, as well as being the colors of the county's two school districts.
Sydney Collins: Oh,
Gus Applequist: so, and there's even more to it, but I just think it's a really eye-catching design
Sydney Collins: and it's. I immediately, my thoughts were, okay, it [00:35:00] has something to do with the valley and it has to be something kind of Native American.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm. And it,
Sydney Collins: and it's a hundred percent that,
Gus Applequist: that symbolism. I love it. You got it. Right on.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Okay. Our last design here, before we get to these others, this is my award for most intriguing design. This is Park City.
Sydney Collins: Hmm.
Gus Applequist: And here's what theirs means. The first thing you may notice is a leaf. I actually saw an eye here.
But that's a leaf. Think it's a leaf. Mm-hmm. Which reminds us of our city's beautiful parks and symbolizes our potential for continued growth. At the center of the leaf is a star, which symbolizes hope and imagination. Um, there is a line that divides the top and bottom, and that symbolizes.
Uh, how the, uh, the city is split by I 1 35 as it passes north and south.
Sydney Collins: Oh, wow. I guess it is. I never realized that.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Yeah. And the two sides of the flag represents the two school systems, U SD 2 59 and USD 2 62. Cool. Um, so there's a lot of symbolism in these designs. So now I'm gonna work, well first we'll go through each of our team's designs.[00:36:00]
Then we'll go through some of our viewers designs.
Sydney Collins: I'm interested in Wichita didn't make the list.
Gus Applequist: Well, okay. I should have mentioned that up front. I gave them credit last episode. Okay, that's fair. So I wasn't gonna hit 'em twice here. Okay. But yeah, check out Wichita's flag. They do a good job.
Sydney Collins: Okay.
Gus Applequist: Okay.
Team Flag Redesigns
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Gus Applequist: So first we have Sydney.
Sydney Collins: Now are we doing this from just general, or is this from your favorite to least favorite?
Gus Applequist: No, it's, it's, it's in a particular order other than I've Oh, darn. Kind of segregated, because that was first, uh, listeners from us, so I'm sorry, I didn't, sorry, I just, I have an order.
Sydney Collins: I'm giving you trouble.
Gus Applequist: Um, do you wanna say anything about yours since?
Sydney Collins: No. I'm gonna let you go on because I like hearing it.
Gus Applequist: So, Sydnee went with a two-tone flag, a deep blue sky over a golden horizon with a curved dividing line. Right at that horizon sits a white emblem that's doing double duty as both a star and a sunflower.
The blue represents the vast Kansas sky and ties into the state motto Ad Astra Per Aspera. The golden curve [00:37:00] represents the rolling plains and wheat fields and that central emblem part star, part Sunflower captures both the guidance and ambition of the at Astro spirit and the identity of the Sunflower state.
Sydney Collins: Man, I'm so good.
Gus Applequist: It's placement right on the horizon is meant to honor both where Kansas has been and where it's headed. So yeah, I like it. Love, I like, I like the colors you picked too, I think. They're, they're good colors.
Sydney Collins: I, I didn't wanna do Navy. I did not wanna do Navy, but we have, but Navy is so ingrained into everything Kansas, like, you can't, you, you can't get away from it.
Gus Applequist: Okay. Next we have Tanner's design. Uh, Tanner actually submitted these two slightly different designs. Um, both use blue and gold with a distinctive angular, almost Chevron like shape. The colors of the flag are colors from the current flag, and the shapes represent Kansas. And the Star is a nod to Ad Astra Per Aspera.
Yeah. Yeah.
Sydney Collins: There Go
Gus Applequist: slightly lighter blue on, on Tanner's and a and a, um, less orange yellow, I guess [00:38:00] I would say.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Mm-hmm. Um, next,
Sydney Collins: more of a true yellow, not a gold yellow.
Gus Applequist: That's a good way to put it. Yep. Mm-hmm. Next we have Julie's design. Uh.
Sydney Collins: I love Julie's because it's for aesthetics purposes.
Gus Applequist: Julie's design splits blue and a warm peach gold with a sunflower and a starboard starburst, framed by a golden yellow circle right at the dividing line.
Blue represents the Kansas sky gold, Kansas land wheatfields prey land. Bold black ink represents the hardships or aspira in the state. Motto. The gold circle represents wholeness and unity, but also very aesthetic as Kansans are known to come together in hard times. The uh, sunflower is our state flower and is also very aesthetic.
And finally, the star, um, is, is for guidance and is also very aesthetic.
Sydney Collins: The theme for Julie's aesthetic [00:39:00] aesthetic.
Gus Applequist: I had a late submission from Merlin, so we'll see. Merlin next. This is great. Yeah. Um, I think, oh, just for our viewer or our listeners that may not be able to see or will not be able to see, we have a, a navy sky with a sun rising or setting behind it.
Um, and then there is a sunflower centered, uh, between a few hills and, uh, the silhouette of a cow on, on one side. Um, Merlin said that he didn't have any specific symbolism in mind here, but that he, uh, told me he tried to pick imagery that represented Kansas. We'll go to my design. Um, I went with, oh, way
Sydney Collins: incorporate the brown.
I didn't
Gus Applequist: think about that. I went with three stripes and three stars. Um, so I guess I should, there's a brown stripe at the bottom. Next is a yellow stripe. Those are both kind of wavy. And then the top is a fairly light blue. And then there's three stars across the sky. So the brown stripe at the bottom represents the rich soil that made this [00:40:00] land bountiful.
The blue stripe at the top represents the sky and the opportunities that our states, our state present. The yellow stripe in the middle represents the people, the plants, and the animals that live between the land and the sky. Then the three stars in the sky, which are arranged left to right with the rightmost are sitting a little bit higher.
That leftmost star represents the past and the native peoples that first lived on this land. The middle star represents the pioneers who came after, and the right star, the one that sits a little bit higher is representing our AP aspirations in our future. The waves in the design show that for every toil we fight.
Comes a triumph, and that is an effort that is in the direction of that star, uh, our aspirations and dreams.
Sydney Collins: I don't wanna like this because I like mine better, but it is pretty good.
Gus Applequist: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. If you are listening, I would highly recommend you check out, um, the, the YouTube version of this, just so you can see everybody's designs.[00:41:00]
Um, now we're gonna get into what our viewers sent and, and these are really fun too.
Viewer Flag Submissions
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Gus Applequist: Our first submission is from a fan from Vegas. Is that right?
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Las Vegas Mitchell Mitchell Arpin. Uh, thanks for sending this in Mitchell. This is a, uh, this is, it's kind of similar to mine, honestly. Yeah. Um, the sky is blue.
Then we have a, uh, yellow sort of horizon, uh, with a white star centered on it. And then the bottom is green, kind of rolling hills.
Sydney Collins: He didn't, he didn't give us a kind of explanation of it, but he just sent it to us without us asking. This is like, he listened to it on the Monday it came out, he listened to it and then goes, here's my version, and sent it to us on Instagram.
And we're like, oh, sweet.
Gus Applequist: I actually think I do have a very short description. Oh, do you? From him. Um, and it is. The bison room, the Kansas Prairie, Mike? No,
Sydney Collins: that's a different one.
Gus Applequist: Oh, okay. My apologies.
Sydney Collins: I think that's a different one.
Gus Applequist: Okay. That makes I your next one. That makes more sense. That makes way more sense actually.
Okay, then we'll go onto to our next [00:42:00] one, which is that one. There's actually a fun story here. So, so this was submitted by Tom Wilbur. Uh, Tom's dad built the building we're in right now. Oh,
Sydney Collins: I didn't realize
Gus Applequist: this was the same. Wilbur and Tom, uh, was in a band that originally recorded in the space that we're in right now.
So it's really cool that Tom sent this last national band, if you wanna look
Sydney Collins: him up.
Gus Applequist: So Tom sent us in, he said that, uh, this represents the, the bison roaming the Kansas prairie migrating through the wheat fields of golden grain. We are proudly Kansas.
Sydney Collins: There you go.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. Alright. Our next viewer submission is from my high school friend David Carpenter, who's a talented, uh, comic.
Illustrator. Yeah. And uh, and just artist all around. And so he sent in these two designs, um,
Sydney Collins: which I love that they're drawn on notebook paper and then just have the notes on the side.
Gus Applequist: Yeah, I do too.
Sydney Collins: I just love it so much.
Gus Applequist: I do too. Um, his, so yeah, there are sort of two designs here. I'm gonna be talking mostly about the one on the [00:43:00] left, although they're both great.
The one on the left features a sunflower with 34 petals representing Kansas entry into the union. As the 34th state, there's a jagged line that traces a stylized outline in the shape of Kansas, and, uh, that line is red that represents, uh, bleeding Kansas. There's also a star that ties back to the Ad Astra logo and, um, yeah, it, it, it uses blue in an interesting way.
There's kind of a light blue and a darker blue deep sound, so, yeah. And then we sort of had an extra one that wasn't submitted to us. But Tanner found this online. Is that right, Tanner? Yeah. He found it online at a website called New Foot Kansas flag.com. Oh. So yeah, this person is, is, is passionate about it.
A designer named Anson shared their design. This is. A blue backdrop representing Kansas' steadfastness standing up as a free state for abolitionism granting women the right to vote before most other states. [00:44:00] At the center is a stylized sunflower with 34 pedals representing Kansas', uh, entering the, uh, the union, I guess.
Yep. As the 34th state. Um, and mirroring the 34 stars on the state seal. This is something that I guess I hadn't heard before. That's
Sydney Collins: really like that
Gus Applequist: since the state's name comes from the Kansas Nation, meaning the people of the South Wind, the only full pedal points south like a compass. Um,
Sydney Collins: ah, yeah.
Gus Applequist: And the sunflower itself nods to both the Sunflower state identity and the importance of Kansas agriculture.
So, and then, uh, one little other thing he did was he kind of lopped off the top right corner of it, uh, to, to symbolize obviously the shape of our state.
Sydney Collins: Yeah.
Gus Applequist: Tanner believes he's, he's younger, like maybe high school age. And, uh, I think bravo, you know, uh, I think there's room for, for everybody in this conversation about flag design. Yeah.
Why Flags Matter
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Gus Applequist: So if, if this made you mad, that's fine. Tell us about it. If, [00:45:00] if it gave you ideas for what you might wanna see in a state flag.
I'm,
Sydney Collins: I just wanna,
Gus Applequist: we get enough submissions. We may do a part three.
Sydney Collins: I just wanna reiterate. Go look at the Kansas flag and look at all the other states in the same photo. They all look exactly the same. So,
Gus Applequist: which, if that's what you want, that's fine. And, and there are things we actually, we hung up our flag.
Yeah, we did hang up the flag against the studio. So, um, it, it does, it does literally represent several things about Kansas that, that, I'm not trying to say are inaccurate, but. What I want people to understand about flags is that flags are a symbol. Flags represent more than just the literal they represent, like us as a people, the people of Kansas, and and I think that's just a tremendous opportunity.
One of the things that leads me to believe that we would benefit from a new flag design is that I just frankly don't see our flag being used [00:46:00] very much. I don't see it on, you know, I don't see it flying other than more official like buildings.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: I don't see people wearing it. Not that flags necessarily need to be worn, but think of a, of a state like Colorado.
Sydney Collins: Oh yeah.
Gus Applequist: Their, their flag is ubiquitous. You see it all over the place.
Sydney Collins: Mm-hmm. And so they can get their license plates under control. They'd be gone. They'd be game.
Gus Applequist: Yeah. My where, where my heart is for this whole conversation about flags is just that I, I think that we should have something that all of us are proud enough that, that we wanna, you know, fly it on our flagpole in our yard.
We wanna wear it, we wanna be proud of it, just like we're proud of our state. So. I will, I will, uh, step off of my soapbox and we can end the episode.
Submit Your Flag Design
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Sydney Collins: If you do wanna submit your flag, uh, you can go to our website, ask a canson.com, right there on the homepage. There's a Submit Your Design button, click on that.
Um, read through, uh, the North American Be [00:47:00] Association. Aha. Um, there the rules are right there. Submit your design, give us a little, um, blurb of, you know, what it represents and we're gonna keep this conversation going. 'cause it is an interesting conversation. Um, and, and I just, yeah.
Gus Applequist: And even if, even if you don't think we should replace the state flag
Sydney Collins: mm-hmm.
Gus Applequist: It is sad how few of our cities and counties have flags. Oh
Sydney Collins: yeah.
Gus Applequist: Um, and so, you know. Come up with a design for your own city or county, um, or, or your own organization. Uh, we'd love to see, well, your house. Or your house. That's
Sydney Collins: fine.
Gus Applequist: Yeah.
Sydney Collins: We wanna see all the
Gus Applequist: flags. I'd love to know the symbolism of the, of your house flag design.
Sydney Collins: I feel like we have, it's just gonna be a giant football with animals all around. It is what it's gonna be. All the sports balls and then animals. That's, that is our entire house with our dogs and our cats and our Guinea pig and the other random cats that show up and, uh, it's a thing. And the lost snake.
And the lost hamster. It's a, I
Gus Applequist: demand to see this. [00:48:00] You must create. I'll make
Sydney Collins: it.
Gus Applequist: Thank you.
Final Wrap and Thanks
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Gus Applequist: Okay, we will wrap the episode there. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Ask a Ksan.
Sydney Collins: Make sure to like and subscribe wherever you are listening or watching from.
Gus Applequist: Uh, check out the Curious Kansan newsletter on our website
Sydney Collins: and go buy some mech. The Ask a Ksan store is open.
Gus Applequist: Yeah, thanks to uh, the people that have already purchased the shirt. Yeah, there's a few of them out there in the wild.
So, uh, thank you for that and, and yeah, hope you have a great day.
Sydney Collins: Bye.