D a k o t a
APRIL 2022
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C - L o c k
euml Vo 3. Isesu .oN 4
THE STORY OF YOUR FOOD The creation of healthy meals from South Dakota farmers
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
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EVERYONE IS AN AGGIE, THEY JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET This was a phrase once uttered to me by a rancher trying to get across the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives.
At the time I didn’t think much of it, thought it was something I might hear during a college pep rally, a clever turn of phrase.
These days, though, I know different. These days I know it’s truth.
That’s because if you do community and economic development for more than a minute, you quickly realize all supply chains lead back to agriculture. Thomas Jefferson called agriculture the wisest and noblest pursuit of all the pursuits of mankind. And for good reason. Food and food security are the very foundation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Wars have been fought for much, much less.
Without agriculture, we’re all hunters and gatherers. There’s no poetry, no specialization of labor, and certainly no chislic, South Dakota’s crazy and official meat. Welcome to this issue of Elevate, where agriculture is everything, everywhere, all the time. You’ll be getting some natural foods, some natural ingredients, and even some bovine science. We’ll take you on a journey from olive oil to bison to CBD to using big data to control methane emissions of cattle. In the end, these are only but a few of the hundreds of stories of agriculture in our region. Use it as a place to get started. Use it as a reason to make changes to your diet or to heal yourself just a little. And finally, in a time of drought, use it as a reason to thank a farmer or rancher. They’ll be sure to appreciate the gesture, chislic or not.
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
Stay safe and God-speed.
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Elevate is a monthly publication produced by Elevate Rapid City. It is the premier business magazine for the Black Hills region telling the stories that make our area unique and vibrant. PO Box 747, Rapid City, SD 57709 605.343.1744 elevaterapidcity.com
PRESIDENT & CEO Tom Johnson FINANCE & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Dana Borowski ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Matt Brunner MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Shiloh Francis PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR Anna Hays WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & TALENT ATTRACTION DIRECTOR Samantha McGrath ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Mitch Nachtigall EVENTS & TRAINING MANAGER Rachel Day BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION MANAGER Larissa Hespen ECOSYSTEM SUPPORT & PROPERTY MANAGER Loni Reichert PUBLIC POLICY MANAGER Garth Wadsworth OFFICE MANAGER & HR COORDINATOR Liz Highland HOUSING COORDINATOR Laura Jones EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Becky Knox
DESIGN AND LAYOUT Bailey Sadowsky, Shadow Sky Creative Co. PUBLISHED BY THE RAPID CITY JOURNAL Ben Rogers, President ben.rogers@lee.net
Tom Johnson, President & CEO
ADVERTISING Eddie Hebron, 605.394.8356 ehebron@amplifieddigitalagency.com PRINTED BY SIMPSONS PRINTING
APRIL 2022 Volume 3 // Issue No. 4
VITA VITASANA SANA OLIVE OIL Casey VanVleck finds passion in health-focused family legacy. BY MAIN STREET SQUARE
Zimmerman takes science and agriculture global.
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BASHFUL BISON
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DAKOTA LABS CBD OIL
Brinker brings food back to local roots.
Meyer, Rapid City native brings CBD oil to his home.
BY MICHELLE PAWELSKI
BY SIANDHARA BONNET
elevaterapidcity.com
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C-LOCK GLOBAL AG
Cover photo by Visit Rapid City
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COMMENTS
EVENTS
BEN PECK IS MELDING BIKING AND BREWING
March 25-27
BLACK HILLS HOME BUILDERS HOME SHOW
“One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet to boot” – Tim Smith
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March 28
“South Dakota ingenuity! You go Ben!” – Robert Littrell
CYCLING AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE SAVED MARK THOMPSON’S LIFE
“Mark is at home on 2 wheels…and a smile is always his companion.” @jewelrybydecory
THE CHIPPER EXPERIENCE
BLACK HILLS HOME BUILDERS HOME SHOW
Comedian Chipper Lowell is bringing the California sunshine to The Monument. themonument.live
April 2
2022 CULTURAL EXPO
South Dakota Mines and community partners are hosting the 2022 Cultural Expo to celebrate our cultural and international diversity. sdsmt.edu
“The outdoors is healthy for the mind, body, and soul!” @adventure_605
April 2
RAPID CITY MARSHALS VS. TOPEKA TROPICS
CONNECT
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WITH US @ELEVATERAPIDCITY
April 2-3
KIDS FAIR
Families enjoy live entertainment and hands-on activities for the kids. youthandfamilyservices.org
April 13, 15, 16
RAPID CITY RUSH VS. TULSA OILERS
rapidcityrush.com
April 16
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
WRANGLER TEAM ROPING
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huotbroscycling The Mountain Photo Exhibit starts tonight at the Dahl. Got a few photos of ours displayed including this shot of a pristine powder line from the fat bike. Make sure to come down and check out photos that highlight the great outdoor sights and activities we get to enjoy in our backyard! #elevaterapidcity Tag your social media posts with #elevaterapidcity for your chance to be featured in the next magazine!
RAPID CITY MARSHALS
Wrangler Team Roping brings a professional atmosphere with a national sponsorship program to the amateur team roping industry. centralstatesfair.com
April 19-20
AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
Based on the Oscar-winning film, An Officer and a Gentleman is the timeless love story that celebrates triumph over adversity. themonument.live
April 27
DAY OF EXCELLENCE
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
THINKING GLOBALLY RAPID CITY COMPANY BRINGS INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY TO THE AG INDUSTRY
Dr. Patrick Zimmerman once said: “Agriculture’s future is so exciting, I wish I had just one more lifetime!” As people go about their everyday lives, it’s easy to take for granted the impact agriculture has, from the food that’s eaten to the clothes that are worn. But in order for an industry that has such a long history to also have an exciting future, it takes the dedication and passion of those like Pat to drive innovation and continue to feed the world.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF C-LOCK
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
CONTACT US FOR ALL YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS
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1-800-477-2425 ABBUSINESS.COM
"AGRICULTURE IS SO EXCITING, I WISH I HAD JUST ONE MORE LIFETIME!" - DR. PATRICK ZIMMERMAN
As Director of the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Dr. Zimmerman founded C-Lock to initially provide a way to estimate the carbon sequestration from cropbased agriculture. “I believed if we could leverage the free-market system by taking cutting edge science and applying it with advanced technology, we could help animal agriculture become efficient, improve a producer’s bottom line and reduce our environmental footprint,” said Dr. Zimmerman.
Through continued research over the years, in 2009 Dr. Zimmerman realized that they could go a step further. There was an opportunity to measure the methane emissions from cattle. If C-Lock could provide a tool that would accurately
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Founded in 2005, C-Lock was a 4-person operation inside Clock Tower Plaza. Today, the actively growing team has expanded to nearly 50 employees, comprised of engineers, data analysts, welders, and assemblers. They create and ship all products from their 42,000 square-foot facility on Concourse Drive.
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capture and validate the emissions data of an animal, then producers would be able to manage their animals even more efficiently and effectively.
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
“Agriculture has always been concerned with the future and making it better for the next generation,” explained Rebecca Bader, C-Lock marketing director. “The equipment that C-Lock engineers and manufactures provides tools that help secure our sustainable food supply.”
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"AGRICULTURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONCERNED WITH THE FUTURE AND MAKING IT BETTER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION." - DR. PATRICK ZIMMERMAN
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This led to the creation of GreenFeed, C-Lock’s main focus. The machine, which is set up as a freestanding stall or trailer depending on the client’s needs, allows the animal to walk up and receive a small amount of feed. The feed entices the animal to stay for 3 to 5 minutes which gives GreenFeed enough time to scan the animal’s RFID ear tag and collect gas samples omitted from the animal. The main design collects methane and carbon dioxide with additional sensors for oxygen and hydrogen for even more data. This data is then logged and processed by C-Lock data analysts who turn the data into useful, summarized reports for producers. The data can then be used in a variety of ways, such as figuring out the amount or type of feed that is ideal for a healthy herd.
With today’s internet speed and computer technology, Dr. Zimmerman anticipates the development of even more innovative forage intake predictions from pasture, methane measurements, illness identifications, and enhanced digestion efficiencies. C-Lock’s research and development team is always reaching for the next step.
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GreenFeed was first sold internationally in 2012, and now is in 32 countries and gathers data from all over the world. Opportunities surrounding methane and precision agriculture continue to be a global concern. Late February 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will invest $1 billion in grants to finance projects using climate-smart technology.
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
- k n owi ng the -
sBEHINDt o r y your food LONG-TIME CHEF BRINGS LOCALLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS TO NEW DOWNTOWN DELI
Like many growing up in the late 1960s and ‘70s, Scott Brinker’s childhood revolved around getting up early, running to the television and turning on Saturday morning cartoons. In between Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny episodes were commercials for Pop-Tarts, Trix cereal and other high-sugar breakfast foods marketed solely for the young, captured audience.
“You wanted to be like the cool kids on TV,” said Brinker, a corporate chef for the regional Monument Health hospitals and owner of Bashful Bison, the recently opened Main Street deli. However, the billions worth of marketing toward these highly processed foods created something more than giddy kids. It
elevaterapidcity.com
BY MICHELLE PAWELSKI // PHOTOS BY VISIT RAPID CITY
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
brought a trend of increased heart disease, diabetes, celiac and other health problems, Scott said. “You can correlate the poor health of the United States going up with the amount of manufactured food that the country makes. The obvious evidence shows that we have poisoned our people with fast, cheap calories.”
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Scott’s position at the hospital enabled him to build partnerships with several local producers that provided good, clean, pesticide-free products. “I was able to develop producers that could do that for me, but realized I still was not reaching a broad enough audience.”
Scott’s mission is to change this decadesEnter the Bashful Bison. long trend one meal at a time. He opened “What better time to bring this to the Bashful Bison with the same vision that he community than right now when I’ve already has spent years promoting in health care – got the sourcing for all the food.” create healthy meals using fresh, sustainable The blueprint for the deli came from a project products from South he did back in culinary Dakota farmers. He school in the 1980s. wants everyone to "THE OBVIOUS Originally graduating with know the “story of EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT WE a chemistry degree from their food.” the University of South HAVE POISONED “My vision is to sell Dakota Springfield, Scott more honest food that OUR PEOPLE WITH FAST, ditched being a chemist is locally sourced. and went back to working CHEAP CALORIES." We have so much in restaurants, a career - SCOTT BRINKER stuff right in this that had supported him area – farmers and through college. After 10 ranchers, other small-time food producers years, Scott decided to go to culinary school with extraordinary quality and who are at Mitchell Community College. “Part of the extraordinary people,” Scott said. “People program and training involved writing a don’t realize that they are here, and I really menu, concept and business plan for your wanted to push that.” food service. This is what I wrote,” Scott
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Absolutely everything we can grab local we do.”
Scott’s local producers for both the hospital and Bashful Bison include Evergreen Ranch which raises and processes his meat, Cedar Creek Gardens, which supplies produce, and Kasemeister Creamery. He also has someone in Belle Fourche that provides ancient grains. Aside from his local producers,
"ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WE CAN GRAB LOCAL WE DO." - SCOTT BRINKER
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
said of the Bashful Bison. “Same concept, different motivation. Back then, I wanted to feature South Dakota things, but it didn’t dawn on me that I could get a lot of these things from local producers.” Scott’s first two decades working in food were at fine-dining establishments where cost did not matter. However, the focus on where the food came from also did not matter, Scott said. “Not a lot of thought was put into the story of the food. It never really bothered me until I left the restaurant industry.”
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Scott’s path led him to health care where his focus turned to creating healthy, locally sourced meals. “It was in the late 1990s when I started thinking that we are not feeding good food to the patients. I started to teach my cooks to cook again. We started ordering fresh vegetables and fruit, stopped opening boxes with preprocessed food, and started to combat the whole thing.”
He worked in hospitals in Minnesota and Illinois before returning to South Dakota eight years ago. Scott oversees all the Monument Health system hospitals and has some accounts in Glenwood Springs, CO, three in Wyoming and a couple in Minnesota. He says his years in health care along with opening the Bashful Bison is his way of trying to change the decades of harm the food industry has had on individuals. “This is a statement to the food industry that did us all wrong, especially me since I bought into it, but I am going to try to do something to try and reverse that.
Photos courtsey of Monument Health
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"WHAT BETTER TIME TO BRING THIS TO THE COMMUNITY THAN RIGHT NOW?"
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
- SCOTT BRINKER
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"IF WE COULD GET 10 PERCENT SERVED IN RESTAURANTS TO BE LOCAL, THAT WOULD BE HUGE FOR THE ECONOMY!" - SCOTT BRINKER
“At Bashful Bison, I want to support a broader base of farms,” Scott said adding he plans to work with Cox Family Farm, Black Hills Mushrooms and Moonrise Mountain Farm.
Featured sandwiches at the deli also focus on keeping local with names like Paha Sapa, Hermosa, Edgemont and Sturgis. “Whenever I post something, I always say where it is from. I want people to know where their food comes from, who does it affect, what is it doing to the environment, and what it is doing to their health and economy.” Not only is Scott telling the story of the food he creates, but he is also investing into the community. Last year at the hospital he purchased $680,000 from local producers,
which was down from previous years due to COVID. Just with the food Scott purchases for the hospital, his local partners have expanded – adding acreage, livestock and employees. He hopes to increase that even further with the Bashful Bison.
“Food is a big deal here. Less than one percent of all the food that comes into Rapid City is grown in the area,” Scott said. “And there is a surplus every year in these little farms. If we could get 10 percent served in restaurants to be local, that would be huge for the economy.”
Currently, Scott shares the East part of the former Botticelli’s Italian Restaurant with the recently opened, family-owned Slangin Dough Bakery. He hopes to get the Bashful Bison up and running and eventually hand it down to someone who will carry on his vision of encouraging everyone to know the story of their food. Bashful Bison is currently open Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at 523 Main Street.
elevaterapidcity.com
Scott has a deck built off the hospital cafeteria where he has a grill and an herb garden as well as an acre of land outside the Sleep Center with a greenhouse and raised garden beds. He eventually hopes to have an orchard. He currently has three apple trees.
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
growing through the pain rapid city couple finds success in CBD oil
Tyler Meyer felt foggy while taking several different medications throughout the day to help treat his insomnia. “My energy levels were off and that was just impacting everything I was doing,” he recalled. “You’re working seven days a week and all these things, it just really took a toll on me.” While he was a general manager at Indian Motorcycle of San Diego, Meyer decided to stop taking all of his pharmaceuticals and switched to natural solutions. He found his own natural concoction of resources and tried CBD. When 2020 hit, he decided to leave the industry and start his own CBD business with his wife Kristina. The couple now
owns Dakota Labs, a locally-based organic CBD oil manufacturing business certified by the USDA. The couple moved from California to Meyer’s hometown of Rapid City in December 2020. He said growing up in Rapid City, CBD and anything cannabis related was very taboo. “Just starting to see the attitude toward that change was really neat,” Meyer said. “We thought there’s all kinds of stuff in California, the market’s too saturated.” So, they came home and brought the market, and education, to people who didn’t know too much about it. Kristina said they’re able to do pop-up shops and educate people about CBD. Meyer said
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BY SIANDHARA BONNET // PHOTOS BY HENRY ROY & KEVIN EILBECK
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
- TYLER MEYER
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ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
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education and having conversations about CBD oil is the majority of what they do at events or pop-up shops. It took about a year before the finished product was ready to go. Tyler and Kristina worked with several different laboratories and formulators to determine the strengths and levels of the products. Dakota Labs uses plants grown from farms in Montana and Colorado. Meyer said it took them a while to find the right farm to use, and focused on testing quality. Kristina said all of the company’s products are tested and each bottle features a QR code that customers can scan to see their lab results. Meyer said they test for pesticides, heavy metals, cutting agents and the level of cannabinoids in each bottle. He said everything has to be less than 3% Delta-9 THC per net weight. Delta-9 THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana.
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He also said the company has some products that have no THC, like their Broad Spectrum formula. After farmers harvest the hemp, the plants are dried and then ground into a coarse powder. It is then shipped to a facility for processing. The company uses both medicalgrade Ethanol extraction for signature formulas and CO2 extraction for the Full and Broad Spectrum formulas. For the latter two formulas, the company uses a purification process that involves supercritical CO2 that preserves phytocannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. After processing, the hemp extract is separated from the CO2 or Ethanol compound and refined by removing compounds like wax, chlorophyll, pigments and other trace materials. The products are then tested both in-house and using a third-party lab. Meyer and Kristina said they both use their own products and have seen improvement in their sleep, anxiety and immune systems.
Meyer said he’s the tester for any of their products, and that’s one of the reasons they don’t have a topical product yet. He said he hasn’t found anything that works great on him, so if it doesn’t work for him, he’s not going to try to sell it. “I just wouldn’t feel right about bringing something to market that I didn’t really believe in,” he said. Dakota Labs will be releasing organic CBD gummies soon, and they are working on a topical solution. Dakota Labs products are carried at Black Hills Cultivation and Supply in Rapid City, Good Earth in Spearfish and Back to Nature in Sturgis. Products are also available online at dakotalabs.com
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Lessons Learned
BY MAIN STREET SQUARE // PHOTOS BY SHILOH FRANCIS
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
casey vanVleck vita sana olive oil
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Like most people in their early 20’s, Casey VanVleck was struggling to figure out what she wanted to do with her professional life. One thing she knew for sure: owning her own business, like her parents, was not her calling.
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elevaterapidcity.com
"I REALIZED AT THAT MOMENT, THAT MY PARENTS TEACHINGS WERE TRUE. I NEED TO FOCUS ON A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE."
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
- CASEY VANVLECK
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Casey’s parents, Charles and Merry Jane Walsh, have been entrepreneurs for Casey’s entire life. They have started, developed, and divested multiple businesses since 1991. They opened Vita Sana Olive Oil Company in Casper, Wyoming in 2012, expanding to Rapid City in 2013. “My parents
encouraged my participation in the business from the bottom up. Candidly, I didn’t like working in the store. I was young and naïve,” stated VanVleck. “I was accepted into Black Hills State, started a job as a patient care tech at the hospital, recently married, and pregnant, so I thought working at the store
was not the right option” added Casey.
But life quickly went a different way. Casey developed pregnancyinduced heart failure. “I realized at that moment, that my parents’ teachings were true. I needed to focus on a healthier lifestyle, consuming things that
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improved my health,” she explained. “Fortunately, the store manager was exiting employment at that time, so I asked my parents if I could assume operational management controls [at Vita Sana].”
origins
The idea for Vita Sana Olive Oil came from Casey’s father when he read the book Extra Virginity by Tom Mueller. Vita Sana means “healthy living” in Italian.
popular one The Tuscan Herb Olive Oil is the most popular item sold in the store.
sister wine Vita Sana sells international wine varietals from the same regions that they get their Extra Virgin Olive Oils.
ELEVATE • APRIL 2022
healthy friends
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EVOOS and Balsamic Vinegars have healthy properties, including antioxidants, offering great health benefits.
For the next three years, Casey worked as the Rapid City Store Manager while she attended classes in business management and applied that knowledge at the store. “My father challenged me to do things outside my comfort zone. He guided me to lead, build community relationships, and learn business finances, especially cash flow models,” Casey recalled. “Managing the Rapid City Store, assisting the Casper Store team with marketing and sales strategies, and engaging with my parents while attending college, broadened my skills and capabilities immeasurably without me even knowing it.”
"ONE DOES NOT REALIZE HOW READY THEY ARE UNTIL THEY TAKE THE HARDEST STEP TO START." - CASEY VANVLECK
During this time, life threw another curveball when the COVID Pandemic surfaced requiring the family business to strategically pivot the business operations to succeed in the new reality. This included adjusting customer sales, sanitizing the store more vigorously, and even closing the store for a short period. “Like other businesses we were adapting in real-time, switching to curbside pickup and web-based (online) sales,” she described. During this time, Casey decided to step away from the store to accelerate the completion of her bachelor’s degree. “This was a difficult decision, as I was emotionally torn with the notion of relinquishing control over something I had a part in building. Frankly, I agonized over the decision,” stated Casey.
In February 2021, Casey had the opportunity to return to the store after finishing her degree to assist her parents to sell the Rapid City store. “After returning to the store operations, I quickly realized
Like any new business owner Casey was anxious to incorporate her personality into the store fabric, making some tough strategic decisions in the process, including moving the store from their long-standing location to a bigger space directly across the street to allow for product expansion and new services. “I decided to offer new strategic products that highlight our rich history and enhance the existing products in the store. “I watched my dad throughout my life succeed by building a strategy, getting the right people on board, and leading the way for others to follow and learn. This gave me the confidence and assurance that successfully applying my education and experience was indeed possible. One does not realize how ready they are until they take the hardest step to start. It took me a while to realize that I was instrumental in the business getting to this point. Yes, I did it,” added VanVleck.
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how rewarding running the store was to me. I missed the business, community, and government relationships formed with staff and vendor partners, and the freshest and tastiest product of its kind. I came to the realization that my parents had prepared me for business ownership my entire life, so I decided to acquire the business,” added VanVleck.
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ELEVATE RAPID CITY BOX 747 RAPID CITY, SD 57709
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