Cover Story

Taking on theWorld

Kim Hubers is the girl next door you need to know

By Margaret Pennock Photos by Kelly Middlebrooks | Little White Dog Pet Photography

Living just minutes outside of Sioux Falls on a sweet hobby farm with 140 adorable, almost storybook-like farm animals, Kim Hubers has found her place and her path. She is a wife, mother, Army veteran, home renovator, small business entrepreneur and consummate volunteer.

Born in Iowa, Kim grew up on a family farm surrounded by open air and animals. Adventurous from day one, she decided to spread her wings to attend South Dakota State University to get out of her bubble and meet new people. Nearly two decades later she has served in the Army National Guard and has been deployed three times including a tour as a heavy vehicle operator in Iraq. “I saw the entire country change before my eyes. When I first got there the oil wells were on fire, there were babies barely able to walk on the hot asphalt and sand begging for water. On the way back the same children were wearing uniforms, going to school and waving at us.”

This is also where she met her husband Clinton. “As ugly as war is, literally everything good in my life came from it.” Over the past several years Kim has dedicated her life to earning two Master’s degrees while raising their four children and working alongside Clinton to flip houses, for over the past eight years, as they lived in them.

On top of that, she had four children in just six years and was a stay-at-home mom for them. “I was always jealous of stay at home mom’s until I actually became one! I thought it was a lucky and glamorous thing but, it’s not. They were the most difficult years of my life but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. The amount of time spent with my kids and the adventures and the creative things and exposures to the world I was able to give them was incredible.” She shares, “They got the best of me each day, and before when I was working, it was work that got my best and my kids got what was left when I came home. The closeness I have with my kids and the pictures and moments that I know I was so lucky to share with them are priceless!”

Now with her kids off to school, Kim has pushed forward full-throttle with her new business, a dream she has been pursuing for fifteen years. Blending her love for animals, her degrees in counseling and leadership and a need to help and bring joy to others; Willow Meadows Farm has become a cultivation of everything precious to Kim. Currently operating as a mobile petting zoo in an up-cycled shuttle bus, Kim and her family have incredible plans in store. “This is a way to help generate what I need to make a down payment on a building on our farm that can house a room for parties, indoor play space, recreational and educational activities, classes and crafts and anything I can dream up to bring families together and bring them joy on my farm. I intend to start with a smaller building and eventually add on my bigger dream of a large indoor playground with an indoor track and wheelchair accessible play equipment as well as an outdoor park with a farm life flair.” Ever ambitious, she has even built her own website www.willowmeadowsfarm.com and posts farm antics on Tik Tok.

And while taking this all on may be daunting for some, Kim handles it all in stride and continues to look for ways she can continue to help her community. She volunteers at her church and currently serves as the Senior Vice Commander with the Disabled American Veterans Arthur H. Muchow Chapter No. 1. “There was a big part of me missing when I retired from the Army National Guard. To have that special group back in my life with people who are some of the few that understand what I have gone through including my sacrifices and my fears. That sense of belonging is incredibly painful to lose when you leave the service.” She continues, “The DAV gives us so much support and so much freedom to do great things. I’m looking forward to not only coming up with new ideas but being able to collaborate with other Veterans on what they want and what they need, so we can fill those needs. I am hoping to have Veterans reach out to me and bring me ideas too, the more minds working, the better the outcome. It’s not about membership, we don’t force that, it’s about helping Veterans and I am very proud to be part of a professional organization that covers and cares about every single aspect of what a Veteran needs.”

I get paid to share what I have and love with people and make them smile and happy. That’ s my job now and it’s ridiculously fun. My husband never grew up with animals and he wasn’ t a 100% on board with all the animals we have but when he saw a few different groups come out to our farm and saw the interaction, he said he saw how amazing and special it was.

At the end of the day, Kim admits that her life’s journey has frequently put her own needs on the back burner but has amazing advice for other women wanting to reclaim their own, personal happiness. “Do not feel guilty. If you don’t make yourself matter you will look at yourself someday and wonder where you went. Who are you? Why are you not feeling like yourself anymore? You need to maintain something that you look forward to each week at least, something that brings you joy outside of children and family. If you don’t practice self-care, you are teaching your children to do the same. Sometimes when you are a mom, thinking about yourself is hard but seeing it through that lens, what you are showing your kids, can help bring things into perspective.”

As for her future? Kim has simple, but extremely meaningful aspirations. “My number one goal, as cheesy as it is going to sound, is that I want my kids to grow up to be strong, independent, happy, kind adults that bring good things into this world. Staying a close knit family is my most important goal.” She adds, “I have wants too, such as traveling the world with my husband when the kids are all out of the house, having a business that brings joy and can grow and be around for decades, to find joy in my own life every day and follow my passions. But those are not goals so much as things I want. I don’t need any of that but I do need my husband and my kids and their happiness for my soul to be content.” n