There’s just something about this area that inspires. It inspires people to do their best, to make good use of what they’ve been given and to meet the challenges and opportunities with a quiet grace. I wonder where that comes from. Someone mentioned to me that people “up North” have a more stoic nature and take the [...]

STURGIS, S.D. Sturgis seems to be going through an identity crisis. Everybody knows that this sleepy little town of 6,500 in the Black Hills plays host to nearly 500,000 bikers (many riding Harley-Davidsons) each August for the Sturgis Rally (the 2008 version was the 68th). But that’s just for 10 days each year. The rest of the time, [...]

What we've seen of Sioux Falls seems very clean, orderly and well spaced. The park area around the "Falls" on the Big Sioux is a wonderful gathering space. I found myself wishing I had a picnic basket and my ball glove. The grounds are beautifully kept and there were a lot of people around enjoying a spectacular 75 degrees with a light wind and no humidity. I asked someone if this was typical of an August day and he said, "Quite the contrary. Generally 95 and lots of humidity." Today was what is referred to as "Chamber of Commerce" weather.

I'd love to be able to share more from the road about the absolutely fascinating people we talk to and the interesting stories we are hearing. Actually, it's almost too much to process. When we're not interviewing, setting up or tearing down or driving to the next appointment, we're on phone or email scheduling interviews three days out and two states away. It's like playing multiple games of speed chess at the same time. What a great challenge to have!

If you've picked up the NY Times, Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post recently, you might have read of the great migration to the "Silicon Prairie." You've likely heard of PayPal and TD Ameritrade, but you might not know Solutionary, Netshops, or Phenomblue. Now the area is waiting to welcome Google and Novozymes. And don't think we forgot how the Grande Dame, Mutual of Omaha, is reinventing themselves...and, their neighborhood.

Well, we've covered four states thus far. Just the short 3-hour hop to Omaha and you can click off Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. That's Super Intern (Videographer and Chauffeur) Dane Lickteig next to Jay in front of the Rockin' Chrysler 300M, also known as the "pimp mobile" and "Jay's Rolling Circus."

Call it wanderlust, the call of the open road or something about "going West, slightly older, but still youthful Man." Call it what you will, but it's time to hit the road...again. Those that know me, call me the "King of Justification" and it didn't take long to figure out a way to get out there and meet 50 more people.

“In early 1995, quite deliberately, I stepped down as CEO of H&R Block, where I was making nearly a million dollars a year,” Thomas Bloch writes in his introduction. “I had decided on a higher calling: teaching math to inner-city kids. This is the story of how that decision changed my life and the lives of the kids I tried to help.” The journey from CEO to teacher and observations on how to improve education are detailed in Bloch's first book, “Stand for the Best: What I Learned After Leaving My Job as CEO of H&R Block to Become a Teacher and Founder of an Inner City Charter School.”

"If Family Medicine doesn't change, along with the U.S. Health Care system, the family practice as we know it will cease to exist in the next 10-15 years." That was one of findings of a study entitled "The Future of Family Medicine" commissioned by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). TransforMED was inspired by the practice redesign recommendations of the report that called for "a financially self-sustaining national resource (to be) implemented to provide practices with ongoing support in the transition to the New Model of family medicine."