Living In The Ozarks

This one's with Samuel "Big Sam" Koban — content creator, Tall Tour alum,

and Ryan Koban's brother. Sam makes content for and about tall people, and

he tells the story of the night he hung out with Shaquille O'Neal, the one

video he says took off past 30 million views and changed his path, and what

it took to go from feeling confused about his height to using it as his

edge at 18. Recorded at SATO 48 — thanks to the SATO 48 ...

He was 15, his dad had passed away, and his mom had started a bakery. Nathanael Toms was washing

dishes in the back, and he was already fascinated with electrical work.

This one's with Nathanael Toms, owner of Mr. Electric of Southwest Missouri. We start in the

mountains of eastern Kentucky, follow him to Virginia and then to Springfield, through the 2008

housing crash, and to the phone call that led him to buy his first Mr. Electric f...

This one's with Ryan Koban, who's on his fourth (maybe fifth) SATO 48

film — the 48-hour local film challenge here in Springfield. Ryan shoots,

writes, edits, and directs his own films ("the only thing I don't do is

act"). We get into the editing tip he swears by, the year he pulled an

all-nighter and still turned it in three minutes late, why writing is the

hardest part for him, and his advice for anyone thinking about trying

SATO...

Living in the Ozarks is a project that I've been building for the last eight months focused on highlighting the people, businesses, and culture that makes our region great.

This one's with Noah Graham — a fourth-generation farmer from Patterson, Missouri, and the founder of AcreView Analytics. When Noah asked his dad if there was a place for him back on the farm, the answer was "You can come back. You may just be surviving." S...

Will Carter picked the Rail Haven motel on Route 66 before he knew what SATO 48 was going to throw at him. Then his crew of 25 shot Safe Haven there until five in the morning, and there wasn't a dry eye on set.

Will got into SATO 48 in 2023 over backyard barbecues with his cinematographer James, made every first-year mistake, and now runs a film company between Springfield and Kansas City. His 2024 short Cold Heart took Best Set Pro...

Ask ten people in southwest Missouri what region they live in and you'll get ten different answers. That's exactly the problem Allison Cash is working on.

Allison is the first executive director of LORE — Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement — a young organization asking a question nobody else is: who's looking out for the region as a whole? Not Springfield versus everybody else, but one region that plans together, compe...

Elise Crain has watched Ozark, Missouri grow from 1,000 people to 20,000+ — and she spent a career in construction and public service helping build the Ozarks along the way.

Her first name is Martha, and she's never used it. Elise grew up in a 1931 house in downtown Ozark, the same house her parents bought when she and her twin brother were 11 months old. From there she built a career nobody would have predicted: keeping the b...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Stephen Grove, owner of Sigwo Arms on West Commercial Street in Springfield, to talk about building a custom firearms and manufacturing shop from the ground up. We cover the morning he woke up falsely named in a Minnesota shooting — Facebook account gone, wanted posters with his business address on them — and what 23 years in the Army National Guard taught him ab...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with John Lepant, owner of Craft Axe Throwing in downtown Springfield, Missouri, to talk about what it actually takes to go from employee to franchise owner — and build a business that keeps people coming back. We cover the unlikely path from Papa John's to escape rooms to axe throwing, what he's learned about people, pricing, and persistence, and why genuine connection is ...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Nick Sibley — Ozarks musician, songwriter, and jingle writer — to talk about a 50-year career built entirely outside the spotlight. We cover how he accidentally launched a jingle business in Springfield in the early '70s, what it was like demoing songs for Wayne Carson that ended up recorded by Elvis and Willie Nelson, and why his son Captain is now touring with ...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Mark Steiner, founder of Gig Salad — the largest event entertainment marketplace in the US and Canada — to talk about what it actually takes to build something from scratch over 23 years. We cover how a lucky break on a New York film set set Mark on a path that eventually landed him in Springfield, and how he turned a simple directory idea into a platform that co...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with the B2Z Films crew — Bill Cover and Bryan Powers — along with Keith Putnam, a professional filmmaker who recently moved to the area from LA, and Tiffany Powers, Bryan's wife, to talk about making a complete short film in just 48 hours for SATO48, the Springfield and the Ozarks film festival. We cover how they run a creative team with no director and no ego, why m...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Jeff Clinkenbeard and Jaw, co-founders of SATO48, Springfield's 48 Hour Film Challenge, to talk about building a 22-year nonprofit around supporting filmmakers instead of charging them. We cover their arms-length approach to judging and their stance on free speech and AI — and why it matters to the creative community across the Ozarks.

This episode is part of the Ozarks...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Ben Tegeler, Executive Director of Ozark Greenways, to talk about what it takes to build a truly connected trail system across the Springfield region. We cover the major projects in motion — from the Chadwick Flyer and Fellows Lake loop to millions in newly funded corridors — and why Ben believes trails aren't a recreational amenity, but essential infrastructure ...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Brian Hood, Springfield native, Army veteran, CIA contractor, and author, to talk about what it takes to keep living when life gets dark. We cover the identity crisis men face after leaving the military, the power of gratitude and the pause, and why checking on your brothers might be the most important thing you do this week — and why it matters deeply to men across th...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Katrina and Alec Hagan, founders of Sensitively Sweet Bakery and The Safe Spoon Café, to talk about how a lupus and alpha gal diagnosis became the unlikely origin story of an allergen-free food business. We cover Katrina’s five-year health journey, how she taught herself to bake without gluten, dairy, eggs, or nuts, and how word-of-mouth from a Facebook group turned in...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Lucas Walker, a Springfield-based business consultant with ten years in the field, to talk about what it actually takes to help small business owners grow. We cover why practical beats clever every time, how personal development and business success are inseparable, and what the Ozarks market taught Lucas about going national.

This episode is part of the Ozarks Experience ser...

In this episode of Living in the Ozarks, we sit down with Victor McNeary, owner of Vine and Vibes, to talk about his journey as an entrepreneur and his vision for a zero-proof event center in Springfield, Missouri. We cover community engagement, nonprofit collaboration, and how his space is creating opportunities for connection and growth across the Ozarks.

This episode is part of the Ozarks Experience series, focused on the people ...