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In Mason City, Iowa, students are getting paid to learn how to keep electric vehicles running. In April 2026, @MasonCityCSD announced a grant to launch a paid summer training program for electric vehicle technicians with Pritchard Companies and @myniacc. Students train on the job at Pritchard, take classes at NIACC, and finish with an Electric Vehicle Service Technician Certificate. In September, two students earned their credentials and joined the company. “This is exactly the kind of talent pipeline that strengthens our industry and our communities,” Pritchard Family Auto Stores wrote. thebusinessdownload.com/how-…

Still thinking about getting to spend this day at the Iowa State Fair and the conversations connecting the stories and innovation fueling Iowa ag. “This event was to bring together politicians, folks who work in renewable energy, and folks who work in agriculture,” reflected @delaneyhowell07, President of @AgNewsDaily and CEO & Founder of @AgCultureMkting. #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #WheelOfAgriculture #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

In Montezuma, Iowa, Streetrod Golf Cars builds custom luxury golf cars by hand, a practice it has maintained in the United States since 1995. Now owned by Pritchard Companies, the century-old North Iowa family auto business, Streetrod hand-sands the fiberglass bodies it forms in-house and selects parts to match each car's model year. “The attention to detail given to the cars throughout their entire build is unparalleled,” the company’s operations manager said. Lake Life Rentals, another Pritchard company, offers the golf carts alongside the electric @mokeamerica so drivers can explore downtown Clear Lake while their electric vehicles charge. thebusinessdownload.com/how-…

“We are working with Iowans, and it’s a long process. It takes a long time to get a utility solar project, a utility-scale wind project, to the finish line,” said David Vollmar, Manager of Community Engagement in Iowa for @InvenergyLLC, at the @IowaStateFair. However, he added, “We are working with landowners [that] are lined up to work with us... We can lock that legacy up with a solar farm for 40 years and know that for 40 years that land’s gonna stay in the family.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

On Feb. 22, 2022, hundreds of electric vehicles gathered in subzero temperatures in Clear Lake, Iowa, to cap Pritchard Companies’ Purpose-Built Tour. The family dealership’s electric vehicle division took the tour to 28 markets across the country, spoke with community leaders about electrification opportunities, and donated to a nonprofit in every community it visited. At the tour’s end, the company shared its message: “Through collaboration, we can accelerate a transition to electrified mobility and reduce the climate impact on our communities.” thebusinessdownload.com/how-…

“By the time our young people get through the system, they’ve been given feedback on things that they’ve done probably 80 to 100 times,” said Scott Stump, CEO of the @NationalFFA, at the @IowaStateFair. “So when they get out in the workforce, when they’re working on their own business, if the first time they fail, they’ll go find advice and they’ll do it better the next time, which to me is the biggest secret sauce of what happens.” He summarized, “It’s all based in learning by doing.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

In 1913, Walter Pritchard began selling automobiles in North Iowa and built the business with his wife, Jennie. What began as a Ford dealership in Garner, Iowa, is now Pritchard Companies, with nine North Iowa dealerships and a national commercial fleet business based in Clear Lake. Joe Pritchard, a fourth-generation family member, leads the company today, and the family bet early on electric vehicles. The company describes its history as one “of five generations who have loved family, community, and the automotive industry.” thebusinessdownload.com/how-…

“Most farmers are college-educated. They’re great at math. They’re great at spreadsheets. Their most important asset is their soil,” said @RepMMM (R-IA-01) at the @IowaStateFair. “You all are the ones changing the economy in ag: sustainable, regenerative ag; precision ag. You all are driving those policies, driving the manufacturers to meet what you want to do for your ground.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

In the @CityofKetchikan, Alaska, Tsiin Designs doesn’t make a shirt, bag, or comforter until someone orders it. “Each item we create is made to order, ensuring that we only produce what is needed to reduce excess inventory,” the company says. That’s a rare approach in apparel, where overproduction is rampant. Customers wait a little longer for their Ts’msyen formline designs, and in return, the company says, they are “contributing to a more sustainable future while receiving a unique item that reflects our dedication to quality and craftsmanship.” thebusinessdownload.com/ketc…

“We have got to get permitting reform done. We need to build in America. We need to be able to build. We have a window of opportunity. We’ve been working with a bipartisan bicameral group,” said @RepMMM (R-IA-01) at the @IowaStateFair. “What we’ve done in the working families tax cut, glad we finally got 45Z, all of that’s working on affordability.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

Miilgm Ts’amtii (Michael Jasson Milne) began working in formline art at seven and picked up carving by twelve. His artwork now appears on clothing, bags, and home goods from Tsiin Designs in the @CityofKetchikan, Alaska, carrying forward Ts’msyen teachings. The image of Raven the Berry Picker, for example, “honors a powerful teaching moment, a parent Raven guiding their child and showing them the ways of life. It reflects patience, knowledge passed through generations, and the quiet lessons learned by watching those who came before us.” thebusinessdownload.com/ketc…

“The normal gasoline has a carbon footprint with an emissions rating of about 100. And ethanol is already at a rating of 50,” said Mitchell Hora, Founder and CEO of @Continuum_Ag, at the @IowaStateFair. He also pointed to ethanol byproducts used to feed hogs: “When we’re producing biofuel, we are producing all these other products, as well. Being able to feed people, being able to keep food prices low, I think that’s important to point out.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

The @CityofKetchikan, Alaska, expected a record of more than 1.6 million cruise ship passengers this past summer, in a state where officials have cracked down on fake Alaska Native art. At Tsiin Designs, product pages credit the artists by name. Founder Ts’iingyimgm’aatk (Jeremy) Barrett, who is Ts’msyen, works with business partner Tyler Johnson, a Tlingit man from Saxman. “I like to say I’m his cultural consultant,” Johnson said. “I know a lot about Tlingit culture, and if he has any concerns about authenticity about art or language, I can really help.” thebusinessdownload.com/ketc…

“The normal gasoline has a carbon footprint with an emissions rating of about 100. And ethanol is already at a rating of 50,” said Mitchell Hora, Founder and CEO of @Continuum_Ag, at the @IowaStateFair. “That opens up the opportunity for ethanol and farmers participating in sustainable aviation fuel, which is a billion-gallon-a-year opportunity. Ethanol is also a drop-in fuel for shipping vessels and stuff on the ocean. That’s a hundred-billion-gallon-a-year opportunity.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

Ts’iingyimgm’aatk (Jeremy) Barrett started on the Cape Fox Lodge tram in the @CityofKetchikan, Alaska, and spent more than 15 years working his way up to manage Cape Fox Corporation’s six retail stores and online store. In 2025, he registered his own company, Tsiin Designs, whose online shop now lists 493 items. That summer, Spruce Root named it one of 12 finalists in the Path to Prosperity Business Competition, which drew 42 applications from 14 Southeast Alaska communities. His aim from the start: “I want people to reach out to these artists and help provide revenue for Saxman, Ketchikan, and Alaska.” thebusinessdownload.com/ketc…

“Iowa is the renewable energy capital of the US. So, Iowa produces more than 60% of its electricity from renewable energy, the vast majority of that from wind. Using more American homegrown energy is important for costs,” said Frank Macchiarola, Chief Advocacy Officer of @USCleanPower, at the @IowaStateFair. “We have rising demand for energy in this country, and we’re going to need everything, not just renewables. We’re going to need all that we have in the US to bring to that challenge.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

In February 2024, @soldier_hollow Nordic Center, a former Olympic venue in Midway, Utah, enrolled in @heberutahpower's Clear Peaks program to cover 100% of its electricity, from snowmaking to its competition building. Clear Peaks sells all-renewable power in 100-kilowatt-hour blocks for 90 cents each, and program revenue supports current and future renewable projects. “Sustainability is a priority throughout winter sport, and this initiative will benefit the Heber Valley community, the kids in our sports programs, and visitors from around Utah and the world,” said Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation Chief of Sport Development @LukeBode_. thebusinessdownload.com/a-ce…

“Iowa is the renewable energy capital of the US. So, Iowa produces more than 60% of its electricity from renewable energy, the vast majority of that from wind,” said Frank Macchiarola, Chief Advocacy Officer of @USCleanPower, at the @IowaStateFair. “It also creates jobs. We have about 30,000 jobs in the clean energy sector here in Iowa alone.” For farmers, he added, “It enables them to be able to use their land to lease it to developers. It provides them a steady stream of income, provides them with energy.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250

In Utah’s fast-growing Heber Valley, community-owned @heberutahpower gives customers ways to trim their own energy costs. The utility offers residential rebates of $1,200 to $1,600 to convert electric resistance heat to an air-source heat pump, $2,500 to convert to a ground-source heat pump, $1,000 for a heat pump water heater, $75 for a smart thermostat, and up to $500 toward a qualifying home EV charger. The utility also offers businesses an incentive for “any project that demonstrates energy or demand savings,” offered each year until funding runs out. thebusinessdownload.com/a-ce…

By using pattern recognition to distinguish weeds from plants, “you can then spray the weeds and not spray the good plants,” Cory Reed, President of Lifecycle Solutions, Supply Management, and Customer Success at @JohnDeere, explained the company's See & Spray technology at the @IowaStateFair. “That same technology can now determine if a plant has a disease potentially in the future.” AI, he said, “allows us to accelerate how you can put those technologies across more machines, more applications, more acres on your farm, and get more value from it.” #IowaStateFair #FarmfluencersAtTheFair #AmericasHarvestFestival #Iowa250 #America250