Episode 6: Little Town on the Prairie

Episode 6:

Little Town on the Prairie

In the small town of De Smet, the pioneer spirit is just as alive as it was when Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" series, was growing up there. Hear the squeak of wagon wheels and the rustle of prairie grass as we visit the places that shaped Laura’s beloved books.

This episode follows the Ingalls family's journey from a dirt dugout in Minnesota to their adopted hometown of De Smet, where the landscapes are still as “free and big and splendid” as Laura described them. Join us as we roll across the prairie in a horse-drawn cart to the Ingalls Homestead, take part in a spelling bee at the 1889 Little Prairie School, drop into rehearsals for the annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant and uncover treasures in the archive room at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum.

You’ll hear from:

Ann Lesch, Ingalls Homestead
Christie Hubbard, Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society
Mary Jo Wirtz, Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Museum

Available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon

For some people, this is something they’ve wanted to visit their whole lives. People cry sometimes. It’s very emotional and moving for people in a lot of ways. I think when people come here to visit, and they’ve come from such a distance, they can still see the landscape. It’s like she described. It’s changed — we have farms and homes and communities — but it still feels like the descriptions in her books, so it means a lot to people.

Ann Lesch, Operations Manager, Ingalls Homestead

Check out the trailer now!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant

Held over three weekends in July, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant has brought Laura’s written works to life every summer since 1971. These family-friendly dramas change yearly, but they're always performed on an outdoor stage overlooking cottonwood trees planted by Pa Ingalls himself.

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Episode 6: Little Town on the Prairie

This episode follows the Ingalls family's journey from a dirt dugout in Minnesota to their...

Episode 5: The Greatest Show in the West

a cowboy rides on horseback at a rodeo in South Dakota.

Episode 5:

The Greatest Show in the West

Every January, one of America’s largest winter rodeos draws 300,000 visitors to Rapid City to cheer on some of the top cowboys in the world. Hear hooves pound the dirt and crowds roar as you get an up-close look at the skill, tradition and daring on display in South Dakota's official state sport.

You’re in for a wild ride at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo! Host Brian Thacker takes us inside the arena, meeting father and son riders at the ranch rodeo, cheering on Gill the border collie at the sheepdog trials, taking part in a bachelor cattle auction and watching 7-year-old Kreed hang on to a sheep for dear life in the mutton-bustin’ competition. Yeehaw!

You’ll hear from:

John Kaiser, general manager of the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo
Sheepdog handler and dog lover Linda Loulias
Sheep shearer Mike Por and Loren Opstedahl
Kreed, our fearless mutton buster
The boys from Lakota Funds and the Corn Creek Bandits

available on Spotify, Apple and Amazon

It's our state sport, it really encompasses the Western heritage we try to hold onto in South Dakota, and we take a lot of pride in that.

John Kaiser, General Manager, Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo

A man wearing a cowboy hat rides on horseback in the foreground while look out at the South Dakota Badlands in the distance. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Check out the trailer now!

Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo

A tradition since 1959, the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo is the region's largest trade show, livestock sale and competition, with more than 300 vendors and 120 events. It's also been named the top indoor rodeo in the country five times by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Plan your visit in late January to see "the greatest show in the West" for yourself!

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