It’s been a very long day of interviewing and visiting, and before an early start tomorrow and some “real” reports on this next American Futures stop, here’s a shot from one of the moments that makes the reporting life worthwhile.
Early this morning Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal (and team) and I got to talk with Ben Cook, head of the Hangar 24 craft brewery in Redlands, California, about how his little company has become one of the fastest-growing startups in its field. Five-plus years ago, when I first began visiting, Hangar 24 was a two-person operation in a wasteland adjoining a tiny airport, very far from any big city. Now it employs more than 130 people, has had annual growth rates of between 50% and 100%, and is expanding its footprint all over the West. More of its background on the airwaves and in this space soon. (That’s Cook on the right, Ryssdal in the middle, local guide on the left, at the H24 brewery.)
A few miles away, my wife and I visited the Grove School, a local charter school that, among other things, operates its own student-run farm. A locally owned grocery store had just sent in an order for fresh lettuce, which the students were picking — and which we’ll look for in the store tomorrow.
Meanwhile other students in the school were working through their math problems:
This is a different range of activities from what I recall of my school days here. My wife Deb, who has reported on schools in Eastport, Sioux Falls, Burlington, and elsewhere will follow up here. Signing off now, and getting ready for tomorrow’s interviews and reports.
