What do fire, bison, and star bonds have in common?

They're all part of this week's conversation about the Flint Hills — and honestly, it's one of those episodes that makes you want to book a trip to Manhattan, Kansas immediately. We sat down with Stephen Bridenstine, Director of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, to talk about what it really takes to understand one of the most unique — and misunderstood — landscapes in America. Stephen came to Kansas by choice (his words), and 12 years later, he's still here and still learning.

Highlights

A young sports broadcaster from Quinter, Kansas is going viral for taking audience-submitted phrases and slipping them seamlessly into live play-by-play — and it is absolutely worth your time
Stephen Bridenstine moved to Manhattan, Kansas sight unseen, driving a moving van down Highway 177 with everything he owned — and the first thing he saw was the Flint Hills Discovery Center
The Flint Hills Discovery Center isn't just a history museum or a nature center — it intentionally tells an interconnected story spanning 13,500 years of human and natural history
Ranching in the Flint Hills actually mimics what bison did for thousands of years — and it's essential to the health of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem
Fire isn't a threat to the Flint Hills. It's a tool. Stephen once had to explain this live on the Weather Channel.
The Discovery Center's star bond project was so successful, the bonds were paid off years ahead of schedule — which funded a second museum right across the street
The Flint Hills Festival draws over 9,000 attendees and is the one day per year the Discovery Center is free to the public
The Flint Hills covers 4 million acres — roughly the size of New Jersey — stretching from the Nebraska border to Oklahoma
Sydney went to boarding school in Missouri, where a third of her class was international students. Gus's claim to fame was "most likely to do something sciencey."

Chapters

0:00 – Hilarious Sports Broadcaster from Quinter
2:42 – Podcast Intro & Guest Tease
3:15 – Meet Stephen Bridenstine
3:48 – Kansan by Choice: Stephen's Story
5:34 – Life in a College Town
8:15 – From the Park Service to Museum Work
11:13 – Inside the Flint Hills Discovery Center
11:49 – Exhibits and Visitor Flow
15:42 – From Educator to Director
19:33 – Learning the Flint Hills
22:35 – Flint Hills Festival Highlights
25:55 – How the Discovery Center Was Built
28:29 – Downtown Redevelopment Wins
30:22 – Planning a Flint Hills Trip
31:33 – Public Prairie Access Tips
33:43 – Stay Overnight and Explore
34:36 – Ranching Mimics Bison
37:13 – Fire as a Tool
38:14 – Discovery Center Events
40:07 – Kid-Friendly Highlights at the Center
41:10 – Celebrity Guessing Game (Kansas Edition)
49:20 – Scholars Bowl Deep Cuts
51:38 – Final Thanks and Plugs

Resources Mentioned

Flint Hills Discovery Center — Manhattan, Kansas
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve — Strong City, Kansas (National Park Service & The Nature Conservancy)
From the Land of Kansas — Kansas-made products program (featured in Episode 53)
SB Mowing — Spencer, Kansas-based viral mowing content creator
Blank.in.a.ship — TikTok account of the Quinter sports broadcaster featured at the top of the episode
Jim Richardson on Episode 20 of Ask A Kansan

Learn more about the podcast at askakansan.com!

This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net

Discover the Flint Hills with Stephen Bridenstine