Founders, Lee and Mary Graese, got their first 2 bison in October of 1994, though, this was the materialization of a dream that was born decades earlier…

Lee’s youthful love for history and reading about the settlement of the American western frontier included bison in every book.  His fascination with the animal’s ability to adapt to every environmental condition and topography fed his ranching passion to someday own a “couple” bison.

    The combination of his interest in fitness and drug free powerlifting made for a natural transition to ranching bison, utilizing holistically managed regenerative grazing practices.

    Mary & Lee put their passions together of raising and marketing healthful bison meat to the public.  The popular concern for preventing heart disease created a platform for sharing the healthful benefits of bison meat.  

    The decision to build a vertically integrated business managing the processes from “hoof to plate” has resulted in shipping 100% grassfed bison to all 50 US states via our online ecommerce store and physical store at 222 Birch Ave., Cameron, WI open to public with Wholesale prices.

April Hepokoski is a sustainability activist and lives a near zero waste lifestyle. She founded the idea of Closed-Loop Zero Waste and shares about her lifestyle in her new book “Closing the Loop on Zero Waste.” She inspires others to live intentionally and sustainably by sharing her story and lifestyle through events, podcasts, her blog, and on social media. She is a contributing author of the book “Zero Waste Kids- Hands-on Projects and Activities to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”, writing 13 of the 35 activities. She also has founded The Little Barnyard Preschool, a nature-based preschool that she runs with an environmental focus.

Blog- zerowastenatureschool.com

Facebook- facebook.com/zerowasteduluth

The Little Barnyard Preschool website: thelittlebarnyardpreschool.com

Michael Heim is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisor and a faculty member in the Science Department at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University since 2011. He earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Broadfield Science from the University of Wisconsin- Superior and a M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota.

Mike is widely published and is involved with ongoing plant research, the goals of which are to: 1) to introduce new hardy plants for northern Wisconsin, 2) to provide a haven for endangered plant species as their habitats become unlivable, and 3) to conduct assisted migration studies which bring woody plant species northwards as our climate changes.

He has overseen student research at the las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica and has been involved in numerous outreach programs. These include environmental education methods for teachers, natural history field trips for the public thru Extension, and organizational and public presentations internationally on topics ranging from cold-hardiness research to geological history.

As an instructor at the university, Mike has developed the curriculum for and taught thirteen different courses, most of which include a ZOOM distance-learning component. Mike is fluent in German and offers his programs bilingually.

Stacy, originally from Winona, MN, remembers singing Broadway show tunes and camp songs with her mother in their station wagon on family trips, when she was about 3 years old… and she has been singing ever since! She performed as a vocalist with several choirs at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and began her professional career playing at the Lion’s Pause Coffeehouse there. 

For the past 40+ years, Stacy has continued to sing and play guitar throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin; as part of an Acoustic guitar duo on a riverboat on the Mississippi river for 25 summers; at the MN State Fair, with a Bluegrass group in an old historic hotel, and at the Winona Great River Shakespeare Festival with her Jazz group, the Not Just Jazz Quartet, to mention just a few of her experiences. 

More recently, Stacy has performed at numerous venues throughout the Hayward, WI area for the past several years… including the Park Center where she opened for, and harmonized with, Michael Johnson of “Bluer Than Blue” fame, and with her Jazz Quartet. Other local venues have included The Pavilion, Red Schoolhouse Wines, Pine Brook Farm, The McCormick House, and The Boulevard Restaurant and Bar. Stacy enjoys performing a variety of genres of music; ranging from Folk, Country, Acoustic Rock, Pop, and Jazz, to her own original compositions, as well as various love songs for weddings…