Meet Our Managers

Doug Pottinger is a native of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He earned a Business Degree from Brandon University in 1995 and his MBA from Guelph University in 2002. Doug moved to Minneapolis, MN in 1996. His past experience includes five years at Ag-Chem Equipment Co., six years with Agco Corporation and three years at Ziegler Cat. In the fall of 2010, Doug was part of a group that purchased Midwest Independent Soil Samplers, LLC. Doug currently resides in Eden Prairie, MN with his wife, Allison, and daughters, Lauren and Kelsey.

 

 

Craig Struve grew up in the Calumet and Sutherland, IA area. He went on to earn an Economics and Marketing Degree from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA. Following college, Craig worked for Nutra-Flo Chemical Company for eight years. He purchased a retail fertilizer company at Calumet, IA in 1976 and ran the company until 2008. In the fall of 2010, Craig purchased an interest in Midwest Independent Soil Samplers, LLC. Craig and his wife, Chris, currently make their home in Ames, IA. They have four children and 12 grandchildren.

 

 

Kirk Struve calls Granville, IA home. After graduating from South Dakota State University with a Degree in Agronomy in 1994, he returned to the family-owned retail operation, C-S Agrow Service. For 14 years, he managed the Granville outlet, scouted fields, made farm plans, grid sampled and built VRT programs and recommendations for area growers. In 2008, a decision was made to sell C-S Agrow Service and pursue other opportunities, which led to the purchase of Midwest Independent Soil Samplers. When not working with the soil sampling company or on the family farming operation, you might find Kirk at the top of a mountain in Wyoming snowmobiling. In the summer, he might be on the golf course looking for a lost ball. Both of which are getting harder to do as he and his wife, Heather, have four (Brett, Damon, Sydney and Parker) active kids to try and keep up with.

 

Ilsa Eischens was born in Lamar, MO and grew up in Glencoe, MN. She served in the U.S. Army, which included service in the Persian Gulf War in 1990, prior to starting college at the University of Minnesota, College of Natural Resources. Ilsa worked full-time at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum before coming to MISS as a soil sampler in 1996. Ilsa later took over as Northwest Iowa and Minnesota Regional Manager. Around 2002, Ilsa began working in the office, initially as office support to go along with some field work, then changing to management of office order processing and post-data client submissions. During this time, Ilsa worked directly with Chris Nelson to make up the company’s general management team. Following the realignment and sale of MISS in 2010, Ilsa’s duties changed to Office Manager. Ilsa resides in Hutchinson, MN with her husband, son and daughter.

Donna Dau grew up in Northwest Iowa. She went on to earn a Business degree in Marketing from Iowa State University in Ames. Donna has 20 years of corporate business experience, working primarily in marketing/sales/public relations. All of Donna’s experiences have involved creating and implementing training programs in recruiting, hiring and training the best people in management & sales. Prior to arriving at MISS, Donna owned and operated her own interior design/decorating business. Donna joined MISS in August 2012 as Leadership Coordinator. She is responsible for all human resource needs, creating the best work force at all levels to grow the company. When she’s away from work, Donna enjoys yoga, nature, floral design and movies. Donna’s mom, dad, and brother ‘s family all live in Northwest Iowa where her dad and brother operate Dau Farms. Donna Currently resides in Ames, IA.

 

Jake Hofman was born and raised in Elwood, NE and graduated from Elwood High School. He went on to study at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Jake began his career at MISS in 2004. When he started, Jake was the only full-time soil sampler in Nebraska. As the number of customers and acres grew, he became an area manager in 2005 and became Southwest Regional Manager in 2010. Jake was most recently named Nebraska Regional Manager, which includes management of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. During the off-season, Jake travels the region meeting with current and potential customers. When he’s not working, Jake enjoys spending time with his family, golfing and summer fishing trips to Canada. Jake currently resides in Clay Center, NE.

 

Chris Nelson grew up in the small town of Roland, IA and attended Roland-Story High School. Following high school, Chris attended Waldorf Community College, where he earned his AA Degree. He decided to further his education at Northwest Missouri State University where he also worked for a farmer near Maryville. In 1998, he graduated with Degrees in Agronomy and Horticulture. At the time, MISS was looking for someone to live in Iowa to help with soil sampling as well as take care of customer relations and new sales leads. As the company expanded, Chris took more of a sales and manager role with an increasing amount of acres and customers. He is now one of the company’s three Regional Managers. Chris lives in Story City, IA with his wife, Brenda, and two daughters, Jadyn and Kelsey.

 

Shane Carlson grew up on his family’s farm near Gowrie, IA, where he found his passion for agriculture. Shane attended the University of Northern Iowa before transferring to Iowa State University, majoring in Agriculture and Horticulture. Shane began working for MISS in the summer of 2006. He then moved to Southwest Iowa in the hopes of growing a turf division. With this not really taking off, he moved to the field crew, taking care of Southwest Iowa and helping out in Northwest Iowa. In 2008, Shane moved back to Jewell, IA to help out with the growing business and assist in the management of Central Iowa. Shane’s job then took him in a new direction as Fleet and Logistics Manager while still managing a few customers in Central Iowa. Recently, Shane was named Western Iowa Regional Manager. Shane makes his home in Story City, IA. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing and camping with his wife, Michaela, and their three daughters, Makenna, Brinley and Hadley.

 

Jason Gibson was raised on a farm near Scranton, IA. He graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 2000 and went on to attend Iowa State University, majoring in Agronomy. Jason interned with MISS during the summer and fall of 2004. Following graduation from ISU in May of 2005, he joined MISS as a soil sampler. In August of 2006, he moved to Davenport, IA and became the Eastern Iowa Manager. Jason moved back to Central Iowa and became the Southern and Eastern Iowa Manager in the fall of 2010 before taking over his current role as Central Iowa Area Manager. In addition, Jason also serves as the training supervisor. He currently lives outside of Boone, IA with his wife, Angie, son, Logan, and dog, Barley.

 

Joel Anfinson was born and raised in Spirit Lake, IA and has lived in the area his entire life. Spirit Lake is home to one of only three blue water lakes in the world. Joel graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 2005. He pursued a few local jobs in construction and docking from 2005 to 2007 before starting at MISS as a seasonal soil sampler in 2008. In 2009, Joel became the Northwest Iowa Area Manager. He enjoys working hard to help the company provide cooperatives with accurate and timely soil test results to improve precision agriculture throughout the entire Midwest. Some of Joel’s personal interests include fishing, hunting and most of all, golfing. He is very fortunate to have a big family, with most still living in the area. Joel’s immediate family includes his father, Jeff, his mother, Karen, and two sisters.

 

Andrew Grabill grew up on a farm in Audubon, IA. He graduated from Audubon High School in 2006 and went on to study at Des Moines Area Community College and later Iowa State University in Ames. Andrew started at MISS in early 2011. He has done soil sampling, probes, tissue collecting and RTK boundaries before being promoted to Southwest Iowa Area Manager. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys dirt track racing, pheasant and deer hunting, fishing, golf and football. Andrew has one sister and three nephews he enjoys picking on. Andrew married his wife, Becca, on Feb. 2, 2013. Becca works at Audubon Manning Vet Clinic. Andrew and Becca make their home in Audubon with their Black Lab, Lilly.

 

Ryan Braget is a native of Urbandale, IA. Following graduation from Urbandale High School, he took his general courses at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, IA. Ryan then moved on to Iowa State University in Ames, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy. Prior to starting at Midwest Independent Soil Samplers, Ryan worked at Menards for 10 years, serving in the hardware, plumbing, wall covering and receiving/outside yard departments, including assistant manager in both hardware and plumbing. Ryan also conducted summer corn research for Monsanto in 2010. Ryan was hired as the Northeast Iowa Area Manager at MISS in February of 2013. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys golf, fishing, hunting and spending time with his family and friends. Ryan currently makes his home in Ankeny, IA with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Averie.

 

Andy Gregor grew up in Lake Mills, IA and graduated from Lake Mills Community School. He went on to study at North Iowa Community College and Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Andy started working for MISS in 2004 as a part-time employee in Northwest Iowa. In 2006, he became a full-time employee, working in Northwest Iowa and then the Dakota Area. He served as Dakota Area Manager prior to becoming Northeast Iowa Area Manager in 2008. Andy headed back to the Dakota Area as Manager in 2009. In the summer of 2012, Andy took over as Minnesota Area Manager. When he’s not working, Andy enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding, fishing, hunting and golfing.

 

Tim Friedel is a native of O’Neill, NE. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney in 2005. Tim began his career at MISS in 2006 as a soil sampler. He gradually took on more responsibility during 2007 and became the Western Nebraska Area Manager in 2008. In 2011, his management area expanded into Colorado.Tim is also the EM-RTK Mapping Coordinator and manages the tissue sampling program in Nebraska. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, photography, and traveling. Tim currently resides in Kearney, NE, where he has lived since graduating from UNK, with his wife, Teckla, a Kenya native, who he met in college.

 

Tyler Thedorff grew up in Vermillion, SD and graduated from Vermillion High School. He worked as a foreman on a lawn mowing crew from June 2005 through March 2010. Following high school, Tyler attended the University of South Dakota. In September of 2009, he began working for a local farmer as a farmhand to help pay his way through college. Tyler graduated from USD in 2011. His career at MISS began in April 2012 as Eastern Nebraska Area Manager and became Central Nebraska Area Manager and Probe Manager in March 2013. Tyler’s family includes his mom and dad, Carol and Wayne, who reside in Centerville, SD, and his brother, Jared, sister-in-law, Andrea, and nephew, Owen, who live in Rapid City, SD. Tyler moved to York, NE in July 2012. Tyler enjoys spending his time outdoors. He loves spending time at the river, whether he’s fishing, boating or just sitting on a sandbar. Tyler also enjoys deer and pheasant hunting, and in the summer, rides motorcycle as much as possible.

 

Mike Manning grew up on his family’s farm in Western Nebraska. He has lived in Lincoln, NE for the past 20 years. Mike attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and spent his summers farming out west during time off from school. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009 with a B.S. in Agronomy. Mike’s previous work experience includes an internship as a crop consultant in Southeast Nebraska, work on research plots and projects at the University of Nebraska Agricultural and Research Development Center in Mead, NE and work in environmental compliance and manure management for large feeding operations throughout Nebraska. Mike was hired as the Southeast Nebraska Area Manager at Midwest Independent Soil Samplers in March 2013. In his spare time, Mike enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends, hunting, fishing and playing golf and ice hockey. He currently resides in Lincoln, NE.

 

Neil Jorgensen and his family live in Plattsburg, MO on the family farm of his wife, Beth. Neil has a retail fertilizer background with the last eight years in the seed industry. Neil began his career with Midwest Independent Soil Samplers in July of 2011. Beth teaches in Plattsburg. They have three children: Logan, Lane and Dana. When the family has time, they spend it camping and enjoying the outdoors, cooking and woodworking.

 

 

 

 

Bob Ingvalson is a native of the Northern Minnesota town of Fisher. Following high school, Bob went on to study business at Minnesota State University, Moorhead for one year and then spent three years at the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Bob started at Midwest Independent Soil Samplers in the Spring of 2012 as a sampler and shortly thereafter, transitioned into the Dakotas Area Manager. Bob currently resides in Britton, SD with his wife, Nicole, and their two daughters. When he’s away from work, Bob enjoys fixing anything with an engine and spending time with his family.