Mid-States is proud to have been featured on Made in the Stateline yesterday. Click the link to view the segment.
What are you thankful for?
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is a great opportunity to take a moment and consider all the things we have to give thanks and be grateful for.
First and foremost, I am thankful for my sweetest little boy Allen. He is just a few months away from turning two and although we are in the thick of the terrible toddler stage right now, he is still the best thing I have ever done and what I am most proud of. He will grow out of this, right?!?
Once again, I continue to be so grateful for and so blessed by the people I call family. It is their unwavering support that got me through a year that was tougher than most. I’m grateful for my family’s health and that we are all here to celebrate another Thanksgiving together. And I am extremely thankful that my son has such loving and supportive people on both sides of his family.
I’m grateful for my SQUAD, who despite the miles between us, are always there for each other. Even with our growing families, we still do our best to see each other as often as we can. And I’m thankful for co-workers who have become great friends, too.
Being part of the Mid-States team is something I am continually grateful for. This team is filled with truly amazing people that I am lucky to work with on a daily basis. The amount of care this company has for its team is something I haven’t seen anywhere else.
Finally, I am thankful to know that I have so much to look forward to in the coming year. It will be as good as I make it and I have big plans.
Happy Thanksgiving! In recognition of the holiday, Mid-States will be closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. May your Thanksgiving be filled with family, friends, and plenty of delicious food!
To Bee or Not to Bee...
When Rafael Ortega, a member of the Mid-States Fab Shop Team, realized his family was spending $300 per year on honey, he decided to take matters in to his own hands… literally.
Ortega, who has been on the Mid-States team for 6.5 years, turned to the man he had been purchasing all his honey from to learn. Denny Dodge of Double D’s Bees has become a mentor of sorts to Ortega.
He began his journey as a bee keeper last year, starting with just two hives. This year, he has six. Each of Ortega’s bee hives is composed of two brood boxes, where the queen lives and lays eggs; and a queen extractor, which keeps the bees from traveling to the honey supers, where the honey is stored. Currently, Ortega has somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 bees. There are three types of bees that are common to this area: Russian, Italian and Carniolian. Ortega has a mix of Italian and Carniolian.
To care for the bees, Ortega dons leather gloves, a heavy duty sweatshirt and protective vest. He utilizes a smoker, filled with pine needles which calms the bees down and gives him time to work. Ortega checks on his hives at least weekly.
”They fly around me, but if I work calmly, they leave me to work,” Ortega said.
To extract the honey, Ortega uses a blower to gently remove the bees from the frames. He then puts the frames on a honey extractor, breaks the capping open with a hot knife and then the honey extractor spins them so the honey collects in a bucket. The honey is ready to eat right from extraction.
The hives are located on conservation land and produce 100% pure honey. Depending on the time of year, the honey has a bit of a different taste. Ortega said the taste they get in July is more clover, whereas the taste they get in August is more Goldenrod.
It is important to note that Ortega tests the honey to make sure it is safe for consumption before extracting it. Ortega completes two harvests per year, and harvested about 17 gallons of honey this year.
He must leave enough honey in the hives to sustain the bees through the winter, and he also makes sugar cakes to help them get through the cold months. During winter, the bees will all huddle around the queen to keep her warm in the center. The rest of the hive will rotate between being on the inner part of the circle, or outer part of the circle so everyone survives.
While Ortega’s bee keeping first stemmed from the idea of saving money on honey, it has turned in to so much more. Contributing to the environment is an immensely rewarding part of what Ortega does.
Studies have shown a significant decline in the honeybee population in the U.S. Honey bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and support about $20 billion worth of crop production in the U.S. annually, according to ABC News.
Caring for the bees has also provided endless learning opportunities for Ortega and his four children - boys ages 9, 12 & 17 and a girl aged 15. He said the boys are particularly fascinated by the process. And his family has enough honey to get through the year, with a little extra to share.
Visit us at AIA - Iowa
Learn about new products and services from representatives of the region’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of design and construction industry products and services at the 2019 AIA Iowa Convention.
The Expo will be held Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 at the Iowa Events Center, 833 5th Avenue, in Des Moines.
You can find Mid-States at Booth 36 giving away some reusable shopping bags, flashlight/bottle opener key chains, and plenty of precast concrete knowledge.
Design teams are such an important part of the success of any project. It is a privilege to get to partner with some of the best around. We look forward to seeing you there and learning about your latest projects!
Precast Chalk Talk: Episode 7
Take a walk through our Elematic hall as Hagen talks with our team members about our extrusion process.