I arrived in Hiawatha Kansas on 17 February 2025, as an outsider from a large northern city. I came to Hiawatha planning to build a drone business to help NE Kansas farmers.
Despite several decades of annual visits to the area, I didn’t understand the complexities of social, economic, and educational issues in the small towns and cities we rely upon to deliver food to our tables. I didn’t understand the difficulties communities faced in balancing the needs of internal operational budgets against the (very real) needs of social programs and educational funding. I didn’t understand the impact of the farming economy on everyday life. It has taken me a year to scratch the surface of these issues. I think about them every day.
When I arrived in Hiawatha, I was planning on developing Hydrogen to feed a Haber-Bosch system to create Anhydrous Ammonia. I had no idea how important Hydrogen could become to rural communities. I accelerated my education about these issues. Having gained new insight, I have since pivoted to push the production of NH3 to a later phase following the successful creation of a local Hydrogen market.
I am poised to purchase property for this operation. And so now, in March of 2026, I am publishing my initial thoughts on this project via website.
My Personal Observations
I think that rural communities are suffering. I see a job crisis. I see a shortage in housing options. I see rising taxes but decreasing services. I see limited educational options, substance abuse, and aging public improvements. Most concerning may be a lack of optimism about correcting these things.
I believe all of these can be reversed with new opportunities.
I think our country is suffering. I worry that too many of the political decisions of the last half century were motivated by energy policy. For good or bad, it dominates our national thinking: Drill or not? How much is the cost of oil? What is the cost of heating fuel? How will I afford to run my truck, my tractor, or heat my home? Do we have the strategic reserves necessary to sustain us? How do we feed our voracious appetite for energy and food?
The imbalance of wealth and opportunities between urban living and rural communities bothers me. That, and these other things keep me up at night.
Midwest Sustainable Innovations, llc (MSI) is my way to help improve things through use of technology, innovation, and filling a need. Done by harnessing the most common element in the universe: Hydrogen.
-Mike Bahr