June 14, 2026 • 23 mins
Jennifer Bengs shares her unique journey as the wife of Brian Bengs, who is running for the U.S. Senate as an independent candidate from South Dakota. Throughout the conversation, she recounts their adventurous life, including her unexpected experiences living in various places due to Brian's military career, and the lessons learned along the way. She highlights the importance of community engagement and the challenge of navigating the political landscape, revealing the dedication required to support a campaign and the personal growth that comes with it. Jennifer also reflects on her daughters' paths, showcasing their accomplishments and how they've followed in Brian's footsteps. The episode is filled with anecdotes that blend humor and insight, revealing the couple's dynamic and the support that drives their family forward in the political arena.
Takeaways:
- Jennifer discusses the unexpected adventures of living in South Dakota, including a jackknifed truck blocking their driveway.
- She reflects on her journey from being a non-political person to actively supporting her husband's campaign for the Senate.
- The couple shares stories of their daughters following in Brian's footsteps, with one joining the Air Force and another working at a national park.
- Jennifer's humorous take on Brian's unique car features provides a glimpse into their fun family dynamic and relationship.
- The couple emphasizes the importance of community engagement and getting to know the issues directly from people's experiences.
- They highlight the challenges of political campaigns, revealing the need for genuine candidates in government.
Links referenced in this episode:
- voteroi.com
- bengsforsouthdakota.com
Mentioned in this episode:
- Brian Bengs
In this engaging episode, Jennifer Bengs discusses her life with Brian Bengs, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Through lively banter with David Wheeler, Jennifer reflects on their humble beginnings at Iowa State, the adventures of military life, and the evolution of their family. She humorously recounts their early courtship, particularly Brian’s unique approach to sports, and their shared experiences navigating life together. Jennifer's narrative is filled with warmth as she shares the ups and downs of their journey, including their time living in various locations due to Brian's military commitments. The couple’s dedication to community and family shines through as they discuss their daughters’ paths into service and academia, and their newfound dog, illustrating their commitment to nurturing family bonds and contributing to society. The episode is a blend of personal anecdotes and political insights, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of both the Bengs family's story and the challenges of running a political campaign.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Folks, this is David Wheeler.Welcome to MUCK YOU!. We have a very
special guest today in ourweek long, Brian Bengs fo u. S.
Senate week. I want tointroduce you to his very intelligent,
lovely wife, Jennifer. Welcometo this. Welcome to the show, Jennifer.
(00:24):
Hi. Thank you so much.
Well, where, where are youtoday? Are you down in South Dakota?
Yeah, in South Dakota. And theday has already started off with
an adventure. Before I leftwork, my husband called and said,
hey, you want to park at thebottom of the driveway? There's a
large truck jackknifed in ourdriveway. So it's always an adventure.
(00:48):
I encourage people to followmy husband, you know, not just his
campaign, but his daily kindof posts about the campaign and living
in a camper while building ahouse here in the black hills. So
this is another day of that adventure.
All right, and what is, whatare the key socials that folks should
follow?
Oh, that's the one thing Ididn't write down.
Oh. Oh, all right, well,we'll, we'll figure that out.
(01:11):
Look at, look for Brian Bengsfor senate. I think it's that easy.
Yeah, I think it is. B R I A nB E N G S. Right?
Yeah. Yep.
Okay, cool. Well, I had, I hadthe pleasure of talking to Brian
a couple times. And part ofthe reason that we're spending some
time, hopefully to give folksa little more information about Brian
(01:34):
is I, I think he could win ifwe can get, get more folks involved
in his campaign and help raisesome money. So along those lines,
tell us a little bit aboutyourself, a little bit about Brian,
and then I'm going to ask somehopefully embarrassing and probing
questions.
(01:56):
Okay. So we met at Iowa StateUniversity. He moved into the apartment
upstairs. It was my senioryear. His senior year, roughly. We
overlapped and he moved in,made a bunch of noise. I didn't know
what was going on. Come tofind out he was custom building his
bed because he's 6 foot 8. Soa regular twin just doesn't cut it.
(02:18):
So after I found out, I'mlike, okay, well, that makes sense.
But yeah, just kind of met. Iasked him to play racquetball. Was
our first, you know, I got upthe courage, said, hey, would you
like to play? And he said, no,I don't do racquetball. And I went,
okay. Next day he comes back,well, I play tennis. And that's what
started it all.
(02:40):
What's the difference? I mean,come on, Brian, if you play tennis,
you can play racquetball.
I don't know. And I Kind ofimagined that his roommates probably
said, dude, shit, she wasasking you, like, out. And he went,
oh,.
And did you grow up in SouthDakota or Iowa or where'd you grow
up?
No, I'm from Iowa also. Soabout 20 minutes west of Ames, in
(03:02):
Ogden. I assumed that everyonein the world knew where my hometown
was of 2,600 people. I toldeveryone at, you know, campus, I'm
from Ogden. They went, Utah.No, no, Ogden, Iowa.
Well, that's interesting.That's really interesting. So. So
you're Cyclones. I try not tohold that against you. I'm a Hawkeye.
(03:23):
We're also Hawkeyes.
Yeah, yeah. And I grew up in.Oh, you are. You went grad school
there?
Brian did. That's where. Yeah.So we both graduated and then he
started law school. We gotmarried when he was a second year.
So I'm like, I. I didn'tattend University of Iowa, but I
was there for some significantlife changing events.
(03:43):
So, yeah, it's a much betterplace to grow up, don't you think?
It was. They are both verynice towns. I gotta be fair. I straddle
the fence there.
All right. All right. Cool.That's cool. Well, you know, I think
when I was in high school inNorwalk, I think we played Ogden
in the. At the women's finalsmaybe my senior year, and I think
(04:05):
we won. But anyway, we. Wedon't need to go down that path.
So you and Brian met atuniversity. Obviously there was a
spark there. What happenedafter, let's say after Iowa City?
Where. Where did you guysjourney to and tell us some good
stories?
(04:25):
Yeah. So he was in law schooland he said, well, I really don't
want to go to a big city, abig city firm. I want to do something
different. And at the time Iwas like, great. What does that mean?
And so he said, well, youknow, I did two years in the Navy,
the Air Force, the armedservices looked pretty good. So he'd
(04:47):
already had that experience. Ihad nothing to go on. I said cautiously,
okay. So he started talking tothe Air Force and Yeah, I mean, of
all the branches, of course,you know, we're like, air Force is
pretty awesome. And when hehad it as a backdrop, you know, with
the Navy. Yes. Going in as aofficer versus, you know, a 17 year
old in the Navy was a muchbetter experience. So, yeah, he started
(05:13):
exploring that and went toofficer training. And our first base
was in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Wow. So Air Force rats, Iguess they call them.
Yeah. So.
What about you and your careeralong the way you've tagged along
(05:33):
with Brian and obviously beenhis partner in this, but tell us
a little bit more aboutyourself and what gets you up out
of bed every day.
Yeah, so, I mean, it was theadventure I didn't see coming. I
really didn't. You know, I'mfrom Iowa. We don't have a strong
military presence, but ourguard units are amazing. So my dad
(05:55):
did guard, his dad did guard.But I didn't know as much as I know
now, obviously, but I didn'tenvision this, you know. So we went
off to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Itwas all kind of a new adventure.
I assumed, you know, I'd beworking forever and so I started
working at a bank and thenworked at an old west museum in Cheyenne.
It was fabulous and justwasn't the career path I thought.
(06:20):
But also moving every two tothree years a career was going to
be tough to have. So I worked.And then he said, well, did you want
to go to grad school? And I'm,I think that's amazing. You know,
when your spouse says, well,did you want to do this? And I said,
well, yeah, that'd bewonderful. So I went back and got
my master's in English andthen we went overseas to Japan. And
(06:43):
then I said, okay, if we'regoing to do this family thing, we
should probably get this to goin. And so from there I was a stay
at home mom. I taught Englishas a second language on the base
in Japan until baby camealong. And then things got busy and
then had another baby a couplemoves later and got to be a stay
at home mom. And that waspretty magical. I didn't see that
(07:06):
in my future, but wow, fulltime mom was quite a job. So did
that until we moved back tothe states when he retired and we
moved to Aberdeen. And then Igot my. What I didn't know was going
to be my dream job, that I wasan academic advisor at Northern State
University for eight years andloved every minute of that. My girls
(07:26):
were old enough, you know,they were a little more autonomous
and did that. So, yeah, it wasnot the life I saw coming, but it
has been amazing.
Well, and you got a, anadventure out of it.
Oh, so many.
All these terrific places.Gee, Cheyenne. And then where in,
where in Japan were you?
(07:47):
Misawa. So it's on thenorthern part of the Big island,
so if we, you know, we hadsnow and all the seasons, so it felt
like Iowa, except there wererice fields and there was an Ocean
about 20 minutes away. So justa little different.
And, and everybody spoke Japanese.
Well, yeah, that too.
(08:08):
Cool. I. Big fan of Japan.I've been there a couple times and
I, I just, I love it. I, I amdying to go back again and spend
some time there, but you're alucky woman to have done that. And
you know, being a mom is, oh,my God, it's, it's more than a full
time gig. And so I, I havedeep respect for, for mothers that
(08:28):
raise kids, especially if, ifyou're on the go all the time and
your husband's on the go. So,yeah, kudos to you. So you guys ended
up back in South Dakota andwhere, where are you guys located
now? And tell us a littleabout the community you're in.
And sure, we picked HotSprings. So it's in the southern
(08:51):
edge of the Black Hills andit's referred to as the banana belt
of the Black Hills becauseCuster is only about, maybe 30 miles
away. But they're at a higherelevation, so they get snow and the
wind. Hot Springs is nestledin a little valley. We've got, you
know, warm mineral springs, ofcourse, hence the name. And we just
(09:14):
get better weather. So it'sknown as the veterans town. So There's
a beautiful VA building here.Oh my gosh. Built in the 20s or 30s,
red sandstone. So thecommunity is very strong with veterans
and veteran support. Sothere's locals here, but there's
a lot of transplants, youknow, that they've come for treatment
(09:36):
or come to settle here. Yeah,just a gorgeous place to settle in.
And this is where we pickedafter the girls graduated high school
from Aberdeen. We wanted somenew adventure and yeah, this is where
we pick to have those hiking,biking, fishing, camping adventures.
Oh, that's awesome. Well, andit's. I live up in the mountains
(10:00):
of North Carolina and similardeal here where it's, it's a lovely
community and it's pretty lowkey and a great place to raise kids.
Yeah.
So when Brian comes to you andsays, listen, I'm thinking about
running for the United StatesSenate, what does an Iowa girl, that
(10:21):
obviously is probably not verypolitical, how does she respond?
Well, I've learned a lot. Imean, I've become a better citizen.
Like that sounds cheesy, butit's true because I remember going
to my first caucus. Whenever,you know, you learned about it in
high school, you talk aboutthe Iowa caucus. We're really proud.
(10:41):
It's a wonderful thing. So thecaucus and you know, the first time
I voted, but that's all Ireally paid attention to. So now
you Know, when he first said,I want to run for office, I'm like,
okay. And, you know, it justsounded interesting, but the more
we looked into it, I'm like,he's an awesome candidate. I just
didn't realize how hard it wasto get great people into those places.
(11:04):
So that's been the challengeI've been surprised about. But, you
know, if you can get them tothe finish line, yes, he'd be amazing.
There's so many amazingcandidates out there, but it's just,
it's more of a game than Irealized, which is also disheartening.
Yeah, yeah, there's. Thepolitics of politics are disgusting,
actually. There's disgustingsometimes, but. But there's also
(11:27):
a lot of good people inpolitics. And some of my greatest
memories in Iowa, actuallybeing out on the campaign trail with
a guy named Phil Davitt. Myfather ran his campaigns and Mark,
his son, is a good friend ofmine now. And so we spent a lot of
time on the campaign trail andyou get to meet a lot of really great
(11:48):
people, don't you?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, that'sbeen amazing. You know, just. Yeah.
Getting out there and talkingto people. Oh, it's been the best.
And there's no better way tolearn your state. I mean, and. Oh,
yeah, what's going on inpeople's lives. You don't, you don't
need to take a poll. You justtalk to 100 people and you know what's
on their mind.
(12:08):
Yeah, no, that's been amazingtoo. You know, the first time around
we did a lot of the paradesand talking to people there and events
and same with this one,getting the petitions signed. Yeah,
just those face to faceinteractions are just so worth it.
Yeah, I hear you loud andclear. So Brian's running. Just to
remind folks, for the BrianBengs B E N G s, we're here with
(12:32):
his lovely wife Jennifer.Brian's running for the North Carolina
or the United States Senatefrom South Dakota. He's running as
an independent, unaffiliatedcandidate, and he'll be on the ballot
in November against theincumbent and the Democrat, unless
(12:55):
the Democrat comes to therealization he has zero chance to
win, which is true. Brian'spolling, I've seen the latest polling,
is not bad. If this Democratwould get out of the race and. And
we're not going to talk aboutthat, Jennifer, because I don't know
if it shows on the spot. ButI'm just trying to put this race
(13:15):
into context. Is it a longshot? Yeah, but it's not a Long shot
if we can get this Democrat tostand down like Dan Osborne was able
to do in Nebraska. So I'm, I'mhoping we can do that. And, and we're
working on that here atAmerican Muckrakers. But back to
you, Jennifer and, and thefamily. Tell us a little bit about
(13:37):
your daughters and your dogs.I heard, yes, we've heard from Professor
Gearnard that, uh, MonahanGearnard, that you guys adopted a
dog. Tell us about that.
Oh, yeah, we'd lost our Germanshepherd, Bruce. We adopted him when
(14:00):
we were in Germany. He camefrom a rescue in Spain. We watched
like a three second video ofhim and adopted him sight unseen,
drove up, picked him up. I'min a foreign country, here's my dog.
And I brought him home andBruce was the best boy ever, but
he got cancer and we put himdown about two weeks before. I went
to a football game at Northernwith Pam and she said, well, I've
(14:23):
got a dog. And I said, what doyou mean? She had this beautiful,
you know, yellow lab puppy. Hewas, Perry was probably one a little
bit by then. She goes, yeah,you know, my friend, I got him for
my friend, but my friend can'ttake care of him. You know, I just
wondered if you're interested.I said, yes. This was about 10 o'
clock at night. I said, yes,take me to your house right now.
(14:47):
And the friend was reallynervous that I would say no and ran
Prairie down the road andback. So she would be kind of tired
and wouldn't jump all over me.I'm like, I don't care. Does this
dog need a home? Put her in mycar. And then that was like, are
you sure? I mean, she wasbeautiful, happiest, goofiest bundle
of, you know, energy. And Ibrought her home and I sent my husband
(15:08):
a picture and said I did a thing.
You are brave.
I didn't think you would betoo upset, but, you know, usually
we talk things out, you know,and come to consensus, but I just
went, nope, this is happening.So, yeah, I brought.
I think that says two thingsin my, in my book. Number one, says
(15:29):
a lot about your relationshipwith your husband, which is obviously
very trusting. And, andsecondly, I think it says a lot about
Brian that he's open to, youknow, new things in the household
and he doesn't have to be thecenter of attention all the damn
time.
Well, worked great for thecampaign. I think his post with her
got the most likes of any ofat the time.
(15:50):
Oh, that's great. Well, gang,if you're listening again. We've
got Jennifer Bengs on. This isMuck you with David Wheeler here
in North Carolina. But, youknow, we've got a candidate who's
a dog person and not. Andthat's all some people need to know
that you guys are a dog familyand a lab family and a rescue family.
(16:11):
So if that's all you need,folks, please go to vote roi.com
bb vote roi.com bb and make adonation to Brian's campaign. We
set up a special page there.The donations will flow to his campaign
(16:32):
and it's cheaper than ActBlue, so. So do that. All right,
so we. We cover the dog. Tellus a little bit about your family
and. And the girls.
Okay. Yeah, this is one ofthose. You might have to cut me off
because, yes, they're mygirls. I'm immensely proud, but there's
so much to be immensely proudof. The one thing I noticed about
(16:54):
a month ago, I'm like, oh, mygosh. My girls love me, but they
are following in Brian'sfootsteps. It's just crazy. Sadie
joined the Air Force. She didROTC while she was at University
of Georgia. So she'll, youknow, be commissioned after she finishes
grad school. My youngest isdoing a history major with a double
(17:15):
major in publicadministration, and she's working
at Wind Cave national parkthis summer. I'm like, this is pretty
awesome, but, yeah, I mean,they're still my girls, but it's
just funny how much they'veechoed his. His example, you know,
things he's done and. Yeah, soI, I find that pretty awesome that
they are willing to follow.You know, it's not just. It's dad.
(17:38):
They're like, okay, he's kindof cool.
Well, that's cool. Well, theysound like they're brave women, too,
going into the military and.Or at least one of them. And then
working in caves all summer.
Yeah, exactly.
I don't. I. I couldn't do thatbecause of the bats. That would scare
the crap out of me. But. Allright, so let's go ahead.
(18:02):
Oh, I was gonna say,surprisingly, it's a. Mostly a dry
cave, so. And there's not alot of entry points, so just trivia
for your listeners to go toWin Cave national park and look it
up.
All right, cool. So we covereddogs, We've covered the girls, we
cover Brian, we cover careers.Why don't we wrap up with a couple
(18:25):
fun stories if you got themabout Brian, you know, something
not too embarrassing, butwe're trying to give folks a feel
for who this. Who thesecandidates are and who Brian is.
So do me a favor and just giveus a story about Brian that says
a lot about him.
Okay. So my dad is a prettyincredible craftsman. You know, built
(18:49):
a couple houses, buildsfurniture, so he set the bar pretty
high. And, you know, Brian'slike, well, I can do some stuff.
I've got, you know,construction background and my summer
jobs. And I'm like, okay. ButI. I was a little skeptical the first
couple years of marriage, butthe first time that we changed out
a toilet and he set that waxseal and put the toilet. I was sold.
(19:11):
It's the small things. I knowthe small things that you're like,
okay, wow. This guy has ittogether, but he's still learning
too. He bought a, oh, 1969Rambler. Cute little, like, moss
green car, you know, theeveryman car. It was fixing it up
and I'm like, okay, this isfun. You know, got the interior,
(19:33):
you know, new upholstery,fixed it up f. And we took it out
on the highway. We're inCheyenne. And he's like, well, okay.
Well, it has what they call,like, all weather air conditioning
or something. I'm like, what'sthat mean? He's like, well, just
open that vent down there byyour leg. So we're on the interstate.
I open this vent and what, 40,50 years of debris blows out in my
(19:54):
face at like 65 miles perhour. If we were just like, just
breathless, you know, of dust,bugs, leaves, everything. So I'm
like, okay. So again, he. Heknows a little bit, but not. Not
everything to maybe havechecked those vents or maybe done
it at a slower speed or.
That's awesome. That's a greatstory. Everybody needs a rambler.
(20:17):
So cute.
It was so cute.
All right, well, terrific.This has been great. All right, I.
I gotta go back to one thing,though. It's this jackknifed semi
in your driveway. What the.What's that all about?
Yeah, so, you know, we're inthe Black Hills, so there's a lot
of hills. And we're on abeautiful little peak overlooking
(20:38):
the canyon. It's. We live onHot Brook Canyon Road, so we hear
the water, so it's a longdrive. But there's also a sand and
gravel pit just down the road.And apparently the driver had been
up there once this morning butwas coming back from a delivery,
so Solo didn't really. Youknow, basically he's about half a
(21:01):
mile away from where he needsto be, but he comes up our driveway
past the, you know, privatedrive in the mailbox in the trash
can. So he comes up the drive,realizes about halfway that, oops,
this is not it. And he gotstuck trying to back down. So the
trailer back axle is hangingoff the driveway just a little bit
(21:21):
and then the front trailer orthe front tractor tires hanging off.
So he was waiting for somehelp to get straightened out and
get back down. So, yeah,.
More stressful for him thanprobably the rest of us, but I can
only imagine. All right. Well,gang, we've been with Brian Bengs's
(21:44):
intelligent lovely wife,Jennifer Bengs from South Dakota
today. Thank you so much,Jennifer, for taking some time to
talk to us. And I want toremind folks, please go to voteroi.com
bb which is Brian's landingpage, make a donation to his campaign.
And in honor of Jennifer andthe girls or the lovely dogs as well.
(22:08):
So again, Jennifer, thank youfor joining us.
Yeah. Thank you all. Thank youso much for this.
Okay, this has been DavidWheeler with muck you. Thank you
for joining us. And until nexttime, muck you.
Folks, this is David Wheeler.Welcome to MUCK YOU!. We have a very
special guest today in ourweek long, Brian Bengs fo u. S.
Senate week. I want tointroduce you to his very intelligent,
lovely wife, Jennifer. Welcometo this. Welcome to the show, Jennifer.
(00:24):
Hi. Thank you so much.
Well, where, where are youtoday? Are you down in South Dakota?
Yeah, in South Dakota. And theday has already started off with
an adventure. Before I leftwork, my husband called and said,
hey, you want to park at thebottom of the driveway? There's a
large truck jackknifed in ourdriveway. So it's always an adventure.
(00:48):
I encourage people to followmy husband, you know, not just his
campaign, but his daily kindof posts about the campaign and living
in a camper while building ahouse here in the black hills. So
this is another day of that adventure.
All right, and what is, whatare the key socials that folks should
follow?
Oh, that's the one thing Ididn't write down.
Oh. Oh, all right, well,we'll, we'll figure that out.
(01:11):
Look at, look for Brian Bengsfor senate. I think it's that easy.
Yeah, I think it is. B R I A nB E N G S. Right?
Yeah. Yep.
Okay, cool. Well, I had, I hadthe pleasure of talking to Brian
a couple times. And part ofthe reason that we're spending some
time, hopefully to give folksa little more information about Brian
(01:34):
is I, I think he could win ifwe can get, get more folks involved
in his campaign and help raisesome money. So along those lines,
tell us a little bit aboutyourself, a little bit about Brian,
and then I'm going to ask somehopefully embarrassing and probing
questions.
(01:56):
Okay. So we met at Iowa StateUniversity. He moved into the apartment
upstairs. It was my senioryear. His senior year, roughly. We
overlapped and he moved in,made a bunch of noise. I didn't know
what was going on. Come tofind out he was custom building his
bed because he's 6 foot 8. Soa regular twin just doesn't cut it.
(02:18):
So after I found out, I'mlike, okay, well, that makes sense.
But yeah, just kind of met. Iasked him to play racquetball. Was
our first, you know, I got upthe courage, said, hey, would you
like to play? And he said, no,I don't do racquetball. And I went,
okay. Next day he comes back,well, I play tennis. And that's what
started it all.
(02:40):
What's the difference? I mean,come on, Brian, if you play tennis,
you can play racquetball.
I don't know. And I Kind ofimagined that his roommates probably
said, dude, shit, she wasasking you, like, out. And he went,
oh,.
And did you grow up in SouthDakota or Iowa or where'd you grow
up?
No, I'm from Iowa also. Soabout 20 minutes west of Ames, in
(03:02):
Ogden. I assumed that everyonein the world knew where my hometown
was of 2,600 people. I toldeveryone at, you know, campus, I'm
from Ogden. They went, Utah.No, no, Ogden, Iowa.
Well, that's interesting.That's really interesting. So. So
you're Cyclones. I try not tohold that against you. I'm a Hawkeye.
(03:23):
We're also Hawkeyes.
Yeah, yeah. And I grew up in.Oh, you are. You went grad school
there?
Brian did. That's where. Yeah.So we both graduated and then he
started law school. We gotmarried when he was a second year.
So I'm like, I. I didn'tattend University of Iowa, but I
was there for some significantlife changing events.
(03:43):
So, yeah, it's a much betterplace to grow up, don't you think?
It was. They are both verynice towns. I gotta be fair. I straddle
the fence there.
All right. All right. Cool.That's cool. Well, you know, I think
when I was in high school inNorwalk, I think we played Ogden
in the. At the women's finalsmaybe my senior year, and I think
(04:05):
we won. But anyway, we. Wedon't need to go down that path.
So you and Brian met atuniversity. Obviously there was a
spark there. What happenedafter, let's say after Iowa City?
Where. Where did you guysjourney to and tell us some good
stories?
(04:25):
Yeah. So he was in law schooland he said, well, I really don't
want to go to a big city, abig city firm. I want to do something
different. And at the time Iwas like, great. What does that mean?
And so he said, well, youknow, I did two years in the Navy,
the Air Force, the armedservices looked pretty good. So he'd
(04:47):
already had that experience. Ihad nothing to go on. I said cautiously,
okay. So he started talking tothe Air Force and Yeah, I mean, of
all the branches, of course,you know, we're like, air Force is
pretty awesome. And when hehad it as a backdrop, you know, with
the Navy. Yes. Going in as aofficer versus, you know, a 17 year
old in the Navy was a muchbetter experience. So, yeah, he started
(05:13):
exploring that and went toofficer training. And our first base
was in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Wow. So Air Force rats, Iguess they call them.
Yeah. So.
What about you and your careeralong the way you've tagged along
(05:33):
with Brian and obviously beenhis partner in this, but tell us
a little bit more aboutyourself and what gets you up out
of bed every day.
Yeah, so, I mean, it was theadventure I didn't see coming. I
really didn't. You know, I'mfrom Iowa. We don't have a strong
military presence, but ourguard units are amazing. So my dad
(05:55):
did guard, his dad did guard.But I didn't know as much as I know
now, obviously, but I didn'tenvision this, you know. So we went
off to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Itwas all kind of a new adventure.
I assumed, you know, I'd beworking forever and so I started
working at a bank and thenworked at an old west museum in Cheyenne.
It was fabulous and justwasn't the career path I thought.
(06:20):
But also moving every two tothree years a career was going to
be tough to have. So I worked.And then he said, well, did you want
to go to grad school? And I'm,I think that's amazing. You know,
when your spouse says, well,did you want to do this? And I said,
well, yeah, that'd bewonderful. So I went back and got
my master's in English andthen we went overseas to Japan. And
(06:43):
then I said, okay, if we'regoing to do this family thing, we
should probably get this to goin. And so from there I was a stay
at home mom. I taught Englishas a second language on the base
in Japan until baby camealong. And then things got busy and
then had another baby a couplemoves later and got to be a stay
at home mom. And that waspretty magical. I didn't see that
(07:06):
in my future, but wow, fulltime mom was quite a job. So did
that until we moved back tothe states when he retired and we
moved to Aberdeen. And then Igot my. What I didn't know was going
to be my dream job, that I wasan academic advisor at Northern State
University for eight years andloved every minute of that. My girls
(07:26):
were old enough, you know,they were a little more autonomous
and did that. So, yeah, it wasnot the life I saw coming, but it
has been amazing.
Well, and you got a, anadventure out of it.
Oh, so many.
All these terrific places.Gee, Cheyenne. And then where in,
where in Japan were you?
(07:47):
Misawa. So it's on thenorthern part of the Big island,
so if we, you know, we hadsnow and all the seasons, so it felt
like Iowa, except there wererice fields and there was an Ocean
about 20 minutes away. So justa little different.
And, and everybody spoke Japanese.
Well, yeah, that too.
(08:08):
Cool. I. Big fan of Japan.I've been there a couple times and
I, I just, I love it. I, I amdying to go back again and spend
some time there, but you're alucky woman to have done that. And
you know, being a mom is, oh,my God, it's, it's more than a full
time gig. And so I, I havedeep respect for, for mothers that
(08:28):
raise kids, especially if, ifyou're on the go all the time and
your husband's on the go. So,yeah, kudos to you. So you guys ended
up back in South Dakota andwhere, where are you guys located
now? And tell us a littleabout the community you're in.
And sure, we picked HotSprings. So it's in the southern
(08:51):
edge of the Black Hills andit's referred to as the banana belt
of the Black Hills becauseCuster is only about, maybe 30 miles
away. But they're at a higherelevation, so they get snow and the
wind. Hot Springs is nestledin a little valley. We've got, you
know, warm mineral springs, ofcourse, hence the name. And we just
(09:14):
get better weather. So it'sknown as the veterans town. So There's
a beautiful VA building here.Oh my gosh. Built in the 20s or 30s,
red sandstone. So thecommunity is very strong with veterans
and veteran support. Sothere's locals here, but there's
a lot of transplants, youknow, that they've come for treatment
(09:36):
or come to settle here. Yeah,just a gorgeous place to settle in.
And this is where we pickedafter the girls graduated high school
from Aberdeen. We wanted somenew adventure and yeah, this is where
we pick to have those hiking,biking, fishing, camping adventures.
Oh, that's awesome. Well, andit's. I live up in the mountains
(10:00):
of North Carolina and similardeal here where it's, it's a lovely
community and it's pretty lowkey and a great place to raise kids.
Yeah.
So when Brian comes to you andsays, listen, I'm thinking about
running for the United StatesSenate, what does an Iowa girl, that
(10:21):
obviously is probably not verypolitical, how does she respond?
Well, I've learned a lot. Imean, I've become a better citizen.
Like that sounds cheesy, butit's true because I remember going
to my first caucus. Whenever,you know, you learned about it in
high school, you talk aboutthe Iowa caucus. We're really proud.
(10:41):
It's a wonderful thing. So thecaucus and you know, the first time
I voted, but that's all Ireally paid attention to. So now
you Know, when he first said,I want to run for office, I'm like,
okay. And, you know, it justsounded interesting, but the more
we looked into it, I'm like,he's an awesome candidate. I just
didn't realize how hard it wasto get great people into those places.
(11:04):
So that's been the challengeI've been surprised about. But, you
know, if you can get them tothe finish line, yes, he'd be amazing.
There's so many amazingcandidates out there, but it's just,
it's more of a game than Irealized, which is also disheartening.
Yeah, yeah, there's. Thepolitics of politics are disgusting,
actually. There's disgustingsometimes, but. But there's also
(11:27):
a lot of good people inpolitics. And some of my greatest
memories in Iowa, actuallybeing out on the campaign trail with
a guy named Phil Davitt. Myfather ran his campaigns and Mark,
his son, is a good friend ofmine now. And so we spent a lot of
time on the campaign trail andyou get to meet a lot of really great
(11:48):
people, don't you?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, that'sbeen amazing. You know, just. Yeah.
Getting out there and talkingto people. Oh, it's been the best.
And there's no better way tolearn your state. I mean, and. Oh,
yeah, what's going on inpeople's lives. You don't, you don't
need to take a poll. You justtalk to 100 people and you know what's
on their mind.
(12:08):
Yeah, no, that's been amazingtoo. You know, the first time around
we did a lot of the paradesand talking to people there and events
and same with this one,getting the petitions signed. Yeah,
just those face to faceinteractions are just so worth it.
Yeah, I hear you loud andclear. So Brian's running. Just to
remind folks, for the BrianBengs B E N G s, we're here with
(12:32):
his lovely wife Jennifer.Brian's running for the North Carolina
or the United States Senatefrom South Dakota. He's running as
an independent, unaffiliatedcandidate, and he'll be on the ballot
in November against theincumbent and the Democrat, unless
(12:55):
the Democrat comes to therealization he has zero chance to
win, which is true. Brian'spolling, I've seen the latest polling,
is not bad. If this Democratwould get out of the race and. And
we're not going to talk aboutthat, Jennifer, because I don't know
if it shows on the spot. ButI'm just trying to put this race
(13:15):
into context. Is it a longshot? Yeah, but it's not a Long shot
if we can get this Democrat tostand down like Dan Osborne was able
to do in Nebraska. So I'm, I'mhoping we can do that. And, and we're
working on that here atAmerican Muckrakers. But back to
you, Jennifer and, and thefamily. Tell us a little bit about
(13:37):
your daughters and your dogs.I heard, yes, we've heard from Professor
Gearnard that, uh, MonahanGearnard, that you guys adopted a
dog. Tell us about that.
Oh, yeah, we'd lost our Germanshepherd, Bruce. We adopted him when
(14:00):
we were in Germany. He camefrom a rescue in Spain. We watched
like a three second video ofhim and adopted him sight unseen,
drove up, picked him up. I'min a foreign country, here's my dog.
And I brought him home andBruce was the best boy ever, but
he got cancer and we put himdown about two weeks before. I went
to a football game at Northernwith Pam and she said, well, I've
(14:23):
got a dog. And I said, what doyou mean? She had this beautiful,
you know, yellow lab puppy. Hewas, Perry was probably one a little
bit by then. She goes, yeah,you know, my friend, I got him for
my friend, but my friend can'ttake care of him. You know, I just
wondered if you're interested.I said, yes. This was about 10 o'
clock at night. I said, yes,take me to your house right now.
(14:47):
And the friend was reallynervous that I would say no and ran
Prairie down the road andback. So she would be kind of tired
and wouldn't jump all over me.I'm like, I don't care. Does this
dog need a home? Put her in mycar. And then that was like, are
you sure? I mean, she wasbeautiful, happiest, goofiest bundle
of, you know, energy. And Ibrought her home and I sent my husband
(15:08):
a picture and said I did a thing.
You are brave.
I didn't think you would betoo upset, but, you know, usually
we talk things out, you know,and come to consensus, but I just
went, nope, this is happening.So, yeah, I brought.
I think that says two thingsin my, in my book. Number one, says
(15:29):
a lot about your relationshipwith your husband, which is obviously
very trusting. And, andsecondly, I think it says a lot about
Brian that he's open to, youknow, new things in the household
and he doesn't have to be thecenter of attention all the damn
time.
Well, worked great for thecampaign. I think his post with her
got the most likes of any ofat the time.
(15:50):
Oh, that's great. Well, gang,if you're listening again. We've
got Jennifer Bengs on. This isMuck you with David Wheeler here
in North Carolina. But, youknow, we've got a candidate who's
a dog person and not. Andthat's all some people need to know
that you guys are a dog familyand a lab family and a rescue family.
(16:11):
So if that's all you need,folks, please go to vote roi.com
bb vote roi.com bb and make adonation to Brian's campaign. We
set up a special page there.The donations will flow to his campaign
(16:32):
and it's cheaper than ActBlue, so. So do that. All right,
so we. We cover the dog. Tellus a little bit about your family
and. And the girls.
Okay. Yeah, this is one ofthose. You might have to cut me off
because, yes, they're mygirls. I'm immensely proud, but there's
so much to be immensely proudof. The one thing I noticed about
(16:54):
a month ago, I'm like, oh, mygosh. My girls love me, but they
are following in Brian'sfootsteps. It's just crazy. Sadie
joined the Air Force. She didROTC while she was at University
of Georgia. So she'll, youknow, be commissioned after she finishes
grad school. My youngest isdoing a history major with a double
(17:15):
major in publicadministration, and she's working
at Wind Cave national parkthis summer. I'm like, this is pretty
awesome, but, yeah, I mean,they're still my girls, but it's
just funny how much they'veechoed his. His example, you know,
things he's done and. Yeah, soI, I find that pretty awesome that
they are willing to follow.You know, it's not just. It's dad.
(17:38):
They're like, okay, he's kindof cool.
Well, that's cool. Well, theysound like they're brave women, too,
going into the military and.Or at least one of them. And then
working in caves all summer.
Yeah, exactly.
I don't. I. I couldn't do thatbecause of the bats. That would scare
the crap out of me. But. Allright, so let's go ahead.
(18:02):
Oh, I was gonna say,surprisingly, it's a. Mostly a dry
cave, so. And there's not alot of entry points, so just trivia
for your listeners to go toWin Cave national park and look it
up.
All right, cool. So we covereddogs, We've covered the girls, we
cover Brian, we cover careers.Why don't we wrap up with a couple
(18:25):
fun stories if you got themabout Brian, you know, something
not too embarrassing, butwe're trying to give folks a feel
for who this. Who thesecandidates are and who Brian is.
So do me a favor and just giveus a story about Brian that says
a lot about him.
Okay. So my dad is a prettyincredible craftsman. You know, built
(18:49):
a couple houses, buildsfurniture, so he set the bar pretty
high. And, you know, Brian'slike, well, I can do some stuff.
I've got, you know,construction background and my summer
jobs. And I'm like, okay. ButI. I was a little skeptical the first
couple years of marriage, butthe first time that we changed out
a toilet and he set that waxseal and put the toilet. I was sold.
(19:11):
It's the small things. I knowthe small things that you're like,
okay, wow. This guy has ittogether, but he's still learning
too. He bought a, oh, 1969Rambler. Cute little, like, moss
green car, you know, theeveryman car. It was fixing it up
and I'm like, okay, this isfun. You know, got the interior,
(19:33):
you know, new upholstery,fixed it up f. And we took it out
on the highway. We're inCheyenne. And he's like, well, okay.
Well, it has what they call,like, all weather air conditioning
or something. I'm like, what'sthat mean? He's like, well, just
open that vent down there byyour leg. So we're on the interstate.
I open this vent and what, 40,50 years of debris blows out in my
(19:54):
face at like 65 miles perhour. If we were just like, just
breathless, you know, of dust,bugs, leaves, everything. So I'm
like, okay. So again, he. Heknows a little bit, but not. Not
everything to maybe havechecked those vents or maybe done
it at a slower speed or.
That's awesome. That's a greatstory. Everybody needs a rambler.
(20:17):
So cute.
It was so cute.
All right, well, terrific.This has been great. All right, I.
I gotta go back to one thing,though. It's this jackknifed semi
in your driveway. What the.What's that all about?
Yeah, so, you know, we're inthe Black Hills, so there's a lot
of hills. And we're on abeautiful little peak overlooking
(20:38):
the canyon. It's. We live onHot Brook Canyon Road, so we hear
the water, so it's a longdrive. But there's also a sand and
gravel pit just down the road.And apparently the driver had been
up there once this morning butwas coming back from a delivery,
so Solo didn't really. Youknow, basically he's about half a
(21:01):
mile away from where he needsto be, but he comes up our driveway
past the, you know, privatedrive in the mailbox in the trash
can. So he comes up the drive,realizes about halfway that, oops,
this is not it. And he gotstuck trying to back down. So the
trailer back axle is hangingoff the driveway just a little bit
(21:21):
and then the front trailer orthe front tractor tires hanging off.
So he was waiting for somehelp to get straightened out and
get back down. So, yeah,.
More stressful for him thanprobably the rest of us, but I can
only imagine. All right. Well,gang, we've been with Brian Bengs's
(21:44):
intelligent lovely wife,Jennifer Bengs from South Dakota
today. Thank you so much,Jennifer, for taking some time to
talk to us. And I want toremind folks, please go to voteroi.com
bb which is Brian's landingpage, make a donation to his campaign.
And in honor of Jennifer andthe girls or the lovely dogs as well.
(22:08):
So again, Jennifer, thank youfor joining us.
Yeah. Thank you all. Thank youso much for this.
Okay, this has been DavidWheeler with muck you. Thank you
for joining us. And until nexttime, muck you.
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