Welcome to The 39/94.
Every great story starts with a place, and this is our place.
Named after the coordinates of our region (39°N, 94°W), Jodie O'Brien hosts a weekly dive-in with the people, stories, and conversations shaping life across Northwest Missouri.
Big topics, small towns, and the people who make this place worth talking about. Your neighbor's story. Your town's news. Your community's voice. We pull up a chair, ask the tough questions, share the good laughs, and bring you the stories you didn't know you needed - the stuff that makes you proud, makes you think, makes you laugh, and reminds you why Northwest Missouri feels like home.
🎙️ New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.
Standing in the Gap: Jen Gentry-Tonn on Mental Health, Crisis Response & Breaking the Small-Town Silence
On the worst day of your life, who shows up at your door? Usually someone wearing a badge. But between that first knock and actually getting help, there's a gap. Jen Gentry-Ton has spent 13 years as one of many who stand in it.
Jen is the Director of the Behavioral Health Liaison team at Family Guidance Center. (https://fgcnow.org/) Her team works alongside law enforcement, the courts and hospitals to connect people in a mental health crisis with the help they need. When the state created the role, Jen was the only liaison covering nine counties. Today she leads a team of ten, and they meet people wherever they are: at home, at the hospital, in jail or on the street.
In this episode, Jen talks about why rural communities struggle to talk openly about mental health and why so many officers and jail staff are "social workers with badges." She explains why it can take three to six months to see a therapist in our region, and how her team keeps people connected so they don't fall through the cracks while they wait.
Jen also gets personal. Mental health runs in her family, and after the 2020 loss of two members of our local first responder community, she found herself in a depression of her own. She talks about finally practicing what she preached. For Jodie, this conversation is a full-circle moment, because Jen was the person who answered her call when she needed help.
In this episode:
What a behavioral health liaison does and how the program grew from one person to ten
How law enforcement, courts and mental health professionals are working together
Why small towns stay quiet about mental health, and why "it's okay to not be okay"
The therapist shortage and why insurance companies call our area "saturated"
Telehealth and other ways to reach people in rural counties like Worth and Gentry
Mental health support for kids and young people in our schools
Jen's own story of grief, burnout and asking for help
If you or someone you love is struggling:
Call or text 988. You don't have to be in crisis to call. It's there even if you just need someone to talk to.
Behavioral Health Urgent Care is on Frederick Ave. in St. Joseph, across from Meierhoffer, and is open Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Walk in, no appointment needed.
Family Guidance Center: https://fgcnow.org/ (https://fgcnow.org/)
If this episode helped you, or made you think of someone who needs help, share it with them. It might be the easiest way to start a hard conversation. 💛
The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!
Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgLbltMZrEC8ceKy2SIsZkw)
Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/cw/The3994)
Our sponsors:
North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu (http://www.ncmissouri.edu)
Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph: https://www.facebook.com/ScootersCoffeeSavannah (https://www.facebook.com/ScootersCoffeeSavannah)
Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ (https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/)
Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ (https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/)
E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ (http://www.elcrawford.com/)
Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/ (https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/)
Hair by Morgan: https://www.facebook.com/hairbymorganhontz (https://www.facebook.com/hairbymorganhontz)
1 Oct 2026
For The Long Haul: 50+ Years of Business, Family, & Leadership with Bob Wollenman
Bob Wollenman has been doing business in St. Joseph since 1967, and Deluxe Truck Stop has served the trucking and agriculture industries since 1979. Today it's much more than a fuel stop. It offers truck washing, a tire shop, and food-grade, kosher-certified tank washing that handles well over 100 trucks a day.
In this season two episode, Bob talks with Jodie about more than trucks. He describes leaving his father's business and later mending that relationship while caring for his dad. He explains how a 30-year-old's "young and dumb" confidence in 1979 led to a lease, a locked-in purchase price, and the property Deluxe sits on today.
He also shares how 55 years of marriage to Connie gave him the courage to lead. Bob reflects on how St. Joseph has changed, from the stockyards and local leadership to the value of getting to know candidates as people. He also talks about his work nationally against human trafficking and distracted driving, and why he keeps giving back through United Way, the St. Joseph Chamber, and Progressive Community Services.
Growing up in his father's business and graduating with Missouri Western's Class of '72
55 years with Connie, and how she gave a "too timid" young man the confidence to lead
Walking away from the family business and finding healing with his dad
The "young and dumb" 1979 deal that became Deluxe Truck Stop
Adapting to change as agriculture and the Stockyards evolved
James, the employee who has shown up since 1980
From national Corvette club president to national truck stop leadership
How truck stops are fighting human trafficking and protecting highway workers
Why giving back matters, and what St. Joseph has lost in local leadership
Getting to know candidates as people, not parties
How a neighborly request from Nestlé Purina launched a kosher-certified tank wash
Bringing son Nick into the business and doing it differently the second time around
And, of course, the King Hill flag "weather forecast" for washing trucks 😂
The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week! Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgLbltMZrEC8ceKy2SIsZkw)
Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/cw/The3994)
Our sponsors:
North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu (http://www.ncmissouri.edu)
Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah)
Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ (https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/)
Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ (https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/)
E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ (http://www.elcrawford.com/)
Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/ (https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/)
24 Sept 2026
Passport to Purpose: Miu Sutton's Road to Northwest Missouri
Season two of The 39/94 kicks off with one of the most fearless young entrepreneurs in Northwest Missouri: Miu Sutton, founder of Miuze Marketing.
Born and raised in Bangkok, Miu grew up in Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Laos, and Australia, learning English after moving abroad and making friends from around the world at international schools. A college fair in Bangkok led her to Missouri Western State University, where she arrived alone at 18 in 2013. Only after she was accepted did she realize she'd spent childhood Christmases in Savannah, Missouri, where her aunt lives.
Miu shares how her mentor Annette Weeks (https://www.aspirebusinessconsult.com/) helped shaped her path, and how she built Miuze Marketing into an all-women boutique agency serving St. Joseph and Kansas City. She talks about helping to launch Palmer's Ice Cream and Desserts (https://www.palmersicecream.com/) from the ground up, her advice for camera-shy business owners, life as a proud single mom to five-year-old Leon, and her newest venture: Pour Before, a coffee and beverage shop she's opening with business partner Alexis in Kansas City's Parade Park development near 18th & Vine.
In this episode:
• Growing up across four countries and landing in St. Joseph
• A "God-coordinated" connection to Savannah, Missouri
• How mentorship and programs like Leadership Savannah shaped her journey
• Building Miuze Marketing (https://www.miuzemarketing.com/): social media, websites, SEO, and ads
• Advice for business owners who'd rather stay behind the camera
• Going into business with a best friend, and how to protect the partnership
• Why Northwest Missouri is home
Connect with Miu: miuzemarketing.com (https://www.miuzemarketing.com/) | @miuzemarketing on Facebook and Instagram
The 39/94 Podcast - New episodes every week!
Watch this episode on YouTube: @the3994podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgLbltMZrEC8ceKy2SIsZkw)
Learn more about supporting The 39/94 Podcast: Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/cw/The3994)
Our sponsors: North Central Missouri College www.ncmissouri.edu (http://www.ncmissouri.edu/) | Scooter's Coffee Savannah & St. Joseph (Facebook: ScootersCoffeeSavannah (https://www.facebook.com/ScootersCoffee2024)) | Wollenman Family's Deluxe Truck Stop https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/ (https://www.deluxetruckstop.com/) | Gina's Cafe & Catering https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/ (https://www.ginascafeandcatering.com/) | E.L. Crawford Construction http://www.elcrawford.com/ (http://www.elcrawford.com/) | Greater Than Financial https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/ (https://www.greaterthanfinancial.com/)
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