210: The Five Best Days of Summer with Abby Jaeger of The Great Jones County Fair
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Release Date: 07/09/2025
228: Wildly Intentional Living with Mandy Webber: Motherhood, Homesteading & Choosing a Life That’s Yours
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Today’s episode feels extra special — because I finally got to sit down in person with someone I’ve admired online for months: Mandy Webber of the Wildly Intentional Podcast. She drove from West Branch, Iowa, to my home office in Cascade, and what started as a podcast interview turned into a three-hour, soul-filling conversation about motherhood, homesteading, family culture, learning (and unlearning), running a business from your values, and choosing a life that’s deeply rooted in intention. We recorded a double-pod, so you’ll hear the Found-side of our interview today, and you can...
info_outline
227: Motherhood & the Ambitious Woman: Holding Both Without Losing Yourself
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
This week on The Found Podcast, we’re continuing our November series on family — and we’re going right into the tender middle: motherhood. Because motherhood changes everything. Your time. Your nervous system. Your calendar. Your priorities. Your sense of self. And if you’re an ambitious woman on top of that? It changes the way you define success, too. In this solo episode, I talk honestly about what it looks like to be a mom who loves her kids deeply and a woman who has dreams, goals, clients, and callings. We’ll name the myths, talk about the invisible labor, and tell the truth...
info_outline
226: This is Not a "How-To Marriage" Podcast
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Hey listener, welcome back to The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth. November’s theme is family — not just the cute-holiday-card kind, but the real, evolving, sometimes-stretchy relationships that ambitious women have to tend to while they’re also growing businesses, teams, and impact. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on one of those relationships: my marriage. This is not a “5 steps to a perfect partnership” episode. It’s a real-time reflection from someone who’s been married 16 years, building a business for 9, raising 4 kids, and learning (over and over) how to love a person...
info_outline
225: Better Together: A Kitchen-Table Conversation on 20+ Years of Friendship
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
This week on The Found Podcast, we’re doing something a little different…and a lot more personal. I finally brought my real-life best friends to the mic — right here around my kitchen table — snacks, beers, belly laughs, squeals, and memories included. We’ve been friends for decades — from first kisses to first cars, from weddings to babies, from heartbreaks to hospital rooms. These women are my chosen family. And while this episode may not follow the usual structure… it might be the most heart-expanding one yet. Whether you’ve known your girls for 25 years or 25 days —...
info_outline
224: Tradition Keepers & Memory Makers: The Power of Friendship Rituals for Ambitious Women
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
This week on The Found Podcast, we’re diving into the heart of friendship — the kind that’s rooted in laughter, ritual, and showing up for each other year after year. As ambitious women, it’s easy to let work and responsibilities crowd out connection. But our friendships, the chosen families we build, are what keep us grounded, joyful, and human. In this episode, I’m sharing stories of the traditions that have kept my friendships alive through every season of life, from Christmas candy-making and cookie swaps to spontaneous “meet the baby” dinners and annual scavenger hunts....
info_outline
223: Good Movement Starts with Us: Lessons on Self-Awareness, Relationships, and Resilience with Terryn Drieling
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
What if the way we move through the world—our energy, awareness, and communication—has the power to shape how others move, too? This week on The Found Podcast, I’m sitting down with Terryn Drieling of The Good Movement Draws Good Movement Podcast to explore what she calls “good movement”—a principle inspired by her life on ranches in the Sandhills of Nebraska and rooted in stockmanship, connection, and emotional awareness. Terryn believes that, just like animals respond to calm, intentional movement, humans thrive when we learn to regulate our energy, validate others, and lead with...
info_outline
222: Never Wait to Be Invited: Lessons on Friendship for Ambitious Women with Nina Badzin
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Friendship as an adult can be complicated — especially when you’re an ambitious woman balancing work, motherhood, and a full life. That’s why this week’s guest, Nina Badzin, has spent over a decade studying, writing about, and talking about what makes friendships work (and why they sometimes don’t). Nina is the host of the Dear Nina podcast, a Top 1% charted show that’s been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, and The Washington Post. She’s made it her mission to help women rethink how we approach adult friendships with grace, intention, and a healthy dose of realism....
info_outline
221: I’m Kind of a Bad Friend — Ambition, Priorities & Friendship Guilt
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Okay, real talk: I love my people, but when life gets ambitious, friendship is the first thing that slides off my calendar. Work, kids, and even rest often feel easier to prioritize than grabbing coffee with a friend. But here’s what I’ve learned: friendship isn’t optional — it’s survival. In this episode, I unpack: Why friendship matters for ambitious women (spoiler: it literally improves your health and longevity). My own struggles with friendship guilt when I’ve been “too busy” or spread too thin. The barriers that get in the way of friendships as we move through...
info_outline
220: Molly's Must List: 7 Non-Negotiables for Ambitious Women in Business
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, there are certain non-negotiables every ambitious woman in business needs to thrive. These are the logistical foundations that prevent burnout and the mindset shifts that help you play the long game. In this solo episode, Molly shares her personal “Must List”—the tools, systems, and beliefs that have helped her grow and sustain a business while chasing big dreams. From financial systems to friendship, pricing to resilience, this episode is equal parts practical and inspiring. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Why only 50% of small...
info_outline
219: Q4 Without Burnout
The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth
Mid-September is here. It offers a fresh start, but the final months of the year are looming. That means Q4 energy is buzzing, but so is the pressure. Which got me wondering...How can we as ambitious women stay motivated without burning out or setting ourselves up for disappointment? In this episode of The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth, we dive into the difference between healthy pressure and harmful pressure, how to set meaningful goals, identify non-negotiables, account for seasonal rhythms, and break your work into manageable sprints. I share actionable strategies to celebrate micro-wins,...
info_outlineThis week’s episode is pure summer joy—and a celebration of one of Iowa’s most beloved traditions. In a world where ambitious women are often told to “do it all,” we’re flipping the script with July’s podcast theme: just have fun. And who better to join us for that conversation than someone whose work quite literally brings fun to tens of thousands of people every single year?
Meet Abby Jaeger, office manager of the Great Jones County Fair in Monticello, Iowa, a role that puts her at the heart of one of the most iconic summer events in the state of Iowa.
For 173 years, this fair has been drawing farm families, concertgoers, foodies, and fun-seekers from across the state and behind it all is a team of dedicated folks like Abby who make the Five Best Days of Summer happen.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How Abby balances high-stakes logistics with heartfelt connection
- Why the fair is more than concerts and corn dogs—it’s community
- What it takes to run a massive annual event while raising a young family
- The importance of trusting yourself, evolving with the times, and leading with heart
- Why sometimes, you just need a five-minute cry under your desk before getting back to work (relatable!)
Favorite Quotes from Abby:
"I love to work hard, and I love to work hard for things that I love. And this is that—a thousand percent."
"I’m gonna take five. I’m gonna crawl under my desk, have a good fiver, and then get to work."
"They're up before the pigs and cows get here, and they're awake when the beer tent closes. There's no time off when you're on the fair board."
"Thinking back, I’m like, how in God’s name did I do that? Plus I had two five-year-olds!"
Tune in to hear:
-
Behind-the-scenes stories from one of Iowa’s most iconic events
-
The evolution of fair life over the decades
-
What keeps Abby motivated to show up, year after year
-
Why making space for fun matters in the middle of your full, ambitious life
- The fair lineup for 2025 - get more info at https://greatjonescountyfair.com/
🎟 Whether you’re a fair regular or new to the experience, this episode will give you a deeper appreciation for the people and passion that make big summer traditions possible.
Grab your lemonade, find a shady spot, and hit play 🎡
Listen now to Episode 210 on Apple Podcasts + Spotify