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Cover Story -Jyy. I 27/ % X~ sis.. On his ranch in the Flint Hills of Kansas, Bill Kurtis walks among cows grazing on big bluestem and other prairie grasses. "Eat up, girls," he says in a resonant voice familiar to millions of Americans from his hosting roles on the A&E Net work programs Investigative Reports and Cold Case Files. The Chicago-based broadcast journalist has traveled to exotic places around the globe to pro duce hard-hitting news documentaries. But his favorite off-air destination is the sprawling prairie and the tucked-away towns of Sedan (pop. 1,342) and Independence (pop. 9,846), where he grew up. He returns about once a month to his two-story ranch house with its wrap-around front porch, per fect for watching sunsets stretch across the horizon of his 10,000-acre Red Buffalo Ranch near Sedan. “This is the story of settling America with immigrants homesteading and moving West," Kurtis says, gesturing to the wide-open prairie all around him. "The Indian chapter, the tattle trail drives, the Civil War is here. The largest trac t of remaining tallgrass prairie in the world is right here in the Flint Hills." When he pauses, the coun tryside is so hushed without traffic or any other man made noises that the 9 meadowlarks sound downright rowdy. sfl “I saw the value in trying to save this,' nH Kurtis says. f rd&jSef ■. . Restoring a prairie town Dick Jones, owner of Jones Realty in Sedan, recalls the day in 1999 when Kurtis began saving downtown Sedan one building at a time. Sedan’s glory days were long gone and many ornate sandstone, brick and lime stone buildings on Main Street stocxl empty. On visits to the area after buying the Red Buffalo Ranch in 1995, Kurtis began speaking to economic development groups about promoting the treasures of the prairie—its natural beauty, rich history and small, picturesque towns. After one such speech, he was driv ing to the Wichita airport to fly back to Chicago when he heeded his own heartfelt words and called Jones. "He asked, ’Do you have any buildings for sale?’" Jones recalls. "I said. Yes sir, how many do you want?’" Jones mentioned the 1920 Fish Building, a former department store. Praise _£>f the ♦ ♦ Prairie § Broadcaster Bill Kurtis returns to his KanSasUft? Kurtis bought and restored it, and today it’s a popular local retail cen- ter that houses a gift shop and coffee liar, an antiques store, a local jelly company and the L Tallgrass Beef Co., which j Kurtis founded to market the meat of the grass-fed cattle raised on his ranch. (Continued on page 13) jicpwoH iwwmor jL / r Television reporter Bill Kurtis strolls in downtown Sedan, Kan., a town he’s working hard to revitalize. Page 10 •www.americanprofile.com