Our Town Chapter 4: All Metal Mode

22:12Meribah Knight:Nancy gave them blankets to warm up and started making hot chocolate from scratch. His wife was very friendly and wanted to talk. As Nancy took mugs off the shelf, she explained she collects them from each country she travels to. One of his daughters, and she said, my mom collects mugs like that. and they're Starbucks mugs. And I said, yeah. And Isker, the first time he's really said anything, said, yes, but hers are from the United States. And I said, yes. I'm trying to talk to the kids. I said, you know, I've only been to two places where they didn't have Starbucks. One place is really cold.

22:54It has lots of ice. And one of the kids said, Greenland. And I said, well, that's true, it is colder, but I'm speaking of Iceland. And Isker says, well, they'll have a Starbucks in Greenland before long.

23:09Meribah Knight:The Isker family returned to their home that night. Kara, Isker's wife, told us they thanked Nancy profusely, and the family looked for opportunities to be neighborly right back, but didn't see Nancy the rest of the winter.

23:26Meribah Knight:Meanwhile, for Diana Naff, who continued to sleuth, it felt like she and Gainsborough just couldn't escape the news cycle. It was mid-February, and Diana got a news alert. It was about one of her research subjects from the past year. Let's pray together again. Our Father and God, Lord of heaven and earth, we pray to you now. Doug Wilson, the Christian nationalist pastor from Moscow, Idaho. the man who wanted to turn America into a theocracy. He was standing at the Pentagon in front of 150 or so staff, leading a new ritual there, a monthly prayer service. And amen. Well, it's a very great privilege to be speaking to you today.

24:09Meribah Knight:And this month, Wilson was the guest preacher. To call it shocking is probably mild. To have someone who's taken those public positions. Women are created by God to be helpers to their husbands. Men are privileged to lead and guide and protect. You know, stand as a theist in front of our entire country. Five years ago, that would have been unthinkable. But this is where we're at. The invite had come from the most high-profile Kirker of all. I'm very grateful to the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. Pete Hegseth, President Trump's Secretary of Defense. He stood right behind Wilson with his hand on his back and addressed his spiritual advisor.

24:57Meribah Knight:The man who believes worship is warfare. Thank you for your leadership, for your mentorship, for the things you've started, the truth you've told, your willingness to be bold. It's the type of thing that we're trying to exercise here. Did you watch it? No. You know, I realize that sounds very, probably cowardly, but there are some things that just turn your stomach. It turns out that Wilson's church had already started preaching in D.C. Seven months earlier, it began holding services to give Washington's Kirkers a place to worship, he said. Hegseth had been attending somewhat regularly. Wilson told us during our visit to Moscow that he doesn't speak directly to Hegseth about policy, but that Hegseth might read what he writes.

25:52So I could say, get the women off the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I don't know if there are any, but I could write a piece about that. And if Hegseth read it and appreciated it, great.

26:04Meribah Knight:As Secretary of Defense, Hegseth has blocked promotions for high-ranking women, declared that troops had to meet the, quote, highest male standard, and reduce the number of religions the military recognizes. And here we get a chance to worship Jesus Christ openly and in public. So I just want to, I just, Pastor, I want to thank you for everything you've contributed. Eleven days after the service, the U.S. went to war with Iran. Hegseth promised, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies. More after the break.

26:42This is the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChachiPT. Now with ChachiPT Work, I'm Carol Masser. Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures is betting on a cheaper way to produce clean jet fuel and made its first investment from a fund that is backed by Alaska Air, American, and several other carriers. The investment is aimed at accelerating the commercialization of clean aviation fuel. The recipient is Boston-based Lydian, which is developing lower-carbon jet fuel made from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, and is one of a growing number of companies developing next-generation clean jet fuel technology.

27:19Lydian says it can reduce capital expenses by more than 50 percent compared with competing technologies. Lowering those costs is seen as crucial to making sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, commercially viable, as it remains far more expensive than conventional jet fuel. Today, clean fuels represent a tiny fraction of the overall market. That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute, brought to you by ChachiPT. Put ChachiPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChachiPT.com today by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro Plans.

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29:37Meribah Knight:In late June, 2026, almost a year to the day from Ridge Runner's first open house, Gainesboro's town square was hopping. that annual July 4th celebration. Kids on bikes paraded through the town square. On a stage nearby, Mark Dudney, the historian, recited the names of local veterans. Reese Woody, Graham Woolwine. Cassie Kessler, the restaurant owner, had spent months planning this event, not only to celebrate America's birthday, but also to raise donations for the local school district. You guys going to be careful? She was bopping around. doing a thousand things as usual, running on... Hard boiled eggs and adrenaline.

30:22Protein and chemical. Protein and caffeine.

30:25Meribah Knight:Cassie had been busy the past year. She and her husband had opened another restaurant on the town square, a steakhouse called The Boardroom. My future is keep my head down and keep working every day and don't listen to the outside noise and don't let anybody rain on my parade, you shall say. I'm happy with where we are and the hard work that we're doing in this community. Cassie was focused on the square, making sure her work building it up continued. Any way that I can be involved with developing the square more, helping with tourism, tax dollars and all that good stuff, I'm a part of for sure.

31:03Meribah Knight:Gainsborough had been humming along in other ways, in spite of all the drama. A new hotel was opening. Diana Knaff was raising money to open an animal rescue. And Nancy Pruitt, the retired art teacher, was helping to run the new modern art museum on the square, Gainesboro Modern. Mark Dudney had been organizing a series of lectures around the region for America 250, including on the topic of democracy. I would never in a million years have expected that my hometown would be a place where this conflict is happening. It is a microcosm of what's happening in the country. The year before, Mark had put his thoughts about all this into a video posted to Facebook.

31:48Our hometown is not a test tube for some extremist social experiment.

31:53Meribah Knight:And it went kind of viral. It even reached Moscow, Idaho. What Mark realized from the response was that a lot more people, conservative people, shared his concerns but didn't want to take a public stand like him. Maybe, though, eventually, they would. And I'm clinging to that. You know, to me, in some ways, this story is not about them. It's about the rest of us. It's like we've got to remember what this country means, what it's about, ideas and the values. In Gainesboro, some of what that looked like was a new community center, a sculpture park, an outdoor music venue, places where people could come together.

32:37We're moving right along. We're getting where we want to go and moving in the right direction with the type of people that we want to be caring to all and open to all, and that's the way we'll continue.

32:52Meribah Knight:Over the last year, Ridge Runner had been busy too. Abattoi declined to speak with us, but in June told a Politico reporter that Ridge Runner had acquired or had contracts to acquire some 4 ,000 acres. He said 100 families had bought in. 40 had already moved to the area. Construction on some homes would begin soon. C.J. Engel, the podcaster, had also bought some land in the area and announced he was turning it into a gas station and diner, specifically an all-American one. In the face of this disappearing localism, this globalized rotting out of old American culture, Rockwell's gas and mercantile seeks renewal.

33:37Meribah Knight:Rockwell's would bring glory back to the gas station and to the country. That was its pitch to investors in this video, to raise$1.2 million for the project. Decline is a choice. Rockwell's will choose America.

34:00Meribah Knight:Off the town square, Andrew Isker and CJ Engel were having their own gathering. He sees us. CJ sees us. He's eating a hot dog. We'd sent emails asking to interview them, but they'd gone unanswered. Now, as we stood on the sidewalk in front of Isker's home and waved for them to come over, it looked like they might be willing to talk. Oh, here comes CJ. Hello. Hello. Susan Burfield. from Bloomberg, and Maribah Knight, my colleague. Hi, nice to meet you. You're here for the event? Yeah, nice to meet you. About 10 other men were standing around a grill. A number of women and a gaggle of children were playing in the yard.

34:41Meribah Knight:As we chatted with Engel, Isker came over to join us. I guess, how do you think about the reception that you've received here in Gainesboro? I don't know. I mean, I think initially there were a lot of people that were really scared. like oh man like these very scary people are living here uh but i mean as we've been here and and lived in this place and people realize like we're actually just like normal people yeah but we've we've talked to a lot of people who live here and many of them have said they wanted to do some research you know on their own that they didn't take at face value that they wanted to understand for themselves some of what you believe in, some of what you said.

35:25So they listen to your podcast on Contramundum, and I don't think that that comforted them in a lot of ways. So you've talked to them and I haven't. So what in particular would you say that they are, they're worried about? I think there's a lot of women, especially a lot of the female business owners on the town square who have heard some of the comments that you've made about women's rights It's about voting, about the role of women that they don't agree with to start with. Yeah, number one, I believe the Bible, all of it. So the Bible says that wives should submit to husbands. So if they don't like that, okay, too bad.

36:06I don't care. The Bible says what it does, and I believe it. And if you don't believe it, that's between you and God. But secondly, what I believe has no effect on them. But I think that's what they're worried about. That's an absurd worry. Because, like, what am I going to do? You're part of a project. Yeah. Right? I mean, there's Ridge Runner and then there's the bigger project that I think people could understand as a political project. What project is that?

36:37Meribah Knight:I mean, I think it's a project to become involved in politics, to change laws, to repeal the 19th Amendment, to do the things that you guys have talked about. Have we talked about the 19th Amendment before? I mean, probably. Probably. But obviously that has no relevance to local politics. Yeah, I'm not like, I'm happy my wife votes. She votes the right way. So that's why I'm happy that she votes. What we do here, which is not really ideological, but the fear is about land being bought, about driving up the prices, not being able to have people that grew up here, that have real roots here, buy that land.

37:16Meribah Knight:We've heard Josh Abatoy talk about bringing people from Google so they can milk their cows. on their lunch break, other people that are, I mean, he said it, so. Drive a wedge between me and Josh. But what do you have to say to the folks that are really worried about folks who will come in here, who will buy the land up as part of this project, drive up the property prices? I think that's completely legitimate. You know, and I think it's like one of the sad characteristics of our age. It happened to me in my small town that I grew up in, so I totally, you know, I feel bad for them. But I would say that that's happening anyways, and so it's just a matter of who's going to be here, what kinds of families are going to be doing that, and what exactly they do with the land, and what kind of culture that they foster.

38:01But I would just say that I hope that we leave the area better off than we found it. It's either us or someone else.

38:10Meribah Knight:They told us they probably watched the fireworks that evening. Then Isker and Engel returned to their friends and family. The land that C.J. Engel had purchased for his gas station project was close to Diana and Barry, like much of Ridge Runner's holdings. They're still all around us and buying more every day, and we can't stop it. So at some point, we are going to be landlocked by Christian nationalists. While Barry was on the town square helping with the event, Diana was at home, taking care of their dogs and other animals. In the past few weeks, as more land had been bought up by Ridge Runner, Diana had been trying to process their ever-changing reality.

38:53What kind of life is that going to be if the roads are clogged with traffic with people who don't like us and we don't know them? I just don't know.

39:02Meribah Knight:Diana wasn't happy about it, but it was Barry who was really struggling. It's become increasingly difficult for him to talk about all this. His roots run so deep here. I mean, he's, I think of the people who were born and raised here as being almost like, no different from the trees. They're part of the place, you know, a place that he knows, you know, every crack in the sidewalk. He knows, you know, the slope of every hill. You know, you could show him a picture of anywhere in Jackson County of, you know, a couple of trees and a piece of road. And he'd say, oh, I know where that is. You know, that's Bullard's Hollow, you know.

39:41He recognizes it.

39:43Meribah Knight:That must be so hard to counsel someone through and to watch them go through that. Yeah. Someone you love. It really is because I've moved a lot in my life. I've had to let go of places that I've loved. I've had to be part of dismantling businesses that I loved. Barry's never had to watch something he loved be dismantled. The ground was shifting under Barry's feet as he watched his home threaten to become a different version of what he knew. Gradually, yet suddenly, a place that was once so reliable, so familiar, was now disorienting. But not everyone was feeling Barry's level of dysphoria. Nancy was in her kitchen, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

40:37Meribah Knight:She had found that amidst all the turmoil, part of the community had come together, knit tight in a way they never expected. So we all keep in touch and we try to help each other out. We've become very close. There's a lot of us, men and women, young and old. I say a lot of the time, you know, when you get to be over 70, you're looking for that next generation that's going to take over for you, that you feel like has your principles and can continue on with the fight. And we have that. Soon, Nancy heard the pops of the fireworks from her kitchen and ran out to watch from the street with a friend.

41:23Meribah Knight:Nancy, we want to sing a paper song. So long. She stood there, watching them explode over Isker's house. Bursts of reds, whites, blues. Two very different Americas. You know. Not over. No, it's not over. No, it's not over. Nope.

41:55Meribah Knight:More from Gainsborough after the break. This is the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChachiPT. Now with ChatGPT Work. I'm Carol Masser. Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures is betting on a cheaper way to produce clean jet fuel and made its first investment from a fund that is backed by Alaska Air, American, and several other carriers. The investment is aimed at accelerating the commercialization of clean aviation fuel. The recipient is Boston-based Lydian, which is developing lower-carbon jet fuel made from hydrogen and carbon dioxide and is one of a growing number of companies developing next-generation clean jet fuel technology.

42:38Lydian says it can reduce capital expenses by more than 50 % compared with competing technologies. Lowering those costs is seen as crucial to making sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, commercially viable, as it remains far more expensive than conventional jet fuel. Today, clean fuels represent a tiny fraction of the overall market. That's the Bloomberg Tech Minute brought to you by ChatGPT. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com today by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro Plans. Everyone's talking about how AI is transforming work, especially in sales.

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44:32Oh, and it is completely ad-free. Yes, I said it, ad-free. Try YouTube Premium for two months free at youtube.com slash premium. Trial eligibility varies, terms apply, cancel anytime.

44:52Meribah Knight:As August 2026 came to a close in Gainesboro, Ridge Runner gave residents one more surprise of the season. Ryan Allen, who first stumbled upon Ridge Runner and New Founding two years earlier while looking for good spots to metal detect, got a tip. It was from Nancy Pruitt. She'd just gotten her hands on a document. It said Ridge Runner wanted to purchase, in all cash, a city-owned building right in downtown Gainesboro. Ridge Runner planned to rent the building to a company called Highland War Industries. Of course, the first thing is my blood pressure shot straight up. What was Highland War Industries?

45:35Meribah Knight:That's what Nancy hoped Bryant could find out. I mean, my initial reaction was like, what in the fuck are they doing? Like, why? From the little info Bryant could find, Highland War Industries was some kind of defense manufacturer. Off the get-go, it doesn't sound good. But from what I can tell, it's a relatively new company. And so Bryant found himself in a familiar place. Went into research mode again. Bryant found a website for the company. It was like Deja Vu, another cryptic site with just two words, coming soon, and a video of a drone carrying military supplies as it flies over the rolling hills of Jackson County.

46:21Meribah Knight:There's gunfire, explosions, metal being forged. And I just started digging and cross-referencing. He found the company's very recent registration and the name of the founder, who he discovered had military intelligence experience. Then he saw a Ridge Runner post on the local Facebook group about it, announcing that the company plans to make components for drones for, quote, American warfighters and bring 40 jobs with it. Ridge Runner said it would help revitalize the region. And what's more, turns out Newfounding would invest in the company.

47:04Meribah Knight:None of this sat well with Bryant. The context of the situation matters a lot here. We definitely need jobs. We need factories. Bryant knew that well from his two older brothers. They worked at a factory in town since high school. and then it shut down. It was devastating. So it would be amazing, but we don't want to sell our souls either. I think we need to buckle down and show these outsiders that we don't need them. We need to take fate in our hands there. We control our own destiny. Over the past year or so, Brian had been trying to do just that, take control of his own life, become a bolder version of himself.

47:51As much as I hate it to him, I am painfully shot, like, to the point that it's inhibited me.

47:58Meribah Knight:He'd gone through a bad divorce a few years back, and in the process, lost his home too. So he moved back to Gainesboro, only to stumble upon Ridge Runner and Newfounding. And I'm like, oh, fuck no, you're not going to take my home again, you know, like, you're not conquering me. Finding others in Gainesboro who felt the same way, well... It's helped tremendously, and I feel like I've got more... I'm just more open. He'd really connected with people he'd always been too shy to engage with. I have a solid crew, we'll call them. Nancy is the leader, I would say. Before all this, Brian had never even spoken to Nancy or anyone in the resistance.

48:42And now, you know, we're talking and sharing information and finding new stuff.

48:48Meribah Knight:Brian was engaged in ways he hadn't been before. Lots of neighbors were. I'll go back to another metal detecting analogy. So you got a discrimination that you can turn on to filter out metals. Like if you turn your discriminator to only pick up gold, you're going to miss silver. You know, you're going to miss the other good stuff. the good stuff that Gainsborough already had in its soil. It's on all metal mode. The sensitivities turn way up, so I enjoy chaos, I guess.

49:38Meribah Knight:Our Town is written and reported by me, Maribyr Knight, and Susan Burfield. David Fox and Rebecca Lacks, our senior producer, produced this episode. This episode was edited by Rebecca Lacks and Ken Armstrong. Original score and sound design by Alex Sugira. Fact-checking by Annika Robbins and Rachel Lewis-Kriskie. Additional production and editorial support from Julia Weaver and Laura Newcomb. Special thanks to Bloomberg's Alana Susnow, Bob Blau, Kristen Powers, Anthony Mancini, Cheryl Brumley, the Big Take podcast team, and Will Pearson at iHeart Podcasts. Additional thanks to Leslie Eiler, John Voskel, Radonishi, Victor Ivelez, Aaron Edwards, and Alex Kotlowitz.

50:27Meribah Knight:Our executive producer is Nicole Beamster-Boer.

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