

The queen of her hive: Momma-preneur and beekeeper, Jese Mehrkens
Jese Mehrkens makes the best granola. Hint: the secret’s in the honey. She should know. Her bees made it. While Jese grew up surrounded by animals on her family’s hobby farm in Zumbro Falls— a goat, a cow and 30 cats — there were definitely no bees. Nor were there bees on her husband’s family dairy farm outside Lake City. So, three years ago, with three small children at home, Jese decided to try her hand at, what she thought, would just be a hobby. “I don’t know how to expla