Jason Gansen

Jason Gansen grew up in Riceville, a small town in north eastern Iowa. Money was an issue to become a pilot, but he was able to get enough money scraped together from loans, parents, and grandparents to go to college and become a professional pilot.

Jason worked hard toward his career and always had his one goal clearly defined and written down: To become a professional pilot. Finishing flight school and getting hired by the college as a flight instructor was a dream come true. His pursuit of flying for the airlines came crashing down with circumstances beyond his control. This led him to fly freight and added several close calls to his aviation book.

Jason has been writing for almost 20 years. He first published a poem in 1993. He wrote a newspaper article for the Riceville Recorder, "Growing up with the Bullshipper" about the life lessons he learned from his grandpa Walt Gabelmann, the former mayor of Riceville and local business owner.

Jason has been a jack-of-all-trades all his life and has enjoyed instructing whenever he has had a chance. He has instructed computer troubleshooting, sales, insurance agents, rock climbing, and pilots. In addition to instructing, Jason also enjoys instructional design for adult learners.

Jason has been married since 2006 to his wife Shauna. He has 2 daughters - his oldest Kate was born in 2006 (10 months after he was married), and Ava born in 2009. His family enjoys living in the upper midwest close to family. They enjoy camping, boating, fishing, movies, and traveling whenever they can. Jason also enjoys writing, lifting weights, flying remote controlled airplanes and helicopters, and painting.