About Don

This website features frequent columns by economist and entrepreneur Don Salyards of Winona, Minnesota USA.  Don offers personal commentaries about political, economic, and human affairs.  If you wish to join Salyards’ weekly Sunday morning email list, just email Salyards at salyardsblogsubscriber@gmail.com  There is no charge, no passwords, and you may ask to be removed from the list at any time.

Name: Don Salyards
Born: 1949 in Casper, Wyoming USA
Raised: 1957-1967 Omaha, Nebraska
Education: B.A (Business. Administration) Graceland College – 1971
M.A.(Economics) Kansas State University – 1972
Ph.D.(Economics), Kansas State University – 1975

Family:

-Don and Deb Salyards moved to Winona, MN in August of 1975 where Don started teaching economics at Winona State University.  They have two children, Tad (1975) and Tara (1981).

-In 2005 the Salyards family purchased a second home, a three flat greystone in the heart of Wrigleyville on Chicago’s north side.  Only 303 miles from Winona, MN the Chicago home was their “city retreat” and they traveled to Chicago often.

-Don’s wife of 40 years, Deb, passed away on June 13, 2012 after a 22-month battle with cancer.  Deb established the Carriage House Bed & Breakfast in Winona, MN which remains in active operation today.  Prior to her death she was the 3rd Ward Council Representative in Winona, MN  TRIBUTE TO DEB 

-After Deb’s passing Don met Sally Pena in Chicago, a nurse who has worked for several decades at the University of Illinois Chicago hospital.  They have been a couple for several years and travel often abroad, having visited ten countries together.  Sally is a true blessing for Don and they are very happy together.

-Son, Tad is a 1998 graduate of the University of Minnesota. Tad and his wife Lisa live and work in Dublin, Ireland having previously lived in London (UK) and Minneapolis. They have two sons; Marek (2007) and Silas (2011).

-Daughter , Tara Venable is a 2004 graduate of the University of Minnesota.  She and her husband Bob reside in Winona, MN.  They have a daughter, Adeline (2019).  Bob works for Cincinnati Insurance Company and Tara is the General Manager of the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast in Winona, MN.  Don remains a Professor of Economics at Winona State University and plans to retire in the spring of 2021.

-The Salyards family Italianate homestead (circa 1870) is located in the center of Winona, MN.  The family also owns a classic 3-flat Victorian Greystone (circa 1895) just two blocks from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL.

Favorite Quotes:

“The society that values freedom over equality will have a great deal of both.
The society that values equality over freedom will have very little of either.”
——Milton Friedman

“On the plains of hesitation,
bleach the bones of countless millions,
who, at the dawn of decision,
sat down to wait,
and waiting……died.”
—— George W. Cecil, 1923

Interests
¤ Active involvement in the Winona Rotary Club.
¤ Historic Victorian Architecture.
¤ World Travel
¤ International music.
¤ Venture Capital: Financing start-up businesses as an equity partner.

¤ Professional Sports:
Baseball, American League: Minnesota Twins
Baseball, National League: Chicago Cubs (season ticket holder)
Cricket:  National Cricket Team of India
Football: Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Hockey:  Chicago Blackhawks (season ticket holder)
English Premier League Football:  Tottenham Hotspur