Scott Schultz

Scott Schultz, author of Rural Routes and Ruts, has spent much of his life absorbing the wonders of Wisconsin’s rural countryside.

Rural Routes and Ruts, described as a grass-roots look at the evolution of the rural land and its people, is creating discussions about the very future of rural life. The book is based on the author’s views of the area in which he was raised, a small place called Veefkind between Spencer and Loyal in Clark County, Wisconsin.

In 2002, some of his essays were included in a national conference, “Why Rural Matters.” Schultz frequently speaks to assemblies about rural issues.

Besides his experiences on his family’s dairy farm, Schultz draws from his experiences as managing editor of The Country Today, an Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based weekly newspaper that covers rural life and rural issues throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Schultz has worked in journalism for nearly 30 years and has won a variety of news and features awards. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and worked at Wisconsin newspapers in Abbotsford, Loyal and Marshfield before joining The Country Today 18 years ago.

Besides his work with newspapers, Schultz is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization The Heartbeat Center for Writing, Literacy and the Arts. He often presents creative writing programs to people of all ages.

He recently was named to the Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction’s state Rural Education Advisory Council and serves on the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation’s Personalized Medicine Advisory Committee. He has worked on several projects with the Wisconsin Rural Partners.

In the past, Schultz served on the National Farm Medicine Center’s Advisory Committee, was a Wisconsin Forage Council director and served in various offices with several communities’ Chambers of Commerce.

Schultz, who has run 27 full marathons, is co-founder of Spanky’s Run in Loyal, Wisconsin and for 10 years served as the race’s director. He coached high school and junior high school football and wrestling for more than 20 years in the Marshfield and Loyal school systems.

The Rural Routes and Ruts author is working on another book, based on life in a small copper-mining community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.