Local couple to be featured on Discovery Channel show


Wren and Ini Russenholt

The Discovery Channel’s “Homestead Rescue” series features modern-day homesteaders who are assisted by survival expert Marty Raney, center, and his daughter Misty, a farmer, and his son Matt, a hunter and fisherman. Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel.

Wren Russenholt stands at the door of the octagon-shaped cedar log cabin that she and her partner, Ini, built with the help of the Discovery Channel’s “Homestead Rescue” crew. The couple, who aren’t using their real last name for privacy, will be profiled on the nationally aired show Dec. 13.

Matt Raney, left, and Ini Russenholt stand at a table cleaning a catch of carp after a bowfishing expedition early that day.

An Ozark County couple will be featured in an upcoming episode of the Discovery Channel’s “Homestead Rescue” show. The Ozark County-filmed episode of the show, which pairs survival expert Marty Raney, his daughter Misty, a farmer, and his son Matt, a hunter and fisherman, with struggling homesteaders across the country, will premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13, on the Discovery Channel.  

The Ozark County couple, Wren and Ini, have chosen to use the last name Russenholt on the show to protect their identities. In the fall of 2015, they bought an 18-acre property nestled between Bryant Creek and the Caney Mountain Conservation Area, erected a 15-foot “yurt” and began the process of making a life living off the land. 

But with the high Ozarks humidity, they began having issues with mold inside the yurt during the warmer months. The couple spent most of last winter in an outdoor tent as they attempted to rid the yurt of mold. With only a hand pump on their well and roof-runoff barrels to collect water, they were also putting a lot of energy into providing water for themselves and their extensive gardens.

Wren, who often posts photos of their homesteading activities on Instagram, was approached by a casting agent for “Homestead Rescue” early this year. Although she and Ini were apprehensive about being featured on a drama reality TV show, they ultimately decided that the show could really help with some of their more difficult issues by aiding them in infrastructure and advice.

The film crew came for 10 days last April; unfortunately, their scheduled time here happened to fall during the historic flood that ravaged the area, and the intense weather caused difficulty for both the film and building crews. However, at the end of the 10 days, Wren and Ini had a new octagon-shaped cedar log cabin and a cedar aqueduct system that provides an irrigation system for their plants. The Ozark County Times will have a more in-depth interview with Wren and Ini after the episode airs; they have not yet seen the episode themselves. 

Viewers can tune into the Discovery Channel to catch the episode at 8 p.m. central time on channel 182 on DISH Network, channel 278 on DirecTV and on the Discovery GO app. Full episodes of the show are also available after they air at www.discovery.com/tv-shows/homestead-rescue/. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423