Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Robin Carlson, Courtland
At a glance: Robin Carlson founded a health care company in her hometown of Courtland and became elected mayor. Soon, her community will be hosting the second annual Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference for small businesses and support organizations across Kansas.
More information: Ron Wilson, rwilson@ksu.edu, 785-532-7690
Photos: Ron Wilson | Robin Carlson
Website: Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development
May 20, 2026
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
A big-city newspaper carried an ad recruiting people to come to a small town in Kansas. Placing such an ad seems like quite an entrepreneurial connection for that rural Kansas town – especially when we consider that this ad was placed more than a century ago.
The entrepreneurial spirit still lives in Courtland, Kansas, which will soon host a conference for entrepreneurs and community leaders across the state. The 2026 Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference will be held in Courtland June 24-26.
Robin Carlson is mayor of Courtland. She grew up on a farm near Courtland and pursued a career in the health care industry.
At right: Robin Carlson | Download this photo
“I had a health care company on the east coast, and I promised my dad I would do the same thing back here,” Carlson said.
After she was gone 20 years, her father got sick, and she came back to Courtland temporarily to help.
Carlson fulfilled her promise and formed a health care company in Courtland called Pivotal Health & Wellness. She moved back to Courtland and is now CEO of the company.
Pivotal Health & Wellness offers home health care, physical therapy, a health care resource center, and a fitness center in Courtland. In addition to direct skilled nursing services, Pivotal helps families with finding insurance and acquiring medical equipment, for example.
“We’ve launched a new mental health initiative which has had great results,” Carlson said. “We’re licensed to serve 12 counties but we’re piloting (the mental health initiative) in Republic and Mitchell counties first.”
Pivotal Health & Wellness also addresses food insecurity issues. “Each week we provide 57 families with fruit and vegetables in the region,” she said.
Carlson joined the local economic development board and became elected mayor. That economic development group learned about a new statewide event called the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference and put in an application to host it.
To their surprise, Courtland was selected over bigger cities. After all, Courtland is a rural community of 294 people. Now, that’s rural.
“It was really exciting but were surprised,” Carlson said. “When we think of going to a conference, most of us think of sitting in a big hotel conference center and we don’t have that.”
However, Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities is a different kind of conference. There will be plenary sessions but the breakout sessions will be conducted in actual businesses on Main Street.
“There is value in being immersed in our small businesses,” Carlson said. “We have so many older and newer businesses that visitors can see.”
The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference is for entrepreneurs, supporters, and community leaders. Small business owners receive a discounted registration rate. “It’s an absolute honor for us to host this,” Carlson said.
The entrepreneurial spirit has deep roots in Courtland. Many years ago, local leaders pioneered the formation of an irrigation district which enabled them to take advantage of the abundant local water resources. A sophisticated system of canals, pipelines, and automated gates allow efficient distribution of water to local growers. This has contributed significantly to the progress of the region. Today, Courtland is known as the Irrigation Capitol of Kansas.
Courtland maintains a bustling downtown with multiple businesses. “I think the entrepreneurial spirit is handed down from generation to generation here,” Carlson said.
“In the files, I found an ad from when Courtland was founded in 1885,” Carlson said. “After the gold rush out west, Courtland city leaders placed an ad in the newspaper in Portland, Oregon inviting people to come to Courtland, Kansas. I thought that was pretty entrepreneurial for those times.”
For more information about Courtland, go to www.courtlandkansas.com. For more information about the conference, go to www.extension.k-state.edu/program-areas/supporting-communities/cec.
How remarkable that, more than a hundred years ago, entrepreneurial citizens in Courtland would place an ad in an Oregon newspaper attracting residents to Kansas.
We commend past and current Courtland leaders, such as Robin Carlson, for making a difference with their entrepreneurial spirit. We are glad they are now hosting this conference to help entrepreneurs and communities connect.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit www.huckboydinstitute.org.
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K‑State Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the wellbeing of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.