Dr. Christian Neldeberg shared some of his life story and lots of interesting information in his classification talk on August 6. The photo shows him explaining either the importance of corn detasseling or later, how a 13 student high school class can support an 8-man football team. The most important topic, however, was that Christian has opened a new chiropractic practice in River Falls - Recharge Chiropractic - and he is already an active volunteer in the River Falls Community.
Born the middle child and raised on a farm in Whiting Iowa, Christian lived the idyllic-small-town-farming-kid childhood. His high school class was composed of 13 kids. He let us know that while he loves steak and pizza, he strongly dislikes peanut butter and ketchup.
Christian’s dad started the ANSCO seed corn business with HIS father, and built it up as an independent brand that remains competitive today as the last of what used to be 17 other independent seed businesses. His mom stayed home and took care of the children before entering the workforce herself once they were grown.
Christian has fond memories of things like sliding down corn cob piles with his brother, Andrew and his sister, Annika. And he remembers his dad more than once getting the loader to scoop the corn cob pile to find Andrew’s lost sandals.
Growing up on a farm strongly influenced his life. To this day he has a lot of respect for farmers, who as 1.5% of the workforce, provide food for 3 million people. Being raised with tough, hard work and dedication contributed to where he is today; however, as he attained adulthood, he was face-to-face with an inescapable fact: farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
In 2011, what he refers to as the the Missouri River Flood Part 1 overtook 500 acres of the farm. Christian knew that it was a turning point in both his life and career. Although he was slated to take over the family farm, instead he had a difficult conversation with his father: he was going to choose a different career.
“Luckily, my dad said, ‘Do what you love/want to do,’ and I’m forever grateful for that,” he said.
A high school injury had brought his first brush with chiropractic, and the flood pointed him in his new direction. After seven and a half years of schooling, he attained his doctorate and was ready to open Recharge Chiropractic in River Falls.
“The idea came from a goal to make chiropractic relatable,” he said. “We recharge our phones, why not our bodies and health?”
Chiropractic can help your body heal from the inside out, without drugs or surgery.
“We spend two times as much as health care as the countries behind us and we consume 55-65% of world’s pharmaceuticals,” Christian said. “Chiropractic is a gentle and specific approach to health care – not sick care.”
Christian says that the Packers and Cheese curds brought him to Wisconsin, as well as a weekly trip across the border from Minnesota to obtain his favorite brew: Spotted Cow. On one of those trips, he met his fiance, Brittany, for the first time at the Swinging Bridge brewery in River Falls, and later proposed on River Falls’ own Glen Park Swinging Bridge.
Christian also enjoys fishing and loves the hometown sense of community in River Falls. He said he knew he was "home" when someone gave him the "farmer wave” as they passed on the road. He chose Rotary because of the motto of Service Above Self and looks forward to helping to make an impact in the community through the club.
In the photo, Christian is describing the importance of detasseling corn or explaining how 8-man football works when your high school class has 13 students. Either way, he has a wonderful experience to offer River Falls and all of us. Welcome, Christian!