Lacey Kiefer’s adventures have taken her from Southwest Iowa farm girl to the stage as an actress and on the road as a marathon runner.
She grew up in Fremont Country, just outside of Percival, a young girl who loved life and helping her dad, David Lueth, and her sister, Laura, with farming.
The only farming she really recalls being involved in is when she and her sister Laura would sit on the “Bean Buggy” and spray beans while her dad drove the tractor in the 80’s and 90’s. That job in 2024 has been replaced with the herbicide Roundup.
Lacey’s mom Beth (Kellog) Lueth was a drama teacher in Hamburg, which spiked Lacey’s enthusiasm for the stage and for acting. When asked if Lacey did a lot of acting in her younger years, her reply was “Well, my sister Laura and I did perform at our Percival Church programs growing up.”
At Sidney High School in Southwest Iowa, Lacey had a part in the following plays: School of Rock, a female version of the Odd Couple and Anything Goes.
Lacey graduated from Sidney High School and began college classes at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
This farm girl studied Vocal Performance (her real love) and Business. She graduated in 2006 with a Business Major and Minor in Vocal Performance.
Lacey’s mom Beth also did some acting in college.
In 2003, Lacey met her soul mate, Thomas Kiefer, at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. In 2008, Thomas joined the United States Air Force. The couple married in 2010 and were stationed in Colorado Springs, Colo., and at Royal Air Force Mildenhall in England.
While in England, Lacey performed on stage as often as she could to keep busy and meet people, even if that was being a person backstage.
This was her love, and she was alright being involved in any part of the production.
Asked if she got paid to perform, Lacey said, “we paid dues to belong to the theatre group in England.”
She was thrilled to be cast as a lead in the following plays there: British Panto- Robinson Crusoe, which is like Monty Python or Mel Brooks crowd interaction and humor. She also played a boy in Guys and Dolls.
In 2018, Thomas and Lacey moved back to her home roots in Percival Iowa where Lacey helped her father, Dave Lueth, farm. Thomas was in the Air National Guard.
In 2019, Thomas was deployed to Qatar in the Middle East.
Meanwhile back in Percival Iowa, Lacey got a call from her mother, Beth, on March 15 at 4 a.m. and was told that that Pat Sheldon, a neighbor, had called Dustin Sheldon, his brother, and instructed the Lueth’s to take shelter as flood waters were entering their area.
Lacey and her cats made their new home at the “Shirley house” on the Bluff Road. Lacey’s parents went to a friend’s home and later to Nebraska City to care for Grandma Mary.
Around the 2019-time frame, NBC out of New York City caught wind of the young farm girl whose farm was affected by the Missouri River Flood. This team followed her and her father after the flood and during the clean-up.
There was talk of their flood story being produced into a Netflix series. That possibility ended with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020.
That Netflix story might have ended but Lacey’s acting story continued.
Lacey did some acting in Omaha at the Omaha Community Playhouse. The audition process was difficult. She said she was pleased to get chosen for the cast and perform in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The Southwest Iowa Theatre Group saw Lacey perform in Omaha during the Rocky Horror Picture Show and recruited her to join their group in Shenandoah, Iowa.
In Shenandoah, she performed, in 2018, It’s a Wonderful Life. And in 2020-2021, amid COVID-19 rules, she performed in Mama Mia.
She has also helped backstage and as choreographer for other plays. And she also performed in Crazy for You at the Red Oak Wilson Theatre.
Why continue to do the plays when you can’t make a living doing it?
Lacey responded, “It’s what I love.”
And to others she says, “take the risk, don’t be afraid to be silly, and it’s ok to not be perfect.”
A quote she likes to live by is “To FAIL is just your First Attempt in Learning.”
Exciting news: Lacey will be starring in an upcoming Theatrical Performance of Cinderella, where she’ll be The Fairy Godmother. Performances will be on June 28,29, 30 and July 5,6 and 7 at the SWITG in Shenandoah- 604 Sportsman Park Rd. Tickets can be purchased from the website at www.SWITG.org, email is switg@Switg.org or call 712-246-1061. Tickets $17 – Seniors 60+ $15, Students K- 10 $10.
Funny, but true, our “Southwest Iowa Farming Actress” said, with the newer tractors now, she can put her script up in the side window of the tractor and practice her script as she’s plowing, planting or harvesting in the fields of her family farm. She also has a Bluetooth speaker which works good in the cab of the tractor or in an empty grain bin when the others have left and she’s there to finish practicing her songs.
Thinking back, Lacey says the theatre group in England was her second family when she was so far from her small town and her family in Iowa. Her parents even saved to come to England to see one of her performances. She remembers how happy her mother was to see that she had another family in their far away “home away from home”.
Now this Southwest Iowa farm girl has one more passion, running. This started in England when she needed to stay busy.
She had never run in her life.
She met her coach on the Air Force Base in England and was encouraged to try running with her new friends.
She ran a full marathon (26.2 miles) in Manchester England- she had put her name in a London Lottery to get to run. She remembers getting a small envelope in the mail informing her that she was selected. The race was two hours away, but she went anyway.
Prince William, Princess Kate and Prince Harry started the race, and she remembers waving so big to them for so long that she was sure she had used all her energy on that.
Lacey had a goal to run all 6 major world marathons. She still wants to accomplish the New York, Boston, and Tokio Marathons to complete her goals.
She’s run in London, Berlin, and Chicago.
She has done the “Dopey” Challenge, a four-day endurance in January 2024, in Disney Land. To complete the challenge runners, have 2 a.m. wake-up calls for four straight days and race distances of 5K, 10K, half marathon and full marathon.
Lacey said she took her mom as her biggest cheerleader.
Interested in running? You can run with Lacey.
She has invited anyone who wants to do something encouraging to feel free to run with her in her hometown Percival, Iowa, on Aug. 17 at 9 a.m. This will be the Percival Stampede Fun Half-K, which is 500 meters or .31 miles.
You can register online at runsignup.com/percivalstampede or pay the day of the event. Donations go to the Hearing Charities of America. The cost is $20 per person and $10 per child, Special family pricing is available.
There will be donuts, coffee, door prizes and a costume. Sponsors are CHI Health, Dales Repair Shop, McGinley Chiropractic Center and Percival Community Church.
The information for this article was submitted by Teresa Crecelius.
