Our History
Nick Bahr got his start in the lawn care business at age 10. He began mowing a mere, dozen customers after school and has been involved in this industry for the last 25 years. The lawn care industry has changed immensely since then and Nick has made every effort to learn and keep up with the industry standards while expanding his business.
We established a Sioux Falls division in an effort to expand our business. All of our services are offered in the Sioux Falls area. In addition, Madison Lawn & Landscape offers more services in the Sioux Falls area including: Shrub Maintenance, Minor Tree Pruning, Deep Root Fertilization for Trees & Shrubs, and Insect and Disease Management for Trees & Shrubs.
The communities of Madison and Sioux Falls, as well as, the surrounding communities have been very supportive as we have evolved in this business. The two new Madison Lawn & Landscape buildings are a nice addition to the progressive economic developments in the communities of Madison and Sioux Falls. They will be a benefit to our staff as well, we were in need of facilities to house our equipment and provide office space for this growing business.
Also, in support of local higher education, we hire students and graduates from surrounding schools. We maintain year-round, full-time staff to ensure better customer service and avoid employee turn-over. Another aspect in this business that is important to us, is making sure that all of our staff members who apply any type of chemical control are properly trained and licensed by the State of South Dakota. It is extremely essential to be properly licensed and insured in this industry. MLL carries liability insurance and workman’s compensation insurance to benefit our customers; this alleviates the liability on the customer if there was an on the job accident.
Madison Lawn & Landscape strives to exceed the industry’s standards, and with dedication and support from our customers, we are expanding geographically by extending many of our services to reach residential, commercial and rural customers in Baltic, Brandon, Brookings, Chester, Colman, Colton, Crooks, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Harrisburg, Hartford, Howard, Lyons, Madison, Renner, Salem, Sioux Falls, Tea and Wentworth!
Meet Our Leaders
Nicholas Bahr
Owner
Nicholas Bahr, President of Madison Lawn & Landscape, has been in the lawn care industry ever since he was old enough to push a lawn mower. He started out as an ambitious young man with a borrowed lawn mower. In return for using this mower on other properties, he mowed that person’s lawn for free. People saw him out mowing, approached him and he began to build a small customer list.
His company kept growing all throughout high school as he added more services. His senior year he joined the South Dakota Army National Guard. After completing basic training and AIT, he enrolled at STI in Sioux Falls majoring in Business Administration. A year and a half into college, his Guard Unit was activated to be sent to Iraq and he was called to serve our country. He put school on hold and found help to take care of his lawn care and snow removal business. He was gone for over a year and a half.
After returning home, he continued to expand his lawn care business and made the decision to join the Madison Volunteer Fire Department. He was an active member for seven years. Nick also finished his business degree and starting forming a business plan. He had his own equipment and 50 customers. This fueled his desire to take the company to the next step. With hard work and by constantly educating himself, his business steadily grew.
He met his wife Angie and together as a team they started to add more services, comprehensive customer service and full-time employees. They worked with DSU, SDSU and STI to hire driven college students. Several of these students graduated and commented to them: “You both have met every goal that you have set for this company and kept the promises that you have made to us, and we want to help expand and make this our career.” Nick and Angie feel very fortunate to have great people support them and work with them. Together this motivated team made the decision to expand into Sioux Falls.
The surrounding communities have been very supportive and our company appreciates the opportunity to serve the residents and companies in Eastern SD. Our dedicated team of professionals has made Madison Lawn & Landscape one of the premier lawn care companies in South Dakota.
Randall Shannon
General Manager
Randall Shannon is the General Manager of the Madison and Sioux Falls branches. He graduated from Lake Wales High School in Lake Wales, Florida in 2006. Randall continued his education at Dakota State University in Madison, SD on a football scholarship. He graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and a minor in Health and Computer Technology.
As the General Manager, Randall’s focus is on customer service and client acquisition for both commercial and residential properties. Having worked with Nick Bahr and Madison Lawn & Landscape since college, Randall has a vast amount of knowledge and experience in lawn care, landscaping, and snow removal. Randall has been married to our Office Manager, Laura, since 2009 and together they have three children.
Ray Schiefen
Madison Manager | Chemical Control Supervisor
Ray Schiefen, our Madison Manager and Chemical Control Supervisor, grew up on a farm near Hawarden, IA. He attended West Sioux High School and graduated near the top of his class in 2007. He then moved to Madison, SD where he attended Dakota State University on a football scholarship and majored in Physical Education and minored in Health and Mathematics.
Ray started working with Nick Bahr in 2008 and has been with Madison Lawn & Landscape since its inception. He is certified from the State of South Dakota for commercial and residential pesticide, weed control, and fertilizer applications. Ray continues his education by attending numerous lawn care and chemical control seminars. He feels that Madison Lawn Care employers and employees are like family and enjoys coming to work each day. Meeting new customers and getting to know them is also a highlight. When he is not working, he enjoys hunting and fishing with his black lab, Moe.
William Cross
Production Manager
William Cross was born and he resides in Madison, SD. William has been friends with Nick Bahr, the President of Madison Lawn Care, since the fourth grade. He has a construction, as well as, skid-loader manufacturing background. In the Fall of 2003, he began working with Nick in the early stages of this lawn care business.
William has a vast knowledge of the lawn care industry and over a decade of experience. He likes seeing the improvements to the customer’s properties and making the customers happy. William feels improving the curb appeal of properties also benefits the entire community. He and Ashlie are busy raising seven children and enjoy fishing and camping with them. He is also a competitive dart player. William has been with Madison Lawn & Landscape through the many years of growth and development and he is proud to serve our customers.
Josh Matula
Irrigation And De-Icing Manager
Meet Josh Matula, Irrigation and De-icing Manager at Madison Lawn & Landscape of Sioux Falls. Josh grew up in Madison and has been working with the company since 2008. He began working full time in 2018 at the Sioux Falls branch and took initiative to lead the daily Fertilizer & Weed Control operations. Josh has over five years of experience with chemical applications and continues to play an instrumental role in the company. With the rapid expansion of the Sioux Falls location in 2015, he became the manager of the De-icing and Irrigation departments and has provided key oversight to these divisions. Josh takes pride in his work and loves being part of our growth and the constantly evolving industry.
Josh’s absolute favorite things include being outside with his two sons and playing fetch with his dog, Hemi. He enjoys being with his family, especially movie nights with the kids and his girlfriend, Crystal. One of his hobbies is spending time in his garage working on anything with an engine. He jokes, “Long walks on the beach aren’t my thing, but if you get a couple of lawn chairs at the beach I’ll sit there and visit for as long as you want.”
