Background of Cody Kanger

Born in 1993 in Omaha, NE, I have lived in the Omaha area for most of my life. I grew up in Omaha and went to grade school at Saint Margaret Mary’s. While in grade school I moved south of Plattsmouth, NE on an acreage.

After grade school, I moved to Papillion, NE and graduated from Creighton Prep High School, in Omaha. After finishing high school in 2012, I moved to Lincoln, NE to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

While in school I had amazing opportunities working as an engineering intern for CNH Industrial (Case & New Holland Ag equipment), Exmark Manufacturing, Eriksen Construction, and the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab at UNL.

After graduating in 2017, I enrolled in graduate school and obtained a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics by the end of 2019. During graduate school I researched metal 3D printing and surface treatments, while managing UNL’s Nebraska Engineering Additive Technologies (NEAT) Labs. In the summer of 2019, I moved to Omaha and married my high school sweetheart, Libby. Now we are back in my hometown of Papillion!

Libby Kanger

The main motivation to moving to Omaha, was to marry my high school girlfriend of 7 years, Libby. We got married in October 2019 at St. James church off 90th street. Libby has been at my side since the early days of my business in high school. We both remember meeting with customers in the evenings giving estimates, cleaning equipment, and pushing snow on snow days.

Even before we got married, Libby has been a part of the Kanger Lawns team. In the early years she helped with logo designs and passing out advertising material. Now, she answers emails, assists with accounting, and has even helped on a few jobs.

Libby was also born and raised in Omaha. She went to St. James/Seton grade school, then graduated from Marian High School in 2012. She moved to Crete and Lincoln, NE to get her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Art and Teaching. Since then, she has lived in Omaha since 2017 working as an art teacher and cheer coach for girls in the Omaha area.

CJK Lawn Care

Kanger Lawns is the result of many years of lawn maintenance and landscaping experience. My first business was actually a beach cleaning business for Beaver Lake back when I was 14. That business never took off, but I learned a great lesson in how to market better. After a failed attempt, my dad advised lawn mowing instead. With a few hours on the computer making fliers, my parents driving me around to pass them out, and a 21″ mower for my business CJ’s Lawn Care earned its first customer. I still remember to this day that customer, John who drove a green Ford Ranger and managed the Pizza Hut in Plattsmouth. Back then, my parents drove me to his house and dropped me off each week to mow his lawn for $30.

When I moved to Papillion and was able to drive, the business really took off. Over the course of 5 years, the name changed to CJK Lawn Care, and we had the privilege to serve over 50 customers in our final season in the Papillion area. We provided lawn mowing, fertilizing, clean up, landscaping, and snow removal services. I had several friends working with me, including my late best friend Jimmy Grasso (Jamminn Lawn Care). CJK Lawn Care officially closed in 2013, as I moved to Lincoln to pursue my engineering degree, but I wouldn’t stay out of the lawn business for long.