Year: 2025

The garden in full bloom, ready for pollinators. (Photo by Loni Kemp)

Essay | Less-Work Gardening

Loni Kemp shares her tips and tricks to growing, maintaining, and, most importantly, enjoying your garden.

four youth musicians standing with instruments in outdoor setting

Classical Music Echoes Through the Valley

The Stringwood Chamber Music Festival returns to the Root River Valley for its 25th year of concerts and education; John Gaddo takes a closer look.

An old women with gray hair is shown on a large jumbotron screen waving at the crowd.

Grand Meadow Maintains its Place in History

David Phillips tells the nearly forgotten story of the 1930s-era Grand Meadow girls’ basketball team that still holds the state record for straight wins.

Poetry | Missing Those Who Left Us

Two new essay-style poems from local Minnesota author, Ken McCullough.

A group of people gather on a large, elevated, circle structure covered by a roof. Signs with writing and images are positioned around the entrance stairway to the gazebo.

Citizen Working Group Releases Nitrate Report

John Torgrimson covers the release of 2025 recommendations by a regional work group to address nitrate issues in Southeast Minesota.

A Warming Climate is Changing Growing Conditions

With average temperatures rising, planting zones are slowly working their way northward through the Upper Midwest; Olivia Cohen reports from the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk.

A red-brown hairy calf with ears sticking out to the sides stands in front of a large black cow in a green pasture.

Essay | The Cows are Out!

In this charming essay, Greg Schieber shares the highs, lows and unexpected roundups of life in Fillmore County’s Big Woods.

A man wearing a gray tshirt with a large cloth glove on holds a tube sandwiches in a form. His other hand (out of the image) is pushing down on a plunger attached to the tube.

Liquid Willowcat Revolutionizes Walleye Fishing

John Weiss reports on a unique business venture that combines scent, color and a love for fishing.

A nature view with grass in the foreground, a winding road with a pack of bikers going uphill in the middle of the image and a green bluff in the background.

Apple Blossom Bike Tour Enters 12th Year

Greg Lovell previews La Crescent’s 12th annual Apple Blossom Bike Tour, a charity bike ride for all skill levels this August.

A eagle stretches its wings out as it takes off and flies away from the camera across a gravel driveway. The bird flies about two feet off the ground and its shadow is beneath in on the gravel.

Poetry | Three Haiku for Summer

Poet, writer, and photographer captures the essence of summer in the driftless with three new original haikus.

Ayoung woman in a navy blue shirt stands in an older home holding a blue real estate SOLD sign.

Angel’s House of Healing

Rose Korabek shares the story of Angel’s House of Healing, a new women’s recovery home, founded by a Caledonia native, open to women throughout the region. (First published by the Caledonia Argus.)

80+ people posing for group photo at Press Forward MN event

Inside Root River Current | Steps Forward

Behind the scenes, Root River Current advances Press Forward Minnesota collaboration and makes website changes to enhance your experience with its content.

Supported by...

Support Root River Current

CLICK HERE to help pay for the stories you value!

Building Community Through Storytelling