Essays

Large group of people of all ages standing in line at a church or community-center buffet, filling their plates with Thanksgiving-style food in large roasters. The room is bright and busy, with casseroles, turkey, salads, and desserts laid out on long tables. The scene shows a warm, friendly small-town gathering.

Essay | Bringing Back Takkefest: Rushford Community Rebuilds a Beloved Thanksgiving Tradition

Kristin Burdey shares her story of reviving a beloved community holiday dinner and the healing it’s brought to families who’ve recently closed their Rushford-area restaurant businesses.

A close-up of an old arched window framed in peeling white paint above a weathered wooden door. Bare tree branches partly obscure the view, and sunlight highlights the cracked glass and faded blue-gray siding.

Essay | Haunted by Time: Southeastern Minnesota’s Forgotten Schoolhouses and Farmsteads

John Weiss explores Fillmore County’s time-haunted schoolhouses and farmsteads where fading paint and sagging walls still teach lessons.

view from bluffs looking at river valley and beyond

ESSAY | Hiking Wisconsin’s Driftless Bluffs and Prairies

Our scenic blufflands, valleys and trails aren’t restricted to Southeast Minnesota alone, as a day’s hike into Western Wisconsin’s Driftless Area will prove!

A clay pot with the word "mosquito" and a circle with slash through it handdrawn on the pot. A light blue watering can spout is in the right half of the photo.

Essay | Look Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No . . . It’s a Mosquito!”

Steve Harris laments the recent hordes of unusual visitors we’re all battling in many parts of the Driftless.

two kids playing in muddy water

Essay | Creative Skills and Kids

Essayist Renee Bergstrom’s formula for a “lifetime of joy” includes being creative – and it begins in our youth.

A group of people, mostly women of multiple ages stand in a rustic barn. Each one is holding a tall painted pole.

Essay | “May Peace Prevail on Earth”

Julie Little shares a unique Peace Pole art project recently completed by her garden club.

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.

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.

An illustration of two large horses pulling farm equipment through a brown field with a dark gray and yellow cloudy sky behind them.

Essay | A Teacher, a Rooster and an Outhouse

An essay from the book “A Teacher, A Rooster and an Outhouse” tells the story of young boy shenanigans while entertaining their teacher.

man looking at gathered people in community setting

Root River Diary | An Extraordinary Kindness

Just how special can a delivery person be? Steve Harris and Diane Knight share observations from a community sendoff to UPS driver Josh Merchlewitz.

Five people holding photo props stand on either side of a rainbow striped banner with the words "dam proud". The banner is hung on the side of a tall pavilion in a park.

Photo Essay | Lanesboro’s First-ever Pride in the Park

Upwards of 200 people gathered to support Lanesboro’s first annual Pride in the Park; Root River Current photographers share the story in a special photo essay.

A dark brown snapping turtle lays on the lower bottom half of a skateboard. His tail is on the asphalt and the front end of the skateboard is pointing up.

Root River Diary | How Did the Turtle Cross the Road?

Joyce Roffler finds a unique way to help a snapping turtle across the road.

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