Community Voices

Small older main street with brightly colored tent set up as people gather, walk around, and visit with neighbors.

New Design for Downtown Spring Valley May Preview Future

Root River area towns have stories to tell. (Map courtesy of <a href="https://www.rootrivertrail.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Root River Trail Towns</a>)

Root River Diary

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Each spring Maynard Underbakke, at right, would welcome students to tour his tree farm nursery. Each student was given a spruce seedling to plant at their home. (Photo submitted by Bonita Underbakke)</span>

Essay | Father Was Born Capable

gavin 4

Poetry | Reflections by Gavin

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">A Monarch butterfly stops for a rest and a snack. Monarchs' fall migration typically continues through October in southeast Minnesota. (Photo by Craig Johnson)</span>

Summer Fades into Fall

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Several harvested varieties of heirloom tomatoes await processing. Wild tomatoes originated in the mountains of South America, but were believed to be domesticated in Mexico. Cortés took them from the new world back to Spain. (Photo by John Torgrimson)</span>

Essay | Garden Harvest

RRC Root River Diary Goat in Pickup by Adrienne Sweeney (1)

Root River Diary | Four Dogs and a Surprise

A field of Queen Anne's Lace. (Photo by Delia Bell)

Poetry | Biennial Beauty, Black Holes & Insomnia

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">A bright green tree frog nestles in for a little rest. (Photo by Dick Nethercut)</span>

Dog Days of Summer

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">Founding teacher and abbot Rev. Shoken Winecoff explains the significance of the bell at Ryumonji, a Soto Zen Buddhist temple located in the rolling hills just across the Minnesota-Iowa border southeast of Spring Grove (Houston County). (Photo courtesy of the Ryumonji Center)</span>

Essay | A Story of Balance: A Zen Buddhist Retreat in the Heart of the Midwest

PHOTO 1 Mailbox by Bonnie Gibson

Root River Diary | Good Neighbors

<span style="font-size: 14px; color: #6c6b6b; ">The sun rises through the trees over old gravestones at the Arendahl Cemetery (located in Arendahl Township, Fillmore County). (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)</span>

Summer Photos from the Driftless Region

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