Culture & Community

A close-up of an older woman with short, curly gray hair and glasses sitting at a table. She carefully pours seeds from a small packet into one of several small metal cups lined up in front of her. She wears a gray cardigan over a patterned blouse and focuses intently on her task. Papers, seed packets, and a plate sit on the table nearby.

Seed Library Aims to Grow Community in Spring Valley

Inside a room filled with framed sports memorabilia, an older man wearing glasses and a maroon baseball cap sits facing the camera while holding a framed certificate and a small glass award. The certificate reads “Heritage Award.” A woman with shoulder-length wavy blond hair stands beside him, leaning in and smiling toward the camera with one hand resting near his shoulder. Behind them are framed photos, vintage signs, and a window, creating a warm, personal setting that reflects community history and recognition.

Essay | Preserving the Past, Honoring the Present

A woman stands at the front of a community meeting room, speaking and gesturing with both hands while facing seated attendees. A projector screen behind her displays a slide titled “Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture” with a circular diagram of terms. Several people sit at long tables in the foreground, listening and taking notes. The room has gray walls, a refrigerator on the left, and daylight coming through a small window.

FACT Workshop Hopes to Empower Marginalized Groups

A low, modern brick building sits on a snow-covered slope under a bright blue sky. Large dark windows face outward, reflecting the light. Bare trees line the hillside behind the building, and a tall communications tower rises above the trees. An American flag stands on a pole near the right side of the building.

Coming Together to Keep the Branding Iron Open

Leather artisan wearing a hat and scarf holds a brown handmade leather messenger bag at a market booth displaying wallets, purses and bags from Bluffland Leather Co.

Grand Meadow Artisan Creates Handmade, Permanent Leather Goods

Person wearing a knit hat and beige sweater stands on a snowy sidewalk in a small Minnesota downtown, with a local grocery store and historic brick buildings in the background.

Bluff Country Business Academy to Support Local Businesses

A sound meditation facilitator sits cross-legged on a patterned rug, holding a frame drum and mallet, surrounded by crystal singing bowls, metal bowls, gongs, and softly lit candles in a calm indoor setting.

Essay | Sound Bath Healing: Relaxation Through Vibration and Stillness

Yellow diamond road sign showing a horse-drawn Amish buggy with a small amber light above it that flashes when a buggy is present, standing beside a snowy rural highway with cars passing on the left and leafless trees lining the roadside in winter

First-ever Amish Buggy Alert Signals Installed in Fillmore County

Wildlife rescuer wearing a brown jacket and yellow gloves carefully holds a large adult bald eagle inside a cluttered workshop, with shelves of tools, containers and equipment in the background. The eagle is looking back at the man.

Area Family Rescues Animals Year-Round

Historic log cabin in winter, partially covered in snow, with weathered wooden walls, small windows and bare trees casting long shadows across a snowy rural yard.

Southern Minnesota’s Near-Miss: The Children’s Blizzard Revisited

Young man wearing glasses and a white sweater with an American flag sits beside a lit Christmas tree indoors, looking to the side with a calm reflective expression.

Essay | Buon Natale! Christmas in Italy: Traditions, Food and Family

CPKC Holiday Train travels through a snowy crossing at night with the locomotive and rail cars outlined in bright red blue and green Christmas lights.

Holiday Train Brings Christmas Spirit to Driftless Communities

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