Culture & Community

The Root River on an autumn day inspires one to reflect on the beauty of nature. (Photo by Ella Deutchman)

Forest Bathing: Meditations on Sound and Movement

Ella Deutchman attends a forest bathing workshop led by artist Annie Hejny.

Root River valley communities benefit from the regional Paint the Town Grant program. (Photos by John Gaddo and Nancy North)

Paint The Town — Sprucing Up Our Communities

Several area communities have benefited in recent years from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s Paint the Town grant program. We visit four of them.

Musician Will Bjorndal offers a program of fun music and dancing for kids at Spring Grove Public Library, an example of SELCO and Legacy Funds at work. (Photo by Jana Halverson)

Libraries United: The Purpose and Power of SELCO

The third in a series of articles on libraries in the Root River valley. Steve Harris reports on SELCO—Southeastern Libraries Cooperating.

The Chatfield Public Library, erected in 1915, is a Carnegie Library, one of more than 2500 such libraries constructed in the United States through Andrew Carnegie’s foundation. (All photos provided by Steve Harris)

Root River Libraries — Today’s Challenges

In a three-part series, Steve Harris explores the past, present, and future of Root River town libraries.

The author, Don Bell, is pictured by Amish Experience in Lanesboro—his grandfather’s leather shop was located on the ground floor in the 1950s. The building at one time housed the Odd Fellows Lodge.

Essay | When Summertime Was Paradise

Don Bell recalls his summers in Lanesboro as a boy.

Jo Anne Agrimson, Co-President of Fillmore County League of Women Voters, shows her support for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)

Four Generations of Advocating for Equal Rights

Julie Fryer informs readers about the League of Women Voters efforts to amend the state constitution regarding the Equal Rights Amendment.

Reggie McLeod stands on an overlook along the Mississippi River in Winona. His Big River Magazine covers 400 miles of river from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities. (All photos by John Weiss)

For Love of the Big River

John Weiss visits with Big River Magazine editor/publisher Reggie McLeod who was inducted into the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium Hall of Fame.

Pottery for sale in Sue Pariseau’s studio southeast of Lanesboro. Sue organizes the annual Bluff Country Studio Art Tour in April. (Photo by Renee Bergstrom)

Profile | The Artist Behind the Bluff Country Studio Art Tour

Renee Bergstrom visits with Sue Pariseau, the artist behind the annual spring Bluff Country Studio Art Tour.

Dave and Lynn Susag, pictured here in traditional Viking garb, have made multiple trips to Norway. (Photo submitted by Lynn Susag)

Profile | A Norwegian Love Story

Steve Harris introduces an artist couple devoted to themselves and their Norwegian art.

Fillmore County became a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. Pictured Front Row: Bonnie Heidtke (Wykoff), Linda King (Mabel), Marge Fuller (Lanesboro); Back Row: Dan Conway (Southeast Area Agency on Aging), Sue Olinger (Harmony), Pam Nelson (Chatfield), and Bill Sullivan (Pilot Mound). (Photo by Brenda Pohlman)

Developing Age-Friendly Communities in Fillmore County

John Torgrimson looks at the Age-Friendly Communities project in Fillmore County.

Jeremy Pederson looks for baked goods to buy at the 2023 Christ Lutheran Church Craft Fair & Bake Sale in Preston. (Photos by John Weiss)

Holiday Craft Fairs and Bake Sales Build Community

John Weiss experiences a sense of community during a visit to the Christ Lutheran Church holiday craft fair and bake sale in Preston.

To address global climate change, we embraced the United Nation’s Intergovernmental panel recommendations to replace fossil fuels with locally generated electric power, including back-up power storage, and to utilize heat pump technology as a heat source. That’s where we started. (Contributed photos)

An All Electric, Solar Shingle, Amish Built, Forever Home

Mary Bell and Joe Deden detail the work that went into building an energy-efficient home in Lanesboro that has Tesla powered solar shingles.

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