One can never have too many soup recipes with fall and winter at our doorsteps. A comforting bowl of soup is a quick, easy and a tasty way to add more nutrients to your diet. Most soups are hydrating, filling and packed with nutrients from veggies, slow simmered protein and mineral rich broth.
By DeLynn Howard, Editor 20
Her Health 30
A journey of faith, hope and love
By Sue Smith-Grier
When you have a job going through a major transition and you have an important role to play, and you have a preschooler to raise and you have a chronic illness to manage, life can get complicated and overwhelming. Millions of American women are faced with such a dilemma but not all of them are as courageous and persevering as Ashley Moren.
Her Career
Cooking up an authentic life
By Jodie Norquist
Sarah Johnson’s Baxter kitchen may be filled with the best tools and gadgets that make cooking more manageable, but she’s the first to admit she doesn’t enjoy being in there as much as you might think. She jokes she’s the last person she would have thought would find her passion in selling Pampered Chef kitchen products.
On the cover:
Despite personal setbacks, Forestview coach Nikki Blair finds a way to impact area soccer community.
24
Her Passion
Our local herbal apothecary
By Kathleen Krueger
Feeding and caring for her family from natural sources has always been a part of Lauren Hardy’s lifestyle. It was something she grew up with. Raising a healthy family meant more than just feeding her family safe and nutritious food, it also meant preventing sickness and disease.
Her Story 36
Leah X Rathe’s storytelling lens
By Chelsea Ornelas
Leah X Rathe knows representation matters. As a Chinese adoptee growing up in Montana and, eventually, Brainerd, Minnesota, the little bits of relatable representation she saw on TV and in movies as a kid gave her a sense of belonging and purpose. Today, she’s an awardwinning filmmaker.
Her Grief 42
Just grief
By Sheila DeChantal
The last in a series on grief, Sheila DeChantal summarizes the past year of articles she wrote on the loss of a child, spouse and sibling. Sheila says, “I found being around these women with such great all-encompassing losses and talking about their journeys was therapeutic for all of us. It is part of their story and sharing it is often healing.”
Photo by Jen Salvevold
From crisp leaves to a winter breeze... HER VOICE
MY VOICE
PUBLISHER
Pete Mohs
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Susie Alters
EDITOR
DeLynn Howard
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Mollie Burlingame
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jen Salvevold
The next issue of Her Voice is Feb. 19, 2025.
You can find Her Voice Magazine in over 100 Discover Rack locations in the area or read it online at: www.BrainerdDispatch.com on the magazine rack (Found in the ‘Sections’ drop down top left of home page)
As the days get shorter and the morning air gets a bit more crisp, the signs of fall are apparent. But with fall here and winter around the corner, that also means a new issue of Her Voice at your fingertips.
Jen Salvevold isn’t new to Her Voice as you may recognize her name as a writer. She’s doing double duty in this issue as a photographer as well. Thanks for your help, Jen! Hope to see more of your photography in future issues.
With that being said, be sure to turn to page 46 to read my dedication to former Her Voice photographer Joey Halvorson. Joey, you are loved beyond measure.
Like every issue, this one is chock full of inspiring stories of lakes area women. Read about Sarah Johnson, a rockstar in the Pampered Chef world; Leah X Rathe, an award-winning filmmaker; Sonja Larsen, an artist making her mark in nature printing; and Lauren Hardy who went viral on TikTok with her apothecary wares. These women, and many others, grace these pages, beautifully representing their passions. And once again, like all the women before them, have allowed us a glimpse into their lives.
It’s because of the women’s phenomenal stories, the way our writers tell those stories, the photos that capture their spirits and the way the magazine is designed that Her Voice was once again named best magazine in the Brainerd Dispatch’s Best of the Brainerd Lakes contest.
I couldn’t be more proud or blessed to have a small part in the creation of this magazine issue after issue.
Thank you to all who support us. We couldn’t do this without you.
“Autumn will not yield to winter until her last leaf falls with splendor.”
Sisters in Christ WOMEN TRANSFORMED BY THE LOVE OF CHRIST
BY LOUISE HUNT
It is 8:30 a.m. on a crisp Saturday morning in the St. Francis Catholic Church social hall. The room slowly starts to fill with the aroma of coffee along with the animated faces of women of varying ages and seasons in life, each with her own life story. A spirit of excitement, camaraderie and love prevails, as the women anticipate the morning ahead: a life-changing program filled with inspiring talks and discussion, time for prayer and reflection and joyous music of praise and worship.
Connie Bruesch prays with one of the women in the Sisters in Christ group.
These women are involved in an outreach ministry called Sisters in Christ, which is focused on leading women to an intentional response to their call for holiness by teaching them to live out their Christian identities and to unite their hearts to Christ. All women ages 18 and older and from any faith background are welcome.
After personally participating in the program for three years, I struggle for the words to adequately describe its beauty and impact. The program got its start five years ago when God placed on the heart of Connie Bruesch, a need to bring women together. Connie, founder of Transformed by Love Ministries, a nonprofit ministry of healing, prayerfully began writing the content of the program, hearing from God, “Just tell them your story.”
Above left: Connie Bruesch. Below right: A Saturday morning gathering, a time of learning and sharing.
Prayer, reflection, praise and worship are part of the program.
“Having Jesus in your heart makes things come out that you didn’t know were there — Christ shining through you!”
- Member from Sartell
An average of about 165 women a year have participated in the program since 2020, attending most Saturdays from October through March. Sisters in Christ recently began its fifth year in the Brainerd area.
You might ask, “Why do so many women choose to commit their time and energy to Sisters in Christ, and what do they gain?” Healing and removing obstacles that keep them from doing God’s will are huge parts of the program, as well as answering the call to holiness, and the need to surrender to God to experience his healing power. In the third year of the program, members explore their charisms. Charisms are gifts of the Holy Spirit given to every baptized Christian to be used for the service of God and others.
In December 2022, Connie was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and would spend the next 10 months hospitalized, battling the cancer. In August 2023, she underwent a bone marrow transplant. Despite the struggle of this journey, Connie joyfully embraced the pain and uncertainty of her situation, always confident God was doing a mighty work in her. She joyfully comments, “I have nothing to worry about; God loves me. I am his baby girl!” She is confident that “all is as it should be,” and that God has great plans for her and all of us.
Each year at the end of the session there is a time for members to share the graces granted to them by God through the program. Last spring I was a part of the group that witnessed the powerful sharing
of some of the members. A woman who had a challenging year shared how the support from her Sisters in Christ friends, who had been praying about a situation in her family, had greatly impacted her life in a positive way. Another woman shared how, because of
Sisters in Christ, she had put past burdens of lack of self-worth behind her. She went on to share while on vacation, several strangers stopped her to comment on her inner beauty — something no one ever expressed before.
One woman shared how her small group at Sisters had bonded into a social group, opening their hearts to each other. They began meeting outside the regular group time and looking for ways to glorify God. A woman from Sartell shared that to her, it is worth the hour-long drive she makes to attend. She states “having Jesus in your heart makes things come out that you didn’t know were there — Christ shining through you!”
Perhaps the words of Lindsey Ramponi, a participant in the program, sum up the experience best. “When I think about my life before Sisters in Christ, I see a woman who was waiting to encounter God in a miraculous way. I half expected a gust of wind to sweep me off my feet or a powerful prayer experience that would leave my cup overflowing. I yearned for a deeper relationship with God, but it felt beyond my grasp. Sisters in Christ gave me the opportunity to see things about myself that I’ve never noticed before. It gave me relationships with other women in other walks of life to learn from. It gave me accountability to continue my journey to holiness. The woman I am today is still imperfect, but I know God has shown up miraculously in my life through Sisters in Christ. It wasn’t in a gust of wind or a supernatural answer to prayer. It was in the still, small voices of all the women I encountered through this program. God be praised for such a beautiful ministry in our community!”
This article was submitted by Louise Hunt on behalf of the Sisters in Christ group.
Sisters in Christ is a ministry of Transformed by Love Ministries. Anyone with an interest in Sisters in Christ may contact Ellen Cherne by e-mail at cherne@brainerd.net or may go to the Transformed by Love Ministries website at transformedbyloveministries and click on the Sisters in Christ tab. Meetings are in the social hall at St. Francis Catholic Church and there is no fee to join.
Sisters in Christ take time to pose as a group.
Sisters Ahnika Olson, left, and Lillian Olson, Baxter, sit next to a display of earrings they’re selling under the business name, La La Earrings.
BY SHEILA HELMBERGER
KICKS OFF SUCCESSFUL SUMMER La La Earrings
Not many summers can compare with the one the Olson sisters, 10-year-old Ahnika and 13-year-old Lillian, have had.
The fourth and seventh grade sisters from Baxter became entrepreneurs.
“Lillian broke a bone in her ankle in June,” says the girls’ mom, Kristina Olson. The girls have limits on their television and Internet time at home and don’t have their own phones, so they found themselves with a lot of free time on their hands. “A friend gave her some clay beads,” says Kristina, “and the girls decided to make bracelets, but we could never get them to stay tied right. When they saw these hoops to make earrings, they thought they would try those, and it took off from there.”
In the past they have had a lemonade stand to make extra spending money during the summer. This year they knew they couldn’t do both and decided to get serious about making earrings.
“They are both at the age where there are a lot of things they want. We provide for those things that they need, but when there are things beyond that, we talk about how we can help them realize those.”
When it was time to choose a name for their new business their mom suggested La La Earrings. The girls liked the name. It combines their first initials, and they thought it would be easy for customers to remember.
Their first week they sold 40 pairs of earrings and celebrated another banner
day when they sold them at a friend’s garage sale.
The earrings are lightweight and are made using small colored round pieces and letters. They have created pairs using the colors of local and national sports teams, various color combinations to coordinate with seasonal outfits, assorted short words and holiday colors.
“It has been a lot of fun,” says Ahnika who said she likes to make earrings while her family is talking or watching movies together.
Although most of the girls’ sales have been from word of mouth so far, they have been trying to decide where
else they may like to offer their product. “They have an opportunity to go into the place where I get my hair done,” says Kristina, “but they need to go in and make a presentation first.”
La La Earrings has also debuted its own Facebook Page used for displaying assorted designs, for making sales (they take Venmo and cash) and for taking special orders.
Kristina teaches first grade in the Brainerd School District and says her students enjoy seeing which earrings she will wear to school to see if it is a pair her daughters have made. Other teachers have purchased earrings, too. A pencil design is especially popular.
There is a lot to learn as a business start-up. Lillian and Ahnika purchased the initial supplies with a Hobby Lobby gift card Ahnika received as a birthday party gift. The girls said it was a little disappointing after the first few sales when they had to pay Ahnika’s money back and there wasn’t much left for profit.
Their mom and dad, Derek, have some stipulations on the money they make, too. “We have to donate some of the money,” says Lillian. “Put some back into the business, and then we each get some we can spend.”
Besides the hoops and rings to make their product, the girls have purchased a stand to help display their earrings for customers, along with stickers,
bags and tissue paper to package their orders.
“We have helped them a little bit of course,” says Kristina. “But not much. The earring business has resulted in some good conversations, such as who is doing the most work. There have been some details to work out,” she laughs.
The girls are enjoying learning which colors go together best for their original designs. And they found out sometimes even when things are in demand, you can’t always get the supplies you need. Right after they started selling their earrings the local stores ran out of hoops to make them. Mom helped them make a trip to St. Cloud and they stocked up.
This fall the girls will have to assemble the earrings in between going to school and figure skating practices.
The three agreed Ahnika enjoys the physical part of assembling the earrings the most, but Lillian is more interested in the business side.
“A lot of good conversations have come out of it. Like what’s important in life. Spreading joy to people and bringing it to them.”
You can place orders for your earrings on the La La Earrings Facebook page or when you run into them at Hobby Lobby.
Sheila Helmberger lives in the Brainerd area and is a frequent contributor to Her Voice.
For Doro Schumann “made with love” is a mantra she has always strived to do. And it was within baking that she felt it most strongly.
Part of her story started in the years her children were young, that she really found baking to be a “labor of love.” As good mothers do, she wanted her children to learn by example. It was one Christmas she asked all five of her young children to choose one person to bake Christmas cookies for alongside her. And when the time came Doro would drive the children around town to have them drop off their cookie platters for their selected person. Over the years it went from those five Christmas cookie platters to 35-40 of them.
Doro Schumann poses with one of her many baked goods she makes and sells.
When I asked Doro why she decided to do this, she said, “It was to be a lesson in giving.” She herself, for many years, previously made and shared Christmas cookie platters, sweet breads and baked goodies to new neighbors, the family who just had a baby, the elderly man at church who just lost his wife, and many other reasons to celebrate or help someone with tears in their eyes, as she still does today outside of her business.
You might wonder how her love for baking began. It is not the traditional story some have. For Doro it was in the 70s and 80s in a tar paper shack. Doro’s father was a cook for the Army in World War II and 58 years old when Doro was born. They had a propane stove to cook on, but the oven did not work. But Doro’s father had an old wood oven and would get it going and Doro would bake all day until her father would tire of feeding it wood. It was her father who taught her to make pie crust, a recipe she still uses today. That recipe is in his old Army cookbook she has cared for all these years.
Nutter Butters are one of Doro Schumann’s desserts “made with love.”
As the years passed by, Doro’s children grew to adults, and she moved to Brainerd from Kelliher in 2014. Doro spent her previous 10 years running a daycare up north and with the move to Brainerd she found an electronic job but had decided to leave that job during the Covid pandemic. As most people do, this was a time to reflect and think about what she wanted in life. Many friends and family always suggested Doro open a bakery, but that wasn’t an interest of Doro’s even though baking was her passion.
Through research she stumbled across the Cottage Baking industry and Doro decided to take the Cottage Food Producer registration training online through the Department of Agriculture. The Cottage Food Law allows individuals to make and sell certain non-potentially hazardous food and canned goods in Minnesota
Various cupcakes are on display at Doro Schumann’s booth at a local event.
Doro Schumann makes and sells waffle cookies.
“Kindness and love are like sugar. It makes life taste a little sw eeter.”
- Jen Salvevold
without a license. This law is known as the Cottage Food Exemption. Doro then began her venture with baking according to the cottage food laws as a Cottage Food Producer (CFP). Her first year she started as tier 1 and since has moved up to tier 2.
She started up in June of 2020. Her first event was the Crosby Farmers Market. She has since participated in such events in Brainerd, Baxter and Nisswa also. And through her Facebook page, she takes special requests and keeps clients up to date on events and specialty cookie platters on days like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
I complimented Doro on her packaging and she mentioned how she likes to keep it simple. She feels “putting the ribbon on it signifies a gift.” And Doro wants her labels to look more homemade — a personal touch. As mentioned above, this truly is a labor of love for Doro.
And if you have the pleasure of visiting her at her events, you will see right away how kind she is and supportive to her other market vendors.
You can find Doro on Facebook as “Sugar Sweet Baking By: Doro.” And remember, kindness and love are like sugar. It makes life taste a little sweeter.
Jennifer Salvevold is a photographer for her business {Photojenic} Photography. She also sells hand felted gnomes on Etsy, is a CNA for home health/ hospice and takes on nanny jobs.
She’s also employed through Evolve Vacation Rental as their main photographer in Minnesota and sometimes beyond. In her free time she likes to bike, camp, craft and refurbish vintage furniture along with baking and cooking and tending to her plants and flowers, chickens and two dogs. She is a wife of 30 years and mom of three grown children that are her world.
HER TABLE
+ fall/winter recipes
BY SUE READY
SOUPdu jour
One can never have too many soup recipes with fall and winter at our doorsteps. A comforting bowl of soup is a quick, easy and a tasty way to add more nutrients to your diet. Most soups are hydrating, filling and packed with nutrients from veggies, slow simmered protein and mineral rich broth.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a spoon and savor the flavors.
CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Cook’s Notes: Use a rotisserie chicken as a time saver and add in egg noodles the last 10 minutes of cooking time to avoid noodles getting mushy.
Sue Ready is a freelance writer, poet, food writer, book reviewer and former middle school teacher. She is a member of the Northwoods Arts Council in Hackensack and one of the chairs for the Annual August Northwoods Art and Book Festival. Sue blogs at http:// sockfairies.blogspot.com with recipes, up north living and travel adventures. Her book reviews are posted on Facebook under EverReady Book Reviews and on her blog.
+ INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
2-1/2 cups wide egg noodles (crush dry noodles)
1-1/2 cups each diced carrots, celery, onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter
2 cartons each 32 ounces low-fat, low-sodium
chicken broth
1/2 cup each water and apple cider
1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 bay leaves
+ DIRECTIONS:
In a soup pot saute in olive oil celery, carrots, onions and minced garlic for 8 minutes on medium-low heat, covered.
Add in chicken broth, water, cider, spices and chicken. Simmer for an hour on medium-low not covered.
Add in wide egg noodles the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves right before serving.
ITALIAN ORZO SOUP WITH SAUSAGE AND SPINACH
Cook’s Notes: It’s simple, flavorful and hearty. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand. It’s comforting to have a simmering pot of soup on hand no matter what the weather. For easier prep, cook Italian sausage ahead as well as chop veggies. Omit the meat and the recipe makes a great vegetarian soup. Pair the soup with cornbread, your favorite sandwich or crusty artisan bread. Recipe serves 6.
+ INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups cooked Italian sausage, crumbled
1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup each diced, sweet onions, celery, carrots, mini sweet red and yellow peppers
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
8- 10 cups chicken broth, low sodium
1 can (14 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes
1-1/4 cups dried orzo or whole wheat orzo pasta or another small pasta
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or ¼ teaspoon each thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, stems removed (1/2 of a 5 ounce bag)
Grated parmesan cheese
+ DIRECTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a large soup or stock pot.
Add in onions, celery, carrots, peppers and garlic.
Saute for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Cover and reduce to low heat.
Sweat vegetables for 5-8 minutes.
Stir occasionally.
Uncover and add in broth, canned tomatoes, orzo, seasonings and cooked sausage.
Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
Stir in spinach leaves and cook until spinach is wilted about 2-3 minutes.
Serve soup warm with grated Parmesan cheese.
To reheat, use more chicken broth.
Other options to consider-extra veggies, add beans, use a different protein, pasta shape or greens.
Quinoa instead of orzo lightens up the soup a bit making it gluten-free.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP
Cook’s Notes: Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup is hearty and a healthy vegetarian soup. Roasting squash and apples together adds a depth of flavor and brings out their natural sweetness. The soup is elegant enough for a dinner party as a soup course, served in mini soup bowls for your next tapas party or as a main course with artisan bread and a fruit salad. A time saver is buying pre-cut butternut squash cubes. The soup tastes even better on the second day after the flavors meld.
+ INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups small cubed butternut squash
1 large Granny Smith apple, diced
3/4 cup each diced carrots and onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon each curry, ground ginger, thyme
1/2 teaspoon each Saigon cinnamon and celery seeds
4-1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (low salt, low sodium)
1/2 cup apple cider
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1/4 cup half and half or cream
Garnish roasted pumpkin seeds, bacon bits or pinch of nutmeg
+ DIRECTIONS:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone pad.
Mix spices and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl add chopped butternut squash, diced apples, carrots and onions,
Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup toss to combine.
Spread mixture evenly on baking sheet.
Sprinkle veggies with spices.
Roast for 15 minutes.
Stir and cook 15 minutes longer.
Add roasted mixture to soup pot, pour in chicken broth and apple cider, add in brown sugar or honey, whisk to combine.
On low heat bring soup to a boil.
Cook 30 minutes.
Use an immersion blender, food processor or blender and puree ingredients one cup at a time.
Add pureed mixture back to soup pot, adding in half and half and cook 15 minutes longer but do not let boil.
Garnish with pumpkin seeds or bacon bits.
Cooking up an authentic life
BY JODIE NORQUIST | PHOTOS BY JEN SALVEVOLD
Sarah Johnson’s Baxter kitchen may be filled with the best tools and gadgets that make cooking more manageable, but she’s the first to admit she doesn’t enjoy being in there as much as you might think.
She jokes she’s the last person she would have thought would find her passion in selling Pampered Chef kitchen products. A 2000 Brainerd High School graduate, Johnson majored in musical theater at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and went on to get her teaching license from Southwest State University. After college, she taught in Brainerd Public Schools for five years before she was asked if she would host her first Pampered Chef party in 2009.
She owned Pampered Chef products she received from her bridal shower years earlier, but admittedly, she rarely used them. After her first party, she was stunned to discover she made $450.
“I was blown away,” Johnson recalled. “I thought they’d send me a free spatula or something.”
That Pampered Chef party led her to a succession of hosting Pampered Chef parties, and she began to build a team of other consultants. Her goal was not to push products on other people but to help them find ways to make meal preparation less overwhelming.
Sales have never been her biggest motivation. Johnson uses her humor and honesty to connect with other people who, like her, don’t particularly enjoy cooking but still want to provide healthy meals for their families. By being open about her lack of natural cooking abilities, she has created a judgmentfree space where everyone can feel comfortable. After all, we’re all in the same boat, Johnson explained.
“We’re all busy, and it costs a lot to eat out. I want to help you get in and out of the kitchen,” Johnson explained. “Many are overwhelmed by cooking.”
Johnson also has clients who are experts in the kitchen, and she has learned a lot
about cooking from her customers and hosts at her parties.
As her sales grew, Johnson discovered she could run a successful business while creating the life she wanted.
About one-and-a-half years later, after that first party, she quit teaching to manage her Pampered Chef business full-time. Her sons, Nick and Adam, now 18 and 16, respectively, were toddler and preschool age. She began homeschooling them in second and fourth grades while continuing to run her Pampered Chef business. She has sold nearly $1.4 million in products by hosting parties in person and online. There were many weeks where Johnson would host seven or eight parties a week. On average, she has about 60 consultants on her team and has had as many as 100 team members at once. Johnson also has a popular Facebook group, VIP Pampered Chef With Sarah J, where she often posts live cooking videos to her 1,000-plus members.
“I tell people if I can do this, anyone can do it,” Johnson says of making quick and easy meals for her family. She demonstrates new products by making meals and often shares cooking tips she’s learned along the way.
Since joining Pampered Chef, Johnson has met her annual sales goals and earned a free trip every year. These are “bucket list” trips that she and her husband, Jason, wouldn’t have been able to afford to take. They’ve been to Hawaii, the Bahamas, Mexico, DisneyWorld, and Disneyland, and she has been able to take her best friend and her mom on trips.
During the Covid pandemic, her Pampered Chef business turned online, opening many more opportunities. She now has regular clients nationwide and hosts many online parties. The flexibility of homeschooling and Pampered Chef were so crucial to the family when their eldest son, Nick, had several health challenges, requiring many trips to Twin Cities hospitals and surgeries. Johnson has battled autoimmune disorders, so being able to set her hours and being home with her sons has been vital to her maintaining good health. She enjoys gardening and grows flowers from seeds she harvests each year. Johnson can be found floating on an inflatable raft in her above-ground pool when she’s not busy in her garden, working or homeschooling. She and her husband have created a backyard sanctuary where she spends much time in the warmer months. She has also become interested in natural healing, using crystal bowls and essential oils.
Her advice for other women who want to find a better life-work balance is to be authentic.
“Don’t overthink it,” she says. “Be true to who you are, and if it’s working for you, just do it for you and be authentic. Don’t try to be ‘that’ person. You are most successful if you are just yourself. I feel like all my passions came together, and I can make cooking more fun.”
Sarah Johnson stands in front of a display of her Pampered Chef gadgets, tools and appliances in her Baxter kitchen.
“Be
Johnson’s favorite dish is anything that looks impressive but is easy to make. One of her biggest meal hacks, which she does most weeks, is to cook her proteins and prep her side dishes on Sundays and use those to assemble meals throughout the week. For example, she may cook chicken, shred it, and use the meat as the base to make wraps for lunch or tacos for dinner during the week. She also freezes many food items to ensure she uses them
Sarah Johnson
up and they don’t go to waste. She also suggests if you’re already cooking a meal, why not help out your future self by making a second meal for later and freezing it?
Johnson still finds it amusing that she’s doling out cooking advice for a living, but she finds teaching others so rewarding.
“If you would have told me years ago I would be a Pampered Chef lady, I’d think you were crazy. I didn’t even cook,”
Johnson said with a laugh. “I still don’t like cooking. I like to bake, and I think baking is a science; cooking is an art. I feel that with cooking, so much can go wrong.”
Sometimes, opportunities are found in unexpected places, like at a Pampered Chef party. Through her honesty, hard work and determination, Johnson has shown that with the right mindset, you can build the life you want, no matter where you start.
Jodie Norquist, a former longtime Brainerd Dispatch reporter, lives in Pequot Lakes. She attempts to stay youthful by attending concerts with her teen daughters and cherishing time with her one-year-old granddaughter, Ivy, who has completely stolen her heart.
Sarah Johnson, left, began homeschooling her sons, Nick and Adam (pictured), now 18 and 16, respectively, when they were in second and fourth grades while continuing to run her Pampered Chef business.
The Good Village Co. Our local herbal apothecary
BY KATHLEEN KRUEGER
PHOTOS BY JEN SALVEVOLD
Apothecary is an old term. It refers to a shop that prepares and sells medicinal components. Our modern equivalent is the pharmacy or drug store. But the medicines sold in the apothecaries of old were not chemical compounds created in a laboratory. They were made from plants and herbs known for their medicinal properties. The herbalist was the “pharmacist,” the person who had been trained in the medicinal properties of plants and how to combine different species into treatment compounds.
In times past, “natural medicine” was the standard, not a secondary choice. You consulted your local herbalist for solutions to common health issues like coughs, fevers, stomach upset, allergic reactions and other maladies. Lauren Hardy is our local herbalist and The Good Village Co. is the apothecary shop where you can consult with her and purchase natural remedies for your family.
From home health to home business
Feeding and caring for her family from natural sources has always been a part of Lauren’s lifestyle. It was something she grew up with. When she and her husband, Michael, started a family of their own, submitting their child to the status quo of modern medicine raised questions in their minds. What was safe to place in the bodies of their children? What were the long-term effects?
Lauren has a naturally curious mind, research and learning are a passion. Organic and sustainability were more than labels to her. She wanted to know how the foods she purchased were grown and processed. Understanding the nuances of what is “natural” and what is not was very important to her.
Raising a healthy family meant more than just feeding her family safe and nutritious food, it also meant preventing sickness and disease. Lauren began purchasing and preparing natural remedies for her family, such as elderberry syrup, for immune support. She purchased or locally sourced herbs for teas and tinctures to promote respiratory health, mood issues and hormone regulation.
Friends and family began reaching out to her to share her natural remedies with them. Her elderberry syrup was a big hit. Often, she would post a notification on Facebook when processing a new batch so people could place their orders.
Online marketing takes a viral turn
Selling a few herbal remedies was not a serious income stream for the family. Michael worked a full-time job and Lauren brought in income from several different home-based jobs over the years. She sold health-related products through a network marketing company and did a short stint reselling Amazon products. Her longest and most profitable homebased job was as an editor for a company
“Change has been constant.”
- Lauren Hardy
that hired mostly writers from nonEnglish speaking countries. When that job ended abruptly with the innovations of AI, Lauren decided it was an opportunity to give her dream business a shot.
Natural health and wellness were her passion. She decided to invest her last paycheck from her online editing job into packaging materials for her herbal remedies and selling them at local farmer’s markets. Interacting with the community and sharing her passion was a life-giving experience for Lauren. She knew this was what she was meant to do.
The farmer’s market opportunities were a great starting point, but the income potential was limited. In her years working to add to their family income, Lauren used her research skills to study online marketing, branding, product development and sales. She knew a lot about what it took to make your products stand out. When the farmer’s market circuit was winding down, she took her product to social media and launched a marketing campaign on TikTok. Her product went viral! The sales came pouring in!
Brick-and-mortar, a new challenge
What happens when the sales start pouring in? You have to fill the demand!
Thankfully, Lauren knew that it takes more than a great product to succeed long-term. She needed the mental and organizational skills necessary to lead the business. To reach that goal, she spent time listening to podcasts and audiobooks about selfdevelopment, entrepreneurial development and what it takes to be a leader. This mental and emotional preparation, along with the essential support of her husband, carried her through the explosive growth of her business while she and Michael were also building a new home.
The business was quickly outgrowing their family home. Lauren and Michael began looking for a commercial kitchen that would fit the needs of the business. On the same day they began their search for a space, a location in downtown Brainerd became available on Laurel Street. It was perfect!
The location had the commercial kitchen space they needed and also had a small retail area in the front where they could
Lauren Hardy’s herbs and tinctures are available at her apothecary shop at 704 Laurel Street in downtown Brainerd.
set up an herbal tea and apothecary shop for local consumers. This meant purchasing equipment and furnishing, hiring employees and making lots of decisions about what types of offerings to draw in customers.
“Change has been a constant,” Lauren explains. Initially they had a baker producing a variety of baked goods to accompany the herbal tea offerings. Their “Tea for Two” specials with plates full of sweets and finger sandwiches were a big hit. But the extra expense, along with a sideline that didn’t really fit with the wellness focus of the business, meant the bakery aspect was short-lived.
Receiving guidance from an herbalist
Helping people is what it’s all about for Lauren. Her favorite part of the business is talking one-on-one with individuals at the shop or at her booths at farmer’s markets and other local events. Her knowledge is ever-expanding and sharing it with her local community is the most natural thing in the world for her.
“Serving the lakes area for over 75 years”
• Custom Shower Doors
• ThermopaneInsulated Units
• Patio-Door Replacements
• Window And Screen Repair
• Aluminum Storefronts & Doors
• Custom TableDesk Top Glass
There are many different courses and paths for those who call themselves herbalists. To date, Lauren has completed over 600 hours of the 900 hours of study required to become a certified herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild, one of the most respected organizations in the U.S. If you have specific health or wellness needs or questions, Lauren encourages a private consultation. But you can easily choose from her prepackaged products, which include descriptive guides as to the benefits attributed to them.
Lauren’s herbs and tinctures are available online at thegoodvillageco.com but why shop online when you can shop in person? The local apothecary shop at 704 Laurel Street in downtown Brainerd offers you the option of creating your own blend of herbs from the wide selection on the shelves or sitting down for a warm brew of your favorite off the menu. It’s the perfect place to meet with friends in a homey atmosphere.
Kathleen Krueger has been a full-time freelance writer since 2011. Her book, “Hey Freelancer Go Clone Yourself” shares advice based on the experiences of her successful freelance career and that of her co-author. Learn more about Kathleen on her website: KathleenKrueger.com.
After years in the retail corporate world, Sonja Larsen retired as senior vice president at Target Stores. In the late 1980s, she and her husband moved from Minneapolis to the Brainerd lakes area. It was here, at their rustic cabin, they enjoyed fishing. Her husband caught a prize bass, which reminded her of a fish print she had seen years ago and admired. She attempted to print it. After many rejects, she made a satisfactory print and they framed it. Thus, after years of frustration with her attempt at art, she found her niche. Nature printing. Mother Nature did the drawing; she did the print making.
Larsen saw the Smithsonian show, “Pressed on Paper” at the Bell Museum in St. Paul and enjoyed a weekend of printmaking leaves and fishes. She discovered the Nature Printing Society (NPS), and learned the art dates back to prehistoric times. Detailed and accurate printmaking can be a painstaking and demanding art. Images are transferred from inks or pigments to paper or fabric. Each inking creates a unique print.
An example of one of Sonja Larsen’s artistic creations.
Through the NPS, Larsen studied with two Japanese master fish printers and several American artists. She was invited to participate in an annual fish print exhibit in Japan, which was a great honor. She has exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and in 2005 her prints were in Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn Museum show, “Artistic Nature.” In 2014 Larsen participated in a two-person show, “Impressions of Nature” at the Minnesota Horticulture Arboretum’s Andersen Library. One of her fern prints is in its permanent collection. Her solo show, “Images From Nature” was at the Crossing Arts Alliance in spring of 2022. And her last solo show was at the Watermark Art Center in Bemidji this spring, titled “Creating Art From Nature.”
Larsen has been active in the Nature Printing Society. She edited the NPS newsletter and the society’s book, “The Art of Printing from Nature.” Her art is included in “PaperArt” by MaurerMathison and “Natural Impressions” by Carolyn Dahl. Her fish and plant prints are in collections in Germany, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Larsen co-authored a book, “Creating Art From Nature.”
Larsen has hosted print-making workshops and demonstrations since the 90s. “Some people, especially children, learn by seeing and some by hearing. But some learn by doing. A leaf print can help a person learn how to identify plants by their leaf shape. I love to have kids make a print and see the look on their face when they see what they created.”
For Sonja, nature printmaking is an easy art form to explore and it is inexpensive. “You can turn a book into a press. Weeds are free. The paint can be ink, acrylics, oils, even a cheap Crayola watercolor kit will work,” she said.
Larsen advises nature printing is easy at first, as people are fascinated with the details they see in their first print, details not seen by the naked eye. Then comes the art part: composition. Then the quest for printing more than leaves. Complications arise, such as printing a
Goatsbeard seed head, one seed at a time. Some flowers need to be pressed, others printed fresh. The challenges continue.
Larsen uses oils or acrylics and has a collection of papers as well as silk for printing. Critics have said her art combines technical accuracy with an Asian aesthetic. Her work can be found locally at Ripple River Gallery in Aitkin, Stables Gallery at Madden’s on Gull, and Simply Rustic Floral and Gifts in Crosslake.
Looking ahead, Larsen is thinking about using paper clay as a new vehicle for nature printing. She encourages readers to use a new set of eyes when looking at tree leaves and weeds for inspiration as well as investing time exploring all that the Nature Printing Society has to offer.
Nature can be its own artist. Some of the most beautiful things in the world can be created with surrounding natural materials. Sonja Larsen’s art captures the beauty of nature.
Critics have said Sonja Larsen’s art combines technical accuracy with an Asian aesthetic. Her work can be found locally at Ripple River Gallery in Aitkin, Stables Gallery at Madden’s on Gull, and Simply Rustic Floral and Gifts in Crosslake.
Sue Ready is a freelance writer, poet, food writer, book reviewer and former middle school teacher. She is a member of the Northwoods Arts Council in Hackensack and one of the chairs for the Annual August Northwoods Art and Book Festival. Sue blogs at http://sockfairies.blogspot. com with recipes, up north living and travel adventures. Her book reviews are posted on Facebook under EverReady Book Reviews and on her blog.
+ faith HER HEALTH
Career, chronic illness and family
A journey of faith, hope and love
BY SUE SMITH-GRIER | photos contributed
When you have a job going through a major transition and you have an important role to play, and you have a preschooler to raise and you have a chronic illness to manage, life can get complicated and overwhelming.
Millions of American women are faced with such a dilemma but not all of them are as courageous and persevering as Ashley Moren. Her journey managing the different challenges life has placed before her is inspiring to those who are tempted to throw in the towel.
Life’s rough road
Most of us have some type of challenge we must face on a regular basis. For some it is financial, for some it can be interpersonal relationships and for others it may be health issues. For Ashley it is the latter. She is living with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory illness that causes problems in the digestive system. For most patients, it affects the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine. Some individuals are plagued with problems in the mouth as this disease can attack any part of your digestive tract. Unlike some autoimmune disorders, Crohn’s is different for everyone.
Ashley Moren poses with her son, Ollie. Moren is living with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory illness that causes problems in the digestive system.
Crohn’s is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) This autoimmune illness attacks the gastrointestinal tract leading to abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea and bleeding from the rectum. About 70 percent of the time, the attack takes place in the bottom of the small intestine and top of the large intestine. About 30 percent of Crohn’s patients suffer from attacks only in the large intestine. This is known as Crohn’s colitis.
Doctors have yet to understand why there are so many differences between Crohn’s patients. Even people with the same type of disease can have widely varying symptoms. Treatment is different for each patient and the severity of the attack varies from person to person.
Faith
Having faith in oneself and finding inspiration to keep going even when the road gets rocky is imperative when living with a chronic illness. Ashley is one of the 1.6 million Americans living with Crohn’s disease. She was diagnosed with this autoimmune disease at the age of two. Fortunately, it was not too long after the doctor’s findings that she went into remission, thanks to medications available at the time. For years, she was able to live a normal life without the pain and inconvenience of Crohn’s.
Ollie, left, holds his mom Ashley Moren’s hand while swinging together.
“Do what you can and appreciate the small efforts. Take things one at a time.”
Ashley Moren said her son, Ollie provides unconditional love as well as comic relief to life.
Ashley was determined to graduate from high school with hours of college level work under her belt. Taking college level courses during her junior and senior years in high school meant she could enter college with advanced standing. She worked hard to keep on track even when she came out of remission and her illness threatened to take over her life.
At 12 years old, Ashley stopped her medication and was fine until her freshman year of high school when she began to feel sick again. She masked her illness as long as she could but then came the day when she had to seek help. Her doctors told her stopping the medication when she was 12 had not been the best idea and she began treatment again. Ashley had been an exceptional student; however, her illness affected her life such that she was
unable to complete the points necessary for graduating with honors. Though finishing high school was a bit of a challenge while dealing with the hardship of Crohn’s, she persevered and she managed to graduate and enter remission again.
Hope
After graduating from high school, Ashley looked forward to attending college where she planned on getting a degree in social work with a minor in psychology. She was also planning on getting her certificate in nonprofit management. She attended Bemidji State University remotely for her studies and was given an internship at WonderTrek in Brainerd as part of her curriculum.
After a month of internship at the Franklin Arts based children’s museum, she was offered a position as a playworker there. This
- Ashley Moren
meant playing with the little ones who came to visit the museum. As part of her responsibilities, she does research in the Play Lab watching how the little ones play with different materials. This research helps with the design and development of their offerings so that the children will have the best experience.
She has also been instrumental in helping with design and development as the children’s museum plans its new space in Baxter. “One of the best things about working with a startup organization is that everyone is invited into the development process,” she said. She brings a fresh and creative view to this endeavor.
Even so, a new flare up of Crohn’s has brought more challenges to Ashley as she manages life as a wife, a mother of a preschooler and working woman. Despite the problems her illness presents, she manages to press on. “Making sure I give prayer time and attention to each aspect of my life can be a challenge,” she said. Fortunately, the staff at WonderTrek understands and supports her as she wrestles with her illness and at the same time works to maintain her responsibilities as a team member.
Love
Working at WonderTrek has been exciting and stimulating for Ashley. Having a job you love can make a huge difference especially when your health has been compromised with a chronic illness. Having a spouse who is understanding and supportive is also essential. Her son Ollie provides unconditional love as well as comic relief to life, though he also has his little quirks.
Ashley has a great support system in her husband, Josh, and her grandmother, Shirley Johnson. Josh helps with making meals and Shirley is a great grannynanny when called upon to watch little Ollie when Ashley needs a babysitter.
In addition to the people in her life supporting her, Ashley also has a therapist to help with management of life. Loving yourself enough to know when you need help and seeking out that help is critical to living your best life. Chronic illnesses come with a boatload of other issues, such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, insurance issues, medical bills, and the list goes on. Getting help to manage and mitigate these issues is essential.
Ashley recommends therapy in general, but for those with chronic diseases, it is essential because of all the aspects of life that are affected by the illness. She also has found that it is helpful to seek friendships online with those who are going through the same thing. Her son was born during the pandemic which prevented her from joining young mother’s groups and visiting friends. As Josh was working, her days could get quite lonely but for social media and online friendships. “If you look in the right places you can find friends and community. You won’t feel so down anymore,” she said.
Having faith, hope and love in your life while managing a chronic illness and life in general, is essential to making the most of a challenging situation. Ashley’s words of advice? “Be honest with yourself. When you have no spoons to give today, right now is how I feel. It doesn’t mean I’ll feel this way tomorrow or ongoing. Do what you can and appreciate the small efforts. Take things one at a time.”
Susan J. Smith-Grier, mother, grandmother, writer, storyteller, blogger, and Reading Corps tutor of early elementary kids, enjoys the changing seasons of Minnesota lake country. She lives for those moments when the possibilities light up the eyes of her awesome school kids and delights in the power of words and story.
Ashley Moren has a great support system in her husband, Josh, pictured playing some basketball with their son, Ollie.
Hillary Stumpf Guest Systems and Training Manager
Hillary’s journey in the automotive business began in 2014 with the Mills Automotive Group, where she started in our Customer Care Center, assisting Guests with Service and Sales requests and questions. Over the years, Hillary’s commitment to enhancing Guest experiences and her ability to adapt and innovate have been key to her growth within the Company.
Today, Hillary proudly serves as the Guest Systems and Training Manager. In this role, she combines her deep understanding of Guest services with a passion for training and development, ensuring that the Mills Automotive Group continues to deliver exceptional service and maintains its reputation for excellence. Hillary has lived in the Brainerd Area
Reichert Vice President
Her Story
I started driving school bus the summer prior to my Freshman year at college in St. Cloud. I was able to get paid for my training during summer school and be an Aide on the Special Needs Bus to make money before I got my licensing.
Fast forward 25 years, and I’m the Vice President of our bus company looking to hire more drivers and pay them to train
to get their license! We have a great hiring bonus, monthly attendance bonuses, as well as, Holiday and Year End Bonuses currently! We are 75 years locally owned and operated and definitely “Lakes Proud” as we all live here, work here and spend here!
If you’re looking for more than just a job, we’d love to have you join our Reichert Family! We are now training for the upcoming
most of her life; when she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her nieces and family and watching football!
school year and are always happy to hire existing drivers looking for a change as well!
www.reichertbus.com/apply
8342 Industrial Park Road, Brainerd, MN 56401 218-829-6955
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Kevra Cherne
Hillary Stumpf
HER POETRY Goddess The Pine Cone
BY JANET KURTZ
Away in the deep dark of winter, in the woods of Scotch pine and spruce, cold winds blow over the frozen grounds strewn with red-needled carpets and freshly falling snow.
Tiny mice tracks, leaping squirrel prints and jumping snow-shoe rabbits leave patterned trails for the noses of fox and coyotes. Under these snow-weighted boughs and above these paw prints, one closes in on the lair of the Pine Cone goddess.
Few have actually glimpsed this maiden of the north, with her snowball curls, tumbling over her shoulders. Her tresses nearly reach the pine sprig trim on the hips of her crystal, sparkling snow gown.
Her statuesque white marble neck is circled with pine cone jewels and acorn pearls. Some venerate her by gathering new offerings for the altar of winter to come. Skates, snowmobiles, skis, deep-tread tires, all trinkets of the season. Winter worshipers sip sacred hot cocoa and pray for snow or school cancellations.
There are those who do not revere the Pine Cone goddess and winter worship. They cringe at weather reports that include wind chills. They can be recognized by their posture. They are the hunched-over ones, shoulders stretching to reach and warm their ears, backs turned to the incoming winds.
Under their breath, you can hear them chanting: “Me-xi-co, Ari-zo-na, Ca-li-for-nia”
To these non-winter converts, she puckers up her frosty lips in a coquettish pout and purrs: “Min-ne-so-ta, Wis-con-sin, Up-per Mi-chi-gan.”
Everyone will get their day. The hunched-over will again stand straight. The frost-bitten will also rise again for winter carnivals and ice palaces. The Pine Cone goddess will trickle off into the Scotch Piney woods each spring, But, ‘tis now we must keep the Pine Cone goddess going — every time it snows.
HER STORY
Leah X Rathe at the 2024 Snake Alley Festival of Film in Burlington, Iowa, being interviewed for the Bret & Tony with Ash & Abe Podcast about her films “CHOPSTICK” and “The Accelerators: Brains, Braids, & Bots.” Photo by Mitch McCallson.
Seen and Scene
Leah X Rathe’s storytelling lens
BY CHELSEA ORNELAS | photos contributed
Leah X Rathe knows representation matters. As a Chinese adoptee growing up in Montana and, eventually, Brainerd, Minnesota, the little bits of relatable representation she saw on TV and in movies as a kid gave her a sense of belonging and purpose. Today, she’s an award-winning filmmaker who is committed to using her skills as a storyteller and documentarian to amplify underrepresented voices and experiences, including those in rural communities.
Feeling loved but different
“I was born in China and raised in the U.S.,” Leah explains. “I grew up in majority Caucasian communities and spaces. I was raised by a Caucasian mother, and had an African-American adoptive brother. Growing up, my brother and I were the only people of color in our family, as well as the only adoptees.”
Throughout childhood and into early adulthood, Leah had a hard time
identifying, understanding, and expressing her feelings about being a transracial adoptee and connecting with her Asian-American identity. While others would identify her as Asian, she struggled with feeling “Asian” enough, and worried that her race and how she appeared to others would set her apart from those she was surrounded by and loved. As a result, she felt both loved and different.
Leah looked to movies and TV shows that featured people and/or stories she could relate to.
“‘Lilo & Stitch’ is my favorite Disney movie,” she says. “I didn’t see a lot of families like mine in the media, so the idea of ‘found family,’ and the bond that creates really spoke to me.”
Loss, isolation, and reconnection
In 2018, Leah’s brother, tragically passed away at the age of 25.
“Prior to his passing, we had never really connected or discussed our experiences in depth of being transracial adoptees,” Leah says. “So, in addition to losing a brother, someone I had known and loved my whole life — I felt very sad and isolated in knowing that there was no one else in my family to relate to in that experience.”
In December 2022, as Leah continued to process and reflect on her brother’s death, as well as with questions of identity and belonging, someone from her past reached out. Jade Reagan, another Chinese adoptee who was part of the same infant adoption cohort as Leah, contacted her via social media. The two immediately clicked.
“We like to say we were adopted together, raised separately, and reunited 30 years later,” Leah explains.
Together, they processed and explored their transracial adoptee identities and experiences through long deep conversations and creativity.
“Jade is truly an inspiration and an incredible friend. We connect on a multitude of levels, and being able to go on this personal and artistic journey together has been healing, cathartic and honestly life changing. Connecting with her has felt like a new breath of life.”
Shortly after, the idea for expressing Leah’s own journey using film began to form.
Leah X Rathe and Jade Reagan at the 2024 DisOrient Asian American Festival of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, where “CHOPSTICK” had its film festival premiere. Photo by Mitch McCallson.
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Igniting conversations and connection with ‘CHOPSTICK’
In early 2023, at the encouragement of her husband, Mitch McCallson, Leah applied for and was awarded a spot in the Ignite Rural Artist Residency, a Department of Public Transformation program, a six-month “at-home” artist residency that prioritizes supporting emerging BIPOC rural artists. During the residency, Leah created “CHOPSTICK,” an animated short film based on her own experiences growing up as a Chinese adoptee.
The film is about a chopstick who is adopted into and navigates a world of forks. Her intent with the film is to foster connections and spark discussions about transracial adoption and representation.
“I chose a chopstick and forks because I’ve had experiences where I go to an Asian restaurant, and I get handed chopsticks, while my white friends get forks,” Leah explains. “I thought it would be a whimsical and relatable way of communicating the idea of race in the short film.”
“CHOPSTICK” premiered at the 2024 DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, where it earned a nomination for Best Animation. It’s been shown at several film festivals across the country and was recently selected for the SWAN Perth International Women in Film Festival in Perth, Australia.
Amplifying ‘The Accelerators’ success
Leah also directed and edited the short documentary, “The Accelerators: Brains, Braids, & Bots,” which she filmed with her husband, Mitch. The documentary spotlights the 2023 season for the Accelerators, an allgirls FIRST Robotics team from Cass Lake-Bena High School. Like “CHOPSTICK,” the film is making the rounds at festivals across the country this year, earning the Independent Spirit Award at the 2024 Ely Film Festival this past February.
More importantly to Leah, the film has significantly boosted the team’s visibility. In March, the Accelerators earned 4th place at the Grand Forks Regional and received the prestigious Impact Award, qualifying them for Worlds.
“The coaches shared that to submit for awards, you include a video,” Leah explains. “They submitted the documentary, and they said it helped push them over the edge to get that award, which is just really cool.”
Leah X Rathe signing “The Accelerators: Brains, Braids, & Bots” posters for the team at the 2024 Ely Film Festival in Ely. Photo by Mitch McCallson.
After qualifying for Worlds, the team had just one month to raise funds to cover travel expenses. During that time, Leah showed the film at the Minnesota Film Festival in Duluth, made some key connections, and drummed up some donations to help the team reach their financial goals.
“The team’s persistent hard work paid off, and they eventually made it to Worlds in Houston, Texas, which is amazing,” Leah explains. “And, they got the Gracious Professionalism Award there, which only eight teams in the entire world get…there are 3,341 robotics teams in the world. They have a story that was worth telling and telling in an authentic way and it has impacted their journey.”
New stories, new voices
Leah’s getting ready to start two new creative projects. One is a short narrative script about an adoptee reflecting on celebration and loss on their birthday, which she will be
developing as a 2024 StorySeeds Fellow supported through Mamá Papaya. The other is a documentary about a local Japanese-American transracial adoptee.
She sees film as a powerful medium for storytelling and impactful representation.
“Film is a sustainable resource you can share with multiple people,” she explains. “I believe rural stories matter just as much as any other stories. A lack of resources shouldn’t diminish the value or visibility of those stories.”
Follow Leah’s work at leahxrcreative.com.
Chelsea Ornelas is a wife, mama to two little boys, full-time marketer, and movement junkie. She loves connecting with people and learning their stories (which means she asks a lot of questions). In 2017, she and three friends hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in a single day. Her favorite phrase is, “Clear is kind.”
Compassionatecare.
Leah X Rathe and her husband, Mitch McCallson, the main cinematographer for “The Accelerators,” at the 2024 Minnesota Film Festival in Duluth at “The Accelerators: Brains, Braids, & Bots” screening. Contributed.
KEEPING HER HEAD in the game
Despite personal setbacks, Forestview coach finds a way to impact area soccer community
BY SARAH NELSON KATZENBERGER PHOTOS BY JEN SALVEVOLD
Nikki Blair has loved soccer for as long as she can remember. She started playing as a 4-yearold growing up in Alaska as a way to find something to occupy her busy little body. “I was a handful,” Blair laughed. “I needed something really active and soccer was it for me.”
“It helped bring down her energy level at home,” added Blair’s mom, Tracy Leonard. “I just know if Nikki was still in it she’d be at the top.”
In her 10 years of playing soccer in Alaska and then Arizona, Nikki Blair showed a natural talent for the game and quickly became a player to watch. Playing at a competitive level, she found herself at the top of her game at a young age and being approached by coaches at the highest level.
In her 10 years of playing soccer in Alaska and then Arizona, Blair showed a natural talent for the game and quickly became a player to watch. Playing at a competitive level, Blair found herself at the top of her game at a young age and being approached by coaches at the highest level.
“She was being watched by some of the best coaches around,” Leonard said.
Then the unthinkable happened.
In a very short time, Nikki suffered several concussions — while playing soccer, and then a final devastating blow came from a car accident where she suffered both a concussion and whiplash effectively ending her soccer career.
She was just 14.
“It was devastating,” Blair recalled. “I was injured but what hurt more was that I couldn’t play — probably ever. That was a lot (to process).”
Leonard said she and her husband Keith worried about Nikki’s mental health. “It was tough for sure,” Leonard said.
“I was so depressed,” Blair said. “I just didn’t have a lot of motivation to do anything else.”
In 2020, Blair’s family moved to the Brainerd lakes area giving her the opportunity to start over and in some form, be part of a new soccer community. She knew it might not look the same, but she wanted to try. Blair sought out the Brainerd High School soccer coach Grant Gmeinder for an opportunity to play just one game.
“I just kind of wanted this to be my chance to say, like, a goodbye, to soccer,” Blair said. “Just one more game.”
She scored a goal in case there was any doubt. And then she walked away.
Blair, now 20, suffers from chronic pain, headaches and memory loss. Her mom helps Blair with the parts of her memory she struggles to recall. When there are gaps in her stories and missing memories, it’s her mom who fills in the missing pieces. Despite all she has been through, one thing Blair does not suffer from is defeat.
In the fall of 2023, after a hiatus from soccer, Blair found herself back in the game but with a new role — Coach Nikki. Despite her struggle with memory loss, Blair said she is crystal clear on her memories of taking over as coach at Forestview Middle School.
“They just kind of threw me in,” Blair said, recalling there were 30 seventh- and eighth-grade girls that first day. “It took some convincing, but I really love it,” she said.
The return to the pitch came with a mix of emotions for Blair. “I want to be the kind of coach that I would have wanted growing up,” she said, citing poor education
and sports culture for the impact her injuries had on her soccer career and her everyday life. “We need that in any sport. Just the opportunity for healthy communication is so important — if a kid is injured or just needs to rest, they should feel like they can say and feel supported and protected by their coach.”
Blair said the transition from playing to coaching came naturally for her. “I thought it would be a lot harder than it was,” she said. “You have to start off strict and then back off — you have to have some kind of control when you start out.”
repertoire. “I’ve always loved makeup,” she said. “I was the girl who would show up at practice with a full face of make-up on.”
She offers private soccer sessions to players in the off-season and is a trained Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). That’s where she met her neighbor Don who contacted Her Voice Editor DeLynn Howard to share Nikki’s story — he was one of her clients.
“We think of him as our adopted grandpa,” Blair explained. “He has helped me a lot with my faith. Whenever I need guidance, I go to Don.”
The hard work and motivation have paid off. Forestview’s girls’ team went undefeated in their 2023 season under Blair’s coaching debut, and she hopes to keep up the run this year. More than wins, Blair said the big payout has been seeing her players work hard and improve their skills. “You get to really know the girls on a personal level,” she said. “And when you watch their confidence go up it’s such a great feeling.”
When she’s not coaching soccer, Blair is working on finding what normal life with chronic pain looks like for her. She’s a largely self-taught make-up artist, recently adding wedding make-up services to her
Blair’s group of seventh and eighth graders will play around a dozen games this fall and she said she is looking forward to cheering them on from the sideline once again this year. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to still be part of the soccer community,” she said. “I really want to be the kind of coach that not just teaches soccer but builds relationships — cares about their players.”
Sarah Nelson Katzenberger is a displaced Californian who had no idea there were four seasons until she moved to Minnesota. She is a former missionary, law school drop-out, high school teacher and award-winning journalist with the Brainerd Dispatch. She continues to write for local and national publications and provides unsolicited grammar correction as needed. Sarah lives in Brainerd with her husband Chad and their three baby Vikings, Ellis, Meredith and Truett.
HER GRIEF
+ moving forward
BY SHEILA DECHANTAL
JUSTgrief
When I started the grief series for Her Voice in the Fall of 2023, it wasn’t a series. I was scheduled to write an article on women who had lost children called “Fueled by Grief.” The article was about four women in our community who had this common denominator and took that grief and did something positive with it to help others. At that time, I knew one of the three women I would be interviewing. I was the fourth.
What happened was unexpected. When I started my interviews with each of these women, planning to meet up and talk for 30 minutes to an hour, I found
that through our shared pain, we each laughed and cried together, one hour leaning more toward two… following their journey as they shared their pain and it broke me — and also strengthened me. Does that make sense?
By the time I finished that second interview and heard Carolyn White’s story, I left that meeting feeling impassioned and strongly felt that this article — no, this topic — was bigger than I had anticipated. I called DeLynn, Her Voice Editor, as I drove home from that coffee shop meeting and told her I had a crazy idea but to hear
me out. What if this was a series? Grief comes in many forms and there are many other ways to look at loss. Yes, this article on the loss of a child was one I hoped would help others who have experienced such a loss as well as those who love them, but there was also loss of a spouse, loss of a sibling, the list could go on.
I asked DeLynn to consider it and she didn’t have to. Before I hung up the phone, I was given the go-ahead to plan a grief article per issue over the next year. And that is what I did. The loss of a child “Fueled By Grief” was followed
by the loss of a spouse, “The Motions of Grief” and then this summer was “Loss of a Sibling.”
In review, “Loss of a Sibling” was the hardest to write. I was asking these now adults to share what it was like to lose a sibling and deal with their grief amid their parents’ great grief as well. I wanted them to be real and raw but at the same time didn’t want to hurt the family members who did not know how deep this child’s pain on their own was.
In all the articles, the mission was simple — hoping someone would read the article and be helped knowing they are not alone. Many people within our community have suffered great losses in absolutely horrific ways. And, they are here, years later, living their lives having overcome the all-encompassing pain of those early days, months and yes, even years. In every person I interviewed through this series, they all ended by telling me what advice they would give someone else going through something similar. My hope being this advice, these keys to closed doors, if you will, would let others know that you will breathe again; you will find joy again and it’s OK to take your time.
Does moving on mean forgetting? Does this moving on mean you no longer grieve? Absolutely not. Speaking for myself, grief for me is with me every day. Some days it’s a passing thought, and some days it is a memory that leaves a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Some days it’s a long, good cry. It fuels me to want to live more fully. It makes me say ‘yes’ to new adventures; it sure has left me with a reminder there is no guarantee of tomorrow. We need to treasure what we have and whom we have every day and not live with regrets or missed opportunities.
Sheila DeChantal is an event coordinator, freelance writer, lover of friends, family, community, creating fun local events, adventures, books and coffee. She is the Friends of The Brainerd Public Library president and the vice president of Camp Benedict.
In 2015, when my husband Al and I lost Justin, our son, in a car accident, I remember Al telling me in those early weeks how astounded he was as people in our lives shared stories of their own losses of siblings, a parent, horrible accidents. I told him then that someday there would be people in our lives who did not know our story either. I said, ‘It’s not like we will wear T-shirts that say we lost a son.’
You get it. As time goes on new people will come into your life and unless you share that part of you, they would not know. And isn’t that just it? Some people know part of your story and some may know all. Some may know nothing and that’s OK, too. We all carry something. The grief series certainly could have gone on and on. There are so many people around us that have their own grief story whether you know about it or not.
I leave you with this. I believe there is no timeline for grief. Grief and its intensity pulls in many factors — your relationship with the person you lost, your history with losses, your background and more. It’s an individual experience and different for everyone. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself the space you need to grieve. No one and no book can tell you how to do it.
In a world that can be hard and harsh all on its own, remember we do not always know what others carry. We all carry something. Choose your words and actions kindly.
Thank you to
Bobbie Gorron, Carolyn White, Carol Johnson, Laurie Owen Silvernail, Neola Raasch, Wendy Vandeputte, Karlee Scott and Kristen Krueger. I feel you. I appreciate you. Thank you for braving these waters and sharing your stories.
I found being around these women with such great allencompassing losses and talking about their journeys was therapeutic for all of us. It is part of their story and sharing it is often healing. - Sheila
MY LOVED ONES
Gary McKinney
Jan. 27, 1980, father lost in house fire
Tara McKinney
Jan. 27, 1980, 5-year-old sister lost in house fire
Elaine McKinney Bartel
June 6, 1996, mother lost in a car accident
Richard Bartel
June 6, 1996, stepdad lost in a car accident
Justin DeChantal
April 4, 2015, son lost in a car accident
SERVICEdirectory
HER DEDICATION
JOEY HALVORSON
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting Joey Halvorson, your life is likely better because of it. I simply cannot speak highly enough about her.
I’ve had the honor of working on Her Voice with Joey for several years as my role with the magazine has evolved through the years. She’s been with the magazine as a photographer since its inception 21 years ago.
Joey is a one-of-a-kind human being with a smile and personality that lights up any room. And it seems you can’t go to an event in the Brainerd lakes area and not see Joey with a camera around her neck or her iPhone in her hand. At least that used to be the case until ALS began robbing Joey of the life she once knew. She had to step down from her photography role at Her Voice because the disease is taking its toll on her.
This is the first magazine without a representation of her work which is why I wanted to dedicate this issue to her.
Joey, I’m blessed to have called you a colleague, but more so, my friend. - DeLynn Howard
