Mankato Magazine

CAPTURE THE MOMENT Our sixth annual photo issue

Also in this issue:

THE BLUE BOAT Get the scoop on pleated pants with ANN Create a DAY TRIP at home Take a trip around the world at

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MARCH 2021

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Deep Valley Book Festival offers “Cabin Fever” edition March 6-7

E

ven though Margi Preus’ books for young readers tackle historical subjects, she says she wasn’t a fan of history classes in school.

“In high school I hated history,” she says. “It was just names and dates. I was terrible at it and it just wasn’t that interesting. It wasn’t until I started writing that I realized history is about fascinating stories.”

Historical characters populate Preus’ books. A young Japanese boy in the 19th century in “Heart of a Samurai.” Teenagers in World War II-era France. A young adventurer in “The Littlest Voyageur.” Preus also writes contemporary characters, such as those in her “Enchantment Lake” series of mysteries, set in northern Minnesota.

Preus, who lives in Duluth, is the keynote speaker for the Cabin

Fever Edition of the Deep Valley Book Festival March 6-7.

Preus will talk about her writing career at 4 p.m.

Saturday, March 6.

At 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 7, everyone is invited to join Preus for the Cabin Fever One Reads of “The Littlest Voyageur.” Attendees are encouraged to read the book ahead of time.

Besides the keynote addresses, other programming includes a full slate of panel presentations and workshops in mystery writing, illustration, memoir, and writing for young readers. All events will be held via Zoom and are free and open to the public. During the events, there will be drawings for book giveaways.

The book festival has held an annual October event for many years, and this year’s fall event will be held October 2 at the Loose Moose Saloon and Conference Center. The Cabin Fever edition was planned as a special “extra” for people who relish some connection after being isolated for a year.

“The pandemic has put a renewed focus on reading,” says Julie Schrader, the festival coordinator.

“The October 2020 edition had to go virtual, and we were so pleased with the response that we decided to offer this event in March.”

To register for sessions, go to www.deepvalleybookfestival. com and click on “Cabin Fever Edition Festival Schedule.” Upon registering, you will get a link for the session.

Support for the Cabin Fever edition and the live event in October comes from Minnesota Heritage Publishing, The Free Press Media and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Individuals also have generously donated as “festival friends,” and more information can be found on the website.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 1

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2 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

FEATURE S MARCH 2021 Volume 16, Issue 3

Charlie Hurd

Joey Hanel

Bonnie Sellner

16

Capturing precious moments in southern Minnesota We’re back with our sixth annual photo issue — a readers’ (and staff’s) favorite. Thank you to everyone who submitted for the 2021 issue and enjoy!

Mertinsia Wunderlien

ABOUT THE COVER This year’s photographer, Mary Jo Tischler, on our cover issue took this shot of her daughter Lauryn Tischler at Spring Lake Park Pool. Thanks for sharing this moment, Mary!

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 3

DEPARTMENTS

9

6

From the Editor

8

This Day in History

9

Avant Guardians

From Cakes to Comics: Kat Baumann

10 Beyond the Margin

Sports without fans; fans without sports

12 Familiar Faces Benji Inniger

14 Day Trip Destinations

Stay home! Or not … Up to you!

10

56 Let’s Eat!

The Blue Boat

58 Community Draws

How to make a raised garden bed

59 Beer

Alcohol need not apply?

60 Ann’s Fashion Fortunes

Pleated slacks are so pre-COVID

12

56

62 Garden Chat

Get ready, get set, GARDEN!

64 From This Valley One year

Coming in April

58 4 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

59

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 5

FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

By Diana Rojo-Garcia MARCH 2021 • VOLUME 16, ISSUE 3 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Diana Rojo-Garcia EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Bert Mattson Dan Greenwood Jean Lundquist Kat Baumann Leticia Gonzalez Ann Rosenquist Fee Pete Steiner Nell Musolf

PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Danny Creel SALES Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Tim Keech ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Christina Sankey DESIGNERS CIRCULATION Justin Niles DIRECTOR

Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second St., Mankato MN 56001.

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $35.40 for 12 issues.

For all editorial inquiries, call Diana Rojo-Garcia 507-344-6305, or email drojogarcia@mankatofreepress.com.

For advertising, call 344-6364, or e-mail advertising@mankatofreepress.com.

6 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

What a shot!

T

hrifting is a hobby I have come to adore. Over the years, my collection has grown with one too many oversized sweatshirts — my favorite one so far is a 1998 “Friends” sweatshirt — and Rugrats memorabilia.

Other parts of my collection, I’d get lucky. I found a forest green trench coat with mismatching buttons — right up my high school “quirky” fashion standards. Later I found out that coat actually retailed at more than $100. I bought it for $10 and even found a crisp $20 bill in the pocket.

Cha-ching.

I’ve also collected many Converse shoes over the years — some new, some not. My favorite, though, were a pair of vintage green, orange and purple Converse. They were vintage when I bought them more than a decade ago. I always wondered how much they’d be worth now if I had never put them on.

Oh well.

But the best thing I’ve got as a gift from a thrift store was a 35 mm camera with a telephoto lens.

It was only about $40. Excited to play around, I took film class at high school with Mrs. K. There was something about stepping foot into the dark room and being completely disoriented in the red lights while developing film.

That class, and my 35 mm, instilled a passion for photography. The artistry of film and capturing oneof-a-kind images through a lens captivated me for years — though I dropped the 35 mm, figuratively, not literally. Film was expensive and even more expensive to develop.

The next logical step was purchasing a digital camera — a big girl camera — with my own hardearned money. And there I was, at every dance recital, baptism, Easter, first communions and holidays behind the camera.

Though I probably traumatized my family (especially the kiddos) to be my subjects, there have been some photographs out of those sessions that have made it onto my parents’ walls. Some of the posed photos made it on there, but most were the candid photographs.

And they didn’t make it onto the wall because they were compositionally exceptional — they were OK at best. They made it onto the wall because at that moment, the essence of a long-lasting memory was created and forever memorialized.

Mom still has a photograph taken after a dance recital with my nieces and nephew as her desktop photo from eight years ago, busting a gut because I had told them that Grandma loves to dance to Lady Gaga. Another photo, though semi-posed, catches a rare glimpse of my brother’s smile as he looked on to my nieces playing in the yard. And one of my favorites, catches Dad and my nieces postdance recital on the front steps of our house, covering his smiles as the girls climb onto him. It’s become a tradition.

Photos like those, and many more, came into my mailbox during the course of the month. Children playing in Spring Lake Park, others holding baby animals, and people enjoying the great outdoors.

This issue is one our reader’s favorites, and y’all really did a number in my mailbox! In fact, we had so many submissions that took over more than 50% of my inbox’s capacity. Thank you, guys! We appreciated every single submission and look forward to next year’s issue — it’s definitely become one of my favorite issues, too. n Also in this issue, you’ll find a profile of Mankato Magazine’s own Kat Baumann. Head over to Avant Guardians to read more about our very talented artist. n In this month’s Familiar Faces, we feature Benji Inniger, adjunct professor at Bethany Lutheran College. He’s been busy; catch up with him. (Do you know someone who should be featured in our Familiar Faces feature? Email me the deets at drojogarcia@ mankatofreepress.com.). n Don’t know what “dressing up” means anymore in the pandemic?

Head over to Ann’s Fashion Fortunes — she’s got the expertise.

Diana Rojo-Garcia is associate editor of Mankato Magazine.

Contact her at drojogarcia@ mankatofreepress.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 7

THIS DAY IN HISTORY Compiled by Jean Lundquist

Brooks & Dunn put kick in Civic Center sales

March 2, 1995 When the country duo was booked to play the Mankato Civic Center March 11, it was considered a “stress test” for the new facility.

All 7,900 tickets were purchased in a couple of hours, and excitement for the show was high.

It was pointed out that this was no combo struggling to make a comeback.

They were the second highest grossing country act after Reba McEntire in 1994. In their three years together, they had already sold 8 million albums, won a Grammy and been named best country group by the Academy of Country Music.

The writer of the article mentioned that “Heck, there were even life-size cardboard cutouts in liquor stores, they were so hot.”

“Boot Scootin’ Boogie’’ was one of their biggest hits at the time.

City frustrated by delay on Pike Street extension

March 15, 1985 City of Mankato officials hoped bids would be let for the Pike Street extension project in March, but the state had not yet reviewed the plans completely.

City Engineer Ken Saffert said, “There’s nothing we can do about it. We’re just flat out frustrated.”

Because 78% of the $2.3 million was federally funded, the state sign-off on the project was crucial, as it released federal funds to cities.

Adding to the urgency, city officials had hoped to have Pike Street completed before the Main Street bridge closed, which would put more pressure on downtown streets. What was Pike Street is now known as Stoltzman Road.

Kato YWCA to host Women’s Day program

March 6, 1975 March 8 was International Women’s Day, and local activists intended to recognize it with two events.

The first was a noon luncheon, cost, $1.75, at the YWCA, featuring speakers from the International and Minorities Center at Mankato State discussing the status of women in their home countries.

At 8 p.m., the focus shifted to more local issues and some of the problems of working women in Mankato. Also in observance of the day, information booths were available at both Madsen’s stores in Mankato.

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AVANT GUARDIANS

By Leticia Gonzales

From cakes to comics Kat Baumann’s passion in art began in elementary school

M

ankato illustrator and comic artist Kat Baumann can’t remember a time in her life when she was not drawing.

“I started to get more serious about it around age 12 when I started making fan art for the ‘His Dark Materials’ book series on oldschool message boards,” shared 29-year-old Baumann. “Soon after that, I got really into reading manga and manwha and decided I wanted to be a comic artist around that same time.”

Most people are familiar with manga, which are comics from Japan, but may not know that manhwa are comics in South Korea.

Baumann’s “Community Draws” feature is published every month in Mankato Magazine.

She graduated from the Visual Arts department at The Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley before earning a bachelor’s degree in studio art in 2013. While her education trained her to become an artist, Baumann credits working as a grocerystore cake designer in college for providing added visual arts and communication skills.

“Ultimately, I think my years decorating cakes had a bigger effect on how I use visual space and incorporate the elements I think are most important in my illustrations,” she said. “I think before I had to spend a lot of time wisely spacing out designs in icing on a sheet cake, I had a tendency to be less thoughtful of how I filled a canvas or page full of comic panels.”

Instead of decorating sheet cakes, Baumann now creates designs on Bristol drawing paper using India Ink or creates them digitally.

“Some designs are made from start to finish with my Wacom tablet and a couple different programs, and some comics pages I ink traditionally and color digitally,” Baumann said. “Although, I also still enjoy breaking out my watercolors and oil paints when I get the occasional commission in either of those mediums — I’ll always have a soft spot for painting portraits.”

Much of her work focuses on articulated hand and facial expressions, mostly inspired from music.

“I always listen to music while I work because it helps me focus.

Plus, that feeling you get when a song hits you just right and kind of energizes you — that’s something I’m always chasing and try to emulate in pivotal moments of stories I’ve illustrated.”

Her work as a full-time illustrator varies from producing digitally hand-drawn line art on T-shirts to creating commissioned oil portraits.

“It’s really fun to have a variety of things to work on, though, and it feels really good to cross logos or shirt designs off my to-do list before going back to work on a behemoth like a 50-page comic.”

Her largest project this year is a 180-page graphic novel called

“Golden Voice.”

“The manuscript was written by Gregory Cahill, who hired me as the illustrator for the book,” Baumann said. “The story is about the life of a Cambodian rock and roll singer named Ros Serey Sothea who disappeared during the Vietnam War. It’s been an incredible project to work on.”

Mastering the ability to “cartoon” properly by not overworking her drawings has made all the difference for Baumann.

“The last couple years my drawing style has turned into something that feels a lot more natural in the comics medium.

Capturing motion in drawing has become a lot easier, too.”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 9

BEYOND THE MARGIN

By Joe Spear

Sports without fans; fans without sports T

he neighborhood hockey rink at Dotson Park in West Mankato had a big year. By the time you read this, it might be finished, melted like so many memories in the COVID era.

But on a warmish January evening, it lit up the neighborhood, giving the homes on Baker Street and Oak Knoll Boulevard their own version of northern lights.

Unofficial rink superintendent Jed Falgren set up the ice-making operation with a nearby home’s warm water spigot. Warm water heals the cracks of a seared rink through a melting process creating a smooth layer of ice for the day’s next melee of hockey mites.

When we read about the flu pandemic of 1918, we weren’t thinking about how pandemics might affect hockey rinks, football fields or baseball diamonds.

And now, we know all too well.

But March can be redeeming. As of this writing, the Minnesota State High School League was still planning the premier state basketball and hockey tournaments.

The players will wear masks and breathing will be difficult. Limits will be in place on the number of fans, most likely limited to parents and family. But that won’t stop kids, parents and community from feeding their need to be part of the cultural phenomena of athletic competition.

Sports builds community. Kids play together, set goals, achieve and gain a sense of accomplishment.

Sports also fosters inclusion. It’s easier to break down race barriers when you’re on the same team.

Sports offer memories that may fade with time but come back as we age.

I can go back some 40-plus years and recall a moment in time of my own sports history: the B-squad high school baseball championship between my team, the Washington Prexies, and the Highland Park Scotsmen. Yes, the cheerleaders wore kilts.

Fans lined the fence that surrounded the field where home plate was fewer than a couple of hundred feet from the din of Rice Street with cars and trucks hauling the hope of a championship.

We won the game on the last play. By one run.

The camaraderie of a team eventually produces nicknames and begets completely different people in the process. And the nicknames last forever, some flattering, some not.

We had “Dean the Machine” and the politically incorrect “Chief.” Anyone named Edward was automatically called “Eddie.” One guy was named Thomas and we called him “Herbie” — who was fast and jerky as a chipmunk — because he was the spitting image of his father, Herbert Sr. Kevin was “Kev.” And another Tom was “Scooter.”

And, of course, the skinny guy was “Bones,’’ and the 10 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

wiry guy who was all arms and legs was “Spider.”

Sports offered a cast of characters a day in the spotlight.

The 1991 Minnesota Twins stand as a team that took that spotlight to a new level. They went from worst to first, improving by 21 games over 1990, were never out of a game where they were down by double digits, and had a cast of characters second to none in Minnesota sports history.

Hall of Fame ace pitcher Jack Morris, a St. Paul native, threw an incredible Game 7, a 10-inning shutout where “Mount Morris” threw 126 pitches.

Pitchers don’t do that anymore. Not even close.

The poor kid from the South Side of Chicago, Kirby Puckett won Game 6 on a homer that brought the Atlanta Braves back to the Metrodome, named after the great Minnesota statesmen Hubert H. Humphrey, who never got to watch a game in it. The Twins won Game 7 in multi-decibel fashion.

Another legendary team, the 2019-2020 Minnesota State University Mavericks men’s hockey team was the one predicted by experts to have the best chance ever of winning a Division I national championship — until its first playoff series was canceled by COVID. No fans, no beer, no fun.

Today they’re tested for COVID three times a week but, with so many game cancellations, have had little time to be tested on the rink.

The team had “hockey cards” made last year, like baseball cards, with players’ stats and background. It seemed fitting a team that could have won it all keeps the memories alive for fans in player cards.

So we’re left with playing cards and the larger question of the role of sports in society.

Do sports help with the climate crisis, racism and inequality? Maybe not.

But the whole world seemed better when “Herbie” laid down the suicide squeeze bunt play to win the B-squad championship game for the Prexies in the last inning. By one run.

We missed playing Morris that day, as he was about five years ahead of us, playing for Highland Park. But who cares about years when a good story is involved or evolves into one where a humble B-squader once homered off the Hall of Famer?

The critics will say we spend too much money on sports when our universities should be inspiring people to solve the problems of climate, racism and inequality.

Those are the critical challenges that face us. I say we spend more on sports.

Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6382 or jspear@mankatofreepress.com.

Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 11

FAMILIAR FACES

THE MUSIC MAN Benji Inniger remains C Photos by Pat Christman

NAME:

Benji Inniger HOMETOWN:

Mostly Mankato-North Mankato for the last 20 years, Wisconsin before that

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? Crepuscular

GO-TO LUNCH SPOT: The Rapidan Dam Store in season, Nakato or any food truck

FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Hard question! Maybe any Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption or Zelda

busy during the pandemic

omposer. Sound Designer. Director. Chicken owner?

Benji Inniger wears many hats in the music world. Inniger began working at Bethany Lutheran College as an adjunct faculty member from 2006-2010 to then full-time professor in 2012.

Most recently, he has taken on a few more responsibilities in the business, though he remains as an adjunct at Bethany.

Inniger also composes music for video games and has had the chance to work with people from all over the world. Some works include “Whipseey and the Lost Atlas” and “Here be Dragons” for the Nintendo Switch. Variety in composing music for video games, Inniger said, is what he likes the best about the profession.

MANKATO MAGAZINE: Just wondering, how have you been doing during the pandemic?

BENJI INNIGER: Not too bad, thanks for asking.

Busy!

A recap: In the past few months, my wife, Alyssa, and I moved to a small farm south of Mankato and inherited 37 chickens, took a new job as the director of operations with the Mankato Symphony, transitioned to adjunct at Bethany, became the executive director of a new professional chamber music-producing organization called ProMusica Minnesota, and working on a new big piece for a Minnesota State Arts Board grant.

I’ve never put it in a list. It sounds crazy seeing it like that.

MM: The pandemic has caused many things to be postponed or canceled, including theater performances. What has been the experience of theater at Bethany Lutheran College during the pandemic?

BI: It’s been an uphill battle, but I’m very thankful we have been able to forge forward with some public performances while trying to keep our audience and students safe and comfortable.

Our staff and students have been fantastic rolling with all of the last-second changes and surprises,

12 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

but theater has definitely (and thankfully) been happening.

MM: Tell us about “Jam Jar Sonnets,” a play you co-wrote with Peter Bloedel. What was the process like?

BI: At the time, my longtime friend and Bethany colleague Pete and I spent an enormous amount of time developing “Jam Jar Sonnets.”

Every aspect of that project was built from scratch: the text, the songs, the recordings, everything.

It was a tremendous amount of work but the product was extremely special. We had such a warm response from our local audiences and were chosen to remount the show at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Kansas City.

It’s had several performances at schools around the country too, which is fun. It’s hard to believe it was a decade ago!

MM: One of your hobbies is birdwatching. What is your favorite part about it?

BI: Probably the simplicity and serenity. Birding is available to anyone under nearly any circumstance — with any level of commitment, at any time of the day or year, there is stuff to see and hear.

When I was learning, it was a truly eye-opening experience to better understand what had actually always been surrounding me, but I hadn’t paid enough attention to it.

MM: You’ve composed music for various video games. How did you get into composing music for video games?

BI: It was something I had been interested in for a long time, but a high school friend of mine put me in touch with a game developer who took the time to listen to my work and give me some great advice.

From there I got to start working with some Minnesota developers and met other indie developers through message boards, Reddit, conferences, etc.

My theater background was very helpful being already acquainted with creating music in a narrative and adaptive manner.

Benji Inniger working from his home’s studio.

MM: What’s your favorite part about composing music for video games?

BI: Probably the variety. Certainly in all the different styles, ethos and methods of music, but in also the variety of people.

Much of remote video game development happens all over the world, so I particularly love that I have been able to meet and work with great people from all over the place.

In the couple of years, I’ve been able to work with folks in Seattle, Kentucky, Malta, England, Germany, San Salvador, Italy, China and Finland.

I’ve also found the people in the game industry to be particularly kind and open folks.

MM: Can you tell us a little bit about the Becky Buller concert arrangement?

BI: Sadly it hasn’t been performed yet, but last year the Mankato Area Youth Symphony Orchestra contacted me to arrange a few of Becky’s bluegrass tunes that she and MAYSO could perform together.

We finished four songs, but sadly COVID happened so the concert is indefinitely postponed. Becky was so kind and fun to work with, and it was a whole different way of thinking for me.

I was/am incredibly honored to be a part of it and appreciated the challenge. Here’s hoping the concert can safely happen soon!

MM: Among many things, you are also a sound designer. What are some things that people might not know about being a sound designer?

BI: One of my favorite aspects of sound design is its transparency.

It’s easier to notice other design elements such as set, costumes, hair/makeup, lighting, etc. Of course the big, ostentatious moments are highly noticeable and potentially memorable, but it is great fun as a sound designer to see how you can affect an audience’s experience without them noticing you did anything.

MM: If you could share a meal with any four individuals, living or dead, who would they be?

BI: John Williams, J.S. Bach, Lauryn Hill, Anthony Bourdain. It would be an amazing and awkward lunch.

MM: What is something that people might not know about you?

BI: I love to travel! Alaska is the only U.S. state I haven’t visited yet and have a life goal to make it to all the continents except Antarctica.

I’m not a big fan of the cold, and Minnesota is bad enough.

MM: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

BI: Just to wish everyone a safe and happy 2021. Here’s hoping it’s a great antidote to 2020.

Compiled by Diana Rojo-Garcia MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 13

DAY TRIP DESTINATIONS: STAY HOME Diana Rojo-Garcia

Create your own beer flight with Minnesota beers. Some taprooms are open, but check in with the breweries first for safety protocols and availability. Photo Pexels

Stay home!

Or not … Places to experience Minnesota at home or to visit

T

he world is slowly reopening after a year of being in the grasp of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safety plans are set in place in establishments for patrons to visit, though the risk of contracting COVID-19 still remains, especially for those at high risk.

But as the curious beings we are, the itch to experience new things grows each day as the pandemic continues. Why not create a “new normal” of experiencing travel at home?

Minnesota beer flights

The best part of this plan? You don’t have to plan for a designated driver! (Unless you’re not home, of course.)

Curate a Minnestoan beer flight by heading to your local liquor store for curbside or in-person shopping.

What better way than to get a flight of quality

14 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Minnesotan beer while also supporting Minnesotan breweries?

Most liquor stores have a section dedicated to Minnesota beers (also wines and spirits), but we’ll provide some suggestions for those who don’t know where to start. Look out for variety packs, too!

Throw in Heggie’s, a Minnesota’s frozen pizza, into the oven and visit these brews from home: n Castle Danger Brewery’s Castle Cream Ale or Red Hop n BauHaus’s Wonderstuff Pilsner n Finnegans’ Dead Poet, Fan Pack and Irish Amber n And for the non-beer drinkers, give Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery cider, Loon Juice, a shot (no pun intended).

Don’t forget our local breweries, too. Add in Mankato Brewery, LocAle, Schell’s and Lost Sanity in

Madelia.

And if you’re comfortable being out and about, some of these breweries’ taprooms are open with COVID-19 protocols in place to protect beer lovers and staff. Make sure to check out their websites before making the trip, though, for more information on their availability and rules.

Made in Minnesota

OK, now that you’ve got your beer and pizza, throw on a flick filmed in Minnesota.

No, not “Fargo,” or “The Mighty Ducks” or even “Purple Rain.”

Though they are great movies.

Here are some other suggestions of movies filmed in Minnesota.

And hey, maybe you can visit the locations, too: n “Mallrats,” the classic 1995 bromance film, was filmed in Eden Prairie Center mall in Eden Prairie. n Hear me out on this one, Pixar’s “Inside Out.” The animated film (which will make you cry) looks into the mind of Riley, a young Minnesota girl. The film personifies Riley’s emotions dealing with the move from Minnesota to California. Riley misses her friends, and as any Minnesotan would, longs for her home state and playing hockey. It wasn’t technically filmed in Minnesota but does capture the love we have for our state beautifully. n “Drop Dead Gorgeous” features a young Kristin Dunst and was largely filmed in Waconia. The film also stars Amy Adams who moved to Chanhassen earlier in her career and performed at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater for three years.

Get cultured

Expand your mind and enjoy the arts from your sofa.

Some of these museums are open to the public with COVID-19 protocols in place, but they also offer virtual activities and exhibits through their websites: n The Minnesota Children’s Museum is open by reservations only and also features Disney Jr.’s “Doc McStuffins” exhibit through May 9. But check out mcm. org/virtual-art-for-home. The museum offers live “doodles

The 1995 film, “Mallrats” was filmed at the Eden Prairie Center. A scene from “Drop Dead Gorgeous” was also filmed in its parking lot. Wikipedia

The Minnesota Children’s Museum is open by reservations only. The museum also offers virtual activities on their website. Wikipedia and tutorials” including doodling with Mo Willems, creator of the children’s book “Knuffle Bunny,” at noon daily on YouTube; a live tutorial on how to make art takes place on Facebook 1 p.m. weekdays; and illustrator and children’s author Jarret J. Krosoczka hosts “Draw Every Day with JJK” on studiojjk.com at 1 p.m. weekdays. Otherwise, print out coloring pages from Minnesota artist Kelsey King. n The Museum of American Art also offers a virtual experience through “The M @ Home.”

Their website, mmaa.org, includes a 360-degree view of past exhibitions. n The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis also offers a 360-degree virtual tour on tmora.org. The tour features

Unknown Fabergé: New Finds and Re-discoveries, The Art of Valerian Formozov: Visions of the Russian Heartland, Imperial Images in Etchings and Lithographs and Winter Holidays in Russia. The museum is open to the public and admits visitors at 25% capacity.

And just as a reminder before traveling, the Minnesota Department of Health recommends taking into account how much COVID-19 is spreading in the community you’re visiting, whether or not you’re traveling with someone of high risk, the feasibility of keeping a 6-foot distance between others and whether you’re able to miss work or school.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 15

The year of the pandemic THROUGH THE LENS This year’s issue features much of nature

B

By Diana Rojo-Garcia

irds and butterflies. Bugs on flowers. Fiery sunsets.

Lots of frost. You all captured the beauty that is southern Minnesota through various lenses — DSLRs, point-and-shoots and so many cellphones!

Our chief photographer, Pat Christman, and very talented page designer, Christina Sankey, and myself looked through all the submissions our readers sent over for nearly three hours. The process was hard — so many great photographs were submitted. Like every year, a recurring theme always seems to surface. This year dozens of beautiful scenes of frost were sent to us from all around the area.

And without a doubt, nature in general was a popular subject. As we shuffle through the pandemic, everyone took to being outside — a place where one cannot only find solace but also comfort knowing there’s a safe distance between each another. Nature is clearly providing an escape as we remain mostly isolated from others but still connected through all it has to offer.

Despite the pandemic, many of you submitted photos that captured so much positivity, including this year’s cover photo taken by Mary Jo Tischler, of Eagle Lake.

As the three of us convened and sorted through the photos, Tischler’s photo of her 8-year-old daughter, Lauryn Tischler, stood out with its bright fun colors and a big ball of yellow cotton candy.

It was taken last summer when the Tischler family felt safe to head over to Spring Lake Park pool in North Mankato.

“She was there with another friend and we got some cotton candy at breaktime, and she just had this cute, bright swimsuit and this big thing of cotton candy,” Tischler said. “I just thought it’d be a great photo.”

Tischler usually uses her actual bigger camera to take photographs of her kids throughout a year to create an online scrapbook for her two children. But this day she had her iPhone on her. (Don’t want to risk the camera falling in the water!)

And Tischler, who’s been submitting to Mankato Magazine since 2015, also takes pictures of landscapes — a way to appreciate nature some more.

“I snap photos when I see something really beautiful, of course, but photos don’t always capture the beauty of it,” she said.

This photograph in particular will preserve the memory of her daughter’s childhood fun and innocence.

“And with the pandemic, it will remind me of when we were able to get out and still have fun and enjoy childhood the best we could.”

Maddie Hart 16 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Barbara Holmin

Margie Nelson

Lisa Johnson

Jackson Smith MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 17

Meg Habberstad

Marge Miller

Sandy Howe

Lisa Johnson 18 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Gretchen Zellmer

Carol Jackson

Kelly Jaeger

Mary Kay Ash MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 19

Bruce Boyce

Sapphire Anderson

Chris Harris

Emily Stark 20 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Ben Suker

Randy Wood

Terri Michels

Ross Libby MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 21

Chris Harris 22 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Erin J Guentzel

Ann Judkins

Laurie Gresch

Mary Walchuk

Gail Heaberlin

Nancy Haag MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 23

Sarah Denn

Kelly Cummiskey

Gary Gintner

Stan Bruss

Missy Manderfeld 24 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Janet Costello

Tom Hager

Cindy Shirk

Kathryn Wilking MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 25

Jennifer Potocnik 26 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Fred Friedrichs

David Dobler

Deborah Reichel

Sarah Denn MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 27

Jody Lepp 28 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Daniel Vorwerk

Kylie Paulson

Gretchen Zellmer

Heather Swanson

David Briese

Tom Royer MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 29

Carol Marston 30 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Barb Lindsay

Barbara Holmin

Todd Ouren

Sharon Chader MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 31

REFLECTIONS

By Pat Christman

O

ur Mankato Magazine photo issue is one of the most popular of the year. It’s easy to see why. Many love to see how their friends and neighbors see the beauty in our community. This year is no different. By perusing the pages this month, you can clearly see that we received a lot of excellent submissions. Many of them centered around a frosty theme, showcasing trees, barns and fences coated with a thin layer of cold. I couldn’t resist getting into the act with my own submission. MM

32 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 33

Kathleen Felt

Rachel Olmanson

Mary Davenportt 34 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Vivian Hanel

Mary Walchuk

Wendell Rode

Ann Luebben

Brenda Kotasek

Terri Michels MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 35

Tom Frisk 36 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Ava Lepp

Charlene Bradley

Sara Rose

Kylie Paulson

Kari Welter MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 37

Levi Janssen 38 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Jennifer Potocnik

Sara Breithbarth

Ben Suker

Kathy Wortel

Trudi Olmanson MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 39

Cinda Wallace

Emily Stark

Nathan Enevold

Charlene Bradkey

Jill Fischer 40 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Richard Crumb

Rachel Olmanson

Carla Mills

Mark Braun MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 41

Daniel Vorwerk 42 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Amy Lynch

David Dobler

Laurie Gresch Janet Costello

Carla Mills

Mary Gitter-Zehnder

Marc Crawford

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 43

Cinda Wallace

Kristen Anderson

Jayne Wolle

Kay Herbst Helms 44 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Deb Morrison

Kendra Broussard

Ann Judkins

David Briese

Jackson Smith MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 45

James Folden 46 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Thomas Thorton

Paul Allan

Brenda Kotasek

Trudi Olmanson

Patty Melvin MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 47

Levi Janssen

Julia Thorleifson 48 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Mary Kay Ash

Daniel Morales

Kristen Anderson

Jill Fischer

Dean Muesing

Megan Torner

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 49

Shannon Bodick 50 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Richard Crumb

Melissa Reintjes

Greg Wheelock

Sara Rose

Dianne L Wagner

Barb Lindsay

Carol J Smith

Cheryl Koestler

Jackie Libby MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 51

Maddie Hart

Daniel Morales

Kay Herbst Helms

Warren Michels 52 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Lindsey Murn

Randy Wood

Bruce Habberstad

Tom Royer MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 53

Sharon Chader

Tom Conroy

Tom McClaughlin 54 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Marvin Topp

Kim Davis

Patty Melvin

Gail Heaberlin

Ellison Smith MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 55

Food & Beer

LET'S EAT!

By Dan Greenwood

SOUTHERN MN STYLE From left, chef Kyle More, owner Julie Johnson Fahrforth and manager Ali Kuderle.

The Blue Boat Restaurant focuses on ‘Blue Zone’ regions, rotating its menu Photos by Pat Christman

W

hen Julie Johnson Fahrforth opened the Blue Boat in downtown Mankato last year, she wanted a name that captured her vision for the new restaurant, which doubles as a retail art gallery and music venue.

“I wanted something that represented our experience on the Earth, so I came up with the Blue Boat – traveling 67,000 miles (per hour) around the sun.”

It’s a fitting title for the water and nature-theme artwork by more than a dozen local artists hanging on the walls and for the global cuisine on the menu. The food

56 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

offerings now rotate every two months to focus on five regions of the world known for healthy diets and human longevity.

Johnson said the menu is inspired by author and explorer Dan Buettner, a Minnesota native, who partnered with National Geographic 15 years ago to identify Blue Zones around the world. They are areas where people tend to live longer thanks to healthy diets and active lifestyles.

“I’ve always followed his recipes,” Johnson said. “That’s the guiding light with the menu. For the first 10 months we’re going to

follow Dan Buettner and National Geographic around those five Blue Zone areas where people live the longest, starting in Costa Rica.”

Johnson said the Blue Boat’s chef, Kyle More, and manager, Ali Kudrle, have been instrumental in getting the restaurant up and running.

“Her management skills are off the chart,” Johnson said of Kudrle.

From January until March, the Costa Rican-inspired cuisine was heavy on ingredients such as beans, corn and whole grains.

Empanadas – savory pastries filled with meat, vegetables and spices – have been one of the more

What:

The Blue Boat

Where:

12 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 1710A, Mankato

What they’re known for:

Global cuisine with a focus on “Blue Zone” regions known for healthy diets and lifestyle popular items on the menu, More said.

“We’re doing everything from scratch for the empanadas: the dough, the chorizo, everything is done in-house,” More said. “It’s a corn flour that’s stuffed with a pork chorizo with a variety of herbs and vegetables. We’ll stuff that, seal it, and either bake them or deep fry them.”

Another popular Costa Ricaninspired dish served was the gallo pinto, sauteed with peppers, onions and tomatoes with black beans and brown rice – topped with avocado, fried plantains and salsa verde.

Starting in March, they’ll be pivoting their menu to focus on Sardinia, Italy. More said he’ll be making the pasta from scratch and made to order.

“We’re going to get a pasta maker,” he said. “I’ll make the dough – it’s egg and a very specific flour that I’ll use – mix that up until it’s nice and solid, and let it rest a little bit. Then we’ll roll it out and put it through the pasta maker.

We’ll boil them and make the sauces to order, so it will be nice and fresh.”

The Italian menu will continue throughout March and April, followed by a change in menu

The Blue Boat doubles as restaurant and entertainment venue. every two months through October.

“We’re going to Greece after Italy, then we’re coming back to Loma Linda, California,” Johnson said. “They have a Seventh Day The Blue Boat not only features a rotating menu based on the Blue Zone. The downtown restaurant also features a retail art gallery.

Adventist diet, with If you missed the Costa Rican little meat, although we’ll have empanadas the first time around, meat options. The sauces will be they’ll likely resurface on the menu big with those items. Then our last later this year. stop is Japan.”

“We’ll have a standard menu Once they’ve covered those of that kind of stuff, and we’ll still five Blue Zones, the menu will have a special sheet for Costa Rica, feature a variety of some of the Italy and Greece (etc.) as we go more popular menu items for each through and see what happens region, plus some new dishes. from there,” More said.

“Wearing of the Green”

Goldsmith & Gallery Owner Patty Conlin 420 N. Minnesota, St. Peter, MN The Big Blue House on 169!

507-934-5655 stonesthrowgallery.org

MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 57

COMMUNITY DRAWS

By Kat Baumann

58 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

BEER

By Bert Mattson

Alcohol need not apply?

N

on-alcoholic beer arose in the U.S. out of Prohibition — alcohol was limited, by law, to .5 percent by volume. With the repeal of Prohibition, that remained as the upper limit of any beer classified as non-alcoholic.

Basically, to eliminate the alcohol, beer was boiled until the alcohol evaporated. This took a toll on the flavor of the product.

Legend has it that folks acquired a taste for the ultimately insipid brew and, from that preference, the market for bland macro beers blossomed.

W h i l e t h a t ’s p r o b a b l y a simplification, the truth is that non-alcoholic beer is not exactly known for its flavor. Some brewers turned to vacuum distilling to lower alcohol while preserving flavors. This involves heating it in a powerful vacuum to lower the boiling point.

More recently, brewers employ reverse osmosis — the beer is essentially strained. It’s pushed through a filter so fine that only water and alcohol can pass. Once through the filter, the alcohol is distilled from the mixture, which is then added back to the remaining ingredients.

Once the alcohol is removed, the beer is flat. Most alcoholic beer is carbonated in fermentation — as yeast converts sugars, carbon dioxide is the bubbly byproduct.

Non-alcoholic beer must be mechanically carbonated — the same process applied to a syrupy solution to make pop. Carbonation plays a variety of roles, from lifting the aromatics to affect flavor to adding carbonic acidity and influencing mouth feel.

So these non-alcoholic beers

are historically ... different. But, as with everything else beer-related, craft brewers have brought a new level of attention to these brews.

Growth in this segment is not insignificant — a Nielsen study revealed about a fifth of beer consumers are interested in nonalcoholic variants. The challenge is to manifest styles that look, taste and smell like their alcoholic c o u n t e r p a r t s . To t h a t e n d , brewers have been examining the styles, ingredients and processes appropriate to achieving flavor that fanatics have become accustomed to while adapting to health and wellness trends.

Merged major players Dogfish Head and Boston Beer (Sam Adams) have yielded two offerings — proof of the trend — riding the wave of fruited and hazy beers.

Lemon Quest, a wheat beer from Dogfish Head, has the added advantage of being under a hundred calories. Samuel Adams’ Just the Haze sticks to the popular

profile of Juicy IPA. Closer to home, Fulton Brewing enters the fray with Non-Blonde, on the coattails of the Minnesota institution’s stable of American Blonde Ale iterations.

Wooden Hill Brewing, in Edina, tends to be “can’t miss” for my tastes. The food is very good also.

I felt I sacrificed nothing with Spacer, NA Pils. Was I jealous of the beers my wife was enjoying?

Perhaps, but it’s about as good as it gets as the designated driver on a day trip.

There was almost no movement in this segment for 25 years, until a few seasons ago. It seems, with the confluence of health and popular craft beer profiles, alcohol may, finally, need not apply.

Bert Mattson is a chef and writer based in St. Paul. He is the manager of the iconic Mickey’s Diner. bertsbackburner.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 59

ANN’S FASHION FORTUNES

By Ann Rosenquist Fee

Pleated slacks are so pre-COVID DEAR ANN: What even constitutes a "dress-up" occasion anymore?

The other day I took a shower and put on a new sweater, my favorite shoes, earrings, makeup and perfume to go to the dentist. I'm looking forward to my root canal next month so I can wear my new shirt. Have I lowered the bar too much?

DEAR READER: Surely you noticed, in your dentist’s lobby, that nobody was making eye contact?

This is a function of early COVID, when social distancing was new and it felt better to avoid eye contact if you were also trying to avoid getting near a person. That uneasy blend of pretending we can’t see each other, while actually being hyperaware of our surroundings, remains the norm in indoor spaces. Best to accept this and dress accordingly, i.e., drop the bar to zero where indoor dressing-up is concerned.

F o c u s o n o u t e r w e a r. S e e : Stunning array of coats at the Biden inauguration. See also: You’re done with the root canal, walking to your car in a slushy lot under a cold gray sky, but you’ve put thought into your hat — cheerily Nordic, or bright solid goldenrod, or something that says “I am a person who lights up a parking lot” — and a fellow dental patient getting out of her car hollers, “great hat!” She shouts it with abandon because you’re at least three parking spots away so she’s free to aspirate while also enjoying the last bit of friendly eye contact before COVID lobby rules apply. She is your new dress-up occasion. Don’t let her down.

DEAR ANN: Can I invent my own style that’s comfortable, yet respectful, business-casualdefensible? This was among my goals at the beginning of 2020 and easy to pull off at first due to Zoom in lieu of in-person business gatherings. After some initial mild 60 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

St. Peter Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ed Lee ponders whether Zoom is ready for his radical departure from the signature light blue button-down. experiments, I realized I might never wear pleated slacks again.

I pondered transitioning to Levi’s 505 red-tags in jet black, loose New York-is gray denims and standard Docker’s khakis, all with outdoorsy dark wide leather belts. Up top, I envisioned mostly cotton, flannel even, button-down collar shirts of tame blues, grays, blacks, and perhaps even an orange. I would ditch the stuffy wingtips and favor rugged brown and black soft leather, blending — almost camouflaging — with the rest of what draped me. I dreaded the thought of wrong shoes attracting any label of “hipster wanna-be.” That’s the fashion faux pas I feared most.

I combed every thrift shop within 70 miles. Finding four skinny ties in the most matching

of blacks-grays-blues ushered in feelings of satisfaction previously unfelt in my long history of fashion dabbling. I capitalized on sales at my favorite store, Nutter’s, where I scored deals on a button-down lighter blue, a “chillin’ in the garage” short-sleeve, and six neckties impossible to resist (because there will undoubtedly be occasions).

I happened on cowboy boots, a Clint Eastwood-esque duster, an intentionally weathered sport coat.

Damage to my wife’s eyebrow muscles is likely chronic.

My transition to a style-allone’s-own has been liberating. It continues into 2021, my midlife — well, not “crisis,” but arguable fashion weirdness. The question for you, is, is Zoom ready? I come to you, Ann’s Fashion Fortunes,

for counseling and break-it-tome-gently advice. Thanks for your important public service.

DEAR READER: Thank you for this brave sharing of your journey, one that surely resonates with anyone who’s been deep diving into personal style now that we’re forced to separate “I wear this because it make me happy” from “I wear this because I’ve taken for granted that it’s what you’re supposed to wear.”

Which is to say, all of us. If we don’t use this time for introspection and reinvention, we’re wasting a perfectly good pandemic. Zoom is ready for your next steps. Zoom needs it. We all need it. For the greater good, I urge you to eschew the notion of “wrong shoes” and stride ahead.

Got a question?

Submit it at annrosenquistfee.com (click on Ann’s Fashion Fortunes).

Ann Rosenquist Fee is executive director of the Arts Center of Saint Peter and host of Live from the Arts Center, a music and interview show Thursdays 1-2 p.m. on KMSU 89.7FM.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 61

GARDEN CHAT

By Jean Lundquist

Get ready, get set, GARDEN! Inoculants lead to more productive plants

T

here are so many things to plant, and so little time to decide what those things should be. I used to try to plant something new to me every year. That’s how I ended up with okra, fennel, artichokes, celeriac and the like. These days I settle for trying new varieties of things I know I like.

This year I ordered Coyote Bush Bean from Ve r m o n t B e a n S e e d Company. According to the description in the catalog, it is the 2021 Bean of the Year. I figure that has to mean something coming from a bean seed company.

This 55-day bean has a concentrated pod set, making for more efficient picking, the summary said. It also “has amazing bean flavor,” the company stated.

I ’ v e b e e n g ro w i n g Contender green beans for a while. They take only 40 days to mature. I might have to plant a few of them again this year, as it will mean a meal of green beans two weeks earlier than Coyote beans.

This year I am also going to invest in an inoculant. I have used it in the past but can’t say I ever saw the value of it. My green bean green thumb has almost always provided lots of beans to harvest.

Last year growing them in bags didn’t provide nearly enough, so this year they are going back into the ground.

Because my garden is so much smaller than the one I had years ago, I need to make the most of my space.

According to the VBSC, inoculated seeds planted in a 25-foot row will produce 26.4 pounds of green beans.

That same row, without added inoculant, will provide 17.2 pounds.

By the same study, inoculated peas will produce 7.1 pounds, while those seeds not treated will produce 4 pounds.

An inoculant is not fertilizer but microbes that help legumes take up nitrogen already in the soil.

Because I’m going to fork out the $14 for inoculant, I also will plant peas this year. I plant them to be a snack 62 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

when I’m working in the garden. For me, it’s much more efficient to buy a bag of frozen peas than it is to grow them and freeze them myself, but there’s nothing like the taste of a fresh-picked pea to encourage the work of gardening.

If you’re in the process of deciding what kind of beans to plant, bush beans require a lot less work than pole beans.

They mature earlier, too.

But if you’re patient and willing to build supports, pole beans mature later but produce larger crops than bush beans. They also produce over a longer period of time.

I’m fortunate to have neighbors who purchase Copra onions for me from their source. They are tasty, and they last almost forever in winter storage.

If you don’t have a source for Copras, Patterson onions are supposed to be just as good and last just as long.

If you are purchasing y o u r o n i o n s f ro m a catalog or online, be sure you buy long day onions.

Long day onions begin to set bulbs when daylight hours approach 14 hours. If you decide to buy short day onions, they stop growing when the days are 10-12 hours long. When the daylight hours are longer than that, they flower and go to seed.

Some people trim the green tops off onions to encourage the plants to set larger bulbs. I’ve never tried that but might do so this year.

If your onions come out of the ground oval rather than round, it means you’ve planted them too deep. That could matter if you want to win a blue ribbon at the county fair, should we have one in 2021, but oval onions don’t bother me a bit.

If you’re starting seeds under lights, this is the month to do it.

Let the gardening season begin!

Jean Lundquist is a Master Gardener who lives near Good Thunder. gardenchatkato@gmail.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • MARCH 2021 • 63

FROM THIS VALLEY

By Pete Steiner

ONE YEAR I

’m guessing, if you’re even a bit like me, you sent out more than one Christmas card at the end of 2020 that included a line something like this: “2021 has to be better, doesn’t it?”

Like many, I was hoping against hope there could be a snap-of-the-finger turnaround from COVID isolation and political fractiousness.

Then came the dismaying insurrection at the Capitol and the too-slow rollout of vaccines. So was 2021 also to be historically demoralizing?

We l l , m a y b e n o t . T h e re suddenly seems to be some optimism that, while there’s a long way to go, we are starting to see a few good signs in the battle against COVID. Half a million deaths later, some light.

Maybe not the end of the tunnel but at least a path to start moving toward it.

■■■■ “Strange. Surreal. Eerie. Just plain weird. I struggle for the right adjective to describe this period … I have seen a lot, but never anything like this.

All our comfortable routines – social gatherings, outings, shopping – all obliterated by COVID-19. The sense that things will never be the same …

I am thankful whenever I get to venture out for groceries for a little forced socialization …”

That’s what I wrote for my May column last year, the first of three columns focusing on the virus that would upend so much of daily life, that would compromise our accustomed convenience. I still struggle to comprehend the vastness of COVID disruption.

As I looked at photos of elementary students returning to in-person classes after the New Year, I thought about how much of the special nature of those first few years of school has 64 • MARCH 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

been stolen from them and their parents. And of how much of the special nature of the senior year has been taken now from two successive years of graduates.

Yet if I start to list everything that’s been taken, I will need more than all the pages in this magazine.

Nevertheless I keep trying for the right metaphor: Is it like living under house confinement with an ankle bracelet?

When we were little, one year could seem like such a long time.

As one aged, each year became a smaller percentage of our total time on earth, so that some years seemed to fly by. Not 2020!

We kept yearning for normalcy, and for a while, it seemed things could start settling back as outdoor restaurant dining became popular over the summer and early fall.

Then came the big late-autumn surge in new cases, and we again retreated.

Recently, as some virus numbers started to decline – new cases, hospitalizations and deaths – Dr. Anthony Fauci said we might begin to approach some semblance of normal by this coming fall.

Could that mean concerts at Vetter Amphitheater? Rock Bend Folk Festival back after a one-year absence? Friday night football crowds? Booking a fall cruise? It never hurts to hope.

How good will it be to hang with friends again? To return to an office and mix with co-workers? To shop at a brickand-mortar store?

■■■■ This is the time of the year some of us would be planning to attend year-end concerts of our favorite choral groups. Not happening this year, as choral singing remains a major threat to spread the virus.

But for those who love choral

music and have not yet found this, here’s something very uplifting: The choral wunderkind Eric Whitacre has miraculously stitched together 17,000 singers from 129 countries, all recorded separately, yet magically merged into a virtual choir performing “Sing Gently.”

E pluribus unum. A beautiful quilting of sound.

■■■■ Finally in this column, salutes to two giants who left us in January: Henry Aaron and Larry King. I know a lot has been written and spoken in their memory, but give me my 2 cents.

Henry Aaron was a hero for me and my brother when he signed in 1954 with our (pre-Twins) favorite team, the Milwaukee Braves (before their move to Atlanta). He would join Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette and others to produce one of the greatest teams of the 1950s.

One little note you might have missed: Had the Giants offered Aaron just $50 a week more, their outfield would have paired Aaron with Willie Mays!

When Aaron made a stop here at MSU shortly after his playing days were done, he also visited our legendary Michaels restaurant. Brother Billy tried to buy him a drink but was told “Mr. Aaron does not drink alcohol.”

As for Larry King, you know I have a soft spot for radio guys. He was the King when talk shows were about the guest rather than the opinions of the host, when the goal was not outrage but insight. Fiftythousand interviews? Even Brando and Frank Sinatra?

Enough said.

Longtime radio guy Pete Steiner is now a free lance writer in Mankato.

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