Mankato Magazine

The joy of PETS! Over 100 pics of adorable dogs and cats

Also in this issue:

FOUNTAINEERS Meet The Reporter editor MAX MAYLEBEN Dive into SHAWARMANIA Get ready for the

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 1

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FEATURE S OCTOBER 2021 Volume 16, Issue 10

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Pets, pets, pets!

Through good times and bad, the furry members of our family always stand by us.

ABOUT THE COVER Ruff! Walter the schnauzer is our cutest cover model ever!

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 3

DEPARTMENTS 6

From the Editor

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Faces & Places

12 This Day in History 13 Avant Guardians

From Vietnam to ‘Kato

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14 Beyond the Margin

New twist on reap what you sow

16 Familiar Faces Mad Max

18 Day Trip Destinations Wisconsin Dells

38 Let’s Eat!

Shawarmania

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40 Wine

Of ‘cougar juice’

41 Beer

‘Pumking’

42 Lit Du Nord: Minnesota Books and Authors

Head up north in picture books

43 Community Draws

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41

The Fountaineers

44 Ann’s Fashion Fortunes Not your Millais’ Ophelia

46 Garden Chat

In love with Brussels sprouts

48 From This Valley Cougar kudos

Coming Next Month

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Author Becky Fjelland Brooks is lucky to be alive. We’ll tell you all about it next month.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 5

FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

By Robb Murray OCTOBER 2021 • VOLUME 16, ISSUE 10 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR COPY EDITOR Kathy Vos CONTRIBUTORS Bert Mattson Dan Greenwood Jean Lundquist Kat Baumann Leticia Gonzalez Ann Rosenquist Fee Pete Steiner Nell Musolf PHOTOGRAPHER 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 DESIGNER CIRCULATION Justin Niles DIRECTOR

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

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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 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

For the love of pets

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honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have a dog.

In my earliest memories of life on the east side of St. Paul, there’s a little black fluffy dog named Jingles scampering around. I don’t know whatever happened to Jingles, and I guess I never thought to ask. I was a toddler. But I remember him.

Then there was Peanuts, also a little black dog. He used to run around the living room and I’d chase him. Invariably he’d run behind the couch, tucking himself safely away as I reached my little arms in vain to grab for him. One of my favorite family photos of all time is of my father sitting in his favorite La-Z-Boy with that pup sitting between his legs. Peanuts’ head is slightly cocked, looking at the camera.

They told me he ran away. I don’t remember being sad about it, but I do remember my sister Kelley working quickly to acquire a new family pet.

A family a few blocks away had a dog with a fresh litter of pups. Kelley knew the family and worked out a deal for us to get first crack. She had her eye on Coco, a beautiful brown mutt. But on the day she went to pick her up, Coco was being antisocial and wanted nothing to do with her. So she brought home Sadie the mutt instead.

Sadie was the GOAT. Perfect temperament. Loved everyone.

Loyal to my dad, but happy to play with anyone and everyone. She loved to roam. In fact, Sadie would regularly make the rounds of the neighborhood. I’d be out playing with my friends a few blocks away and it wouldn’t be uncommon to see Sadie walk by, just doing her thing. This was back in the day when a friendly dog could roam, and you didn’t have to worry about persnickety neighbors calling animal control. It was a different

time.

Next came Brandi, a cocker spaniel who loved to fetch balls and chew shoes. When my dad eventually had to put her down, I don’t think I’d ever seen him sadder. He wasn’t really a crier, but he cried that day. And so did I. I was petless for several years until Boo Radley came along. Boo’s issues with thunder were too much for us to handle, though, so we rehomed him to a family that could take care of him better. It was hard, but it was what was best for Boo. Then there is Henry. Henry T. Beagle, to be precise. (What does the T stand for? “The.”) He’s still with us, but it looks like Henry’s time may be winding down. He’s my best friend. I’ll be a mess for a while when he goes.

Of course, we can’t forget Mongo, the latest addition, who is a scrappy and spry 15-year-old Chihuahua-pug mix who acts like he’s a puppy. We’ve got him in charge of security. Takes his job very seriously.

And, of course, I must mention two others: Sister, the dog whose misbehaving exploits were welldocumented in The Free Press; and Edna, whose death left me sobbing at the vet and unable to really talk about even to this day … I’m actually having a hard time finishing this sentence.

For the people who have them, pets become an indelible part of our emotional well-being. For every Henry T. Beagle or Sadie, someone else out there has stories of best friends and GOATs that lit up their world the way my pets have lit up mine.

And that’s why we do the pet issue. Enjoy all these wonderful companions!

Robb Murray is associte editor of Mankato Magazine.

Contact him at 344-6386 or rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 7

FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Nicollet County Fair 1. The free kids’ Pedal Pull was very popular.

2. A wide variety of agricultural machinery was on display.

3. Abdul Salam throws a Ping-Pong ball at one of the games at the fairground.

4. Kids got to play with the robots at the Robotics Demonstration area.

5. Jeff Allerson, his son Kit and daughter Larkin interact with the animals.

6. Kids Day at the Nicollet County Fair saw a great turnout.

7. The midway had a Ferris wheel along with plenty of food booths.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Ribfest 1. Julee Johnson and her grandson Ryker watch the live performance.

2. Corey Rae White smiles as he plays the electric guitar on stage.

3. Gloria Nelson helps people out as they explore their options for food.

4. David Wittenberg and Michelle Schooff, Mankato Hockey Day Minnesota LOC co-chairs, talk on stage about the upcoming Hockey Day Minnesota that will be held in Mankato in 2022.

5. Kalliah Jackson sings on stage with The Lonesome Losers.

6. Cristian Brollier seasons some corn on the cob.

7. Brian Powers plays the saxophone on stage with The Lonesome Losers

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Breakfast on The Farm 1

1. Inside visitors were greeted by young calves 2. Kids got to play in corn between bales.

3. Avery Dorfner kneels down to pet the sheep.

4. Curt Roberts flips pancakes onto disposable plates.

5. Farming equipment was on display for children to explore.

6. A big board gave kids the chance to write thank-yous to the farmers and volunteers at Dauk Family Farm in Madison Lake.

7. Bailey and Taylor Rohrich smile for a photo through a tractor cutout.

8. Breakfast on the Farm is a free annual event offering a pancake breakfast, kids activities, along with animals and farming equipment.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

MN Senior Games

1. Daniel Kyllo, 61, throws a javelin.

2. Sharon Exel, 82, sprints down the track in the 50m dash.

3. The 50-54 age bracket men sprint in the 100m dash.

4. Dennis Hinckley, 70, attempts a high jump.

5. Jim Witt, 53, crashes into the sand after his long jump.

6. Joan Wisniewski hits the pickleball in the women’s doubles match held at Prairie Winds Middle School, Mankato.

7. Sandra Glas makes a return in the women’s doubles in pickleball.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 11

THIS DAY IN HISTORY Compiled by Jean Lundquist

Full moon provides plenty of work

What do Mother Nature & Corporate Graphics have in common?

Oct. 27, 2005 Transitioning to long, dark and cold nights plus a full moon in October means more mental health issues, and a busy time for the LeSueur County Human Services Department, said director Sue Rynda. Add a full moon, and the need for services intensifies, she said.

She said it brings out more depression, anxiety, and aggressive behavior.

She hypothesized it may be the amount of water in the human body and the forces of the waxing moon, but she said her 18 years in the business showed it comes around every fall. Rynda said in the lead up to the full moon, her department encountered more severe crises, along with an increased number of calls.

Local family a top popcorn producer Oct. 18, 1989 Since 1933, Raymond Hanel had been growing popcorn on the family farm just west of Mankato. He planted about an acre, and harvested just enough to peddle around to the neighbors. By 1989, Ray had his son Harvey and their families operated about 500 acres, making their company one of the largest in the state.

Like regular field corn, popcorn doesn’t come out of the field ready to eat.

It has to be dried to between 13% and 14.5% moisture, making it “daintier” than field corn. The popcorn market was expanding in 1989, due in no small part to the expanding microwave popcorn varieties.

“As snack foods go, it’s hard to beat popcorn,” Harvey Hanel said.

Nicollet man gets top prices for prize horses

Corporate TheyyGraphics both produce

GREAT COLOR!

Oct. 8, 1971 As a child of 11, William Gronholz raised canaries. He took them to shows, and increased his flock for 30 years, well into adulthood. Gronholz estimated he and his wife had more than 200 birds in their home east of Nicollet at any given time.

But all the while, he had horses on his mind. Arabian horses.

He wanted to be a top breeder of the animals. He fulfilled his wish, and raised and bred the horses. But a recurring leg ailment in 1971 forced him to sell his herd. He took them to the Hi-Fashion sale in St. Paul. His first two colts sold for $4,000 and $3,500. No other colt in the class sold for more than $675. He was offered $8,500 for the darling of the show, his sleek, gray mare.

He didn’t sell the mare that day, however, opting instead to give it to his 23-year old adopted son and his wife. People were amazed, Gronholz said, that a small-time breeder like himself could bring in never saddle-broke, trained or shown horses, and get top prices.

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From Vietnam to ‘Kato MSU grad student Mai Tran has come a long way

M

ai Tran, a printmaker and graduate teaching assistant at Minnesota State University, has taken her art to new heights since coming to Minnesota from Vietnam in December 2015 to study abroad.

“I always wanted to be an artist,” said 32-year-old Tran. “I was just so afraid of being one because of all the financial fear, so I stopped thinking about it.”

Tran, who said she couldn’t speak English when she arrived in Minnesota, earned her bachelor of fine arts in printmaking in spring 2021, along with a photography minor. She previously held a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Vietnam and is now working toward earning her master’s degree from MSU. “I worked as a designer for a while and wasn’t happy with my job emotionally,” she said. “At the same time, I was looking and collecting a lot of Japanese woodcut print images online, which I thought were paintings.

And I decided to free myself and make a plan for studying abroad in Japan, but I ended up in the U.S.” Specializing in woodcut printmaking, Tran said she considers herself to be a very traditional artist, rarely stepping outside of her comfort zone.

“Depending on the projects, I work on various printmaking methods such as woodcut, etching, screenprint and lithography,” she said. “But woodcut is my absolute main medium most of the time. Woodcut is the oldest printmaking method dated back to a few thousand years ago.

“The process is pretty simple: You draw on a woodblock, carve out all the area you don’t want the ink on with a specific tool called wood gouges, and then you will have a woodblock stencil at the end. Next, you ink up the block with oil ink at your choice of colors and

print it on paper, which I usually use eastern paper to archive the elegant look. Then, let the print dry.”

Much of her artwork features oil ink on paper with two-dimensional forms.

“Currently, I focus on monotone color, so I use black ink for most of my recent works.

But I do multi-color prints sometimes.”

Her homeland, as well as other cultures, are infused into her work.

“Speaking of themes, I employ many Vietnamese cultures, Vietnamese mythology, Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, various cultures, my self-reflection, my surroundings, abandoned places, dead trees, etc., basically anything related to the connection between human activities vs. nature/ landscape to my work. My art style is a bit on the surreal side of the art world and has an isolated feel.”

She not only receives inspiration from her Vietnamese culture but local culture as well.

“I am a very emotional person, so literally, anything I see could be possibly my inspiration. For example, I walk outside and see a lonely leaf floating on the puddle’s surface, then it is my inspiration of the day.

Shoutout to the rural landscape.”

Last year Tran showed her work at a solo exhibition at a contemporary teahouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, featuring the last three years of her printmaking creations. She has also shown her art at MSU’s galleries, 410 Project Gallery and The Grand in New Ulm. She is working on a series of woodcut prints about her experiences in the United States since her arrival.

“It shares the mixed cultures and some nonsense elements in it as well.”

The series of work may also be showing at Mankato’s 410 Project Gallery in mid-October, she said.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 13

BEYOND THE MARGIN

By Joe Spear

A new twist on reap what you sow E

ach October harvest leaves no doubt we live in an area of abundance.

Corn, soybeans, wheat, pumpkins. From the fields to the farmers’ markets, crops in a droughtstarved year still shimmer in the low angle of the sun in their gold, orange and beige hues.

In churches that dot the countryside from Bernadotte on the Nicollet-Sibley county border to Good Thunder at the end of Blue Earth County Road 1, it’s likely ministers will find a way to expound upon the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Galatians 6, verses 7-8 about reaping what you sow and other verses of harvest thankfulness.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

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Or 2 Corinthians 9-10: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”

The Old Testament can be interesting as in Job 4:8 “As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.”

But I like the guys who are now sowing things like Kernza (a wheat grass) in fields surrounding St. Peter and Helles Lager barley 15 miles from New Ulm on the Fort Road. Both are used in making tasty local beer. A fine harvest indeed.

In a moderately interesting essay in crosswalk.com, a website offering daily Christian Bible devotionals, the editors argue that reap what you sow is not the same concept as karma, something Hindus believe in.

Karma is the idea that if you live a good life and try to do good in all efforts, interactions and challenges,

good things will come back your way.

The crosswalk.com article “What does the Bible say about karma” posits that achieving karma or a perfect life is much more difficult than following a Christian ideal based on reaping what one sows because Jesus gives “grace” when we fail to do good things and “mercy” when we do bad things.

The goodness still comes from Jesus who, the editors note, had “perfect” karma.

On powwows.com, you can find out about the traditions of Native American harvests: “During the height of harvesting and gathering there would be great celebrations of thanks with music, song, dance, gifting and feasting. The general celebrations varied but often lasted anywhere from 4 to 7 days and maybe even longer. The rest of the time was used working hard and long to prepare for the coming winter.”

Music and dancing. I like the idea. Winter not so much.

With farmers and ministers invoking the reap and sow allusion, it seems it might be a good sell to suggest it for other endeavors, or at least consider its consequences with different framing.

Of course, applying biblical or even Hinduistic theology into the real world around us is fraught with risk of debunking our beliefs or at least being more cynical about them. When we frame issues around the pastoral reap-what-you-sow verse, we’re likely to come up with some unsettling results.

How does the principle of reap what you sow work for vaccines? Will you face the ill consequences as Job suggests of COVID if you don’t get the vaccine?

Witness the tumultuous civil unrest in Minneapolis and around the world after the George Floyd murder.

Did we sow that violence over 200 years of slavery?

It’s hard to imagine otherwise.

And then there are global warming and climate change. The book of Revelation talks about the seas turning to blood and the mountains burning.

Floods, hurricanes and violent storms are more frequent. California is scheduled for its worst wildfire season ever.

But there’s still time. Climate scientists say we must keep the global temperature from rising just a few degrees and we can make progress.

Reap what we sow.

The Great Spirit wouldn’t have created humankind with a need for sustenance if they didn’t consider what it would take to get it.

Peace. Cooperation. Generosity. Celebrate the harvest. Reap what you sow. Consider it every day in everything.

It’s good karma.

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

Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 15

FAMILIAR FACES

Mad Max Mayleben’s second term as editor of The Reporter should bring needed stability

I

Photos by Pat Christman

NAME:

Maxwell Mayleben HOMETOWN: Farmington

YEAR IN SCHOOL: Senior

LAST BOOK YOU READ: “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams

FAVORITE KATO RESTAURANT

f you’re familiar at all with the world of college newspapers, you probably know that most of the people who end up running them are passionate about changing the world through bulldog journalism and have a long list of journalism courses under their belt to prove their passion.

Current Reporter Editor Max Mayleben is a different breed.

While he definitely has an idealist streak, he hasn’t taken many journalism courses, and he’s probably never dreamed of becoming the next Bob Woodward.

But it doesn’t seem to matter. During Mayleben’s tenure, The Reporter has weathered a pandemic that saw their staff numbers dwindle and beefed up their news coverage and social media presence.

Mayleben, in fact, is a rarity among editors. Most serve one academic year, but Mayleben is serving two. He’s hoping to bring stability and strategic planning to help the newspaper come out of the pandemic stronger than ever.

What made you want to run a college newspaper?

I originally had no thoughts of eventually working my way up to this position. I was hired on originally as an advertising sales representative and moved around to various positions, finding I was better at some and worse at others. However, when it came time for a new editor in chief to be chosen, I found that because I knew so many different facets of the gig, moving up to this job seemed like a natural progression.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of the job?

I honestly love interviewing the different people around campus and the surrounding community. This job is such a great excuse to get out and get to know a ton of different people. I love sitting with someone, getting an insane amount of information, and then trying to figure out how I’m going to take that and translate it into a way for the average person to read.

Another rewarding part of this job is cheesy, but it’s getting to watch the people around me — and the paper as a whole — grow. There is something really special about seeing a nervous applicant sitting across from me in an interview turn into a writing machine pumping out multiple stories for each issue.

It really makes me feel good that the work we are doing here is benefitting people.

Jonny B’s

FAVORITE STAR WARS CHARACTER Han Solo

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What’s the most challenging aspect?

Money is always an issue of course. It seems like The Reporter is always in a fight to make sure that we have adequate funding to keep our lights on and our people paid.

Other than that, the most fun struggle is definitely the difficult nature of covering all the news. In the two years I have

set of long-term goals for us. For a long time, we have been floating from editor to editor and hoping we keep getting enough funding to stay afloat.

In my mind, creating a direction for the newspaper to work toward long term will sow the seeds of long-term success for The Reporter as a whole. Among the short-term goals, though, would be increasing our online presence and coming up with new and fun ways to get the campus news out there.

Reporter editor Max Mayleben talks with (from left) news editor Jenna Peterson, sports editor Dan McElroy and media editor Julia Barton about the upcoming issue. been here, we have seen a pandemic, protests, a presidential campaign come to town and a new university president.

There has been no shortage of news to cover, but making sure we cover it all, and cover it well, is a huge task — but such a fun one, and I love it.

College students are notorious for not reading newspapers. Does that hold true at Minnesota State University?

What can you do to get them to pay attention to your content?

Of course, it is easy to tout the decline of print journalism, especially among young people. However, those young people still get their news from somewhere. We do have a really good pickup rate when it comes to people picking up our paper on campus, and we even drop off the paper to various apartment complexes around the town, which is always met with great reactions from the students living there.

On top of that, our social media platforms are constantly growing, showing that students do use us as a source for their campus news. At the end of the day, we are the only news source that covers content that exclusively pertains to the campus community, and that is a crucial aspect to a healthy campus, in my opinion.

Tell us something that would surprise people about life at The Reporter.

We stay really late at night. I have been here for two years now, and it is a work of magic if we get out of the office before 1 a.m. on a production night.

I’ve even seen it go as late as 4:30 a.m., which was really tough. That being said, there is nowhere else any of us would rather be during those late nights. There is something about all of us working

toward the same goal, knowing we are working to put out the best content we possibly can every single Tuesday and Thursday. It is sort of an electric energy, and that’s why I love it so much working here.

Why did you choose to attend MSU? I was between MSU and University of Iowa, which I was all pre-accepted to attend … but then they sent me the bill, and it was around $20,000 more than I thought it was going to be. That made the decision a whole lot easier. MSU is also where my mom went to school, and it is only an hour and a half away from my parents’ house, so it felt like it was far enough away but also close enough to go home if I needed to.

You’re serving a rare second term as editor of The Reporter. How did that come about and why did you want to do a second term?

The newspaper board encouraged me to take on an extra minor so that they could keep me for an extra semester, therefore being able to stay on as the editor for a full year. But in seriousness, after a year of having the job under the looming threat of “COVID” and distance learning, I really felt that there was a lot that I didn’t get to achieve in just one year as the editor in chief. So this year, I really hope that I can take advantage of my time with an open campus, get a quality team built that can take The Reporter above and beyond once I am gone, and most of all, make a great paper.

What are your goals for The Reporter this year?

A big thing I want to achieve is a

What are your personal goals? Will you pursue a career in media or something else?

I don’t know exactly where my career is heading, but I know that I love three things: creating stuff, business and travel. So if I can find something that feeds all three of those, I will be a happy camper. I would love to move out of the state and experience as much as I can for as long as I can. I do eventually want to come back to Minnesota still. Can’t go wrong with having four real seasons.

You’re a major “Star Wars” fan. Why? And which character in the “Star Wars” universe do you most identify with?

I grew up watching “Star Wars.” My dad showed me each one of the original trilogy very slowly, one movie a month, then we could rewatch it as much as we wanted until the next one a month later. I think he did that so my brother and I would feel the pain he had to feel waiting for two years in between the releases in the ‘80s. I would absolutely love to say that I most identify with the dashing rogue-like demeanor of Han Solo, but I have a feeling my friends would say I am more like Chewbacca because I am tall, and no one knows what I’m saying half the time.

When you’re not busy chasing down scoops, what else occupies your time?

Another thing that I am involved with that I am extra passionate about is the YMCA Big Brother/Sister Mentorship program. I’ve been in the program for about three years now, — almost four with the same match — and it has been one of my favorite and most rewarding things I have done through college. This past year, they awarded me with Mentor of the Year. If anyone is ever looking for a way to get involved in the community and really make a difference, consider joining up. There are so many kids on a waiting list just waiting for mentors to join up, especially male mentors.

Compiled by Diana Rojo-Garcia MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 17

DAY TRIP DESTINATIONS: WISCONSIN DELLS

By Nell Musolf

Wisconsin Dells offers some of the most scenic views in the Midwest.

Wisconsin Dells: A scenic destination full of adventure M

EA school break falls on Oct. 21-22 this year, which means families might want to take the whole gang on a day trip. One possible destination is the Wisconsin Dells, a spot once known for summer vacations but is now open year-round.

Then again, a day trip might not be long enough to sample everything the Dells — or at least some of the highlights — has to offer.

Wisconsin Dells is in south-central Wisconsin about 240 miles from Mankato. The land surrounding the Dells is known for its natural beauty where glaciers carved gorges and dunes out of sandstone creating a bluff-filled landscape that looks both prehistoric and almost extraterrestrial at the same time.

The town began as a railroad town in the mid1800s and became a vacation destination for tourists across the country when photographs of the unique sandstone formations were taken by photographer H.H. Bennett in the late 1800s. People flocked to see the unusual landscape in the Midwest.

The mid-20th century saw a major boost in tourism with the arrival of the Tommy Bartlett’s Thrill Show,

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which featured a troupe of water skiers. From that point on, the Dells became a popular family vacation spot.

There are now more than 100 places to stay in the Dells, ranging from campgrounds to cabins to luxury resorts. There are also restaurants, bars and too many tourist attractions to list, so let’s start with where to stay.

If you’re into camping, you’re in luck. The Dells boasts almost 20 campgrounds from rustic to deluxe.

Several of the campgrounds are equipped for both tent and RV camping and a few have their own waterparks.

If you prefer staying in a cabin, the Dells have those, too. Several resorts rent cabins or cottages that offer a home-away-from-home feeling.

The Dells are known as the waterpark capital of the world and many of the hotels feature their own waterparks. There is a wide range of accommodations, from ones that are friendlier to the family budget to the far more luxurious and pricey.

Some of the bigger waterparks offer day passes making it possible to camp or stay in a smaller hotel but still enjoy a high-end waterpark.

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When you’re there, don’t forget to relax.

Water parks are a major attraction at Wisconsin Dells.

For those not interested in waterparks or miniature golf or amusement parks and prefer being in nature, three state parks surround the Dells: Devil’s Lake, Mirror Lake and Rocky Arbor.

While all three offer trails and spectacular views, Devil’s Lake is the most popular state park in the state. Mirror Lake is a draw for kayakers and has rentals

available. Rocky Arbor is closest to the downtown of Wisconsin Dells and has shorter trails ideal for younger children.

While you’re downtown, you can visit Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, take a stroll along the Riverwalk or visit Rick Wilcox’s Magic Theater. Then you might want to pop into an antique store or a candy shop. If you’re really hungry, you will have your pick of where to eat. The Dells has close to 100 restaurants, most with kidfriendly menus.

The Dells are close enough to drive to and visit for a day trip, but it might be wise to make it a multiple-day adventure to ensure you get your fill of waterparks, magic shows and scenic vistas.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 19

The

JOY

ets OF

Our furry family members help get us through tough times. This issue is dedicated to them

By Robb Murray

T

o Miranda Augustin, the idea seemed absurd.

After all, she’d only been sober a few months following a recent relapse. She was unstable.

Vulnerable. And now here was her husband, Aran, suggesting she get a dog, something for which she’d be responsible, something that depended on her to stay alive and safe.

“I couldn’t even take care of myself,” she said. “How was I supposed to take care of something that needs to be fed and taken outside? I was just so down and miserable. I was depressed and wanting to die. That’s where I was at. I didn’t think I could be responsible enough to do it. I was kind of on the verge of losing my job. I called in a lot. And so I just didn’t know if I was equipped with the right tools.”

And then he arrived.

The Mankato couple got Charly at 5 months old — not quite a helpless puppy and still with plenty of youthful energy.

Aran was right. Charly was exactly what Miranda needed.

“He actually helped me a ton. I was going through a really, really rough time, and he just brought new joy and unconditional love. It was so wonderful,” she happily recalled … until she gets to the sad part. “He lived to be just shy of 9 years old. We found out that he had gotten lymphoma.”

20 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

A new pet to love.

And then he arrived.

They got Walter as a puppy, which was exactly the kind of challenge Miranda needed.

“Little Walter just turned 4 months yesterday,” she said. “He has brought so much joy to the house and so much livelihood. It was so quiet when Charly left us.

He’s a little light.”

Pets.

Walter When Charly started to have diarrhea, they took him to the vet thinking it’d be an easy fix. X-rays, however, revealed something in his intestines. The vet thought it might be a dog toy. But when they performed surgery, the real culprit revealed itself. Cancer.

“They said, ‘Your only option is to euthanize your dog,’” she said. “I fell to my knees scream crying. I could not even believe it. He was my baby. I really struggled for a little while after we had lost Charly.

It was a pain I’d never felt before.”

And then, just like before, Aran knew what to do. When Miranda was saddened at Charly’s loss, he suggested the exact same remedy.

To the humans who love them, they are every bit a member of the family. And in many cases, they come with healing powers. They help us through loneliness, accompany us on journeys both physical and emotional, and become indispensable companions.

In some cases, such as Miranda’s, they help us through the grieving process.

Many learned during the pandemic just how helpful such companionship can be. When remote work became the norm, pets were suddenly hot commodities. And some pets were no doubt thrilled to have their human companions around a lot more.

But there is an undeniable truth here: For people who have them, pets play a huge role in our mental well-being. The love we have for our pets is one of the reasons we do a pets issue of Mankato Magazine. They are sources of

Windsor pride and we’re thrilled to be able to provide a venue for readers to show us their furry loved ones.

We also wanted to share a few of your stories where pets have gone beyond the call of duty to take care of us. Charly and Walter fit that bill perfectly. Now meet Windsor and Milo.

Everybody loves Windsor “We got him when he was 8 weeks old and he’s the best dog we’ve ever had,” said Diane Rauchman, of Mankato. “We go into Scheels and the girls and the guys come running. They know his name. He runs to the front for a pup cup. He runs to the back for the treats. I have him on a leash, of course.”

Rauchman thought about making Windsor a therapy dog. But there was one problem.

“I did a little research and it said the final exam would be that he would have to walk past a chicken nugget while I called him. And right away I just said, ‘Nope.’”

While Windsor may not have the official title of therapy dog in his future, his presence was certainly therapeutic for Rauchman.

She recently lost both her mother and brother just 11 months apart during the pandemic.

“Windsor never left my side,” she said of those difficult days. “If you happen to be a dog lover, you understand that the unconditional love given from a pet cannot be written in words. It has to be felt, felt in your heart.”

She lost her brother Brian first.

When he didn’t show up for work,

Rauchman said she had a feeling he’d passed. Sure enough, when they went to his home, they found him dead on the floor. Massive heart attack.

A few days later, she had to tell her mom, who suffered from dementia and was living in a nursing home prior to her death.

“I brought her a shoe box of pictures (of Brian) to look at. And I said, ‘Do you want to look through these?’ And she said yes and she looked through them. When I came back the next day she said, ‘Who’s that cute little boy?’ I said, ‘Well, that’s Brian’ ... So, you know, that was tough.”

A lot of probate paperwork followed, she said. It got to be overwhelming.

Windsor was there to help make her feel better.

“Every day right after lunch he would look at me and run downstairs,” she recalled. “He touches the door handle, and he touches the leash. Then he’ll go back to the door handle and back to the leash.

“There was a connection right away when I met him,” she said.

“Our other dog had died. We had run to get some groceries and we got home and he was laying by the side of the wall. I said, ‘Spot, what’s the matter?’ And he looked at me and he took his last breath. So he waited for us to come home. So then I said to my husband, ‘I can’t get another puppy. I just can’t do it.

I get too attached.’”

They waited a while after Spot died, but eventually her husband brought home a golden retriever puppy.

“He took him out of that truck and it was love at first sight,” she said. “He was adorable. He was just a little blond ball with a big belly and big brown eyes.”

‘If Milo can’t come, I’m not coming’ Nicole Black, of Mankato, has had an emotional support animal for seven years. His name is Milo.

“I have a child now, too, but I say he’s my first baby,” she said.

“Because anybody who knows me knows that he’s going to be with me most of the time. If Milo can’t come, I’m not coming.”

Milo helps Black with posttraumatic stress and anxiety-related issues. He’s also been a big help during the pandemic.

Milo “I sometimes think I could talk to Milo more than I could have a conversation with a real human being,” she said.

Black said being a single mom of a 2-year-old is difficult. Milo occasionally steps in to help when needed.

“Having him kept my child busy when we were locked at home and couldn’t go anywhere,” she said.

“And we didn’t have day care so having him there was helpful. That was just a hard time for everybody, especially people with mental health issues. And he’s always been such a support. And he’s pretty darn cute.”

Black said Milo is good at sensing her energy. He notices when she’s stressed and sticks close by.

“He definitely can tell when I’m sad or when I’m having anxiety,” she said. “Even my sister said a couple months ago he was really acting kind of funny and clingy to me and she said, ‘It’s because he’s reading your energy. You’re stressed so he’s going along with that.’”

Milo gave her a scare a few months back. She found a lump on him and her mind immediately went to a dark place. Her vet couldn’t examine Milo for several days, so Black spent that time fretting.

“I about had a heart attack. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this cannot be happening!’ We found out it was a noncancerous cyst. Thank the Lord it wasn’t serious,” she said.

“To me he’s like a person. I would do anything for him, and I am so glad I have him.”

MM MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 21

Ole - Eva Douma

Dexter - Jill & Aaron Rollings

Kato - Danny Creel

Smokey - Glen and Kathleen Schoaf

Bocho - Vicki Lauruhn & Tom Hager

Charles - Elaine Jensen 22 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Maile - Nekea & Brad Groskopf

Tigger - Nekea & Brad Groskopf

Lexi & Max - Sharon Nesius

Allie & Kodiak Nekea & Brad Groskopf

Lulu - Keri Armendariz

Marta - Colleen Wenner

Ziggy - Bonnie Frisk

Ginger - John Just

Jingles - Michelle Melby MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 23

REFLECTIONS

By Pat Christman

24 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

O

ur pets can definitely be “characters” sometimes. One minute, they’re chewing on shoes or shredding curtains.

The next minute they’re rolling over for belly rubs and purring on our laps.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a bird, cat, dog, goat, chicken, lizard or spider; our pets know just what it takes to capture our hearts. MM

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 25

Greta - John Heymann & Lori Walser

Ava - Warren Michels

Winston & Corky - Jeffrey Eaton

Wiley - Coralyn Musser

Bella - Jackie Sillman 26 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Teddy - Sue Ehlers

Cash - Eugene Hildebrandt

Scout & Jet - Diann Marten

Macho - Mary Beth Sinclair

Purley - Mike & LeAnne Sieberg

Luna - Bonne Knutson

Honey & Winnie - Coley Ries

Windsor - Diane Rauchman

Rags - Mike & LeAnne Sieberg MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 27

Loki - Mary & Jason Lamb

Bailey - Chad & Lori Christenson

Dexter - Jon & Dee Hagger

Skye - Amanda Williams

Sasha - Dee Janovsky 28 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Willow - Betty Hermel

Foxy - Jody Bohrer

Bella - Chad & Lori Christenson

Kooper & Stella - Rod Jensen

Butkus - Jason, Vera & Zach Hempstead

Dolly - Mariah Munsen

Lindy - Beth Schauer

Milo - Nicole Black

Zoe - Jody Bohrer MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 29

Ernie - Courtney Pankonin

Lulu - Trish Wingert

Annie - Trish Wingert

Meesha - C. Sankey and Family

Lil Kim - Jeff Foster

Sophie - Kate & Paul Williams

Jerzi - Lanny Johnson

Ava - Michelle Artmann

Lily - Morgan Lenhoff

Fella & IGmund - Cathe Olson

30 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Kirby & Tito - Sue Olness

Zeus - Brandon Hanson

Gracie - Jesse Heath

Tritt - Rachel Dittel

Callie & Lilly - Michelle Schock

Freckles - Kellie Lenertz

Coco & Kaya - Angela and Rachel Holt

Bandit & Allie - Kellie Lenertz MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 31

Baylie - Lorlee Peterson

Sam & Hank - Cyndie Rositzke 32 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Ella, Marley & Lilly - Mary Wiese

Syd - Mary Wiese

Dazy - Jamie & Lisa Tolbert

Nox - Raquel Ek

Leonard & Tommy - Julie Frederick

Bentley - Karen Eva

Maggie, Murphy & Louie Wayne Schultz & Roxy Bohlen

Zoe - Shari Westphal

Flint - Cindy Rutherford

Miss Fluffals - Shannon Sorensen

Jax - Shari Westphal

Walter - Miranda and Aran Augustin

Rascal & Claire - Diane Berge

Max - Dee Janovsky

Oliver - Joe Kunkel MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 33

Prince - Evelyn Schanus

Sookie - Mary Lou Kalbow

Piper - Deen Hunt

Bandit - Mary Lou Kalbow S’more - Zippie Meadows

Abby (dog) and cats Raven, Little Star, Oreo, Gracie and Little Stripe - Stan Spence

Lucie, Sadie, Nellie Sandi & Joe Rademaker

Logan & Lip - Kelly Thompson 34 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Rascal & Claire - Diane Berge

Charlie - Theresa Sedivy

Ranger - Rhiannon Ray

Cash - Rebecca Pederson

Stella - Steve Maas

Maddie - Brandon Hallman

Gretzky - Graham Waibel

Ernie - Beau Drouillard

Mavie - Steinberg family

Coco - Renee Southworth

Chloe - Kent & Connie Abrahamson MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 35

Nala - Graham Waibel

Maxie - Jack Follmer and Mary Sigfusson

Kayc - Kent & Connie Abrahamson 36 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Rufus - Ashlyn Rosenberg

Marshmallow & Ollie - Zippie Meadows

Zena - Lisa and Jim Hamel

Elli - Pam Schubbe

Rusty - Christine Schulz

Nermal - Beau Drouillard

Zelda - Sandy Jaeger

Bert & Mick - Deen Hunt

Hank - Paulette Uttech

Cash - Arlen & Kay Skorr

Henry T. Beagle - Amy, Robb, Emma & Sam Murray

Squirt - Christine Schulz

Penny - Emma Murray Mongo - Amy, Robb, Emma & Sam Murray MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 37

Food & Beer

LET'S EAT!

By Dan Greenwood

SOUTHERN MN STYLE “My main focus is the lamb biriyani," says Shawarmania owner Ahmed Kiblawi, "because it sells more and it’s universal, from South Asian to Middle Eastern.”

A taste like home Shawarmania offers mediterranean fare Photos by Pat Christman

B

efore Ahmed Kiblawi opened Shawarmania Mediterranean Grill in Mankato in 2019, he and chef Anwar Taha traveled to cities around the country known for their large Middle Eastern and South Asian diasporas.

“It was basically finding what was out there in the market,” Kiblawi said. “Chicago and Detroit are popular places to visit when it comes to Middle Eastern, Persian and Indian food. For us it was trying the best places and then have an idea of what we should do here.”

With the restaurant near the multicultural campus of

38 •OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Minnesota State University, Kiblawi’s goal is for his dishes to taste like home. For Kiblawi, who is Palestinian, the taste of home is the United Arab Emirates, where he grew up before moving to Minnesota to attend college at MSU. Along with recognizable Middle Eastern fare such as gyros, falafel and hummus, Shawarmania’s menu gives a nod to the cuisine that has shaped recipes in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the country. He said it’s common to have neighbors in the same apartment building who hail from Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Egypt. And the recipes of those

countries have infused themselves with local influences.

“Because the UAE is multicultural, you see people from everywhere,” Kiblawi said.

Shawarmania’s lamb biriyani draws influences from Pakistan and India, although the dish is found in various forms throughout the Middle East as well, with its own styles influenced by different regions.

“My main focus is the lamb biriyani because it sells more and it’s universal, from South Asian to Middle Eastern.”

The lamb biriyani requires a great deal of preparation and nuance, and it includes some rare

ingredients such as rosewater and saffron. The latter, a spice made from a flower, gives the basmati rice its unique yellow appearance and fragrant smell. The rice, known for its long, firm grains and aroma similar to popcorn, is flavored with tomato, butter ghee, onions, garlic and other spices.

“We marinate the lamb the day before, but the rice we cook the same day,” Kiblawi said. “We also add fresh cilantro, fresh mint and fried onion on one layer. Then we do another layer of rice, then the sauce, cilantro, mint and onions.

We cook it again for 40 minutes with the onion and add rosewater and saffron.”

The lamb biriyani, served here on Fridays as a special with a house-made chili sauce and cucumber yogurt on the side, has gained a reputation for its taste and quality well beyond Mankato.

Kiblawi said the dish frequently draws groups of people from Rochester and the Twin Cities who want to try it for themselves.

For customers on the go, a variety of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean sandwiches are also a popular seller.

“Chicken shawarma and gyros are the best-selling items here,” Kiblawi said. “I’d say it’s because they’re sandwiches that are easier to eat. Especially on campus, people want something to grab and go. I go to a lot of places in the Cities, and when you get shawarma, it’s the same price but they don’t give you fries. We make it affordable and add a complimentary side of fries with it, so it’s a full meal.”

The staff is also very meticulous about how they make their hummus, a spread made from a blend of garbanzo beans, sesame tahini, lemon juice, garlic and other spices.

“We cook it so it’s very soft, creamy and tasty,. Every customer who comes here will try it out and say it’s the best hummus they’ve ever had.”

Baba ghanoush, a spread made from roasted eggplant and sesame tahini, along with lamb, beef and chicken kebabs, are also big sellers.

“The chicken shish tawook is a very popular Lebanese kebab,” Kiblawi said. “It’s chicken breast marinated in tomato paste, yogurt and other spices. It’s very juicy and tender.”

Chicken and beef kebabs.

A new addition on the menu is a style of hamburger popularized in Lebanon. It’s ground beef topped with tomato, coleslaw, fries and a special house-made sauce.

“I always try to bring something new a year, two to three new items at least,” he said. “There’s always more coming.”

What:

Shawarmania Mediterranean Grill

Where:

251 Bunting Lane

What they’re known for: Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and South Asian dishes, including biriyani, gyros, falafel, hummus and kababs

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 39

WINE

By Leigh Pomeroy

Of 'cougar juice'… and other things I learned on my summer trip to California

C

alifornia can be a great educator. No one who's ever taken even the shortest trip there can come back and say, "I learned nothing."

As I write this, the California harvest is beginning, first with chardonnay, pinot blanc, pinot noir and pinot meunier, all picked at low sugar levels but high acidity for the best sparkling wines.

Yet by the time this article is published, the California harvest will be nearly over, including the remainder of the above-named grapes for the still wines they go into.

Hopefully, there will have been no fires. Unlike in the highly inaccurate and nearly godawful film "A Walk in the Clouds" (starring Keanu Reeves), vineyards don't readily burn. But the smoke that wildfires create can affect the grapes.

Indeed, a crisis for California, Oregon and Washington winemakers over the last several seasons has been: How soon will I get the lab results about whether my grapes have suffered from smoke taint?

When harvest season arrives, vintners have only a small window in which to pick their grapes. Are the sugars there? Is the pH correct? Finding work crews to pick the grapes is one thing, but testing for smoke taint is another. If getting results requires two weeks, that's too late.

Naturally, independent grape growers who have contracts with wineries want those wineries to take the grapes, smoke taint or not. If the wineries reject the crop, who pays? That issue becomes entire new paragraphs and subparagraphs in already long crop insurance contracts.

Speaking of fires, I've just finished a book titled, "Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California" by long-time Californian Frances Dinkelspiel. While the main focus of the book is about a purposely lit fire in a large wine warehouse in Vallejo, just south of Napa, in 2005, it also covers a bit of California wine history, including the saga of 175 bottles of 1875 Cucamonga Vineyard Angelica and Port, both sweet, fortified wines, that were destroyed in that fire.

Coincidentally, before going to the wine warehouse that later burned, that wine was stored at an estate home next to where I grew up. Of course, I only learned that when I read the book.

Even if you're not a wine lover — and I've learned that many readers of my wine ramblings are of this ilk — "Tangled Vines" weaves a fascinating story.

■■■■ 40 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

As I've written before, Napa Valley becomes more and more full of itself: Disneyland plus Beverly Hills with vines. Cabernet Sauvignon prices are through the roof, some asking more than $4,000 per bottle for the most recent vintage. What?

Compare this to some of Bordeaux's top-ranked chateaux, whose provenance and quality were established more than 150 years ago: Chateau Petrus, long the price leader (and actually 100% merlot), $3,715; Chateau Lafite Rothschild, a mere $1,006; Chateau Margaux, $769; and Chateau Cheval Blanc (the 1947 vintage of which was prominent in the film "Sideways"): The 2019 vintage is selling for a measly $499.

■■■■ Returning to my home state is always a mixture of enjoyment and sadness. Enjoyment of the lovely parts of the state where I can visit and spend time with family and friends. Sadness because of its lost innocence: the overpopulation, the crowded wded freeways, the environmental degradation, n, the huge gap between rich and poor.

Oh, and "cougar juice"?

Well, that's the name given to Rombauer bauer Chardonnay by California restaurant and at is wine shop personnel — a wine that probably the most requested among upscale, cale, middle-aged, female wine drinkers in wine bars and restaurants. Barrel-fermented, ed, from Carneros (near San Francisco Bay) y) fruit, its heavy vanilla and slightly sweet, t, caramelized flavors are very appealing.

And yes, I confess I like it, though if I tasted it blind I might associate it more with a light amontillado sherry than Carneros Chardonnay. To my taste, it's not a classic Chardonnay food wine that asks for seafood and poultry. Instead, it begs to be paired with crème brûlée, a lovely French custard dessert.

If you like this style of wine, it can be found in several Mankato wine shops, though at around $40, it's way above my price threshold.

To your health!

Leigh Pomeroy is a Mankato-based writer and wine lover.

BEER

By Bert Mattson

Smashing ‘Pumkins’ A

utumn is a peculiar period of intertwining traditions, old and new. The spirit of ancient harvest rituals seep through the iconic decorations of the season, filtered through a pane of colonial American influence.

It is counterintuitive that colonial Puritans would play transatlantic host to Celtic paganism. The word Halloween is a contraction of All Hallows Evening, the evening prior to the Christian holy observance of All Hallow’s Day or Hallowmas. It marks the start of the Triduum, a three-day remembrance of the dead.

To my imagination, the jack-o’lantern makes for an intriguing avatar of this contradiction.

Washington Irving’s gothic depiction of a headless Hessian horseman, set in a sleepy post-colonial settlement, was pressed with a publication d a t e c o r re s p o n d i n g t o t h e early trickles of famine-driven emigration from a Celtic and largely Catholic nation, which would ultimately achieve historic proportions. They carried with them the tradition of costumed ultimatums of prize or prank.

Symbols of American bounty such as pumpkins, straw, cornstalks and scarecrows, swirled in the melting pot with spirits of the departed and bleached bones of medieval reliquaries.

The strange roots of candy sacks go deep. And though labels will change this season like the leaves, pumpkin beer isn’t new either. Native Americans companion-planted corn, beans, and squash crops, understanding that this benefits the quality of the soil as well as staves off unwanted weeds and pests. These Three Sisters had been interplanted for centuries before settlers arrived.

Pumpkins, a cultivar of winter squash unknown to most Europeans, proved an available source of fermentable sugar in the relative absence of malt. Pumpkin was also an ingredient in flip cocktails — mixtures of beer, rum, and sugar caramelized with a glowing iron. As quality malts became more plentiful, pumpkin faded from beer, only to reappear as a flavoring element amid the late 18th-century Colonial Revival movement.

The modern iteration, reflective of pumpkin pie, is attributed to Buffalo Bill’s Brewery. Their American Original Pumpkin Ale, released in the 1980s, has proven elusive locally. The modern version in general had been showing strong staying power up until the pandemic, during which seasonal releases have been curtailed.

Fortunately, for those for whom

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a pumpkin beer might do the trick around Halloween, a couple of options abide.

A perennial pumpkin powerhouse from Southern Tier Brewing Company, Pumking hits the shelves early. This coppercolored, medium-heavy bodied brew brings pumpkin, spice, graham cracker and a peek of roasted pecan. It stops short of being syrupy like some and hides its 8.6 ABV notably well. It makes a nice reward for after escorting trick-or-treaters around the neighborhood in nippy weather.

Voodoo Ranger spicy release Atomic Pumpkin, from New B e l g i u m B re w i n g , t a k e s a different turn by incorporating habanero peppers. It’s a pleasant whiff of pie spice and a hint of peppers. Flavor follows the nose with caramel maltiness posing an interesting counterpoint to the heat, which isn’t overpowering.

At 6.4 ABV, a can could be the perfect companion to candy bowl duty.

If you favor local traditions, rumor has it a limited run of Pumpkin Grinder will be poured in Mankato Brewery’s taproom.

Bert Mattson is a chef and writer based in St. Paul. He is the manager of the iconic Mickey’s Diner. bertsbackburner.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 41

LIT DU NORD: MINNESOTA BOOKS AND AUTHORS

By Nick Healy

Head Up North in Picture Books “O

ne Summer Up North,” a new picture book from illustrator John Owens, captures some essentials of a wilderness journey in the northwoods of Minnesota.

Early on, a kid hunches with fatigue while following the parents on a long portage. Soon the family gathers under a tarp and watches a rainstorm over a large, empty lake. Later they pick wild berries on a hillside, and after night falls and the sky clears, they sit at the rocky shore and stare up at a blue-black sky smeared with stars.

All of this occurs without a word of text. Owens uses 15 two-page illustrations to track a family of three — mother, father and child — on a paddling trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Owens’ art is bright, vivid and sweet, and in each scene there is more going on than first meets the eye.

That is, generally speaking, the only way a wordless picture book can be effective. There needs to be a clear and trackable surface story (in this case, the key events of a child's first canoe trip in the Boundary Waters), and beneath that, there must be layers of detail in the art and in the characters’ emotions and experiences. Those layers are what make a wordless story fun for parents and kids to revisit, reexamine and reinterpret.

In Owens’ book, readers might go back and search for wildlife in each scene. They might spot an owl watching as the family huddles during the rainfall, and surely they’ll see some beavers bobbing up as the family paddles by.

And there’s much more to seek out. They might also track the kid in the story from initial wariness to weariness and onward to excitement and delight — and, eventually, to wonder.

Owens’ book, published in 2020, is one of a handful of recent children’s books that explore and explain 42 •OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

aspects of the landscape, life and history in the North Country. Several of them are worth tracking down, regardless of whether you have kids around the house.

“The Lost Forest” tells the true story of a stand of virgin red pines and white pines known as The Lost Forty. The book, written by Phyllis Root and illustrated by Betsy Bowen, both of whom are longtime favorites in the Minnesota children’s literature community, begins with this question: “How do you lose a forest?”

Root manages to keep things interesting and light while providing a kid-friendly nuts-andbolts explanation of how westward expansion worked on a practical level and how land was measured, marked and diced up for sale.

That level of detail is necessary to answer the question Root begins with. How was a forest lost? Through a surveying error, she explains. In 1882, a surveying crew in northern Minnesota made a rather large mistake. They drew a map that misplaced a lake. Their map showed a lake covering a large piece of forestland. Because of that mistake, the land was never sold off for logging. The trees were spared.

That’s why, as Root puts it, “you can try to wrap your arms around a white pine tree that is 350 years old” if you visit The Lost Forty, a remaining stand of old-growth pines Up North.

“On the Shortest Day” by Laura Sulentich Fredrickson provides a visit to the Northwoods as the winter

solstice arrives. The story follows a child and grandparent on a trek through the woods as daylight fades and the longest night of the year falls.

The prose in this book is bright and lyrical, and the illustrations by Laurie Caple are captivating. Caple captures the twilight with gray trees, purple hillsides and the pink horizon, and she has a particular flare depicting birds in wintertime.

Watch for the pileated woodpeckers and the snowy owl.

When it comes to birds in the North, none is more important to Minnesotans than the common loon. In “Secrets of the Loon,” author Laura Purdie Salas and photographer Chuck Dayton team up to chronicle the life of Moon Loon as she grows under her parents’ watch. The use of photos rather than illustrations gives the book an engaging hook, and Dayton’s skill brings readers in close to watch a young loon grow and change.

In time, Salas writes, “Wind whistles Moon’s wings. She is almost full-grown! Soon her parents leave Moon and her brother all alone.”

When autumn arrives, Moon’s next great adventure begins.

Nick Healy is an author and freelance writer in Mankato.

COMMUNITY DRAWS

By Kat Baumann

MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 43

ANN’S FASHION FORTUNES

By Ann Rosenquist Fee

Not your Millais’ Ophelia DEAR ANN: Some fellow art nerds and I recently did a Lady of the Lake-themed photo shoot at Hallet’s Pond. When I shared the photos on social media, a friend messaged me to ask if I was OK. Was my just-for-fun reenactment of John Everett Millais’ Ophelia (circa 1851) not really about living out an art history fantasy, but rather some subconscious highbrow cry for help?

DEAR READER: If so, well played!

Although I’d fine-tune that a little bit, and call it a cry for connection or community — a dog whistle of sorts, so that other art nerds might spot you and be inspired by your example and feel like “now here is someone who gets me, perhaps I’m not alone, perhaps I’d like to do my own version of artfully conveying my emotional state.”

Ideally you’re hearing from those people, too, with a different kind of message, one that’s more like “that photo is awesome, as is your suggestion that some days we all feel like we’re in some kind of singing/drowning limbo.” Perhaps you’ve invented something that can take the place of Vaguebooking or Humble Brags, and all of our feeds might soon be filled with honest, complex representations of the simultaneous lightness and darkness of living life. If so, it would be a noble accomplishment worth confusing a friend or two, and wrecking a dress.

DEAR ANN: I’m in a new phase where I’m painting my nails all the time, which requires buying new colors. I often end up disliking the colors right away so I get my stash at the dollar store to keep this habit affordable. One of my latest whims involved a great color, robin’segg blue, but when it dried, the texture was weirdly bumpy. I knew it wasn’t a function of old polish, which bubbles, because as noted I am stocking up on new polish as if 44 •OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Sara Buechmann, decidedly alive, at Hallet’s Pond in St. Peter. Photo by Emily Stark. we’re about to experience a supply chain shortage. I looked at the tiny print on the bottle, and guess what, it said the polish had a “sneaker texture.” What kind of sneakers?

Which sneakers are bumpy? How does this add value to my manicure?

DEAR READER: Nail art has become increasingly complex in recent years, with texture as its own sub-genre — crackle, glitter, matte, obviously now the crepe soles of sneakers. It’s a whole different paradigm than the one that was in place as you came of age (I’m guessing), when frosty was as wild as it got and everything could be removed with non-acetone Cutex.

You need not like the bumps. At the same time, in the interest of possibly discovering some new texture that exactly expresses something you had no idea you needed your manicure to express, I suggest you keep buying and painting and trying.

DEAR ANN: Right after the DIY phase of masks, once retail figured out how to make them cute, I bought a whole bunch of them in fun prints

and colors to coordinate with my usual wardrobe. Now I’m seeing all these new mask fashions for fall, and dang if I’m not really drawn to the ones marketed as “blush” colors.

They’re so plain, so basic, that I feel I should find them boring compared to my existing mask wardrobe. But they seem somehow foundational like a good white shirt or a bra that fits. Why are these solid-colored blush-toned masks speaking to my fashion soul?

DEAR READER: They’re speaking to all of us, sending us into the timeless style quandary that’s a mix of “wait why didn’t we think of this before” plus “do I have to get rid of my old stuff?” plus “awesome, a new thing to buy!” Not only do those jewel-toned peaches and browns and maroons echo the colors found on an actual human face and therefore look less weird and masquerade-like than some jaunty print that matches your outfit, they also allow makeup wearers to approximate the palate they’d otherwise create with lipgloss and bronzer and foundation.

Hold onto your first-generation masks as historical artifacts but

definitely acquire the new models if your budget allows, so you can comfortably and excitedly embrace a new season of pandemic protection. Not getting sick looks supercute on you.

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 | Amboy | Eagle Lake | Vernon Center | cbfg.net MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 45

GARDEN CHAT

By Jean Lundquist

In LOVE with Brussels sprouts W

ith one exception, I didn’t have an overabundance of anything in my garden.

That exception is Brussels sprouts.

I planted two seeds and both germinated. Both went crazy creating the “tiny cabbages” that are Brussels sprouts. Larry calls them “sulfur bombs” and refuses to eat them. More for me!

I canned enough tomatoes. I froze enough beans. I dried enough peppers and enjoyed fresh everything all summer long. We’ll have plenty for the winter, but I am especially going to enjoy the Brussels sprouts.

I wanted to pick some as early as August, and in retrospect, I should have. But I wanted to wait for a frost to bring out the best in them. A few sprouted on the stalk, but that’s OK. I have two of the best stalks of Brussels sprouts I have ever grown, and I’m going to enjoy them.

As usual, I managed to learn something new this year. One thing I did not learn was how to grow great Brussels sprouts — I have no idea what I did that was 46 • OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

different from past years and no idea if next year they will be as good.

I learned that the friendly little garter snakes so often found in the yard and garden have very good hearing.

We put in a new blacktop driveway this past summer, and one of the little darlings stopped to sun itself on the surface one day. Needless to say, it startled me. It used to be that when I became startled, I’d shriek. Apparently, I still do. That poor little snake squiggled away rapidly.

Toads also have good hearing. We live in a farmhouse that is nearly 70 years old. For the past few years, I have found toads in the basement. While that’s better than finding them upstairs, I still believe they don’t belong in the house. I gave what Larry called a “glass-shattering” shriek, and the little toad moved as fast as I’ve ever seen a toad move.

My trusty service dog Kohl came running down the stairs to see what was the matter. Larry sat at the kitchen table drinking his coffee and casually hollered, “What?”

He never did come downstairs to defend me from the

unwelcome intruder. No matter, the intruder was out of sight and never seen again.

Now the garden is put away. All my grow bags are stacked beneath the veranda on the shed. No more fresh produce for the picking, and for just this one month, it doesn’t make me sad. It fills me with relief.

But as the pandemic drones on, and we prepare to hunker down again, thoughts will be turning to the garden we plan to plant next summer earlier than usual.

I’ll take October off, but come next month, I’ll be scanning seed companies’ websites for new items to plant. I suggest you do, too.

As you may recall, last spring some of the biggest seed companies suspended sales as they were overwhelmed by requests and couldn’t keep up with the volume of traffic, or they just plain ran out of seeds. With a second year of the virus, I expect even more people will be turning to gardening to ensure a stable food supply and a healthy and enjoyable way to fill the hours.

Like you, I never thought I’d see so many empty shelves in grocery stores as we saw this summer.

While we can’t manufacture our own toilet paper, we can preserve our own food. Even if canning lids are not available, freezing is a good way to preserve many vegetables.

Drying is another method, though it is not my preferred method.

As you look to planting next year, I suggest you search for “open pollinated” varieties. That means we can save seeds and have a trueto-form plant next year, rather than a hybrid we’ve never seen before.

While some of these vegetables may be quite tasty, you can’t count on that. And you can’t count on seeds from these hybrids to grow the same next year from seeds you save.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to “normal,” or even if our new “normal” will resemble what we remember.

As we head into another winter, I’ll also ask you not to feed the birds in your backyard. I’ll tell you more about that next month.

Meanwhile, if you find a sunning snake or a wayward toad, one good shriek should have them out of sight in no time at all.

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Jean Lundquist is a Master Gardener who lives near Good Thunder. gardenchatkato@gmail.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2021 • 47

FROM THIS VALLEY

By Pete Steiner

Cougar Kudos B

ack in high school, you might have submitted a name of a classmate you considered “most likely to succeed.” Of course, at your 15th or 25th reunion, that person may or may not have “succeeded” – and someone else you barely ly knew will have done great things. gs. Lif Life fe and circumstances intervene; vene; hidden talents emerge. You know the most famous stories: ories: Steve Jobs’ high school GPA was a modest 2.65; Bill Gates dropped out of college. Both ended up changing the world. orld.

Now Mankato East is close ose to o finalizing the first eight honorees orees for a Wall of Distinction; n; we will know the names one year from now at homecoming. ing.

Three retired East High h teachers say it’s time to publicly recognize schooll graduates who have made e great contributions poststhigh school, wherever they hey might be now.

Marlin Spangrud, John Dorn and Jim Manske say the idea began percolating among them 15 years ago. They were finally ready to implement it in 2020 with an inaugural group of four distinguished alumni. Of course, COVID intervened, and as it did with so much in our lives, put the plan on hold. With new inductions planned in even-numbered years, it’s hoped that 2022, as East approaches its 50th anniversary, will be the year for the great unveiling. An anonymous sevenperson selection committee has indicated that final decisions have been excruciatingly difficult.

■■ ■ ■ The Mankato area has grown explosively over the last quartercentury. A current resident might assume there have always been two public high schools, with their cherished rivalry. In fact, East only opened in 1973. For a good part of the previous decade, 48 •OCTOBER 2021 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

West, then simply called Mankato High School (my alma mater and the lone public high school), had been bursting at the seams with graduating classes of 400 or more.

The School Board and the citizens decided the burgeoning east side needed a second s high school, to be built on Hoffman Road.

■■■■ Of about ab 12,000 graduates from East E during the past half-century, many have half-c gone on to especially notable accomplishments. notab While some are quite wellknown, even famous (say, for known winning a Super Bowl ring winnin or rrunning for governor o of Kansas), there are many who have more quietly established outstanding o careers and legacies, locally and a in far-flung places, with achievements in medicine, achi law, business, the arts, education, community service and the military. Some of their stories will be told via selection to the new Wall of Distinction.

■■■■ But wait, you say, there’s already an East High Hall of Fame filled with well-known names. True, but that’s primarily for those who excelled in sports during their time as a Cougar. Of course, there’s the possibility that names already appearing in the Hall of Fame will make it onto the Wall of Distinction as well.

The only mandatory qualification is being an East High grad who has been out of the school for at least 15 years. That means, of about 7,000 eligible for the first eight places on the Wall of Distinction, only one-tenth of 1 percent will make it! Honorees, according to the nomination form (available from East in person or on the website) must have “made

a significant and lasting impact (and) given unselfishly to make the world a better place.”

Spangrud, Dorn and Manske hope the Wall of Distinction stories can showcase positive role models and inspire current students to see what is possible.

Having glanced at some of the nominees’ applications, Dorn says simply, “So many great stories!”

A permanent display, featuring a professionally produced video of each individual that can be played on demand, will be mounted in the stage area of the East commons dining space. In those videos, honorees will be asked to include some favorite memories from their time at East, how high school may be different now, what challenges they have faced, and any advice they might share with current students.

Each inductee also will receive a handsome trophy designed and fabricated by East grads. Program costs are funded through gifts to the Mankato Area Foundation, as well as a GoFundMe page; anyone can make a donation.

■■■■ When they are revealed at homecoming on Oct. 7, 2022, some names will no doubt elicit an affirmation like “I knew they’d do great things!” Still it’s a good bet some of the names will be a surprise – someone who might make you say, “I never knew that person was so talented!”

Maybe you’re even thinking of someone worthy of the honor.

Nominations are still open for the Wall of Distinction’s Class of 2022, but they must be submitted

by Nov. 15. (Nominees not chosen for the 2022 class will have their applications automatically roll over for 2024.)

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

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