From the Editor

JANUARY 2023 • VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1

MAGAZINE EDITOR

Robb Murray

DESIGNER Christina Sankey

PHOTOGRAPHER Pat Christman

COPY EDITOR Kathy Vos

CONTRIBUTORS Ann Rosenquist Fee Dana Melius Robb Murray James Figy Jean Lundquist Leigh Pomeroy Leticia Gonzalez Pete Steiner Nick Healy Renee Berg

ADVERTISING SALES Danny Creel Jennifer Flowers Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Tim Keech

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Barb Wass

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Christina Sankey

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Justin Niles

PUBLISHER Steve Jameson

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Spear

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

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $59.88 for 12 issues.

For all editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray 507-344-6386, or email rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

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

By Robb Murray

Plenty to keep you folks busy this month

There’s a peculiar myth out there. It suggests that, when temperatures plummet, people hibernate.

Well, whoever perpetuates that myth clearly has never spent a January in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

What do we do when the snow flies and less-hardy folks hole up inside for four months?

We hop on skis and snowboards and race down ice-covered slopes. We don footwear with metal blades and glide across gleaming sheets of freshly flooded ice rinks.

Sometimes we throw snowballs at each other or take those snowballs and roll them and roll them until they grow bigger and bigger — as big as those giant bouncy balls no one uses at the gym — and pile three of those balls on top of each other until they resemble, vaguely, a person.

We cut holes in the frozen surface of lakes, do our best to pretend we’re having a good time and pray to the angling gods that a fish swims by and takes the bait.

We create festivals built around the idea of celebrating the season for its bone-chilling and brutal beauty.

We jump into freezing water, to borrow a phrase from British Climber George Mallory, because it’s there … and to raise money for charity.

My point is this: Most Minnesotans don’t pack it in when fall rolls into winter. We merely put on our hats and mittens and embrace the fact that we get to live in a part of the country where all four seasons come in full splendor. This just happens to be the cold one.

When we did the 100 things to do in summer, we knew right away we’d want to do a similar feature for the winter months. We hope we were able to give you a few ideas or perhaps some inspiration to spend more time throwing snowballs at each other. (See page 16.)

Elsewhere in the January issue, we bring you the improbable tale of a woman who has saved two lives via the Heimlich maneuver. You might recognize the name Kristin Krusemark (or her maiden name, Kristin Kachelmyer); she’s a teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Mankato and for several years was the coach of the girls basketball team at Mankato West. Her story is an inspiring one, and a good reminder to brush up on that first aid course you took in high school (or perhaps never took, in which case maybe it’s time you signed up for one … you never know when you’re going to need it).

The artist feature this month introduces us to Allison Ellingson, a woman who specializes in sewing and quiltmaking. Ellingson has been working with Little Big Sky Farms in Henderson to grow indigo, a color she uses in her art for very personal reasons. When her son was born, he lost oxygen and sustained a brain injury. The color indigo, it turns out, is achieved through an oxidation process. It gets its unique hue only after it is exposed to oxygen.

“It’s a very one-to-one meaning. You have to deprive cloth of oxygen to achieve the beautiful blue. At that time in my life, that was really meaningful.”

Enjoy, and have a great January. Stay warm!

Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6386 or rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.