Meet some young people who are
SAVING THE WORLD
HOP DREAMS:
Angi and Nik Proehl open a brew pub
MUSIC MAKERS:
Assessing the state of live music in Mankato There’s no place like GNOME Mankato East High School student Elora Greiner JUNE 2017
The Free Press MEDIA
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F EATUR ES JUNE 2017 Volume 12, Issue 6
14
Kids who are saving the world
We touch base with a few young people already working on making the world a better place.
18
Hop Dreams
Angi and Nik Proehl, long advocates of craft beer, are starting up their own brew pub.
22
Red Sky at night
A few years ago, the Red Sky Lounge was ground zero for local music. But what’s happening now?
ABOUT THE COVER Elora Greiner was a great sport for us this month as she posed in Jackson Square Park for Pat Christman. (Jackson Square Park, obviously, was removed from the cover photo.) MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 3
DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor 8 This Day in History 9 The Gallery
9
Kay Herbst Helms
10 Beyond the Margin The river giveth ... 12 Day Trip Destinations
Gnome Fest
24 Essay Yearning for Red Sky days 28 Then & Now Lincoln Park 31 Food, Drink & Dine 32 Food
On the hunt for morels
10
36 Wine Roses
37 Beer Grill and chill 48 Happy Hour Coffee
40 That’s Life Always be prepared
24
42 Garden Chat Get a tiller
28
44 Your Style UPF is all the rage. Let’s welcome
the swim shirt.
46 Coming Attractions 49 Faces & Places 52 From This Valley Dave’s dregs
Coming in July
32 4 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
44
It’s our most popular issue of the year, the annual Best of Mankato awards!
Healthy Habit:
Try Something New Goal: Try or learn something new each month. This can be as simple as changing your daily routine, sampling new foods, volunteering or exploring a new trail.
Challenge Your Mind and Body Try a new trail Enjoying nearby trails and walking paths is a fun way to try something new, meet fitness goals and improve mental health. The Poetry Walk and Ride on the Red Jacket Trail, the CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour downtown Mankato and the Mayo Clinic Mile at River Hills Mall are easy ways to try something new close to home. Attend a support group If you or someone you care about is facing a change in life, joining a network of others who can relate is an important way to make new connections and reduce depression, anxiety or fatigue. Groups range from a breast-feeding support group at the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, to a stroke survivor support group at VINE Adult Community Center in Mankato.
Give your family a health boost — try something new! Trying new things: Improves mental well-being and happiness Leads to increased confidence and self-esteem Reduces stress, anxiety and depression Promotes personal growth and discovery
Register for a walking or running event Participating in fun runs, walks, marathons or related events can be a great way to get the whole family involved in something new. Events such as the Mankato Marathon often include something for all ages and abilities and are a great way to support the community while improving your own health.
mayoclinichealthsystem.org MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 5
From The Associate EDITOR By Robb Murray JUNE 2017 • VOLUME 12, ISSUE 6 PUBLISHER
Steve Jameson
EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Nell Musolf Pete Steiner Jean Lundquist Sarah Johnson Leigh Pomeroy Bert Mattson Leticia Gonzales Ann Rosenquist Fee Bryce O. Stenzel James Figy Colin Scharf PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman Jackson Forderer PAGE DESIGNER
Christina Sankey
ADVERTISING Phil Seibel MANAGER ADVERTISING Jordan Greer SALES Josh Zimmerman Marianne Carlson Theresa Haefner Thomas Frank ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey 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 editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray at 344-6386, or e-mail rmurray@mankatofreepress.com. For advertising, call 344-6336, or e-mail mankatomag@mankatofreepress.com.
6 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Tales of shame, regret and optimism
I
knew when we embarked on an issue featuring young people doing great things, it would resemble the polar opposite of my high school career. We found a trio of young folks who are doing things that would never have occurred to the halfwit kid I was. T h e s e k i d s a re r a c i n g t o volunteer at the food shelf after school. I was racing home to catch reruns of “Trapper John, MD.” These kids are starting student groups to ensure that all of their fellow students feel welcome. I was starting fights in junior varsity hockey games. These kids are making sure children from less fortunate families have gifts to give their parents. I was making sure the house was empty when my girlfriend and I came home after school. Different times, I guess. And different priorities. Nevertheless, you don’t want to miss our cover story to read about Elora Greiner, who is a young social justice warrior at Mankato East High School. Or Aubrey Houg, who has logged hundreds of volunteer hours at the ECHO Food Shelf. Or Sesamae Riquelme, the creative spirit behind the Santa’s Little Helpers program. In a community full of amazing youth, they shine as examples all of our kids can look to for inspiration. They’ll remind you that, despite bad news headlines about kids being glued to their iPhone screens, the future looks good. We’re also bringing you the story of Nik and Angi Proehl, current proprietors of Midtown Tavern. The Proehls have been craft beer connoisseurs for years. Ever since they met they’ve talked about
owning a place like this. Now they do, and they’ve got big plans for the place. They’re turning it into a brew pub and changing the name. That’s not all they’re changing. What they’ve done is extraordinary. Chasing a dream can be a risky proposition. The couple seems like they’ve got what it takes to turn the sleepy Midtown Tavern into a something special. And they’re doing it in a part of town that is waking up after years of slumber. If you love the place as it is now, you’d better get down there soon. In the not-so-distant future, the Proehls will shut the place down for a complete remodeling job. When it opens, it’ll be their new brew pub vision. Speaking of vision, writer Colin Scharf has one. He dreams of a Mankato with a live music scene that’s a little, well, livelier. When the RedSky Lounge closed, the Good Night Gold Dust guitarist says, the prime location for original live music was lost. Could Mankato be ready for a resurgence? Possibly a music festival? Possibly. Scharf points out that Mankato has long prided itself on being a music hub. Perhaps it’s time, then, for Mankato to prove it. Plus, check out Ann Fee’s discussion of sun hats and swim shirts, and our Day Trip Destinations piece about a town that chooses someone else to become a gnome.
Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6386 or rmurray@ mankatofreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @freepressRobb.
Event & Activities NICOLLET
Friendship Days!! Fireworks June 8-11
2017
n Demolitio Derby
ce Street Dan de Quilt & Vendor Show iddie Para K
Pancake Breakfast
ds Food Stan
Bingo
Petting Zoo Midwa Grand P y arade
Live Mu s Entertai ic & nment Si
lent Auc
tion
Check
WWW.MAPLETONTOWNANDCOUNTRYDAYS.COM See our website for detour information
AUG AUG AUG JULY JULY JULY JUNE
Life Is Better Here IN JUNE 17 JAMMIN’ Music Festival “Music in the Park” 4 LAKEFEST Food and Fireworks!
12 WASECA COUNTY FREE FAIR 16 FARMAMERICA Ice Cream Social SPRINT TRIATHLON
8 5 6 WASECA GARDEN WALK 12 FARMAMERICA Meat-a-palooza
June 16th-18th 2017 MIDWAY RIDES Full Bar in Beer Garden Friday & Saturday • Friday Events 5pm-12:30 • Saturday Events 9am-close Murphy Brothers at Night •Sunday Events 9am-5pm Parade at 1pm for more details go to nicollet.org
SPRING LAKE PARK SWIM FACILITY This summer, beat the heat at the sand-bottomed swim facility located in beautiful lower North Mankato! 2017 SEASONAL SWIM PASS RATES Family - $40.00 Single - $20.00 Babysitter - $7.00 10-Swim Punch Card - $17.50 Single Admission - $2.00
SWIM FACILITY INFORMATION Swim Facility Phone 388-1767 Opening - Saturday, June 3, 2017 Closing - Sunday, August 20, 2017 HOURS Daily: 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Open daily except during inclement weather. Not open if the daytime temperature falls below 70.
HOW TO GET YOUR SEASON PASS: 1. Go to www.northmankato.com, click on Spring Lake Park Swim Facility then on Swim Pass Sign Up 2. Or, stop into North Mankato City Hall and sign up for a pass there
DISCOVERWASECA.COM • 507-833-9281
Take the
PLUthNisGE SUMMER
FAIRMONT Aquatic Center • Splash Pools • Aqua Climb Wall • Speed Slide • Lazy River Slide • Sweet Shop OPEN JUN 3 - AUG 26 [Check website for hours and information]
1400 S. Prairie Avenue, Fairmont 507-238-9292 507-238-9292 ••fairmont.org/aquaticpark fairmont.org/aquaticpark
Offering the Mankato area Fun and Affordable Dance Classes
Summer Classes Starting June 5th
Fall Classes
Starting Sept.7th Check it out at ImpulseDanceMankato.com MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 7 & register online
This Day in history By Jean Lundquist
PRINTING
REFRESHING
COLOR EVERY DAY
Tuesday, June 26, 1956 Whisker contest planned at Blue Earth An elimination contest for all of the whisker-growing males in Blue Earth area will be held on Main Street in Blue Earth on the final contest on July 3 at 11 a.m. The judging contest will determine the five finalists in each of six contest divisions. A committee of ex-barbers will judge the beards, and all men who have grown whiskers are urged to come to this judging event. The finalists will be the guests of the centennial committee at the costume ball that evening. An out of tow committee of barbers will judge beards at the dance that night. It’s hoped that all Blue Earth beard growers will enter the contest. Wednesday, June 1, 1983 Musicland ad featuring these latest albums and cassettes Men at Work – Cargo Michael Jackson – Thriller Rick Springfield – Living in Oz Styx – Kilroy was Here Pink Floyd – The Final Cut ZZ Top – Eliminator Bryan Adams – Cuts Like A Knife Culture Club – Kissing to be Clever Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings – Take it to the Limit Wednesday, June 10, 1942 Good eyes help Uncle Sam If you’re part of the vast home army fighting to step up factory production, you need good eyesight. Get a thorough checkup now. Tillish Optometric Eye Parlor, Drs. S.J and R. J. Tillish, next to Grand theater, Mankato. Wednesday, June 16, 1965 Laxity hit in bad checks Sheriff Emil Meurer was in a grumpy mood today. His desk was covered with checks….worthless checks. He estimated the pile of some 25 checks, representing $1,000 or more, bounced into his office for a variety of reasons, including no account, insufficient funds, and suspected forgery. “People are getting too danged lax about cashing checks for strangers without proper credentials, or even proper inspection of the checks,” he growled. Tuesday, June 18, 1889 Elegant binding Persons having magazines, music and periodicals of any kind to be bound should take them to the Free Press bindery. The work done at this establishment in point of beauty, finish and durability challenges comparison of the best in the country, New York included. Call and examine the specimens and judge for yourselves. Prices as low as consistent with good work. Wednesday, June 11, 1924 “Frisked” for $100 Cash amounting to about $100 was taken by pickpockets from R. Barr, a farmer living about 9 miles from this city near St. Peter yesterday afternoon, according to a report to the Mankato police. According to his story, Barr boarded a crowded streetcar bound for Sibley park. The money was inside a checkbook at that time. Barr missed the checkbook while inside. He immediately left the car and called police. A number of suspects were investigated, but were later released.
1750 Northway Drive • North Mankato, MN 56003 www.corpgraph.com
The Gallery: Kay Herbst Helms Story by Leticia Gonzales
Hands on Photography Kay Herbst Helms sees stories in hands
D
espite not having art in school, Kay Herbst Helms’ flair for art started when she was a fifth grader in Illinois. “I’m older, so we didn’t have art really in school at all when I was growing up, but my fifth grade teacher loved drawing and writing,” said Helms. “She started an afterschool club, called the scribble and sketch club. Those of us that were interested would meet once a week after school and draw and write.” That short time after school stayed with Helms into adulthood. “That was the only contact I had, other than drawing on my own throughout grade school, high school, college,” Helms continued. “Then, when we had kids, I just started taking photos of them, and became interested in photography.” As a full-time single mom, Helms wasn’t able to dedicate much to her passion of photography until her children were older, except for a class here and there. “When I retired, I found I had all of this time,” she added. She started taking photography more seriously after joining a group in Mankato.
“Once I got started in photography, I s t a r t e d re a d i n g a n d s t a r t e d experimenting,” shared Helms. “I wanted a project, and I didn’t’ know what to do. I thought about it for a long time. One morning I woke up with the word hands, and that was my project.” As a volunteer at the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato, Helms worked with more than a dozen sisters for her first project, which included interviewing them and photographing their hands to tell a story. “I like to tell it with their hands, because people are less self conscious when I am photographing hands and they don’t have to worry about how they look,” she said. This past winter, the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council awarded Helms with a grant, which has allowed Helms to dig deeper into some of the social issues she is passionate about. “The last couple of years, I have been really interested in water, and what we are doing to our water, how important water is, what people are doing,” Helms expressed. “I have become involved in the past year and a half with the Seven Mile Creek partnership. Now my new grant is helping me to take photographs
of the farmers in the area, and what they are doing to help protect the water, especially of the Seven Mile Creek watershed.” Through her work, Helms aims to not only raise awareness to the issue, but share “the connections that we all have to each other and to the land and the water.” “The environment has always been really important to me,” she said. “What we are doing to it and what we are leaving for our children and grandchildren.” Through her work, Helms has developed a keen eye when it comes to observing the unique features in the hands of everyday people. “I think the main thing is that, each hand is different, and is beautified in its own way,” said Helms. “And then, when you find out what those hands have done ... to me it’s been inspirational. Because here are these pretty large ordinary people, and yet their hands’ stories show that they are more than ordinary. They are extraordinary. If I just looked at somebody’s hands, I could tell a little bit about them, but I think too it’s how they use them.” MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 9
This advertisement appeared in MSU’s student newspaper in 1982. The photo at top was not part of the original ad. It is used here to illustrate the kind of crazy rafts used in the event. 10 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
ƦƩƼƳƲƨ ƷƬƩ ƱƥƘƫƭƲ By Joe Spear
A river runs through it… and sometimes over it. T
he Minnesota River gives and the Minnesota River takes ô úʈ ,ãʰÜ Ã ã¨ ã ô ú ¡ÊØ ÃãèØ« Üʈ a¨ ã ¹«Ã¢  ô«ã¨ 㨠ÕØ«¼ ȺɂȿȾ ¡¼ÊÊ ã¨ ã brought devastation to man and beast alike. Monkeys and ¼«ÊÃÜ Õ Ø«Ü¨ «Ã 㨠ʼ Z« ¼ ú S ع }ÊÊ Ü ã¨ «¹ ¡ «¼ ʈ North Mankatoans worked around the clock to save their city. People took boats to what is now West High School. a¨ Ø ô Ü Ã ¼¼ʢÊèã ėÊØã ãÊ Ü ó 㨠«ã« Ü ¡ØÊ AÊã¨ Ø B ãèØ Ã ã ¼ Üã Êà ¼Ê ¼ ¼«¡ ô Ü ¼ÊÜã «Ã ã¨ Ø Ü è ėÊØãʈ ZÊ ȻȾ ÿÊÊ Ã«Â ¼Ü « ÊØ ô Ø ¼ÊÜã ãÊ ã¨ ĄÊÊ ʈ a¨ A«Ãà ÜÊã V«ó Ø Ø Üã ã Ȼɂ ¡ ã ÕØ«¼ Ⱥȹʃ ȺɂȿȾʈ ,ØÊë ¼¼úʃ ÊÃ¢Ø ÜÜ ¨ ÕÕØÊó ʃ èã « Ãʰã ¡èà ʃ ĄÊÊ ÊÃãØʼ ÕØʶ ã Ü Ø¼ú Ü ȺɂȾɁʈ ZÊèÃ Ü ¡ «¼« Ø ʢʢ  à ã«Ã¢ èã ÃÊã ¡èà «Ã¢ʈ ZÊÂ ã¨«Ã¢Ü Ã ó Ø ¨ â ʈ r¨ à ¡èà «Ã¢ ô Ü ăà ¼¼ú ÕÕØÊó «Ã 㨠¼ ã ȺɂɀȹÜʃ 㨠¡¼ÊÊ ô ¼¼ 㨠ã ôÊè¼ ã ¹ ˌȺȹȹ «¼¼«Êà à ãÊ complete was Mankato’s answer to Mother Nature. It was Ü«¢Ã ãÊ ÕØÊã ã 㨠«ã« Ü ¡ØÊ Ⱥȹȹʢú Ø ĄÊÊ Üʈ ú ÜÊ ÊèÃãÜʃ ã¨ Ø ¨ ó à ¡ÊèØ Ê¡ 㨠 «Ã ȻȾ ú ØÜʃ Ⱥɂɂȼʃ Ⱥɂɂɀʃ ȻȹȹȺ à ȻȹȺȹʈ a¨ ØÂú ÊØÕʈ Ê¡ â«Ã ØÜ ¨ ó ¼ô úÜ ã ¹ à ÕØ« «Ã ô ¼¼ 㨠㠨 Ü Ü ó A ù ãÊ Ã «ãÜ Ã «¢¨ ÊØÜ ¡ØÊ ĄÊÊ Ü ã¨ ã ôÊè¼ ¨ ó ÊÜã ¨èÃ Ø Ü Ê¡ «¼¼«ÊÃÜ Ê¡ ʼ¼ ØÜ «Ã  ¢ Üʈ Hã¨ Ø «ã« Ü ¨ ó ÃÊã à ÜÊ ¼è ¹úʈ a¨«Ã¹ Ê¡ #Ø Ã Forks, North Dakota, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ¡ã Ø ú ØÜ Ê¡ Ø¢è ÃãÜ ã¨ ã 㨠ĄÊÊ ô ¼¼ Êè¼ ÃÊã be painted because it would somehow harm its structural integrity, the Corps eventually relented. A Minnesota River mural was completed last year that gives the visual ÕÕ Ø Ã Ê¡ Êà ÊÃã«ÃèÊèÜ Ø«ó Ø ¼ Ã Ü Õ Êó Ø ã«Â à Êèã Ƚȹȹ ¡ ã Ê¡ 㨠ô ¼¼ ÕÕ ØÜ Ü ã¨Ê袨 «ã ¨ Ü ÊÂ Õ Øã Ê¡ 㨠ثó Øʈ I have my own connection to the river and it started in the ȺɂɁȹÜ ô¨ à , ô Ü Üãè Ãã ã A ù ãÊ Zã ã fëó ØÜ«ãúʈ ã ã¨«Ü ã«Â ʃ 㨠ثó Ø ô Ü ʭ¢«ó Øʮ ʢʢ 㨠ʼ ȺɂɁȹÜ ã Ø ¡ÊØ party. ,à A ú ȺɂɁȻʃ , ¨ 㨠ÕØ«ó«¼ ¢ Ê¡ Êó ØÜ «Ã¢ 㨠ÜÕÊÃÜÊØܨ«Õ Ê¡ 㨠AZf V ÕÊØã ØʰÜ ÃÃè ¼ VʢȾ Ø ¡ã Ø Êôà 㨠A«Ãà ÜÊã V«ó Øʃ 㨠«Ã¡ ÂÊèÜ ʭV ÕÊØã Ø V«ó Ø V ¡ã V Regatta.” I think there’s a redundancy in there, but no matter, 㨠ʭVʢȾʮ Ø ô Ü ¢ÊÊ Ø Ã «Ã¢ʈ , ô Ü ÃÊã 㨠ʭ ÊÂÂÊ ÊØ ʮ Ê¡ 㨠ó Ããʃ èã  «Ã¼ú 㨠Üãè Ãã ô¨Ê Êè¼ ¼  «¡ Ãú㨫â ô Ãã ôØÊâʈ A Ãú ¢Ø è ã Ê¡ 㨠㨠à A ù ãÊ Zã ã fëó ØÜ«ãúʃ ¡Êèà 㨠«Ø ô ú Êèã Ê¡ A ù ãÊ Êà 㨠ثó Ø èثâ ã¨ Ø ¡ã Ø ʈ ,ã ô Ü ã¨ ú Øʢ à «Ã¢ Õ Øãú 㨠ã Üã Øã Êà ثó Ø Ã ended at Sibley Park, where keg parties only needed a permit. Looking back on it, encouraging college students to drink ãÊ ù ÜÜʃ 㨠à 諼 èÃÜ ôÊØã¨ú Ø ¡ã à ¼¼Êô 㨠 ãÊ Ã ó«¢ ã Üè ¨ Ø ¡ã ¡ÊØ Ⱥȼ «¼ Ü Êôà ثó Ø «Ã ăó ¨ÊèØÜ ô Ü «Ü Üã Ø ô «ã«Ã¢ ãÊ ¨ ÕÕ Ãʈ Hüú 㨠¢Ê Ü Ê¡ 㨠ثó Øʃ 㨠¼è Ø㨠ÊèÃãú Z¨ Ø«ėʰÜ Õ Øã Ãã à 㨠BV Ü ó  Ãú ¡ØÊ à 袼ú Êèã Ê ʈ Who would promote such an event? How about budding
journalists. , Ãʰã Ü ú , ô Ü ó Ø ʭØ ¡ã Øʮ èã « ã ¹ Ø ÜÕÊÃÜ« «¼«ãú ¡ÊØ ã¨ ÜÕÊÃÜÊØܨ«Õ Ê¡ 㨠ó Ãã «Ã Âú ¼ Üã ú Ø Ü «ãÊØ Ê¡ The Reporter. Somehow spending hours on a wobbly river Ø ¡ã « Ãʰã ¨ ó Ü Âè ¨ ÕÕ ¼ Ü ¨ ó«Ã¢ ʼ Êà ô ã ¨«Ã¢ them all come in. a¨ Ø ô Ø ÕØ«ÿ Ü ¡ÊØ ¡ÊèØ ã ¢ÊØ« Ü Ê¡ ô ã Ø Ø ¡ãʂ ÃÊ Üʃ «Ã¢¨« Üʃ ܹ«ėÜ Ã Ø¢ Üʈ H¡ ÊèØÜ ʃ 諼 «Ã¢ à ÊÂ à «Ã¢ Ø¢ ãÊʹ ÂÊØ ã«Â ʃ ėÊØã à ¼ ãʰÜ ¶èÜã Ü ú ʭØ ¡ã«Ã¢ ܹ«¼¼ʈʮ ZÊ ã¨ ÕØ«ÿ Ü ô Ø ã¨èܼú ô Ø ʂ Ⱥȿʢ¢ ¼¼Êà ¹ ¢ à «¢¨ã Ü Ü Ê¡ S ÕÜ« ¡ÊØ winners in the barge category. The prizes were progressively ¼Êô Øʃ ã¨Ê袨 㨠ô«Ãà ØÜ Ê¡ 㨠ܹ«ė ʛ Ą ãʢ ÊããÊÂ Ê ã ô«ã¨ ܨ ØÕ Êô à Ü×è Ø Üã ØÃʜ ôÊà à «¢¨ãʢ¢ ¼¼Êà ¹ ú à ¡ÊèØ Ü Ü Ê¡ S ÕÜ«ʈ ,à 㨠ÃÊ ã ¢ÊØúʃ ã¨ Ø ô Ü ÊÃ Ü Ê¡ è ô «Ü Ø Ã ÊÃ Ü Ê¡ S ÕÜ« ô «ã«Ã¢ 㨠ô«Ãà ØÜʈ While one might think the engineering students at MSU or Ü ú 㨠  ØÜ Ê¡ 㨠¼ã Z«¢Â S« èÜ«Ã ÜÜ ¡Ø ã Øëãú «¢¨ã ô«Ã ã¨ Ø ÊÃÜ« ثâ 㨠«Ã¢ Ãè«ãú ÊØ Ü¨ Ø Ø«Ü¹ʢ taking involved, it actually went over and over to a group that ô Ü Êüú Ü Ø« Ü ʭ¡ Ø ØÜ ¡ØÊ  Êúʈʮ a¨ ú ôÊè¼ ÂÊèÃã 㨠«Ø Ø ¡ã Êà ¨è¢ ¡ Ø ãØ ãÊØ «ÃÃ Ø ãè Ü Ã Ü ã èÕ ØÊô«Ã¢ ÜúÜã Âʃ ÃÊã èü«¹ 㨠ÕØÊ¡ ÜÜ«Êà ¼ ØÊô«Ã¢ ã ÂÜ úÊè Ü «Ã 㨠H¼úÂÕ« Üʈ #ÊÊ ʯʼ ¡ ØÂ Ø ¹ÃÊô how. They won the race several times and usually with ease. ,à ȺɂɁȻʃ 㨠ʭ¡ Ø ØÜ ¡ØÊ  Êúʮ ã 㨠¼ã Z«¢Â S« ¢ØÊèÕʃ «ÂÕØ ÜÜ«ó «Ã 㨠ÂÜ ¼ó Üʈ r¨«¼ 㨠ȺȿʢÕ ÊÕ¼ Êà 㨠¼ã Ø ¡ã  «ã Êôà 㨠ثó Ø «Ã Ⱦ ¨ÊèØÜ Ã Ȼ «Ãèã Üʃ 㨠 Êú ¡ Ø ØÜ ¨ à ô ¼¼ «ÃãÊ ã¨ «Ø ¹ ¢ ú 㨠ã ã«Â ʃ ¨ ó«Ã¢ ÊÂÕ¼ ã 㨠Ⱥȼʢ«¼ ãØ ¹ «Ã ȼ ¨ÊèØÜʈ My next contact with the Minnesota River would be about Ⱥȹ ú ØÜ ¼ ã Ø Êó ثâ 㨠ĄÊÊ Ü Ê¡ Ⱥɂɂȼ à Ⱥɂɂɀʈ ,à Ⱥɂɂȼʃ 㨠A«Ãà ÜÊã V«ó Ø ¨«ã «ãÜ Ø ÊØ Ø Üã ã A ù ãÊ Ê¡ ȼȹʈȺ ¡ ãʃ ¡ÊÊã Êó Ø ã¨ ȺɂȿȾ ĄÊÊ ʈ ,à ȻȹȺȹʃ Ø«ó ØÜ ¡¼ÊÊ ¢ «Ãʃ ô«ã¨ ã¨ Ø Üã Ê¡ 㨠A«Ãà ÜÊã ã ) à ØÜÊÃ Ø ¨«Ã¢ ɀȽȹ ¡ ã Êó Ü ¼ ó ¼ʃ the highest recorded in history. aôÊ Õ ØÜÕ ã«ó Ü Êà 㨠ÜãÊØú Ê¡ 㨠A«Ãà ÜÊã V«ó Øʂ Hà ¡ØÊ 7 ú }« Ü Øʃ Êà ã«Â Õã «Ã Ê¡ 㨠AZf Øè¢ ú ã Âʃ ô¨Ê Ø ¼¼ 㨠VȾ ó Ãã ãÊ a¨ "Ø SØ ÜÜ ¡ÊØ ȻȹȺȾ Ü Ø« Ü Ê ÂÊØ ã«Ã¢ 㨠Ⱦȹ㨠Ãëó ØÜ Øú Ê¡ 㨠ȺɂȿȾ ĄÊÊ ʈ The Rugby Club’s vessel barely made it to Sibley Park in ÊÃ Ø ʈ } «ÜÂ Ø Ü Ø« ã¨ Ø ¼ ¨ ¼¼ â ʂ ʭ ¼ô úÜ having enough beer to make it to Sibley was a bigger deal than actually navigating the Minnesota River.” ,Ã ã¨ Ü Â Øã« ¼ ʃ Ü ¼¡ʢÕØÊ ¼ «Â Ø«ó Ø Ø ã 7Ê A« ¨ ¼ Ê Ü Øó ʂ ʭa¨ Ø«ó ØʰÜ ¶èÜã ¢«¡ã ¡ØÊ #Ê ʈ ZÊ ã«Â Ü «ãʰÜ ÜÕ«Ø«ãè ¼ 㨫âʈ ,ʰó ÕØÊ ¼ú ¡ÊèÃ Ü Âè ¨ #Ê Êà 㨠ثó Ø as I ever did in a church.” And the river gives, again. Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear. MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 11
Day Trip Destinations: Dawson Riverfest By James Figy
Dawson Riverfest: The Stuff of Legends E
ach year, another resident of Dawson, Minn., becomes a gnome. The rest place short statues with white beards and pointy red hats in the public library and Gnome Park. They wear gnome T-shirts and attire. They chant “gnomes to the dome” when the high school football team goes to state. They call their 12 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
home “Gnometown.” The Lac qui Parle County town has honored a gnome at its annual Riverfest for nearly three decades. Dawson Area Chamber of Commerce President Kristyn Wicht helps organize the weekend of food, fun and community, while dreaming of getting her turn.
“I will be the first black gnome,” she said. “It will happen.” The legend of the Dawson gnomes started in 1987, about a century after the town’s founding. The Chamber wanted to rebrand and replace the old soybean festival, according to area resident Jesi Martinson. So Martinson’s grandmother, Alta Roesch,
invented a legend about benevolent gnomes and, with assistance, the idea to honor community members. “My grandma Alta … was very shy, so her sister Ruth [Solem] actually helped carry it on throughout the years. Their friend Sharilyn Bates helped with Riverfest, too,” Martinson said. “They brought the whole thing together.” Dawson gnomes are exemplary residents, who give greatly to the community without expecting anything. The Chamber’s website says Dawson gnomes “are the ones with the tipped hats and their hearts on their sleeves.” The criteria are simple, but choosing a nominee is not. “So many people have done so many great things for the community,” Wicht said. Riverfest begins on a Thursday with a 5K fun run and youth dance. Friday kicks off the softball tournament with a deejay and beer garden and brings river events, including canoe races and a boat parade. Anything that floats
GO IF YOU
What: Riverfest
Dawson, Minn., on US 212
When: June 22-26 Admission: Free Visit:
dawsonchamber.com/riverfest/ for more details is eligible for the parade, and the most creative vessel wins a prize. Residents push the limits, sailing oversized rubber ducks and gnomes on haphazard rafts. “We saw a refrigerator one year that tried to float with barrels,” Martinson said.
“That didn’t work,” added Wicht. Saturday has the Main St. flea market, kids pedal pull, disc golf tournament and dance, among other events. Sunday there’s an ecumenical church service and antique car show. For Wicht and Martinson, the highlight visitors shouldn’t miss is Friday night’s gnome unveiling. The legend of the new gnome and an artist’s rendering run in the local newspaper days in advance. But Friday night, there’s a ceremony honoring him or her and revealing a gnomified statue, created by a local artisan. A brass band plays, people eat dinner, and vendors sell gnome donuts and memorabilia. Later there’s an outdoor movie with free popcorn and root beer. Friday night isn’t the only chance for visitors to meet a gnome. The town is filled with folks who have tipped hats and hearts on their sleeves. “Anyone you ask will point you in the right direction,” Martinson said, adding after a moment: “or drive you there.” MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 13
For some teens, making the world a better place is priority No. 1
Elora Greiner is shown here participating in the annual PrideFest parade that ends in Riverfront Park.
By Robb Murray
I
t’s 3 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon and Aubrey Houg hops on a bus at Dakota Meadows Middle School. The bus rumbles across town and drops her and a dozen other off three miles away at West High School. But while her classmates might be getting off the bus to go play Xbox or ride bikes with friends, Houg prepares for a different kind of afternoon. After hopping off that bus, she 14 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
walks across the parking lot, past the tennis courts and Mankato West sign that announces band concerts and football games, across Riverfront Drive, past Kwik Trip, and up the hill to Front Street. She’s almost to her destination. Houg walks in the front door. But she’s not stepping into a living room. And she’s not at a friends house. She’s at the ECHO Food Shelf,
reporting for her weekly volunteer shift. She sets her backpack down, clips a nametag to her shirt and is ready to help clients shop for the food they need. If there’s not too many people shopping, she’ll grab a quick snack. But most times, she’s ready to get down to business. Houg grabs a cart, introduces herself to her first client of the day and begins the shopping
process. She takes the client through racks of vegetable soups, peanut butter, breads, bakery items, frozen foods, vegetables, fruits and more. Along the way, she explains how many items the client is allowed — it varies from client to client, based on how many people are in the household. Houg explains what each item is as they walk down the aisle. She waits patiently while clients choose items, and then kindly guides them to the next section. “When I was younger, I felt shy around everyone,” Houg said. “Now I’ve gotten used to everything. At the end of the day, I feel good about helping. Sometimes during the summer we have over 100 people that come in. I’m helping families that really need it.” The next generation of doctors, lawyers, businesswomen and men, writers, artists and creators are minds that are still developing, but some are already making a big difference at 12 years old. Houg is just one of many kids in the Mankato area who are making Mankato a better community. Sesamae GlacklerRiquelme is another one. She’s the brains and spirit behind the Santa’s Little Helpers program that helps get Christmas gifts into the hands of needy families. So is Elora Greiner, a Smith Collegebound Mankato East High School senior who single-handedly started a group at her school to make the school safer for LGBT students. They are three examples of local kids who are saving the world.
Aubrey Houg spends some of her after school time volunteering at the ECHO Food Shelf in Mankato. Photos by Pat Christman.
Food for all Houg has been volunteering at ECHO for six years with her grandmother, Marlene Houg. She spends every Wednesday afternoon there during the school year, and all day during the summer, when she has more time. Houg said if she had to choose between hanging out with her friends and volunteering, she’d choose the latter. MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 15
“It helps me think about other people,” Houg said. “This is something I can do in the future.” Houg has met hundreds of people over the years — young, old, clients, volunteers, people of different races, different cultures, different religions, homeless people, big families, little families and everything else. But her most memorable client was a homeless man she helped on a weekly basis. “I was one of the first people he told that he actually got an apartment,” Houg said with a big smile on her face. “It was really cool to hear that he was no longer homeless.” Houg knows that she’s helping people who really need it. She’s building relationships and valuable life experience that you can’t find on an electronic screen. She’s giving her time back to the community and saving the world, one canned good at a time.
Young woman of distinction At 13 years old, Sesamae Glackler-Riquelme organized an event designed to get kids excited about the holiday season. What originally was designed for children of deployed, single and less fortunate parents grew into an annual celebration called Santa’s Little Helpers. The event allows children to pick out a gift donated by community members. Volunteers help take the kids through the line and then wrap the gifts onsite. When they leave, kids have a nicely wrapped gift ready to put under the tree for a loved one. “It was an idea I had for a long time, since my dad was deployed,” Glackler-Riguelme said. “They really get to learn about compassion and empathy for others.” Now, at 16, Glackler-Riguelme continues her mission to teach kids that it isn’t just the material things in life that matter. She came up with the idea not because her family lacked money for gifts, but because shopping for her mom took the surprise 16 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Sesamae Riqulme is shown here with some gifts donated to a program she started called Santa’s Little Helpers. out of the gift. While giving a gift to a loved one is essentially the main point, Glackler-Riguelme hopes participants take a little more with them. “The event is more about the kid learning life skills that are valuable,” she said. “All kids need to learn this.” The event has grown from 197 kids the first year to 571 kids attending last year’s event. Unfortunately, GlacklerRiguelme is in the market to hand the torch off to someone who has more resources. “This year, we have to hand it over to someone new,” she said, “We just don’t have the capacity. It’s a lot, and I have a bunch of new projects I’m starting.” Everything she’s doing is still in the planning stages, but Glackler-
Riguelme is starting a website that serves as a resource for women. “I’m thinking about starting a network. I’m brainstorming with other girls my age about starting an organization,” she said. “It’s SOS, which stands for She of Strength, an outlet for young women to go to. A kind of motivation. We also want to have mentors. I’m in the process. ” It would be a place women could go to accomplish their goals. Glackler-Riguelme has already posted articles featuring successful women — women much like herself. Glackler-Riguelme is the youngest woman to ever win the YWCA’s Young Woman of Distinction Award. She received the honor at a banquet held March 28 for her work with
Sesamae Riquelme was named a Young Woman of Distinction for 2017. Santa’s Little Helpers and her work in the community. . “I want to be a voice of empowerment for young women,” Glackler-Riguelme said. “I know how it is when you’re younger and you think, ‘I can’t do this because of how old I am, or I don’t have the resources.’ I want to show young ladies that they can do anything.” In her acceptance speech, she spoke on her issues with mental health. She wants young women to know that, even if you have setbacks, you can achieve anything you set your mind to. “Sometimes, it’s hard for me to see that I am making an impact,” Glackler-Riguelme said. “I’ve gone to this event since I was about 6. I saw all of these amazing women get it, I never thought I would get it. It’s really empowering.”
The safest place About twice a month a group of students meets in the family and consumer science room of Manakto East High School. It’s a student-led organization, founded by a young woman who thought there should be a safe place for those who identify as LGBT at the school. Elora Greiner started the Gay Straight Alliance at East when she was just a freshman. Three years later, the conversation has grown from gay marriage being recognized to something political, diverse and widely known. GSA is a support system, a place for everyone to feel comfortable and accepted.
“Our main purpose is to educate on LGBT issues, and to provide a safe space,” Greiner said. “Even if students aren’t a member of the organization, our goal is for visibility so people know they’re not alone.” GSA is for anyone — gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, male, female, senior, freshman, ally — whatever you identify as, you’re welcome to come hang out. On top of meeting, the students have also traveled to the twin cities for Q-Quest, an LGBT youth conference for high school and middle school GSA’s. “It’s a day for high schoolers to get together and do different workshops centered around gender and sexuality issues,” Greiner said. “In the school, we’ve done Day of Silence — we had T-shirts and things and we had a booth at lunch with different information.” It’s not something competitive. It’s being there for your peers. GSA celebrated Coming Out Day in the fall — complete with stickers and candy. “They (the sticker) said ‘Proud to Be’ and then you wrote in what you identified as,” Greiner said. “I was really happy with the response we got. It wasn’t just LGBT issues — we had some other race- and social justiceoriented things.” The group was formed along the same lines as Mankato West’s GSA, a student comes up with the idea and is advised by an adult. Greiner saw West’s booth at Pride Fest and she knew it was a solution. It’s hard to have conversations with someone who disapproves of your lifestyle — GSA is a place to overcome that. “We’ve talked about having parent workshops, where we can have informational sessions in the evenings,” Greiner said. “We want to figure out how to improve student-parent relationships.” It’s tricky, but it’s something that needs to be talked about. Greiner bridges that gap. There hasn’t been any backlash from the community. They’ve been nothing but accepting. “It’s about youth leadership,” she said. “Young people can really just go out and make things better.” MM MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 17
Nik and Angi Proehl are shown here in the part of Midtown Tavern that will eventually be a beer production area.
HOP DREAMS
The Proehls long have dreamed of running a brewery. Now they’re giving it a try at the Midtown Tavern Story by Robb Murray | Photos by Pat Christman
I
Is this what dreams look like? Do they come with wall-mounted TVs and neon Miller Lite signs? Are fliers for upcoming Karaoke events hanging up on their walls surrounded by an all-you-can eat taco bar and a handful of pool tables? Are there “regulars” in dreams? 18 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Soon the old west facade that has characterized Midtown Tavern for so long will be gone. The Proehls are changing the name, look and feel of the place. to find where the circuit was raised by a single mom who died If you’re Nik and Angi Proehl broken. It wasn’t an way too young, leaving her to of Mankato, the answer is an overwhelming amount of work, struggle with relationships and, obvious “yes” — a “yes” years in but it really did shape my work well, the law. (She spent a little the making. ethic. As I got older, my first jobs time in jail.) A few months ago, the Proehls were all working for the “I made some bad choices,” she purchased Midtown Tavern. Now neighbors, all of whom were said. they work countless hours doing farmers, too.” After growing up in Honolulu, the thing they’ve been talking Nik seems as far removed as a she and her mother (and her about for years: running a guy could be from the exotic brother, Corey) moved to gathering place in the heart of backstory of the woman bringing Winnebago. Eventually, she made the city featuring local products him a beer. her way to the Mankato area and and friendly staff. Soon, that bar He was working in the kitchen enrolled at Minnesota State you bought pull-tabs at a while at Blue Bricks, learning how to University where she’d go on to back will shut down and undergo handle the food demands of a earn a degree in women’s studies. a transformation, and when it busy college town bar. And ever since she was 15, she’s reopens — and after substantial One thing led to another, of worked in bars and restaurants. remodeling and reimagining — course, and in August of 2007, That’s where she was the day you won’t be able to recognize they got married. she met Nik Proehl. A little place the place. McGoff’s would become a called McGoff’s. She was working But they will. special place for them. It was at an Irish place and he stopped “This has always been my where they met. And when they in for a beer. dream,” Angi says. And she knows got hitched, they had their Nik comes from a farm family exactly what that looks like. grooms dinner there. that ran a small acreage near Wait, though. Let’s not get So when they heard it was Waldorf. A southern Minnesota ahead of ourselves. To truly going out of business, they farm kid. understand how far they’ve come thought for a brief moment “After school it was straight to and how they know exactly where whether they could buy the place. chores,” he said. “Feed the cows, they’re supposed to be right now, Wouldn’t that be perfect? check the electric fence. If the we need to head back a few years, Purchasing the place where their fence was down, walk the length back when Angi Proehl was being MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 19
romance was born and owning their own business? But they knew right way the time wasn’t right. A seed, however, was planted in their minds. This was going to happen. Might not be today, might not be tomorrow. But eventually … Is that an angel? Time went on and the couple grew more and more serious about beer. Angi became the southern Minnesota representative for Finnegan’s, a not-forprofit brewer that gives 100 percent of it profits to agencies that feed the hungry. The Finnegan’s business model fit perfectly with the social justice warrior in her. The beer was good. And the gig put her in a position to meet A LOT of people in the beer industry. Both she and Nik handled Finnegan’s tastings at area liquor stores and staffed a booth at craft beer expos. Nik began to brew his own beer. Good beer, in fact. And Angi established a Mankato chapter of a beer appreciation group for women called Barley’s Angels. Their reach into the growing craft beer world was stretching far. Angi took a job at The Bicker Inn, an Irish pub that, until recently, closed down. Getting that job, she said was a sign. “The owners of the Bicker Inn asked me to help them because of what I know,” Angi said. “That meant a lot to me.” So away they went, living the life of 40-hour-aweek pluggers, including brewery tours on family vacations and wondering when they’d finally be able to pull the trigger on that dream. They spoke of their dream often, keeping its potential at arm’s
length until one day, not long after a trip to Colorado, they came to this conclusion: “We know beer. We’re into beer. We like beer,” Nik recalled thinking. “What the hell? Let’s open a brewery!” Well … how about now? They looked downtown, across the river, even briefly considered St. Peter. Eventually, though, they knew they needed to be somewhere in the lowertown region of Mankato, which meant downtown or Old Town. They didn’t want a lease. Plenty of parking was a must. So was a patio. They looked at several places and eventually found out the owner of Midtown Tavern might be interested in selling. They pursued it, took a long hard look at the place and decided it was perfect for their vision. After making an offer — and nearly losing the place to a competing offer — they became the owners. Contract for deed. Soon, their ideas began to jell. They’d create a brewpub in the space known for so long to so many as a karaoke bar that catered to bikers and pull-tab customers. And they’re doing all that, too … for now. They’ve got big plans, plans that include shutting the place down for a month and transforming it from the place you see today into the place they see in their minds. And that place, folks, looks NOTHING like the current Midtown Tavern. You know the place reserved for music? Imagine looking at it through glass and seeing stainless steel brewing cauldrons, cooking up batches of craft beers concocted by a professional brewmaster. Imagine a redesigned interior that does away with the mish-
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mash feel of its current form in favor of a more nuanced, classier feel. Which is not to say they’re looking to “class up” the place. They clearly are a grounded couple with working class, grassroots, community values. Everyone who calls Midtown Tavern home today will be welcome when they reopen. But it will be different. And it will no longer be called “Midtown.” Today, the bar is humming along nicely. Weekends are busy. She quit her job to devote all of her time and energy to the bar. (Well, not all their energy. They’ve got two young kids at home.) He kept his day job for the insurance (figuratively and literally). But the goal, eventually, is to be successful enough with a brew pub serving craft beers and burgers. But the goal, eventually, is to be successful enough with a brew pub serving craft beers and great food that even Nik’s job can become a memory. And they’re confident they can pull it off. Angi, they say, is the idea person, the one with the vision, the dreamer of dreams. Nik stays grounded. He brings logic and a critical eye to all the ideas swirling around in her head. “I thought this was never going to happen,” she said one day, sitting in a corner booth and reflecting on their journey thus far. Nik smiled, then quickly turned his head. “I think you’re needed,” she tells him. Nik reties his apron and quickly heads back to the kitchen. The bar is filling up. It’s getting busy in here. MM
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Y A S
ES
Mankato
Rock City
SubHead DJ Abilities performs at the former Red Sky Lounge in downtown Mankato.
By Colin Scharf
W
henever I pass an empty Mankato storefront, I think, I could open a music venue there. The city’s got some prime locations: the empty storefront beside the Fillin’ Station, the few remaining Old Town empties. I get excited thinking about PA systems, decoration, branding, PR, and, well, hosting bands I love and want to share with Mankato. I grew up in the underground music scene of Olean, NY, where I played and attended about five zillion shows from 1999 to 2003. One-third the size of Mankato, Olean shares a few similarities: a couple of universities, a mixture of local and chain businesses, a river. Like much of Western New York, though, Rust Belt Syndrome has Olean on life support. Today it’s a ghost town of abandoned storefronts, crumbling roadways, a shriveling mall and declining population. Mankato, on the other hand, is thriving, full of potential. It seems every other day a FOR LEASE sign flips to say COMING SOON! WYSIWYG, the Kato Escape Room, Primp, Julee’s Jewelry, the 410 Project and Bluebird Cakery are waking up Front Street. In Old Town, the Dork Den, Salvage Sisters, Vagabond Village, Friesen’s, Bent River, Arizona Olive Oil, Tune Town, and Old Town Escape are independent businesses joining the Coffee Hag and Wine Café to resuscitate the once-derelict Riverfront Drive. We’re in the midst of a Mankato renaissance, where creative entrepreneurs are turning Mankato into an exciting, vibrant, unique city. Sounds like a good time to open a music venue, right? 22 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
“Back In My Day...”
In 2000, Olean, NY’s underground music scene moved out of basements and garages and into a storefront on the downtown main drag. Dubbed the Cobra La, this all-ages, straight-edge venue hosted shows every weekend for two years. These were original bands, writing their own music, recording their own albums, creating their own merchandise. Cobra La treated bands well and provided a safe, well-maintained venue for live music. The venue also gave local kids hope, inspiring them to start bands and be artsy, weird, creative. It definitely did that for me. And then Cobra La closed. Internal struggles, dwindling funds, pressure from the landlord via the city all played a part in the end of an era. Olean’s music scene never recovered.
“I miss RedSky,” Or, “How to Disappear Completely”
Hang around any Mankato musician and eventually they’ll sigh and say, “I miss RedSky.” Situated between Pagliai’s and the old Miller Motors, RedSky Lounge was Mankato’s premiere music venue from 2010 until it closed for renovations in 2013. When the bar first opened in September 2008, general manager Ryan “Rudy” Stroup had hoped to create a “contemporary, funky … upscale atmosphere.” RedSky’s slick hardwood floors, minimalist furniture, and red-and-black décor set the tone for a hip urban cocktail bar. This identity shifted from martinis to live music when, in
2010, a group of Mankato musicians (myself included) convinced Rudy to let us play there. “I’ve always had a passion for live entertainment,” says Rudy. “At that time, no [downtown] place had really carved out that niche.” From 2010 to 2013, RedSky hosted hundreds of shows. The place inspired people to write songs and start bands. Mankato’s music scene boomed. New local bands started. Touring bands wanted to play Mankato. RedSky guaranteed a big stage, good sound system, good crowd — and decent pay. The venue was a magnet for musicians, music lovers, and anybody looking for something different in downtown Mankato. “Without the support of the local music community,” Rudy says, “RedSky would’ve closed years earlier.” And without the support of RedSky, Mankato’s music community would’ve scattered back into basements and bars with subpar — or zero — sound systems. “Red Sky was big enough to get loud and weird,” says Amber Smith, whose bands Shotgun Fiction and Angry Bukowski regularly played there. “Bands could play whatever they wanted, and people would support them.” “RedSky became a hub for artists to gather and feed off each other,” says Nathan George, a.k.a. local rapper Ill P.O.E. “[The management] created an environment that was inclusive to an array of musical tastes.” Despite the scene’s love, RedSky never returned. Today, an apartment complex and parking ramp tower above our old stage, our old dance floor. Even after all these years, it hurts knowing what a renovated RedSky could’ve done for Mankato’s music community. “It felt like a friend leaving,” says Justin “Fuzzy” Fasnacht, founder of FuzzTalkRadio. “And then after months of anticipation, you find out they passed away and will never come back.”
Is This It?
Of course, Mankato has plenty of other venues. The Coffee Hag regularly hosts acoustic artists and, in the summer, sponsors the Old Town Art Fair. NaKato keeps Belgrade Avenue jumping with country, bluegrass, and blues. The Square Deal’s recent remodel served to better accommodate bands. Wine Café, Savoy, and Pub 500 host karaoke, open mics, and live music. The stalwart What’s Up Lounge keeps the rock in Rock Street. The Mankato Brewery, Civic Center, and Vetter Stone Amphitheater host a variety of big name artists, from Charlie Parr to Alice Cooper. With this smorgasbord of stages, why do people still miss RedSky? A few things set the venue apart. One, it was conveniently located in the heart of downtown. Two, its large stage accommodated bands of any size. The perfect mid-sized venue, RedSky wasn’t too big for local bands, nor too small for larger ones. Three, the in-house sound system and on-staff sound techs meant that bands didn’t have to haul in and operate their own PA. “A band running their own sound system is at a disadvantage,” says local audio engineer Damen Price. “You can’t be onstage and in
the crowd at the same time. A house sound system shows a level of commitment to having live performers.” Convenient location, great stage, and a house sound system with sound techs are necessary ingredients for any venue’s success. But, according to Fuzzy, RedSky had one magic ingredient: the owner, Rudy. “Rudy allowed us — and trusted us — to do whatever we wanted,” says Fuzzy. “He was invested in the community of musicians. He knew we needed a place to play, and so he gave it to us.” Like Olean’s Cobra La, RedSky became Mankato’s music scene haven. It was one of the few downtown bars that didn’t pander to the college crowd, and one that allowed Mankato’s creative community a chance to flourish. Recovering from this loss hasn’t been easy. As always, Fuzzy remains positive. “Mankato is constantly changing,” he says, “so you can’t really complain when your favorite venue closes. There will always be an opportunity.” Venues have closed, and musicians have found new places to play — sometimes in unorthodox spaces where the musicians and audience have complete control of the environment. Front Street’s 410 Project is primarily an art gallery, but occasionally hosts live music. “Using the space to showcase music allows us to open our doors to everyone who may not want to watch music in a bar,” says Dana Sikkila, 410 Project executive director. “We give musicians a space to connect with each other and their audience. We’ve even had band members with young kids, and playing at the 410 Project allows their children to see their parent play music.” Living rooms have also turned into venues. “We started hosting artists in our living room to them the best experience possible,” says Laura Schultz, co-operator of the Gold Mine (also my fiancé and Good Night Gold Dust band mate). “We wanted to share artists we love with the community, artists whose music might not make sense or be appreciated in a local venue. We wanted to be able to pay them fairly and foster a listening environment where their music is the primary focus. The best way to promise that was to do it ourselves.”
Dancing in the Street
Winona, MN, is a city similar to Mankato and Olean — a mid-sized, bluff-bordered river town with a couple colleges and abundant drinking establishments. Downtown Winona is home to Ed’s No Name Bar, a street-level What’s Up Lounge with a great sound system that offers a stage for local and regional bands. It’s also the cornerstone venue for Mid West Music Fest (MWMF), Winona’s annual two-day festival that started in 2010. “As a music lover, MWMF offers people the ability to see some of the region’s and nation’s finest artists right in their hometown,” says Nick Elstad, MWMF booking manager. “It brings the community together by using a common language — music. The streets are filled with visitors and townspeople alike … people young and old experiencing a diverse selection of music. Businesses in the city benefit greatly from the festival, as well.” MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 23
MWMF creates a great opportunity for locals and visitors alike to have unique experiences in Winona’s historic downtown, and to help grow their downtown’s economy. In 2016, over 3,000 people attended the festival, and 1,000 attended the fest’s inaugural day in La Crosse, WI, the festival’s expansion city. While MWMF brings dozens of people to the community, it also has a way of inspiring local Winonans. “An audience member might be inspired by the amazing acts and realize they could someday play the fest, too,” says Elstad. “Maybe they start their own group and play the fest the very next year.” This August, Appleton, Wis., will be hosting its fourth Mile of Music, a four-day event in which bars, restaurants, and storefronts throughout Appleton’s mile-long downtown stretch become music venues, and some 200 bands give around 700 performances throughout the city. “Since the inception of Mile of Music, Appleton has seen growth of all fine arts as a whole, with art galleries, studios, and a lot more original music,” says Kurt Kempen, Mile of Music Talent Coordinator. “The festival brings amazingly talented artists to Appleton, as well as artists earlier in their musical careers.” As for the financial benefits? “In 2016, Mile of Music had an economic impact of $3.1 million.” That’s a lot of money. These festivals are modeled after Austin, TX’s South by Southwest (SXSW). Like SXSW, these festivals attract thousands of people to their respective cities. They shine a huge spotlight on the unique restaurants, cafés, bars, and people in those cities. These festivals give their city an identity.
Mankato Rock City?
Mankato has its share of music festivals. Arts By The River, Post Holiday Extravaganza, Blues on
24 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
Belgrade, and, by a stretch, the weekly Songs on the Lawn concerts each bring music to the community in a festival-like fashion. But I’ve always thought that, with the right financial support, planning, and promotion, the Coffee Hag’s Old Town Art Fair could evolve into a festival like those I mentioned earlier; a festival that takes place in the city; a festival that introduces locals and tourists alike to Mankato’s unique restaurants, cafés, bars, and community. “I started Old Town Art Fair (OTAF) as a catalyst to wake up Old Town,” says Coffee Hag owner and city councilwoman Jenn Melby-Kelley. “OTAF is focused primarily on artists, musicians, and community.” Now heading into its seventh year, OTAF is a daylong festival that takes place on Washington Street outside the Coffee Hag. “Every year, people thank me for hosting this festival. They love being able to bring their kids and families to see cool bands and be able to afford to buy art from local artists.” The day-long festival has the potential to grow, but it needs help. “A lot of the funding from OTAF comes out of my own pocket,” says Jenn. “I love the idea of expanding it, maybe blocking off a whole section of Riverfront, or the parking lot behind the Hag and hosting a free weekend-long festival. But I can’t afford it on my own.” How could Mankato benefit from an annual festival that takes place in the city — whether in Old Town or on the ever-evolving Front Street corridor? “It would bring people here,” says Jenn, “which would bring money here, and that’s always a good thing. When you bring people into the city, they’ll visit local restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. It gives visibility to those businesses and to the community.” Multiple factors play into the birth of successful
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citywide music festivals. Investors, marketing and promotion, support from the city and local businesses, and lots of volunteers are all integral — but perhaps the most important thing is a venue with all the key ingredients to support and sustain a local music scene. A venue where local bands can play their first professional-level shows; a venue that can pay bands a fair amount; a venue that is popular enough to guarantee out-of-town bands a good crowd; a non-genre specific venue solely focused on hosting music; one where bands feel appreciated and everyone feels welcome. A venue that can foster and sustain original music. This might be the What’s Up Lounge. Or the new Square Deal. It could be the Coffee Hag, Wine Café, NaKato. Or maybe this venue hasn’t opened yet. MM
Colin Scharf is a writer and musician living in Mankato.
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Reflections By Pat Christman
It’s summertime!
By the calendar, summer doesn’t officially start until the summer solstice on June 20, but for Minnesotans summer seems to start as soon as we see our first 70-degree day. We can’t wait to open up the cabin, get the boat out, do some fishing, or just enjoy the warm sunshine. It won’t be long before summer is in full swing. MM
26 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 27
Then & Now: Historic Lincoln Park Neighborhood By: BRYCE O. STENZEL
This home was built in 1880 by Civil War Gen. James Baker.
Mankato’s Historic
Lincoln Park Neighborhood M ankato’s Lincoln Park Neighborhood stretches south from Warren Street to Stoltzman Road, and west from Jefferson Elementary School to Riverfront Drive. It is the largest historic neighborhood in Minnesota outside the Summit Avenue Neighborhood in St. Paul. The focal point of Mankato’s Lincoln Park Neighborhood was, and still is, the “pie-shaped wedge of lawn” (as Mankato author and neighborhood resident, Maud Hart Lovelace aptly described it) known as “Lincoln Park.” It was named for President Abraham Lincoln, in honor of his efforts to preserve the Union and emancipate the slaves. In fact, the name for the entire neighborhood was derived from this park. Its unusual, triangular shape resulted in part from the fact that nearby streets were platted in such a way as to accommodate the large elm tree that had been growing in this location for generations, prior to the
28 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
settlement of Mankato in 1852. Referred to as the “Lincoln Elm,” it had originally taken root in 1665. Eventually it was even adopted by the entire City of Mankato as its official symbol during the American Bicentennial celebration in 1976. It would take mother-nature, in the form of Dutch Elm disease, to remove it from the local landscape; rather than through human “progress.” When the tree finally was cut down in 1980, tree ring dating revealed it to be 315 years old. Lincoln Park’s other major distinguishing feature was the erection of a veterans’ memorial (Boy in Blue) in 1892-93, commemorating local citizens’ involvement in America’s Civil War. It was comprised of a Union soldier standing at “parade rest” on a castiron pedestal in the center of a stone catch-basin. Water would flow out from the center of the pedestal and cascade down to the catch-basin below, creating a “sparkling fountain,” as Lovelace herself put it.
One of the most prominent homes in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood was built by Civil War General James Baker in 1880. It was located at 104 Parsons Street (named after Mankato founder and first postmaster, Parsons King Johnson), at the intersection of Parsons and Lincoln streets. Today, the house is painted a dark blue with white trim. It contains four bedrooms upstairs as well as a bathroom on each floor, a large dining room, library, front parlor and kitchen. It features many of the architectural gems sought by lovers of 19th century homes: three fireplaces, maple flooring, carved woodwork, hot water radiators for heating and several stained glass windows. The house is currently owned by Barry Koskovich, who purchased it in 1975, and has been painstakingly restoring this historic home ever since. For Barry, the process of tearing down and building up again was, and still is, a labor of love. His advice to anyone interested in pursuing historical restoration is to “learn how to do it yourself.” For the first two summers he lived in the Baker House, Barry did just that. He spent much of his time stripping woodwork, and removing three layers of carpet just from the first floor of the residence. Barry said that when he first began the project, the house was in pretty bad shape. Like many of the others in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood, Barry’s residence had been used for campus housing, which meant that legions of students living there had left the place in shambles. However, 1975 was a turning point. Mankato State Teacher’s College was redesignated Mankato State University, with its operations being consolidated on the Highland campus. This meant that more of the older homes in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood would be gradually vacated in the ensuing years by the college student population, becoming available as single family dwellings once again. The shift in demographics, according to Barry, resulted in greater concern for the upkeep of the houses, as well as a greater emphasis on their historic preservation. As he pointed out, it was not enough to simply repair the roofs, fix the plumbing, refinish the floors, rewire the lighting fixtures, wallpaper the rooms, etc. It was also necessary to furnish these houses with pieces from the correct period, which can be both challenging and rewarding at the same time. “People don’t always think about having to furnish a house of this type, but it is important to do,” he said. It is the furnishings that make a house such as this one into a comfortable home. Fortunately, for Barry, he has the enviable ability to study antique chairs, desks, bookcases, dressers and the like and then replicate them for use in his home. To hear Barry’s stories of the work he has already done to bring the house and furnishings to their current condition (the work is ongoing), one is amazed both by Barry’s abilities (he has been building things since he was a boy), as well as by his passion and perseverance.
Lincoln Park Association preserving history
T
wo years after purchasing the Baker House, Barry Koskovich and several other like-minded residents organized the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, whose primary goal it is to preserve all of the neighborhood’s historic homes, and eventually restore them back to their original character. By 2007, enough houses had been improved by their owners so that a Lincoln Park Historic House Tour was initiated. The idea was to allow the public limited access into the homes so they could see for themselves what architectural masterpieces these houses really were on the inside as well as the outside. The idea was so well received that it has since become an annual event. The 2017 edition of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Historic House Tour will take place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 17. Tickets to the event are available for $15.00. Highlights of the tour include trolley rides, guided tours of the homes, and costumed historical interpreters, who are on hand to provide first-person accounts by the residents themselves of what it was like to live in these houses. Another event that will take place in historic Lincoln Park a week later is a free band concert of patriotic music performed by the Mankato Area Community Band. It will be held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 27. In case of bad weather, the concert will be moved to the auditorium of Mankato West High School.
MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 29
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Enjoy! — Robb Murray, Associate Editor, Mankato Magazine
southern mn style
So where I come from, hunting for Morel mushrooms isn’t a thing. They didn’t pop up much on the East Side of St. Paul. But in southern Minnesota, I’ve heard many stories about people who go looking for them — including stories about how people keep their favorite spots a highly guarded secret. Revealing a favorite spot could result in all the Morels being gone by the time you get there, and then what would you do? You’d have to hang your head in sorrow and head over to Hy-Vee where you’d have to make do with one of the dozens of varieties they’ve got — a sort of mushroom slumming, if you will. It sort of reminds me of the pink and white Lady’s Slipper, Minnesota’s state flower. Elusive as heck, the Lady’s Slipper is actually an orchid and is hunted by flower enthusiasts. And, much like Morel hunters, Lady’s Slipper lovers are loathe to reveal their locations. It’s actually illegal to pick one. Which is, obviously, not the case for Morels. They’re picked, eaten, sold, Facebook’d and Instagram’d ad nauseum. I get it. They’re tasty. And it’s about the hunt as much as it is about the harvest. It’s fun to get outside, explore the southern Minnesota wilderness and spend a few hours browsing the woods instead of browsing Amazon.com. This month in Food, Drink & Dine, we’ve follow along with some folks who went Morel hunting — some lucky, some not so lucky. You’re going to love following along, too.
food, drink & dine
Gone shroomin’!
MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 31
Food
Morel Mushrooms:
southern mn style
elusive, coveted, delicious
Often hidden beneath leaves and brush, Morels pop up on the landscape for a few short weeks in May, and area mushroom hunters canvas southern Minnesota to find them
Story and photos by Amanda Dyslin
T
rudging forward through thick leaves, just a few feet off the beaten path, Lori Plemens’ eyes scanned forward, then left to right. After years of hunting for the same camouflaged little objects in the woods, she covered wide swaths of land in minutes, paying special attention to areas surrounding decaying logs. P l e m e n s h a s n o p ro b l e m announcing to anyone where she was — Rasmussen Woods in Mankato — and that’s fairly uncommon in her “community.” Many hunters refuse to give up details of the spots that are hot each spring for finding the elusive, short-lived little wonders called Morels. “I think that’s stupid,” Plemens said. “I don’t care if people know. I mean, we’re 12 inches from the path. Anyone can find them.” Yet, despite being completely wild and available to anyone to 32 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
forage on public land, there’s a mystery to the culinary delicacies that make finding them addicting. No one’s quite sure why the mushrooms with the ridged and pitted caps favor the spots they do, such as near certain trees (fruit trees, elms and ash, for examples). And no one’s quite sure when exactly the little buggers are going to pop up each year or for how long they’ll stay. But on this, the first weekend in May, when so many others were preoccupied with college graduations, the Morel hunters were buzzing online. During the past several days, soil temps had risen (check). The previous week had been wet (check). And the weekend weather called for lots of sunshine. Reports poured onto Facebook of bounties found in private wooded areas, at Seven Mile Creek Park and, of course, those anonymous locations where explorers refuse
to divulge (perhaps due in part to individuals and even restaurants paying anywhere from $20 to $50 per pound). Plemens had found a little Morel across from her home in St. Peter the day before, so she and her 13-year-old son, Joey PlemensSchunk, decided to see what was poppin’ at Rasmussen Woods.
No Guarantees
“The lilacs are blooming. That’s a good rule of thumb. When the lilacs are blooming, it’s a good time to look,” Plemens said, eyes fixed on the ground. “This spot has been really good for me for the past few years.” Plemens remembers growing up in Indiana and having folks stop by her family’s home to ask if they could forage for Morels on the property. A lifelong nature lover, she developed quite an interest in foraging for mushrooms years ago, so she read some books and hit the
Chris Wiebers pours a bag full of Morels out as sons Rhett Wiebers, left, and Evan Wiebers, right, watch. woods. Joey and his three siblings often go with, but trailing lackadaisically behind on this particular Saturday, he admits mushroom hunting isn’t a hobby of his. “Hey, Mom, can we go to the boardwalk?” Joey repeats in some form every five minutes or so. “Oh, over there on that tree, those are Dryad’s Saddle,” Plemens says, redirecting her son’s attention to the oft-overlooked tan, fanshaped edible that tastes delicious sautéed. “I like to look for more than just Morels. There are others that you can eat.” Just a few feet away, Plemens comes across a dead branch with a Scarlet Cup, a thin, crimson, cupshaped mushroom that people seem to disagree on whether they are edible. Plemens lays it back down and pushes forward.
As time stretches on, Joey’s patience wears. Plemens begins to realize this hunt won’t be fruitful. “The thing is, they’re here. You know they’re here,” she said. “And when you find one, then you got it. You’ll find more.” Maybe it is still too early, they wonder. Maybe they’re too small, hidden by last year’s thick layer of crunchy brown leaves. “Definitely, you have to have some patience,” she says, taking a few last looks around before conceding and heading for the parking lot, finally declaring the hidden Morels the elusive victors of today’s hunt. That’s the thing about Morels; no guarantees, she says. But, at least for a couple of weeks during the short Morel season, she’ll have other chances.
Sweet Victory
Just a day later, across town on a secret private wooded acreage, the Wiebers family and some friends were fanned out in thick brush. All nine of the annual Morel hunters, even 10-year-old Annie Sheldon, were seasoned at spotting the spongy guys at 20 paces. And that was no easy feat in this terrain. Cockleburs, fallen logs, lowhanging branches, thick roots and vines, itch weed, dead deer carcasses, piles of animal feces at every turn — there was so much to dodge it’s a wonder any of them could search the shadows for mushrooms at the same time. After a stretch, the trek deeper and deeper into the woods was seeming aimless, upping the ante on spotting the first one. Robyn Wiebers, matriarch of the five-member Wiebers clan, said for MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 33
Rhett Wiebers, 16, is pretty happy with the haul so far.
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a few years Annie and her 11-yearold, Evan Wiebers, have had a fun little rivalry going to see who could find the first Morel. This was in the backs of both their minds as the group spread out, with pairings headed in various directions. Annie and her dad, Scot Sheldon, veered left toward an open sunny area with lots of fallen branches. Just then, “Annie, you see it, don’t you?” Scot said. “About 15 feet ahead.” “I see it!” she said, heading for a two-inch Morel beside a fallen log. “Let’s get the group over here,” Scot said charitably, not wanting to pick the area over before the others had a chance to find some. “Where there’s one, there’s always more.” The Wiebers and friend Adam Chatleain filtered in from all directions, eyes fixed on the ground. “They like the sunlight here,” Scot said, as Evan headed for where Annie had picked the first prize. “I think Evan got excited when he heard Annie found the first one,” Robyn teased. “No,” he said. “Well, maybe.” Not far, Dad Chris Wiebers was stumbling upon a bounty. “Got some!” he said, his three sons circling in. “Careful where you step, they’re all over.” Camouflaged by tall brush, amidst low tangled branches, the cone heads of yellow Morels peaked through in all directions. Rhett Wiebers, 16, had his hands full of them. “Now this is what you call mushroom huntin’ right here,” Evan said. After the first spot was picked clean, the group trekked again through the thicket, up and down hills, parting ways and coming back together. Minutes would pass and then someone would announce finding another Morel, usually around a fallen tree. “That’s a super dead elm. There will probably be some over there,” Scot said, prompting Annie to ask why Morels grow by dead elms. “Annie, if anybody knew the answer to that question, he’d have a million dollars,” Scot said. For a couple of solid hours the group canvassed the woods this way, finding numerous thick pockets of Morels that half-filled their bags. By the end, the haul was about average, they said.
Top: Buck Wiebers, 13, holds up his prize. Right: Lori Plemens checks out some mushrooms growing on a tree in Rasmussen Woods. But the hunt itself was actually a bit tougher than previous years, Scot said. The Morels were good and hidden this time. “I’m bleeding a little bit,” Annie said, inspecting one of several scratches. “Yeah, I think everybody is a
little bit,” Scot said. The hunt was definitely fruitful, but the difficult terrain and the concentration needed to spot the mushrooms proved to be a good lesson for all the newbies out there, Chris said. “We’ve been doing this 10-15
July 15th, 2017
years, and it’s not as easy as people think going into the woods and finding them,” he said. Finally back near the road, the group poured out their bags to officially assess the haul: well over 100 Morels. Not bad at all, they agreed … with one minor caveat. “I was a little mad Annie found those first ones,” Evan said.
6:30pm - 7:30pm $40 p er person Grab a group of friends & stroll through the Chankaska Winery grounds admiring the beautiful sculptures and lush greenery all while sipping our award winning wines. Along the stroll there will be four wines and a surprise cocktail for you to enjoy! * Register early! Price increases to $50 per person on June 15th * Must be 21 years of age or older to participate
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Wine & Beer
wines
By Leigh Pomeroy
southern mn style
I
Something new, something old
n the spring and early summer, there is one type of elixir that is my go-to wine: fresh, dry rosés. Their colors are often like pale rose blooms, though they can be as deeply colored as a Burbank plum. And their vibrant perfumes entice you to sniff and sniff and sniff before you even get around to tasting them. The key to most rosés is to drink them within the year after they are made. In other words, you should be sipping the 2016s now. The key to finding a good, dry one is to first look for those from southern France, including the appellations (places of origin) of Côtes de Provence, Côtes du Ventoux, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, Costières-de-Nîmes and the Languedoc-Roussillon. But excellent dry rosés hail from all over France, including the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, and the Côtes du Rhône (particularly Lirac and Tavel). One of my favorites this year is the 2016 Domaine Lafage Côtes du Roussillon Miraflors. Its pale pink color leads into an absolutely gorgeous nose of fresh, home-grown strawberries. Light and crisp, it is perfect as an aperitif and is available in Mankato for under $15. Spain and Italy can also produce some fine rosés, but to my taste they are less perfumed and a bit heavy, and some can even be slightly sweet, which I don’t particularly care for. Needless to say, there are some fine examples of rosé that originate from California, Oregon and Washington. I’ve had the most success lately with Pinot Noir rosés from the Edna Valley just south of San Luis Obispo, including those from Stephen Ross (made by Mankato native Stephen Dooley) and Baileyana, if you can find them. Rosés are made from nearly any red grape, including grenache, syrah, cinsault and mourvèdre (popular in the Rhône Valley and southern France); pinot noir (California and Oregon, as well as Sancerre and Burgundy in France); cabernet sauvignon, merlot and zinfandel; and local varietals particular to Spain, Portugal and eastern Europe. In Minnesota, they are made from French-American hybrids like Frontenac and Marquette. While rosés can be centerpieces for lighter, warmweather fare such as fish, chicken and vegetablefocused meals, they are often used as palate ticklers to precede more serious vinous offerings. If you are fortunate, as I have been, these might even include fully mature, aged offerings. One expects expensive Bordeaux, Burgundy and Napa Valley Cabernets to age well and, if stored
36 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
properly, they do. But I have also tasted 30-yearold California Pinot Noirs that have been sublime pleasures. These include a 1985 Tulocay from Napa Valley and a 1984 Chalone from the appellation of the same name in the, low-lying, limestone mountains east of the Salinas Valley. I have also tasted some 10-year-old Pinots from Stephen Ross Winery that are full and rich and indicative of what this grape can do when grown in California’s south central coast. Red grapes that are usually known for making ageworthy wines include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, pinot noir, syrah and grenache, as well as nebbiolo and sangiovese from Italy, tempranillo from Spain, and various Portuguese varieties. Of course, terroir (the combination of soil and climate) and winemaking also play a huge role. Not all red grapes lend themselves to aging. For example, the gamay-based wines of Beaujolais are wonderful in their youth, but very few last past five years or so. Nor have I found that Petite Sirah (also known as durif) develops much. Recently I tasted a 1982 Ridge Petite Sirah that was still in good shape, but it tasted like it had reached 10 years of age and then just stopped developing. Another red wine with a mixed aging record is Zinfandel. One of my wife’s all-time favorite wines is the 1935 Simi Zinfandel, which we enjoyed in the mid-1970s. At 30+ years of age it was phenomenal. However, most of today’s Zins, are way unbalanced on the side of high alcohol and low acidity due to late harvesting. They can be very attractive in their youth with their effusive fruit, but as they age they become ponderous, heavy, and overly jammy with flavors of cooked fruit. The key to aging wine is proper storage. If you have a cellar or wine cooler, that’s great, storing the wines on their sides (so the cork stays wet) at a constant temperature ranging from 50 to 65 degrees, without being exposed to light, vibration or excessive dryness. I know people who buy expensive wines, then store them poorly, and are shocked — shocked! — to find out they don’t last. I keep some of my wines in a cooler but also have an overflow stored against an outside, below-ground wall in my office, where they stay at a constant, fairly cool temperature. Whether young or old, wine is indeed a pleasure to behold! Leigh Pomeroy is a Mankato-based writer and wine lover.
Beer
By Bert Mattson
Grill and chill J
une has a crafty vibration. Summer is still waking. Farmers markets start to assemble. Open-air concerts begin to appear. The smell of smoldering coals comes creeping over fence tops. It’s that rare corner of the calendar where one may be both busy and in a state of relaxation. Outdoor grilling captures that vibe in a single spontaneous activity. Craft beer offerings of today enable a person to heighten a weeknight grill session with a thoughtful selection or two without getting into too much trouble tomorrow. I confess: I occasionally go to grill to get a little alone time. Sometimes it’s not even mealtime. An excuse I’ve cultivated is the “grill and chill” item. This works with various meats and veggies, but especially for shrimp. Toss peeled and deveined shrimp with a grassy olive oil and some salt and pepper. Get the coals glowing orange and the grate close so it’s searing hot. Back the coals off and brush a little oil on the grate before curling those shrimp up hot and fast. Finally, scatter them on a chilled sheet pan and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. Sometimes they make it past midnight. When they do, I’ll have a bud over for beer and grilled shrimp without any fuss. Counterintuitively, salt suppresses bitterness better than sweetness. Hence, folks sometimes employ it to tame bitter greens or fresh grapefruit. I’ve even known it used on church coffee. The bitterness in beer and that from the char marks on the shrimp seem like they might get out of hand together. Nay. Rather, first you get sweet-briny shrimp, then acidity of a Sour IPA -such as Epic’s Tart N’ Juicy- acting on the shrimp like citrus would, then you get the bitterness of both together, then the beer fades and
you’re back to shrimp. If you’re no fan of sours, another novel option is Dead Rise Summer Ale from Flying Dog. Absent great acidity, it still has lemon on the nose. Old Bay spice is identifiable and the salt on the shrimp acts on its bitterness (which I think is more reminiscent of the way dry spice blends are bitter than hops). I’m itching to try this one with grilled sweet corn in season. Lately I like Tri-Tip for grilling. It’s a lean cut from the bottom sirloin that’s good grilled medium-rare and sliced after resting a la Chateau Briand. It’s rich enough to do with Imperial IPA. The salt, char, and hop bitterness do the same dance as above but with the addition of sturdy malt sweetness. I recently grilled one to try with New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger. I’m not a steak sauce guy. My wife has been known to use it. I conceded her judgment that Lea & Perrins Traditional worked. We tried others so you don’t have to. That sauce is balanced toward Worchester, which is heavy on umami, which is known to buffer bitterness. I prefer the simplicity of salt and pepper, but a condiment hardly cramps my chill.
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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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Drinks
ĆŹĆĽÇŤÇŤĆź ĆŹĆłĆ¸Ć˜
$[ 6KO %CTOCP | Special to the Free Press
SOUTHERN MN STYLE
I thought cold-brew coffee wasn’t worth a hill of beans until I used the right ones
P
erhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but three words run through my head whenever ǔ ŕ Ű ] 3 \ %\ Waste. 1 Ź ǔ Ǖ into my brain when I measure out the beans for a recipe. To put it bluntly, cold brew is a bean hog, demanding twice the amount of grounds (and often more) than your typical batch of hotbrewed coffee. I can’t help but Ǖ ǎ ǔǔǕ Ǖ Ǖ 12-ounce bag of freshly roasted, single-origin beans to a drink that deprives me of at least two ǔ Ű ] warming heat and a small wave of bitterness for balance. Which brings me to the second moment those three words pop up: when I’m dumping the bucket of spent grounds into the trash Ǖ ǔ Ź Ǖ Ǖ cold brew. (Yes, I know, you can spread the grounds in your garden or dump them in your compost pile, but as a dude who eats out 99.5 percent of the time, I have neither.) Without warmth and a bitter backbone, cold brew frequently has all the pleasure of drinking room-temperature beer without hops. Don’t worry. This isn’t a rant against cold brew. I’m just stating my bias upfront, so you know how high a mountain I had to climb to develop a recipe that I would actually make again. I’m not alone in this bias. Underneath its hip and placid facade, the specialty Ű Ǖ Ǖ ǔ with baristas, roasters and the like 38 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
who reject eject cold brew, even as they sell ell house-made versions to customers stomers who swear by the
Ç• Äź Ç”
Ĩ Ų \ “Yeah, we just don’t like it,â€? laughs Ryan Jensen, co-owner of Peregrine Espresso with his wife, Jill. “When you brew it cold, you’re not going to get the same acidity, the good acidity or the same fruit flavorsâ€? of hot-brewed coffee. Jensen adds. “You end up with a different beverage. . . . It just doesn’t hit all the marks for me.â€? Cold brew should not be confused with iced coffee. The former is brewed in a large container with cold (or room temperature) water and a ton of coarsely ground beans over a long period, typically between 12 and 24 hours. The low-temperature water and the long steep tend to create a sweet, low-acid drink without much of the bitterness common to hot-brewed coffee, which is why so many love cold brew. It’s the milk chocolate of Ĺ° \ Ĺ° Ç• Ç•Ĺ° Ç•Ç” altogether. It’s usually prepared in one of two ways: One is brewed with a lower ratio of grounds to water than with a typical pourover; the resulting hot coffee is then immediately dumped into a pitcher of ice. The other version - the one preferred by countless baristas - is the Japanese method, Ç• Ç• Ĺ° Ç• Ç• pour-over system directly into a Ĺą Ç• Ç• Ç” of ice. The benefit of the Japanese
method, its supporters argue, iis that th t it gives i you th the Ű Ų ř Ǖ cold brew, which extracts fewer) without diluting the concentrated coffee with an ungodly amount of ice (as the other iced-coffee method does). But I am not concerned with Ǖ Ű \ tougher challenge of cold brew. So I collected recipes and tools to make home batches. The odds are good that your local specialty coffee shop relies on a Toddy system to make its cold brew, but I found that in consumer tests, & ( + ( Ű $ often outperforms the Toddy. So I got my hands on both. (The truth is, you don’t need either; with the proper ratio of water to Ű Ĩ ǔ Ǖ a French press.) The ratios were the f irst things to alarm me about cold brew. Once I started breaking down the numbers in recipes I Ǖ Ǖ ǔ 0 Ǖ ğ ( Ű Ǖ Alexandria, Virginia, and Colony Club in the District of Columbia and comparing them with recipes supplied by Oxo and Toddy, I was ǔ Ű was needed for cold brew. The average ratio of water to grounds was about 6 to 1. Compare that to the generally accepted ratio for ŕ Ű Ĩ Ǖ Ǖ 16 to 1. You begin to understand my alarm. But, as you probably know already, cold brew is a concentrate, not a ready-to-drink
beverage (although I’ll have more to say about that in a second). Most people cut it with one to three parts water, milk, cream or ice. This very act, of course, dramatically dilutes the flavors extracted in the long steeping process, which is one reason Joel Finkelstein, owner and roaster
' Ç• ( Ĺ° Ç• 3 Ç• Ĩ Ç• Ĺ° Ç• cold brew. He’s more interested in a cold brew with a consistent body and sweetness than one with Ç• Ų Ç• Ç• with cream or milk. “People who want cold brew want it to taste similar over time,â€? Finkelstein says. “They don’t want it to constantly change.â€? This was not my approach. I Ų Ĩ Ç• Ç• Ç• brew, the kind you would prefer to drink straight or at least poured over one of those spherical ice cubes that melts slower than the devil’s heart. I brewed a variety of beans, all freshly roasted and ground: a light roast from Honduras Comsa; naturally Ĺ™ Ç” Ĺš Ĺ° from Brazil Carmo de Minas; a dark roast from El Salvador San Miguel; a naturally processed Ĺ° Ç” ( /Ç• 0 *Ç• ^ Ĺ° Ç”
Ethiopia Banko Dhadhato; and a medium-dark roast from Sumatra Dolok Sanggul. The dark roast from El Salvador was the only clunker, an intense, moody liquid that steeped for 24 hours in the OXO brewer. It had some dark-chocolate sweetness but mostly tasted like the inside of a roaster’s drum. The natural coffee from Brazil, steeped 13 hours in the Toddy, provided the most unusual drinking experience: Uncut with milk or water, it had an almost bourbonlike quality. The medium-dark roast from Sumatra, steeped 12 hours in the Toddy, was excellent when cut with one part cream, which played down the cold brew’s roastiness and emphasized its fruitiness. But my favorite, and the one I would drink again, was the cold brew made from the natural Costa Rican beans. I loved it on first sip. I drank it straight, and it tasted like chocolate-covered grapes. Even when diluted with just one part water, its pleasures were diminished. I would drink this cold brew only over a large sphere of ice. The Costa Rica coffee came from Qualia, and when I told Finkelstein the results of my test, he was not surprised.
5WOCVTCP %QNF $TGY %QHHGG
4 to 4 1/2 servings cups of concentrate This recipe requires a Toddy cold brew system, Ǖ Ź Ǖ Ǖ Williams-Sonoma. MAKE AHEAD: The cold-brew concentrate needs to steep for 12 hours. It can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. The beans recommended for this recipe are 0 ǔ * 0 \ ğ Ź or they aren’t in season, you can substitute a similar bean that’s roasted medium-dark. Fresh beans are important. Don’t use beans more than 30 days past their roast date.
+PITGFKGPVU Ŏ Ź Ĩ ǔ
12 ounces fresh, medium-dark beans, coarsely ground (see headnote)
“That coffee has a crisp and bright berry note versus the often fermenty notes with a lot
Ĺ• Ĺ° ĨĿ Ç• via email. “I like naturals for cold brew, at least as a component, but they also tend toward the sour. The balance of acidity with light body (that is accentuated in cold brew) and clean fruit in the Costa Rica is what, I think, makes it come across nice in cold brew.â€? Then Finkelstein dropped the bomb: He was nearly out of the Costa Rica, which just underscores the problem of creating a cold-brew recipe with single-origin beans. They’re s e a s o n a l . T h ey d o n’ t s t i c k around long. The roaster said his naturally processed coffee from Colombia will likely make a good replacement. But based on my limited tests, I found all naturals produced idiosyncratic cold brews, each emphasizing a different fruit - sometimes strawberry, sometimes orange, sometimes blueberry. These kind of coffees are, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, a natural for cold brew.
5VGRU
Secure the stopper in the bottom of the brewing Ǖ \ * ǔ Ź Ǖ Ǖ place it in the mold on the inside bottom of the same container. Fit the brewing container on top of its decanter. ( ǔ Ǖ Ň Ź Ű Ǖ Ǖ ^
Ç• \ ) add 3 more cups of the water over that mixture, pouring in a circular motion for even distribution. %
Ç” Ç• Ç• ĹŒ Ĺ° ^ let sit for 5 minutes, then gradually pour in the remaining 3 cups of water, pouring in that same circular motion. Use the back of a large spoon to press down on the grounds to make sure all the Ĺ° Ç• Ç” \ Let steep, uncovered, for 12 hours in a cool, dark place. Ç•ÇŽ Ç• Ç• to remove its stopper, then allow the cold-brew Ų Ç• \ *Ç• the grounds. The concentrate is ready to use. It can be diluted with cold water or milk: up to 3 parts water or milk to 1 part concentrate. You can also pour the concentrate straight over ice for a strong, syrupy drink. Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis. MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 39
ƷƬƥƷũƶ ưƭƪƩ By Nell Musolf
Be Prepared
‘All I know is that I was usually very confused about what I needed to do to earn a badge’
I
recently came across a Cadette book on Girl Scout Handbook my bookshelf, a relic lic I found at the library a few ew years back, checked out ut and never returned, an n act that is proof in itselff that I never really wass Girl Scout material.. In my defense, the e book was going to be tossed out in the near future so I suppose I didn’t really steal it; I liberated it from its fate in the Great Recycling Bin in the sky. ;Êʹ«Ã¢ ã¨ØÊ袨 the handbook brought back a lot of memories,, some good and some me not so good, but it did bring home the fact that I didn’t appreciate being a Girl Scout when I was one. The weekly meetings were cliquey and there were just so many Rice Krispie Treats a person can eat. I did like the fact that once a week I could wear my uniform to school and not have to
40 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
ôÊØØú Êèã Õ« ¹«Ã¢ Êèã à Êèãăã ¡ÊØ that d day but that was about the total sum abo of enjoyment I was able to wring out a of several years of o b being a Scout. It was all so mys t e r i o u s t o m me, especially the badges. I knew we had to do certain ““things” to earn badges, but I was b c l u e le s s a s t o what those things w were. I remember w being stymied on be how to get a badge ho in anything while the e o other girls were apparently born knowing what needed to be done to obtain a Rock and Mineral badge or a Child Care badge or a Traveler badge. Thumbing through the handbook now I can see that it’s all laid out quite clearly so I’m not quite sure what my issue was back in my Cadette days. All I know is that I was usually very ery confused about what I needed to do to earn a badge and when I did get one it was often of the everyone-inthe-troop-is-gettingthis-badge-so-here’syours variety. How I envied the girls with sashes full of badges, always t h e s a m e G old e n Girls who shone in our grammar school celestial system and continued to shine brightly in Girl Scouts. Their badges were sewn n
to their sashes with military precision while my scanty few were strategically placed on the fabric with Scotch tape to look like I had more of them. I’m ashamed to admit it now but I sometimes helped my naked sash look less barren by stealing badges from my older sister’s sash, one she had worn when she had been a Cadette some seven y years earlier. I thought I was being thou clever until the cle day another scout d noticed my new n badge in, of all things, Textile Arts. A “What did you ever sew?” she demanded after d s p o tt i n g my n new badge and ssticking her nose about an inch a away a from it to get a better view. ʭ ; Ê ã Ü Ê ¡ tthings,” I said vvaguely.
Thank You Greater Mankato. Proud to Serve You.
TH AN K YO U
Ę;š— ô¨ ãʊ xÊè Â?Â ĂƒĘ°ĂŁ Â—ĂłÂ—Ăƒ ĂœÂ—Ă´  badge on your sash! You stuck that on with tape!â€? Her eyes were narrowed, telling me I had been confronted by a Girl Scout Fink, an uncelebrated subgroup of the Scouts. “I think it’s time for our treat,â€? I ĂœÂ ÂŤÂ“Ęƒ Ă´Â ÂźÂšÂŤĂƒÂ˘  ô ú ÂĄĂ˜ĂŠĂ‚ 㨗 ÄƒĂƒÂš Â ĂƒÂ“ plucking my Textile Arts badge off and palming it before anyone else could challenge me on it. Some people Â Ă•Ă•Â Ă˜Â—ĂƒĂŁÂźĂş ãÊʚ 㨗 ÄƒĂ˜ĂœĂŁ #ÂŤĂ˜Âź ZÂ?Êèã ÂźÂ Ă´Ęƒ A Girl Scout’s honor is to be trusted, a tad too far in my opinion. That, thankfully, was the only time I broke that particular law and while it Ă´Â Ăœ Â“Â—ÄƒĂƒÂŤĂŁÂ—ÂźĂş Â ÂŒÂŤÂ˘Â˘ÂŤÂ— , ¨Ê՗“ ,  “— up for it somewhat by following the rest of the laws that covered things like being a friend to animals and always being cheerful. Sometimes I think we do things backwards in this country. Just like I’d really like to attend high school now instead of going to work every day, I’d also far prefer joining a Scout troop if there was one open for adults. Attending weekly meetings and earning badges for learning new and interesting things sounds like a lot of fun, especially if the treats were upgraded to a nice wine with a cheese tray. At last this former Girl Scout ôÊ蟓 ÄƒĂƒÂ ÂźÂźĂş ÂšĂƒĂŠĂ´ 㨗 ĂŁĂ˜Ă¨Â— Ă‚Â—Â ĂƒÂŤĂƒÂ˘ ĂŠÂĄ — SĂ˜Â—Ă•Â Ă˜Â—Â“Ęˆ
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Nell Musolf is a mom and freelance writer from Mankato. She blogs at: nellmusolf.com
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WWW CANDSSUPPLY COM MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 41
ƫƥƘƨƩƲ ƧƬƥƷ By Jean Lundquist
Tales of tillers, mulches and chickens I
f it’s true there is a right tool for every job, I’ve found the right tool for tilling my little garden. It’s my rear-tine tiller. I was so glad to get it a few years back when I first wrote about it, because it’s so much easier to
handle than the front-tine tillers I had always used in the past. They are just a lot less work. If you’ve never horsed around a tiller in the garden, you can’t Ø ¼¼ú ÕÕØ « ã 㨠«ė Ø Ã ʈ In the large garden I used to tend, I had plenty of room to maneuver the beast. But this little garden does not have the room to accommodate the really wide turns I had to execute before. And so, although this tiller is only 14 inches wide, and would have taken forever and a day to till up my big garden, this baby is just the right size, and: it has a REVERSE gear! That makes life so much easier when it ÊÂ Ü ãÊ ã«¼¼«Ã¢ «Ã 㨠ÊÃăà ÜÕ that is my garden. It was so great that this spring, I tilled my garden twice.
Something new ;Êʹ«Ã¢ ¡ÊØ Ã ô ã¨«Ã¢Ü ãÊ ãØúʃ , ¡Êèà a “potato bag” this year. I ordered it in red, and then I ordered another red one to plant a tomato in. Red mulch is said to dramatically improve tomato production, so I figure a red bag to grow in should be the next best thing. Since potatoes are related to tomatoes, I opted for a red bag for both. Why a tomato bag, you wonder? Well, the catalog said this bag is a labor saver … no hilling, and no digging. At the end of the season, just dump out the bag, and my potatoes will be immediately harvested. BÊô 㨠ã ÜÊèÃ Ü Ü¼« ¹ʅ BÊ ¨«Ã¢ back, no potatoes sliced in half by my shovel. I’ll let you know how it works. It sounds almost too good to be true. That makes me think it might be what my Dad used to call “sucker bait” — something designed to separate a sucker from her money.
Weather or not The weather earlier this spring would not cooperate with gardeners. It was so cold — even near freezing — that I didn’t put my seedings into the greenhouse until three weeks later than usual. Under the lights in the basement, my tomatoes got a little stretched and leggy. If that happened to you, too, don’t despair. When you plant them in the ¢ Ø Ãʃ ¶èÜã Õ¼ Ãã 㨠 èÕ ãÊ ã¨ ăØÜã leaves on the stalk. You don’t have to dig a hole a foot deep, just dig a trench, and lay them down in it. Every little nodule on the stalk of the tomato will 42 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
sprout roots, and your plants will grow strong and healthy. If you have had a problem in the past with blossom end rot in your tomatoes, be proactive this year and add a little calcium to the soil around your tomatoes. The calcium can be in the form of crushed oyster shells or egg shells. If you use egg shells, make sure they are clean and dry or you will have raccoons and/or your pet cat digging up your tomatoes.
Chickens, anyone?
I had the presence of mind to remember to apply my chicken coop litter to my garden last fall, rather than this spring. Chicken manure is very hot when it’s fresh, and I learned that the hard way. It’s very good for the garden, just not when it’s fresh. ,ʰ «Ã¢ ¡ ô ¢«Ø¼Ü ãÊ Âú ĄÊ ¹ ã¨«Ü year. Although I had a broody hen this spring, on the day the eggs were due to hatch, they disappeared. There was not a speck of egg shell, feather or fuzz in her nest. That makes me not want to think about what happened to them. So I bought some pullets at the chicken store, bought an ostrichfeather duster to hang in their box and simulate a mother hen, and they are growing up nice and healthy, peeking out from under their comfy nest under the feathers. I guess we’re all ready for another action-packed summer!
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 43
Your style By Ann Rosenquist Fee
Sun hats, swim shirts Stylish alternatives to neopentyl glycol diheptanoate
L
et’s say we’ll be dealing with some extreme sun this summer. We might not, but for wardrobeplanning purposes, let’s say we will. A person can always take off layers but it’s tough to improvise protection when you’re at the beach, or even just walking on a sidewalk, and you look up and think, “Wow, that’s the most blazing sun I’ve ever experienced at this particular time of year, in fact the color looks different than I remember, whiter or something, and I’m no scientist but it might not have been the best decision to leave the house today with so much epidermis so very exposed.” In your defense, it’s hard to develop a firm and lasting personal skincovering policy, what with rapid changes and discrepancies in media coverage of what’s going on with the sun. The Skin Cancer Foundation feels you on this. They offer the following empathy and guidance in their online “prevention” content:
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“For a six billion-year-old star, the sun is certainly in the news a lot lately, mainly because it is still a source of uncertainty and confusion to many of us. The center of this confusion is the sun’s ultraviolet A (long-wave) and ultraviolet B (shortwave) rays. Our understanding of exactly what kinds of damage each causes to the skin, and how best to protect ourselves, seems to shift every year as new research comes out. For example, it was once thought that only UVB was of concern, but we keep learning more and more about the damage caused by UVA. And new, improved forms of protection against UVA keep emerging.” The Foundation goes on to break down the rays and risks in a clear, conversational, non-judgmental way. Where things get troublesome, for me,
is the list of active ingredients in FDAapproved sunscreen. Lots and lots of ingredients, many words ending in -tyl and -ate and “acid.” And I mean, no argument that these protect a person against damaging rays, but might they also be doing something else as well? Like interfering with your preferred summer fragrance? Or greasing up the collar and sleeve edges of the nearly weightless white peasant tank you were hoping to wear all the way through at least one summer happening without it getting ruined by barbeque sauce or grime? Enter the sun hat and the swim tee. Both offer sun protection. None of them smell or create grease stains. They also offer benefits not-at-all afforded by more skin-baring style choices. Such as:
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Mystique with a tinge of work ethic. The garden hat, the more widebrimmed the better, says two things. It says 1) “I am an exotic flower of a human who cannot be bothered to tarnish my nose with zinc so behold my whimsical giant hat (likely also large sunglasses),” and also 2) “I probably spent the morning weeding the organic produce area of my backyard which is not to judge you it’s just saying some of us care.” The hat doesn’t have to have a sliding clasp on the bottom but bonus if it does, because then there’s also the element of cowboy or bull-riding or something like that which is clearly preferable to smelling like neopentyl glycol diheptanoate. Possibility that you are, or at some point have been, a surfer. If you go full-on with long-sleeved swim shirts and full-legged swim pants, and I mean wear them while striding and looking out at the water as if you’re gauging the time of the tide (even if it’s a lake, because surfing is IN YOU), you’ll be far from raising the question “why in hell is that uninteresting woman wearing pre-Suffragette swimwear.” You will, rather, raise the question “Did that woman once surf or was she possibly a Navy Seal (if that involves swimwear like this) (it sounds like it does) or something similarly impressive.” Real-deal swim shirts and pants, by the way, are rated by Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF), a rating system that indicates how effectively different fabrics protect skin from UV rays. So when you shop around, look for UPF numbers like how you used to look for SPF numbers on makeup back when SPF15 lip balm made its radical debut and all of a sudden we could be environmentalists at the same time as taking advantage of Clinique Bonus Days. Less shaving. Add swim pants and board shorts to the mix, and you’ve got less shaving. Which leads to sub-benefits: a) Less money spent on razors. b) Less money spent on Nare. c) Less money spent on hot wax. d) Less money spent on salon appointments to fix what you screwed up hot-waxing at home. e) Less money spent on the things that take care of after-shaving bumps. More money for hats, shirts, pants. More time strolling and breathing and frolicking, enjoying what we’ve got for as long as we’ve got it. Ann Rosenquist Fee is executive director of the Arts Center of Saint Peter and a vocalist with The Frye. She blogs at annrosenquistfee.com.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 45
Coming Attractions: June 8 Classic Car Cruise-In
5-8 p.m. — Downtown New Ulm — www.newulm.com
May 31-June 3
Highland Summer Theatre ‘The Odd Couple’ female version 7:30 p.m. — Andreas Theatre — Earley Center for Performing Arts — Minnesota State University — $16 regular, $14 discount — 507-389-6661.
1 Songs on the Lawn: City Mouse
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — www.greatermankatogrowth.com
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Chris Hawkey 7 p.m. — Mankato Brewery — 1119 Center St. — North Mankato — $10 — www.mankatobrewery.com
8 Songs on the Lawn: The Bad Companions
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — www.greatermankatogrowth.com
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9 Alice Cooper
8 p.m. — Vetter Stone Amphitheater — Riverfront Park — Mankato — $85, $69, $59, $49, $39 — www.verizonwirelesscentermn.com
9 John Denver Tribute with The Singing
Cowgirl Lisa Murphy 7:30 p.m. — Arts Center of St. Peter — 315 S. Minnesota Ave. — St. Peter — $10 — www.singingcowgirl.com — 507-931-3630
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‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ 7:30 p.m. — Ted Paul Theatre — Earley Center for Performing Arts — Minnesota State University — $22 regular, $19 discount — 507-389-6661.
15 Songs on the Lawn: Sawyers Dream
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — www.greatermankatogrowth.com
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Hot Jazz for Decent People I: The Ez Jazz Trio 7:30 p.m. — Arts Center of St. Peter — 315 S. Minnesota Ave. — St. Peter — $10 — www.ezjazztrio.com — 507-931-3630
22 Songs on the Lawn: The Whiskies
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11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — www.greatermankatogrowth.com
23-25 Solstice Outdoor Music Festival Land of Memories Park and Campground — Mankato — www.mankatosolstice.com
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Patriotic Concert presented by Mankato Area Community Band and the Boy in Blue Memorial Project 7:30 p.m. — Lincoln Park — free — bring a lawn chair — www.boyinblue.org/newsevents.html
THANK YOU
28-July 1
‘Proof’ 7:30 p.m. — Andreas Theatre — Earley Center for Performing Arts — Minnesota State University — $16 regular, $14 discount — 507-389-6661.
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Songs on the Lawn: The Gentlemen’s Anti-Temperance League 11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — www.greatermankatogrowth.com
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Faces & Places: Photos By SPX Sports
SCHEEL’S HALF MARATHION, 5K
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1. The Pace team before the half marathon starts. 2. Sydney and Addyson Willaert wore shirts to support their mother running in the race. 3. Leah and her son, Alex, completed the half marathon together. 4. Runners beginning to line-up for the start of the inaugural Scheel’s Half-Marathon. 5. A thumbs up from the two-hour pace group. 6. Traci and John DePree finished 2 second and third in the 5K race in their age group. 7. The runners pass the start line for the half marathon.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 49
Faces & Places: Photos By SPX Sports
BECHS SURROUNDED BY HISTORY 1. Susan Hynes gets into character in one of the many era costumes seen at the Surrounded by History event. 2. Shelley Harrison, archives manager for the Blue Earth County Historical Society, dresses up in a historic costume to greet guests as they enter. 3. Dean and Jo-an Lauitschke look over the items at the silent auction tables. 4. Marti Weisgram and Sheila McCab Swan inspect some of the local handmade items available at the silent auction. 5. Troy and Erin Herding look over the variety of silent auction items available. 6. Susan Hynes in her historic style costume converses with groups and sells raffle tickets.
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Faces & Places: Photos By SPX Sports
WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES
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1. Disabled veteran James Rosenthal was joined by his daughters Teegan (left) and Sidney as he made the one-mile journey in red high heels. 2. Joshua Burman brought along his son, Braxton, to his third year walking the mile. 3. These supporters stand with a silhouette to represent a woman who lost her life to domestic abuse. 4. The group of walkers are all smiles to raise awareness for domestic violence and abuse. 5. Curt Christenson signs in before picking out his pair of red high heels.
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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JUNE 2017 • 51
From this Valley By Pete Steiner
Dave’s dregs
An old friend’s collection of papers recalls history of unrest
T
he vintage shopping bag filled with several pounds of old newspapers had been stashed in the back seat of my car for a couple of years. Doris Boyce had given me a call, saying everything had been cleaned out of hers and Dave’s longtime cozy retreat above the hilltop ravine; this was the last of it. “Dave saved everything, you know.” If I wanted it, the bag was mine. I glanced through it tentatively a couple times, enough to see these were papers chronicling the most dramatic times of the last halfcentury. About a month ago, I finally grabbed the bag and took it into the library, spread the stuff out on a big table, and plunged in. Instantly I was time-traveling back to a tension-filled era 45 years ago. •••• I’ve written before about Dave Boyce, the maverick Mankato businessman who offered me a job in his downtown music store when I got out of the Army in the summer of 1972. I had only heard about the headline events, spurred by an apparent escalation of the long-running war in Vietnam, that had occurred here shortly before I returned. Now, plowing through Dave’s saved articles, that period came alive again. It was a time when many of us were wondering if the Republic would survive. Maybe the fact that it did offers hope to those stressing about our nation’s current state of affairs. •••• In case you weren’t here, or weren’t born yet, here is the headline from the May 12, 1972, Mankato State Daily Reporter: “Protesters barricade Old Main.” 25 riot-equipped police in gas masks came in to quell the disturbance. Later that evening, 52 • JUNE 2017 • MANKATO MAGAZINE
4000 students and others gathered peacefully on the campus mall to hear various anti-war speakers. Of course, protests against the Vietnam War had been going on for years at other campuses; the Mankato campus, like many, had erupted just two years earlier, in May of 1970, following the killing of four student protesters by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State. Now in May of 1972, President Nixon had ordered the mining of North Vietnam’s Haiphong Harbor; this seemed to be a fresh escalation of the conflict. Earlier that same week, a bomb had exploded in the downtown Law Enforcement Center, causing a quarter-million dollars damage. Another blast destroyed a military vehicle at the local Army Reserve Station. Fortunately, no one was hurt in either incident, but tensions were high in our community.
call in his office: “Your damn kids are down here...blocking 169. Can you get them off?... Fifteen minutes is all you got...then we hit them with mace and clubs.” Nickerson calls the situation “one of the most lonely...moments of my life,” as he moved about the crowd, talking with student leaders. Amazingly, cooler heads prevailed on both sides, and law enforcement allowed the college to send in buses to clear the demonstrators. No violence occurred. The May, 1972, incidents garnered widespread news coverage. Boyce, whom the Free Press called, “a cool head [with] rapport with both town and gown,” was also quoted in a lengthy Star Tribune article, saying the protests were about “... a local community of people who are extremely frustrated” as the war continued to expand and drag on.
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The most memorable incident of that pins-and-needles time was the march of 2,500 students from hilltop campus to downtown’s main intersection. Some of those student marchers broke off and subsequently blockaded the Highway 169 ramps. Traffic was backed up for two miles, and a phalanx of law enforcement vehicles had arrived on the scene. A major confrontation appeared to be brewing, with potential for violence.
Less than a year later, March of 1973, most U.S. troops had exited Vietnam, although the last Americans would not leave the Saigon Embassy until April, 1975. Meanwhile, at Dave Boyce’s Backlund’s Music Store, when things got slow, we’d turn on a TV to watch the Congressional Watergate hearings. Undone by that scandal, President Nixon would resign in August of 1974. Dave’s been gone three and a half years now. If you wanted to know about Vietnam and Watergate, you could read the many books that chronicle that intense era. Or you could browse a collection of old papers. Dave may not have been a journalist, but he had an editor’s sense. He saved all that historic stuff in a plastic bag. Dave’s Dregs — good to the last drop.
•••• The Vietnam Era is getting a lot of renewed attention. Ken Burns’ new PBS special debuts this fall. And for its 150th anniversary, MSU-Mankato has chosen former President Jim Nickerson’s 2006 memoir, Out of Chaos, as this year’s common read. In the book, Nickerson says, on the afternoon the highway was blockaded, he got an urgent phone
Peter Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.
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