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ON THE COVER
Bemidji boasts a number of women-owned businesses, four of which are highlighted in this issue of inBemidji.
Photos by Annalise Braught
inBemidji’s mission is to be Bemidji’s and the surrounding area’s local lifestyle magazine. We strive to enhance the quality of life for the people of the Bemidji area by informing them about all of the amazing people who live in our community. Our concentration is on everything local: fashion, food, health, and most importantly, unique individuals and stories.
We strive to maintain a high level of integrity as an inspiring, local media presence for our readers and provide advertisers with a high-quality, effective marketing medium.
Women-owned Businesses
Four women business owners detail their journeys opening up their retail stores in Bemidji.
Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society
The chapter oversees the Neilson Spearhead Center, which boasts a storied past of nearly 50 years.
Larisa Cooks
Larisa brings out the slow-cooker to whip up some mac and cheese, pepper steak, shredded chicken and Italian beef sandwiches.
At Random
Foster care licensor Robin Schmidt shares her story as part of inBemidji’s person-on-the-street interview series.
DIY: Pinwheels Paper
by Carley Swanson-Garro inBemidji staff
As spring gusts its way into the Bemidji area, crafting paper pinwheels is a perfect activity for kids and adults alike. Double-sided scrapbooking or origami paper works best for an added pop of color on the inside of the blades, but feel free to color your own designs on a sheet of regular paper. Make your paper pinwheels your own!
Supplies:
• Square scrapbooking paper
• Paper straws
• Thumbtacks or metal brads
• Ruler or straight edge
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Masking tape (optional)
Antique Mall
Bemidji, First City on the Mississippi
Revisit your childhood and discover the “Antiques Capital of The North”
Explore a vast array of treasures in our 7,000 sq. ft. store!
Using the pencil and ruler, draw straight lines across the paper from the top left corner to the bottom right and the top right corner to the bottom left. This will form an “X.” If your paper has a design on only one side, draw lines on the white side.
Step Two:
Draw a dot in the center of the page where the lines intersect. The dot should be the size of the head of your pushpins, approximately ¼ to ½ inch.
Step Three:
Using scissors, cut along each of the lines until you reach the outer edge of the dot. Adults should supervise children during this step.
Step Five:
Using a pushpin or metal brad, poke a hole through the point of each folded corner until they are gathered together. Carefully push the pin through the center dot so the end of the pin comes out the other side. Adults should help children with this step.
Step Four: Fold every other corner of the paper in towards the center dot, stacking the points on top of each other.
Step Seven:
Step Six: Push the pin or brad through the top section of a paper straw.
If any part of the pin is sticking out of the straw, cover it with masking tape to protect yourself from the sharp end. If using a brad, fold the ends over to secure it in place.
BOOKMARKED
Downtown Bemidji’s Four Pines Bookstore has selected the following titles for the spring edition of Bookmarked.
Which ones are you adding to your bookshelf or reading list?
Water Moon By Samantha Yambao
The Antidote By Karen Russell
Say You’ll Remember Me By Abby Jimenez
Passing Through a Prairie Country By Dennis Staples
Broken Fields By Marcie Rendon
Bemidji-based women business owners share their stories Challenges successes &
by Dennis Doeden inBemidji staff | photos by Annalise Braught
One was a nurse. Another worked in marketing. Another was a nail stylist. Another was in banking. Now, all four of these Bemidji women are retail store owners who have followed their hearts into the business world.
• Heidi Myhre left nursing to open Merry Piglets gift shop.
• Hannah Peura left marketing to open Compass Rose gift shop.
• Tina Schultz left her nail salon to open Boutique on Fox women’s clothing store.
• Gina Grinde left banking and part-time work to open Four Pines Bookstore. All four shared their stories, talking about the challenges and successes as they navigate an ever-changing retail landscape.
“There is something special about women in business,” Heidi said. “It’s not historically how it’s always been, especially when you have a family. But if you’re passionate about it and it’s something that you really want to do, you also want to teach your kids to do what’s going to bring you joy.”
“There’s no quitting,” Hannah added. “There’s lots of failing, and learning, and trying again. One thing I learned is that you can kind of create your own life.”
“I’m proud of my accomplishments in a short amount of time in growing this business,” Tina said. “It was a very good choice.”
“I’ve always wanted to own my own business,” Gina said, “and I love books.”
It’s in the genes
You could say that Heidi Myhre was destined to go from nursing to retail. After all, that’s what her mother did. When Heidi was 8 years old, her mother Emily Hardwig left her job as a nurse to open Emily’s Country Cottage in Bemidji.
“So I’m following in my mom’s footsteps,” Heidi said. “She was a nurse, but she was always creative. I found a new path similar to my mom.”
After graduating from Bemidji High School, Heidi attended the University of North Dakota and became a registered nurse. Her first job was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she moved with her then-boyfriend and now-husband Jason Myhre. They moved to Jason’s hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota, where Heidi worked for Sanford Health as their three young daughters were growing up.
“But every time we came back and visited my family here in Bemidji, it was so beautiful,” Heidi said. “The lakes, the trees, the way of life here, it just felt like this better suited our lifestyle.”
In 2021, she was able to transfer to Sanford Bemidji, where she was in a leadership role as an inpatient nursing director.
“I loved being a nurse,” Heidi reminisced. “I loved helping patients. I loved the leadership aspect of it because I got to touch patients in a different way by helping other nurses reach their full potential. But I dreamed of something different for a long time.”
That something different turned out to be Merry Piglets, which opened in September 2023 at 118 Third St. NW in downtown Bemidji.
“The idea of having a store brewed for 10 or 15 years,” she said. “I kept a journal for many years. When I saw a product that I liked I would write it down. When I thought about my goals and what I wanted
to be doing in 10, 15, 20 years, I wanted to be creative, I wanted to have flexibility, I wanted to be connected to a community, I wanted to help other people, I wanted to spread joy. What could I do that could help me reach these goals? Ultimately I decided to open a store.”
Still, there was some consternation as Merry Piglets’ opening approached.
“Quitting something and going into an unknown is very, very scary,” Heidi said. “I went from having a director’s salary and having a paycheck every two weeks. I was very comfortable. And all of a sudden I was very uncomfortable. I didn’t have a
paycheck. I didn’t know what was going to happen. But I was determined to make this as successful as it could possibly be.” So far, so good. When Heidi consults that journal she kept for so long, she smiles.
“I’m fulfilling the goals that are in there,” she said. “I do look back and remember why I opened the store in the first place. I used that journal to help me create the mission and vision for Merry Piglets. I use that to guide all of the decisions from who I hire, to the products we bring into the store, to how we treat people.”
Merry Piglets
An accidental retailer
Hannah Peura wasn’t planning to open a retail store. She started Compass Rose in 2016 as a sort of side hustle, setting up an online store and selling items out of her garage.
“It wasn’t a lifelong dream to have a retail business,” Hannah said. “Basically I was looking for something knowing that my future would be having kids and needing some flexibility. I never thought it would be a full-time thing. I just thought I’d start an online store and fulfill orders in my downtime.” It turned out to be much more than that.
Hannah left her hometown near the Twin Cities to attend Bemidji State University, where she studied graphic design, marketing and mass communication. She interned at Paul Bunyan Communications and got her first full-time job at Pinnacle Marketing Group.
“That’s where I started learning to ask questions, getting to know the other departments of the business,” she said, “not just stay in my lane.”
That business education continued when she left Bemidji to work at a baseball and softball equipment company in Albertville, Minnesota.
BEMIDJI
Compass Rose
“
People say that I’m a risk-taker, but I’m really not irrational. It’s just baby steps, and if that goes well, OK. Then on to the next part.” Hannah Peura
“It meshed my passions for marketing, design and softball,” Hannah said. “I was just trying to be as much of a sponge as possible, asking questions or having deeper conversations with people that went beyond what my job description was.”
But she missed Bemidji.
“I looked back up here again and realized what a hub it had become,” she said.
She moved back to take a marketing job at the former Medsave pharmacy. “I was always trying to learn the business side of things, more so out of curiosity than ever thinking I would run a place like (Compass Rose).”
She was working as advertising director at the Bemidji Pioneer when the idea of starting her online business surfaced.
“That summer we were invited to seven or eight different weddings,” she said. “Friends were getting married, and it was hard to find meaningful gifts that fit their style.”
She shared the idea with her
then-boyfriend, Jordan Peura. He was on board and two weeks later, she had a website and products showing up at their door.
“I actually was totally naive to the fact of how much work it would be,” Hannah added. “Our guest bedroom became the storage space. We did craft shows and pop-up booths during the holiday season in 2016. But as I was getting the word out, people wanted to see the products in person, and to have an address was important. I didn’t want to use our home address for that.”
That first outside-the-home address was a 500-square-foot space next to Classic Cuts on Paul Bunyan Drive South.
“Feb. 1, 2017, was our opening date at that next little store,” Hannah said. “Each step of the way I made sure to prove the concept. People say that I’m a
risk-taker, but I’m really not irrational. It’s just baby steps, and if that goes well, OK. Then on to the next part.”
The next part was a move to the current store at 108 Third St. NW, with 2,500 square feet of space on each of three floors. Compass Rose opened there in February 2018.
“We weren’t looking to grow so quickly,” Hannah said. “I definitely never thought we’d have prime Third Street space so quickly.”
Since that time, Jordan and Hannah got married and they’ve had two children.
“This store has been more than just a place to work,” Hannah said. “Jordan proposed to me here because I wouldn’t leave the store. We were going on a trip, and he wanted to propose before we left for the trip. A lot of life moments have happened here.”
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Tina Schultz got into the retail clothing business not by choice, but by circumstance. After a lengthy career as a nail stylist, she developed carpal tunnel syndrome and underwent two surgeries. Her surgeon asked if there was a different line of work she could pursue. Her nail salon was attached to her home on Fox Drive NW, and she has built a solid clientele in her 20-year career.
“I asked all my nail clients what I should do next,” Tina said. “I had all this space. They said, ‘Why don’t you start bringing clothing in?’ So I started with a little bit of clothing. It just grew and grew from there.”
Boutique on Fox was born. Customers visited regularly even during the Covid pandemic when their purchases had to be brought outside to their vehicles. After Tina stopped doing nails in 2017, she was able to devote all of her attention to the clothing business.
“Before that, basically Saturdays were when I wasn’t doing nails and I could be in the boutique,” she recalled. “Otherwise people would just stop in while I was doing nails. So when I stopped doing nails, we remodeled the space and turned it into a boutique.”
Eventually, the business outgrew its space, so Tina moved it to a roomier spot at 1000 Paul Bunyan Drive NW. But the name remained because Boutique on Fox had a recognizable brand.
WOOD, GAS AND ELECTRIC FIREPLACES STOVES AND INSERTS
Boutique on Fox
Tina remembers thinking, “I know there is a need for this in our town. I know it. I had already done well with being open the little bit I was. I love it when the ladies come in and get excited about the cute clothes, and we can dress them and they look stylish. We carry a lot of the known brand names.”
Tina spends a chunk of her time in the office, paying bills, doing inventory and handling payroll for her staff of six, which includes her youngest daughter. Her husband Paul has been a big help as well. She also travels to merchandise markets, both regionally and nationally.
“If I’m here working in the office, I hear customers come in and I hear them talking, I have to go say ‘Hi,’” Tina said. “I’m a people person. I love seeing when the customers are coming in, even if it means I get no work done.”
Filling a void
After Book World closed all of its Midwest stores in 2018, including one in Bemidji, the town was left without a bookstore. Gina Grinde was one of many people who lamented the void.
“I would hit up bookstores in Park Rapids, or one in Grand Forks,” she said. “We were driving places for sports for our kids, and there were no bookstores north of us. I finally told my husband (Jason), ‘I think we should open up a bookstore.’”
Jason didn’t hesitate, Gina recalls.
He told Gina, “You have a business degree. Put it to use.”
“So I did a lot of research,” she said. “I connected with the LaunchPad, and they helped me with a mentor.”
That was Bud Kaney, one of the owners of Bemidji Brewing, who advised, “Gina, you have it all together. You just need a location.”
The location turned out to be the former Loide Oils and Vinegars store at 102 Third St. NW. Four Pines Bookstore opened there in June 2021.
“I could see that we could be growing
downtown, and I love the growth now,” Gina said. “Coming up on four years, it has met my expectations. The community support has been great. I didn’t realize how many customers I would know by name, and how they encouraged me to do more, have more events. I thought I would just be a retail store where people would come and go. I didn’t expect to make relationships with other business owners and customers.”
She credits much of the store’s success to its robust local author section and its large selection of Indigenous offerings. That sets Four Pines apart from online competitors.
“I can’t carry every book, but I will do special orders,” she said. “A lot of my customers are 55 and older and don’t want to order things online. We have a lot of
tourists here, mostly in the summertime. They come in and are shocked at how many local, Minnesota and Indigenous authors we have. They’re surprised.”
The Grindes have two children who are now in college.
“I don’t think I could have done it when my kids were younger,” Gina said. “I think that’s a little harder. My kids were both really active in sports. When I was looking at doing something like this, my son was a senior in high school, and my daughter was a freshman. I was ready to do something full-time for myself. I worked 10 years part-time. As they were getting older I thought, ‘What am I going to do now?’
“I think every community needs to have a bookstore.” ■
Dr. Giannonatti | Stacy | Dr. Hazelton | Jerry | Katy | Becky
A bastion for the outdoors
Neilson Spearhead Center offers sanctuary of nature near Bemidji
by Daltyn Lofstrom inBemidji editor
Amere 20-minute drive south of Bemidji, a haven for lovers of the great outdoors sits on the perimeter of Spearhead Lake.
Owned and managed by the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society, the 466-acre tract of wilderness known as the Neilson Spearhead Center has served as a special place for all who have stepped foot within it, serving as an outdoor classroom for environmental science since 1975.
Well before its incorporation, however, George Neilson began purchasing government lots in Hubbard County’s Rockwood Township in 1922. Construction began with a house by 1924, which later became the home of Katharine Neilson Cram from 1958 until the cottage was destroyed by fire in 1968.
“Katharine owned all of the Spearhead property which she had inherited from her father (George), and she was good friends with Jim and Laddie Elwell who were primary functionaries of the Audubon chapter,” longtime MHAS board member GeorgeAnn Maxson said. “Katherine was very welcoming of any use that the Audubon chapter wanted to make at Spearhead and she was very much interested in environmental issues.”
Above: Young Naturalist Program campers observe a spider weaving a web during summer 2024 at the Neilson Spearhead Center. Below: Naturalist Program campers pose with paddles in front of the Neilson Spearhead Center’s Lehmann Lab in summer 2024. Contributed photos
By the time the Neilson Spearhead Center was functional, other building mainstays had cropped up including the center’s canoe storage shed in the early 1920s, garage in 1941, jeep shed in 1951 and outhouse in 1958. A historical report on the center credits these facilities’ metal roofs for their longevity.
Transitioning throughout its own unique history, the center’s Lehmann Lab began as a shed in 1920 with additions in 1940 and 1966, a major remodeling in 1980 and renovations in 2000. A more recent addition to the space came with the construction of the earth home completed in 1981.
George-Ann has remained active in the MHAS since 1981. Prior to her and her husband’s move to Bemidji, she served as a plant ecologist for the Minnesota Natural Heritage Program in St. Paul, where she would meet fellow MHAS board member Peter Buesseler.
“I came to Bemidji in 2007 and had a career with the Department of Natural Resources, retiring in 2015,” Peter detailed. “A couple of years after retiring, I was just looking for opportunities to become part of some kind of community organization and ended up touching base with the Audubon chapter here.”
The nature of the center’s work lends itself easily to those with backgrounds in environmental sciences. However, caretaker and outreach coordinator Amelia Kaiser would be brought into the fold to offer a different perspective and area of expertise.
“My husband had a job opportunity in Bemidji, so I was looking,” Amelia said. “At the same time, the Audubon chapter was looking for somebody that did not have a background in natural sciences … the board and staff recognized we needed somebody that has experience in getting the word out, in developing programs, fund development, the administrative side of things.”
George-Ann emphasized the importance of outreach to younger generations so that the Neilson Spearhead Center can continue operating in perpetuity.
“We constantly run into people –some of them longtime residents of Bemidji – and they say, ‘Huh, I never heard of that place.’ That seems to be a fundamental issue,” George-Ann said. “We want people to think of Spearhead much as the way they think of Lake Bemidji State Park as a real asset to Bemidji and a place where people are welcome to visit.”
Different ways to connect
One focus area of the Neilson Spearhead Center is the idea that everyone can connect with nature in different ways. As such, offering a wide swath of camps and programs has proven pertinent for the center’s vitality throughout the years.
“In the past, there’s been a natural science-oriented focus,” Peter added, “but there’s a lot more opportunity to find ways to help people connect with nature out at Spearhead whether it’s through the arts, photography or just coming out to hike.”
A staple since 1985, the Young Naturalist Program observes the natural science-oriented focus of the center. Campers in second through 12th grade spend a week on the shores of Spearhead Lake engaging in various outdoor activities from canoeing and swimming and hiking to wading.
“It’s our hugely successful summer camp,” George-Ann noted. “The last 10 years or so, we’ve averaged about 100 kids a year, an eight-week program with 15 kids per week.”
Other initiatives showcase the collaborative efforts of the Bemidji area at large. Alongside the Bemidji Monarch Project committee and several local organizations, the “Birds,
Outreach coordinator Amelia Kaiser and board members Peter Buesseler and GeorgeAnn Maxson fulfill their respective roles on behalf of the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society, which oversees operations of the Neilson Spearhead Center near Bemidji. Photo by Annalise Braught
Early chapter members of the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society take a meal break at the Neilson Spearhead Center. Contributed photo A carport constructed in 1920 would eventually be reimagined as the Neilson Spearhead Center’s Lehmann Lab. Contributed photo
Bees and Butterflies – Bemidji” campaign aims to promote the planting of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers in the community to benefit birds and pollinators.
Partners created a brochure about native plant species that is available at local garden centers and have conducted planting activities throughout Bemidji as part of the campaign.
A more recent addition to its programming, Walk on the Wild Side has constituted a series of events throughout the past year.
“It’s a once-monthly educational opportunity where we come out, have a local subject matter expert share about whatever the topic is for that month, do a little hike and look at how that subject plays out in our local ecosystem,” Amelia said. “It’s a really nice, low-commitment way to have somebody take you out on the trails for the first time and get familiar with the place.”
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“This was built, managed, ran and maintained over the past 50 years strictly by volunteers. That takes a lot of energy, a lot of excitement to make this kind of place go.”
Peter Buesseler
Among other initiatives, a dedicated board of directors and volunteers have facilitated operations. Its volunteer history is of particular importance to Peter.
“This was built, managed, ran and maintained over the past 50 years strictly by volunteers,” he mentioned. “That takes a lot of energy, a lot of excitement to make this kind of place go.”
Unique charm
As it soon surpasses its golden anniversary, board members and staff hope to increase awareness of the Neilson Spearhead Center while maintaining its current charm.
“We’re really making sure that we’re offering something that is relevant to this generation and the next generation,” Peter said, “and that we do so in a way that maintains that special remote Northwoods character of a place like this.”
The MHAS has exemplified a unique status amongst the 12 Audubon chapters
in the state of Minnesota. George-Ann noted that the MHAS is the only chapter in the state that owns property.
“Other Audubon chapters, their activities largely center on birding trips and evening programs, providing nature education materials for their local schools,” she said. “The vast majority of our energy is put into managing this property that is the Neilson Spearhead Center.”
The MHAS is part of a broader region under the National Audubon Society known as the Upper Mississippi River portion, consisting of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.
“Our director at the regional level came for a board retreat we did this last spring and he really emphasized to our board, many of whom he was meeting for the first time, that what we have here with the Neilson Spearhead Center is unique not just for Minnesota, but for the country,” Amelia said.
Maintaining this status will require not only continued volunteer support but
BetterHearingMeans...
also donors. Historically receiving grants from the George W. Neilson Foundation, George-Ann noted Katharine Neilson Cram’s monetary contributions for the purchase of a pig for the center’s annual pig roast fundraiser.
“That was a major fundraiser for the chapter, important enough that we would get legislators to show up,” George-Ann said, “and that was an entirely volunteerrun event.”
Amelia encourages anybody to become a chapter member; by doing so, a member receives discounts on registration fees for select events and workshops.
“We’ve got a funding challenge,” she said. “We really need to expand our group of folks that are engaged out here and convert them to monetary supporters. It sounds a little crass, but at some point, every nonprofit needs that. … We’re very excited about the range of opportunities that opens up for us as an organization and for the community.”
The Neilson Spearhead Center is located at 48851 County 29, down a winding dirt road about 20 minutes southwest of Bemidji. Photo by Annalise Braught
The future of Neilson Spearhead
A more high-octane project at the center will take shape this spring: the repurposing and renovation of the jeep shed. While conserving its remote character, longerterm plans include adding more facilities to the property.
“It’s a rustic kind of place and we certainly want to keep that, but we are recognizing the need to expand so we can accommodate school groups. They can come into our lab right now, but it’s really not convenient to have a whole group of 25 kids in our little space doing an activity,” Peter said. “Our plans down the road are adding a larger multi-purpose facility that can accommodate that.”
Other upcoming projects include partnerships with Bemidji State University’s Department of Technology, Art and Design in building a wooden forest megaphone.
“It’ll be about 12 feet tall and 15 feet long, and will be placed somewhere on the far, remote side of the lake that you’ll be able to physically sit in,” Peter detailed, “and just hear the amplified sounds of nature all around you.”
Another partnership will include placing bird feeders at the Bemidji Veterans Home, which opened its doors to its first residents in February 2024.
These and other collaborations aim to bolster awareness of the Neilson Spearhead Center, benefit the community at large and position the center as a space for everybody.
“We want more people to care for the place,” Peter left off, “but we also want people to feel as
though it’s their place that they’re coming to, as though they’re seeing it for the first time.”
More information on the Neilson Spearhead Center can be found at www.spearheadmhas.org or on the “Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society and Neilson Spearhead Center” Facebook page. ■
An event takes place at the Neilson Spearhead Center located about 20 minutes southwest of Bemidji. Contributed photo
A quick and easy way to create a variety of staple comfort foods for many, Larisa is offering up some tasty slowcooker dishes for this issue of inBemidji. A little bit of prep mixed with some patience results in the following meals that will certainly become fast favorites in the kitchen for any time of year.
photos by Tasha Severson special to inBemidji
Sausage Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
• 3 ½ cups milk
• 2 ½ cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1 16-ounce loaf of processed American cheese cut into cubes
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 16-ounce roll pork sausage, browned and grease removed (optional)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in the crockpot sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with lid.
Cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours or on high 1 ½ to 2 hours. Turn the crockpot off and stir, making sure everything is combined. Let stand, covered for 15 minutes before serving.
Note: This recipe makes about 8 servings.
Shredded Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients:
• 2 pounds chicken breasts
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 1 8-ounce block cream cheese
• ¾ cup cooked crumbled bacon
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 green onions
• 1 package hamburger buns
Directions:
Place chicken breasts into crockpot then sprinkle with ranch packet and place the block of cream cheese on top. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Shred chicken and stir in the cream cheese. Add cheddar cheese, bacon and sliced green onions and stir to combine. Serve on hamburger buns.
Pepper Steak
Ingredients:
• 2-pound round steak, cut into thin strips
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
Directions:
Sooo good!
Place the steak strips, sliced bell peppers, sliced onion and minced garlic in the crockpot. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth and stir together until well mixed. Pour mixture over the beef strips, peppers and onions in the crockpot, making sure everything is evenly coated.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve, mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir this slurry into the crockpot to thicken the sauce.
Continue cooking for the remaining time to allow the sauce to cook through and lose any raw cornstarch flavor. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve the pepper steak hot over cooked rice or noodles.
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients:
• 1 3-pound chuck roast
• 1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 8-ounce jar of sliced pepperoncini peppers
• 1 8-ounce jar Chicago-style or Italian mix giardiniera
• 1 14 ½-ounce can of beef broth
• 1 7-ounce package of provolone cheese slices
• 1 8-count package steak or sub rolls
Directions:
Place the steak strips, sliced bell peppers, sliced onion and minced garlic in the crockpot. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth and stir together until well mixed. Pour mixture over the beef strips, peppers and onions in the crockpot, making sure everything is evenly coated.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve, mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl until smooth. Stir this slurry into the crockpot to thicken the sauce.
Continue cooking for the remaining time to allow the sauce to cook through and lose any raw cornstarch flavor. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve the pepper steak hot over cooked rice or noodles. ■
AT RANDOM WITHSCHMIDTROBIN
by Jennifer Koski special to inBemidji
+ We met because my family is going through the foster care licensing process. Are these home visits a big part of your job? I believe I have about 10 in process right now between relative and non-relative families. A majority of what I do is licensing relatives.
+ Are you originally from Bemidji? I am originally from Monticello, Minnesota. I landed in Bemidji because it’s where I went to college. I’m the first one in my family to go to college, so I really didn’t know where to start.
My high school typing teacher said she went to BSU and loved it. And my family vacationed in Park Rapids every summer, so we’d see these resort workers
every year. One had attended BSU and he offered to bring me and a friend on a tour. I thought it was a beautiful campus and decided that’s where I wanted to go.
Robin Schmidt, third from left, is pictured with daughter Aftyn, husband Bret and son Brennan. Contributed photo
+ Did you think you’d stay this long when you first arrived? No! I had every intention of moving back to the Monticello area. I never planned on staying in Bemidji.
+ What happened? I met my husband.
+ Do tell. Bret is from Bemidji and was a friend of a friend of a friend. So we started as friends, and would be at the same bar or parties or wherever. A big group of us went to WE Fest together one year. Then, four of us went to Acapulco for spring break – and he was one of the four. We started dating shortly after that.
+ Where was your first date? We went to a movie, but don’t ask me which one – I can’t remember! It was a double date with his brother and one of my roommates. They started dating before we did.
+ Did they last? No, and it’s funny because they didn’t think we’d last! They were together for five months and we’re going on 26 years. We had our 25th wedding anniversary in September.
+ Three things you love? Coffee is definitely No. 1. I have to have my coffee every day or I don’t function. I also have a love of wine. I get together every month
for a wine night with some of our family. One of my husband’s cousins always picks the best wines.
+ And the third thing you love? Vacations!
+ Best vacation you’ve been on? Out East. My husband was kind of panicking when we started talking about having kids. He said, “We better travel because I’m sure we’ll never travel again once we have kids!” So we planned to fly into New York, then would drive north for peak colors. Our trip was a week after 9/11, so we experienced a way different New York than we expected. There was military everywhere. We were on a tour bus that was supposed to stop at the Twin Towers, and they were able to bring us down to Ground Zero. News people from all over the world were there. It was really emotional.
+ What an experience. We were only there for two nights, then rented a car and spent a night in Cape Cod, one night in Portland, Maine, one night in Bar Harbor, a night at a B&B in Vermont, and one in New Hampshire. We wanted to see as much as we could because my husband thought we’d never travel ever again.
+ Was he right? When I was 7 ½ months pregnant, we said, “Maybe just one more trip before the baby comes.” So we went to Vegas for the first time. It was July, 112 degrees, and I was huge. We stayed in this little Podunk hotel and the a/c wasn’t working. It was a memorable trip.
+ I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you’ve traveled since then. Yes, every year! When our kids were young, we would go on cruises because cruising is more affordable for the whole family – and we’d get a little time to ourselves because our kids liked the kids’ club there. My husband’s brother and his family started coming with us, too, so there were fun and memorable times.
+ What’s something I might be surprised to learn about you? I have a tattoo. I wish it was a good story, but my roommate in college got a tattoo, so I thought I needed one … because I was 19 at the time.
+ What is it? It’s just a heart with kind of a design around it. It’s on my lower back, so I never see it and I’m glad because as we get older, my children say it doesn’t look like a heart anymore. It looks like a brain.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. And it’s all small stuff.”
- Robin Schmidt
+ How many kids do you have? Two. My daughter is 22 and my son is 19. My daughter lives in Monticello and my son lives with us, but through the winter he’s housesitting, so I’ve only seen him once a week since November!
+ Best thing about your job? I love working with foster parents and I have learned so much from them over the years. Foster care is not, as some people might think, a money maker. It’s really not. The families I work with are just wanting to give back to their community and be able to care for these kids who need a safe place to be. I admire them so much. I’ve seen so many of them create wonderful and lasting relationships with the birth families of the kids they’ve had in care.
+ And the toughest thing? Working in this field, we see some sad cases. Having to remove kids from their families and place them outside the home is not a fun thing to
do. We have kids in the office sometimes while we’re finding a place for them to go and it can be heartbreaking.
+ No. 1 thing on your bucket list? I want to travel to Europe – take two months and just go everywhere.
+ First place you’d go? I’d love to see the Running of the Bulls in Spain. I took Spanish in high school, and I was planning to go then. I put a down payment on the trip, and then one day our Spanish teacher called the company she was going through and they had just closed up. Gone. So we were out our money and the trip. I tell myself I’ll get there someday.
+ Best concert you’ve attended? Bon Jovi. I saw them twice. First time maybe 20 years ago. And then about 10 years ago, my husband – who doesn’t like Bon Jovi –sucked it up and as a birthday gift gave me tickets to go to the concert.
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+ Best advice you’ve taken? I think the best advice was a book: “Don’t sweat the small stuff. And it’s all small stuff.” It’s something we learn, too, as we get older. If I could tell my younger self that, I would. There are things that seem really big at the time, or things that don’t go right that we think are a big deal. But if we take a step back and look at the big picture, we realize it’s not as big a deal as we make it out to be.
+ Solid advice. And to my kids, I always said, “Keep it classy.” We talk about what that means, and it means so much. Just always be nice to everyone. Think about how you’re coming across to people, and just keep it classy.
+ Best part of living in Bemidji? We have a community that lifts people up. And I think that’s not always the case in every community. I think Bemidji is a wonderful place. ■
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