Inspire(d) Summer 2012

n Like Media o e(d) cebook! r i p s In Fa OXO X

.

Inspire(d) DRIFTLESS MAGAZINE POSITIVE NEWS FROM THE DRIFTLESS REGION.

LOCAL FOOD DIRECTORY INSIDE! FARMERS MARKET TIPS & AREA CHEFS SHARE RECIPES PEOPLE’S TIME EXCHANGE TALES FROM THE SOUTH POLE LET’S GO CAVE EXPLORING! ARTIST MEGAN JACKSON WHISK&SPOON BOXED(IN): WINONA

And lots more!

NO. 30 • SUMMER 2012

free!

ATE. C U D E .

VATE I T O M RE. INSPI

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SUMMER 2012 contents

EXPLORE CAVES IN THE DRIFTLESS REGION PEOPLE’S TIME EXCHANGE ARTIST FEATURE: MEGAN JACKSON GIVE ME LOCAL, GIVE ME FRESH! page 10

22 26

MISSISSIPPI MIRTH: SALADS!

33 37 38 42 48 54 58 62

PROBITUARY: BILL BEARD

66

NE IOWA LOCAL FOOD DIRECTORY PROJECT: PAPER PINWHEELS! SCIENCE, YOU’RE SUPER: WIND TURBINES INTERVIEW: JASE GRIMM, SOUTH POLE COOK LET’S GET THIS PARTY ARTED!

page 42

10 16

CHEF ON THE BLOCK: WHISK&SPOON BOXED (IN): WINONA, MINNESOTA

page 54

...and more!

ON THE COVER: G-Gnome just couldn’t go a summer without gracing our cover yet again. He stowed away in our Farmers Market bag, hiding behind a sprig of mint! Photo by Aryn Henning Nichols theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

03

Feed your soul.

Rich arts experiences connect all of us. Become a subscriber to save 10 to 20 percent on every ticket!

2012-13

Center Stage Series Sept. 8, 2012

• The Water Coolers

Sept. 29, 2012 • Sweet Honey in the Rock® Oct. 20, 2012 • An Evening with Abigail Washburn Oct. 26, 2012 • Sphinx Virtuosi with the Catalyst Quartet Nov. 8, 2012

• Luciana Souza Quartet

Feb. 15, 2013 • As You Like It Feb. 21, 2013 • Cirque Zíva Mar. 5, 2013

• First Person: Seeing America

Ensemble Galilei with Rob Nagle, Lily Knight, and photographs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mar. 15, 2013 • Hot Club of San Francisco April 12, 2013 • MOMIX Botanica

Don’t wait!

Subscriber discounts expire on August 24. For subscription information, pick up a brochure, visit http://boxoffice.luther.edu, or contact us at (563) 387-1357 or boxoffice@luther.edu.

From the Editor

Inspire magazine

I

t’s definitely feeling like summer out there, and this issue of Inspire(d) surely has more than a little to do with me getting super excited about it all!

We’ve carried on our tradition of local foods being the feature of our summer issue – from the Northeast Iowa Local Food Directory (p. 33) to a Farmers Market Primer (p. 26) to a handful of area chefs sharing tips and recipes (p. 30), this magazine is packed with tasty local treats.

Following in that vein, our Chef on the Block is whisk&spoon (p. 54), made up of niece and aunt team Carina Cavagnaro and Ann Sheahan. They sell their delicious baked goods at the Winneshiek Farmers Market Wednesdays and Saturdays. We also caught up with Decorah’s Jase Grimm – he’s currently on a yearlong stint at the South Pole, working as a cook on staff with 50 other crazy people living down there. And finally, to round out this summer food highlights, Jim McCaffrey brings us a fresh Mississippi Mirth filled with all things salad (p. 62)!

But it’s not ALL food this summer…

We’ve also got caves! I had to stop myself on the number of “cool” puns I made in regard to our cave run-down (p. 10), but seriously – we have some awesome caves in our region, and they’re great places to escape summer’s heat and humidity for an hour or so. And don’t forget to take your picture as a ghost when you leave Spook Cave (see above)!

I’m also really excited about a new initiative called the People’s Time Exchange (p. 16). New Inspire(d) writer Sara Friedl-Putnum gives us the details on how you can trade skills and time with other people who are part of the network. It’s a pretty neat setup.

Finally, we’ve got our regulars: Science, You’re Super highlights wind turbines (p.38), for our paper project you get to make paper pinwheels (p. 37), our artist feature highlights one of my favorite new artists in the region, Megan Jackson (p. 22), our Boxed (IN) takes us to the lovely river town of Winona, Minnesota (p. 58), and our probituary tells the tales of retired farmer Bill Beard (p. 66). Oh, and don’t miss all the great events happening ALL OVER the region this summer – you can learn more on the calendars, in the 25 Words/$25 Bucks blurbs next to the calendars, and all throughout the magazine. We hope you get out and take advantage of all the fun going on – we know we will, as the time counts down for the arrival of our first baby late July.

Oh – and we haven’t shared yet: they tell us it’s gonna be a girl! We’re so excited!

Who are we?

Co-founders: Aryn Henning Nichols / editor & designer Benji Nichols / writer & advertising sales (& husband, support team, dinner-maker)

We couldn’t do it without: Kristine Kopperud Jepsen/ contributor Sara Friedl-Putnam/ contributor Allison Croat/ intern Jim McCaffrey/ Mississippi Mirth

Inspire(d) Magazine is published quarterly by Inspire(d) Media, LLC, 412 Oak Street, Decorah, Iowa, 52101. This issue is dated Summer 2012, issue 30, volume 5, Copyright 2012 by Inspire(d) Magazine.

support inspire(d) Although Inspire(d) is free on the newsstands, you can have it sent to your door for only $25/year. Email aryn@theinspiredmedia.com for a membership or visit theinspiremedia.com for more info.

Write inspire(d)

Looking forward,

Want to make a comment about something you read in the magazine?

Email aryn@theinspiredmedia.com.

Aryn Henning Nichols

Interested in advertising?

Contact Benji at benji@theinspiredmedia.com or call 563-379-6315.

Happy summer to you all!

P.S. I’m on the lookout for some more writers for Inspire(d), specifically in the Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Wisconsin areas, or south of Decorah. If you’re interested, have a little experience, and maybe some story ideas too, I’d love to hear from you. Email me with a couple of writing samples at aryn@theinspiredmedia.com.

Visit our website: theinspiredmedia.com “Like” Inspire(d) Media on Facebook!

05

Looking for more details about events on the calendars?

Check out these fantastic summer activities! In chronological order, each event’s number coincides with the number on the calendar!

1. Happy Kid’s Summer Camp Registration. Learning healthy approaches to living life through movement, healthy foods, crafts, and emotional skills. www.discoverhappydecorah.com, 563-419-0346

June 7 through Aug. 30 STRENGTH • STABILITY • MOVEMENT FOR LIFE Adults & Kids Pilates & Wellness Classes, plus Wellness Coaching.

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PATCHWORK GREEN FARM Always fresh and super tasty vegetables & herbs produced chemical-free near Decorah by Erik Sessions & Sara Peterson.

Find us at the Decorah Farmers’ Market from June - October.

2012 Traditional and Market CSA Shares now available.

Check out patchworkgreen.com for all the details!

Eat Lo cal at Well! &E

06

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

2. Through Sept. 3: Driftless Safari Begins! Join in on a summer of adventure and exploration! Visit your local library or www. driftless-safari.org for details on this free program!

(563) 534-7145 3. June 1: ArtHaus First Friday! Spontaneous Art Installation, 8-10pm, Free. BYOB. Hang a piece of your artwork for the evening and watch as the exhibit unfolds! www.arthausdecorah.org 4. June 7: Vesterheim Free First Thursday Opening Reception 2-4 pm.

“National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition,” outstanding work by contemporary artists. (through July 28.) vesterheim.org

25W/ $25B

5. June 10: Decorah Open Streets, 11am-3pm. Get out for an active family afternoon on the car-free streets of Decorah! Walking, jogging, biking, music, games, trail tours! decorahopenstreets.com 6. June 15: Baker London Presents: Bermuda Report, 8pm, ArtHaus Studio Courtyard, $5, BYOB. Diplomat of Solid Sound’s Abbie Sawyer returns with a new groove. www.arthausdecorah.org (25W/$25B events continue on page 9)

Benefit for Specialist Bradley Foreman of Michigan – deployed in 2011 with the 322nd Engineer Company The Decorah and surrounding area public is invited to a join the Decorah Army 322nd Engineer Company at a benefit for Specialist Bradley Foreman Saturday, June 2, starting at 6 pm.

Foreman, of Michigan, was deployed with the Decorah Company last year in Afghanistan. Shortly after the unit’s return, Foreman was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Described as “one hell of a guy” by platoon mates, the news of Foreman’s illness is met with great sadness; he will be deeply missed. But, if there’s ever a time to act, it’s now. To show support for Specialist Foreman and his family, the 322nd Company is heading out to the upcoming June 2nd benefit, hosted by the Decorah VFW. It will include both a silent and live auction, in addition to a dinner. All are welcome.

Donations of any type for the auctions are also welcomed and can be dropped off at the VFW on Fridays. For more information, call Jim Bolson at the VFW (563-382-5232) or Captain Michael Dyrdahl at the 322nd (563-382-9684 ext. 3521 or 651-356-4914).

fun stuff to do

Tuesday Wednesday

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3

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Open Stage Night with Austin & Evan, T-Bock’s, Decorah

24

Lanesboro Art in the Park, Sylvan Park

Father’s Day!

Friday

1

Saturday

2

Thursdays on 3 Michelle First & 3rd Lynn, Summer Market ArtHaus McCaffrey’s, & Music Fest, First Friday, 7pm Rochester, every Spontaneous Thurs starting Art Trempeleau June 7, 11am – Installation, Blues Bash 8:30pm Decorah

Thursday

June 2: 322nd Eng. Co. Benefit for Specialist Brad Foreman, VFW, Decorah

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25

June 20: Michelle Lynn, Riverside on the Root, Lanesboro

26 Sauce Boss, Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids

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22

23

Mississippi Band, McCaffrey’s, 7pm

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Postville Hometown Celebration

29

Charlie Parr, the Root Note

June 30: Teacher’s Pet, McCaffrey’s, 7pm

30 Highlandville School House Music Fest, Highlandville, IA, 5 pm

9

June 23-24: Laura Days, Burr Oak, IA

June 22-24: New Minowa Players present “Big” the Musical, DHS Auditorium

8

Baker London Presents: Bermuda Report, ArtHaus

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June 29 - July 1: Iowa City Jazz Festival

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20 June 22: New Student Registration, The Yoga Studio, 4:30-6pm

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Greensky Bluegrass, Yacht Club, Iowa City

Michelle 14 Lynn, The Mill, Iowa City

JUNE 23: Absolute Hoot, McCaffrey’s, 7pm Down on the Farm Iron Pour, Decorah Lazy River Fest, Marquette, IA Breakfast on the Farm, NICC Dairy Center Charles Walker Band, Thee O.P., Lansing Coulee Region “Race for Kids”, La Crosse

19

13 The Flatlanders, Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis

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Lake Street Dive, The Englert

10: Natty Nation, the Root Note, La Crosse

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June 10: Joe & Vicki Price, Goodfellas, Waukon

8 9 7 5 June 9 - 6 4 4 JUNE 9: House Aug 11: Vesterheim DHPT Fundraiser w/ Beet Michael Sieler Dedication, Free First Root Stew, McCaffrey’s, 7pm “Cultivation” Sr. art show Saraswati Thursday, juried (reception People’s Time Exchange Bhawan Folk Art invitational, June 9), Kick-off, Phelps Park, 6:30pm Peace Opening Lanesboro Crown Trout Mandala, Biggest Baby Shower Ever, reception, Art Center Jewelers, Lansing, IA La Crosse Children’s Museum 2-4pm Lanesboro

Driftless Safari runs through Sept. 3.

Youth join in on a summer of adventure and exploration of the region!

Decorah Open Streets!

11am–3 pm

5

Monday

Happy Kid’s Summer Camp Registration at Discover Happy (Decorah)

Roger Waters, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul

2

1

Sunday

June Winneshiek Farmers Market, Decorah Wednesdays (3-6pm), Saturdays (8-11am).

’39 Steps’ & ‘The Philadelphia Story’, showing at Commonweal Theatre

Wilco, 2 Mayo Civic Center Auditorium, Rochester

29 Open Stage Night with Click Track, T-Bock’s, Decorah

Davina & the Vagabonds, Thee O.P., 3- 7pm

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June 20Aug 5: Great River Shakespeare Festival, Winona, grsf.org

8

4

Thursday

5

11

Happy Fourth!

11

12

31

24

Todd Snider & Hayes Carll, Englert, I. City

6

Saturday

19 The Roe Family Singers, ArtHaus Courtyard, 8 pm

13

21

County Brothers (Andy Schneider duo), Haymarket

14

Greg Brown, Seed Savers.

Decorah

28

July 20- 22: Seed Savers Conference & Campout

JULY 21: Dog House Jon, McCaffrey’s ‘Trick Boxing’, Elkader OH John Gorka, Legion Arts, Cedar Rapids

20

Shovels & Rope, the Root Note

13 Over the Back Fence, St. Mane, 7:30pm

12

July 29: Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Minnesota Zoo

July 28: Chastity Brown, the Root Note, 8pm Marty Stuart, Light Up the Bluff

July 27: Joe & Vicki Price, the Root Note, 8pm

July 27-28: Prairie Dog Blues Fest, Prairie du Chien

26 14 27 Merle Haggard & The People July 27-28: ArtHaus Nordic Fest Art Fair!, 10am-6pm Kris Brothers Kristofferson, Band, Volcano State Theatre, Haymarket The Delta Holiday, MSP Routine, Haymarket Haymarket

25

July 19-22: Urinetown, Ye Olde Gray Barn, Spring Grove, MN

July 19: Chris Koza & Rogue Valley, Thursdays on First & 3rd, Rochester

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Thursdays on First & 3rd Summer Market & Music Festival, Rochester, 11am – 8:30pm, every Thurs through Aug

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Friday

Lutheran Summer Music (LSM) presents 50+ free, fun recitals through July 22 www.lutheransummermusic.org

7 James Banks & the ArtHaus Vesterheim First Friday: Ty Band, Thee Free First Homebrew O.P., 9pm Michelle Thursday, Contest & Lynn, Live Music! Patrick Hazel, Folk Art Riverside ArtHaus McCaffrey’s, on the Root, Presentation, Crtyrd, 7 pm 7pm 2 pm Lanesboro

Wednesday

10

July 12 -15: Elkader Opera Marc Cohn, Englert House Players present Theatre, ‘The Last Five Years’ Iowa City

10

July 26-28: Nordic Fest!

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23

Fiona Apple, The Orpheum, MSP

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9

LSM faculty Woodwind Iron Pour, Quintet Sylvan Park, Concert, Lanesboro, NRH, Luther, 1-6pm 7:30pm

3

Ziggy Marley, Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley, MN

Tuesday

JULY 6 - 7: Basilica Block Party, Minneapolis 80/35, Des Moines

1

Monday

July

Sunday

fun stuff to do

Tuesday

13

Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis

6

15

28

Coming Up: Sept 27-29: Boats & Bluegrass Festival, Winona, MN

Aug 23 – Sept 3: Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul

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29

Open Stage Night with Faust & Field, T-Bock’s

26

22

JUNE 23: Michelle Lynn, Lawn Chair Night, Decorah Blame Sally, Thursdays on First & 3rd,

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Saturday

24

Carl Homstad: A Sense of Place opens August 24, Vesterheim Museum, Decorah

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30

23

17

18

Aug 25-26: Melodrama in the Park, Sylvan Park, Lanesboro

Gibbons Sisters, McCaffrey’s, 7pm

25

Paul Kaye, Paul Kaye McCaffrey’s, & the Blues 7pm Cartel, Haymarket Benji & Aryn’s 5th Journey, Anniversary I. State Fair

The Tom Bourcier Band, ArtHaus Courtyard, 8pm

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16

New Student Registration, The Yoga Studio, 4:30-6pm

Winneshiek Farmers Market, Decorah Wednesdays (3-6pm), Saturdays (8-11am).

Aug 14: The Band Perry, Iowa State Fair, Des Moines

14

Aug 24-26: Great River Folk Festival, La Crosse

20

2

Friday

10 15 11 9 7 8 Amadou & Aug 10-12: United Michelle Lynn, Mariam, Way Family Lansing Fish Days Civic Plaza, Cedar Fun Fest La Crosse Irish Festival West Union Cultural 5k/10k, AUG 10: Center, Decorah Joe & Vicki Price, McCaffrey’s, 7pm Minneapolis Trout Olson Dunn Band, Thee O.P., Lansing, 9pm Hatchery, Over the Back Fence, St. Mane, L-boro, 7:30pm 7:30am

George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Mayo Park, Rochester

19

Charles Walker Band, Thee O.P., Lansing, 3–7pm

August 9 – 19: Iowa State Fair, Des Moines

12

5

Driftless Safari continues through Sept. 3.

Visit your local library or www.driftless-safari.org

1

Thursday

4 Aug 3-4: 3 Thursdays on First Widening La Barge, the Circle & 3rd Summer McCaffrey’s, Market & Music Festival, Echo 7pm Festival, Rochester, Valley Farm 11am – 8:30pm, every Thurs through August

Wednesday

Franconia Sculpture Park concert series – ongoing weekends through October. www.franconia.org

Monday

August

Sunday

fun stuff to do

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1

2

Tuesday

3

Wednesday

4

Thursday

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Inspire(d) World’s Greatest Party

Friday

Inspire(d) invites you to the world’s greatest party in the world’s greatest venue! We’ll have amazing amounts of fun!

See you there! theinspiredmedia.com for details.

Monday

Saturday

Learn more about 25 Words/$25 Bucks at theinspiredmedia.com

See - we told you about our amazing fictional party in just 25 words! On the visual calendar (like the one at left), your event will be listed along with a number that corresponds. People can just scan on over to the adjoining and following pages to get more information!

Sunday

For example:

So we’ve implemented a simple, expandable list of events after our regular calendars (see the pages next to calendars). Those planning “fun stuff to do” will get a guaranteed spot on the calendar and in the event listing by purchasing “25 Words/$25 Bucks.” We know it’s a tough racket to put on live music, activities, and special events, so we want to give you a chance to get the word out without breaking the bank.

Calendar time is always an exciting time at Inspire(d) Headquarters. “Just how much can we fit on there this month?!?” Up until 2012, what we’ve chosen for these lovely pages has been entirely editorial and subjective. We figure, hey, you like our magazine, so you’ll probably like the fun stuff to do that we pick out from around our region. But we’re running out of space and want you, our lovely readers, friends, and fellow event-planners, to be able to tell us a little more about your fun.

25 Words/$25 Bucks

7

Looking for more details about events on the calendars?

Check out these fantastic summer activities! In chronological order, each event’s number coincides with the number on the calendar!

7. June 22: New Student Registration at The Yoga Studio for July/August, 4:30–6pm, 306 Water St, Decorah. For more information please call (563) 419-2329 8. June 22-24: New Minowa Players persents ‘Big’, the Musical, Decorah High School Auditorium. Friday and Saturday 7:30pm, Sunday 2pm. $10/$5. More information: 563-379-5738 9. June 30: Highlandville Schoolhouse Music Festvial. General B and The Wiz, Shot To Hell, Feed My Piranha, and more! All proceeds to preserving the schoolhouse. $10.

10. June 24 through July 22: Lutheran Summer Music returns to Decorah with 50+ free, fun recitals to fill your summer nights.

Join us at Luther through July 22. www.lutheransummermusic.org

25W/ $25B

11. July 5 : Vesterheim Free First Thursday Presentation, 2 pm. Kate Martinson and Harley Refsal, “Folk Art and Handcraft: Non-language-dependent Journey into Immigration and Rediscovery of Heritage.” vesterheim.org 12. July 6: ArtHaus First Friday: Homebrew Contest /Live Music with Jeni Grouws and Nori Hadley, 7-9pm, $7, ArtHaus Studio Courtyard. Sponsored by From Grain to Glass. www.arthausdecorah.org 13. July 19: The Roe Family Singers, ArtHaus Studio Courtyard, 8pm, $8/$6 students. Old-timey, bluegrass, jug-band goodness.

Sponsored by Cedar Dreams Inn. BYOB. More info: www.arthausdecorah.org 14. July 27: ArtHaus Nordic Fest Art Fair, July 27-28, 10-6, Outstanding jewelry, pottery, prints, fiber work, and more for sale at ArtHaus and the ArtHaus Studio. Admission Free! www.arthausdecorah.org 15. August 11: United Way 5K/10K Walk/Run starting at the beautiful Siewers Spring Trout Hatchery. Preregister for $15. $20 same day. Registration begins 7:30AM. More information at www.unitedwaywinnco.org 16. August 23: New Student Registration at The Yoga Studio for September / October 4:30–6pm, 306 Water St, Decorah. For more information please call (563) 419-2329 17. August 24: The Tom Bourcier Band, 8pm, $8/$6 students, ArtHaus Studio Courtyard. BYOB. Best blues musicians around offer a night of high-octane boogie. www.arthausdecorah.org

Algerian & American Cuisine A Journey to the Maghreb in the Heartland

Try our famous Signature Cocktails Connoisseur selection of Belgian, Import & Craft Beers

Restaurant & Bar

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Hours, Menus & Upcoming Events at

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It’s like coming home..

...for a quick homemade lunch or breakfast, long coffee, you can even host your parties here – during business or after hours!

• Free wi-fi throughout • Indoor/Outdoor seating • From scratch pastries

400 W. Water St., Decorah • www.javajohnscoffeehouse.com 563-382-5690 • See website for hours and daily specials

Purl Up & Knit for a Spell Yarn, Knitting & Fiber Art Supplies, Classes, & More!

Tues-Fri: 11 am – 5 pm, Sat: 10 am – 5 pm Monday: Drop In & Knit Night 6-8 pm 563-517-1059 • store@blueheronknittery.com

blueheronknittery.com

CLASSES • EVENTS • WORKSHOPS

inspire & create

Stop by or give us a call! 508 W. Water St. Decorah, 563.382.5440

See Inspire(d) calendar or ArtHaus website for details!

www.arthausdecorah.org arthaus508@gmail.com theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

09

Cave In this Summer Compiled by Aryn Henning Nichols

10

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Photo by Benji Nichols

Vesterheim’s Major Summer Show!

National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition June 7 - July 28, 2012 Rosemaling, weaving, woodworking, and knifemaking by contemporary artists with many of the pieces for sale by silent auction.

There are few things cooler (literally) than caves in the summer!

And here in the Driftless Region, we’re lucky to have a great number of caves that families (or anyone) can actually tour. From kooky, kinda scary boat tours to full-on spelunking half-day trips, adventurers are sure to find some underground fun in our neck of the woods. So the next time it’s humid and nearly 100, head inside to a cool 47-48 degrees and discover the wonder down under! (Too much? Is that a collective groan we hear?) But do pack a jacket – an hour or two in a cave and you might be ready for a little summer sun!

Spook Cave, off Hwy 52/18 near McGregor, Iowa • Cave Tours 9 am – 5:30 pm starting May 1 through summer Spook Cave is truly one of a kind. Not only do you get to tour the whole thing (or at least the parts you can access) by boat, they’ve included a fun urban legend in the mix that add just a little bit of fright to the whole thing (you’ll have to go to find out what it is!). Knowledgeable tour guides take you in through a hole that was blasted from two inches… to just a little bit bigger. No, seriously, you have to lean down for about 100 feet to get in, so if you’ve

Norwegian- American Museum

Preserving a heritage. Connecting us all.

80

502 W. Water St., Decorah, Iowa • 563-382-9681 • vesterheim.org

Celebrating

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11

got a pregnant belly, be prepared! But it’s worth it – nature was forming the cave near McGregor for centuries… and early settlers of Clayton County had long been wondering what those strange noises coming from that aforementioned hole at the base of the hill along Bloody Run Creek were, but it took Gerald Mielke to blast it open and crawl in to discover the caves. Guided boat tours tell about the discovery, and cave formations are highlighted as well. (spookcave.com)

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001726 — Rev. 11/08

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Kerbie R Engel, Agent 222 W. Water St Decorah, IA 52101 (563) 382-8006 www.kerbieengelagency.com

Niagara Cave, near Harmony Minnesota • Cave Tours on weekends in April; 7 days a week Memorial Day – Labor Day, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm; 10 am – 4:30 pm in September There’s a reason Niagara Cave was voted a “Best Family Destination” and “Top Ten in the U.S.” – it is an amazing example of the magical spaces that exist beneath our feet, undiscovered, until the day something drops through a sinkhole! During the one-hour guided tour, cavegoers wander from room to room – some quite cavernous – to check out underground streams, the nearly 60-foot waterfall, really big and really small stalactites, calcite flowstone, over 400 million-year-old fossils, and even a wedding chapel where hundreds (!) of weddings have been performed! Well-versed guides share great educational and informative details about all the sights to be seen within the meandering caves.

FYI: there are several sets of stairs on the tour, so wheelchairs and strollers cannot be used (but the gift shop is accessible) and areas of the caves can be a little slippery, so walking shoes are recommended. (www.niagaracave.com)

On the tours, guided by Park Naturalists, you’ll be treated to stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, fossils, and underground pools.

The guides will take you along the long, linear corridors that are typical to Mystery Cave, and explain its history, features, and formation. Bonus: the one-hour tour (the most popular and “best overall cave experience”) is ADA accessible! Entrance to the park is four miles south of State Highway 16 on Fillmore County Highway 5, then 2 miles east on Fillmore County 118.

Kickapoo Caverns – near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (2 miles west of Wauzeka) Open Memorial Day through Labor Day, Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 1 ¼ hour Personal Tours, Starting at 11am, 2pm, 4pm. Reservations necessary!

Mystery Cave, in Forestville State Park, near Preston, Minnesota • Open for one-hour tours, 7 days a week, 10 am – 5 pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day; Weekends in spring and fall, 10 am – 4 pm Discovered in 1937, Mystery Cave is the longest cave in Minnesota - spanning over 13 miles underground. It is a network of passages that was dissolved by moving water.

Tours range from the general 1-hour option that is available 7 days a week in the summer to a two-hour “rustic, flashlight tour” that focuses on geology (only available weekends and holidays in summer) to pre-scheduled, “advanced educational tour” and even “wild caving tours” where you get caving gear and really get into it, “crawling and squeezing through undeveloped portions of Mystery Cave”.

In Southwest Wisconsin near Prairie du Chien lives what is dubbed online as “the largest show cave in the Midwest.”

Kickapoo Caverns is a centuries-old Kickapoo Indian shelter that was carved by an ancient underground river and is “glistening” with onyx throughout.

Cave explorers will get to see – with a guide, of course – the

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Just 1 mile north of the Minnesota/Iowa border on Hwy 139, then west. theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

13

“Majestic Cathedral Room” that has a 60-foot high onyx ceiling, a frozen waterfall, subterranean aquifer, the stalactite chamber, and an ancient fossilized mastodon bone. Cool! The tour is on cement walks and cameras are welcome. www.kickapooindiancaverns.com

Cave Terminology* • Speleologist – a person who studies the science of caves and other Karst features

Maquoketa Caves State Park, 10970 98th St., Maquoketa, Iowa • Tours beginning May 26, 2012, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily A bit farther south toward the edge of the Driftless Region, explorers can check out Maquoketa Caves State Park near – where else? – Maquoketa, Iowa.

It’s an incredibly unique state park, with caves, limestone formations, and rugged bluffs. There are 13 caves with varying levels of accessibility. Some, like the over 1,000-foot Dancehall Cave with walkways and a lighting system, can be explored by walking, while others, like Dugout Cave, can only be accessed by crawling.

The remaining caves are all different sizes and shapes.

No matter your means of travel, a flashlight and clothes and shoes that can get dirty are a must. The park contains more caves than any other state park in Iowa, but they’ve been closed since 2010 to slow the spread of a fungus called white nose syndrome, which is fatal to bats. The caves have just been reopened again this spring (2012) for limited tours. Previously, they could be explored independently, but since the discovery of WNS, things had to change in order to ensure the stop – or at least slow – of the fungus. Interpreters will both give tours and facilitate the WNS (white-nose syndrome) Awareness Program.

Attendance at is required for those who plan to enter the caves. (www. stateparks.com/maquoketa_caves_state_park_in_iowa.html)

• Karst – An area of terrain containing features that are formed by natural waters dissolving rock. In most cases these areas contain caves. Derived from the geographical name of a part of Slovenia.

• Calcite – The most common constituent of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone etc. Limestone, marble and chalk consist largely of calcite.

• Sinkhole – A natural drainage hole or cavity in rock, worn by the action of water usually along a joint or fault • Cavern – A very large chamber in a cave.

• Stalactite – A secondary mineral deposit (speleothem), hanging from the roof of a cave and often shaped like an icicle. Most commonly consisting of calcium carbonate that forms by seeping or dripping water depositing calcium carbonate out of solution.

• Straw – A hollow thin-walled stalactite, uniform in diameter over its whole length • Stalagmite – A speleothem that grows upward from the floor of a cave.

• Drapery – A wavy or folded speleothem that hangs down from an inclined wall or ceiling and resembles a curtain.

• Twilight zone – The outer part of a cave where daylight penetrates and gradually diminishes to zero light, between the entrance zone and dark zone (where no outside light can penetrate the cave). *Reference: wasg.iinet.net.au/glossary.html

Aryn Henning Nichols loves the idea of magical, secret places existing, undiscovered, just under the surface. She enjoys exploring caves, although might wait until the pregnant belly is gone to check out too many more!

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y e n o M s Time i The new initiative the People’s Time Exchange helps residents of the Driftless Region share their time and talents, building community and saving resources in the process.

There are many ’s Time things a People r be em Exchange m e tim r fo r fe could of as ch su , ge an exch ing knitting, garden ons, ss le or services or s, on ss le o pian ndiconstruction/ha d 3r d an work. (1st top] at g in rt ta [s o phot rt. ffe he

by Jeanine Sc sy te ur co 2nd photo r. 4th Janet Alexande Sarah photo courtesy Wicks.) of Right page: Lots in for h tc people can pi to ho (P . ge an an exch t ne Ja sy te cour Alexander.)

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...Time!

By Sara Friedl-Putnam

T

he lights dim and a projector screen lowers at the Northeast Iowa Peace and Justice Center in downtown Decorah. It’s one of those beautiful early spring afternoons, and roughly a dozen individuals settle into their seats – excited as orientation leader Janet Alexander makes her way to the front of the room, but probably also imagining all the work that could be done in this lovely weather.

“Welcome to the People’s Time Exchange,” Alexander says, smiling broadly. “I’m looking forward to learning about the many skills and talents each of you has to offer our community.”

And with that, the People’s Time Exchange (PTE), a new initiative promoting the exchange of time and talent in Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Southwest Wisconsin, has officially gone public. Turnout at this particular gathering is inarguably light but those who have shown up – a multigenerational group spanning from children to seniors – listen intently, several jotting down notes, as Alexander explains the initiative’s mission. “We hope to help people weather tough economic times and draw our communities tighter,” she says. “At the core of this is the concept that all the

services members have to offer are equally valuable.”

She then turns to the screen and clicks through the organization’s website, where all PTE members record their exchanges in hourly increments. It doesn’t take long for the questions to fly. Is it acceptable to negotiate a monetary fee for an exchange made through the PTE? (No.) Is it all right to call someone to firm up the details of an exchange, instead of communicating entirely through the PTE website? (Absolutely.) Should a member charge for the ingredients used to, say, bake bread for exchange? (Perhaps.)

“Communicate, communicate, communicate – I can’t stress that enough,” says Alexander, who served as assistant dean and director of international student services at Grinnell (Iowa) College before retiring to Decorah in 2009. “There are so many things that aren’t cut and dry about this system – part of its beauty is that people do need to communicate to make an exchange, and that in turn builds relationships.”

So what exactly is a time bank? The brainchild of law professor Edgar Cahn, founder of TimeBanks USA, time banking is a transaction of skills – everything from gardening or tutoring to caring for pets or providing transportation – that strengthens communities both economically and socially.

The PTE is affiliated with the more than 300 TimeBanks USA that currently operate across the nation – there’s at least one in every state – and while models and rules vary, all rely upon the collective power of members. They’ll “deposit” the hours they accumulate performing services for fellow members, then “spend” those hours on services offered.

Sarah Wicks, co-manager of the organic Given Gardens farm in Decorah and one of the folks who helped bring the PTE to fruition, likens an effective time exchange to what you’d like to see in a river.

“There’s a constant flow – you don’t want a drought or a flood,” she says. “You want an even flow of exchange – steady, no highs or lows.

That’s the goal.”

Early eye exams important for your child Untreated vision problems in children affect development and learning. That’s why we: • Provide free infant eye exams (first year), regardless of your family’s income or insurance • Recommend a comprehensive eye exam by age 3 and prior to starting school • Offer pliable, break-resistant eyewear designed for children, newborn and up To schedule your child’s eye exam with Jennifer Gipp, OD or Craig Carson, OD, call the Gundersen Lutheran Eye Clinic – Decorah at (563) 382-2639.

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Winners drawn the last Sunday of June, July & August at KDEC’s Open Stage Night at T-Bock’s in Decorah.

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Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Some of the core People’s Time Exchange founders, from left: Liz Rog, Janet Alexander, Jeanine Scheffert, Mark Simmonds, , Sarah Wicks, and Chad Evans. Photo by Benji Nichols.

The Timeline of a Time Bank At a January 2012 brainstorming meeting where 30 people pitched practical ways for the area economy to remain resilient in tough economic times, the Driftless Region time exchange idea was a hit. “Time banking has really taken off in recent years,” says Mark Simmonds, founder of Psybre Inc., a Decorah-based information systems company, “and the majority of the people at the meeting said that not only should we set up a time bank, but we should do it immediately.”

Wicks, also at that meeting, continues, “I think the financial crisis forced a lot of people to reconsider their lives and open up to different ideas. It seemed like the perfect time to try something like a time exchange – one of the awesome things about this is that everyone is on a level playing field.”

By late January, Wicks, Alexander, Simmonds, Chad Evans (a retired power plant-cleaning company supervisor), and Liz Rog (cocreator of the DecorahNow website) were meeting every Thursday to get the PTE up and running by spring. Alexander took the lead on research, contacting a number of existing time banks to find out what had (and had not) worked. Simmonds put his computer expertise into play, spending long hours customizing the TimeBanks USA software for the PTE’s use. Wicks began recruiting volunteer coordinators and setting up training sessions in the region. Evans did a bit of legal research with the help of an attorney. And Rog took charge of spreading the word.

“We felt overwhelmed at the beginning trying to figure this out,” admits Alexander when asked about the myriad decisions that had to be made. Among them: What geographical area should the exchange encompass?

The group was adamant that the time bank not be limited to Decorah and eventually pinpointed the focus on six counties in Iowa (Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek), two in Minnesota (Fillmore and Houston), and two in Wisconsin (Crawford and Vernon). “It just so happened that this grew out of Decorah, but we really want it to be a regional thing,” says Alexander.

Can people living beyond those counties join?

Not yet, but perhaps in the future: “Requests have already come from as far away as Washington state,” says Simmonds, “but because one of our goals is to build community, we do want to keep it regional for now.”

Should owning a computer and being somewhat computer savvy be necessary to participate in the PTE? Absolutely not. “Individuals who aren’t comfortable using computers can ask a fellow member – or perhaps a family member – to help them set up and use an account,” says Simmonds, noting exchange coordinators can also assist in that regard. “And people who don’t have a computer but are comfortable using them can access the PTE website at any local library.”

Can youth under age 18 participate?

Absolutely, provided they attend an orientation session with a parent or guardian. “We think young people have a lot to offer,” notes Alexander.

Is it feasible to “screen” members before acceptance into the exchange?

Not really. “If members are having someone come into their home or provide transportation, they should use the same common sense and caution that they would if they hired someone outside the exchange,” stresses Alexander.

What types of skills and services can be A PTE member could offer hair braiding, offered through the singing classes, or husbandry services.

PTE marketplace?

(Top and bottom photos by Jeanine With 11 broad Scheffert. Middle photo courtesy Liz Rog) categories— transportation, community activities, education, business services, help at home, wellness, arts/crafts/ music, companionship, recreation, home, and miscellaneous—the possibilities are virtually endless. “A lot of things that people can offer are things that they’re doing already,” says Alexander, who has posted offers to grow plants and give cheese-making lessons. “People are cooking meals…they

Decorah Open Streets A celebration of community wellness held on car-free streets that are open for fun family activities of all kinds – walking, jogging, biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, even pickle ball! Bring a lawn chair & listen to live music, add your artistic talents to a community chalk mural, or help your child decorate their bike for a street parade.

The possibilities are endless!

Inaugural Decorah Open Streets:

Sunday. June 10th. 2012.

11 am to 3 pm

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Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

are walking dogs…they are running neighbors to medical appointments.”

Are PTE exchanges taxexempt?

PTE exchanges are considered volunteering (and therefore non-taxable) as long as members don’t charge market rate for a service (more or less than one hour for an hour). Goods are likewise nontaxable as long as they’re valued based on labor time, not market value.

“Timebanks USA, the system we’re affiliated with, has an IRS private letter ruling that time dollar/hour exchanges are tax-exempt,” notes the PTE website. “However, laws and their interpretation by the courts change all the time, and members are responsible for knowing the law and reporting income if necessary.”

And, finally, perhaps the most important question: what should the initiative be More examples of what types of services one could offer called?

Dozens of names were tossed through People’s Time Exchange. Top: childcare (photo by Aidan Spencer-Berg). Bottom: Planting, weeding, or other about – many suggested by gardening/farming tasks (photo courtesy Sarah Wicks) readers of the DecorahNow website – but, in the end, the People’s Time Exchange was the one that most clearly articulated the group’s goals.

“This is about people and exchange and time,” says Alexander. “It may not be sexy, but it gets to the heart of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

While Wicks emphasizes that the exchange, launched in midApril, is still a work in progress – “We will definitely continue to assess where we’re at and how best to move forward,” she says – she’s also energized by its many possibilities and confident that its future is bright. “A lot of people rely on one another and believe in the value of community in this area,” she says. “If a time exchange is going to succeed anywhere, it’s the Driftless Region.”

Sara Friedl-Putnam grew up in a large Florida city but is thrilled to be raising her 10-year-old daughter in a small Iowa town that embraces community-building initiatives like the People’s Time Exchange.

Inspir

a(c)tions

Interested in making new friends while catching up with old ones as well? The People’s Time Exchange will hold a grand kickoff potluck at Phelps Park on Saturday, June 9. For more information about the event – or the PTE in general – visit the website peoples.timebanks.org. To set up an orientation session in your community, e-mail Sarah Wicks at sarahwicks01@gmail.com.

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Work with the Scribble

From her dining-room-turned-studio, Megan Jackson reflects on/channels/puts color to her inner and outer worlds.

By Kristine Kopperud Jepsen • Photos by Aryn Henning Nichols

22

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Kids to school?

Check.

Coffee?

Check.

Dining room converted to painting studio?

Check. [creativity explodes onto canvas here] Finish piece of art in time for lunch?

Check.

M

eet the intuitive fervor that is Megan Jackson Art. It’s not uncommon for this visual artist/writer/photographer to start from blank canvas in her Decorah dining room at 8:30 am – actually, several canvases – and finish one by noon.

“I’m a multi-personality painter,” she says by way of introduction. In the blink of an eye, she rinses a brush in her kitchen sink, wipes her hands on her jeans, grabs a glass of water, and smiles a welcoming smile, returning to her story.

“I can be working on a natural landscape, then put that brush down – literally – and focus on something wildly abstract. I just have to go with the spirit that moves me.”

She’s not kidding about being moved. She and her family – husband Kyle, and kids Finnegan (10) and Sullivan (6) – relocated to Decorah in a whirlwind of circumstance in summer 2011.

Within a span of weeks, Kyle, a pastor and seminary student, landed a pastoral internship in Harmony, Minnesota, and the family sold their St. Paul home in 48 hours – requiring them to move in with friends for six weeks to finish out the kids’ school year – before finally settling in Decorah and its network of Luther alumni (including Kyle).

“It was a lot,” says Megan, a native of St. Paul and University of St. Thomas writing and theology graduate. “I naturally seek out structure, and for a while I wasn’t feeling any.”

But she had been painting in the snippets of time between the tasks of mothering, beginning when Finnegan was born.

Jackson’s mother was an art teacher and had saturated her childhood with tools of the trade.

So, she put herself in front of one canvas. Then another, trying to process her experience.

“At first, I wasn’t sure how staying home [with kids] was going to go,” she admits. “I found I had to do something for myself – some kind of emotional release, and it turns out, I got pretty good at letting myself go in the small windows of work time.” As her body of work grew – in four genres: collage, mixed media, landscape and abstract – she started outpacing her doubt and perfectionist tendencies.

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23

“I really don’t like to put ‘finishing’ pressure on myself, but I can’t let anything drag out waiting for perfection, either,” she says. “When I get to the point that I’m thinking about a piece too much, the canvas is telling me that’s not the way to go. I have to let my intuitive self take over, or I could not like the piece in the end.”

And sometimes, Jackson’s intuition demands that she paint over the problems and start anew, giving the canvas depth and – for her – a temporal history that she can mine through an “excavation process,” literally scraping away layers of acrylic or charcoal or graphite to reveal a portion of what came before.

“I like the little surprises, pieces from each revision that remind me that not all is revealed at once.”

It’s a lesson she’s bent on embracing, though the not-knowing challenges her. Now and again, at a pause in conversation, Jackson’s fingers drum the tabletop ever so slightly, a little inner manic brimming over her Midwestern reserve.

Then the impatience passes and she laughs, her eyes twinkling in the frame of her retro red glasses, and she tells another origin story – how some wonderful colorful thing came to her attention and got onto her canvas.

In her living room, for example, Jackson displays two finished works, both featuring gray-blue, the color of wonder. The first canvas, “Cathedral Window” is a tangle of hollow linear shapes

Many photos in Jackson’s collages – a horse, a schoolteacher, a balloon – come from 1950s National Geographics. And when she can’t find a shot to suit, she makes one, rendering one of her own photos with color saturation or other effects. She had portraits taken of her family, each member doing the “‘Little House on the Prairie’ jump” to commemorate their move to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stomping grounds. The portraits eventually became a Valentine canvas for her family, titled “Falling for You.”

each bounded, barred, bordered. The second is a wide swath of abstract called “Excavation Process,” in which less defined but substantive shapes appear to be settling into their rightful constellation.

“I finished the first painting before we moved, and struggled with the second through eight revisions,” she explains.

“But just before we packed up, it finally came together. I had an overwhelming sense that ‘this is where we’re supposed to be.’”

Jackson calls her time in Northeast Iowa a ‘transition year,’ full of open landscapes, physical openness, freedom, and the space to adapt organically from one environment to another. This is the first community to know her first as an artist and second as wife and mother to a family.

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Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

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And with both kids in school, it’s also the first year she’s reclaimed the shape of her days, making way for works titled: Trying to Find the Words Pieces Tree Meditation Soul Work Protection Finding My Wings Fall in My Sky Embrace Soft Keepers How It All Grows Gathering the Eggs Path Feeling the Flower Reflection and many, many more.

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“I believe that art should speak to an individual in a soulful manner, drawing out deep feeling [and] encouraging an emotional relationship to the piece,” she writes in an artist statement, displayed at her shows.

All this ‘finding,’ ‘trying,’ and ‘gathering’ is framing an example Jackson is honored to embody for her kids, too.

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“We don’t discount scribbles around here,” she says, pointing out a nest of whimsical lines that became the fleece of a sheep on one canvas.

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Gear up.

“You never know what will inspire. I say, ‘Work with the scribble.’”

Some of Jackson’s pieces will appear in a juried exhibition entitled “Cultivation,” hosted by the Lanesboro Art Center, June 9 - August 11, 2012.

For upcoming summer shows and a wider sampling of her work, visit www.meganjacksonart.com.

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25

Give me Local, Give me Fresh

By Allison Croat

Learn the How-to’s of Farmers Markets & Ideas on Eating Local from Regional Chefs The sweet drip of strawberry juice down your chin is a sure sign of summer. What makes it even sweeter is knowing those strawberries were grown just down the road. Each bite offers a special blend of local flavors, and summer’s the perfect time to fill your refrigerators – and stomachs – with all things local.

Gardening, of course, is a great way to harvest fresh food all season long. It doesn’t get any more local than your own yard and you have the luxury of planting whatever you like and ignoring what you don’t. But not everyone boasts a green thumb – after all, gardening is tough.

Thankfully, there’s an alternative that involves a lot less digging. Farmers markets offer all the luxuries of local food without all of that backbreaking weeding, mulching, and watering. If you’ve never been to a market, it can be a bit daunting: stalls bursting with food so fresh it’s still covered in dirt, music and entertainment, sometimes there’s even arts and crafts in the mix. For all you market first-timers, or for anyone unsure of how to act at a farmers market, check out these tried and true tips to help make the most of fresh local food this summer.

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ave ill h s often w s g it’ er arm ses, but own ba d f t s o o r a o u gs. M r purch ing yo s, it’s g a b u u l g ble for yo rin wn. P usa o s se. B • Re ic bag expen costs d t ual s p n a e ow m ke pl ivid , r d i n e i . t e es at th elp th nmen n by sh box nd u r o h r re a are f ca will e envi nds k out o gh mo s for h t a t r S n u r o . f nge ally wo s (altho e optio But a h v c . e u / hin site o ha o us ash • C ers wh rd mac rting t TMs on ta a farm redit c ts are s clude A g c e n t i k no asin e ar en ). h v m c e r e c mor s, some ys king n pu distan o g a nin ve a card is alw plan nd ha h s e r ’ a a c u f yo ucts cive ler, i t prod o ndu o o c a c e e • A or m s ar ry rket a dai ive. r es. M to d sho e l b orta omf ng.

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26

Less Miles Equal Less Dolla rs!

Farmers are often able to sell their items at a more a ff ordable cost becau se they’ve cut out the middle man, there transporta are little tion costs, o u ts id e labor costs, or grocery store mark -ups. Sweet!

Questions to ask • What is this? How do I use this? Farmers often sell unique produce, and are more than willing to talk to you about it.

They’ll give advice about the best ways to enjoy the food, the specific flavors it can offer, and how to store it.

• Are you here every week? If you find you enjoy a farmer’s wares, ask if they’ll be back, and if they’ll have more of your favorite items. Sometimes they will even hold specific items for you.

• Tell me about your operation. Talking about the farms the food comes from is a great way for you to get to know your farmers, and to know your food.

• What is new today? What do you think will be ready next week? No one knows more about what’s in season and what’ll be coming up than the farmers who grow the food.

Note to Self

Go early if you have specific needs. Popular items sell out fast.

Know Your Seasons Note to Self Don’t let the growing seasons stop you from enjoying these fresh foods all year long. Herbs can be put into a food processor with a bit of water and frozen in ice-cube trays, ready for quick use. Or create a soup stock with your wares, and freeze these in ice-cube trays as well. Who knew those little plastic squares could offer so much for your kitchen?

Berries can be washed and placed in the freezer on a baking tray. Once they are frozen, transfer to a plastic bag and freeze until your heart’s (or stomach’s) content.

• Early: asparagus, spinach, root crops • Mid: tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, greens • Late: apples, pears, berries, lots of veggies

What else you might find Coffee Soup Flowers Herbs Recipes Entertainment Advice New foods

Meats Baked goods Crafts Jewelry Preserves Honey Cheese Eggs

(Continued on page 32)

27

HISTORIC

A lbert’ s RESTAURANT&PUB Winneshiek 104 East Water Street Decorah, Iowa

INTRODUCING THE NEW HOTEL WINNESHIEK

Weekend

Brunch!

hosted by Albert’s & Executive Chef Tom Skold

Every Saturday & Sunday, 10 am – 2 pm Featuring a variety of delicious starters like Asparagus Salad with Lemon & Chevre, tantalizing main courses ranging from Smoked Turkey Hash with Poached Eggs & Sauce Choron to Orange Ricotta Pancakes with Berry Compote, plus French Style Omelets, House Made Breakfast Sausage, Fruit Crisps, Bread Pudding & More!

Beginning Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

The Local Table:

Regional Chefs Share Local Tips Chef Answers & Recipes compiled by Allison Croat

While we here are Inspire(d) love cooking local, visiting the Farmers Market, and, of course, eating, we’re no experts (well, except maybe for the eating part). So we asked five regional chefs to give us THEIR local food expertise, first with these three questions: 1. What do you love about cooking locally in the Driftless Region?

2. Do you have a favorite local summer ingredient? Why? (Note: Wow, do these folks LOVE tomatoes!)

3. What’s the first question you would ask your farmer at the local farmer’s market?

And then we requested a favorite summer recipe to share with you all.

We know our mouths are watering.

How about yours? Season’s Eatings!

Justin Scardina La Rana Bistro & Driftless Food & Catering • Decorah, Iowa 1. Well I have been cooking in the Driftless Region for nearly 10 years now and I cannot explain enough how gifted we are with all these fantastic farmers and ranchers who produce AMAZING products each and every season. I would have to say that our produce and products rival that of California and other warmer weather climates. Granted no one is growing citrus but I do know one farmer that will have fresh ginger this year!

Also every year brings in more and more farmers growing more diverse crops.... fresh sprouts, heirloom everything, mixed greens year-round! I love this region so much that I named my catering company Driftless Food & Catering.

2. I guess I really can’t narrow it down further than the nightshade family, which contains tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, etc.... Those are the real bounty of the summer months. Plus the whole family is made to be cooked together…and who doesn’t love tomatoes and potatoes?

3. Usually the first question is what is good today/what is new? All the farmers are always trying new seeds and crops and the season for some items comes and goes in a blink of an eye. Usually tomatoes are only around for maybe a month but last year I was still buying tomatoes in late September because of the wonderful weather.

Stephen Larson Quarter/quarter Restaurant • Harmony, Minnesota

Make a reservation at opentable.com/alberts-restaurant or by calling 563.382.1837

Enjoy Your Weekend at

Hotel Winneshiek

1. Since my wife Lisa grows organic produce for QUARTER/quarter on our farm, I would have to say the thing I love most about cooking locally is our soil. Our area is blessed with some of the richest soil in the world, and if we care for it as Mother Earth intends, it will reward us with spectacular produce for generations to come.

2. My favorite summer ingredient has to be heirloom tomatoes. They offer such a diversity of colors, flavors and textures that make then so versatile in the kitchen. Since my culinary focus at the restaurant is globally inspired comfort food, heirloom tomatoes offer an abundance of inspiration because they are very important to many ethnic cuisines.

3. The first question I ask from a purveyor at a farmers market is; “How did you get into this business?” The stories you get in response are fascinating and often unexpected.

Tom Skold Albert’s Restaurant/Tap Room, Hotel Winneshiek • Decorah, Iowa 1. I like the seasonal aspects of cooking in this neck of the woods. The dramatic change of seasons makes people get hungry for certain foods.

It’s an anticipatory thing – once it starts getting warmer outside people start asking for things like cold cucumber soup . . . in the autumn they might start thinking about sauerbraten. They’re living ahead of the seasons, and that adds a certain tension to the air and it shows up in their appetites.

Visit Vesterheim in Decorah!

2. Corn is my favorite because it is something I absolutely do not eat unless it’s fresh and local. I love to boil the cobs and make a broth of them for soup once I’ve trimmed the kernels out. For instance I might add sweet and hot green and red peppers and tortillas, etc. to the soup. The things that we enjoy exclusively locally tend to become our favorites.

3. What do you think you’ll have ready next week? And I always ask about varieties (in a nerdy sort of way), especially if I haven’t used a particular one before. There are so many tomatoes, for instance, of varying colors and flavors to choose from. I tend to use flavor profiles and combinations that have spent years in my repertoire – I recombine and find deeper places for them in my cooking. It’s an evolutionary process. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve combined something like bleu cheese and sage, bleu cheese and walnuts, cherry vinegar and the sweet nightshades . . ..

Tessa Leung / Bryce Lamb Sontes Restaurant • Rochester, Minnesota 1. The wide variety of vegetables and fruits the land and soil can support is amazing. From hot hot peppers to cool cucumbers to tender juicy lettuce leaves... it is almost like a different present is available at the Farmers Market every week.

2. Tomatoes!!!! There is nothing tastier then a tomato that is picked fresh and warm from the sun. They can be delicate, or bold, juicy or dry... their versatility is endless too. Raw, canned, salsa, sauce, salads, stuffed, soups, juiced, deep-fried or grilled… the possibilities are endless… and good for you too!

Shop Norwegian Style for all your gifts!

Traditional doll costumes, trivets, books, CDs, jewelry, original artwork, and other great items.

A Class is a Blast at Vesterheim !

3. What is the best way to store this item, how long will it usually keep, and of course do you have any special way you like to prepare your produce?

Gina Prange People’s Food Co-op & Hackberry’s Bistro • La Crosse, Wisconsin 1. I love cooking for the Co-op deli because I have the freedom to choose the freshest ingredients. We have a brilliant organic produce manager, Roger Bertsch, who has established long-term relationships with several local farmers and producers that has resulted in a wealth of quality produce available to us. I love cooking for a receptive audience; our members know the importance of and appreciate great food!

2. Locally grown, just-picked heirloom tomatoes – any kinds… all kinds…Sun Gold, Brandywine, Amish Paste, and so many more. Seed Savers Seed Exchange in Decorah has an infinite variety of tomato varieties. The taste difference, I think, is really striking between the complex flavor blast and refined texture of an in-season tomato and a mealy, hard, off-colored, out-of-season one. Tomatoes are so versatile too, from ratatouille to BLTs to a thick slice with only balsamic, salt, and pepper, they are as easy or as complicated as you want them to be.

3. What’s especially good right now?

(Recipes on next page)

Hand Carving the Norwegian Bowl with Jon Strom • July 21-25

Master techniques for carving a Norwegian bowl or trau with an adze tool. For all levels, tools provided.

Come for quality instruction and new friendships in scenic Decorah!

Check vesterheim.org for a full 2012 class schedule.

Norwegian- American Museum

Preserving a heritage. Connecting us all.

502 W. Water St., Decorah, Iowa • 563-382-9681 • vesterheim.org

Italian Potato Salad with Fresh Mint • Tom Skold 3 lbs. new potatoes, cooked, cooled, quartered 1/2 red pepper, fine diced 1/4 C capers, rinsed, drained 1/2 large red onion, diced fine 2 T fresh mint leaves, chopped fine Vinaigrette: 1/4 C white balsamic vinegar 3/4 C extra virgin olive oil 8 cloves garlic, minced salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Sicilian Caponata • Justin Scardina I thought since I talked up the nightshade family so much I’d feature Sicilian Caponata, basically a sweet-sour eggplant dish. This can be served hot, room temp, as a side, over rice as a main or on top of a bruschetta 1 eggplant, large Italian globe variety, cut into a 1/2” dice 4 tomatoes, cut into 1/2” dice 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/2” dice 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 T. capers, rinsed 5 T. parsley, finely minced 3 T. basil, chiffonade 1/4 C red wine vinegar 4 T. sugar, or honey 1 C Good Olive oil Salt Pepper In a large sauté pan, heat 1/2 c of olive oil over medium heat. Add Eggplant and sauté until soft and slightly brown, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve in a bowl. Using the same pan, sauté over medium heat the onions and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring every so often. After the tomatoes have released their juices, add the eggplant back into the pan and continue over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add red wine vinegar, sugar, oil and capers and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while. Add parsley and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes great leftovers!

30

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Mix together potatoes, red pepper, capers, red onion, parsley and mint. In another bowl mix together vinegar, olive oil, and garlic for the vinaigrette. Season the dressing to taste. Dress the potato mixture with the vinaigrette, then adjust the seasonings after taste-testing a potato.

“Panzanella” – Tomato & Bread Salad • Stephen Larson Makes 4 entrée size or 6 side dish size servings

For the croutons: 4 C 1-inch diced bread cubes (crustless, cut from sturdy loaf) 2 T. extra virgin olive oil Preheat an oven to 350F. Put the bread into a mixing bowl and drizzle the oil over the top. Mix well to coat. Spread the bread cubes out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Leave out at room temperature to cool until needed.

For the dressing: 1 small clove garlic 3/4 t. kosher salt 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil 1 T. red wine vinegar 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper 1/4 C shredded fresh basil Peel and mince the garlic. Sprinkle the salt over it and grind into a paste using a smearing motion with the flat of a wide bladed knife. Put the paste into a large mixing bowl with the oil, vinegar, and pepper. Whisk to blend. Stir in the basil and set aside until needed.

For the salad and to finish the dish: 2 C large diced ripe heirloom tomatoes (a mixture of colors is nice) 1-1/2 C finely chopped any one, or mixture of: bell peppers, fennel bulb and/or cucumbers Dressing Croutons Toss everything together and mix well to coat croutons.

Leave at room temperature, stirring often, for 30 minutes, then serve.

The Local Table:

Regional Chefs Share Local Recipes Thai Omelet with Summer Vegetables • Bryce Lamb 1 large egg 1 tsp fish sauce 2 garlic chives, minced 2 T. butter 1 pinch sugar (Makes one omelet) Whisk egg, sugar, fish sauce and chive until well mixed. Heat omelet pan, add butter and let melt. Once butter is melted pour egg mixture evenly into pan. Cook until egg mixture is set and has a nice light golden color. Remove and let chill on a plate in the fridge. Repeat process until you have made the number of thin omelets you desire.

(Omelets will hold for about two days covered in fridge). Fill with desired vegetables and roll up like a fruit roll up.

For the filling, you can use an assortment of vegetables from the farmers market such as radishes, baby carrots, bok choy, cabbage and/or leaf lettuce. For crunchier vegetables such as carrots, blanch in boiling water and then shock in an ice water bath. Radishes can be thinly sliced. You can also mix an assortment of summer vegetables into a salad and toss with light dressing of citron vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper before inserting into the omelet roll up.

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus & Cherry Tomatoes • Gina Prange 2 C quinoa, cooked – rinse quinoa first. Bring it to a boil in 5 cups of water and allow it to boil for about eight minutes. Drain the water off and return it to the pot. Cover it and let it sit off the heat for about 10 minutes.

Prepare as directed and toss together: 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved 1-1/2 C fresh asparagus, cut in 1-inch pieces and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes, drain, and rinse cold 1/2 C red onion, diced 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced 1 C toasted almonds 1 C crumbled feta (leave out for vegan option) 1/2 C fresh basil, julienne 1/2 C fresh parsley, minced 1/4 C fresh mint, julienne Whisk together until emulsified: 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil Juice and zest of one lemon 1/4 C red wine vinegar 1/2 T. black pepper 1 t. salt 1T. fresh garlic, minced Toss everything together and dress. So easy, so fresh – enjoy this perfect summer dish! theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

31

Join us for these great summer events

Greg Brown Benefit Concert

Tickets available online or at the door. Camping available.

&

32annual nd

Con

ference & C ampou t

20-22

H e r it a g e F ar m

Join us for these great summer events

Go online for details on the speakers, workshops & more!

Seed Savers Exchange

Happify at

seedsavers.org • 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA • 563-382-5990

Take a class.

Schedule a party.

Pop in to paint a quick pot. We can’t wait to see you !

207 WAShIngton STREet, DecOrah, iowa

WWw.THEclaySTudioDecOrah.com • 563.517.1022 Check out our Open Studio Hours Tuesday-Sunday!

32

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

(Continued from page 27)

The benefits of eating local are becoming better known as the cost, both economic and ecological, of transporting food rises. Teresa Wiemerslage, Northeast Iowa Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign Coordinator, notes there are even more benefits to buying local than may first meet the eye (or chin, if you will).

“Local food can add diversity to Iowa’s agricultural landscape and create jobs in our community,” she says. By buying local, consumers create a demand for diverse crops, allowing farmers the ability to choose what they want to grow.

And buying local doesn’t just affect your neighborhood.

Local food systems decrease carbon emissions and fuel usage that comes from transporting food cross-country or even across oceans. With Community-Supported such a current Agriculture (CSA) focus on being eco-friendly, buying locally If you can’t make it to the offers not only a farmers market, there is still positive for your a way for you to enjoy local own region, but foods direct from the farmer: for the nation – Community-Supported and world – as a Agriculture (CSA)! In a CSA, whole.

So really, there typically you pay a set is no reason not amount up front, and receive to get out there wares packaged by the and support the farmer based on what’s fresh farmers in your and what’s ready weekly or area – whether bi-weekly. CSAs offer a great it’s a delicious, juicy strawberry chance to try new foods and or a crispy spear support local farmers! of asparagus.

Allison Croat has been busy in the pottery studio and just finished making a dinnerware set. She is officially graduated from Luther and is putting the real world on hold by spending the summer working in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. There’s no telling what the future holds, and that’s an exciting promise.

2012 FARMERS MARKETS Chester Farmers Market Chester City Park Thursdays, 1-4 pm 3rd Saturday of month, 1-4 pm June - October

Marquette/McGregor Market Triangle Park, McGregor Fridays, 3 pm – 6 pm May - October

Cresco Farmers Market 2nd St & 1st Ave, Grube’s N. Lot Tuesdays, 2- 5:30 pm Fridays, 2-5:30 pm May - October

Monona Farmers Market Gateway Park Wednesdays, 3-6 pm Saturdays, 8 am-noon May – mid-October

(Decorah) Winneshiek Market Claiborne Drive, Decorah Wednesdays, 3-6 pm Saturdays, 8-11am May 1 - October 31 Edgewood Farmers Market Edgewood City Park Fridays, 3-6 pm June - September Elgin Town & Country Market Elgin City Park Thursdays, 4-5:30 pm May - October Elkader Farmers Market Keystone Park, Bridge Street Saturdays, 9 am-noon May - October Elma Farmers Market Elma Locker & Grocery lot Tuesdays, 2:30-5:30 pm Fridays, 2:30-5:30 pm June - October Fayette Open Air Market 305 W. Water Street Shelter Wednesdays, 3-5 pm May 4 - October 5 Fredericksburg Farmers Market N. Washington & E. Main Street Wednesdays, 3- 5 pm May - September Guttenberg Farmers Market Guttenberg City Park Saturdays, 8 am - noon May - October Harpers Ferry Farmers Market Harpers Ferry Bluff View Park Fridays, 5-7 pm June 1 - October 5 Lime Springs Farmers Market Brown Park Saturdays, 9 am- Noon Late May - October

WWW.IOWAFRESHFOOD.COM

New Hampton Farmers Market New Location, Date and Time!

Main & Linn St, Carquest Lot Thursdays, 4-6 pm June – October Oelwein Farmers Market NE City Parking Lot (1st Ave NE) Mondays, 3-6 pm Fridays, 8-11 am Mid May - October Ossian Farmers Market Carey’s Park, Main Street Wednesdays, 3-6 pm May - September Protivin Farmers Market Protivin City Park Wednesdays, 2:30-5:30 pm May - October Riceville Farmers Market 203 Main Street (Hwy 9) Saturdays, 9-11:30 am May 28 - October Strawberry Point Farmers Market Inger Park, Park Street Wednesdays, 4-6 pm May - September Volga City Farmers Market Volga City Park Shelter Fridays, 4-6pm June – October (Waukon) Allamakee Farmers Market Waukon City Park Mondays, 3:30-5:30 pm June - September West Union Farmers Market 407 West Bradford Redeemer Lutheran Church Tuesdays, 3:00 - 5:00 pm Fridays, 3:00 - 5:30 pm May - October

Local Food Directory Inside!

Special Pull-Out Section - Paid Advertisement

VEGETABLES AND PRODUCE Annie’s Gardens & Greens Ft. Atkinson – (563) 534-7760 Local fruits and vegetables Large selection of Iowa products Winter and Summer CSA shares

Kerns Sweet Corn - Blake Kerns Oelwein, (319) 621-1361 Sweet Corn, Pumpkins, Squash

Apples on the Avenue Nashua – (641) 430-4312 Apples, Pumpkins Two miles S. on Hwy 218 Farm stand open mid-September

Nature Haven Farm Garnavillo - (563) 880-7022 Vic & Kay Vifian - Farm Stand All natural produce and herbs vickay@alpinecom.net

Benjegerdes Greenhouse Postville - 1115 Hwy 52 (563) 864-3081, Bedding plants Vegetables, fruit, cut flowers Open Mid April-June 30 or by appt

Patchwork Green Farm (see Ad)

Clayton Ridge Farm Meat Market Guttenberg, Jane & Tom Augustyn (563) 252-3820 All natural raised asparagus (see Stores and Restaurants)

PATCHWORK GREEN FARM Always fresh and super tasty vegetables & herbs produced chemical-free near Decorah by Erik Sessions & Sara Peterson.

Find us at the Decorah Farmers’ Market from June - October.

2012 Traditional and Market CSA Shares now available.

Check out patchworkgreen.com for all the details!

Eat Lo cal at Well! &E

Learn more about buying local at www.iowafreshfood.com

Fairfield Farm Larry Reiling & Josh Hennessee Clermont – (563) 423-7105 Potatoes, onions and other vegetables www.fairfieldfarm.org G It’s Fresh (see Ad) GROWN Locally (see Ad) J&J Produce, LLC Jon & Janet Halverson Hawkeye – (563) 380-2386 Cherry and grape tomatoes Wholesale sales – Greenhouse grown Jason’s Veggies Virginia Keppler, (563) 880-5069 Strawberry Point - Vegetables Oelwein, Strawberry Point & Dyersville Farmers Markets

Kymar Acres (see Ad)

Peake Orchards, Inc. Waukon – (563) 419-0449 Great apple varieties incl. Honeycrisp Family-run orchard Farm Stand, mid Sept-Thanksgiving River Root Farm Decorah – (563) 382-6249 Certified organic seedlings & produce Winneshiek Farmers Market www.riverrootfarm.com Rock Spring Farm Decorah - (563) 735-5613 3765 Highlandville Road Certified organic vegetables www.rsfarm.com Timber Ridge Gardens Greenhouse & Bakery West Union – (563) 422-5844 Fresh Produce and Vegetables Decorah & West Union Farmers Mrkts Top of the Hollow Organic Farm Decorah – (563) 380-8344 Certified organic produce, potatoes Decorah Farmers Market Oneota Co-op and special order

A Family Farmstead Yogurt Made With Country Fresh Goodness Dave & Carolee Rapson

MEAT - POULTRY - EGGS - DAIRY Annie’s Gardens & Greens Ft. Atkinson – (563) 534-7760 Meat, poultry, dairy, egg shares (see Vegetables and Produce) Clayton Ridge Farm Meat Market Guttenberg, (563) 252-3820, claytonridgefarm.com Humanely-raised pork and beef (see also Stores and Restaurants) Country View Dairy (see Ad) Cutting’s Belted Galloways Decorah, (563) 382-3894 Grass-fed beef; whole, ½ or ¼ Driftless Hills Farm – All natural, grass-fed lamb Calmar – (563) 562-3897 Email driftlesshills@gmail.com Restaurants and individuals Fairfield Farm Larry Reiling & Josh Hennessee Clermont – (563) 423-7105 Grass-fed beef and pork (see Vegetables and Produce)

Phone: (563) 380‐9081 Email: rapsondairy@netins.net Country View Dairy Farm Hawkeye, IA 52147

FJM Produce - Francis Martin Wadena - (563) 774-2023 Produce, heritage turkeys Hawkeye Buffalo Ranch Fredericksburg - (563) 237-5318 Buffalo steaks, burger, bacon & jerky Farm tours available by appointment www.hawkeyebuffalo.com Mike and Laurie Tallman Castalia (641) 330-8160 Heritage vegetables and turkeys Nature Haven Farm Garnavillo - (563) 880-7022 Eggs - Farm Stand (see Vegetables and Produce) Oneota Slopes Farm Andy & Emily Johnson Decorah – (563) 382-0537 Grass-fed meats www.oneotaslopes.org Rock Cedar Ranch (see Ad) WW Homestead Dairy (see Ad and Stores and Restaurants)

Pasture-raised beef available direct from the farm, at local restaurants, or Oneota Community Food Co-op rockcedarranch@yahoo.com - Home phone: (563) 382-5406

The finest dairy products produced and processed in your own backyard.

Cream-line Milk Premium Ice Cream Fresh Cheese Curds Find our products in stores in the tri-state region!

Retail Store & Ice Cream Shop 850 Rossville Road Waukon, Iowa (563) 568-4950 www.wwhomesteaddairy.com Find us on Facebook!

This directory is organized by the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm Coalition and its partners.

Visit their website for more information on the farmers listed in the directory, www.iowafreshfood.com.

WE THANK THESE PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT. Avery 5371

This Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapter is a consumer education program for BFBL Iowa. BFBL Iowa is part of the FoodRoutes Network, a national nonprofit organization that provides technical support to community based groups that are working to strengthen regional markets for locally grown foods. Visit www.foodroutes.org.

Good food has a great story.

STORES AND RESTAURANTS grocery • bulk • produce • café meat • cheese • bakery • wine/beer supplements • body care Summer Hours (Apr-Oct) Monday-Saturday 8:00 am - 8:30 pm Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Winter Hours (Nov-Mar) Monday-Saturday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Water Street Caf é f r e s h .

o r g a n i c .

l o c a l .

312 West Water Street • Decorah 563.382.4666 • www.oneotacoop.com

EVERYONE CAN SHOP - EVERYONE WELCOME - NO MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED

Bringing local producers right to your table Rock Cedar Ranch River Root Farm Patchwork Green Farm Ridgetop Acres Driftless Hills Farm

563.382.WINE

think local

117 W. WATER ST. DECORAH

www.rubaiyatrestaurant.com

Annie’s Green Grocery (563) 562-4222 117 E. Main Street, Calmar Meat, poultry, dairy, eggs Fruit, vegetables, herb mixes Large selection of Iowa products Clayton Ridge Farm Meat Market Home of the Picket Fence Cafe 531 S. River Park Drive, Guttenberg (563) 252-3820 Homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and pie!

Eagles Landing Winery, B&B Marquette – (563) 873-2509 www.eagleslandingwinery.com

Produce Too - (563) 252-1558 1026 South 5th Lane, Guttenberg Fresh produce, meats, cheese, Iowa wine, organics, gift items M-Sat 9am-6pm & Sun 12-4 pm See Ads for these Great Places: • Oneota Community Food Co-op • Rubaiyat Restaurant • Sharing Spaces Kitchen • Sodexo at Luther College • WW Homestead Dairy

BEDDING PLANTS Annie’s Gardens & Greens, Ft. Atkinson 30975 Lincoln Road – (563) 534-7760 Herbs, flowers, bedding plants Luther College Dining Services is committed to local foods.

We work closely with many local producers to provide our campus with fresh, local ingredients all year long.

Benjegerdes Greenhouse, Postville 1115 Hwy 52 - (563) 864-3081 Vegetable and bedding plants Open Mid April-June 30 or by appt

CHRISTMAS TREES Oneota Slopes Andy & Emily Johnson Decorah, 563-382-0537 Christmas trees www.oneotaslopes.org

OTHER PROVIDERS Bullwacker Logistics (Ron Bullerman) Calmar, (563) 419-4207 Source for packaging & shipping needs Upper Iowa Organics, LLC Marty Grimm Decorah – (563) 419-2222 Bulk compost & composted manure M-F, 8-5; Call on weekends Windridge Implements, LLC (see Ad)

BAKED GOODS AND OTHER PRODUCTS Jason’s Veggies - Virginia Keppler Strawberry Point, (563) 880-5069 Jams, Jellies, Baked Goods (see Vegetables and Produce) Timber Ridge Gardens Greenhouse & Bakery West Union – (563) 422-5844 Gourmet angelfood cakes (see Vegetables and Produce)

Project: Paper Pinwheeeeel! step-by-step instructions at

theinspiredmedia.com

Fun! theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

37

Science,

You're super!

38

The Power of Wind Text and Photo

by Aryn Henning Nichols

W

hen air moves quickly, a.k.a. it’s windy, the particles that make up the air are also moving quickly. This motion, like all motion, is kinetic energy, which can be captured by the turbine – just like the energy in moving water can be captured in a hydroelectric dam setup. But how, exactly, do wind turbines make electricity? Simply stated, the wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. (1) But it’s not QUITE so simple.

Jim Martin-Schramm, Luther College professor and the coordinator of Luther College’s wind-turbine project, explains further: “The heating and cooling of the Earth causes wind on the surface of the planet. Air moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas and is affected by the rotation of the planet. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of the wind first into mechanical energy.

That is, the turbine’s blades harvest the kinetic energy of the wind and transfer it into the mechanical gearbox up in the nacelle (a box at the top) of the turbine. The mechanical energy from this gearbox spins a shaft that turns a generator to produce electrical energy. That electricity is converted to alternating current at the base of the turbine and then a transformer converts the electricity to the desired voltage for distribution or consumption.” (2) At wind farms, cables from different turbines take the electricity made to a substation. There, a step-up transformer again increases the electrical output. A transmission line connects the electricity output at the substation to the electrical grid serving communities throughout the region. (3) The bigger the wind turbine, the more wind it reaches and the more electricity it makes. Wind turbines used for large-scale wind farms come in varying sizes, but are usually approximately 13 feet wide at the base, and between 230 and 265 feet tall at the hub. With one of the blades upright, the total height is approximately 406 feet. (4) If you’ve ever seen one of these blades being transported via semi or train, you can really get the scope of the length of these things – they’re huge!

Do you use Decorah Bank online?

It’s amazing!

I know! No missed payments, paperless statements, easy transfers. I love ‘em!

Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.

www.decorahbank.com

Movement for Health & Well-Being Change your life today!

Contact Diane Sondrol for more information.

563.419.5420 or taichigrandmadi@msn.com Small group and private lessons available, all are welcome!

• FISH • SMALL ANIMALS • REPTILES • BIRDS • AQUARIUMS • CAGES & SUPPLIES • BUTTERFLIES • DRAGONFLIES

303 Sanford St, Decorah, Iowa

563-382-6111

Open Mon-Fri 10-6 / Sat. 10-3

Artistry in Cabinetry since 1983

Kitchens Home offices Bars Entertainment centers Fireplace mantles Cabinets & shelving Remodeling Finished carpentry

Visit my new website!

paulbauhs.com 563-382-4750

theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

39

Iowa ranks second in the nation for wind energy production – there are nearly 3,000 utility scale wind turbines here, which create enough electricity to power one million homes. Minnesota is fourth in the nation and Wisconsin is 19th. (4) In Decorah, the recent addition of the Luther College wind turbine has fanned (no pun intended) a debate on various topics where giant windmills are concerned. Martin-Schramm answers a few more Inspire(d) questions to fill us in on the details. (2) Why do turbines sometimes not turn? Isn’t there always SOME wind? And what about really windy days when they’re not running?

Most utility-scale turbines do not start turning until the wind is blowing at around 2.5 - 3.0 meters per second (m/s), which is around 5-7 miles per hour (mph). The rotors are very heavy, so it takes a little bit of wind to get them moving. Luther’s turbine starts turning at 2.5 m/s and has an electrical cut in for production at 3.0 m/s. As the winds grow stronger the blades turn faster to harvest more of the kinetic energy of the wind. Luther’s blades rotate between 9-18 revolutions per minute. The turbine reaches its rated capacity of 1.6 megawatts or 1,600 kilowatts when the wind is blowing around 25 mph. When the wind reaches around 55 mph the turbine will automatically feather the blades into the wind, slow down the rotor, and then lock the blades in place to protect the turbine from damage in a high wind event. Finally, there are times when the turbine is not operational due to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Luther’s turbine has been up and operating about 94 percent of the time thus far. GE’s goal is at least 96 percent availability. We’re confident we will reach that goal after some of the bugs are worked out over the course of this first year of operation.

How many turbines would it take to power everything in the world, do you think?

A lot. We will need far fewer turbines, however, if we first make major investments in energy efficiency. Luther invested $1.5 million in 2004 and cut our electricity consumption by 23 percent.

We continue to make investments in energy efficiency today. On average, the U.S. uses twice the amount of energy that Europeans do to produce the same amount of goods and services. There is huge potential for energy efficiency here. Also, various studies

indicate that it should be possible for wind energy to produce at least 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply by 2025. Already 20 percent of the electricity generated in Iowa is produced by wind turbines, but most of it is shipped on high voltage wires to out of state electrical markets.

What about the negative stuff people talk about: shadow flicker, low-end noise, the potential harm to birds, etc. Does any of this hold water in your book?

Shadow flicker, noise, and wildlife impacts are real issues that need to be taken very seriously. When turbines are properly sited, however, these dangers can be mitigated to a very high degree. Luther conducted shadow flicker and noise studies as part of its siting process and received a “Finding of No Significant Impact” at the end of that process. It is the case wind turbines kill some birds and bats, but there are several other causes of avian mortality that take a far greater toll. The key it to site and space turbines in such a way that these impacts are lessened. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked closely with the U.S. wind industry to develop a new set of proposed siting guidelines and standards.

Aryn Henning Nichols thinks wind turbines look like big, gentle, giants. Wind farms are especially fascinating to her.

1. US Department of Energy. www1.eere. energy.gov/wind/wind_how.html 2. Jim Martin-Schramm, Luther College professor of religion, coordinator of Luther College’s wind-turbine project, and author of numerous climate and environmental ethics books.

3. Foundation for Water and Wind Energy Education. fwee.org/nwhydro-tours/how-wind-turbines-generate-electricity/ 4. Alliant Energy Kids. www.alliantenergykids.com/ EnergyandTheEnvironment/RenewableEnergy/022397

To better Care for you...

We’re happy to announce Our New Location!

911 South Mill Street, Decorah, Iowa Now offering Saturday Clinic hours to fit your needs.

Call for more information or to schedule your appointment

David Heine, MD • Marcy Fadness, PA-C

563.382.1200 • www.thefamilycareclinic.com 40

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

800.463.4692 visitdecorah.com

call For a Free visiTors Guide |

Decorah this summer!

46Th annual nordic FesT

iowa’s dairy cenTer Learn about modern dairy farming at this working farm; observe cows being milked at 4 a.m., noon and 8 p.m. The milking parlor viewing platform is open 24-hours a day.

Come for “Breakfast on the Farm” June 23 from 8:30 a.m. – noon. Enjoy a wholesome breakfast, farm tour, petting zoo and even the chance to milk a cow! 563.534.9957 www.iowadairycenter.com

pinTer’s Gardens & pumpkins

Thousands will flock to Decorah the last weekend in July. The fun begins Thurs. evening with opening ceremonies followed by two full days of Norwegian fun, traditional food, lively dancing, a colorful parade, intricate costumes, canoe race, kubb tournament, traditional crafts and boundless entertainment. Celebrate the Scandinavian spirit! Free admission. July 26-28.

800.382.FEST, www.nordicfest.com

seed savers exchanGe This Heritage Farm includes display gardens, wooded hiking trails, historic apple orchards, Ancient White Park cattle, heritage breed poultry, and a crystal-clear trout stream. The Visitors Center offers heirloom seeds and plants, books and garden gifts. Guided tours are available on the weekend.

Sales support SSE’s non-profit preservation work. 563.382.6104 www.seedsavers.org

Check out an awesome selection of plants, outdoor décor and a virtual landscape display area. Sweet treats await inside at “The Bakery” where a luncheon menu is available daily.

Homemade fudge is a feature item. Begin your family fun traditions at our Pumpkin Patch event in September & October.

563.382.0010 www.pintersgardensandpumpkins.com

The speakeasy inn This 1871 establishment is rumored to have two tunnels that were utilized in the prohibition era to smuggle liquor. Enjoy a prohibition-era experience with fine food & drinks and 10 guest suites. Private seating available for 10 to 150. Located in historic Spillville, IA (home of the Bily Clocks Museum.) 563.562.3279 www.speakeasyinniowa.com

vesTerheim norweGian-american museum With 24,000 artifacts and 12 historic buildings, this national treasure showcases the best in Norwegian folk and fine arts, and explores the immigrant experience.

Vesterheim is also a cultural center offering classes, festivals, group tours, and children’s programs.

Open all year. 563.382.9681 www.vesterheim.org

aGora arTs

hoTel winneshiek

Agora Arts features contemporary fine American Craft by over 250 artists. A four-time winner of the Niche Top 100 Retailer of American Craft award, Agora has become a premier destination for highquality hand-crafted jewelry, Sticks furniture, pottery, prints, sculpture and more. Open 7 days a week.

563.382.8786, www.agoraarts.com

Beloved for its magnificent architecture and welcoming hospitality, the restored historic Hotel Winneshiek awaits you. Luxurious guest rooms and suites, great dining in Albert’s Restaurant and the contemporary Tap Room are all part of the hotel’s fabulous downtown location. Great packages available.

800.998.4164, www.hotelwinn.com

amundson’s cloThinG Amundson's Clothing is the area's premier men's clothing store - from casual active wear to formal attire. Special orders and alterations also available.

563.382.5761, www.amundsonsclothing.com

craFT‘s aT bluFFTon Learn about Jacob sheep in a beautiful country setting near the Bluffton Fir Stand. Dating back to biblical times, the black & white spotted sheep have multiple horns with fleece prized by spinners & weavers.

563-735-5533, www.craftsatbluffton.com

oneoTa co-op

rubaiyaT The New York Times says Rubaiyat is “THE place to eat” when visiting Decorah. Experience Iowa's largest wine & beer list and see why we were voted “Best of the Bluffs.” Rubaiyat can now help build your own wine collection with their brand new Wine Shop. 563.382.WINE, www.rubaiyatrestaurant.com

randy’s bluFFTon sTore & campGround This pristine campground along the bluffs of the Upper Iowa River is a concert setting that welcomes thousands to the "Light Up the Bluff" country concert series. Save the date for July 27-28 for Grammy Award winner Marty Stuart. Fireworks to follow. 563.735.5738, www.bluffcountry.com/randy.htm

This full-service grocery store features fresh, local and organic foods and produce, seafood, baked goods, wine and beer, nutritional supplements, and body care products. The Cafe serves entrees, salads, sandwiches, soups, desserts & espresso drinks.

563.382.4666, www.oneotacoop.com

super 8

mccaFFrey’s dolcÉ viTa

vennehjem

Experience wood-fired pizzas, a selection of international cuisines, and an extensive beer and wine list. Named “Best Pizza in Iowa” by USA Today. Located just minutes from downtown Decorah.

563.382.4723, www.mcdolcevita.com

Enjoy our newly remodeled, relaxing guest rooms with highspeed internet, cable TV and all the amenities you deserve.

You'll love the the exercise facility and free continental breakfast. Restaurants just a short walk away. Call today for reservations. 563.382.8771, www.super8.com Decorah’s premier senior-lifestyle community offers seniors all components needed for healthy aging, with compassion and companionship. Live a life of convenience: social and educational clubs, heated garage, friends next door and meals offered. 563.382.6521, www.vennehjem.org

15Th ANNuAl NorThEAST IoWA ArTISTS' STudIo Tour Oct. 12, 13 & 14, www.iowaarttour.com bIly clockS muSEum & ANToNIN dvorAk ExhIbIT 563.562.3569, www.bilyclocks.org chImNEy rock cANoE rENTAl & cAmPGrouNd 563.735.5786 OR 877.787.2267 www.chimneyrocks.com duG roAd INN, an Eco-Friendly b&b 563.382.9355, www.dugroadinn.com lAurA INGAllS WIldEr muSEum 563.735.5916, www.lauraingallswilder.us SAmPSoN SPrINGS cAmPGrouNd 563.382.4849 www.sampsonspringscampground.com ThE SPorT ShoP, INc. 563.382.2634, www.sportshopdecorah.com

41

e c I On n Cold m a D y t t e r le’s P o P h t u o S e h Or: Yeah, t

wish you were here!

42

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

An Interview with Decorah’s Jase Grimm.

He’s taken “Snow Bird” to a Whole New Level by heading south – way south – for a yearlong cooking gig in Antarctica.

Interview and introduction by Aryn Henning Nichols • Photos courtesy Jase Grimm

The South Pole conjures up images of – for me – an actual pole, lots of ice, and maybe some penguins living there. Turns out there is indeed a pole and ice, but not much living except a crew of 50 scientists and staff and some greenhouse-grown produce – now including cantaloupe (if you’re lucky)! Oh, and millions of dollars of cool, sciency equipment “lives” there too. (Penguins are found in the Antarctic, just not as far inland as the Pole.)

Decorah native and chef Jase Grimm headed to Antarctica early last winter to be the Production Line Cook at the South Pole Station through a Lockheed Martin team that supports the National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic Program. Inspire(d) caught up with Jase via that amazing wild world-wide web to hear more about how things have been going down south.

The south pole, eh?

How does one decide to go to the South Pole? Was the Midwest just not cold enough for you? Tell us the background on how you got involved in this adventure. What was your first impression when you arrived?

It was an opportunity that presented itself that I really couldn’t turn down. Two years ago, while I was working in Alaska, looking for more seasonal work I came across an ad for a job in Antarctica. A co-worker and I, after a few beers, decided it would be fun to apply. That year I was accepted as an alternate for a production line cook position at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, meaning if a primary production line cook

failed a physical exam, or couldn’t perform the job duty, they would call me up. I ended up taking a position at a country club in Florida, AKA, hell on earth. I wanted nothing more than for Executive Chef James Brown to call me up and rescue me from Vero Beach, alas, it didn’t happen. But, to my surprise, my first day back in Alaska this last year James called me up and offered me the primary production cook position. I believe his exact words were, “How would you like to come to the South Pole?” Getting off the plane here was absolutely incredible...

I was giddy. After two years of anticipation, thousands of dollars in medical tests, a 12-hour flight to New Zealand, a week amongst the Kiwis, a flight to the continent, and that last flight to the pole, it was almost too much. Also among my first impressions was how damn cold it was.

Nothing but the best for our patients.

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• A soft tissue laser to help heal canker sores & cold sores without a scalpel, drastically reducing healing time!

• New “wand anesthesia systems” that allow us to numb your teeth without a shot!

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We’re here to make you smile.

Dr. Jon R. Hart • Dr. Peter J. Blodgett • Dr. John E. Wilmes • Dr. Lana W. McDermott 108 Fifth Avenue, Decorah, Iowa • 563-382-3657 • www.decorahdental.com • Find us on theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

43

Tell us about a “typical” day in the South Pole.

My job description is Production Line Cook at the South Pole Station. I’m an employee of Gana-A ’Yoo Support Services, which is a company hired by Lockheed Martin whom the United States Antarctica Program (a derivative of the National Science Foundation) hired just this year to provide Scientific Support.

My typical day goes a little like this: 4 am: My alarm goes off... I snooze until 4:25 4:30 am: Get to the kitchen, dressed in my chef costume (I will never feel comfortable in a uniform) 6:30 am: Put out another delicious, nutritious breakfast made up primarily of expired eggs, 10-year-old frozen breakfast meats, and all sorts of dehydrated/powdered goods

8 am: Break down breakfast as fast as possible so I can utilize the scant hour of Internet available via satellite that day 10 am: Prep for the next day’s breakfast and shoot the sh*t with my co-workers 12 pm: My favorite part of the work day... making some ridiculous, over-the-top dessert for dinner, I get a chance to express myself. My favorite day of the week is White Trash Wednesday... can anyway say giant Twinkie cake?

1:30 pm: Wrap up work, grab a bite to eat, attend any meetings (which vary from menu planning to hands-on blood drawing lessons for my trauma team) 2:30 pm: Volunteer in the greenhouse, germinating seeds or harvest chard, kale and arugula for the kitchen 3 pm: Work out and watch an hour of Sex and the City 4 pm: Help out with dinner, put out my Top: A sign for White Trash dessert and socialize Wednesday’s Giant Twinkies. a bit with the dinner Bottom: A tiny dessert “burger”. cook, then enjoy another delicious meal 6 pm: Retreat to my room for reading/feeding whatever television series addiction I’m nursing at the time (right now it’s Lost) 8 pm: Turn off the lights, and have some of the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had, most of them having to do with Decorah...

I miss that place.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

I went to Slant Avenue to get a card and I found that Shoulder Bag I’ve been searching for and you should See all the new Games and Toys they have.

Well I found the Puurfect Hat and this divine PurrFume 44

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

I Know I know and all that Chocolate and Candy and All the great Tea & Coffee But hold the 1/2 & 1/2

Lanesboro MN.

MUSIC • GAMES • MOVIES

What’s the rest of the South Pole crew like? What kind of work is happening at your job site?

Your Home for Inexpensive Entertainment!

Everyone here is just as quirky as me, and that’s awesome. My kitchen crew is awesome. Spencer is our Sous Chef and he’s really down to earth, let’s us have a lot of freedom. Mel is the dinner cook – a tattooed ex-circus employee and my de facto best friend for the season. Our dishwasher is Kasia, the Polish Princess.

All of the support crew, from materials persons to heavy equipment operators, is awesome and have incredible stories of their own. The amount of small Jase, back, with fellow kitchen staff. world coincidence down here is astounding; for instance, Spencer used to live in Minnesota and visited Luther College to discuss local foods being incorporated into college dining programs, and while he was there he ate at a little bistro called La Rana. My buddy Max, who worked here this summer, worked at the same restaurant as me in Chicago (at different times), lived in the house I built my tall bike in (I never met him), and shared an exgirlfriend with my brother Trevor. Too weird. Most of the crew, and I, are here to support science. The kind of science going on down here is cutting edge, and most of the time, completely over my head. There’s a lab called Icecube which is a $300 million attempt to determine the exact age of the universe. We also support a lot of climate science; measuring ozone, carbon levels in the atmosphere (both now and in history) and the like. During the summer we were lucky enough to have a science lecture every Sunday that would cover all sorts of topics like under-ice lakes and why Antarctica is resistant to global warming. It’s darn cool stuff.

Can you tell us about some of the beautiful/ inspiring things you get to experience being in such a foreign environment?

It is a challenge to be somewhere so remote, so dry and so cold. And it really brings the best out of people. I’ve done things here that I never thought possible. For instance, I’ve run two marathons since being on the ice,

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45

You had a Q&A recently in the foodie magazine Lucky Peach! (Exciting!) Tell us how that came about!

One of the scientists, Chris, working out at MAPO (one of the telescopes) has a buddy that writes for Lucky Peach.

My momma sent me a copy of issue #2 and I was reading it in the galley one day and Chris came up and asked if I wanted to be interviewed for the cooks and chefs issue. I was stoked to say the least.

Let’s get down to the cooking – how many people are you feeding, what are your biggest challenges cooking in a south pole kitchen, and what does the menu usually look like? one here at the pole and one at McMurdo. It also challenges me in the kitchen; working with no fresh ingredients and having to rely on dehydrated celery and powdered milk makes you damn creative. Just the environment here, though, is really beautiful; who knew that flat, white and endless could be so aesthetically pleasing? The sunset was also incredible... you just don’t know how special they are until you only get one a year. I got to see my first glimpse of the Aurora Australis this past week and I was reminded why I was crazy enough to sign up for a yearlong stint at the Pole. It was breathtaking, and I can’t wait to see more.

What do you miss most about the Driftless Region?

I miss my family terribly. Mom, Dad, Maddie and Colin, I love you and can’t wait to see you! I miss my friends, and just all the good people I know. I miss the people I don’t know too... seeing the same folks day in and day out gets a little old. I miss the hills, bluffs, trees, streams and river. I miss topography period. I miss green things. I miss my dogs. I miss the rain. I miss the smell of dirt.

Our winter population is 50 people exactly. Right now I’m cooking breakfast, but we switch every of couple of months, just to break up the monotony. Lucky for me, only about 25 people actually show up for breakfast. A typical breakfast might include ham and cheese scramble, hash browns, sausage patties, homemade biscuits and gravy (a specialty of mine), waffles with strawberries and maple syrup, mango smoothies, homemade vanilla yogurt, a bowl of canned pineapple and bran muffins. We try to keep it interesting and varied; the reality of it is that the galley plays a major role in

Personal service for a perfect look.

120 WASHINGTON ST, DECORAH, IOWA

RESERVATIONS APPRECIATED

Lunch & dinner Monday - Saturday • 563-382-3067 46

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

130 W. Water St. Decorah, Iowa 563.382.5761

Mon - Fri 9-5 Thursday 9-8 Saturday 9-5

www.amundsonsclothing.com

the morale of the station so we do our best to make people happy.

The biggest challenge by far is the lack of fresh ingredients. We’re working with eggs that expired on March 7, we’re on our last case of onions, and the only other freshies we have are pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Everything else is frozen or dehydrated. Our freezer is a big ol’ door that leads onto a deck outside so when you open up a bag of frozen snap peas they do just that: snap, because they’re brittle. If you toss a bag of frozen brussel sprouts into a hot pan they will literally shatter because of the heat difference. We also happen to be the driest location on earth; recently they clocked the humidity level at about 2% (keep in mind the Sahara sits pretty at about 10%.) Popcorn won’t pop unless you soak it in water overnight. Cookies go stale within a few hours. Yet another challenge – most specifically in the baking department – is the altitude. Our physical altitude is just shy of 10,000 feet but due to atmospheric and weather abnormalities here the physio altitude (what the air pressure says the altitude is) can vary by about 1,500 feet. Baking a cake takes a whole lot of finagling: add flour and liquid, reduce leavening, increase oven temperature, decrease baking time, etc... Needless to say, it all keeps things interesting.

Does anything grow in the South Pole? Any local ingredients?

We are blessed with a food growth chamber, aka greenhouse, and an incredibly competent greenhouse manager named Joselyn. She’s awesome. She brings us bok choi, kale, chard, arugula, amaranth, tomatoes, cilantro, mint, parsley and so many other great things almost every day. Today she brought up two tiny cantaloupes (I’m told the first to be successfully cultivated at the pole) and they were heaven. You really don’t know how much you miss these kinds of things until you can’t have them.

Would you recommend this experience to other adventurers?

What advice would you give them?

This has been the adventure of a lifetime. It was a hard choice to stay here for as long as I’m going to, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have met incredible people, done things that most people only dream of doing and have memories that will last me forever. If you ever get the opportunity to do something like this, or anything that makes you a little nervous, or puts you out of your comfort zone, do it. The appreciation that I have for my friends, and family, and my hometown is so much stronger now than it ever was before. The best part about going out into the world and having adventures is knowing that Decorah is always going to be there for me when I get home.

Aryn Henning Nichols is inspire(d) by Jase’s adventures, and remembers her own adventures teaching English in China in 20042005. But the South Pole? Might not be her cup of tea…

Unique investment/vacation property Own a piece of the past in historic Lansing, Iowa.

This gorgeous 5 unit apartment building was built in the 1870's as a church, converted to 4 spacious 2 bedroom apartments and 2000 sq foot loft space!

1 block off Historic downtown.

$327,500 www.lansingiowaloft.com Teresa Severson Mississippi Valley Realty 877-538-9290 Toll Free 563-538-9290 www.mississippivalleyrealty.com

The Driftless Area’s Best Home Brewing & Wine Making Supplies!

From Grain To Glass www.graintoglasshomebrew.com 2427 Tamarack Drive Rd., Suite B Decorah, IA 52101• 563-277-1002 Tues - Fri: 11 am-6 pm • Sat: 10 am - 4 pm

theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

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Let’s Get This

Four Elements Series “Water Ring” Available in 14k, 18k, platinum and colored diamonds.

107 Parkway Ave . lanesboro, MN 55949 507-467-3078 888-750-9294 www.crowntrout.com crowntro@acegroup.cc

QUARTER/quarter Restaurant & Wine Bar

Stephen Larson Chef/Owner

Serving refined comfort foods in a contemporary setting

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Please call for current hours, reservations or to arrange a special party.

507.886.5500 | 25 Center Street East, Harmony, MN

LUXURY ACCOMMODATION JAPANESE TRANQUILITY

507.226.3735 | www.asahiloft.com 255 5th St. SE, Harmony, MN | asahiloft@gmail.com 48

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Michael Seiler Sr.’s, “Speaking to Spirit”, Crown Trout Jewelers, 107 Parkway Ave N, Lanesboro • June 9 - August 11, Reception June 9 A trip to Lanesboro, Minnesota, always offers a variety of activities – from biking to shopping to some really great art events. Not only do you get to enjoy the Commonweal Theatre and whichever show they might be producing that day, or Lanesboro Arts Center’s latest works, you are treated to great shops filled with local art as well.

Case in point: Crown Trout Jewelers is home to goldsmiths Elizabeth Bucheit and Michael Seiler’s amazing work (Liz made Benji and Aryn’s wedding rings five years ago!), and this summer it’s also going to house Michael’s father, Michael Seiler Sr.’s most recent show, “Speaking to Spirit.” Through experimental paintings, Seiler Sr. uses asphalt and alkyd paint to explore his art.

“My work embodies the following themes: failure and redemption, solitude and intimacy, and the pleasure and pain of relationships,” he writes in his artist bio. “Most generally, I work from an automatic starting point. Beginning with marks of oil pastel or paint I allow the painting to ‘speak’ to me and direct my thoughts and marks. In this way I can paint from my subconscious.”

“Speaking to Spirit” will be on display at Crown Trout Jewelers June 9 through August 11, with an artist reception June 9, 6:30 to 8 pm. (www.crowntrout.com • www.michaelseilerstudios.com) Also in Lanesboro, check out the Summer Inspire(d) artist feature Megan Jackson’s paintings (p. 22) at Lanesboro Art Center June 9 through August 11. Some of her work will be on display with the juried group show “Cultivation.” (www.lanesboroarts.org)

Party Arted!

Compiled by Inspire(d)

Olivia’s Attic

Fun arts happenings in the Driftless Region this summer 9th Annual Down on the Farm Iron Pour, Rural Decorah • June 20-23 Workshops in Pattern Making and Sand Molding – June 20-22, 12-8 pm. Molten Metal Mayhem Saturday, June 23! Furnace starts at 5 pm, Molten Metal by 7 pm.

People of all experience levels will stay in rural Decorah out at the Ron Ludeking farm and cast, teach, and learn from each other (casting fees vary). They come here from a variety of locales – Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin – for this “Down on the Farm” pour. Artists look forward to the annual event, even recognizing the barn in the promo posters before they even know organizer Kelly Ludeking.

“I have a t-shirt with the barn on it and people say, ‘You’re that guy,’” he says (in a 2009 interview). “It’s growing.

People are coming from all over to play at my farm. For some ‘weekend warrior’ kind of artists, this is their getaway. This is their time to make art.”

The entire four-day event is organized by Ludeking’s company, Ironhead Sculptural Services, and is open to the public each day from noon until 7 pm. Visitors can come watch artists in the process of creating patterns and molds. Then on Saturday, June 23, at roughly 5 pm, the crew fires up the furnace and pours molten metal!

To get to the Ronald Ludeking farm (1421 200th St., Decorah, Iowa): Go east of Decorah on Hwy 9 (6 miles) turn right on Frankville Road W4B (1.5 miles) turn right on 140 Ave. Take the first gravel road and it’s the first farm on the left.

For more information, email Kelly Ludeking at krlmetals@yahoo.com, or read a 2009 feature on Ludeking and the Iron Pour at theinspiredmedia.com.

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The Arts at Nordic Fest, Downtown Decorah • July 26-28 Nordic Fest is, of course, a wild time for fun and the arts in Decorah – there’s everything from Nordic Dancers at the Opening Ceremony to live bands on Water Street to theatre productions to special museum exhibits to balloon artists on corners! So to make it easier we picked out a few not-to-bemissed events (and, trust us, there are more events that we missed…so you might want to check out nordicfest.com for additional details):

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Nordic Fest Art Fair, 508 West Water St., Decorah, Iowa • July 27 – 28, 10-6 pm Check out and purchase some of the amazing wares produced by artists right here in the region.

At the Annual ArtHaus Nordic Fest Art Fair, enjoy one-of–a-kind jewelry, prints, painting, ceramics, photography, fiber work, furniture and more. You’ll find the artists set up in ArtHaus and the ArtHaus Studio next to Vesterheim July 27 and 28 from 10 am to 6 pm. (arthausdecorah.org)

SUN: 10 AM - 7 PM MON- WED: 10 AM - 5 PM THURS- SAT: 10 AM - 7:30 PM

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Nordic Fest Theatre Project: Sigvald: A Sculptor’s Life, Vesterheim’s Bethania Church (Mill Street) • July 27 – 28 (Friday at 3 & 3:45 / Saturday at 3, 3:45, & 4:30) Led by Upstart Crow’s Kristen Underwood, the annual Nordic Fest Theatre Project always gets rave reviews. In its tenth year, the project will present an original theatre piece inspired by the life and work of sculptor Sigvald Asbjornsen.

When the King of Norway noticed one of his sculptures in a shop window, 16-year-old Sigvald thought his career as an artist was off to a grand start. He took a ship to America and learned that talent was just part of what he would need to live “A Sculptor’s Life.” (arthausdecorah.org) Live Music at Nordic Fest • All Weekend You’ll find live music on a constant loop under different tents spread along Water Street in Downtown Decorah, and on Canopy Five, the headliners! Friday you’ll be treated to the Back Home Boys and Saturday night, back by popular demand are El Caminos. (nordicfest.com)

Joe and Vicki Price will play at McCaffrey’s Music Series thus summer!

McCaffrey’s Summer Music Series • May 26 - August 25

Dolce Vita’s Nights at McCaffrey’s:

The McCaffreys have done it again! This summer, they’re kicking off the sweet life in their sweet Twin Springs location with an awesome outdoor concert series. Ride your bike or drive on over to Dolce Vita for a show on their back patio and lawn. All bands perform, rain or shine, from 7 to 10 pm. (www.mcdolcevita.com)

Sat. May 26 – Lew Klimesh Band Sat. June 2 – Michelle Lynn Sat. June 9 – Beet Root Stew Sat. June 16 – Mississippi Band Sat. June 23 – Absolute Hoot Sat. June 30 – Teacher’s Pet

Sat. July 7 – Patrick Hazel Sat. July 21 – “Dog House” Jon Sat. August 4 – La Barge Fri. August 10 – Joe & Vicki Price Fri. August 17 – Paul Kaye Sat. August 25 – Gibbons Sisters

GRANDSTAND LINE-UP TICKETS

ON SALE

NOW Tickets for all concerts and events are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster. com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. All concert seats are reserved. All track events are general admission.

Convenience charges apply to all tickets. The Iowa State Fair Ticket Office will open July 9. Grandstand tickets do not include admission to the Fair. Fair admission must be purchased separately.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9

TOBYMAC

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12

with special guests

AN EVENING WITH MIRANDA LAMBERT

TENTH AVENUE NORTH

8 P.M., $48

AND JAMIE GRACE, 8 P.M., $32

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10

HAPPY TOGETHER TOUR 2012

starring THE TURTLES FEATURING FLO & EDDIE, THE MONKEES LEAD SINGER MICKY DOLENZ, GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP, THE GRASS ROOTS AND THE BUCKINGHAMS, 8 P.M., $25

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11

LARRY THE CABLE GUY with special guest RENO COLLIER, 8 P.M., $35

800.745.3000 | IOWASTATEFAIR.ORG

MONDAY, AUGUST 13

DEERY BROTHERS SUMMER SERIES FOR LATE MODELS

5:30 P.M. HOT LAPS, 6 P.M. RACES, $15 ADULTS, $5 CHILDREN AGES 6-11 free for ages 5 and under

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14

THE BAND PERRY with special guest EASTON CORBIN, 8 P.M., $35

PRESENTED BY

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15

GRAND OUTLAW NATIONAL TRACTOR AND TRUCK PULL

2 P.M., $20 ADULTS, $10 CHILDREN AGES 6-11 free for ages 5 and under

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18

DEMOLITION DERBY

11:30 A.M., $12 ADULTS, $5 CHILDREN AGES 6-11 free for ages 5 and under

SATURDAY, AUGUST 18

JOURNEY

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16

with PAT BENATAR AND LOVERBOY, 8 P.M., $48

7 P.M., $38

SUNDAY, AUGUST 19

AN EVENING WITH BIG TIME RUSH FRIDAY, AUGUST 17

HANK WILLIAMS JR. “TAKING BACK THE COUNTRY TOUR” with special guest GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS, 8 P.M., $39

RASCAL FLATTS

with LITTLE BIG TOWN, ELI YOUNG BAND AND EDENS EDGE, 7 P.M., $59

80/35, Des Moines, Iowa • July 6-7, 2012 The idea was brilliant: a festival at the intersection of major roadway arteries I-80 and I-35, i.e. Des Moines. So many bands already travel through our state’s capitol; why not give them a reason to stop?

In 2004, the non-profit Greater Des Moines Music Coalition formed with a goal to create a live music economy and reenergize Des Moines. Their masterpiece would be the new festival, 80/35, set right smack in Downtown Des Moines at Western Gateway Park.

Since the festival launched in 2008, 80/35 has hosted a great number of iconic acts. What can you expect? From the 80/35 website: “In 2008 Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips crowd surfed in a ginormous plastic bubble while a dozen Teletubbies danced on stage awash in canon confetti. In 2009 on a perfectly starlit night Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 electrified the main stage and dazzled fans for nearly two hours. In 2010 headliners Modest Mouse and Spoon made rain-soaked revelers happy to dance in the mud. And in 2011 electrifying acts Girl Talk and Of Montreal whipped the crowd in a dance frenzy of delight.”

Nearly 40 tantalizing acts – from indie to hip-hop to alt-country to funk – set on multiple stages will entertain the more than 30,000 fans at the upcoming fifth annual 80/35 Friday, July 6 and Saturday July 7, 2012 – and you can join them! (80-35.com)

DO YOU LOVE YOUR TREES? Show your love by hiring a certified arborist to prune, maintain, and care for them – it saves you years of nursing sick trees back to health, and ultimately saves money AND your beautiful outdoor living space.

AT TOTAL TREE CARE, WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT TREES. So much so that we’ve got folks with degrees in arboriculture and ISA certified arborists on staff.

Make the educated choice – call Total Tree Care today.

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Great River Shakespeare Festival, Winona, Minnesota • June 20 – August 5 Ah, Shakespeare festivals. Few things say “summer” in quite the same way, and The Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota, says it loud and clear.

What many folks don’t know is that GRSF is more than just a Shakespeare festival.

The group highlights plays, of course, but also has free concerts every weekend, shows films, hosts workshops, and more!

This season’s shows include The Two Gentlemen of Verona, King Lear, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, and All’s Well That Ends Well. Check grsf.org for details.

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Now Serving Pizza!

Moonshine Showcase, Wabasha, Minnesota • June 16 – August 18

Mon, Wed-Fri at 5pm Sat/Sun at 11 a.m.

docsbluemoose.com

133 W. Main, Spring Grove 507.498.DOCS

Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, Inc. Genealogy Research Experts

Ballard House | Spring Grove | 507-498-5070

www.sgheritage.org

Sign up for Fine and Folk Art Classes Now! class s g Norwegian Ridge Language Camp: June 18-22 offerin ! e n Luren Singers at Trinity Lutheran Church: Aug 10 li n o

Sculpting Class with Craig Bergsgaard: Aug 21-25

Welcome to Spring Grove!

Trollin’ the Grove - Saturdays in Spring Grove May 19 June 9 June 16 July 14 July 21

August 4 August 11

Syttende Mai; sgsyttendemai.org Classic Car Auction; springgroveauctions.com Strawberry Day sgheritage.org Pool Party at SG Swim Center Christmas in July Sales & Events Summer Musical: Urinetown yeoldeoperahouse.org Home Brew Contest at Bluff Country Artists Gallery bluffcountryartistsgallery.org Children’s Play: Peter Pan yeoldeoperahouse.org

The Moonshine Showcase launched in December 2009 with a simple, but daunting mission: bring big shows to a small town and give the audience a great experience.

Three years later, the Showcase, housed in the 2009-renovated Broadway Theater in Wabasha, Minnesota (north of Rochester/ south of Minneapolis) has featured acts like The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ralph Stanley, and Johnny Cash’s legendary guitar player Bob Wootton. This summer rounds out Moonshine Showcase’s “The White Lightning 2012 Tour”, which launched February 13. Folks can see Minneapolis’s rising star Jeremy Messersmith (June 16), Iowa favorites The Pines (July 21), and Branson on the Road (August 18), plus Dueces Wild! Dueling Pianos (October 13). Check www.moonshineshowcase.com for 2013 details and dates…and don’t miss the great VIP and season passes as well!

Wednesday WoW! & Music in the Park Shop Wednesday evenings 5-7 p.m. for special deals Register for Spring Grove Dollars Drawings!

Music in the Park Concert Series: June 6-Aug 1 Visit sgcommclub.org/Events for more event details!

Still Looking for Something To Do? Visit springgrovemn.com for a collaborative community calendar… from arts to entertainment to enrichment… we’ve got it all!

springgrovemn.com springgrovemainstreet.com 52

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

Michelle Lynn’s new projects: CD and Book • Available Now! Decorah is lucky to currently call musician Michelle Lynn a resident, where she runs Open Stage Night at T-Bock’s the last Sunday of each month, passersby can enjoy hearing her practice if they’re walking along Winnebago Street at the right time, and us other residents can simply enjoy having this talented woman in the community.

When Lynn’s not on the road performing – she played well over 100 shows in 2011 to nearly every corner of the Driftless Region – she’s busy working on other projects like her recent record

and book release. The CD, “Without an Outline,” is Lynn’s first electric album. It features a new instrument for her – the synthesizer – and was recorded at her own studio and mixed and mastered at Olson’s Ghost in My House Studios in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Almost all of the 15 tracks are backed by fellow musicians Matt Olson (drums) and Adam Ptacek (bass).

In her new book, “Modes of Being,” Lynn brings her lyrics to the visual world. She chronicles some of the creative processes that went into 65 songs and ideas from her first five albums, in addition to featuring a question and answer series with local artists and musicians. Readers will also get an inside – or backstage – view of Lynn’s seven years as a selfsupported musician, riding along with her as she undergoes the ups and downs of “making a go” at being a musician for a living. Learn more about Lynn and her numerous projects and shows at www.michellelynnmusic.com.

Spring Grove Fest Building

3rd Annual

Sept. 29

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Admission by donation Featuring Speaker Gail Bakkom • 10 a.m.

Info or to register your quilt uffdafest.com

Vendors Demonstrations Quilt Boutique items for Sale

Free Award Winning Foreign Films First Thursday of Every Month at 7:00. Sponsored By

@

167 W. Main Street in Spring Grove

For upcoming movies visit us online at www.sgmovietheater.com

Urinetown, Ye Olde Gray Barn, Spring Grove, Minnesota • July 19-22 One of the most charming ways to spend a summer evening is at Ye Olde Gray Barn in Spring Grove, Minnesota, taking in a Ye Olde Opera House production. This summer, audience can enjoy the satirical musical “Urinetown”. Head out for a night under the stats as director Scott Solberg leads the cast through this “hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold”.

From the Ye Olde Opera House website: In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides he’s had enough, and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!

what is art but a way of truly

seeing Downtown Spring Grove, MN

Dad Swims FREE

Sunday, June 17 Report Card Days Make your way to Spring Grove early and enjoy YOOH desserts on the green before you take in the show under the stars. Gates open and desserts are served at 7:30. Tickets are $10 for all reserved seats. General admission seating is available at the gate, adults $10, students $5. Enter the barn by the Farmers Coop Grain elevator. There will be golf carts available for anyone who has trouble navigating the hilly terrain.

The barn is on HWY 44 just east of Spring Grove.

WEEKLY DEALS!

bluffcountryartistsgallery.org Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Basketball Contest $2 Tuesdays FREE Popcorn refills Tube Night FREE Swim 7-9 p.m.

June 18 & 25

FREE Admission with your stellar report card 600 Maple Dr., Spring Grove | 507.498.SWIM springgrovemn.com

theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

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whisk&spoon

54

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

CHEF

ON THE

BLOCK

whisk&spoon’s Carina Cavagnaro & Ann Sheahan Intro by Benji Nichols • Photos by Aryn Henning Nichols

Niece and aunt Carina Cavagnaro and Ann Sheahan are the ladies behind the gourmet pastries and baked goods produced at whisk&spoon. And literally at the Decorah Farmers Market: They charmingly stand behind their wares every Wednesday and Saturday from May through October, sharing details about the quality ingredients used to create both the classic flavors as well as new twists in their baked goods. Their passion for baking is obvious, and so is their style. A hand written chalk menu lists the day’s treats, but it’s the treats themselves – displayed on cake stands, rustically wrapped in parchment, or tied up with red and white string – that make walking by nearly impossible! Don’t miss the amazing homemade croissants and scones or signature World Peace Cookies. Plus their savories like tomato cheese herb tartlets are equally as delightful. But go early, ‘cause your favorites just might sell out! But not all is lost – whisk&spoon also does special orders. Learn more at whiskspoon.wordpress.com.

Name: Carina Cavagnaro (CC, pictured on right) and Ann Sheahan (AS, pictured on left) Restaurant/Business: whisk&spoon Number of Years Cooking: (CC) Since I could reach the stove!

(AS) I started baking as a child but didn’t really learn to cook until I was in my 20s. I think my mom didn’t like a mess in the kitchen but somehow I did a lot of baking as a child.

Formal training or live-and-learn?

(CC) I’ve been cooking as long as I can remember, learning from observation and helping my mom, who’s a fantastic, intuitive cook. My family’s full of great cooks! We have a lot of fun making meals together and learning from each other. I’ve learned a lot from my Aunt Ann especially – we’ve traveled together quite a bit and share a similar food sensibility.

Good food has a great story.

grocery • bulk • produce • café meat • cheese • bakery • wine/beer supplements • body care

Summer Hours (Apr-Oct) Monday-Saturday 8:00 am - 8:30 pm Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm Winter Hours (Nov-Mar) Monday-Saturday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Water Street Caf é f r e s h .

o r g a n i c .

l o c a l .

312 West Water Street Decorah, Iowa 52101 563.382.4666 www.oneotacoop.com

EVERYONE CAN SHOP - EVERYONE WELCOME - NO MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

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(AS) Various weekend classes at the Culinary Institute in San Francisco, Thai cooking classes,baking classes at The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath, England.

MORNING, AFTERNOON & EVENING CLASSES

306 W. WATER ST. DECORAH. IA • 563.419.2329

]

[

Specializing in sustainable residential & light commercial construction

What’s your earliest or most significant memory of cooking or being cooked for?

(CC) I remember all my birthday cakes as I was growing up – my mom always made unique, delicious, and beautifully decorated cakes.

(AS) I remember being about 10 – getting up summer mornings before anyone in the family and making a coffee cake. I did it quite often and it was the same coffee cake made from Bisquick of all crazy things. I also made éclairs from scratch when I was about 11. My father was a gourmet cook before there was even gourmet and my mother was fairly health conscious so I feel I got the combination of both gourmet and healthy.

Why did you decide to become a chef?

(CC) I’ve always enjoyed all things food: growing, harvesting, cooking, baking, eating out, eating in, markets, reading about, connecting with people through food. It’s the thing I’ve always come back to or rather never got away from, so I’m now trying to make my living at it.

(AS) I’m not really a chef – but I love cooking. Maybe a baker! But we (whisk&spoon) decided in the summer of 2011 that we wanted to bake items we loved but were not available in Decorah and sell at the farmers market.

David J. Wadsworth • 563.419.0390 • wadsworthconstruction.com

Locally owned in Downtown Decorah since 1928

&

106 E. Water St • 563-382-3544 | 200 E. Main St • 563-382-3538

563.379.7996 • 563.380.8904

Ren Hus Cleaning Nothing left behind but a clean house!

• All cleaning products & equipment provided • Specializing in weekly & bi-weekly house cleaning • Highly motivated with awesome work ethic

615 Center Street, Decorah, Iowa 56

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

What’s the best thing you’ve ever made?

(CC) I don’t think there is such a thing – the perception of food or a meal is influenced by so many factors like where you are, who you’re with, how hungry you are. I think the best thing I’ve made is whatever I made most recently. I make a pretty mean pie though I will say.

(AS) Wow! That is kind of like asking ‘what is your favorite color’… I do love anything chocolaty and minty.

Do you have any monumental food fails you’d like to share with us?

(CC) I dropped a whole cake on the floor one time right out of the oven. I was devastated. I managed to salvage some of it and make a trifle out of it instead. I don’t think anyone knew the difference.

(AS) No failures. Ha Ha Ha!

Renuar

Good clothes take you great places

What’s your favorite: Ingredient: (CC) Lemons. I use lots of lemons when I cook, in both sweet and savory things. And eggs. Eggs are magic.

(AS) I sometimes think what foods I would choose if I were on a desert island. I was thinking olives but then they are cured and they don’t come that way.

But if I had olives, I could have olive oil. I also love coarse Celtic sea salt.

Dish: (CC) If it’s breakfast: poached eggs on crusty bread. If it’s dinner: grilled hanger steak with salsa verde and sautéed greens (AS) I make a mean pasta puttanesca and chicken marbella is a classic dish in my house.

I’m also a salad queen and can whip up interesting and beautiful salads. I love oysters, crispy calamari, and am a secret fois gras junkie when going out. I also often choose things out that I wouldn’t make at home.

Cookbook: (CC)The Joy of Cooking is my go-to resource for basics, but I really love The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.

(AS) I like collecting cookbooks but rarely use them to cook from. It is good to have your basic ‘Joy of Cooking’ or ‘Fanny Farmer’. I learned a lot from ‘The silver palate’ cookbooks.

Random (or not so random) kitchen tool: (CC) Sharp chef and pairing knives and a microplane grater. I can’t live with them.

(AS) The best tool is a good knife. I’m fussed about a good garlic press (Rosle), a good peeler (Zyliss), and have odd tools like a metal mushroom and strawberry slicer that is quite nifty.

Vegetable: (CC) Whatever’s in season.

(AS) Cilantro, snow peas, snap peas, arugula, spinach.

Fruit: (CC) Meyer lemon.

(AS) Mango, papaya, avocado (even though commonly thought of as a vegetable), Meyer lemon, fresh cherries.

warm

How about secret food indulgences you don’t normally talk about? Will you tell us?

(CC) I don’t really have anything too secretive. I’m pretty straightforward about good food. I don’t drink soda but there’s nothing like a Coke in a can on a road trip. It has to be in a can though. I also have a serious weakness for mayonnaise.

(AS) I like ordering ‘the kid pack’ at the movies which has popcorn, a soda, and squichy fruit candies or M&M’s. I like pouring the M&M’s in the popcorn and then being surprised by the saltiness or the sweetness! In the UK they have salt or sweet popcorn, which has a bit of sweet glaze on it.

I’d always get it mixed. I’m a sucker for Lay’s BBQ potato chips. There’s nothing like a Coke & BBQ chips on the road!

comfy

Above: whisk&spoon’s Farmers Market chalkboard displays the treats of the day. At left: the World Peace Cookies – chocolate with just a hint of salt. Yum!

211 West Water Street Decorah, Iowa M.T.W.Fr.Sat 9-5 Thurs. 9-8 563.382.8940

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Boxed (IN): Winona,

wow!

The view from Garvin Heights overlook! chols

Photo by Benji Ni

Where the River Meets Fun!

By Benji Nichols

Planning Your Trip

T

58

Winona is Approximately: 65 miles northeast of Decorah 50 miles east of Rochester 30 miles northwest of La Crosse 90 miles north of Mc Gregor / Prairie du Chien

Summer 2012 / theinspiredmedia.com

he sprawling Mississippi River tapers her current just before Blackbird Slough and Lock and Dam #5A above Winona, Minnesota. There, the giant river flows humbly through a high and wide valley that, in 1805, Zebulon Pike called “a prospect so variegated and romantic that a man may scarcely expect to enjoy such a one but twice or thrice in the course of his life.”

Founded in the mid 1800s by Captain Orrin Smith, Winona was the site of a native village called Keoxah. It was Henry Huff who named the stake after a Native American tale involving a Dakota Chief’s daughter, “We-no-nah” (which translates to first-born daughter), who made the ultimate lover’s leap from Maiden Rock on Lake Pepin just up the river. By the late 1850s Winona was on the map as lumber, wheat, and milling operations grew leaps and bounds, with plenty of rail and steamboat traffic to support them. Through the years the community has seen a lot come and go, but an entrepreneurial theme seems to be strong – from grain and milling operations that still exist, to manufacturing and businesses such as J.R. Watkins and the Hal Leonard Corporation. Winona State University (which was the first normal school for teachers west of the Mississippi in 1858) and St. Mary’s University also add crucial lifeblood to this great river town’s fabric – in addition to culture, sports, and a fun college vibe.

In more recent years, Winona has also become home to a number of annual festivals.

The Great River Shakespeare Festival has become well known across the Midwest as a top-notch summer staple, and in just a couple short years both the Mid West Music Fest and Boats and Bluegrass have claimed their place on the musical map, not to mention the popular winter Frozen River Film Festival, the Dixieland Jazz Festival, the Minnesota

Minnesota modern

heirlooms

CORY SMITH STUDIOS www.corysmithstudios.com 800.689-2577

Beethoven Festival, Steamboat Days, the Great Dakota Gathering and Homecoming…you get the idea. There’s definitely festival fun to be had in Winona.

In addition, Winona is home to cool museums like the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, the Polish Cultural Institute, the Winona County History Center, and the J.R. Watkins Museum and Store. The Marine Art Museum is a more recent addition and has an impressive collection of water-themed art from masters such as Monet, O’Keeffe, Picasso, Renoir, and Van Gogh, plus great rotating exhibits as well. And the Watkins Museum and Store is a fun stop whether you’re a lifelong Watkins fan or have only just heard the name. From the iron entrance gates outside the enormous factory, to the Winona diorama and complete historical collection of Watkins products, you’ll get a peek into the life behind the man who invented the “money back guarantee”!

Downtown Winona is charming and historical, with the largest collection of Victorian commercial architecture in Minnesota outside of Saint Paul. You can even take a virtual tour of over half a dozen of the most prominent buildings at winonamntours.org/tour, including the Joan Soranno-designed Laird-Norton addition of the Winona County History Center. It’s worth a look both inside and out as this museum is not only an architectural pleasure, but also features great artifacts and displays from the town’s history.

While you’re downtown, don’t miss out on a quick bite to eat or a pint at one of the several fine, local establishments. The Blue Heron Coffee House is a favorite for a homemade treat or lunch, and the Bluff Country Co-op is just down the street if you need quick supplies for a picnic or adventure (or a Mon Petit cupcake!). The Acoustic Café is also a great spot to hang out and grab a house-roasted coffee or sandwich. The bustling café atmosphere and free wi-fi brings in the college crowd, and

“On the Great River Road,” Genoa, WI.

custom

design

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WINNESHIEK

cOUNTy fair!

JULY 10-14

GREAT TiMes AT THE GRANDSTAND! Buttons $15 in advance / $18 at the fair Good for all 5 shows, children 6 and under free Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Jim Busta Band w/ Molly B. 4:30 pm Bill Riley Talent Search w/ Glen Everhart 7 pm The Bellamy Brothers 7 pm Upper Iowa Speedway Stock Car Races Hot Laps 6 pm, Racing 6:30 pm Tri-State Truck & Tractor Pull 6 pm CC Bull Riding & Barrel Racing 7 pm

EvAN's UnItEd Midway

The Midwest's best carnival is back Tuesday –Saturday!

FREe gATe & parkIng!

THE BELLAMY BROTHERS

PLUS:

www.winneshiekcountyfair.com Kids Fun Zone, Nick's Magic Show, Miller’s Petting Zoo, Antique Farm Tractor display & parade, Skidloader Rodeo, Northland Classic, 3D Barrel Racing , Kid's Pedal Pull, Horse Driving Demo, live music, cooking contests, Hobby Shop Competition & more!

weekend evenings often host acoustic music. For a throwbackdining affair, don’t miss the popular Lakeview Drive Inn. It holds all the retro appeal of a typical drive-in – you park, someone takes your order at your car window, and then brings your tasty food on a tray that attaches to the door – with some more modern twists added in – there’s a walnut burger on the menu, for example. It’s a busy spot, so make sure you’ve scheduled time, and while you wait, sit back and enjoy the views of – what else? The Lake!

While on the topic of food – we here at Inspire(d) HQ may have been known to go the distance for a really good donut. And it just so happens that Winona is home to the Bloedow Bakery on East Broadway, where, since 1924, they’ve been perfecting the Long John in addition to other delicious donuts. (They even sell a giant “Party Long John!” Sold!) Then if you’ve worked up a thirst, you’ll find no shortage of watering holes in Winona. Being a river town, Winona holds a long-standing tradition of small taverns and neighborhood spots – many that feel almost like a time warp upon entrance. Check out the Mankato Bar (Mankato St.) or the Handy Corner Bar (East 5th) for some serious local flavor. And if you love good beer, art, and music, Ed’s No Name Bar on 3rd Street is perfection. Owner and local artist Ed Hoffman opened his doors in 2007 and has found a loyal following ever since with fantastic beers on tap, local art on the walls, and the best of the Midwest music scene stopping through his funky establishment.

Don’t spend all your time inside while you are in Winona though!

Incredible views of the Mississippi River valley that surrounds the city can be had at Garvin Heights overlook just above town. It’s a short drive up Huff Street just past Lake Winona to the top of the bluffs and an easy paved walk to check out the impressive view – bring your camera! For those with a little more sense of adventure, Winona holds some challenging off road mountain biking and hiking action on the Holzinger Lodge Trail, Great River Bluffs State Park, Cherry Hill Trails, and Perrot State Park. For all the latest trail info check in with the folks at Adventure Cycle and Ski on Center Street; they’ll point you in the right direction. And of course, Winona is right on the banks of the mighty ol’ Mississippi with easy access to the river in many locations for boating, canoeing, and fishing – or even just a drive along its banks. A short field trip up the river will land you in Wabasha, home of the National Eagle Center, and the US Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam system is also fascinating

to check out along the way, especially when large barges are going through the locks. From the south, the Great River State Trail will get you out on the trail and take you all the way from La Crosse to Trempealeau and just south of Winona via some beautiful and more remote parts of the river valley.

So what are you waiting for? Get packing for a great adventure in Winona!

Benji Nichols is a seeker of River Town Fun and has found it on more than one occasion at Ed’s in Winona!

just a few details to get you going: FESTIVALS IN WINONA: • Great River Shakespeare Festival, June 20 - Aug 5, www.grsf.org • Minnesota Beethoven Festival, July 1-22, www.mnbeethovenfestival.org • Dixieland Jazz Festival, June 30, www.dixielandwinona.webs.com • Steamboat Days, June 13-17, www.winonasteamboatdays.com • Boats and Bluegrass, September 27-29, www.boatsandbluegrass.com • Great Dakota Gathering & Homecoming, September 14-16, www.dakotahomecoming.org • Frozen River Film Festival, January 23-27, 2013, www.frff.org • Mid West Music Fest, Spring 2013, www.midwestmusicfest.org

Jefferson Pub & Grill • 58 Center St. • (507) 452-3723 www.jeffersonpub.com Lakeview Drive Inn 610 East Sarnia St (507) 454-3723 www.lakeviewdriveinn.com Cruise in nights every Wed! Mon Petit Cupcakes (Available at Bluff Country Co-op And Winona Sandwich Shop) monpetitcupcake.com Signature’s Restaurant • 22852 County Rd 17 • (507) 454-3767 www.signatureswinona.com Winona Sandwich Company 619 Huff St. • (507) 452-1170 MUSEUMS & THINGS TO DO: Marine Art Museum • 800 Riverview Dr • (507) 474-6626 www.minnesotamarineart.org Features marine related works by international and local artists, including Monet, O’Keeffe, Picasso, Pissarro, Renoir, and Van Gogh.

DINING & DRINKING: Acoustic Café • 77 Lafayette St • (507) 453-0394 • www.theacoustic.com The Winona County History Center • 160 Johnson St. (507) 454-2723 • www.winonahistory.org Bloedow Bakery • 451 E Broadway St • (507) 452-3682 Located in the historic former National Guard Armory, this great Winona museum features the recently opened (Joan Soranno designed) Laird Blooming Grounds Coffee House • 50 East 3rd St • (507) 474-6551 Norton Addition. Great local history & fun for kids, families, & beyond. www.bgcoffeehouse.com Watkins Heritage Museum • 150 Liberty St • (507) 457Blue Heron Coffee House 6095 162 West Second St www.watkinsonline.com (507) 452-7020 Both the Watkins Administration building (a grand Prairie www.blueheroncoffeehouse.com School specimen designed by George Maher), and the Museum on 3rd St. are a fun trip through the history of one Bluff Country Co-op • 121 West of the oldest companies in the nation. Step into the world 2nd St • (507) 452-1815 • that J.R. Watkins built – including the origination of “the www.bluff.coop money back guarantee” – and don’t miss the restrooms – stocked kindly with Watkins products!

Bub’s Brewing Co. • 65 E. 4th St • (507) 457-3121 National Eagle Center • 50 Pembroke Ave, Wabasha (651) 565-4989 • www.nationaleaglecenter.org Dib’s Café • 77 West 3rd St. • Opened in 2007, this awesome interpretive center is (507) 457-DIBS home to 5 rescued eagles that you can meet up close and personal. The center is a not-for-profit entity that offers a Ed’s No Name Bar • 252 E 3rd St • edsnonamebar.com wide variety of programs and outreach as well. Make the scenic drive up the river – you won’t be disappointed!

Garvin Heights Vineyards • 2255 Garvin Heights Rd • (507) 474-WINE www.ghvwine.com

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563-380-7764 • www.healthez.tsfl.com theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

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Summer Salad Serenade

Mississippi Mirth

By Jim McCaffrey • Photo by Julie Berg Raymond

M

y wife, Brenda, is, without a doubt, the ultimate salad queen. Seriously, she would be satisfied and satiated if that was all she consumed for the rest of her life. Now, I’m not talking about chicken salad or tuna salad here. Nor that squiggly Jell-O thing with banana slices that always has a place at the family reunion. And what the h--- is that white puffy stuff with chocolate sprinkles on it? No, we’re talking about food with a base of greens and a combination of fruits and vegetables and possibly a protein or two. When we go out to eat, I peruse the entire menu while Brenda teeters between an iceberg lettuce wedge with bleu cheese dressing and fresh bacon crumbles or the house Caesar salad with homemade croutons. I ask her if she wants to split an order of barbeque ribs or try the shrimp po’boy but she only has eyes for the salad section. Lets face it, when it comes to dining out, Brenda’s bunny side hops forth.

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Jim McCaffrey is a chef, author, and co-owner with his family of McCaffrey’s Dolce Vita restaurant and Twin Springs Bakery just outside Decorah. He is author of a humorous cookbook titled “Midwest Cornfusion.” He has been in the food industry in one way or another for 40 years.

(Recipes on next page.)

Specializing in wood-fired pizza & International Cuisine!

Evening Specials!

ot that there’s anything wrong with salads! They’re very versatile. One of the finest tales on that subject is the creation of the Caesar salad. I’ve heard several different versions.

The best embellishment is that two immigrant Italian brothers relocated in San Diego in the early 1900s. They opened a bar and restaurant in Tijuana in order to circumvent the Prohibition laws. A lot of Hollywood celebrities would come down on weekends to legally party hearty. On one particular Sunday, the fourth of July, 1924, it was raining heavily, the streets were mud, and the Hollywood celebrities were literally stuck in town, hung over, and hungry. The restaurant had been crazy busy over the weekend, so Caesar Cardini, the brother on duty at the time, scrambled to put something together as they were almost out of everything. A little romaine lettuce, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce tossed with croutons and Parmesan cheese and Eureka! Caesar salad is born. Probably the most famous salad coming out of the America’s in the 20th century.

This is not an unusual occurrence in a restaurant kitchen.

Actually, it probably happens a lot. Even in our kitchen. Recently Izac, our head chef, had a large amount of salmon filets left over from the weekend on Sunday morning. He pulled me aside and said “I’m thinking about pan searing these babies and serving it over some sort of salad.” Fine. Next time I’m back in the kitchen I find him copiously studying cookbooks. (I always encourage my crew to copiously study.) An hour later he emerges with his dish.

Unbelievable! He didn’t create a salad; he created a magnificent piece of art! And the beauty of it all was everything he used were ingredients we have in our kitchen inventory. I went out and talked to the first person who ordered it. He said he was so enthralled enjoying it that he had not spoken a word to his companion for five minutes. Later, he told his waitperson that it was absolutely orgasmic.

So the point of all this is creativity, creativity, creativity! And if you absolutely want to astound your friends or say, your significant other, there is no better time than right now. Since we’re highlighting the farmers markets this Inspire(d), I thought it would be appropriate to end up there – plus it’s the perfect place to create a salad. The farmers markets are in full swing and it’s a damn shame if you are missing out getting to one. I like to arrive early when the bursting cornucopia of the week’s harvest is at its height. Usually, I don’t go with an idea of what I want, so I like to do a full circuit of all of the booths, see what’s to be had, and then thinking through, put together maybe a salad, a side, soup, or possibly even a main entree. Almost always, I will come across a new lettuce, vegetable, or fruit. The vendors and the customers are all yakking it up with each other, and invariably, they’ll start telling me how they prepare this particular item or what they’ve paired it with. You know, like kumquats with fois gras or pan-seared dandelions with hard-boiled quail eggs. All kidding aside, there is a treasure trove of information to be mined at the farmers market (see page 26 for more tips on getting the most out of your market). And besides, mingling with the diverse group there can be a great deal of fun. So start gathering up your favorites ingredients and let your bunny side shine.

Wednesday: Spaghetti & meatballs / kids pizzas Thursday: Chef’s Choice Check www.mcdolcevita.com Friday: Blackened Salmon for special daily dishes!

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Don’t worry if you don’t have every ingredient. Improvise. That’s what this article is about. After all, you may be serving the best salad to come out of the 21st century! - Jim

Izac’s Salmon Salad (serves 4-main meal)

Salad Ingredients 16-20oz. Mixed greens 1 green pepper, halved and sliced 8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved 8 oz Feta cheese 1 med red onion, sliced thin 2 oranges, 6 slices per 1 small cucumber, halved 2 lemons, 6 slices per 3 limes, 4 slices per sliced lengthways 4 - 4 oz Salmon filets 4 T extra virgin olive oil Marinade Peel of one orange, diced (Save orange interior) 1 C orange juice Juice of one lemon Salt and black pepper to taste Glaze Saved orange interior, diced 1/2 C orange juice 2 T honey Salt black pepper to taste Lemon Dressing 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil 1/4 C lemon juice 1 garlic clove, minced Salt and black pepper to taste Whisk all marinade ingredients together. In a small baking dish.(preferably glass, no aluminum) place salmon filets and cover with marinade. Refrigerate for one hour, turning once after 30 minutes. While salmon is marinating, combine glaze ingredients in a small pot and reduce over low -med heat on the stove until somewhat thickened. Set aside.

Now, lets build a salad.

Mound lettuce on 4 dinner plates or large salad bowls. On at a time divide tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, and green peppers on each salad. Try a mound on each. (See picture).

Divide lemon dressing equally on each. Add feta cheese to each. To each salad overlay on three sides, a slice each of orange, lemon, and lime. Set aside. Remove salmon from marinade and pat dry. Pan sear in extra virgin olive oil for 3 minutes over medium high heat. Turn over and brush with glaze mixture. Heat for another 2- 3 minutes depending on doneness wanted. A one-inch filet at 5 minutes total will probably get you to medium rare plus. Enjoy and tell Izac thanks the next time you see him.

Easy Caesar Salad

(serves 4 salad courses)

Ingredients: 1 tsp kosher or sea salt 6 canned anchovy filets 2 garlic cloves crushed (patted dry and minced) 4 T extra virgin olive oil 1 Large egg, coddled (to kill bacteria) 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 head Romaine lettuce 2 T red wine vinegar 1/2 C fresh Parmesan cheese 1tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 cups croutons, homemade or store bought

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In a small mixing bowl add salt and garlic. Use a fork and mash garlic into salt.

Make it pretty small. Add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, and egg. Whisk vigorously and set aside. Trim lettuce, removing stem and top leaves. Chop into one-inch pieces. Toss with dressing mixture. In a large bowl, top with Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and croutons.

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theinspiredmedia.com \ Summer 2012

65

Bill Beard keeps a positive attitude to keep a happy life Probituary: It’s a Notice of Life! Interview and Introduction by Jen Johnson and Lor Miller

At the age of 96, William (Bill) Beard still resides on the land where he grew up in Decorah and takes comfort in the home he and a nephew built for his family - wife Betty and daughter Grace. With his wife and all of his siblings now deceased, Bill and his sister-in-law Laura call each other every morning to make sure they made it through the night all right. It’s something he looks forward to, and this daily routine of family taking care of family has always been a part of his life. His grandfather lived with him growing up, along with one of his aunts, so there was always family around.

Bill peels his potatoes for dinner, bakes a cake for dessert, and likes to eat it with ice cream every night! He is a sport of a fellow, enjoys watching the birds outside his windows, and is always up for a game of checkers or cards with the kids. Listening about their lives, activities, or jokes, he’s always a dear to tell us some of his memories too.

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you? Always tell the truth.

Any advice you might offer to us? Keep your head to the game and stay on top of things. (If Bill sees something that needs to be done, he does it! He always had chores to do at home and he feels that kids should have chores to help them learn to take responsibility for things.) Don’t live beyond your means. If you don’t have the money for something, you simply shouldn’t buy it.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a farmer. My dad and grandfather were both farmers. It was fun to work with the baby animals when they were first born. As a boy, I took care of the sheep. At 2:00 in the morning, I’d get dressed, give them some milk and bring them into the kitchen for the night if it was too cold outside. We’d put wood in the kitchen stove to keep them warm and dry. But they weren’t used to the linoleum floor and they’d fall down! As a farmer, you worked hard and then played hard.

(Bill said he used to just dream of Sundays. They would take the day off from farm work and go to church while his mom or Aunt Bess would stay home and cook. After church, they would pack a big picnic and head off to find a good spot by the creek. After eating well, they took off their shoes to play in the creek or just lie down on the grass and enjoy it.)

What did you do? I was a farmer. We had animals, corn, oats, barley, and hay. You do everything that needs to be done. One of the benefits about being a farmer is directly benefiting from the work you put in. Dreaming of a warm fire in winter was motivation to cut and chop wood, just as pulling a roast out of the freezer for a meal was motivation to care well for the animals you raised. You take care of the animals, and they’ll take care of you. You knew that if you didn’t do the work involved, you would lose out on some of the most enjoyable moments. (We commented to Bill that it sounded like despite all the hard work, his life was good. He smiled and said, “Well, it did have its not so good times as well. But there’s no use dwelling on the bad parts. People have enough troubles as it is, so you need to remember the good parts.” We think this attribute of counting his blessings is a large part of what keeps Bill so happy and healthy.)

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you?

With a chuckle, Bill says with practicality, “Something to drink, a pillow and some covers, and something to eat.”

Name one thing you could not live without. (Again, the realist) “water.”

If you could eat anything for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Potatoes and gravy, some kind of hamburger, most any kind of fruit, and for dessert, ice cream.

Do you know someone you’d love to interview for this page? Let us know! aryn@theinspiredmedia.com

Tell us about (meeting your wife and) your wedding day...

The pastor at the church had set up a night of games for the single boys and single girls. Betty was a good church woman, and I thought I could probably get along with her. She was a teacher and was due to go back home at the end of the school year. I asked her if she ever thought about marriage, and she said, why yes, she did.

The wedding was the first day of September. She lived down in Burlington, and I had driven down the day before. Some of the family had to stay home to do chores, so it was her family plus my mother and father. After the wedding, Betty and I started off on our honeymoon. We were driving around the state and up into Minnesota. We got to Minneapolis and decided that was too big a town for us -- we got out quick! So Decorah it remains yet today.

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www.hometowntaxidecorah.com 66

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