minnesota

Ah, summer camp! Pack your hiking boots and your flashlight, because it’s time for canoeing, hiking, and playing chamber music. Wait, what? Yes, we are…

Spring Grove has a vibrancy that’s easy to see but kind of hard to explain. With a population of about 1,200, the Southeast Minnesota town…

Ryan and Allie Palmer have been “building” things together for 30 years. They met as teenagers, helping to build an orphanage on a mission trip…

Ten years ago, Kara Maloney was a senior at Luther College in Decorah, completing a double-major in Studio Art and Business Management, running cross-country, and…

It was three pigs that went missing from farmer Phil Tod’s barnyard in 1924 that led to the discovery of one of Southeast Minnesota’s greatest…

Margaret Grund was interviewed by her granddaughter, Hannah, and daughter, Amy Margaret Grund (Kopel) is a woman who has worn many hats throughout her life:…

Six miles outside the town of Lanesboro, nestled snugly into the beautiful woods and river valleys of Southeast Minnesota, you find a unique community at…

Shiny new bike day is a happy day.  But sometimes the joy is found in the journey. Restoring a bike – shining up something old…

Community builders use many tools. Creative ideas. Cheery optimism. Contagious enthusiasm. Norb Kelly of Lanesboro, Minnesota, uses tools that are more traditional, though: A saw,…

Brooke Pfeffer wouldn’t describe herself as a “community builder.” But community has a way of happening all around her (even some fun four-footed kind). That…

The Holiday + Winter Inspire(d) is about Looking for the Bright Spots in every day – even through the darkest days of winter. Inside, you’ll…

When roller skating pro Michelle Stielen founded Moxi Skates in Long Beach, California in 2008, she wanted to create a new style of roller skates…

A cozy, warm home, filled with the smells of a slow cooked meal can make the magic of a holiday (or any cold day!) come…

The GrandPad tablet delivers telehealth for homebound, and creates an innovative spark for rural entrepreneurs. By Maggie Sonnek When Scott Lien and his family traded…

Lots of fun things to look forward to in the Summer 2018 Inspire(d): 4-H • Dunning’s Spring bridge / Stonemason Ted Wilson • Viroqua’s Growing…

Here’s what you’ve got to get excited about in the Spring 2018 Inspire(d): Westby Community Feature, National Eagle Center, States of America films – Beth…

Winter is a wonderful time to cozy in and think about making life better. So we’re excited to bring you the new Winter 2016-2017 Inspire(d) Magazine,…

Fall is the loveliest season around here (we think). So we put together a little list of events to add to your calendar! Go ahead and…

Sarah Schroeder The debate was heated, and, as it turned out, not easily forgotten. “I felt that the admission prices being proposed for the town’s…

“Electricity is really just organized lightning…”  -George Carlin Story and photos by Benji Nichols, except as noted Imagine pulling out onto the street as your…

Compiled by Inspire(d) Staff Originally printed in the June/July 2010 issue of Inspire(d) Sure, summer is all about festivals and swimming and canoeing and fairs, but…

By Aryn Henning Nichols • All photos courtesy Brett Reese If ever a person were “born an entrepreneur”, it would be Brett Reese. Reese is…

By Benji Nichols • Photos by Inspire(d) unless noted Originally published in the Summer 2012 Inspire(d) The sprawling Mississippi River tapers her current just before…