Community Builders

Different stages of life, like the seasons, require transformation. Just as trees shed their leaves, sometimes we must shed our identities to make space for…

Scattered across the beautiful, rural farmlands of bluff country are lots of barns. Rustic barns, pole barns, even a few round barns, all used for…

If you’re ever heading down a road in Vernon County, Wisconsin, you might see a large, red and white van, emblazoned with the words “Building…

“Community” and “communication” are related. First cousins, at least. And you really can’t have the first without the second. Phil and Heidi Dybing live in…

For author and activist Bobbi Rathert, adventure is always on the brain. She’s been a self-proclaimed “wonderer and wanderer” her whole life, traveling all over…

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…

In stores, parks, and restaurants all over the world, little hearts – smaller than the palm of your hand – are spreading positivity. Crocheted with…

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…

Paul Reardon is hard to chase down. If he’s not traveling the world as a mechanic for various bike races, he’s back home in La…

A main street barbershop is so much more than a place to get a haircut. Dave Dudek, a barber who’s been cutting hair in his hometown…

Decorah music educators Nicole and Matt Cody see firsthand how music can act like a glue, binding a community together in harmony – both figurative…

Communities aren’t measured by clocks or calendars. Some book clubs, garden circles, and service groups meet for years, decades even. You can find choirs whose…