Driftless Stories

Spring is on its way! The sounds and sights of migrating warblers and other songbirds make it hard to stay inside. Once the ground is…

In mid-March, as longer days herald the onset of spring, an aquatic miracle unfolds. Small ponds, buried for months under ice and snow, begin to…

Rural Iowa has much more to offer than endless corn fields and gravel roads. Near Decorah, an unexpectedly vibrant source of creation and community lives…

There is beauty in the world, even when it feels so dark we can’t possibly see it. Radical inspiration – our theme for this issue…

Northeast Iowa artist and flower farmer Jen Opheim knows the power of new beginnings.  “I don’t sit still for very long,” she says. “I think…

When we switched printers in 2023, we decided to start featuring local photographers’ work in the Center Spread spot in each Inspire(d) Magazine. We wanted…

Gabi Masek, licensed acupuncturist and diplomate of Oriental Medicine* at Wildcrafted Acupuncture and Herbs in Decorah, Iowa, was kind enough to make a list of…

During the last ice age – 20,000 years ago give or take a few years – the ebb and flow of glaciers forever changed the…

The story starts out in a familiar way: Boy meets girl. They get married. They start a family. Alex Weber and Moran Lonning met in…

For Jamie Schwaba, art is a necessary rhythm of life.  “I don’t feel like my day is complete if I haven’t done some form of…

Winter 2025-26 Inspire(d) At Inspire(d) Magazine, we write positive stories about neighbors doing good things. The idea is that folks will read these stories and…

As summer days slip away and goldenrod buds swell, birdsong is replaced by a six-legged symphony. The three tenors of the Driftless Area – cicadas,…