Driftless Stories

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…

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.  Or so goes the old saying. Still, Wendy Stevens sure does try. The Decorah resident and…

While the discovery that Decorah sits atop an ancient impact crater and was once home to the world’s oldest-recorded sea scorpion, Pentecopterus decorahensis, may seem…

For artist Pete Sandker, painting in the Driftless and living in the Driftless are forever intertwined. “The patterns and cycles of nature, the flowers and…

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…

Fungi are among the most widely distributed organisms on earth. Despite their importance to people and the environment, they are also among the least understood.…

Confidence comes from tackling new challenges. Decorah artist Hannah Tulgren has found this to be true, even if moving in new directions sometimes sparks moments…

Spring 2025 Inspire(d) Tulips continue to grow, even after they’re cut. Did you know that?!  I love this about tulips. I love that something that’s…

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…

“It just felt right.” For Naomi Simon, Decorah’s hometown women’s wrestling hero, the decision to dedicate herself to wrestling was a simple one. “Wrestling fits…

In 1940, as Walt Disney’s Pinocchio wobbled across the big screen, a lesser-known creative genius gave rise to another cinematic icon. Woody Woodpecker, an irascible…

“My beautiful daughter’s life ended on a cold kitchen floor of a dumpy studio apartment near La Crosse while I slept in my bed in…