Driftless Stories

We know it doesn’t look much like spring out there today (hello, fresh snow), but it’s coming! In the meantime, dream of all the fun…

Live Generously Introduction by Aryn Henning Nichols Interviews by Aryn Henning Nichols, Kristine Jepsen, & Sara Friedl-Putnam Originally published in the Winter 2015-16 Inspire(d) It’s…

Ca-chunk. Ca-chunk. It was a familiar sound in the Decorah Flat neighborhood this fall. Jarrad Walter stapled together yard sign after yard sign (on his…

Liz Fox, Decorah High School Community Club & Silver Cord Program They have served up pancakes for Nisse Preschool, set up holiday light displays for Helping…

Carolyn Flaskerud, director of the First Lutheran Church Food Pantry in Decorah, does not mince words. “It keeps me busy – happy and healthy,” the…

Ward Budweg has helped build a library in Rwanda, install a clean-water-catching system in Panama, and paint an orphanage in Peru. But perhaps no place…

Lucas Zellmer had no idea the extent of poverty in La Crosse, Wisconsin – where more than 15 percent of the population lives below the…

If you blink, you might find that Lanesboro Community Theater dynamo, Bebe Keith, has disappeared. When the Community Theater’s Silent Movies in the Park After…

“I’m just a banker with a passion for renewable energy,” Larry Grimstad says, in typical humble fashion. In truth, the longtime Decorah resident is much…

“I’ve always been a big believer in supporting good people doing good things,” says Winona radio personality, Paul Lundquist. Paul landed in Winona, Minnesota, 10…

It’s easy to let fifth-generation Decorah native Mark Faldet fool you: He’s the kind of guy who, having traveled the region for work at Luther…

Once upon a time, in the nearby hamlet of Spring Grove, Minnesota, there came together two professional performers who loved each other – and musical…