Driftless Stories

    By Aryn Henning Nichols He’s been called the Willy Wonka of recycling. Terry Buenzow walks around the Winneshiek County Recycling Center pointing at…

By Mary Marx Steve Vanden Brink Staring out my window at leaves falling from a crab apple tree, Steve Vanden Brink replays a scene in…

By Aryn Henning Nichols At a typical symphony orchestra concert, you don’t hear a “yeeee-awww” coming from the audience. It’s just not proper. But the…

By Aryn Henning Nichols Ashley Dull Lindeman’s enthusiasm is infectious. She bustles through the door of a downtown Decorah coffee shop with arms full of…

By Benji Nichols | Image above courtesy Randy Leffingwell, LA Times There are few inventions in history that have literally changed the landscape like the modern…

By Benji Nichols  With roots dating as far back as the 1400s, butter has been used in various ways to create art – Monks even…

Story and Photos by Kelly Larsen  The disdain I once held for gardening still remains distinct in my memory. As a little kid, I dreaded…

By Aryn Henning Nichols In the middle of a gallery, with walls covered in bright memories of places and events he’s experienced over the past…

By Aryn Henning Nichols Growing up a member of the Clean Plate Club, “There are starving children in Africa,” seemed merely a parental guilt tactic…

Sculpture artist Kelly Ludeking loves metal. Pretty much all kinds of it. And while he originally started with bronze and aluminum, it was an iron pour that really pulled him in. For Kelly, pouring iron is about community. It’s about learning and teaching, and it was this aspect that really sealed his path and passion.

Interviewed by Eric Paulson, Hometown Taxi driver, who says Sandy is the most inspiring person he has ever met. What’s the best advice anyone ever…

Dee Kuhlman, aged “it’s nobody’s business” but her own, loves to cook (and fancy at that), is incredibly organized, and has a wonderfully loving and…