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Wander & Wonder

She's on a mission to end human trafficking in rural Minnesota

She's on a mission to end human trafficking in rural Minnesota

Anne LaFrinier-Ritchie grew up in northern Minnesota wanting to be a journalist. Life led her instead to become a social worker and then to devote herself to protecting the state’s most vulnerable children. 
by Dan Gunderson

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Lambs, family and garlic help this couple build a new life in rural Minnesota

Lambs, family and garlic help this couple build a new life in rural Minnesota

Mark Anema and Kate Ritger met at a garlic harvest party, started a farm, got married and had a kid. For Anema, it meant a huge change from a life in finance to farming. It isn’t easier or more profitable, but he says changing his life has changed him for the better.
by Dan Gunderson

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Grief brought her back to western Minnesota. Now she’s helping restore her hometown 

Grief brought her back to western Minnesota. Now she’s helping restore her hometown 

Kris Shelstad left Madison more than 30 years ago for a life in the Army. When tragedy struck, she returned to heal. When she saw Madison needed some restoration, too, she asked people what they wanted and then started building it.
by Dan Gunderson

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In NW Minnesota, he turns gears, wire and marbles into art that moves

In NW Minnesota, he turns gears, wire and marbles into art that moves

Jeffrey Zachmann’s built more than 1,000 kinetic sculptures — moving contraptions that fascinate those who come across them in public libraries, private collections and museums around the world. He loves the interaction with people who can't resist his work.
by Dan Gunderson

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Fascinated by fossils, Minnesota man builds a small-town science museum bone by bone

Fascinated by fossils, Minnesota man builds a small-town science museum bone by bone

Jim Pollard has loved fossil collecting since he was a kid. Now 70, he’s opened a natural history museum in a Blue Earth storefront to share his passion for paleontology and to make science more accessible to rural kids.
by Dan Gunderson

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In western Minnesota, she helps new immigrants put down roots

In western Minnesota, she helps new immigrants put down roots

Alma Contreras remembers how hard it was to make the transition to rural western Minnesota when she came from Mexico 16 years ago. It’s what drives her to help others now in tense times for immigrants.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesota sculptor forges a passion for people who put their lives on the line

Minnesota sculptor forges a passion for people who put their lives on the line

Near the small town of Kimball, a Minnesota sculpture studio creates highly detailed statues honoring first responders and the military. They can be found in hundreds of public spaces across the country. For the studio’s owners, the work is more than just a business.
by Dan Gunderson

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Curious minds keep a southern Minnesota book group going for 142 years

Curious minds keep a southern Minnesota book group going for 142 years

Drawn by a love of literature and learning, eight women met in Blue Earth in 1883 to form the town’s Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. That tradition continues to this day, driven by the ethos: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
by Dan Gunderson

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This Black northern Minnesota inventor changed the world. Many Minnesotans don’t know him

This Black northern Minnesota inventor changed the world. Many Minnesotans don’t know him

Frederick McKinley Jones invented refrigerated shipping, allowing trucks and trains to move food worldwide. The self-taught engineer who lived in Hallock held dozens of patents that transformed America, yet Minnesotans might be hard-pressed to recognize his name.
by Dan Gunderson

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In rural Minnesota, a longtime township clerk puts his faith in neighbors

In rural Minnesota, a longtime township clerk puts his faith in neighbors

Loren Ingebretsen has been a politician for 45 years at the most grassroots level of American politics, the township board. It’s vital work across Minnesota that rarely gets noticed. 
by Dan Gunderson

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