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Wander & Wonder

On a northern Minnesota island, arts and inspiration find safe harbor

On a northern Minnesota island, arts and inspiration find safe harbor

A small island on Rainy Lake near the Canadian border was once home to a legendary Minnesota environmentalist. Now it’s a place for introspection and inspiration for artists and nature lovers.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesota composer finds insects make bee-autiful music

Minnesota composer finds insects make bee-autiful music

When a scientist friend suggested Doug Harbin listen in on the noises of bees and butterflies for inspiration, the Moorhead composer couldn’t resist.
by Dan Gunderson

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‘More than a game’: Native lacrosse stages a comeback in NE Minnesota and beyond

‘More than a game’: Native lacrosse stages a comeback in NE Minnesota and beyond

Tribal members in Minnesota and Wisconsin are working to revive the game of Baaga’adowewin, the Ojibwe version of lacrosse that once was a vital community-building tradition around the Great Lakes — but then virtually disappeared during the boarding school era. 
by Dan Kraker

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Family ties, loyal crowds keep a Minnesota small-town movie theater thriving

Family ties, loyal crowds keep a Minnesota small-town movie theater thriving

Small-town movie theaters have struggled to survive for years in an increasingly on-demand world. In Wadena, the local theater is flourishing thanks to generations of work by one family. Meet the Quincers.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesota town ball traditions built on family ties, love of the game 

Minnesota town ball traditions built on family ties, love of the game 

Every summer in hundreds of cities and small towns across Minnesota, generations play town ball at the local baseball field. Players range in age from teenagers to men sliding into middle age. In Bluffton, the family ties run especially deep.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesota man on a mission to save honeybees, shrink pesticide use

Minnesota man on a mission to save honeybees, shrink pesticide use

Steve Ellis is a nationally recognized expert in the business of bees. From his Grant County farms he’s fought for decades to protect them from what he believes are deadly pesticides harming their health. For him, beekeeping has always been more than a business.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minnesotan taps Ojibwe culture, Anishinaabe spirit to turn wood into art

Minnesotan taps Ojibwe culture, Anishinaabe spirit to turn wood into art

Donovan Dahmen creates large collages of wood at his home in Grand Portage. He sees his art as a way to share knowledge of Ojibwe culture and spirituality. “I believe the wood tells me what it wants to be,” he said.
by Dan Gunderson

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