March 2015

In the very first issue of St. Croix Valley Magazine you'll go behind the scenes at Lift Bridge Brewing Company, peek inside a Stillwater remodel and redesign and find inspiration for spring gifts from Hudson's best shops.

It was a perfect January day for members of the St. Croix Valley Ski Club.

 

A natural divide separating the borders of two neighboring states, the St. Croix River has provided Minnesotans and Wisconsinites with commerce, transportation and sustenance since the first American Indians settled on its shores.

 

For nearly 30 years, photography was an after-hours passion for Hudson-based Jeff Bucklew. He’d work in the dark room late into the night and head to his day job the next morning. Then last June, Bucklew retired from the printing industry to become a full-time photographer.

 

On March 17, all one really needs is a place where the company’s good, the beer is flowing and the corned beef is in abundance.

 

A home’s rhythm is developed over time—where its inhabitants set their keys, gather to eat, do homework or read is defined by repeated use, and these patterns are unique to each family.

 

Brad Glynn and Trevor Cronk sit down at the classic wooden bar with two beers in front of them, ready to explain how a poker league 12 years ago became a stepping stone to their dream of opening Lift Bridge Brewing Company.

 

To cure the winter blues, nothing excites quite like spring shopping. St. Croix Valley residents don’t have to go far to find spring inspiration along Hudson’s Main Street and throughout the business community.

 

Start with the basics, said Bud Brine, the original owner of Brine’s Meat Market and Restaurant in Stillwater: “If they love the ground beef, they’ll come back for the steak.”

 

In the 1994 Academy Award-winning film Forrest Gump, the title character sat at a bus stop and passed along a simple life lesson—“Mama always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re gonna get.’” With that in mind, Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) took on new

 

Whether your travels take you across the pond or just across the river, we’d love to see where our St. Croix Valley Magazine readers are going. Snap a photo of yourself holding a copy of the magazine, send it in and tell us a little bit about where the picture was taken.

 

Nothing sets the scene for a good mystery like glowing streetlamps, shadows on the river and a cocktail in hand. That’s what you’ll find at the Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour hosted by Valley Bookseller in Stillwater.

 

It’s time to toast St. Patty with a glass of Irish cheer. Pub 112 of Stillwater recommends The Big Ginger, the signature cocktail of Minnesota-based 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey.

 

They’ve popped up all over the community and beyond; the popular Little Free Library concept was started by Hudson resident Todd Bol to honor his mom, a book lover and avid reader.

 

Spring in Minnesota often arrives amid the snow and cold of March, but that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating the new season.

 

Looking to do something a little off the beaten path for your child’s next birthday? Let them go wild at the Lee & Rose Warner Nature Center in Marine on St. Croix.

 

They say if walls could talk, we’d know the untold stories of our most beloved buildings. If the walls of Hudson’s Octagon House could talk, we’d hear several different perspectives—eight, to be exact.