March 2018 St. Croix Valley

In the March issue we check in with two local artists as they share their passion and love story.

Local high school senior Violet Penman, who will attend UW-River Falls this year, has a natural instinct for photography. Not only did her photo Valley Bee win first-place in this magazine’s photo contest, but her only other submission, Busy Bee, took home second place.

 

Venture just off the main drag in Stillwater, and you’ll find one of the top 25 wine bars in the United States, at least according to Travel + Leisure Magazine, the writers of which might know a thing or two about the subject.

 

Maple syruping is “one of those ‘rites of spring’ in the Midwest,” says Jennifer Vieth, executive director of Carpenter Nature Center.

 

Stillwater’s identity is firmly rooted in history. One of the first cities in Minnesota, it boasts a nostalgic, bustling downtown and a well-preserved historic district.

 

The St. Croix Valley is full of amazing restaurants, but you don’t always need to dine out for a dinner to remember. This month, some of the Valley’s best restaurants share recipes for their most popular menu item, so you can make restaurant-quality dishes in your  kitchen.

 

Just down the street from her Urban Olive and Vine, Kay Timm is eight months into embarking on another endeavor in downtown Hudson. One that, along with co-owners Lynn Ulrich and Jane Wegand, she believes is reigniting a passion for cooking and filling a local niche.

 

The Minnesota Grocers Association holds its Best Bagger Contest every year. This August was the 29th annual, and the winner was Mahtomedi High School senior Caleb Meyer, who grocers at the Oak Park Heights, Minn., Kowalski’s. We spoke to him to learn more about.
 

 

Cynthia Mosedale and Bill Kaufmann have been collaborating for more than 30 years. The couple has been married since 1980, before which they found each other through their shared passions. “It kind of fell together,” Mosedale says. “I was a teacher, and Bill was a beginning potter.

 

Last September, on a hot fall day, more than 500 Valley residents turned up (many of them in kilts) for the biennial Bagpipes and Bonfires event, hosted by the Episcopal Church of the Ascension.

 

For kids with special needs, a trip to camp or a therapeutic summer activity can be a life-changing experience. Bethany’s Butterflies Scholarship, which started last year, has the goal of making that quintessential summer pastime accessible for more young people with special needs.

 

Golden Gris

 

Nicole Danielson, a lifelong Valley resident, says before being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35, she thought of the disease as something affecting older women, but soon realized just how many women younger than 40 were going through treatment, too.