When Stories Save Us: Notes from the 2025 South Dakota Festival of Books
In a time of uncertainty—for journalism, for truth, even for funding the arts—stories endure because people keep showing up with curiosity, compassion, and commitment to telling them. That truth was on full display at the 2025 South Dakota Festival of Books, held September 26–28 in Spearfish. The South Dakota Humanities Council describes the festival as […]
A Salute to the Southpaws: Famous Left-Handers in History
Every August 13, the world tips its hat (or maybe its left sleeve) to all the Southpaws out there, on National Left-Handers Day. It’s a playful holiday meant to honor the 10% of the population who do most things with their left hand. That’s right—only one in ten people share this trait, which makes lefties […]
Tracing a Community in Conversation (a personal essay celebrating my beloved hometown newspaper, which abruptly shut down on Aug. 6, 2025 – and then was brought back to life)
UPDATE: While my hometown newspaper, The Pinedale Roundup, was one of eight rural Wyoming newspapers to abruptly shut down on Aug. 6, it is now up and running again (along with the other 7 Wyoming newspapers), thanks to a pair of Wyoming-based newspaper executives who have stepped in with a renewed focus on hyper-local community news. I […]
101 Years of Elgene: A Birthday Tribute to My Grandma
Today, my grandmother, Elgene Lund, turns 101. Let that number settle in for a moment. One hundred and one. Elgene was born on May 23, 1924, in Chisago City, Minnesota, into a world very different from the one we know today. Her family didn’t have much—money was scarce, life was hard—but she grew up surrounded […]
Words as Powerful Tools: How Legacy Letters Build Lives and Legacies
When was the last time you wrote a letter? It’s a question I posed on my social media feeds last week. In the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, in a world that increasingly spins on instant gratification, a heartfelt, personal letter from one person to another seems to be almost a thing of […]
What’s Your Word for 2023?
Recently I attended a local women’s networking luncheon. The event organizers asked all women in attendance the same question: What’s your WORD for 2023? A local artist was on hand, standing next to an easel and square canvas, and as we wrote down our words and brought them to her, she painted them onto the […]
5 Unique Gift Ideas for the Creative Person in Your Life
Don’t settle for lackluster or impersonal gifts this year. Avoid the supply chain issues and the long lines at the post office and give the creative person in your life something they’ll really remember and cherish well beyond Christmas Day.
To Write Well, You Have to Live
Teenager Annia Napier talks about the importance of life experiences to her growth as a writer. If you want to learn how to write well, you have to live a little.
4 Ways with Zucchini
Here are 4 ways to cook with zucchini in zucchini season, even for family members who hate the pulpy green vegetable.