Wander & Wonder

‘High off the sound’: Fergus Falls engineer is a guitar amp hero
From his “one-man shop out in the woods” in Otter Tail County, throwback musician Maurice Skogen builds old-school vacuum tube amplifiers that generate a “spiritual sound.“
In western Minnesota, a writer rooted in two worlds seeks common ground
Columnist, county commissioner and former farmer Brent Olson is a “bleeding-heart liberal” in the middle of rural Minnesota Trump country. He tries to bridge that political and social gap in his national writing and through his local community work.
For this Minnesota living history teacher, the past is never dead
Arn Kind turned his passion for the past into a second career making history entertaining and educational in school classrooms and small town libraries across Minnesota. From Vikings to the voyageurs to Vietnam, he delivers lessons like few others.
In Wabasha, a collector puts his passion for all things eagles on full display
Preston Cook spent decades collecting tens of thousands of items bearing bald eagle imagery. The longtime California real estate developer donated the collection to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha and then moved to town.
In Warren, a different kind of veterans memorial draws people near
Veterans memorials are a common sight on Minnesota courthouse lawns. They often focus on military might. But in the small northwestern town of Warren, a sculpture is connecting veterans and the town in a quiet way.
Going old school on travels across Minnesota
In communities across Minnesota, old schools may be boarded up or falling apart. They may be completely renovated into apartments or a home or some other use. But no matter their present state, they have stories to tell.
In gardens across Minnesota, the beetle battle begins
Sporting metallic green and copper colors, Japanese beetles are starting their annual feast of roses, grapevines, fruit trees and any number of other plants — much to the chagrin of gardeners and farmers across a wide swath of Minnesota.