From the Editor

By Robb Murray

NOVEMBER 2022 • VOLUME 17, ISSUE 11

MAGAZINE EDITOR

Robb Murray

DESIGNER Christina Sankey

PHOTOGRAPHER Pat Christman

COPY EDITOR Kathy Vos

CONTRIBUTORS James Figy Jean Lundquist Leticia Gonzalez Ann Rosenquist Fee Pete Steiner Nick Healy Dana Melius Renee Berg Jane Turpin Moore

ADVERTISING SALES Danny Creel Jennifer Flowers Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Theresa Haefner Tim Keech

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Barb Wass

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Christina Sankey

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Justin Niles

PUBLISHER Steve Jameson

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Spear

Mankato Magazine is published by The Free Press Media monthly at 418 South Second Street, Mankato MN 56001.

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $59.88 for 12 issues.

For all editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray 507-344-6386, or email rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

For advertising, call 344-6364, or e-mail advertising@mankatofreepress.com.

City of tiny lights

When I was a kid, I used to bug my dad to load up his brown Chevy pickup (a manual transmission, “three on the tree” gem of a truck that I learned to drive on years later) and cruise around town looking at Christmas lights.

My neighborhood on the east side of St. Paul wasn’t a destination by any means, but it had its moments, and I was there for all of it.

Any illuminated pine tree, any Santa Claus perched on a rooftop, any snowman standing stout on a front lawn was, to me, worth the drive. (Did I have to push down the urge to eschew such non-macho pursuits to maintain street cred with my hockey homies? Sure, however I make no apologies for being a lifelong lover of yuletide illumination. But I digress.)

There’s just something about lights that makes the increasingly colder nights a little less dreary. Maybe they infuse us with a subconscious dose of warmth.

They sure warmed my 10-yearold heart back in the day, even if the displays were tiny, and even if we had to drive down street after street to find them sometimes.

You could always count on the Strobel family to construct something tasteful yet gleeful. And the Tuckners usually spent about a week’s worth of blue-collar pay to make a bold, bright statement of incandescent superiority.

Today, of course, in Mankato, you’ve got the opportunity to see more light than you could ever imagine thanks to the Kiwanis Holiday Lights event, which is quickly becoming a staple of family holiday gatherings. Ever since the lights were launched, we haven’t missed a year.

So it makes sense for us to feature the event on our cover and in the pages of our November issue.

Why November, you say? Well, why not? Here at Mankato Magazine, we love the holidays, and getting a jump on all the good vibes that come with them can’t be a bad idea. Plus, Santa plugs those Sibley Park lights in on Nov. 25.

Also in this issue: n If you’ve never been to the Goldsmith’s Reunion Festival, this is the perfect year to change that.

For 20 years some of the best and most creative artisans in southern Minnesota have been gathering in one place every year to make their wares available. It’s a great opportunity to purchase locally made art and feel good about yourself for supporting your neighbors. n When Darold and Dawn Schaefer retired from the famous R&R Tire Shop, they launched a new business adventure 1,200 miles away (North Carolina, to be exact).

They purchased a bed-andbreakfast, the Colington Inn, a quaint getaway option for anyone considering a vacation. Writer Jane Moore visited the Colington and weaves a tale as charming as the inn. n Our Familiar Faces feature this month introduces readers to a young woman quickly making a name for herself in the medical community.

Dr. Sara Robinson was recently named Family Medicine Resident of the Year by the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians. She’s also very involved in the community and works with the city’s homeless population.

Plenty of reasons to dive into Plenty of reasons to dive into the November issue of the November issue Mankato Magazine. Mankato Magazine. We hope you enjoy it. hope you enjoy it.

Robb Murray is associate editor of Mankato Magazine. Contact him at 344-6386 or rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.