Mankato Magazine

BE YOUR BEST YOU!

We’ll help you navigate physical, mental, financial and spiritual wellness

Embrace the Essay by

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FEATURE S JANUARY 2019 Volume 14, Issue 1

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You’re best you It’s easy to look at Jan. 1 as a great day to get back in shape. But what about the rest of your life? Your mind, your heart, your finances?

Those things need your attention, too.

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‘Do what you are doing’

Embrace the cold

Writer and all around cool chick Becky Davis reminds us to live with intention, no matter what we’re doing.

Yep, it’s cold again, folks. We’ve been through this before, but sometimes you need a reminder of all the ways to have fun in the freeze.

ABOUT THE COVER Shown here in her studio, Melissa Ketchum is a resilient woman. She was kind enough to let Pat Christman photograph her for our cover.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 3

DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor 8 Faces & Places 12 This Day in History 13 Avant Guardians John Kruse

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14 Beyond the Margin Remembering Buddy 16 Familiar Faces Vusa Bentley 30 Day Trip Destinations Ice castles 32 Wine Rhône redux

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33 Beer The science of beer calories 34 That’s Life My life with Tab 36 Garden Chat Pesky purslane

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38 Your Style The wannabe minimalist 40 Night Moves Maverick Hockey 43 Coming Attractions 44 From This Valley The Hunkerer

Coming in February

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Great INK! Stories from area tattoo artists.

WOMEN’S HEALTH AT ALL STAGES OF LIFE.

Our OB-GYN team specializes in women’s health — caring for you during all stages of life. From Pap testing and contraceptive counseling to pregnancy care and menopausal concerns, you can get exactly the care you need right in Mankato.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato Call 507-479-1505 to schedule an appointment. mayoclinichealthsystem.org MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 5

FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

By Robb Murray JANUARY 2019 • VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1 PUBLISHER Steve Jameson EDITOR Joe Spear ASSOCIATE Robb Murray EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Dyslin Bert Mattson Diana Rojo-Garcia James Figy Jean Lundquist Jessica Server Leigh Pomeroy Nell Musolf Pete Steiner

PHOTOGRAPHERS Pat Christman Jackson Forderer

PAGE DESIGNER Christina Sankey ADVERTISING Danny Creel SALES Joan Streit Jordan Greer-Friesz Josh Zimmerman Marianne Carlson Theresa Haefner ADVERTISING Barb Wass ASSISTANT ADVERTISING Sue Hammar DESIGNERS Christina Sankey CIRCULATION Justin Niles DIRECTOR

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

To subscribe, call 1-800-657-4662 or 507-625-4451. $35.40 for 12 issues.

For editorial inquiries, call Robb Murray at 344-6386, or e-mail rmurray@mankatofreepress.com.

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

6 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Your best YOU!

W

e understand the readership in southern Minnesota is a tough one. Folks around these parts, for the most part, tend not to get caught up in anything not rooted in simple truths. So when we say our theme of this month’s Mankato Magazine is “Be Your Best You,” we’ll forgive any cynicism that may be glanced our way.

But we’re serious about this. In years past, we’ve used our January issue to help you get your body back, or help you follow through on that New Year’s resolution to finally shed that stubborn last 10 (or 20 … or 30) pounds. This y e a r, t h o u g h , we’re taking that idea to a new level.

The complete person is so much more than a number on a scale. There is so much more to you — and so much more to worry about — than your weight. So instead of just talking to a personal trainer about pushups and healthy eating, we’ve touched based this month with experts who can help you round out and fine tune the rock star you were meant to be.

One person who embodies the “Best You” ideal is Melissa Ketchum.

Ketchum’s personal journey of self growth and discovery will inspire you to just … be … better.

And we didn’t completely leave out the physical you. Our Familiar Faces feature this month catches up with Vusa Bentley, a woman who is seemingly everywhere. She’s a personal trainer, a mediator, a pizza maker and a granola baker (and a mom and wife and many, many other things). She’s also genuinely sweet and kind, and we’re thankful she agreed to talk to us.

We think a complete look at how to transform parts of your life — if you’re looking for help — is a great way to start the new year.

After you read those pieces, you might want to flip a few pages over to an essay written by one of our favorite contributors, Becky Davis.

She never stops writing, and never stops thinking about life in new and interesting ways. This month Becky reminds us that one way to be your best YOU is by putting your phone away and fully living in the moment you’re in right now. “Do what you are doing,” she says. That advice may seem a little odd on its face. But read her essay. It can set the tone for a new year of living intentionally, living with purpose, actually engaging with the present in a thoughtful, almost Zen-like way.

Then, when you’re done reading Zen Master Davis, check out our feature on embracing the cold this year. Half our calendar year in this part of the world takes place in temperatures not conducive to hanging out by the outdoor pool or strolling down the back nine at the country club. We live in a land most people in this country wouldn’t dare call home. We are hardy, tough, bold, resilient people, and we’re darn sure not going to let a little snow and dangerously cold windchill stop us from intrepidly conquering of our frozen surroundings. In short, we give you a guide to have some fun on the snow and ice.

Oh, one more thing: We’ve got a new writer on staff! Jessica Server takes over the Your Style column from Ann Rosenquist Fee. She’ll bring a fresh perspective to things.

Her writing sings, and I know you’re going to lover her.

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

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Tutu Run 2018 1. Chihuahuas enjoy the race, too.

2. This year’s Tutu Run began outside the Dance Express in Mankato.

3. Girls pose in front of the Tutu Run backdrop prior to the race.

4. Before the run, participants engaged in a fun warm-up exercise.

5. Volunteers take a moment from directing runners to pose for a group photo.

6. A kid uses a scooter for the run.

7. People in their tutus smile as they run.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Battle of the Bowls

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1. Christian Bailey, board member for Partners for Affordable Housing, gives thanks to companies that helped make the first Battle of the Bowls event a success.

2. Musician Ray Smart plays an acoustic set during the Battle of the Bowls event.

3. Kya Theneman, 6 (daughter of Jen Theneman, Executive Director of PAH),holds up one of her paintings for sale. Kya is donating all money raise to Partners for Affordable Housing.

4. (From left) Jared Willemsen, Rachel Stensrud, Hannah Perez and Sam Hovick of student-run company MN-Comfort sell homemade items to donate money to PAH. 5. Co-Owner of Evan’s Eatery, Daniel Miller, won the 2018 Battle of the Bowls.

6. Families enjoy chilli, ice cream and live music at the Battle of the Bowls event.

7. People check out the row of prizes.

8. The table of prizes to be won via raffle.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

United Way Reading Festival 1. “Match the Pictures,” was one of the many activities for children.

2. Staff from the Mankato Clinic pose with a pick-a-mix of goodies.

3. Kids play with spaceships in the sand pit.

4. Kids play on a wooden beam in the activities area.

5. Volunteers welcome people at the door with a free bag posing for a photo.

6. An overview of the 5th annual United Way Reading Festival at the YMCA, South Riverfront Drive, Mankato, MN. 7. (From left) Beth, Taylor, Josh and Bailey Rohrich enjoy their day out.

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FACES & PLACES: Photos By SPX Sports

Kiwanis Holidays Lights Parade

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1. A long line waiting to see Santa.

2. The carousel premiered during the wet opening night.

3. Marsha Martig asking Santa for a tie-dye kit and a horse for Christmas.

4. Dance Express students participating in the parade.

5. Mankato Fire Department covered one of the fire trucks with christmas lights.

6. This years opening of the Kiwanis Holiday Lights saw the wettest yet.

7. As the rain pour down on spectators, the parade kicks off with the police leading the way.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 11

THIS DAY IN HISTORY Compiled by Jean Lundquist

Rapidan ripples Friday, Jan. 6, 1905 Items of personal and social nature from a neighboring town It seems there was nothing too small or insignificant to mention in the Mankato Daily Free Press: A New Year’s Day party was hosted at the home of C.M. Van Sickle. A young man and a young lady, while coming home, upset their buggy right on the level road … These cold snaps and high winds demoralize our telephone service occasionally. … Bay Weller is laid up with la grippe. … W.J. McDuffee caught a red fox last week, and as a result, is laid up with a severe cold. … And, F.C. Davis spent the holidays at home.

MSU dials down and off Friday, Jan. 21, 1977 The Energy Crisis of the mid-1970’s was in full bloom. It was a cold winter, and many expected Gov. Rudy Perpich might order a shut down of state universities to conserve energy. Meanwhile, Mankato State University (MSU) administrators imposed energy saving measures as a precaution. All thermostats were set to 62 degrees, except for animal rooms, greenhouses, and housing for handicapped students. Gyms were set at 55 degrees. Swimming pool temperatures were reduced. No evening events were scheduled.

External lighting was eliminated, except as needed for safety. Water heater temperatures were reduced, and the number of external doors in use was reduced.

At the same time, Hilltop Tavern announced that to conserve energy, the restaurant would no longer open on Sundays, and Saturday hours would be reduced.

T & T manager optimistic about future of restaurant Friday, Jan. 21, 1977 The Trader and Trapper, a restaurant and disco bar at 215 S. Front Street, was one of the very first establishments to locate in Mankato’s downtown urban renewal district. The restaurant was at street level, the disco in the basement. It closed in January of 1977, even though the disco was a very popular evening destination. Manager Dennis Garin said there was no one reason for the closure, but cited “The ‘gay incident’ of last spring” when same sex couples who were dancing were harassed by then-manager Ken Franek; inadequate parking; setbacks in the urban renewal project, and mismanagement. Hopes were high for a T & T reopening, but the business never recovered.

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A look back Monday, Jan. 18, 1988 Martin Luther King Jr. Day is recognized the third Monday of January nationwide since 2000. But even before it became a national holiday, many local governments recognized the day, including Mankato. In 1988, Brian Fagin, MSU’s Minority Studies director, recounted how at a Freedom Riders march in New Orleans, a man handed a rock to his 3 or 4 year old son, and instructed him to hurl it at Fagin, which the boy did.

Thirty years ago, Fagin lamented an upswing of racial violence and “sanctioned subtle racism.” Mankato’s mayor, Vern “Sarge” Carstenson, signed a proclamation for the day under duress. “I would rather not be a part of it … I am not a believer in that holiday.”

Council member Mary Lofy felt differently. “(MLK) had a tremendous impact on me personally.”

AVANT GUARDIANS

By Leticia Gonzales

Growing into music John Kruse’s music interest blossomed in high school. Now he’s producing his first album

M

usic has always been a part of John Kruse’s life in some way. As a child, the 34-yearold songwriter and painter from Wells was drawn to the melodies of Neil Diamond.

“My parents had his ‘Moods’ album on vinyl and I loved hearing ‘Song Sung Blue’ and ‘Play Me,’ said Kruse. “I also really liked ‘Loser’ by Beck when it came on the radio. I was 5 or 6 years old. When I was 13, I kept a mental list of all the songs I liked and I would play them in my head to keep myself company while doing my paper route in West Mankato.”

Although Kruse took took piano lessons and played trumpet in his school band, he said he only became serious about performing as a musician when he started playing guitar at age 16.

“My interest in guitar came mostly from hearing fingerpickers on the radio,” he shared. “I liked the way Neil Young and Mark Knopfler sounded. The first song I learned on guitar was ‘Dust in the Wind’ by Kansas.”

From there, Kruse said his interest in music boomed.

“I think the first album that really got me excited about music was ‘Billy Breathes’ by Phish, but the first album I ever owned was Green Day’s ‘Dookie,’ Kruse expressed. “So I suppose that would be a Jam band and a pop punk rock band. Although the first CD I ever owned was Cat Steven’s‘Greatest Hits.”

In addition to guitar, Kruse also plays banjo and bass guitar. He recently received a $1,000 grant from Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council to record his first album, “American

Folks.”

“It’s a collection of original and public domain songs about prominent American folk tales,” said Kruse, who says he worked about 200 hours on the project.

“My songwriting has become more of a streamlined process,” he explained. “I’ve developed a guitar-playing technique that uses artificial fingernails and sounds like a combination of gypsy jazz and country.”

The album includes 10 tracks, with titles such as “The Witching Weed,” “One Guy,” “Keel Boat River King,” “The Greatest of Ease,” “Jesse James,” “Cynthia, Abeline,” “The Mead of Poetry,” “The Ballad of John Henry,” and “Pot of Gold.” Having never recorded an album, Kruse said the experience helped him develop a songwriting and recording process that he hopes to use again in the future.

“I play a game where I listen to whatever sound is around me and I try to imagine it as music,” he said. “It could be traffic, wind in a cottonwood tree, or kids bickering.

Nothing is completely void of tone.

It’s just that tones are cluttered and ill defined. In any situation, there is some form of rhythm and melody. If I have an idea that I like, I do a quick recording of it. I call these recordings frogs. All of my songs start out as frogs. From there, I build out a composition and a sound/groove/ vibe.”

Once the recordings are mixed and mastered, the album will be produced into CD’s and made available this month for download at catchingfrogs.com.

“Hopefully this album will start my career as a musician,” said Kruse, who also expresses himself through painting, drawing, sculpture, theater and writing.

“I’ve recently returned to outdoor oil painting,” he said. “I enjoy the thrill of racing against the sun to capture a moment in light. I want to do the same thing with music; convert moments of sound into songs.”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 13

BEYOND THE MARGIN

By Joe Spear

O

Cure for the January blues

ur German, Swedish and Finnish ancestors may have immigrated to the tundra of Minnesota to keep us away from the riff-raff attracted to warmer climes, but they couldn’t protect us from Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Winter blues can fade away pretty fast in any one of the Mankato’s music venues now teeming with talent.

It’s been that way for a while.

Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper toured the Midwest no matter what the weather. The trio arrived at the Kato Ballroom about 60 years ago this Jan. 25 as part of the “Winter Dance Party” tour. The tour packed dance halls from Green Bay to Montevideo.

The high temperature that day in Mankato was 19 and the low was 5, according to weatherunderground.com It’s an all too familiar and unhappy milestone for those who remember that party. Just eight days later the three entertainers would die in a plane crash outside Clear Lake, Iowa, about 102 miles from Mankato.

On Feb. 3 the plane crashed in a farm field shortly after taking off for their next gig in Fargo. The winters, for some, have been colder ever since.

Holly and his bandmates were rugged traveling musicians mostly riding in a school bus without much heat. Contrary to popular lore, Holly did not go to Clear Lake from Mankato, although that seems feasible since it was only two hours away.

Holly and crew actually played Mankato on Jan. 25 and played seven other cities before arriving in Clear Lake at the Surf Ballroom Feb. 2.

The regional part of the tour started in Milwaukee Jan. 23 and the band traveled in successive days to Kenosha, Mankato, back to Wisconsin at Eau Claire and back to Minnesota for a Montevideo show. The tour zig-zagged to St. Paul then back to Davenport, Iowa, then Fort Dodge and then made the 368-mile trek from there to Duluth.

They played 11 shows in 11 days. On the way from Duluth to their next Wisconsin stop, their bus broke down and they nearly froze to death. They were rescued by a sheriff’s deputy and they took a train to Green Bay. Historical reports tell a story of ragged, uncomfortable buses, band members who needed showers and clean underwear and one who was hospitalized due to frostbite.

The tour organizers gave no credence to a logical and geographically sensible tour. They basically threw darts at a dartboard. The musicians needed money. They were hungry for fame and fortune as well as their next meal.

Their efforts were heroic and driven by a desire to bring joy to teenagers from small towns to big cities across the Upper Midwest. And then there was dancing.

Mary Gerber of Walters was one teen who saw that last show in Clear Lake. She recounted her story to The Free Press in 2016 when she attended a commemoration of the Winter Dance Party tour at the Kato Ballroom with 14 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

the play “The Buddy Holly Story” by the Merely Players.

At the urging of her husband, Gerber brought her photo album of pictures she took in Clear Lake that night 60 years ago and showed them to a wowed audience at the Kato. Those pictures were eventually part of a documentary on Holly.

Gerber told The Free Press she begged her parents to be able to go to the Clear Lake show with her brother and his girlfriend. She brought along her modest Kodak camera and snapped what are thought to be the last pictures of Holly performing.

Knowing the details of the tour and the hardship Holly and his crew endured makes the idea of dancing the cold winter night away a little more of a romantic notion. The gift of music that these talented people offer seems like it’s one of those things that doesn’t cost anyone a lot of money but provides a jackpot-like payoff in emotional rescues.

Dancing, of course, offers numerous physical, emotional and mental health benefits, according to researchers in a published report in the New England Journal of Medicine. A study of 469 seniors by the Albert Einstein School of Medicine showed a preventive link between dancing and dementia.

Researcher Terry Eckmann of Minot State University (where it’s even colder than Minnesota) studied seniors age 65-91 who took a 12-week Rumba, Latin-style dance class. The seniors had better cognitive skills and better moods. They also reduced their depression, along with gaining all the physical benefits like improved cardiovascular health, coordination and balance.

Complex brain activity is stimulated by dancing.

“Research suggests that freestyle partner dancing may offer the best benefit of all,” Eckmann told the Albuquerque Journal.

And that’s probably good to know to the couple of hundred people who recently attended the “Trashy Little Xmas Show” by the band Trailer Trash at the Kato Ballroom.

The band is known for turning holiday classics into Honky-Tonk, Rock ‘n’ Roll adapted hits and turning Rock ‘n’ Roll songs into Christmas songs. Think Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” turned into “Reindeer Love.”

The band also offers dancers a chance to use its “Jingle Stick,” a mix between a scepter and a pogo stick with the “TT” logo emblazoned in red.

Dancers do everything from playing air guitar to leading chain dances. The magic of the “Jingle Stick” was put to good use by locals who, by the end of the night, were all feeling much less depressed.

The spirit of Buddy Holly was not far away. In fact, it was at the back of the bar where a vintage 1959 Winter Dance Party poster was hanging.

Joe Spear is editor of Mankato Magazine.

Contact him at jspear@mankatofreepress.com or 344-6382. Follow on Twitter @jfspear.

Mary Gerber shot this photo of Buddy Holly during the Feb. 2, 1959, Winter Dance Party show at the Surf Ballroom, the Rock and Roll star’s last performance. Photo by Mary Gerber, courtesy Jim McCool and Sevan Garabedian MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 15

Familiar Faces

Need a personal trainer?

Play the Vusa card T Photos by Pat Christman

Name:

Vusa Bentley City of residence: Mankato, MN. Education: Multiple legal, fitness, nutritional and yoga credentials, as well as a bachelor’s degree.

Family: Married, two children Job title: Personal trainer and lifestyle coach at Vusa FitnessFitness for All Walks of Life; yoga instructor and trainer at YMCA. Brief work history: By trade, I am a professional mediator at Bentley Mediation and Drafting, LLC: www.bentleymd.

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here are a great many personal trainers in our area.

A few things set Vusa Bentley apart, which she’ll explain for the most part in the below Q&A. Of note, perhaps, is that she cares so much about her clients, she writes them poetry. And while she’s got you doing push-ups, she has an awful lot of interesting stories to tell about how she arrived in that gym. Like, for example, growing up in the Soviet Union and living through its collapse.

“Up until Jan. 19, 1990, I was a ‘normal’ child. This all changed overnight as the current political structure collapsed and was replaced by Soviet tanks rolling through the streets and curfews, followed by familycoupon-apportioned bread lines, limited utilities and government services,” Benlety said. “As the political system changed and democratic ideologies flourished, the Soviet-era, Marxist-Lenin literature was now utilized as ‘fire starters’ in the bread-line bonfires. As a child, I did not comprehend much, though I do remember long and high-pitched sirens warning of curfews to this day.”

Here’s a bit more about Bentley’s storied past and her fitness work in southern Minnesota.

Mankato Magazine: Azerbaijan is likely one of those places few readers know much about. What was it like growing up there?

Vusa Bentley: Azerbaijan is located south of Russia and north of Iran, making it a unique melting pot of cross cultures. Azerbaijan was under the auspice leadership of the former Soviet Union, and I lived through both the Communist regime and its subsequent collapse.

Today, the country is a developing independent republic heavily reliant on oil reserves. Instilled in me are a combination of “East meets West” ideologies that both honor hard-work ethics and moral values, as well as adaptability.

MM: What brought you to southern Minnesota?

VB: My husband is a native Minnesotan (Detroit Lakes), and we wanted to return to his home state after being displaced in Wisconsin for almost a decade.

MM: How long and in what capacities did you work as a translator?

VB: I attended Synchronized Translation School at Odlar Yurdu University (OYU) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and was transferred to Minnesota State University-Moorhead in 2001. While at OYU, I acted as translator for various missionary groups and independent organizations visiting Azerbaijan after the Soviet collapse.

MM: What inspired you to become a personal trainer?

VB: Growing up in Azerbaijan, I never went to gym. In fact, it was not considered a “girly” thing to do. This all changed when I started preparing for a job as a Special Agent with the FBI. One of the requirements was to be able to do certain number of pushups, sit-ups and running 1.5 miles in under 13 minutes.

Having passed through the stringent Phase 1 selection, it was time to prepare for the fitness portion of the test, and I quickly realized I was “skinny fat.” It was horrid, and I started the game of “musical chairs” with personal trainers.

Finally, in 2012, I met Eric Thomas of New Found Power in Wausau, Wis. He changed my life. He was so patient — one push-up, one sit up and one mile at a time — and kept saying, “Don’t focus on naysays; look at your progress.”

Fast forward five years into 2017 — post intense mental, physical, emotional and nutritional training — I decided to apply my diverse training into becoming a special trainer for people from all walks of life, thus Vusa Fitness-Fitness for All Walks of Life was born. (Due to age restrictions and other factors, I did not become special agent with the FBI.) I formalized my training by becoming Certified Trainer & Fitness Nutritionist with National Academy of Sports Medicine and a yoga instructor through Sun-Moon Studios here in Mankato. I then combined my cumulative experience to create my custom, 12-week Fitness Nutrition Simplified (FitNut Simplified) — fitness and nutritional lifestyle coaching on deep subconscious and conscious levels.

MM: What sets you apart from other trainers in our area?

VB: It is so easy to say “two more, good job, atta boy.”

I don’t limit my training or coaching to superficial interjections. I exercise compassion for each and every client because I do not look at them as some “fat, lazy

slobs,” rather as someone who put their children, parents, career first.

I see them as people who had heartbreaks, surgeries, and found comfort in something else other than what was good for them. I educate my clients both about nutrition and proper techniques, as well as metaphysical aspects of changes in the body. I empower them so they don’t feel depleted of their will power. I make sure they know that I will share all the tools in my possession to help them “see” their body and mind with a different “set of eyes.”

MM: What is a common misconception about fitness that you hear often?

VB: “I am working out, and therefore I will lose weight.”

Let me get this on the record pretty black and white: If you let life happen and have gained excessive weight, you will never lose weight by going to the gym. If you lose weight by going to the gym only, chances are, you will either get adrenal fatigue or sustain injury. You must make cumulative lifestyle changes. Period.

MM: What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?

VB: Two things: First, I am actually a loner at heart and actually very susceptive to peoples’ energies. I might come to an event and leave immediately because of weird energy. Maybe I am the weird one.

Second, I do not have the heart to see children hurt, which is why I became a mediator.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 17

Melissa Ketchum is a great example of someone who hit rock bottom and turned her life around.

A changed woman Melissa Ketchum hit rock bottom.

Now she’s riding a wave of positivity

C

By Diana Rojo-Garcia

hange doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time, Melissa Ketchum said.

“It takes years to evolve into who you’re supposed to be,” she said “But I think the most important thing is to listen to your intuition.”

The fashion designer and founder of the Movers and Shakers group, which formed mid-2018, experienced firsthand the progress of change for bettering oneself — physically, mentally and emotionally.

Aug. 3, 2016 marked Ketchum’s first day of sobriety.

Days before, she had been involved in a car accident.

Ketchum drove to the Verizon Wireless center for the KISS concert. Typically, she would have never driven down to a concert. But on this particular day, she drove to the concert after work.

“I just got really drunk, and I even called my ex for a ride,” she said. “He couldn’t understand what I was saying.”

Then she drove home.

“I smashed into a lampost and totalled my car, and got arrested. I didn’t have to spend the night in jail, thank God. But my parents came and picked me up from jail,” 18 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

she said. “And almost immediately, I was like, ‘I could have killed someone. I could have killed myself. I could have killed somebody — daughter, brother, sister.’”

At that moment, she vowed to never drink again.

Part of her healing process, she adds, is that when something like this — or to this caliber — occurs, it’s important to understand that it’s happening, and what it means.

“Or when you hit rock bottom. That’s a sign from somebody, somewhere, that you need to shape up.”

Also, a year before that, she had been hospitalized.

Most recently, Ketchum has been an open book on her mental health journey with bipolar disorder. On Facebook, she shared her story openly with her friends.

More than anything, she said, sharing her story about mental health has been the most beneficial for her healing process.

“Because that’s a secret that ... it’s so stigmatized.

And it was a secret I was keeping from almost literally everyone.”

The week she had been hospitalized, she hadn’t slept for three days. “That in itself can kickstart mania or hypomania. I guess I didn’t necessarily believe that I was bipolar at that point.”

She remembers that day vividly.

In her Facebook post, she states: “On July 14th, 2015, I experienced the most extreme ‘break from reality’ I had ever experienced in my life. It was like watching a movie. I remember everything happening, but look back I wasn’t running the show. I was filled with the most intense sense of euphoria I have ever felt. I was untouchable, I hadn’t slept for days, and I barely ate anything during that time. My speech was hurried, while my sense of reality was skewed. It became very apparent that something was wrong. My life as I knew it came crashing down and I ended up hospitalized. I was manic.”

Posting her story was scary, she said. But she hopes that sharing will help others.

In her process and journey she has met a lot of people that have gone through similar experiences.

After years of transformation, she has found solace in healing through spirituality, positivity and art. But it has all been a process and starting small.

“First, my mental health. Got that line figured out. Then something told me that ‘You need to stop drinking.’ You know, stop wasting your life, your potential. And then lately, it’s like OK, now I get the spiritual thing down.”

Ketchum encourages anyone who wants to change — whatever resolution it may be this year — to just do it. Just take it in small doses.

“It’s a process, you can’t do it all at once. No way,” she said.

She continues to share her story in different venues, such as a blog, which she says is therapeutic.

And just a few months ago, she took the floor at a “Healing Through the Arts” meeting to talk about her healing process and art.

It’s a small step she said, but she hopes to someday become an inspirational speaker.

In order to help others, she said, you have to be complete enough yourself.

“Because if you’re telling people your business, you have to let your ego take the back seat. You have to trust that there’s at least one person that needed it.” MM

Yoga: For mind, body, spirit Owner and Instructor at Sun Moon Yoga, Mona Ceniceros Mankato Magazine: What is yoga?

Mona Ceniceros: Yoga is an ancient self-wellness program for mind, body and spirit. It’s not a religion, and may be used alongside any spiritual belief system that respects non-violence to ourselves and others.

MM: In what ways can yoga be beneficial?

MC: Yoga is a lifeplan for positive aging. Yoga respects the body, calms the mind, lifts spirits.

Good for physical, mental and emotional health (back pain, depression).

MM: What is some advice for firsttimers who might be intimidated to try Yoga?

MC: It is not like depicted in magazines. It is not a group of slender, bendy, young, white women chanting oms in spandex.

Classes have people of all ages, all sizes, all body types and all levels of abilities.

MM: How is yoga different from other physical activities?

MC: Yoga is not an exercise class.

Yoga practice is not a work-out.

Yoga is non-competitive. Yoga is not about how you look — it’s about how you feel. Yoga is not a sport. Yoga is holistic. Yoga is nonviolent.

MM: What is something you’ve learned teaching and practicing yoga that you’d like others to learn, too?

MC: We should take better care of our joints! We may need them to last a hundred years.

MM: Do you have to go to a yoga class in order to learn yoga?

MC: No! You go to classes for education, inspiration and motivation. But to get the most benefit, you practice on your own.

MM: What is the best way to begin to learn yoga?

MC: I’m old school. I think a good teacher and a book. However, younger teachers have shared with me the wealth of online resources, virtual studios, etc. This winter I suggest coming to an Introduction to Yoga workshop at Sun Moon in Union Market (free class — see sunmoonyogastudios.com for dates and times). Also, watch Yoga with Mona for Every Body on the local KTV public access station.

MM: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

MC: It’s never too late. You’re never too old. You will experience a benefit in your first class. Your body is sacred.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 19

Listen to the money man Ryan Spaude, Financial Advisor Mankato Magazine: What are the best tips in getting finances in order for the 2019 year?

Ryan Spaude: It is best to take a collective view of your annual spending and current debt balances alongside your annual savings and current investment balances. January is a great time to do this since many of your statements arrive.

MM: Is it ever too late to start fixing or bettering your finances?

RS: No, it’s never too late, but it may be harder the longer you wait to start. It’s more of a factor of how much more savings or less spending you’ll have to do the closer you are to retirement. The younger you are, the easier it is to adjust since time is on your side.

Mind over matter

Andrew Archer, LICSW MN Mental Health Services Mankato Magazine: What is mental health?

Andrew Archer: Gosh, it depends who, when and where you ask. In general, “mental health” refers to the relative perception of one’s psychological well-being and functioning.

MM: What are some misconceptions of mental health?

AA: There isn’t really “mental health,” there is just health. The division of mind and body or mental and physical is a fundamental error. In Western culture, we created a drastic split between mind and body. This goes way back in time, but the contemporary reason for this divide was to pressure health insurance corporations to reimburse the treatment of psychological conditions in the same way they would for physical conditions.

20 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

MM: What are some ways to rid your life of stressors that impact your happiness?

AA: Don’t believe your thoughts!

Your thoughts are not who you are.

Thoughts are just thoughts. Notice and pay attention to these thoughts. Notice the patterns.

However, do not run away from your thoughts or become a slave to the demand of your thoughts. Sit down and reflect on thoughts for periods of time without acting upon these thoughts.

MM: What are some simple changes that one could do in their daily life to improve their mental health?

AA: Decrease your screen or device time drastically. Increase time spent outdoors because nature restores attentional processes.

Read print-based-materials — like books — because it facilitates

concentration as well as promotes stillness. Most importantly, spend face-to-face time with people you care about.

MM: What are a few healthy techniques to practice good mental health?

AA: The practices that work for me are psychological and spiritual guidance as well as meditation.

Creating a trusting relationship with someone who can objectively help you sort out your perceptions and behaviors will have an impact on overall health. Meditation is a practice whereby you maintain stillness and silence for some length of time. I don’t know what the hell it does, but the world needs more people meditating.

MM: How can someone start to fix or better their finances and what is an easy first step?

RS: Creating a budget is always a great first step so you can see how much discretionary income you may have to work with.

Sticking to a budget can be hard when unforeseen expenses arise but being persistent will pay off. If you set up your budget to make savings your first “expense,” it will help you build out your remaining core expenses from there.

MM: What are some common mistakes people do with their finances and how does one avoid them?

RS: There are two common mistakes many people make. One, they take on too much debt. And two, they do not save enough when they are young. I can’t stress the importance of creating a budget and then sticking to it. Too many people live beyond their means and spend more than they make. When it comes to building wealth, young people need to understand that by saving early they get the benefit of compound interest which will help in meeting their financial goals.

MM: What is your advice on sticking to a budget?

RS: Always monitor and keep track of your savings and expenses on a monthly basis. If things change drastically, then try to get back to your prior monthly average to stay on track going forward.

MM: What is something you wish everyone knew about keeping your finances on track?

RS: The more you pay attention to your finances, the easier it is to make sound financial decisions.

This also provides a greater probability of your financial success in the future.

MM: Is there anything else you would like to add?

RS: The start of a new year is a great time to evaluate your finances. It’s important to remember that everything takes time, so you will need to have patience. Small changes can mean huge results for the better in your financial future!

Pass on the ‘fads’ April Graff MS, RD, LD , Hy-Vee Dietitian Mankato Magazine: Fad diets sometimes garner a lot of attention during the New Year. What is your advice about fad diets?

April Graff: “Fad” rhymes with “bad” for a reason. If it sounds too good to be true, it is! Fad diets are glamorized and often throw in a bit of “studies” and “science” to tout their value. However, as is most often the case, their interpretation of science is where things get messy. Plus, fad diets don’t teach people a healthy, balanced way of eating. They don’t “fix” what is broken (provide education and solutions.) Many times, fad diets eliminate entire food groups with no consideration for missing nutrients, or worse yet, create a fear of a specific food or nutrient. There is no “bad” food.

Just bad portions of food. All foods can fit into a healthy lifestyle. I know it can be tempting to hop on the latest diet train because of the quick and astounding results seen by family and friends, but until the results from one year, five years, and 10 years are in, I’d steer clear.

MM: What is the difference between a fad diet and a healthy diet?

AG: Fad diets tend to promise fast results, oftentimes by eliminating food groups or nutrients. They will group foods into “good” or “bad,” focus on one area of health (weight, blood sugar, blood pressure), and fizzle out as quickly as they began.

Healthy diets are balanced nutritionally (providing the right amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients a person needs for maximum health), and encourage a healthy relationship with food.

MM: Why is it important to have a healthy diet?

AG: Health is so much more than a number on the scale or a pant size.

Having a healthy diet is just one aspect of overall health. Food is meant to fuel our bodies and to provide what it needs to be and do the best we can.

MM: What are some easy changes that someone could do daily to better their nutrition?

AG: By far, the simplest, yet most impactful change a person can make to positively impact health is to eat half their plate as a nonstarchy vegetable (all vegetables except potatoes, corn, peas, and winter squash — which count as carbohydrates.)

MM: What is your best advice for people who want to eat better?

AG: Take it slowly, and eat your vegetables!

MM: What is something that most people might not know about nutrition?

AG: Although we have guidelines for recommended amounts of nutrients, each person’s needs can vary and change throughout their lifetime. So what works for one person might not work for another.

And what was best at one time, might not be best forever.

MM: What should a daily meal look like to be considered nutritious and healthy?

AG: Simply put, half of the volume of food we eat is a non-starchy vegetable, one quarter protein, and one quarter carbohydrate. It’s also important to take taste and preference into account. Enjoying your meal is also an important part of health and wellness.

MM: How can someone go about to successfully better their daily diet?

AG: Try new foods, start by adding one additional vegetable serving.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 21

REFLECTIONS

By Pat Christman

22 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

J

ack Frost can be a pretty good artist sometimes. It can really be a sight to behold when he coats the landscape in delicate white crystals.

But every once in a while he does more than nip at your nose, as the popular song says. In the dead of winter he will take a full bite. Even if the frost looks pretty, Minnesota is one of the places where Jack Frost can have a bit of a mean streak and make the air sting. MM MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 23

Y A S

ES

DO what you are doing ...

By Rebecca Fjelland (Davis) Brooks

S

ometime during my senior year of high school, I listened to a motivational speaker named Clayton Barbeau. He came to our church in Huxley, Iowa, and I remember being enthralled with what he had to say. At the time, I was entirely, utterly dedicated to being as Christian as it is possible to be. All I 24 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

remember from his talk (talks?) is his name and this recommendation: “Do what you are doing.”

Disclaimer here: as long as I’ve had Internet, I never bothered to look up Clayton Barbeau and see if I even remembered his name correctly. Turns out there is a Christian family therapist by that name who started

publishing in the 1960s, so I think my memory serves me well, and the twinkle in his eye in his photos dredges up memories enough that I believe this is the same guy.

Back to the point at hand. In high school, I was notorious in my own mind for living in the future, for looking forward to some event, or anticipating some aspect of my future that would ensure a greater chance for happiness. And I’m afraid that some tangents of Religion unwittingly play into this: if you live for eternal life above all else, you are living with your eye on the future, one foot in heaven, and you lose the chance to keep both feet firmly planted on earth, in

the middle of life that you’re living.

I was guilty of this, as guilty as one can be.

So Barbeau’s words and admonition to be present in the moment, to “do what you are doing” with your whole heart and every bit of energy and passion you can muster fell right into all the places that it needed to inside of me. For years, I kept “‘Do what you are doing.’ –Clayton Barbeau” on the bulletin board by my desk.

Beginning then as a senior in high school, but slowly over time, I learned to be present in the moment, to do what I’m doing, and to pour passion into this task I’m doing right now. To listen to the person right in front of me as much as is humanly possible, to ride my bike with my whole body and soul when I ride, and to do the same when I teach or when I write, or when I’m with my family or friends.

It has paid off. It has not paid off in some huge success story because I don’t have one … no, but it has paid off in how I like my life.

It certainly took me years to make this work. It wasn’t a five-year process. More like 20-plus or even 30, and now it’s 40-plus since high school (I don’t think I’m stupid, but I am a really slow learner), but I feel like I’m finally getting it, and just now thought about writing about it. Not that I’ve achieved it. I still fall short, pretty much every day, but I’m more aware of how I’m doing it.

It has paid off in how I love every moment of my life, or at least try to be utterly present wherever and however I am, even if the moment is tough or uncomfortable, or even miserable, but being there means you are walking through the misery and you’re fully present to get through it, all faculties engaged. It’s worth it.

For me, grading research papers epitomizes this. It’s by far my most dreaded task of each semester: 50-75 papers to read carefully, score, and check for plagiarism.

But if I allot the time, and dig in and read each paper as an individual student’s hard work, it’s not a bad task—but only if I look at it as “this is what I’m doing now,” and I don’t look at the whole mess of work ahead of me.

Cell phones may be our culture’s biggest culprit to keep us from doing what we are doing. How

many young people have you seen at a table together, all looking at their phones? How many couples have you seen alone on a date at a restaurant, both looking, or at least constantly glancing, a their phones? How many young moms at the park are staring at their phones instead of playing with — or even watching! — their kids.

Technology can be a blessing, but man, I don’t want it to be a detriment to being present in the moment!

I walked into an art museum recently, and was surrounded by an entire class of students, every single one staring at his or her phone instead of at the incredible works around them. I learned quickly that they were using an app that explained the various works of art surrounding them and were required to be logged in while in the museum. That might have been a good idea if any of the students looked away from their phones and at the exhibits! But I didn’t see that happening. They could have stayed in class and used the app and saved money. Plain and simple: I do NOT want my students on such an app! I want them with me, with the masterpieces, feeling some awe.

They can look up info later if they are so moved by actually looking at the masterpieces face-to-face.

I use my phone a lot. I can be as guilty as anyone of overusing it.

But man, I really want to live faceto-face.

There’s another, light-hearted side to this whole diatribe. If you do what you are doing, you aren’t watching the clock. And that means, you just might be late for your next thing that you are going to be doing. I seriously believe that this is why I have garnered a reputation for being late for almost everything. I’m always late. Yeah, it’s an excuse. But it’s also true. If you do what you’re doing, you might not always move to the next thing in time to be on time.

So take that as a caution: If you live for the right now, you might be late for the next. But you might just enjoy both of them more.

MM

Rebecca Fjelland Brooks is a Mankato-area writer and professor of English at South Central College.”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 25

get BOLD, get COLD!!!

Here’s your guide to seizing the coldest of days this winter

By Robb Murray

I

n the beginning — like the way, way back beginning — humans were far, far smarter and much more logical than they are today. How do we know this?

Here’s why: They didn’t live in parts of the world where lakes freeze and animals hibernate. They just didn’t.

They lived in the tropics because they were smart and understood that nothing good can come from migrating toward ice.

26 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

However, as time passed and humans’ collective intellect grew dimmer, they ventured north. They figured out how to stay warm when frozen water fell from the sky and stayed frozen in drifts and piles all across the barren landscape. They used shelter and fire to fend off bitterly cold temps, and eventually found ways to coexist with Mother Nature’s best practical joke.

And, alas, we began to thrive here. We figured how to not only survive in northern climes, but also how to flourish. Along the way, we stumbled into a little secret: once you figure out how to survive a blizzard, the payoff — living the rest of the year in a visual and environmental smorgasboard for the senses — is so, so worth it.

Still …

Here we are in the thick of it.

And as good as we’ve become at adapting, we all could use a little nudge now and then when it comes to finding ways to embrace the bold, northern, hardy creatures we’ve had to become. So here’s a solid list of things to help you not just pass time this winter, but enjoy your time in the great white north.

SHOES & SKIS

If you’ve never snowshoed before, this is the perfect time to give it a go. Why? Because no one in Minnesota should be able to utter the phrase, “I’ve never been snowshoeing.”

You’ve got tons of great opportunities to try it in this area, not the least of which is the Ney Nature Center near Henderson.

Everything about the Ney Center is built around exploring our beautiful surroundings and becoming one with nature. And one of the best ways to do that is to actually get out in the middle of it.

The Ney Center’s Sophie Bishop says they’ve got roughly 1.5 miles of snowshoe trails and 4-5 miles of cross-country ski trails. They’re open until 10 p.m. every day, but snowshoe and ski rental takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on weekdays and 12-4 p.m. on weekends.

Equipment rental at the Ney Center is CHEAP. For individual members, snowshoe or ski rental is $3; for non-members, $5. For families, it’s a flat rate rental fee of $9 for members, $15 for nonmembers.

At Ney, they’ve got trail maps that show you which trails are for snowshoeing, and which are for skiing (please, do not snowshoe on the ski trails!)

As for how busy the Ney Center’s trails might be, Bishop says it all depends on the weather. If it’s prime outdoor recreation weather, you might have company. If not, you might have the place to yourself.

They’ve also got a fire pit and geocaching program available. And

The Ney Nature Center near Henderson is a great place to get outdoors, even in winter. Photo courtesy of Ney Nature Center.

Snowshoeing / Skiing Outdoor skating Help your neighbor Stargazing bring your sled and skates; if the on-site pond is frozen you can slide down the hill to it and go for a skate on the pond. The only way to be any more Minnesotan would be if you augured a hole in the pond and dropped a line in … which you can’t do.

Annual member fees at the Ney Center are $15 for individuals and $25 for families.

Oh, one more thing: “We always have hot chocolate, coffee and tea.

No food, though,” says Bishop.

Elsewhere, Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery also has trails available for snowshoeing.

The winery sits on a picturesque piece of property in rural Le Sueur County just a few miles from

Kasota. The grounds are perfect for traversing snow mounds with snowshoes.

Courtney Fautsch at Chankaska says, “Enjoy the great outdoors snowshoeing around the Chankaska Winery grounds! After a casual snowshoeing experience head to the winery to warm up by the fire with your favorite glass of wine. Did you work up an appetite while snowshoeing? We offer delicious brick over pizzas and appetizers all year long! We can’t wait to see you at Chankaska Winery!”

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 27

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NEW YEAR. NEW TOMORROW. The new year is a time to look both back and forward. We’ve been honored to have your trust and to serve you over the past year. We look forward to serving you for many years to come.

OUTDOOR HOCKEY

Before every community had an indoor ice rink and a handful of Zamboni machines, people who wanted to play hockey did so on frozen lakes. Or, in some more advanced communities, outdoor hockey rinks existed to recreate the feeling of playing on a real hockey rink.

But the thing is, to so many Minnesota kids once upon a time, the outdoor rink in their neighborhood was the only hockey they ever knew (with 20-degree wind stinging your cheeks, and shoveling duty that served as your entrance fee for the privilege of playing.)

Youth hockey is booming in Mankato, and luckily, there are plenty of outdoor ice rinks to choose from. And you should do this, you guys. If you’ve never knocked a puck around on an outdoor rink, put it on your bucket list and get it done THIS YEAR. In North Mankato, the rink at Spring Lake Park is looking to be in great shape again. And in Mankato, there are several rinks to choose from. The rink on Stoltzman Road, right across from West High School, is always a popular choice.

Across town, the rink at East High School gets just as much use.

Jeff Johnson with the city of Mankato says it’s not just hockey that interests people.

“Starting last year we started to see more neighborhoods request passive rinks,” (those simple round ice sheets designed for just skating, not necessarily hockey).

In some neighborhoods, the city has handed upkeep and flooding responsibilities over to the residents.

In the Oak Knoll neighborhood, for instance, there is the Mary Dotson Rink. The neighborhood provided the hose and the city provided access to the fire hydrant nearby. They’ve been it doing that way for years. And Johnson says they’re in talks with another neighborhood that might start doing the same thing.

The rinks all over town get a ton of usage during December, when the diaspora of kids who grew up in town but moved on return home for the holidays.

HELP A NEIGHBOR Mankato|Vernon Center|Amboy|www.cimankato.com 28 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

If you’re already an avid outdoors lover and you’ve

If you’ve never slapped a puck around an outdoor hockey rink, this is the year to correct that travesty. snowshoed, gone cross-country skiing and are sick of chasing pucks around the rink, consider this: help a neighbor.

As long as there have been sidewalks in Minnesota, there have been people who either don’t have interest in shoveling or can’t physically get it done.

In the case of the former, their indifference about sidewalk snow doesn’t change the fact that there are any number of dog walkers or fitness runners for whom every unshoveled sidewalk is a foot injury waiting to happen. You could do those folks a huge solid by clearing those sidewalks.

In the case of the latter, their inability to clear the sidewalk — whether by age or injury — is all the incentive you should need to do a good deed. If you’ve got a snowblower and there are sidewalks anywhere on your block that need clearing, do the right thing, here. Buy a little extra unleaded gas, fill ‘er up, and spend an evening making people smile.

If going through a sanctioned help provider such as VINE Faith in Action is more your speed, they’d be happy to see your face in their offices and they always need more volunteers.

STARGAZING

Winter is a great time to look up. At the stars, specifically.

Get in your car and take a drive to the country. Get away from all the light from the city so that, when you begin, you’re doing so in relative darkness.

But don’t just take our word for it: The folks at the Farmer’s Almanac have this to say about why winter is the primo time for stargazing: n “Cold air doesn’t hold as much moisture as warm air can,” they say. “Summer skies often appear hazier because, actually, they are. The warm moisture-laden atmosphere of summer is thicker, and less

transparent, than the crisp, cold winter dome, making it harder to see what lies beyond. Nights are also longer in the winter, giving us a greater window in which to enjoy the wonders of the universe. n “Winter is also the time of year when some of the largest and most dramatic constellations, including Gemini, Monoceros, and Orion the Hunter,” they say, “as well as breathtaking deep sky formations like the Pleiades. Unlike many of the other constellations, which can be dim and difficult to identify, several winter constellations are bright enough for even the greenest sky watchers to pick out.

And our friends over at NASA have a few tips for winter stargazers: n Wear lots of layers, warm wool socks, thick gloves, waterproof boots and a thermos full of a warm beverage. Obviously. n Clear out your observing area: Is there snow on the ground where you usually set up? Bring a shovel and clear it out, even if there is just an inch or two of the white stuff. Your equipment and toes will thank you. n Chemical heating pads are your friend. Stick these little beauties into your gloves and boots to stay warm. Some heating pads now offer rechargeable electrical heating-just make sure they are charged before you leave the house!

Whatever your plans are for this month, make some time for having fun outside. Before you know it, spring will come, gardens and baseball will be on your mind, and you don’t want to get their and have a nagging feeling in your gut telling you that you wasted your winter watching Netflix and eating Oreos on the couch.

MM MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 29

DAY TRIP DESTINATIONS: Ice Castles

By James Figy

Chill winter The Ice Castles return to Minnesota this year, this time in at Lake Minnetonka.

wonderland Ice Castles provides family fun on the shore of Lake Minnetonka

W

alls of solid blue towering overhead, visitors speeding down a slick ice slide and performers breathing fire — the attractions at Ice Castles are cool in more ways than one.

“The reaction we get the most from guests to Ice Castles is a sense of wonderment or awe,” said Melissa Smuzynski, public relations director. “The comment made the most about Ice Castles is that there is nothing else like it in the world.”

Ice Castles has returned to Minnesota for the sixth season and will last into February, as long as the weather permits, to provide family-friendly winter fun at a new location in Excelsior.

“Guests will find many of their favorite elements at Ice Castles again this year, including ice-carved slides, 30 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

tunnels, slot canyons, crawl-spaces, fountains and archways that are all illuminated with color-changing LED lights,” Smuzynski said.

“And be sure to check out the event brochure handed out to all guests when they check in,” she added. “There will be a short scavenger hunt inside the brochure that will be fun for families to do together during their visit.”

While these elements are available from open to close, some activities have specific schedules. Fire performances, showcasing breathing, spinning, hula and use of other props with flame, will take place from 7-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. In addition, the two Enchanted Frozen Sisters will greet and take photos with guests from noon-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Ice Castles will also offer several Winter Star Watch

Parties with Twin Cities meteorologist Mike Lynch of WCCO Radio. Author of “Mike Lynch’s Minnesota Star Watch,” Lynch will help visitors become familiar with Ursa Major, Gemini and Leo, among other constellations, and share stories about these celestial bodies, according to the Ice Castles website.

“We’ll also use two large telescopes that are among the biggest mobile telescopes in Minnesota for close-up views of the planet Jupiter, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and other wonders in our early winter skies.You’ll also get a great handout package with user-friendly star maps and constellation charts, websites, a telescope buying guide and more,” the website states.

Times for the Winter Star Watch Parties are available on the Ice Castles website.

When planning a trip to Ice Castles, visitors should remember to dress for the weather and wear winter boots. Smuzynski also encourages visitors to purchase tickets online in advance to ensure they will be admitted as well as reduce wait times.

“Ice Castles can and does sell out on some days and nights. In the event we sell out, standby or walk-up tickets are not available,” she said.

In Minnesota, the towering ice installations have previously been built in Stillwater, Eden Prairie and Bloomington at the Mall of America. “Ice Castles is excited to be in the beautiful and quaint community of Excelsior this season. The castles will look stunning against the picturesque backdrop of Lake Minnetonka,” Smuzynski said.

The winter wonderland currently hosts six locations total across the U.S. and Canada — a significant expansion since creating its first official display took place in Midway, Utah, in 2011. However, the company’s genesis was rooted in family fun, according to Smuzynski.

“Company founder Brent Christiansen first stumbled upon the idea for Ice Castles while building an ice cave for his daughter in the front yard of their home in Alpine, Utah,” she said. “His icy front-yard creation brought out crowds of curious locals. Soon after that, he was invited to build his first ice castle in Midway, and the rest is history.”

A new addition this winter is the installation of a wishing well at each location. When visitors toss in change and make a wish at one of the Wishes for Water wells, they will be supporting the nonprofit organization charity: water. The money will be donated to this organization, which visitors can learn more about at Ice Castles.

“Each year, through our partnership with charity:water, Ice Castles builds and maintains a water well in a developing country to provide clean water to communities who otherwise would not have it,” Smuzynski said. “The wishing well is our way of helping to raise awareness for a cause that is close to our hearts.”

IF YOU GO: ICE CASTLES

Where: The Commons on Lake Minnetonka 135 Lake St., Excelsior, MN 55331 When: Depending on weather conditions, Ice Castles should run from mid-December into February.

Admission: Online advance tickets cost $7.95 for children 4-11 and $10.95 for all others Monday-Thursday, $9.95 for children and $15.95 for others Friday-Sunday.

Visit IceCastles.com for more information MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 31

Wine & Beer

wines

By Leigh Pomeroy

Rhône redux H

southern mn style

ow can a week offer vivid memories that will last much, much longer? Simple: take a cruise up the Rhône River in France and sample the vinous offerings along the way.

In last month’s article, I started in the south. But as you move north the wine generally gets better, rarer and, of course, more expensive.

One of our optional side trips on the Viking River Cruise journey was a visit to one of the Perrin family wineries in Châteauneufdu-Pape. The Perrin family is one of the major wine producers of the southern Rhône. Their flagship offering is Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape, of which I have written before, but they also offer a number of wines under the Perrin label. What you might recognize them for is the widely distributed La Vieille Ferme wines, which were the house pours on our cruise and are an excellent value.

Masters at marketing, the Perrin family formed a partnership with Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie to produce a rosé (along with some white) called Miraval. Due to Brangelina’s ongoing divorce proceedings, I’m not sure if that partnership still exists or who, exactly, owns the label, but Miraval Rosé is available in Mankato, albeit at a highly inflated price

32 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

over other French Provençal rosés.

Though Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are generally expensive — at least $25 per bottle in stores — there is a vast difference in quality among them. That’s because not only is it the best known wine region of the area, it is also the largest. The classic Châteauneufdu-Pape vineyards, located on the hills around the ancient town of the same name, are planted in soils covered with round stones, sometimes fist-sized and even larger. Indeed, it’s hard to believe anything could grow there. But the stones hold and reflect heat, creating concentrated wines.

At the same time, in other parts of the appellation, the vines grow in dusty, former river bottom flatlands that bear little resemblance to the classic area. Yet all can be labeled as Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The difference between a wine made from a vineyard within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation and one made from another just across the road in the Côtes du Rhône appellation can mean a spread of $15 a bottle, even though the terrain is exactly the same.

The primary grape of red Châteauneuf-du-Pape is grenache with some syrah and mourvèdre added for spice, body and color, though legally no fewer than 18 varieties can be included. (Only a small amount of Châteauneuf-duPape is white, made principally from grenache blanc, roussanne, clairette and bourboulenc.) The nearby areas of Gigondas and Vacqueras produce reds from the same varieties as Châteauneuf-duPape, yet offer a similar taste profile for more reasonable prices.

Another of our optional trips included a “Rhône Valley vineyard hike.” Little did I know when I signed up that this meant a bus trip up a narrow country road to the near-top of the famed Hermitage hill above the town of Tain and a walk, first up, then down, all on a hot, near 100-degree day.

I loved it.

Thanks to Napoleonic law,

anyone is allowed to traverse the vineyards, provided they don’t damage the property or enter enclosed areas. The steep, Hermitage vineyards of the syrah grape are wide open, exposed to the ample southern sun and curious tourists who want to plant their feet on the sacred soil. These vineyards are the source of some of the great red wines of the world (and a handful of whites), and no wonder: Access to these terraced vineyards is only by human or animal feet, never modern machinery.

After our trek through the vines, we were treated to a tasting at the Cave de Tain, located at the bottom of the hill, a cooperative whose farmer-members own about a third of the vineyards of Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage, the latter a larger area that surrounds the Hermitage hill on three sides. The co-op also produces wines from the nearby appellations of Saint-Péray (all white, some sparkling), Cornas (all red) and Saint-Joseph (mainly red but some white).

Here is where our knowledgeable, multilingual guide was perhaps most enlightening.

She said that the international trade, with all its wealthy customers, could afford to buy Hermitage. But for the locals, a good Saint-Joseph, from a much larger geographical area on the west bank across the Rhône River, was the regular fare and in some cases just as good.

All these wines are quite expensive in the U.S., though at the co-op I bought a lovely Saint-Péray for 12 euros, about $14, and shared it with our wine and food-loving compatriots on the river boat — the blessings and gifts of local wine.

Next month: On to Beaujolais!

Leigh Pomeroy is a Mankato-based writer and wine lover.

BEER

By Bert Mattson

Who’s counting?

I

sit reflecting on all the things I’ve consumed since Thanksgiving.

A few years ago it occurred to me my metabolism might not be what it once was. A recent browse confirmed this reality.

Evidently this metabolic decline began in my twenties. Conceiving of my metabolism as a gizzard or something, I considered bulking it up. It turns out not at all like a gizzard. It’s a set of chemical processes transpiring in each cell of the body, governing the conversion of food into fuel. The way to keep it operating efficiently is to preserve lean muscle mass — metabolic losses coincide with the loss of lean muscle mass of up to five pounds a decade starting in one’s twenties! Oops.

Anaerobic exercise (ideally initiated in one’s twenties) is the ticket. This is high-intensity, shortduration activity generating lactic acid. Reflecting, bi-weekly pick-up hockey probably inadvertently postponed my metabolic selfawareness.

Piggybacking this epiphany is another: I’ve been bamboozling myself with the concept of “session beer.”

“Drinkability” — balance and a clean finish — sometimes eclipses the other element that casts a “sessionable” beer: low alcohol.

Alcohol and residual sugar are the salient caloric contributors in beer. From a caloric standpoint, a drinking session strips a session beer of its

advantages (unless, perhaps, one falls in that precious sliver between 21 and 25).

When drinking, a person’s liver puts processing calories from carbohydrates and fat on hold to tackle alcohol immediately. The body can’t store calories from alcohol like it does with those others. Some research asserts that alcohol stalls fat-burn particularly in the stomach area, shedding light on beer bellies.

At seven per gram, alcohol is second in calorie density only to fat. Further, consumed in excess, alcohol inspires cravings for high calorie foods, and overeating. It’s not clever to skip meals to make room for beer calories. Better to consume filling foods — fiber, lean protein, and healthy fat — before heading out for a beer. But, it’s still wise to count those beer calories.

Blogger John Michael Verive put forth an equation for estimating those calories: multiply the ABV by a factor of 2.5; multiply the product of that by the number of ounces in the beer. Then go ahead and punch that in your calorie-counting app for the rest of us. No escaping the moderation imperative. A session beer (ideally under 4 ABV though I’ll cheat a bit above) in moderation is suitable for some exercise in my book. I love a walk between breweries, snowshoeing after, etc. That said, I was always of the mind that pick-up hockey under the influence was risky. Anaerobic sports in general and extreme aerobic ones give me pause. I have certainly enjoyed a session on the slopes interrupted by an alcoholic beverage.

It’s important to point out, while swanky beer is probably high calorie, not necessarily dark beer. Irish Stout is the classic session beer at four percent. Uinta Brewing’s Yard Sale Winter Lager is brilliant at 4 percent.

On the lighter side, Bell’s Brewery’s Oatsmobile Ale doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at 4.3 percent.

Bert Mattson is a chef and writer based in St. Paul. He is the manager of the iconic Mickey’s Diner. bertsbackburner.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 33

THAT’S LIFE

By Nell Musolf

‘Tab, you’re still beautiful to me’ “O

h, my gosh! LOOK!” I was at our local thrift shop and had just discovered gold. Four glasses sporting the Tab logo, a steal at $3.99 apiece. While I knew from experience that their hourglass shape made them a pain to wash, I also knew they had to be mine.

Tab, what a beautiful drink, Tab, for beautiful people, Tab, you’re beautiful to me…16 ounces have just one calorie.

It was the jingle of my youth, the siren’s song that promised me, and all of my friends, that simply by drinking a bottle of Tab instead of Coke or Pepsi or anything with all that nasty sugar in it, you too could become as svelte and popular as the gorgeous model in the television commercial, the one swirling around in a size four dress, a bottle of Tab surgically attached to her right hand as she waited for her rich and handsome boyfriend to come and pick her up for a night on the town.

There was another reason Tab was our drink of choice in my family. My sister was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 13 and was unable to eat or drink anything with sugar in it. Tab allowed her to have a soda that wouldn’t make her feel different from her friends.

34 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Tab, along with Fresca and Diet-Rite, ruled the diet soft drink world of the 1970’s. It came in 12 ounce cans and 16 ounce glass bottles. Without much effort at all I can still remember the rough texture of a Tab bottle, sprinkled with small smooth circles that were flecked with yellow starbursts. A Tab and a bag of anything salty complemented an evening of watching “Donny and Marie” or “The Love Boat” perfectly.

Tab was all we drank throughout high school. We called the pop machine in the cafeteria the “Tab” machine and when we went out to eat we always ordered a Tab to go out with our cheeseburgers and fries or pizza or whatever other caloric nightmare we were ingesting, as if by having that one calorie drink somehow negated the other two thousand calories on our plates.

“I’ll have the cheesecake and a Tab,” I told the waitress at a diner where my best friend and I had stopped for a snack after school.

“Yeah,” the waitress said as she wrote down our orders, “like having a Tab is going to stop that cheesecake from going straight to your thighs.” With a knowing chuckle she turned away from our table and went to get our order.

It was something of an epiphany for both of us because

we really believed that by ordering Tab we were dieting and it didn’t matter what else we ordered to eat along with the Tab. After all, Tab was a diet soda. It was an epiphany, yes, but not one that either of us took to heart. We stayed loyal to Tab — and cheesecake — and didn’t worry about calories.

But in college, as the diet soda market got larger, I began to cheat on my longtime love.

“Try this,” a friend said to me one day, handing me a glass of a bubbly brown liquid “What is it?”

“Just try it. You’ll love it.”

Taking a tentative sip I tasted Diet Coke for the first time. It was smoother and sweeter than Tab with none of the metallic chemical aftertaste. “Wow,” I commented.

My friend smiled, knowing she’d just witnessed the breakup between Tab and me. “You’ll never go back,” she predicted.

For a long time she was right. Diet Coke became my diet soda of choice, in all its many forms including cherry, lemon and lime. Tab became but a memory, a good one, but part of my past like reruns of “The Hardy Boys” and jeans without Lycra.

I can’t recall the exact date but it was around the turn of the century and I found myself in the soda aisle at Walmart getting our weekly supply of Diet Coke. As I reached for a 12-pack of Diet Coke, a flash of deep pink caught my eye. Snuggled up next to the Diet Coke was a 12-pack of Tab, the only one on the shelf and clearly destined for me. I bought it and after the first can it was like the two of us had never been apart.

“No one drinks Tab anymore,” I was told by co-workers as if I showed up at the office wearing my hair in cornrows a la Bo Derek in “10” or appeared at a staff meeting sporting shoulder pads borrowed from Joan Collins during her “Dynasty” run.

Wrong. I drink Tab and I always will as long as the Coca-Cola Company continues to make it. I may have to branch out and search for it at grocery stores other than our local Walmart but if that’s the case, so be it. No more cheating, no more flirting with diet drinks that don’t mean as much to me. Whoever said you can’t go home again obviously never drank Tab.

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Nell Musolf is a mom and freelance writer from Mankato.

She blogs at: nellmusolf.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 35

GARDEN CHAT

By Jean Lundquist

Pesky Purslane I

know at least two people who paid perfectly good, hard-earned cash to buy purslane in a hanging basket because they thought it was “pretty.” I am still aghast and incredulous.

But late last year, I received a letter from a kindred spirit in disgust for purslane. Pat wrote that her son tilled her garden last spring, “a little deeper than usual,” and last summer was her first experience with purslane. I can tell from experience that it will not be her last.

She sent pictures of the mounds of purslane next to her tomatoes, her green beans, her peppers, and her zucchinis. As if purslane isn’t bad enough, the picture also showed the damage the “dear deer” did to her zucchinis.

Purslane is sinister. Like everything else, it will go to seed. But even worse, though it is relatively easy to pull by hand, the leaves tend to drop off when agitated. Every leaf on the ground will sprout roots, and become a new plant.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I sure heard a lot of tales of woe and misery about gardening last year, because it was so wet all summer long. I had a healthy crop of weeds, and weed seeds, in my garden this fall, like most of you.

Right now, my garden bed is covered with black tarps.

My hope is that I can bake those seeds into oblivion, even 36 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

with the weak winter sun. Discussing my tarps with Mary, another avid gardener, though she prefers flowers to vegetables, she suggested that this spring that I leave the tarps in place, and cut slits in them for rows of veggies, and holes for the likes of peppers and other plants. I am considering it!

I do have concerns about the efficacy of my plans, however. This winter I put a black mat in my bird bath, hoping it would keep the water liquid through solar power. It didn’t work.

I am surprised by my pragmatism. Usually right about now, I’m dreaming of making my garden bigger, because I have so many new things I want to plant. The heat and bugs of summer are a distant memory in the cold and the snow of January. In fact, heat and bugs sound kind of nice right about now, don’t they?

I always wait until after the first of the year to buy seeds and plants. I try to turn a blind eye to all the “spectacular” offers the seed companies and supply houses offer at the end of each year. This year, however, I broke my rule.

Gardeners’ Supply offered me a 20 percent discount, AND free shipping.

I’m a sucker for free shipping.

The UPS driver did not seem happy as he delivered 20 bags of soil on that cold November day!

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I hope 20 bags of soil is enough. I need to refill all of my red grow bags this spring.

I am looking forward to gardening in my grow bags again this year.

Last year I harvested the best sweet potatoes I have ever grown. Not only are they delicious and big, but the plants themselves were a joy. The plants and the bags were inhabited by the cutest little green frogs! No need for any bug or pest control when I have frogs.

I have a growing stack of seed catalogs on my kitchen table. I am about to crack them open and see what’s new for my garden this year.

Let me know what you’re trying this year, or what worked for you last year that was new. I love to learn from fellow gardeners, so contact me at gardenchatkato@gmail.com. Oh, and for those of you old enough to remember Paul Harvey, this is closed circuit for Pat: please tell me how to contact YOU!

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507.388.4895 Jean Lundquist is a Master Gardener who lives near Good Thunder. gardenchatkato@gmail.com

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 37

YOUR STYLE

By Jessica Server

Introducing: H

The Wannabe Minimalist

appy New Year! I’d like to come clean, right from the get-go: I am a wannabe minimalist. Nice to meet you.

I don’t come by it naturally. My mom’s Chicago studio apartment is half closet space; my dad recently (and reluctantly) downsized his 50-ish Tommy Bahama shirts to the 15 or so he could “make do” with. And don’t get me started on my brother who, when choosing between any two things, will always opt for “both.” Yes, I come by maximalism naturally; I come by minimalism covetously.

My idea of style is ever-evolving as I try to do more with less, however imperfectly.

It’s long been my struggle: the style I have versus the style I want. The battle started long before social media introduced me to personalities like Caroline Rector of Unfancy, who demonstrated through a near-perfect Instagram feed that it is, indeed, possible to reject America’s “more is more” lifestyle and still be “stylish.”

Though I’ve watched documentaries about “fast fashion” and its stress on both labor and the environment, old habits die hard. In short, I want to want less. Sometimes I succeed; sometimes I buy cheap socks from Target.

Enter my 2019 goal: the capsule wardrobe, a closet comprised only of versatile pieces — somewhere around 35-40 pieces, (Rector’s number is 37) — that changes seasonally. The goal here is intention, though, not reaching some magical number. The number is simply there as a 38 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

guide. Capsules are meant to remove everything nonimmediate and non-essential, like weeding a garden, leaving room for only what’s intentionally cultivated.

The benefits are, purportedly, manifold. Capsule wardrobes declutter your closet, make getting dressed easier, help you think less about your “look,” promote investment in pieces that you wear often, and favor quality over quantity. They promote creativity over endless options. And as capsule enthusiasts remind me, all of this is better for your mind, wallet, and the planet’s health.

Now, I may finally have my chance at my first capsule wardrobe by means of … drumroll, please … pregnancy.

As fewer clothes fit my changing body, my drawers seemed to have capsulized themselves, empty of all but a few elasticized options. Even my lingerie drawer has been strong-armed into minimalism.

Yet, as I close in on the dream, I still resist it. Though I’ve never been closer to having less, I struggle to fully take the plunge. Where does that “need” for more come from? The answer, of course, is fear.

Our world’s advertising, marketing, and politics constantly remind us there’s not enough for everybody.

And while that’s very true for some people (and we’re certainly lacking in important ways, like compassion), I fortunately have never been one of them. My fear of scarcity is imaginary. I am not wealthy, but I’ve also never

truly been without.

For me, a capsule represents a gesture toward abundance, a resistance to the more=happier mindset. In fact, restriction may a c t u a l l y o f f e r m o re — m o re appreciation for less, more faith that my needs will be met, more space to enjoy the things I have than for worry about what I lack.

So, I’m making my late winter capsule wardrobe (Jan-March). If you, too, fall victim to the ‘more is more’ mentality, or you just want a change from the ever-enjoyable resolution to “lose _____ pounds,” then perhaps you’ll try it with me.

And when that voice pipes in as you pack away a sweater that you either A) never wear or, B) always feel frumpy in, ask yourself: What am I so afraid of?

After all, style isn’t really about clothing; it’s about something bigger.

I have yet to crack the code on what exactly that thing is, but I think it has a lot to do with confidence. A capsule may just help define, not restrict, my personal style. You don’t have to be pregnant to participate; but trust me, it definitely helps!

Create Your Capsule Wardrobe (adapted from Caroline Rector)

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1: CULL Your Closet

n Pare down to less than 40 pieces in your winter wardrobe. n Include: tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, and shoes. n Do not include: workout clothes, jewelry, accessories, purses, swimsuits, loungewear, underwear, etc.

2: WEAR those items

n And only those 40 items for 3-4 months. The goal here is creativity. Pick items that are easy to mix, so there are plenty of options.

3: Have FUN.

n The point is to try something new that hones your own personal style. Don’t get obsessed with a number. If you need 45 pieces, use 45. If you don’t want to include outerwear, make your own rules!

Jessica Server is a writer who teaches at Minnesota State University. She lives in Mankato with her husband.

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NIGHT MOVES — Maverick Hockey

By Diana Rojo-Garcia

The Minnesota State men’s hockey team waits to take the ice for the third period during a game played against Ferris State at the Verizon Center. Photo by Jackson Forderer

Hockey Night in Mankato!

Need a good release?

Take in the good ‘ol HOCKEY GAME

I

t’s time to come clean. Living in Mankato for six years, and now being a Minnesota State University alum (go Mavs!), I feel like it’s necessary to tell everyone that I have never been to a hockey game.

Not once.

Until Nov. 17, 2018 when I experienced hockey as a true Maverick, and most importantly, a true Minnesotan.

Up until that point, the only thing I knew about hockey was whatever I learned from “The Mighty Ducks.” Even then, my understanding of the widely 40 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

popular winter sport was minimal. I knew there was definitely beer involved, it can get a little violent, and it’s cold.

All of those three things were true, but a night at a Mavericks game was much greater than I had expected.

Pre-game Dinner

On downtown streets on hockey nights, signs of Maverick fandom are everywhere. Little kids dressed head to toe with Mav garb and families coordinating

in yellow and purple.

Pools of purple and gold jerseys and hats flood any restaurant remotely close to downtown.

To fully immerse myself into the hockey culture, my husband and I went to Blue Bricks for some grub before the game.

It was still a little early — an hour and a half before faceoff — and the restaurant wasn’t as full as I thought it would have been. But that didn’t let down the Mav spirit. A family of 20 took up a whole table and a group of friends were scattered throughout. As time passed on, each table began to fill up.

Charlie and I took a table on the emptier side of the establishment, and even before we sat down, a waitress appeared to assist us.

“Hey guys! Are we here for drinks or can I get you a menu?” she asked. Despite the impending hockey dinner rush, the waitress smiled as bright as the neon beer lights.

We ordered two waters and a couple menus, too.

She promptly brought two waters and the event menus.

The menus, by the way, contain mostly everything that a regular menu does, except for a few items that are more tedious to make during a massive rush.

That’s no problem, anyway. I ordered a chicken quesadilla and Charlie ordered a sandwich.

“I’ll put those in right away,” the waitress said, again with a brilliant smile.

“She is so nice,” I said. “Do you think she’s a moonlights as a Disney princess?”

“Ha! Maybe,” Charlie said.

The food came out. Right away. Between sitting down, getting our waters and menus, it took about 15 minutes to get our food. Talk about speedy service.

For those who look for a good, quality place to eat and want to not spend a fortune, I’d recommend Blue Bricks. The dinner only cost us $20 (not including tip, always tip your servers.)

We didn’t head out until 20 minutes before the game, and even though we arrived a little earlier than most, it was a good idea to get a primo seating spot.

The brass section of the Maverick Machine play a song during a break in action at the Minnesota State versus Ferris State game played in November.

Maverick hockey fans populate the hallway, some with concession food, during intermission at the Verizon Center.

The Game

The lights dimmed out in the hockey arena, shortly after Charlie and I found our seats.

Music fills the stadium as the Maverick cheerleaders begin a choreographed dance. At this point, I wasn’t sure where to look — the screen, the rink, the audience, the lights — it was a lot to take in.

“Okay, this is frickin’ awesome,” I tried to tell my husband. Though, I’m sure he didn’t hear me.

If the hockey game was going to be anything like the introduction, I was in for a treat.

Shortly after all the introductions of each hockey player, Stacy K, local singer-songwriter, performed the national anthem. The audience applauds at the singer’s belting of the the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and then the show begins.

Again, I have never been to a hockey game, or any sporting event (unless you count my nieces’ soccer games) so I didn’t know what was going on. Charlie was my on-site hockey tutor, giving me a crash course on hockey as the game was happening. I felt sorry for the people next to us.

“Wait, wait, wait. Why did they start at that dot?” or “What? Where’s the puck?” and “Why did they get a penalty? Is that a penalty?”

Beth Wadman (right) laughs while talking with her husband Mark Wadman at Blue Bricks before a Mavericks men’s hockey game.

A lot of questions were asked in that first period, and I can confidently say I still don’t understand what happened.

Though I didn’t go in with a lot of expectations, I was at least hoping for some sort of exciting interaction between the players. At this point, it was just watching the hockey puck go back and forth, much like watching Pong on an old Atari.

MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 41

Young Maverick fans get high fives from Shane Mcmahon (10) and Nicholas Rivera (23) after a WCHA hockey game played at the Verizon Center.

Then BAM. A hockey player slammed another into the window.

“OH MY GOD. Is he okay?” I was genuinely concerned, but Charlie just looked over and laughed.

“He’s fine,” he said. “They have a lot of padding.”

The game was fun to watch, and even though I was worried each time a player got slammed into the window, it was exciting. My favorite part, however, were the games and the camera shots at the audience.

At one point, there was a dance cam that encouraged the audience to do the “Floss” dance, which I have yet to conquer, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

“One minute remaining in the period,” the emcee said.

“Thank youuuu,” the audience responded.

“You betcha,” he said.

Right before that first period ended, the Mavs got a goal.

The energy from the audienced radiated throughout — yelling and cheering, the horn blasting off — it’s hard to not get excited.

What was a Pong game turned into a more competitive and aggressive game between to the two teams. For the rest of the game, each player fought harder for the puck — or as Charlie put it, “They’re going to kerfuffle more now.”

The Mavs scored a few goals, and it stayed that way for a while. Finally, the other team scored.

“Do we clap for them now?” I asked Charlie.

“No, no. You take a sip from your beer if the other team hits a goal,” the guy to next me said.

I obliged.

42 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

Post-Game Drinks

The second period ended and we decided to hit a bar for a drink or two.

Unlike most nights downtown, 9:30 p.m. on a Friday during a hockey game, downtown was virtually dead.

If you haven’t heard by now, that’s typically how my husband and I like to roll — nice and quiet evenings.

We stopped at the Underground first. Not to really get a drink or anything, but just to check out the scene. A few people played pool and others were throwing darts. We decided to head out so we could get a drink somewhere else, but for those who do stop at the Underground and are looking for a deal, they usually have 2-for-1 beverages until 11 p.m.

There are a variety of bars downtown — Blue Bricks, Atomic Star, Rounders, The Square Deal, Ummies and South Street Saloon — with a good selection of domestic and craft beers, plus food for the late night munchies.

We decided on Pub 500, which was a little busy, but nothing more than usual. As we sat down next to the fireplace, a waitress asked for our drinks — we both got a Mankato Brewery beer.

The bar was a little noiser — live music by Red Dirt Road took over and there was plenty of lively conversation.

So we people watched. Taking a few sips from of our beers, we watched the hockey fans flood back onto the streets. Purple and gold, some cheering, others heading to different bars. Then Charlie asked: “So you liked hockey?”

“Heck yes, I did! When can we go again?”

COMING ATTRACTIONS: JANUARY 5 Mankato Brewery 21 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Anniversary Party 7-11 p.m. — Mankato Brewery — 1119 Center St. — North Mankato — $5 general admission — mankatobrewery.com

12

Arch Allies 7 p.m. — Kato Ballroom — 200 Chestnut St. — Mankato — $50 VIP, $10 general admittance in advance or $15 day of show — katoballroom.com.

12

Mankato Craft Beer Expo 2-6 p.m. — Grand Hall — Verizon Center — Mankato — $100 VIP, $50 early admission, $40 general admission, $10 designated driver — verizoncentermn.com or on Facebook @ MankatoCraftBeerExpo.

13

Mill City String Quartet 2 p.m. — Good Counsel Chapel — 170 Good Counsel Drive — Mankato — $17 premium seating — $12 general admission — free for children ages 18 and under — mankatosymphony.com.

Celebration at Christ Chapel 10 a.m. — Gustavus Adolphus College — 800 W. College Ave. — St. Peter — free and open to public — gustavus.edu.

23

Minnesota Ag. Expo 8 a.m. — Verizon Center — 1 Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — free — mnagexpo.com.

24

Comedian Daniel Franzese 7:30 p.m. — Ostrander Auditorium — 173 Centennial Student Union, MSU — Mankato — $5 public or free for MSU students — mnsu.edu.

26-27

Anthony Ford Pond Hockey Classic 7 a.m.-5 p.m. — Spring Lake Park — Webster Avenue — North Mankato — anthonyford99.com.

27

Pro Arte Quartet 3 p.m. — Martin Luther College — Chapel of the Christ — 1995 Luther Court — New Ulm — $35 season tickets, $13 (general) and $5 (students) — SummitAvenueMusic.com/tickets

27

Wedding Expo and Fashion Show 12-3 p.m. — The Capitol Room — 419 S. Minnesota Ave. — St. Peter — free — 507-380-0220.

I‘ve got my love to keep me warm

420 N. Minnesota, St. Peter, MN 507-934-5655 stonesthrowgallery.org VISIT THE CALENDAR AT STPETERCHAMBER.COM

31-Feb. 3 and Feb. 6-10 18

Chris Janson 8 p.m. — Verizon Center — 1 Civic Center Plaza — Mankato — $36.75 standing room only — verizoncentermn.com.

MSU Theatre presents “Peter and the Starcatcher” 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Feb 3, 9-10 — Andreas Theatre — MSU — Mankato — $16 — mnsu.edu/theatre.

18

Good Morning Bedlam 9 p.m. — NaKato Bar & Grill — 253 Belgrade Ave. — North Mankato — free — 388-8999.

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MANKATO MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2019 • 43

FROM THIS VALLEY

By Pete Steiner

THE HUNKERER “Hunker: To squat close to the ground, as in ‘avoiding the icy wind’; to hide out or take shelter”

J

anuary’s full moon poured pale yellow light through the window at the top of the stairs. Outside, ten below, but the wind was down. Before heading for bed, I first had to gaze out that window, at the gleaming white world below. It’s a cold and merciless beauty, January’s, but beauty nonetheless. nnnn January. The world around, it means the start of a new year. But in Minnesota it means a whole lot more, certainly something very different from what it means in Palm Springs or Biloxi or Galveston or Miami. The climate may be warming, but in Minnesota, January’s still cold enough that I, for one, spend more time indoors, hunkering down.

That’s not all bad. I catch up a little on my reading, try to reduce that imposing stack of books and magazines by my favorite chair. I like to have several books going at once, one non-fiction, one a standard-length novel, and one that I call a mega-novel. I have a separate stack of “mega-novels”, and I doubt I’ll get to all of them in this lifetime: Raintree County, Remembrance of Things Past, Gravity’s Rainbow, Underworld, Pillars of the Earth. All of them at least 750 pages, some more than a thousand.

Intimidating, just looking at them.

A year ago, I finally finished David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest.” Took me four years. Yes, four years. Slow reader. A real plodder. But then, the novel is dense and diffuse, episodic, multiple plots and storylines. It’ll pick up one thread a hundred pages after dropping it. A thousand pages of that, plus another hundred pages of elaborating footnotes! Prone as I am to distraction, there’s weeks I’d maybe only finish three or four pages. I read it kind of like I read the Bible, quite methodically. (I read the whole Bible decades back; really tough slogging through all the rules and rituals required in Leviticus and Numbers...)

“Jest” happens on so many levels: at an advanced tennis academy for teens and at a halfway house for serious addicts, at a secret meeting place for conspirators in the Arizona desert, and at various locations around metro Boston. It’s the novelist’s art that gets you to identify and sympathize with a quirky cast of real outsiders.

Also, DFW loved words and wordplay, so one needs a dictionary or an app while you read, to look up words like “rictus” and “catachresis.” Many of the scenes are so compelling and insightful that I have marked up my copy as much as any book I’ve ever read, even back when I was doing it for a grade.

DFW died young, a suicide. Reading some of his descriptions of addiction and psychic despair and 44 • JANUARY 2019 • MANKATO MAGAZINE

anhedonia, you become convinced he HAD to have LIVED it to write about it so compellingly. If you don’t want to tackle the book, there’s a great two-hour movie about Wallace and a reporter who profiled him on a book tour, called The End of the Tour. nnnn In January, the low-hanging sun’s oblique rays flood our porch for a few hours each day with blinding light glinting off fresh snow. I close my eyes and let the sun bathe my face. Who needs an artificial light box for light therapy? Adios, Seasonal Affective Disorder. After five minutes, I’m refreshed, maybe even inspired. A dose of hope while we wait for the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day and yes, Spring. nnnn January is traditionally both our coldest and our snowiest month. Were Januarys harder in the old days?

Talk about hunkering down, we had no choice during the Super Bowl Blizzard of 1975, when deep snow and howling winds shut the whole state down for three days.

Then one day in 1977, when we had to go out and try to jump start a car, the windchill reached nearly minus 100. I am also remembering bundling young children to go out in January. Thinking how parents don’t have to do that in Florida and Arizona. So lots of Minnesotans try to escape at least part of winter by fleeing to warmer climates. Still, to really earn your “Minnesotan-ness,” you have to scrape some windows, have to shovel and shiver at least occasionally. nnnn There’s an old saying, “a summerish January, a winterish spring.” With global warming and possibly an El Nino in the Pacific to give us a milder winter this year, I would still root for a “traditional” January -- a little cold and snow now. With all that April snow, we had enough of a “winterish spring” last year. Whatever weather we get, Minnesotans are great at “rolling with the flow.” Let me thank you for reading and wish you a prosperous and fulfilling New Year!

Peter Steiner is host of “Talk of the Town” weekdays at 1:05 p.m. on KTOE.

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