TO OUR READERS

July has arrived: the month of BBQs, parades, bonfires and lots of family and community activities. July is also the month where we celebrate our independence on the Fourth of July.

I love this time of year, where you can get up in the morning, grab your cup of coffee and sit outside watching the sunrises … especially since we had a winter that seemed to last over half our year, and then finished with the most rain we have seen in a long time. Fortunately it wasn’t as bad as we had experienced 10 years ago, when Duluth flooded. That’s a moment in our history that we hope never repeats itself.

Duluth News Tribune

Duluth

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In this issue, we are featuring the 2022 Rosie Award winners. We hosted our fifth annual Rosie Awards in person this year, and had around 200 people in attendance. The event was held at the DECC Horizon room, where they provided a beautiful spread of appetizers to our guests. The event began with a light social hour, and then rolled into our presentation — starting with keynote speaker Amanda Cunningham, co-owner of Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mix.

Woman’s Club

Molly Milroy

Birch Studios

Rebekah Beach

Samantha Roffers

Tony Bennett

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This year we had 47 beautifully written, strong nominations. Our panel of judges had their work cut out for them. As I read through the nominations myself, I was reminded of a quote by Fallon Taylor, world champion barrel racer: “Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world.”

Each of you who were nominated this year are amazing pillars in making a change and making a difference. Congratulations to all those who were nominated and congratulations to our seven Rosie Awards winners. Thank you to all our sponsors, including our main sponsors the Duluth News Tribune and Minnesota Power Employee Credit union. And special thanks to our judges and volunteers who helped us put together this event. It means a lot to our community and The Woman Today that we have this opportunity to honor amazing women in the Northland.

ON THE COVER:

Border Town Betties posing at the Richard I. Bong Memorial Center include (front row, from left) Louren

Yzaguirre (LouLou L’Amour), Jasmine Ward (January Royale), Erin Nygaard (Lottie Luck); (middle row, from left) Kerbie Mullenix (Crimson Fox), Theresa Hamman (Rosie Sparx), Megan Hendricks (Poppy Paramour), Kara Gilbert (Rosette Papillon); (back row)

Cassandra Roschen (Kitty Carter) and Becky Scherf (Brody Bombshell); and (top) Laurie Jean Menz (Dolly Devereaux).

Historically, July is our military issue. We met with Dr. Rebekah Beach, who is currently a urologist with St. Luke’s hospital who also served in the Army National Guard. In 2001, while she was still a junior in high school, she enlisted in the Army National Guard and served until 2015. We appreciate Dr. Beach for taking the time to share her story with us. We thank you for your service.

We then took a step back in time, with The Woman Yesterday, where we feature Veda Ponikvar — also known as “The Iron Lady” — who joined the Navy after graduating in 1942. We have much more in store for you, so I will let you get to it!

Thank you for picking up this month’s issue. If you ever have a story idea to submit or want to advertise to support our magazine, please reach out magazines@duluthnews.com. See you next month!

Megan Keller Advertising Director