Boof
My name is Bella. I am a Teddy Bear. Half Shih Tzu, half Bichon, one hundred percent in charge.
The humans don’t know this yet. I have chosen not to tell them.
I run a tight operation. Six humans. One laptop requiring my immediate supervision. A fifteenyear-old named Micah, who is very loud and lives here. And Hazel, who is a separate situation. She barks at things. Many things. All the things. Squirrels. Shadows. Her own reflection, twice. I find this beneath me. I am, however, occasionally peer-pressured into caring. This is not something I am proud of.
August 2026
PUBLISHER
Tim Doran | tim.doran@citylifestyle.com
EDITOR
Annie Doran | annie.doran@citylifestyle.com
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
KIRA ASHE LLC | kiraasheagency@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Lauren Dahl, Jenny Floria, Antara Murdeshwar, Kristi Sellers
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Julie Chappell Photography, Kiera Mount, Mike Ostaffe
My responsibilities are significant. I monitor the couch. I patrol the left arm. I have strong opinions about snack-adjacent sounds. Paws on legs. Boof. The humans call it begging. I call it reasonable advocacy for equal snack distribution. Every night the human sits down with his glowing rectangle. Every night I walk across it. Letters appear that he definitely did not intend to type. I consider this a creative contribution.
He has never once thanked me.
The human has good days. Those are easy. He laughs a lot. Sometimes, though, he stares at the glowing rectangle for a very long time. He sighs. Those are the nights I stay close.
Bella would finish this letter herself, but she’s asleep on my left arm. She usually is. That’s been true since the very first issue. I sat down to read it. Bella climbed into my lap. She’s done it every issue since. She was there in May, watching me watch the Wild blow another playoff lead. She was there the day I found out Noah was headed to Canada for university. And she’s here right now, warming my left side while I fix this very paragraph.
She doesn’t know why I spend so much time with the glowing rectangle. She has never once complimented a cover story.
She just knows when I sit down, her place is beside me.
There’s a word our family uses for her: adogable. It’s not in the dictionary. It should be.
Bella may never write an article, sell an advertisement, or interview a local business owner.
But somehow, she’s helped make every issue of this magazine a little better. Boof.
TIM DORAN, PUBLISHER @MAPLEGROVECITYLIFESTYLE
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Mary Albers
LAYOUT DESIGNER Lillian Gibbs
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Marina Campbell
Nordstrom SteEL
DESIGN BUILD RENOVATION
city scene
1-7: Animal lovers gathered for a truly paw-some evening at the 7th Annual Fashions for Furry Friends Fashion Show. Hosted by Inspire & Flourish, the event featured stylish pups strutting the runway in creative, colorful outfits that brought smiles to every corner of the room. Guests enjoyed appetizers, a lively atmosphere, and both silent and live auctions, all while supporting adoptable dogs and a meaningful cause. Held at Leopold’s Mississippi Gardens, the night blended fashion, fun, and heart, reminding everyone just how powerful community can be when it comes together for animals in need.
Photography by Britta Marie Studios
Maple Grove Chalkfest brought downtown Maple Grove to life June 13-14 with incredible chalk art, community energy, and creativity around every corner. Talented artists transformed the streets into colorful works of art, each piece more impressive than the last. We wish we could have shared even more photos, because every design deserved the spotlight. Thank you to the artists, volunteers, sponsors, and everyone who came out to celebrate this unforgettable weekend. 8: Artist: Tara Aiken 9: Artists: Erik & Jenna Greenawalt 10:
Artist: Shawn McCann 11: Artist: Brian Morris 12: Artist: Phillip Bernal 13: Artist: Bennett Sellner, Amateur/Student level winner 14: Artist: Madelyn Hohler, Professional Artist winner
SHARYN R CHAN
TARA AIKEN
SHARYN R CHAN
SHARYN R CHAN
SHARYN R CHAN
SHARYN R CHAN
SHARYN R CHAN
Family
“From start to finish, Justin went far beyond expectations What truly set him apart was his willingness to roll up his sleeves - literally He power washed our driveway, helped us prepare for showings, and even pitched in during the move
Thanks to his exceptional market knowledge and constant communication, we sold quickly and found buyers who fit our unique situation If you’re looking for an agent who treats you like family and goes the extra mile, he’s the one ” Grateful Clients & Friends
business monthly
A ROUNDUP OF NEWS FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES
Culver's now in Maple Grove
Culver’s has officially arrived in Maple Grove. The beloved Midwest brand began in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, when the Culver family set out to serve fresh food with genuine hospitality. That same spirit was brought to Minnesota in 2000 by the Laudenbach family, whose growing network now includes Maple Grove. Stop in for ButterBurgers, fresh frozen custard, and a warm, family-driven welcome to all. 16380 96th Ave N, Maple Grove
New K-9 Team Joins Maple Grove Police
Maple Grove Police Department’s newest K-9 team is officially ready to serve. K-9 Gus and his partner, Officer Zachary Hanson, recently completed 16 weeks of training through the St. Paul Police Canine Unit. Congratulations to Officer Hanson and Gus on this milestone, and thank you to the instructors who helped prepare them for their work in the community.
PUPS Expansion Breaks Ground in Maple Grove
The Maple Grove Police Department's PUPS (Pets Under Police Security) program is expanding! Construction is now underway on a facility upgrade that will serve Maple Grove, Plymouth, New Hope, and Robbinsdale. The project creates a safer, healthier environment for lost pets while they await reunion with their families. With a remarkable 96% save rate, this federally funded expansion reflects Maple Grove's continued investment in innovative public safety services that benefit the entire community.
Photography by Abby Ciesynski - I-94 West Chamber
Photography by Mike Ostaffe
Photography by Jon McCullough
Advanced Care for Health & Beauty
HOOFBEATS AND HEALING
How Gateway Meadows helps veterans — and kids — heal one session at a time.
ARTICLE BY ANTARA MURDESHWAR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
JULIE CHAPPELL PHOTOGRAPHY, KIERA MOUNT
Horses are notoriously poor conversationalists.
Yet for many veterans who arrive at Gateway Meadows in Dayton, they turn out to be surprisingly good listeners.
WHAT GATEWAY MEADOWS IS Twelve miles northwest of Maple Grove, tucked among rolling fields and far enough from the noise of everyday life
Kathy Friedrich, Owner
“By his eighth session, he was walking the horse by himself.”
that you can hear yourself think, sits a place that does something quietly extraordinary. Gateway Meadows provides equine-assisted services to veterans — free of charge — helping them find connection, confidence, and something that can be genuinely difficult to locate after military service: stillness.
Healing here doesn’t happen through lectures or prescriptions. It begins with something considerably simpler.
A horse. A field. Time.
THE WOMAN BEHIND IT
Kathy Friedrich knows what it means to come home from service and not quite know what comes next.
A Gulf War veteran herself, Friedrich found herself at a crossroads during the pandemic — her consulting position gone, her sense of purpose searching for somewhere to land. She knew she wanted to keep serving the military community. She just didn’t know yet what that would look like.
THEN SHE FOUND THE HORSES.
Her knowledge of them at the time was limited. But the more time she spent around them, the more she noticed
something she hadn’t expected: horses pay attention in a way most humans don’t. They are sensitive to mood, to tension, to the quiet signals a person sends without realizing it. They don’t rush. They don’t judge. They simply respond — honestly, immediately, without agenda.
For veterans carrying things they don’t always have words for, that turns out to matter enormously.
“We’re more about that connection,” Friedrich says. Today, that connection is at the heart of everything Gateway Meadows does.
HOW A SESSION WORKS
Every veteran who comes to Gateway Meadows arrives with a different story. Which means every session looks different too.
Some work one-on-one. Others join small groups. But before anyone grooms or leads a horse, before any of the structured work begins, there is a period that Friedrich considers essential.
They watch the herd.
They notice how the horses move together, how they communicate without words.
They learn to recognize personalities, relationships, behaviors.
ONLY THEN DOES THE PARTNERSHIP BEGIN.
For veterans whose nervous systems have been rewired by trauma — who have spent years in a state of hypervigilance, reading every room for threat — learning to simply observe, to be present without bracing for what comes next, is its own kind of work. The horses require it. And in requiring it, they teach it.
THE STORY THAT STAYS WITH YOU
Friedrich has witnessed a lot of progress at Gateway Meadows. But there are stories that stay with her.
One veteran arrived with severe Complex PTSD. His condition had become so debilitating that his nervous system struggled to function normally — leaving him with extreme fatigue and requiring a walker to move even short distances.
HE CAME ANYWAY.
Session by session, he spent time with the horses. Deepening his connection with them. Challenging himself physically through their shared activities. Building confidence, then hope. Not dramatically. Not all at once. Just a little more each week — the way the horses themselves move through the world, without urgency, without forcing it.
By his eighth session, he walked a third of a mile uphill beside a horse.
His mother was there. She hadn’t seen him move like that in a long time.
“He hasn’t walked that far in ages,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
HE LEFT THE WALKER BEHIND.
BEYOND VETERANS — INCLUDING THE KIDS
While veterans remain Gateway Meadows’ primary focus, the work has quietly expanded to serve the broader community — and that includes children.
Summer occupational therapy programs for kids have become especially popular at Gateway Meadows. Something about being around horses — the size of them, the stillness of them, the way they respond to a child’s presence without judgment or impatience — reaches young participants in ways that traditional therapy settings sometimes can’t. Occupational therapist Kiera Mount has seen it firsthand. “Watching a teenager finally realize he has the power within himself to confidently make decisions and trust in his abilities to guide an animal as strong and sensitive as a horse — that is what inspires me to do this work,” Mount says. “Hearing him say, ‘I’m so proud of myself!’ makes every moment worth it.” Friedrich heard those words too. She hasn’t forgotten them.
Organizations can also bring teams to Gateway Meadows for workshops focused on leadership, communication, and problem-solving. Those programs generate the revenue that makes it possible for Gateway Meadows to provide all veteran services completely free of charge.
It is, as models go, an elegant one. Your team’s day in a field full of horses helps a veteran get his life back.
WHAT THE HORSES KNOW
Friedrich has a theory about why this works — why horses specifically, why this setting, why the simple act of being near an
animal that is not in any hurry seems to reach people that other approaches don’t.
“I think that’s a lot of just being around the horses,” she says. “They’re not in any hurry.”
Over time, she has watched that lesson transfer. Veterans who arrived braced and guarded leaving a little looser. Children who struggled to be present discovering what it feels like to slow down. Teams who came in thinking about productivity leaving thinking about each other.
The horses don’t know they’re doing any of this.
That might be exactly why it works.
GET INVOLVED
Veteran services at Gateway Meadows are provided free of charge thanks to the support of donors, community partners, and organizations that participate in workshops and programs throughout the year. Please consider bringing your team or making a donation to help support ongoing services for veterans and their families.
To learn more, visit gatewaymeadows.org or call 612.978.1741
Gateway Meadows is located at 12777 Kingsview Lane N, Dayton, MN.
The fields are quiet out there.
The horses wouldn’t have it any other way.
ARTICLE BY JENNY FLORIA
PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
THE HOUSE on Bass LAKE ROAD
One family. One house. One gift they never expected.
Before they ever needed it, Jennie and Shane Swenson would pass the sign for Crescent Cove along Bass Lake Road. Shane, curious, looked it up online.
It was Crescent Cove Respite & Hospice Home for Kids — a place where children receive respite care, and when needed, end-of-life care.
“We had no idea that one day we would be one of those families who need Crescent Cove,” he says.
That was before Brady.
Jennie and Shane have two sons, Jakob and Brady. Jakob was diagnosed with autism at a young age, and his parents devoted themselves to getting him the support he needed. Brady, meanwhile, was a typical 12-year-old — active, kind, full of life. Basketball, bike rides, swimming, books, and friends. And more than anything, he was Jakob’s person.
“He was the best friend and protector to his older brother,” says Jennie. “He was funny, loving, caring, silly, curious, and smart.”
On the morning of Tuesday, February 5, 2019, their lives changed forever.
It began like any other school day. Brady had breakfast with Jakob, helped him pack his lunch, and said goodbye as Jakob boarded the bus to Armstrong High School. Minutes
later, while Shane was driving Brady to school, they got into a car accident.
Brady was rushed to North Memorial Hospital, where he spent three weeks in the ICU. Five months at Gillette Children’s Hospital for rehabilitation. Thirteen surgical procedures over two and a half years.
Today, Brady experiences seizures, is wheelchair dependent, and faces complex neurological challenges. Jennie left her career to become his full-time caregiver.
“Being Brady’s full-time caregiver is the greatest job on this earth. I feel beyond blessed to be able to care for him,” she says.
The family eventually moved to Maple Grove to better accommodate Brady’s needs. Their community rallied around them — Sacred Heart Catholic School in Robbinsdale, their church, neighbors, friends. It was Jennie’s aunt, Julie L’Herault, who first suggested it — she’d seen a segment on the local news and thought of the Swensons.
Shane thought back to the sign along Bass Lake Road. He’d never actually seen the house — only the sign, driving by. But looking it up now, learning what Crescent Cove was for, it stayed with him.
HE MADE THE CALL.
“From the moment we walked in, we could feel the warmth and love of Crescent Cove,” recalls Jennie. “Even though I was nervous about someone else caring for Brady, I knew that he would be in the greatest of hands there.”
Brady had his first stay in 2023. Now he visits twice a year — respite stays are in such high demand that even that takes real effort to secure — enjoying art, massage therapy, pet therapy, and being read to by volunteers, while his parents and Jakob get the chance to travel and recharge.
“We finally have a break from the appointments and daily cares when Brady’s at Crescent Cove,” says Jennie.
Crescent Cove exists because of one woman who saw something in Australia that didn’t exist in Minnesota. Katie Lindenfelser, a music therapist, trained at Very Special Kids in Melbourne — a children’s hospice home full of, as she describes it, compassion and joy.
“My husband asked me why I didn’t do my residency at a children’s hospice home in the U.S., and I told him there were only two, and none in Minnesota,” Katie says. “He said, ‘well, let’s build one.’”
It took nine years. When Crescent Cove opened in 2018, it was only the third of its kind in the country — and the only one in the Midwest. Health insurance doesn’t cover pediatric hospice or respite care, so donors make it possible for families like the Swensons to receive these services at no cost. Since opening, Crescent Cove has served more than 440 families.
“We are eternally grateful to every person who makes Crescent Cove a possibility for families like ours,” says Jennie. “What an amazing gift it has been for our family.”
For the Swensons, that gratitude didn’t stay theoretical. Crescent Cove never sends a bill — every hour of care is funded by donors — and that generosity is part of what led the family to start giving back themselves, through the Brady Finn Foundation.
“From the moment we walked in, we could feel the warmth and love of Crescent Cove. Even though I was nervous about someone else caring for Brady, I knew he would be in the greatest of hands.”
Jennie Swenson
The Swenson Family
THE HOUSE ON BASS LAKE ROAD ISN’T SAD AT ALL.
Support Crescent Cove at the 3rd Annual Pickleball Social, co-hosted by Maple Grove City Lifestyle and Kevin Walsh & Team from Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest, Sunday, August 16 at Pints & Paddle in Maple Grove. crescentcove.org/pickleballsocial
The Brady Swenson Lucky 13 Tournament — an annual golf event benefiting Sacred Heart Catholic School and Crescent Cove — takes place October 10 at Pheasant Acres Golf Course in Rogers. brady-swenson-lucky-13-tournament. perfectgolfevent.com
Crescent Cove's Sensory Wall
Someone's Day
ARTICLE BY LAUREN DAHL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIE CHAPPELL PHOTOGRAPHY
Somewhere in Maple Grove right now, a kid is covered in glitter.
This is not a crisis. This is Camp Arbor — five weeks, free of charge, held every summer at the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, where children ages 4 through 12 spend their days doing arts, crafts, and games and come home looking like they lost a fight with a craft store.
Magnifi Financial Credit Union pays for the whole thing. Every year. Sole sponsor. No shared credit, no co-sponsors, no asterisks.
This is, it turns out, the least surprising thing about them.
FOUNDED IN 1939.
STILL HERE. STILL SHOWING OFF.
Magnifi has been part of Minnesota communities since 1939. Eighty-six years of showing up will teach you a few things about what a neighborhood actually needs — and what it doesn’t need is another financial institution that treats its members like account numbers in a spreadsheet.
Here is the difference between a credit union and a bank, and it is actually worth knowing. Banks answer to shareholders. Credit unions answer to their members — because the members are the owners. When Magnifi does well, that money doesn’t vanish into a portfolio somewhere. It comes back as lower fees, better rates, and services that actually improve your life.
They call it “people over profit.”
Most places say something like that. Magnifi built an entire program around it — and the program, as we are about to discuss, has receipts.
WHAT CHRISTA TOLD ME THAT MADE ME PUT DOWN MY KINGDOM COFFEE
Christa Provo has been a branch manager with Magnifi for fourteen years. This means she has spent fourteen years knowing the families, the businesses, the schools, the names, the dogs, and probably the dogs’ names. When she explained what Magnifi calls their 3 Essentials program, she did it the way people explain things they have explained many times and still believe completely — which, in the financial industry, is rarer than it sounds.
Here is what she said.
Every new mortgage Magnifi closes donates a night of emergency housing to a local shelter.
Every auto loan puts 100 pounds of food on the shelves of the local food shelf. Every new checking account provides clothing to community partners serving local families.
Now read that again — but this time think about the last time you did any of those things. The minivan you financed for school pickups and hockey bags just stocked a food shelf. The house you bought for your kids to grow up in just kept another family off the street for a night. The checking account you opened on a Tuesday lunch break because you kept meaning to? It just put a coat on a kid who needed one.
YOU DID YOUR BANKING. MAGNIFI DID THE REST.
“We’re able to give back with every relationship we build,” Christa said. Fourteen years in, she still says it like she means it. Because she does.
CONTINUED >
“We’re able to give back with every relationship we build”
THE PART WHERE WE TALK ABOUT KIDS, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE BECAUSE THIS IS THE KIDS
ISSUE
Here is a fact about children: they do not wake up excited to learn about compound interest. A savings account has never once appeared on a child’s list of things to be excited about. This has been true of children since savings accounts were invented. Magnifi knows this. Which is why Greenlight* — their app and debit card built specifically for kids and teenagers — is designed around the radical idea that learning to manage money should feel like a feature, not a punishment. Eligible Magnifi members can get their kids started early, building real financial habits while the stakes are still low and the mistakes are still recoverable.
Because seventeen is a considerably better age to learn about budgeting than twenty-seven. Ask any twenty-seven-year-old. They’ll tell you.
For high schoolers, Magnifi goes further. Working directly with Maple Grove Senior High’s Career Resource Center, they run mock interviews and real-world job coaching for students getting ready to enter the workforce. The job market is not known for its patience or its gentle handling of people who aren’t quite ready for it. Magnifi is doing something about that too.
And then there’s Camp Arbor. Five weeks. Free. Ages 4 through 12. Magnifi picks up the entire tab, every summer, no questions asked, and sends the kids home covered in evidence of a good day.
BACK TO THE GLITTER
Here is what Magnifi understands that a lot of institutions spend decades failing to figure out: a community isn’t built through transactions. It’s built through the people those transactions eventually reach.
The kid at Camp Arbor who discovers she loves painting.
The family that ate this week because someone in Maple Grove financed a car.
The person who needed one night of shelter on a night that mattered.
None of them know your name. They don’t know you signed anything or spent forty minutes finding parking. They just know that someone showed up.
That someone was Magnifi. And in a small but very real way — it was also you.
GO FIND THEM
Magnifi will be at the Maple Grove Business Expo, National Night Out at Central Park on August 4th, and the Maple Grove Home Show on October 24th. Stop by and introduce yourself. Christa will already know your name.
Visit mymagnifi.org to learn more.
The glitter, incidentally, is free.
Disclosures
Summer can bring added challenges when it comes to keeping food on the table. Your donation can lift up a local family ensuring that nutritious food and supportive resources are available when they are needed most .
THE SLIDES ARE ENORMOUS.
THE SCREAMING IS OPTIONAL.
(It Won't Be.)
MAPLE GROVE'S INDOOR ACTION PARK IS NEVER NOT A GOOD IDEA.
ARTICLE BY KRISTI SELLERS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SLICK CITY
There is a moment — and if you have been to Slick City Action Park, you know exactly the moment — where a grown adult stands at the top of a four-story dry slide, looks down, and has a very brief but very serious conversation with every decision that led them to this point.
The kids behind them are not having this conversation.
The kids behind them have already decided.
WHAT SLICK CITY ACTUALLY IS
Slick City is an indoor action park built around one glorious, physics-embracing premise: giant dry slides are more fun than almost anything else a human being can do with their afternoon. No water. No swimsuits. No forty-five minutes in a changing room while your kids disintegrate with impatience. Just slides — enormous, fast, and completely unapologetic about it.
The park is managed by Andrai “Dre” Nevilles. “What makes Slick City stand out is that it’s something completely different,” he told me. “Instead of trampolines, we’ve built an experience around giant dry slides and attractions that get people moving, laughing, and challenging each other.”
In Minnesota. In January. Indoors.
Someone thought this through.
THE PART WHERE WE TALK ABOUT THE SLIDES
Because we have to talk about the slides. They are very large. They are very fast. They are exactly as fast as your kids will tell their friends they were. Possibly faster.
Slick City also offers air courts, dedicated spaces for younger visitors who are not quite ready for the four-story situation, and enough variety that a family can spend a genuine afternoon here without anyone running out of things to do. Races happen. Rematches are demanded. Parents who came in planning to cheer from the sidelines find themselves, somewhat against their better judgment, at the top of a slide.
THIS IS BY DESIGN.
“Families can race side-by-side, kids can build confidence trying something new, and everyone can join in the fun together,” Dre said. He especially means the parents.
A BRIEF WORD ABOUT MINNESOTA WEATHER
It is currently doing something outside. Whatever it is, it is probably not ideal. This is fine. Slick City is entirely indoors, climate-controlled, and completely indifferent to whatever meteorological drama is unfolding beyond its walls.
RAIN? IRRELEVANT. SUBZERO TEMPERATURES AND A WIND CHILL THAT MAKES THE PARKING LOT FEEL LIKE A PERSONAL ATTACK? COME ON IN. THAT AUGUST WEEKEND WHERE THE HEAT INDEX HITS A HUNDRED AND TWO AND THE AIR FEELS LIKE BREATHING THROUGH A WET SOCK? SLICK CITY HAS YOU.
share,” Dre said. “The best part of Slick City isn’t just the slides — it’s the laughter, confidence, and connections that happen while people are having fun together.”
The confidence part is worth pausing on. There is something that happens to a kid who talks themselves into trying the big slide for the first time. They land at the bottom with the look of someone who has just discovered something important about themselves — which they have. They are braver than they thought. They would like to go again immediately. They are already running.
“They are braver than they thought. They would like to go again immediately. They are already running”
Year-round fun is not a marketing phrase here. It is a genuine public service.
WHAT DRE WANTS YOU TO LEAVE WITH
“We want guests to leave with huge smiles, unforgettable memories, and stories they’re excited to
Slick City does that. Over and over, every weekend, to kids of every age who showed up not entirely sure they were ready and left absolutely certain they were coming back.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS,
DELIVERED WITHOUT APOLOGY
Slick City Action Park is located in Maple Grove and open year-round. Birthday parties, group outings, and spontaneous Tuesday afternoon decisions are all welcome. The only thing you need to bring is a willingness to lose a race to your nineyear-old. Which, it turns out, is more fun than it sounds.
Visit slickcity.com/mn-maple-grove or call 763-373-3155 to plan your visit.
The slides will be waiting. They are not going anywhere.
The Race That Starts Before Anyone Falls Apart
“Showing up before things fall apart.”
ARTICLE BY KRISTI SELLERS
Fair warning: the Thumbs Up 5K has been known to cause unexpected feelings of community spirit. Consult your calendar immediately.
On September 19th, families across Maple Grove will lace up their shoes for a 5K that delivers on two things most events can only promise one of: a genuinely good time and a genuinely good cause. We’re talking kids crossing finish lines like they just qualified for the Olympics. Strollers navigating the course with surprising aggression. Neighbors cheering for complete strangers. Cowbells. You know the vibe — and if you don’t, this is the year to find out.
But here’s what’s underneath all of it.
Thumbs Up is a mental health nonprofit with a refreshingly unglamorous superpower: showing up before things fall apart. School programs. Community training. Youth peer-support groups. Senior services. Not because crises don’t happen — but because the more people who know the warning signs, know how to talk about it, and know they’re not alone, the fewer crises do.
Executive Director Katie Shatusky calls it simply: “accessible mental health education and peer support so children, families, and communities can recognize warning signs, get help early, and build emotional resilience.”
This year’s theme is CommUNITY — a word they clearly enjoyed inventing, and mean completely.
Race proceeds fund all of it. So crossing that finish line? You’re doing more than you think.
“If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. Small steps matter. Talk to someone you trust — or call or text 988 any time.”
— Katie Shatusky, Executive Director, Thumbs Up More at www.thumbsupresources.org
TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
ON MARRIAGE, KIDS, AND THE COMEDY OF REAL LIFE
Trey Kennedy makes a living finding comedy in regular life. Marriage. Toddlers. Yoga pants. The Thursday-night scramble between school dropoffs, soccer practice, and whatever has to be done by morning. Twelve years in, it shows: millions of followers across every platform, three stand-up specials, a sold-out Relatable Tour, and a style of humor fans send each other captioned, “Are you watching me?” He delivers the kind of comedy that travels because everyone’s living some version of it.
Katie, his wife of six years, is a former biomedical engineer who also built a modeling career. She’s now raising their kids and co-hosting Correct Opinions alongside Trey — the show where the two of them swap takes on marriage, parenting, and whatever came up that week.
Trey has been at this longer than people realize. An Edmond, Oklahoma kid who grew up playing basketball described himself as a “shy kid who never thought he’d be an entertainer.” He started making videos while attending Oklahoma State University. After building millions of followers on Vine before the platform shut down, he gave himself six months on Instagram and Facebook to see whether he could rebuild from zero. He did. Stand-up soon followed. His first special, Are You For Real?, streams on YouTube; the second, Grow Up, on Amazon Prime; the third, built around the Relatable Tour, wrapped earlier this year. “I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now,” he says. A slow climb, made one bit at a time.
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK
“I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now.”
Most of what Trey writes lately starts in his own kitchen. Thomas is three and a half, and he is, in his father’s words, “a movie.” He narrates his own life from the moment his eyes open and mispronounces words in ways his parents now repeat to each other because no one else would believe them. His younger sister, Eva, is what Katie calls “the calm one.” With a third now in the mix, the Kennedys are officially outnumbered.
After six years of marriage, Trey and Katie have learned that the partnership runs best when it gets its own time on the calendar. So once a week, they leave the kids with a sitter and go out for coffee. “You need a system,” Katie says. “It’s about taking time to look each other in the eye. Not the kids. Not the cameras. Just each other.”
The same instinct shapes the work. Most of Trey’s trial and error happens onstage or on Instagram, but the first read is always Katie’s. “There’s only been one time ever I’ve had to be like, ‘you’re not doing that,’” she says. The rest of the time, she just laughs first.
FEATURING TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
Trey and Katie talk about marriage, parenting, and the moments that don’t make the Instagram feed.
Watch or listen to the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES HAIR & MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
Dining
AUGUST 2026
events
A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS
THROUGH AUGUST 2ND
Powderhorn Art Fair
Powderhorn Park 3400 15th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN | 8:00 AM
The Powderhorn Art Fair embodies the iconic artsy and eclectic Powderhorn community. Over the past 34 years, the Powderhorn Art Fair has grown to represent over 200 juried artists spanning 20 mediums, dozens of community partners, and Minneapolis’ top food vendors.
THROUGH AUGUST 26TH
Grooves and Foods
Maple Grove Town Green | Every Wednesday at 5:00 PM
Grooves and Foods Festival is an open to the public, all-ages event held at the beautiful Town Green in Maple Grove. Enjoy food and beverages and listen to live music.
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 7TH
Minnesota State Fair
Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1265 Snelling Avenue North, Saint Paul, MN | 8:00 AM
Come enjoy “The Great Minnesota Get-Together”. Filled with fun food and activities you won’t want to miss. Bring the family and discover new adventures for all!
AUGUST 4TH
National Night Out
Central Park of Maple Grove | 11:00 AM
From 11 a.m.–1 p.m., the Maple Grove Police and Fire Departments are sponsoring a free lunch and emergency equipment show at Central Park.
AUGUST 10TH
Annie Sloan 101 Chalk Paint Workshop
Mama's Happy | 5:00 PM
Whether you’re dreaming of painting a piece of furniture or simply want to learn the fundamentals, this Annie Sloan 101 workshop is the perfect place to start. This hands-on class is taught by one of our very own certified Annie Sloan Instructors and walks you through the core techniques and confidence-building basics of using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.
AUGUST 21ST - 22ND
Maple Grove Triathlon
Weaver Lake Park, 17270 82nd Ave N, Maple Grove | 5:00 AM
Whether you’re chasing a personal best, tackling your first triathlon, or cheering on the kids at Friday’s Splash & Dash, the Maple Grove Triathlon has something for everyone. With race options from Super Sprint to International, plus relay teams and family-friendly energy at Weaver Lake Park, it’s a weekend built for athletes of all ages. www.maplegrovetri.com
Want to be featured?
