United States of America
Freelance Writer with five years experience. My portfolio contains just a sampling of the hundreds of articles--newspaper, magazine, and online-- I have written on a huge variety of subjects!
My Professional Writing Skills:
*Creating engaging, informative content that leaves a lasting impression with readers.
*Expert interviewing skills--I have interviewed hundreds of people. I know the questions to ask that bring forth the essence of the topic, as well as the person I am interviewing.
*Research-based content. I do copious research, consulting numerous sources who are experts in their subject area.
*Two of the stories I wrote for Agri News were picked up by the Associated Press. I do quality work that gets noticed.
*My photography has accompanied many of my stories. The photos compliment and enrich the story.
ELLENDALE, Minn. - The hundreds of awards that line three walls of Steve's Meat Market in Ellendale tell a part of the story. Meeting owners Donnavon Eaker and Rachael Lee, and learning about Steve, who died in 2006, the story becomes clear. This family-owned business has stood the test of time.
It's a place of safety. A place to be vulnerable. A place to call "home." It's The Refuge, the newest addition to Next Chapter Ministries, an organization founded in 1991 by Andy Kilen, that works to provide support to those impacted by crime.
Each September, which is designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness month, we hear statistics of how many children are diagnosed each year: More than 15,000 kids in the U.S., according to the American Childhood Cancer Organization, and of those, a fourth of them will not survive the disease.
For many, the holiday season is filled with family traditions, those long-held customs that are as familiar and as comforting as a warm blanket on a cold winter's night. For others, however - those who have recently experienced a significant life change - the holidays may be touched by sadness, anxiety and depression, even anger, and carrying on with the same traditions may bring its own mix of challenging emotions.
PICKWICK, Minn. - As Vic Gardner opened the gate allowing water to pour over the water wheel and moved clutches into position, the old gristmill in Pickwick came rumbling back to life.
The evening included authentic Mexican food - pozole, tostadas and churros - traditional dance performances, cultural displays, and a silent auction. "We have a saying," said Veronica Flock, Day of the Dead dinner chairwoman. "As long as you have music, dance and food, everything will be OK."
LANESBORO, Minn. - World Livestock champion auctioneer Brian Curless was the special guest auctioneer at the 70th anniversary celebration at the Lanesboro Sales Commission on Sept. 15. More than 500 people attended the sale in which 2,000 head of cattle were on the auction block.
HARMONY, Minn. - When John Whalen began experiencing numbness in his legs nine years ago, he thought it might be due to an earlier back surgery. However, tests showed a blockage and doctors recommended surgery to remove a tumor on his spinal cord. Removal of the tumor, which was benign, did not reverse the paralysis.
HOUSTON, Minn. - Sarah Joy Wexler looks over the rows of dinosaur kale, sweet peppers, pattypan squash and ripe tomatoes, and snips the choicest ones. After she finishes harvesting vegetables, she will move to the cutting garden, where a lush display of zinnias, celosia and sunflowers beckon.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Can you name two things that propolis (bee resin) is used for? Do you know how a queen bee is chosen? Do you know how many bees live in an average hive? Students at Rochester Alternative Learning Center learned the answers to these and more questions about bees and honey production at the second annual Honeyfest, held Sept.
ADAMS - Her name is Cookie - for the little vanilla cream-filled sandwich cookies she's so fond of - and she is one proud mama. Cookie, a 10-year-old Simmental and Angus cross owned by Susie and Mike Lewison of Adams, gave birth to triplets, two heifers and a bull, on Aug.
The World Cup tournament unfolding in Brazil over the next month is exciting to anyone who enjoys soccer but especially for those with deep roots in the South American country that's hosting the worldwide tournament. "Brazil will win, of course," saidWesley Costa, director of programs for Tetra Brazil Soccer Academy, was born in Brazil and still has family there.
LEWISTON, Minn. - Many young people and their families dream of a rural farming lifestyle, but the idea of a utopia where a family might have a small farm, some dairy cows, and meeting the needs of a growing family, may not be possible today.
CLAREMONT, Minn. - The expansion and modernization project at Al-Corn Clean Fuel here is expected to be finished a few months earlier than planned. The project, which began in December, was originally expected to be completed in July 2018.
MONTGOMERY, Minn. - The first hints of fall in the air mean it's apple picking time and the chance to spend a day at a local orchard. Scott and Barb Wardell, owners of Montgomery Orchard in Montgomery, have created an orchard filled with activities designed to connect you with nature, to help you enjoy the peace that comes with the fresh air of a crisp fall day.
Mazeppa, Minn. - As Charolais and Black Angus grazed on the lush grass of Katie and Ted Brenny's farm near Mazeppa, guests of CommonGround's "Field to Fork Farm Dinner" talked farming. "We're 'city folk,'" said one young father, there with his 3-year-old daughter. "How can people who live in cities connect with farmers and the ag community?"
WASECA, Minn. - "Accidents. Nobody thinks they're going to happen and they happen very quickly." That's a message delivered by Andy Jewison, a presenter at this year's Waseca County Farm Bureau Farm and Home Safety Day.
ROCHESTER,Minn. - Growing up on the family farm in Goodhue, Chuck Schwartau spent a lot of time doing the chores typical of a farm kid in the 1950s and early 60s. "Realize that at that time," he said, "there wasn't a lot of mechanization. I shoveled a lot of manure out of the barns."
MEDFORD, Minn. - What's revolutionary about lettuce? A lot, say the owners of Revol Greens, a company that will grow lettuces locally all year long. Their greenhouse facility, which is being built in Medford, will soon supply a variety of greens to Midwest grocers and restaurants.
ST. CHARLES, Minn. - For her decades-long contribution to agricultural education and the National FFA Organization, Lila Brogan, of St. Charles, Minn., has been named the 2017 Outstanding Alumni Member from Minnesota. She will be recognized at the state FFA Alumni conference on March 4 at Central Lakes College in Staples, Minn.
Two years ago, 23-year-old Brittany Kleeberger was working full-time, finding it a challenge to make ends meet, but even more of a challenge to spend time with her daughter, Briea. She was working full-time at a restaurant. And prior to that job, she was working even longer days in a factory.
To help illustrate the work she does as a life coach at her recently opened Kaleidoscope Coaching Studio, Anne Borchardt gave a brief demonstration. She stood up, leaned over, and reached out her hand as if to pull someone through a dark tunnel or up from quicksand.
ELK RIVER, Minn. - This year's visitors to the revitalized Oliver Kelley Farm will explore agriculture from the 1860s to today in three spaces. In a multi-million dollar renovation which began in earnest in the spring of 2015, an effort was made to connect Minnesotans with agriculture of both past and present.
Stories of the Schaeffer experience were featured at the eighth annual Schaeffer Academy Gala, Mar. 11 at the Doubletree Hotel. More than 200 people attended the evening event - which included dinner and a silent auction - and raised $150,000 to benefit both the scholarship and the annual fund.
A palpable energy poured from the UCR Regional Sports Center on April 26, has more than 900 people gathered for Athleta's "Unleash the SHE," a 5K and 10K race event for the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance. The fifth-annual event raised more than $40,000 for MOCA, which provides support to women with ovarian cancer, raises awareness and advances research.