by Kristie Smith | Feb 1, 2024 | Shop Local
Cottage baker Zhinus Vafai offers up a cupcake basket tutorial for this Valentine’s Day.
by Madeline Kopiecki | Jan 4, 2024 | Featured, Local Makers
Local co-op is expanding to a brick-and-mortar shop. Hudson Grocery Cooperative (HGC) knows the kind of void the closing of a local grocery store leaves in a community. The idea for the co-op itself took root during a conversation between local parents and neighbors...
by Editorial Staff | Jan 1, 2024 | Best of St. Croix Valley
It’s time to celebrate the best that St. Croix Valley has to offer! Our Best of St. Croix Valley 2024 annual readers’ poll offers a fill-in-the-blank voting system, making it easier for voters to nominate the businesses, organizations and places that serve...
by Zoe Yates | Dec 1, 2023 | Featured
Nostalgia has always come easily to me. As a kid, I would spend hours in my grandparents’ closet, digging through albums and shoeboxes of old family photos, feeling deep sentimental longing for the people I’d never met and the years long gone. Even today, with enough...
by Rachael Johnson | Dec 1, 2023 | Book Club, Noteworthy, Shops
In this new release by bestselling authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, the main character, Evan, knows that two things are a big deal: books and starting middle school. He’s navigating his final days of fifth grade—and his anxiety about starting middle school—when a...
by Zoe Yates | Dec 1, 2023 | Photo Contest
Award-winning photo captures family at the Ice Palace Maze. For Stillwater resident Jon Quijano, there’s beauty to be found in the everyday. The portrait, wedding and event photographer says, “My greatest passion is capturing the experiences of family life, the...
by Hailey Almsted | Dec 1, 2023 | Noteworthy, Outdoors, Sports
Winter is here, and for us hearty Midwesterners that means taking advantage of the unique things to do across our beautiful region. Luckily, the East Metro plays host to endless winter opportunities fit for the entire family. Which of these activities will you and...
by Kristie Smith | Dec 1, 2023 | Featured, Sports
Hudson Special Hockey helps players of all abilities find their place on the ice. The unmistakable, sweaty stink of a hockey bag. The blaring beat of classic rock and sharp sound of skates on ice. As it is in towns across the nation, youth hockey in the St. Croix...
by Rachael Perron | Dec 1, 2023 | Ingredients, Noteworthy, Recipes
There’s a myriad of ways to enjoy cranberries this season. Here’s a look at the differences between a few favorites: Cranberry relish is raw, fresh and tart. It’s typically eaten on its own as a side dish with roasted turkey. Its bright, tangy flavor is a nice...
by Zoe Yates | Dec 1, 2023 | Featured, Ingredients, Local Makers, Recipes
Bake something to write home about this holiday season. When the holiday season rolls around, so do the family recipes we’ve come to cherish. But if you’re anything like Nancy Figueroa, owner of Pinch ’n Rub Spice & Tea Hub in Stillwater, it could be the perfect...
by Editorial Staff | Dec 1, 2023 | Best of St. Croix Valley, Noteworthy
… to a collective celebration for the St. Croix Valley community and its local businesses and providers that continue to serve and support us in a host of categories. What’s the best way to honor your favorite dining spots, hometown businesses, service providers,...
by Zoe Yates | Dec 1, 2023 | Drinks, Featured, Restaurants
Historic Stillwater establishment enters a new era as Howard’s Bar. “I remember when it was John’s Bar,” reads a bright neon sign displayed at the newly opened Howard’s Bar. “It was Barney’s, then Sonny’s, then John’s, then Whitey’s, then Howard’s,” says Adam To, the...
by Macy Berendsen | Dec 1, 2023 | Outdoors
First Day Hikes foster connection with nature and community on New Year’s Day. Each New Year’s Day, people around the country rise early to join in on a U.S. State Parks tradition—First Day Hikes. At state parks and natural areas across the country, the ritual aims to...
by Jody Carey | Dec 1, 2023 | Gift Guides, Shops
Discover local artisans at La Vie Est Belle. Double up with a bit of me-time and relax as you shop for the holidays. Lake Elmo gift boutique La Vie Est Belle has a variety of handmade creations from local makers. Kristen Rohman Rehkamp opened La Vie Est Belle to find...
by Kristie Smith | Dec 1, 2023 | Community, Outdoors, Travel
Big Rock Creek celebrates the nostalgia of winters gone by. Winters in the Midwest are built on tradition, and in the St. Croix Valley, one family has created a holiday experience that can stir up nostalgia for generations to come. Big Rock Creek is an ever-evolving...