hidden gems

LUVERNE -- As Preston VerMeer hikes, bikes, walks and runs along city streets and off the beaten path, he sees things to which most people would turn a blind eye.

WESTBROOK -- When a new café, The Recipe, opened its doors in January in Westbrook, it fulfilled both a community need and its owner's dream of running a restaurant. "It was the bowling alley-café when it closed seven years ago," explained Angie Knakmuhs Horkey about the space...

JACKSON -- "They give the best hugs," Janice Lepinski says. Lepinski is referring to animals, and in her life she comes across quite a few. In 2009 Lepinski helped start PAWS (Precious Animals Worth Saving) of Jackson, an independent organization dedicated to assisting animals and...

WORTHINGTON -- Even though the Round Lake Sportsman's Club doesn't have the same numbers and financial backing of some of the larger clubs, that doesn't mean it isn't making an impact. The Round Lake Sportsman's Club has done numerous projects locally since its inception. "It...

RUSHMORE -- The days of Extension educators leading Project groups for local women may be a thing of the past, but for a group of ladies in Wilmont,...

EDGERTON -- When Scott Landin quit his job of 12 years at Bayliner in Pipestone to start working at the Edgerton Bakery, he admits he wasn't much of a baker. "When my youngest son was born, and my wife was away for the night, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies," he recalled....

PIPESTONE -- They may say you need a college degree to get ahead these days, but the owner of Lange's Café, Steve Lange, proves that isn't always the case. Thirteen credits shy of his college degree, Steve returned to Pipestone to help with the family restaurant started by his father,...

MAY CITY, Iowa -- Standing at the entrance to the 1888 Mennonite Cemetery near the intersection of two Iowa crossroads, a visitor can see for miles in all directions.

SIBLEY, Iowa -- The hum of ellipticals, bikes and a high-tech "Skywall" fill the air as you enter the Osceola Community Wellness and Rehab Center, but nothing can hide the fact that the staff and clients are comfortable and glad to be there. "Hey, Tyler, what's up?" one elderly...

LUVERNE -- Home to the western fringed prairie orchid, Wol's spike rush, tumble grass, pygmy plants and even water starworts, the Touch the Sky Prairie in Rock County is filled with beauty sought out by naturalists, biologists and anyone with an appreciation for native prairie forbs...

SLAYTON -- In 1891, Slayton was a budding town in a sea of prairie grass and home to the brand new Murray County Courthouse. Inspired and impressed with the courthouse building, Christopher Dinehart contacted the architect, Frank Thayer, Mankato, and hired him to design a home...

LISMORE -- Minnesota has always been baseball crazy. There was a Minnesota town named Nininger. Nininger doesn't even exist any longer. In 1857, before Minnesota even was a state, Nininger had a baseball club. Townball. That's what they have called it since -- oh, the 1920s. In...

WINDOM -- Access to fresh citrus products -- and a wholesome fundraising opportunity to boot -- is as close as MinnTex Citrus of Windom. Family owned and operated since January 1981, MinnTex Citrus continues to be run by the father-son team of Woody and Matt Johnson.

FULDA -- Founded in 1881, the city of Fulda tends to be populated with Western European descendents.

ADRIAN -- Doug Bullerman freely admits he has never wrestled a match in his life, but that doesn't mean he isn't a wrestling expert. Indeed, the 62-year-old farmer and president of Son-D-Farms Inc. has made wrestling a centerpiece of his life since 1972 -- and he isn't ready to take...