Author Archives: admin

Apple Wizard of Gideon Bay

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We take it for granted that people can grow tasty apples in Minnesota, but that hasn’t always been the case. Early settlers missed this fruit so much that some of them used to soak potatoes in vinegar to try and replicate the taste. After 15 years of toil and thousands upon thousands of failures, a Lake Minnetonka settler named Peter M. Gideon finally came up with an edible Minnesota apple. He named it Wealthy to honor his wife (that was her first name) and to symbolize all the hardships they had been through. Gideon had a reputation as an eccentric man with a colorful personality.

If you’d like to read the entire story about this historical figure for whom Gideon Bay on Lake Minnetonka is named, click on the link below. Enjoy!

The Apple Wizard of Gideon Bay. Tonka Times, Sept 2010.

Published version of the story posted with permission of the publisher of Tonka Times magazine.

My Claim to Fame

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My name may not be displayed on the cover (yet), but it is mentioned in the “Acknowledgements” section of a book that debuted at number one on the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers list. Get your geek on, because the heart of my claim to fame story is a medical tidbit about the ever-fascinating human heart.

The book that bears my name was authored by Jodi Picoult. In March 2006 I attended one of her Minneapolis readings, and she told the audience that her 2008 release featured a character who had a heart transplant. During my two-minute chat with Jodi while she signed The Tenth Circle, I told her I had recently discovered the really cool answer to a heart transplant question that had haunted me for many years. She asked me to email her the story, which I promptly did, and now I’ll share it with you. Continue reading →

A Little History on Big Island

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Big Island, Lake MinnetonkaWhen I started writing for Tonka Times magazine in 2010, one of my first stories was about the history of Big Island on Lake Minnetonka. This island has undergone many transitions over the past century, ranging from a Dakota Indian maple syrup site to a bustling amusement park hosting up to 15,000 daily visitors. Today, the western portion of the island is divided amongst numerous property owners, and the eastern 56 acres comprise a passive recreation park managed by the City of Orono. If you’d like to learn more about Big Island’s colorful history, including tales from the Scheftel family and their mother, Marge, who became known as The Queen of Big Island, click the link below to read the story. Enjoy!

Wetutonka: A Little History on Big Island. Tonka Times, July 2010.

Published version of the story posted with permission of the publisher of Tonka Times magazine.

China’s Terracotta Warriors

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Terracotta Chariot Replica. Photo by Kris Danson.I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been living under a rock. Until my sister asked me the other day if I wanted to go to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) for their special exhibit, I don’t ever recall hearing about China’s Terracotta Warriors. These statues were discovered in 1974 by farmers who were digging a well in Shaanxi province. We went to the MIA exhibit on Friday, and it was fascinating to learn about this massive collection of 8,000 life-sized terracotta warrior statues, the creation of which was commissioned by China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang. He ascended to the throne at the age of 13, and from that moment, he began to plan for his burial and a means to protect himself in the afterlife. The terracotta warriors, chariots and more than 600 life-sized horses were buried near Emperor Qin’s mausoleum when he died in 210 B.C. The photo shown here, taken by my sister, Kris Danson, is a replica.

It’s mind-boggling to think of the logistics and technological savvy it took to create this impressive artistic collection. It’s just as fascinating to think that we can cast our eyes upon (but not touch, photograph or even sketch!) these beautifully detailed earthen treasures that are more than 2,000 years old. Continue reading →

Munsingwear – A Brief History

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We’re easing into December this weekend with 50° temps, which is above average for Minnesota. I skipped the long underwear today, but I’ve already been wearing them for the past couple weeks. I found some great wool blend garments at Costco that have me reminiscing about George Munsing. He’s the guy who invented a way to plate silk onto wool, giving us cozy and itchless wool undergarments. The company he helped found in 1886 eventually became known as Munsingwear, and it was a big part of Minneapolis history for more than 100 years. I wrote about this history for the September 2011 issue of Tonka Times.

Click the link below if you’d like to read the story. Enjoy!

MunsingwearMunsingwear: A Brief History. Tonka Times Sept 2011

Published version of the story posted with permission of the publisher of Tonka Times magazine.

Cat Constipation — A Hard Problem to Solve

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Sosa

Sosa, my eight-year-old cat, has her share of neurotic Siamese issues, and some of them are making me neurotic. The two biggies are her meowing jags and her random attempts to fertilize my carpet. It has taken about a year of scat tracking to figure out her problems. We’re making progress, but we both may end up going crazy before we finally get this mystery solved.

Piecing Together the Clues

During Sosa’s annual check-up in October 2011, I told the vet that I was occasionally finding cat poop on the carpet. The doctor’s words stuck with me: cats don’t do this to be naughty. If a cat has normal litter box habits, and suddenly she doesn’t, you can bet a bejeweled cat collar she has a legitimate reason. Seeing Sosa couldn’t simply tell me that reason, I’ve been struggling to interpret her cryptic cat code. Continue reading →

Ice Follies Story Wins Gold

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My Ice Follies feature story, originally published in the January 2012 issue of Tonka Times, won gold at the Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Association 2012 Excellence Awards. One of my best memories about working on this story was meeting Jean and Joan Pastor, twin sisters who were bubbling with excitement to talk about their experience skating in the Ice Follies. This family-friendly entertainment show got its start in Minnesota in the 1930s.

Click the link below if you’d like to read the story. Enjoy!

Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies: A Minnesota Class Act. Tonka Times, January 2012

Published version of the story posted with permission of the publisher of Tonka Times magazine.