February 2018 Maple Grove Magazine

In the February issue meet a farmers market family that makes pretzels, mustards, jams and jellies.

Kristin Jones puts a lot of thought, effort and love into her photos. Whether shooting a wedding, senior picture or Maple Grove Senior High theater production, Jones ponders possible pictures and uses the environment to her advantage.

 

It’s Wednesday night and you’ve got a house full of rowdy kids looking for something to eat. You’ve worked all day and you’re tired; cooking sounds tedious. The thought of sitting down at a restaurant with the kids sounds difficult. You suddenly realize that takeout is the answer.

 

North Hennepin Community College (NHCC) offers six to eight free student-focused gallery shows each season.

 

The challenge of turning a pile of parts into an award-winning car is thrilling for Gary Krukoski. His love of restoring cars has led to participation in the 10,000 Lakes Concours d’Elegance which draws collectors of cars, boats and motorcycles to the annual event.

 

As you approach the Straate home, you can’t help but notice the two-tier fountain, front and center of the brown brick two-story home. All four windows on the second floor sport window boxes filled with colorful trailing begonias and greenery.

 

During the frosty winter months, Maple Grove’s youth football association does not lie dormant. For the parents, coaches and players, football is a year-round sport.

 

To walk along a set of train tracks is to follow its path into the past. Locomotives have rules which do not burden cars and ships. These 200-ton diesel engines can’t U-turn at an intersection, nor can they raise their sails to catch a change in the wind.

 

“I want to go bigger.” That was the sentence that started it all. After their 17-year-old Dalmatian died, Jim Homuth told his wife Lora he’d like to try a new breed. Enter Odin, a rescued, black and white “harlequin” Great Dane whose previous owner had gone to jail for animal abuse.

 

A winter day would usually start with getting to the coffee machine as swiftly as possible. Now that he’s retired, former fire chief Scott Anderson can brew his coffee whenever he wants, and put his feet up in front of the fire instead of fighting it.

 

Every first Wednesday of the month, November through May, over 200 people from Church of the Open Door Next Generation youth group, serve at nearly 25 different locations around the Twin Cities.

 

XYZ University’s founder and CEO Sarah Sladek’s fifth book examines theories behind different talents and explains why organizations who want to recruit and retain employees in today’s workforce need to change their culture, strategy and structure.

 

Sally and Jeff Gardner, vendors at the Maple Grove farmers market, have been making different pretzels for nearly 10 years. They offer samples with a side of honey mustard. However, they sell four to five other homemade varieties.

 

Maple Grove resident Brandi Sweeny was inspired by a book to begin selling upscale vintage items on eBay and Poshmark.