The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Crystal Christenson
The turning point came in 2012 when I attended a workshop with a renowned photographer from Seattle. That experience validated my passion and fueled my ambition. By 2013, I took a leap of faith, leaving my stable hospital job to pursue photography full-time. For nearly 15 years, I nurtured my craft in a dedicated home studio, capturing countless precious moments for families. Now, in 2025, I’ve reached a long over due milestone: opening my first brick-and-mortar studio right here in downtown Lindstrom. It’s a dream realized, a testament to the power of passion and the joy of capturing life’s most beautiful moments. To have photographed hundreds of newborns and thousands of families, it’s a blessing I cherish every day. Read more>>
Sara Boyum
My mind does not sit idle for too long, as I then purchased another building on main street. It was probably the biggest project we had taken on to date. WE opened Neverbetter Market + Wellness in 2023. It offers grain bowls, salads, wraps, paninis, acai bowls, smoothies and more. It is more of a fast casual atmosphere. On the second level we offer fitness classes, an event space, massage therapist + esthitician. The business is ever evolving and changing as we are learning what works best for the area. In April, SaraSodas will join Neverbetter. It is our take on the dirty soda craze. Read more>>
Zeke Berg
Shortly after buying the farm, we realized it was tough to get our business off the ground while we were both working full time career jobs. After much discussion, Zeke left his corporate job so he could focus on building the farm and agritourism business. Dana still works her Monday through Friday job, but the Fall Festival has grown to the point where she is needed every Friday through Sunday in the Fall to ensure a great customer experience. Read more>>
Becca Haugen
It has been anything but smooth, but that’s when you learn the most. I’ve had to learn to navigate the busy seasons, balancing being a mom, business owner and making time for myself. I’ve subjected myself to hustle culture and fully embraced it, until I realized how much that did not work for me. Setting boundaries (and sticking to them) is helpful in not over booking my time. In contrast, slow season can mess with your head in a different way, too much idle time allows imposter syndrome to creep in. Learning to talk to myself, do grounding work and use the slow seasons to experiment with creativity and evolve my style has been a game changer. Read more>>
Julian Wagner
Minneapolis is a vibrant, rapidly growing city filled with people looking for unique, high-energy experiences. We knew we had to deliver something truly exceptional—something that would not only entertain but also leave a lasting impression. That’s exactly what we’re bringing to the Twin Cities: an immersive, high-energy entertainment experience designed to thrill, engage, and surprise. Read more>>
Andrew Zuis
As I look to the future, I eagerly anticipate many more years of storytelling, laughter, and festive joy. The journey of Storytime Santa has been a heartwarming adventure, and I am profoundly grateful to all who have welcomed me into their celebrations and allowed me to be a part of their holiday traditions. Read more>>
Leedra & Kasia Yang
One day as Leedra was scrolling past luxury picnics that were popping up all over big cities like LA and NYC she texted her sisters and said “we could totally do this”, Kasia, the oldest sister quickly responded and from there the idea became a reality. Kasia and Leedra formed Kollective Luxury Picnics in the summer of 2021 but quickly pivoted to Kollective Luxury Events as we grew. We found our skills and interests in the business was more than just luxury picnics and wanted our name to reflect that also. We quickly introduced balloon backdrop services into our business and now have added services from rentals to event draping to full on event styling and planning. Read more>>
Tracy Schlax
The rescue we were with at that time would transport some dogs from the overcrowded, high-kill shelters in the South to Minnesota. They would come here often without collars or with dirty, grungy looking ones. Wanting my fosters to look nice and stand out I was buying nice collars for them which was getting expensive. I realized people were looking for some sort of connection to a dog as an excuse to adopt them. So, if the dog was wearing a Batman collar and the person loved Batman that was the “sign” this was his dog. Read more>>
Kyle James
I started tattooing shortly after completing my BFA in Graphic Design from UMD. I began at Benchmark Tattoo under Josh Crotty and Kyle Grover. They taught me traditional tattooing methods, and within a few years I had a solid clientele to work from. From there, I began evolving my style into what it is today and eventually building up a strong enough following to open my own studio. Voyageur Tattoo came into existence 3 years ago and has become a pillar in the Duluth Tattooing community. Working in the Duluth Folk School has helped us break into smaller communities and become the go-to tattooers for many different social groups in the area. Read more>>
Chris Mcduffie
I’m a commercial photographer and filmmaker who loves to tell diverse stories from all corners of humanity. I’m probably most recognized for my work with larger brands and organizations like the Timberwolves. I think being able to sustain a career in the arts has been my most proud accomplishment. Being able to move seamlessly between stills and motion in production and post production definitely gives me an edge over many of my peers. Read more>>
Charles Jah
In high school, my focus started shifting toward filmmaking. I loved how motion and sound could bring a story to life in ways a single image couldn’t. I spent late nights editing videos, experimenting with angles, and studying the craft of visual storytelling. That passion earned me a scholarship to study filmmaking in New York, a city filled with endless inspiration. Read more>>
Noreen Thomas
My background in food and nutrition, chemistry, and microbiology helped shape our farming philosophy. We’ve always focused on sustainability, which led us to become part of the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. But beyond farming, I found a passion for mentorship—helping beginning farmers, particularly women, navigate their way into agriculture. Over the years, I’ve worked with various organizations, including the Artisan Grain Collaboration and the Michael Fields Advisory Board, to support new farmers. Through Renewing the Countryside, I’ve connected over 180 farmers to USDA programs, helping them access vital resources. Read more>>
Rosmarly Marquez
Over the years in the USA, an investigation is opened by declaration of money, where I have to pay almost 25 million dollars to the state for tax evading, due to this process I run out of money and I have to start again and do things right, such as registering my company and declaring every dollar of entry and exit, in 2024 I receive a statement from the school of cosmetology, with a fine for working from home, at that moment I can tell you that my world came upon me where I faced diseases and depression due to being without my marriage and without work Read more>>
Krista Kopperud
When you operate a business, nothing is straight-forward! We were just getting started in the new tasting room when COVID hit and we were shut down for months. We found ways to adapt and survived, but it has been a weird world since that time. Every year is a new surprise and consumer-ism has continued to change. The challenge for us is to stay relevant in the world of unknowns. Read more>>
Barbara Krause
For nearly a year, I wrote two, 500-word blogs per week. After that, I never looked back. All Things Death and I became inseparable. My business, In the Thick of Things LLC, began to take shape. I joined others to challenge the status quo of how western culture viewed and handled death over the last 200 years. It was time for a change. Some families may benefit by reclaiming the sacred experience of death and dying—it isn’t all doom and gloom. Read more>>
Katya Zepeda
It was at this conference where we learned how advocacy works. I was hooked and returned the next year as part of the planning committee. This conference gave me the skills and the self-esteem to be active. This passion is what led me to apply for a position in the Youth Advisory Council at the Department of Children, Families and Learning during my senior year. Here I met another wonderful mentor, Commissioner Christine Jax. I was given a platform to speak about the inequities in education. I was even selected to be a presenter at the Minnesota Alliance with Youth Conference. Read more>>
Milissa Silva
Staffing has been the biggest challenge as we are a specialty market and rely on staff that are familiar with the products, language, cuisines and culture, this requires specialty skills, in MN finding the right staff has been a challenge. Though it’s better now, staffing continues to be our biggest challenge, we are so fortunate to have an amazing team of staff that have grown with our business and are amazing leaders. Financial and succession planning has also been something we learn as we go though this has also become stronger in recent years. Read more>>
Jode Freyholtz-london
For a period of time, I worked as a peer support for crisis response, assisted in housing services and worked weekends and evenings at McDonalds. It was a busy time. In 2006 i was able to secure a position providing peer support in central Mn with what was then Minnesota’s consumer organization. In 2009, I was able to attend the first Mn based peer support training and eventually teach that class for several years. My position with that organization allowed me to grow and become the statewide trainer around mental health and wellness as well as the stigma that surrounds it causing people to delay asking for assistance. Read more>>
Bonnie Mohr
Growing up on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota, the second oldest of 8 children, I had plenty of opportunities to learn how to work and figure things out for myself. Here, my roots grew and a deep love of Rural America was fostered. After attending college at the U of M – Waseca for Dairy Production & Communications, and migrating through a few jobs, I made the courageous and scary decision to follow my heart and with my supporting husband by my side, I began my career as an artist! Read more>>
Amanda Hamilton
I’m a visual artist and I currently work in painting and collage though I’ve also made video work. I’ve lived in Minneapolis for 12 years and have a studio in the Casket Arts Building in the NE Arts District. I am originally from Southern California and have an MFA in Painting from Claremont Graduate University. I love working with students and I’ve have been teaching painting, video art, and color theory for over 20 years. My current work explores the contrast of human time and deep time through geology, deep space, and the contemporary landscape. The grief of living in the Anthropocene underscores my love and longing for the world depicted in these recent artworks. Read more>>
Steve Amundson
over 20 cabins and 20 boats, guide service, seasonal dock spots, seasonal camp spots, gas, bait, ice…Id say our old fashioned service and cabins set us apart. we are very fishing orientated as well, so we can help out tremendously with that. Id say Im most proud of what we’ve built, no even just business wise, but the friendships we’ve built with so many great people that we consider family now, had we never done the resort, we would have never encountered this many great people in our lifetime. We cant wait to have the kids take over when the time comes. Read more>>
Kris Erickson
We attended the Pine River Picklefest last summer and thought a show special, The Real Dill, mild would be a fun addition. Wow, we sold out and have added this flavor to our line up. We have several flavors: Original O.G., The Real Dill, Minnesota Spice, Firecracker, Ghost Pepper, and our Carolina reaper spice mix is called, Gull Dam Hot. We have a few new flavors we are working on, so stay tuned for updates! Read more>>
Leah Cooper & Alan Berks
Alan is a playwright from Chicago and Leah is a director from Los Angeles. They met in 2003 when Leah was running the Minnesota Fringe Festival and Alan was brought here for a fellowship at the Playwrights Center. They have been partnering on a variety of endeavors ever since, including creating MinnesotaPlaylist.com, a trade journal for the performing arts, and most recently co-founding Wonderlust Productions, a a professional ensemble of theater artists that believes community engagement is the path to transformative art. Read more>>
Allison Eklund
An exciting career lay ahead, I believed, when I landed a plum job at a large law firm. Alas, I was miserable. The business of law was not as inspiring as the real problems I was assigned to help solve, and the complex social hierarchy of a corporate office environment felt opaque and exhausting. I jumped ship and landed in a small, boutique law firm that represented American Indian tribes and tribal organizations. This satisfying job was essentially international law. Call it domestic nation-building. I worked in human services, law enforcement, environmental protection, gaming, real estate, and business development. It was a blast. I grew a set of tools in my proverbial tool box that became so useful and universal, I quit and, in 2007, hung out my own shingle as a solo attorney. Read more>>
Turrion And Brittany Bullock
Baking those cheesecakes brought me so much joy and I got to a point in my life where I wanted to do something more meaningful. With my faith in God and my wife’s encouragement, at the end of 2022, I posted a question on social media asking if anyone would order a cheesecake from me. I got one order. I initially felt down about the lack of response (after having such great response to my first cheesecake post) but that one order led to the creation of The B.E.Z.T. Bakery. Read more>>
Jill Palmquist
oh, there were lots of struggles. You can’t hang out at a 3 billion dollar, 40,000 team member company and expect there not to be. The wrong people were in the wrong jobs sometimes,- never anyone’s fault- or people weren’t clear on roles or expectations. This sounds so corporate and boring but it comes down to relationships- humans trying to work with other humans. You figure it out. I was lucky enough to have people around me show me how to do it diplomatically and with care. (most of the time…there’s. story going around that one day I told another writer her work was poop. I say i said THE PROJECT was poop.) I can understand if you want to leave that last part out! Read more>>
Hanna Getachew-kreusser
At Face to Face, we are more than a nonprofit providing youth with personalized, comprehensive healthcare, which connects youth and their families to support with all areas affecting their physical and mental health (including housing, education, employment, and social connection). We also work with young people and their communities to change the complex systems that were not designed for them to be healthy. Read more>>
Jill Godes
Vacant Home Staging has been the most challenging part of the business. There is a lot that goes into all the inventory you have to keep, storage, moving the furniture in and out of homes. It’s a lot of work and the cost is high. The housing market has been up and down over the years. We have had booming years of staging and years where it’s difficult to get people to want to utilize the service due to market prices. Read more>>
Dennis Canada Jimenez
There were definitely ups and downs with tattooing. From getting used to using a tattoo machine to having to tell my mom that I wasn’t going to go to college, which I knew she was going to be disappointed about. Tattooing has definitely humbled me a few times. Some things they might not tell you before getting into tattooing is having to deal with clients that are upset with the work you give them, and that can be very personal because you put a lot of time and effort on something that is very difficult to do since you have to work with the body curves and every little movement the client makes. Read more>>
Dana Chase
And so in 2015, I began to write In Spite of Heroin, not knowing how it would open, what I’d include, or how it would end. I just knew I had to begin. Writing it was not cathartic, it was painful and difficult for two reasons, I was writing about our lives while still fully immersed in the painful experience. I was simultaneously the author and the protagonist. While writing it I was living in real time what would become future pages. The second reason it was difficult was that I’m well-read and I won’t read a poorly written book, so I was unwilling to write one. Holding myself to a high level of writing skills required discipline and tenacity which was a challenge for me, especially while living in despair Read more>>
Tianna Ahrens
started small – I had a lot to learn, so I joined a networking group, built a business plan, and got to work. My first clients were local businesses who needed more than just marketing materials -they needed someone to manage their entire marketing efforts, coordinate with outside industry partners, and ensure every campaign was aligned with their goals. Read more>>
Marky Bergeron
With Sibilance, finding the right manufacturers to execute my vision—especially with the intricate details like crystal embellishments and tapestry work—was a learning curve. Quality control, production delays, and the high costs of luxury streetwear all posed challenges, but I’m learning how to navigate them over time. Read more>>
