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.
Jeremy Hanks
Budget: High performance socks don’t come cheap. However, wearing the right socks makes the price seem not as important in the long run. Socks made from other materials may be less expensive, but they soak up foot moisture and hold it in, meaning your feet feel colder and are more prone to blisters. Read more>>
Hassen Aymo
In just one year, our academy achieved remarkable success — winning 34 medals in competitions and becoming a strong community hub for youth empowerment and cultural pride. My journey has always been about more than martial arts; it’s about helping people discover their inner strength, stay focused, and believe in themselves — both on and off the mat. Read more>>
Cassie Montgomery
Montgomery Made Cookie Co. was born in the summer of 2023, shortly after my first baby turned one. I am a Minnesota native that had been transplanted to the Gulf Coast with my wonderful husband. I have always loved to bake and create anything artistic—painting, drawing, pottery and scrapbooking are just a few examples of ways I love filling my time! Read more>>
M. Marie
I’ve always been deeply sensitive to the energy and emotions around me. Even as a child, I could sense when someone was hurting or holding something they weren’t saying out loud. Over time, I began to realize that what I was feeling wasn’t just empathy—it was intuitive insight. Read more>>
Cary Lenore Walski
I started out my career as an independent web developer working on large and sophisticated WordPress website projects. I love my clients, and I enjoyed writing code, but I found it frustrating how long it took to develop a custom site on the platform I was using at the time, WordPress. Read more>>
Terri Allred
My story has always been rooted in easing suffering and helping people feel safe, seen, and supported. I began my career in trauma work very young, supporting survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence, and community trauma. Those early years shaped my belief that people heal in relationship, through dignity, presence, and nervous-system safety. Over time, my work expanded. Read more>>
Brittany Taylor
I didn’t choose this candle life… this candle life chose me. It all started in December of 2018 when I was preparing Christmas gifts. That year, I decided to do something more personal and thought, you know what, I’m going to make gifts myself. Read more>>
Margaret Walker
When the pandemic hit in 2020, I had been a substitute teacher for 11 years and was being called to do something else, I just didn’t know what. My youngest daughter was in college in Montana at the time and had an assignment to interview someone in the community she wouldn’t normally talk to. Read more>>
Amanda Peters
My name is Amanda Peters, and my husband, Andy, and I are the owners of Club Pilates Rochester North. We opened our doors in March 2024. Prior to that, I spent ten years working as a dental assistant in oral surgery. While I loved caring for patients, I reached a point where I was seeking more balance—especially with two young kids at home. Read more>>
analise atkins
Throughout my life, I started cleaning for my elders and in my early adulthood, which became a part-time job. I had a vision of launching a cleaning business, as it is enjoyable to watch spaces transform. I transitioned from cleaning residential properties to larger establishments, including commercial buildings, construction cleanup, and rental properties. We clean everything from apartments to buildings to boats, which is exciting. Read more>>
Jeanie Hinsman
For many years as I travelled the Midwest I would seek out fair trade shops. I visited shops in Madison, Wi, Cedar Falls, IA, Vermillion, SD, the Twin Cities. My feeling was always—‘I wish New Ulm had a shop like this.’ I appreciated the support fair trade provides to crafters in disadvantaged circumstances who need a market for their wares. Read more>>
Neda Kellogg
I discovered my passion for coaching melanated girls ages 11–19 after leading my first self-discovery cohort at Monroe Middle School in Omaha, NE in 2006. Inspired by the girls’ growth that I coached, in emotional regulation and mental fitness, I launched Project DIVA International, expanding it into schools and the community. Read more>>
Nate Evens
My journey began in Special Education, where I spent years helping students discover their strengths and realize their potential. That work shaped my belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to find purpose and independence through meaningful employment. Read more>>
TJ Palesotti
I went to broadcast school in 1994. Landed my first radio job in Fairmont, MN in 1996. In 1998, I took another radio job in Mankato, MN where I held various positions for 26+ years. While I worked for a few different companies, I primarily held a morning show position on a country music station with my good friend Lisa Kaye. Read more>>
Jennifer Barker
My love for photography began over 35 years ago in a middle school class where I learned to shoot in manual mode and develop film in the darkroom. I was fascinated by how small adjustments could completely transform an image. I fell in love with capturing the every day moments, the ‘Gifts of Life’ if you will. Read more>>
Jenny Stendahl
I’ve been working at Rush Creek Golf Club for 30 years! It started as summer job in college, turn into a passion and has become my life. I met my husband here and we have formed our own family with 2 kids, along with a work family that shares a passion in providing exceptional golf, food and event services for our guests. Read more>>
Terry Wu
My path to becoming a keynote speaker and trainer on the neuroscience of leadership began with my Ph.D. in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, where I studied learning and memory. After years in different professional roles, I entered the speaking world and immediately noticed something troubling: the leadership industry was saturated with unverified stories and feel-good anecdotes, but extremely light on evidence-based insights. Read more>>
Amy Donnenwerth
We are a small counseling practice in the heart of the Driftless Region of southeastern Minnesota. We are approaching our one year anniversary coming up in January. Our mission is to provide Individualized, Informed and Innovative mental health care to our community members ages 5 and older. Read more>>
Heather McQueen
I was raised in rural South Dakota and later moved to Minneapolis, where I spent much of my career in advertising as a Project Manager and Producer. About ten years ago, I began feeling a deep pull to understand health and wellness more holistically. Read more>>
Mandy Wannarka
Mindful Wellbeing began long before the practice opened its doors. My work in mental health has always been shaped by the belief that meaningful healing is possible after difficult experiences. I learned this deeply during my own experience supporting new parents navigating the NICU. Read more>>
Narayan Johnson
I was born and raised in Minnesota with a natural affinity for touch — an intuitive knowing that connection, presence, and hands-on care could bring comfort and healing. Even before I graduated high school, I felt called to become a massage therapist. That certainty, shaped by my own early experiences of loss, set the foundation for the work I do today. Read more>>
Sam Buckner
This place all started at the house in a one stall garage that I called ‘Stall One’. Read more>>
Lorenzo Michelutti
Lorenzo “Ledfoot Larry” Michelutti burst onto the Twin Cities music scene as a teenager in the late ’90s, channeling the energy of alternative, classic, and progressive rock. After decades of musical exploration and countless performances, his passion for songwriting and storytelling remains as strong as ever—but with a refined focus. Read more>>
Marlys Steidl
I’ve always loved creating things that make people feel something — spaces, experiences, and memories that stick. My background is in social work, which taught me a lot about people, patience, and the power of good planning — lessons that come in handy every single day here at Adler Ranch. Read more>>
Molly Miller
I’ve always loved to bake. When I adopted a gluten-free diet to help control the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, I didn’t want to give up baking. So I started experimenting, converting some simple family-favorite recipes to be gluten free. A friend with celiac disease encouraged me to apply to farmers’ markets to sell my items, so I figured, why not?! Read more>>
Kristy Burgess
The story of my business began during COVID, when the world slowed down and life as I knew it shifted. At the time, I was working as a therapist in the Women’s Prison in Shakopee, MN. Read more>>
Amy Swain
I went to the University of Minnesota without knowing what I wanted to be. I changed my major several times until I worked in a research lab that was doing a study on hearing loss in chinchillas. The chinchilla has an ear that is very similar to humans so that is why we used them. Read more>>
Susan Mitchell
I was in the corporate world for 31 years and after multiple mergers and overlap with departments, my job was eliminated in 2019. At that time my husband had already been retired and told me to just not work, so I was able to do that for a couple weeks but then got bored. Read more>>
Miranda Aulie
I have always worked in the helping fields, before I pursued my Social Work degree I worked in healthcare. After working several years as a therapist, I started noticing a number of women in the window of perimenopause/menopause discussing symptoms related to ADHD. I also saw other symptoms that seemed to be impacted by women’s hormones. Read more>>
Scott Vogel
With over 45 years of experience servicing and playing guitar, I made the decision in February 2024 to turn a hobby – which had become a passion – into a way of life. Read more>>
Jaci Finneman
I grew up surrounded by kids. My mom ran a daycare and also provided respite care for children with developmental disabilities, so from a young age, I got to see what it looked like to meet kids where they were and help them feel safe and capable. Read more>>
Jillian Kirkeide
After years of working as a music therapist in hospice, I became curious about finding ways for patients to tell their stories and leave their legacies through the power of music. This is when I came across the idea of heartbeat recordings, through a fantastic music therapist named Brian Schreck out of TN. Read more>>
Oscar Ramos
I started from humble beginnings, driven by a deep passion for hard work, family, and creating something meaningful. For years, I worked in construction, building not only homes and businesses but also my character and discipline. That experience taught me the value of precision, resilience, and leadership. Read more>>
CHRISSY BOHNHOFF
I purchased my Liquor Store, Frontier Liquor in 1998. Myself and my now deceased husband Jim, purchased it. It was the liquor store down the street from our house and the one we frequented as customers. We looked for a business to purchase for about 6 months, and finally settled on this one. Jim was sold on wanting to purchase a bar. Read more>>
Joseph Christensen
I started tattooing in a shop back in 2005. New years 2008 I met wife and we had our first baby Dec 2008. Got married Feb 2009 and she was pregnant again shortly after. We opened Rockin Tattoos Nov 2009. We had our 2nd child New Year’s Day 2010. So 2009 was a busy year for me. Read more>>
Bryan Schumann
Beyond performing my own music, my works have also been performed by groups like the Saint Paul Civic Symphony, the Augsburg Symphony Orchestra, and the Zeitgeist New Music Ensemble. And whether I’m writing for an orchestra, an indie band, or my instrumental project Ambient Embrace, I’m always chasing that same spark — music that connects, heals, and inspires people. Read more>>
H.T. Altman
I probably got bit by the “acting bug” all the way back In Utero, but more specifically in the 80’s when a little known t.v. series called “Family Ties” was on air. The first actor I ever admired was Michael J. Fox, who was the star of that show and later went on to become an even bigger star on the Big Screen. I liked Fox’s voice, look and charm but most of all his comedic appeal, even though I was too young to fully “get” the jokes. Read more>>
