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.
Bonnie Laabs
The story of WEE Farm really began through a combination of education, personal experience, and a deep desire to create meaningful change for young people and families. While earning my doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Minnesota, I was simultaneously teaching full-time in St. Paul. Read more>>
Lauren Burchill & Melissa Klein
My journey into leadership development and coaching didn’t begin with a grand master plan. It started with a genuine curiosity about people and what helps them grow. Read more>>
Lisa Stauffer
I always loved to draw. I ended up with the Masters in Design from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and taught at the university as a graduate student. I worked as a professional for many years, always painting for my own enjoyment whenever I could find the time. Read more>>
Stephanie Chandler
Real estate is in my blood. Some of my earliest memories are of tagging along with my mom and grandma as they showed homes across the Twin Cities, I remember sitting in on open houses, listening to them talk shop in the car between appointments. I didn’t know it then, but I was getting my education early! Read more>>
Gina Lindquist
I first started working for The Drawer as their first Executive Director in 2021. I was looking for a position that had a purpose beyond myself, the opportunity to serve and connect with others, and a way to get more involved with and give back to my local community. Read more>>
Shanna Lunasin
I was a happy and healthy child. No ear infections, no endless days spent home from daycare with fevers, busy playing outside, making friends, and finding new adventures each day. Until February of 1998, when I was 7 years old and my left leg developed a deep ache, which turned quickly to a sharp, debilitating pain in my knee. Read more>>
John Mullen
We officially opened the doors of the IMPACT Youth Center on September 6, 2023. That was the first day of school that year. I had started forming the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, IMPACT Center, with a family friend about a year prior to that. Read more>>
Shelly Loberg
I have a degree in Communications from UMD and started my career in advertising as a media buyer. After 11 years at home with my boys I got involved in the chamber/non-profit world with the French American Chamber due to my love and fluency of the French language (sidebar I studied abroad in France when I was 21). Read more>>
Alexandra Hurney
I’ve been drawn to art for as long as I can remember. In kindergarten, my teacher told my mom I would become an artist someday—and that feeling has stayed with me ever since. I went on to study art at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art. Read more>>
Ian Williams
2003: Started to use drugs and alcohol at age of 13 2009: Adopted Trina, America Staffordshire Pitbull Terrier rescue 2011: Finished undergrad, went into youth education 2013: Put Trina down, a week later she came back to visit me from the afterlife (my first mystical experience). One week after that, I met the woman who would become my wife. Read more>>
Irene Wesee
Irene is a portrait photographer originally from Liberia who now resides in Lakeville, MN. She started creating and sharing portraits of her children to increase visual representation of black and brown children in the fineart discourse. Her unique ability to improvise has become a signature within her photography, including using pieces of fabric to create custom garments and accessories on clients just before being photographed. Read more>>
Robin Heinen
Triple H Acres began as a way for us to return to a simpler, more intentional way of living. We wanted to raise our own food, know exactly where it came from, and provide something real for our family. What started small, focusing only on quality and sustainability, quickly grew as we realized there was a need for products people could trust. Read more>>
Independence Place
Independence Place is a housing cooperative for individuals 62 and better, who are independent and want to enjoy retirement without the hassles of owning a home. It’s the perfect way to keep the cost of living affordable for those who are aging wisely It’s more like an investment. You buy a share of the cooperative, and it gains interest annually. There are monthly fees. Read more>>
Holly Mosher
Gedney grew up with family that had a flower farm while also spending every summer picking blueberries with his dad, sister, and grandmother. So when the previous owners of this amazing farm were called into the mission field and prayerfully decided to put it up for sale, we felt this was too good to be true! Flowers AND blueberries at the same time?! Read more>>
Sook Nam
I started my business simply because I was tired of driving to the cites to get my Asian ingredients. A little background regards the drive; from Mankato it is about a 3 hour round trip. This does not include the time it takes to grocery shop. I was tired of setting a day to drive to the cities for common Asian ingredients. Read more>>
Alex L’Amie
Well, I’ve been a cannabis enthusiast for most of my teenage and adult life. I remember having an unexplainable fascination in the plant the first time I ever grew one, which was in 5 gallon buckets of dirt in the woods in the back yard when I was probably a jr. in high school. Read more>>
Jenny White
Branch Above Counseling was inspired by my own personal journey of navigating mental health systems for my own family member, observing the gaps in support and services for the entire family system, and noting areas that could be expanded to ensure people are getting what they need from mental health services. Read more>>
Chanelle Peterson
My journey has been shaped by both community and legacy. I grew up around Caribbean cultural events, influenced deeply by my parents and especially my grandmother, who was a founding member of Carifest and played a key role in building Caribbean community spaces long before it became what it is today. Read more>>
Julie Arnold
I started farming with my mom 10 years ago on the land I grew up on. She had been running a small CSA for 6 years, providing vegetables for local folks. We farmed together for one year, then I took it over and expanded to what it is today. Read more>>
Amanda Klecker
My story really began with a lifelong love for homes, rooted in growing up with a dad who worked in the trades. I was always comfortable around construction and the technical side of how houses work, but I didn’t realize until later how much those structures impact our internal health. Read more>>
John schuster
From Eden Prairie to the Top of Minnesota Real Estate: The John Schuster Story John Schuster didn’t set out to build an empire. He set out to help people. A native of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, John studied Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, developing the instincts for communication, strategy, and client relationships that would later define his career. Read more>>
Renee Rumler
I didn’t start out believing I would become a therapist. In fact, at 18, college didn’t feel like it was meant for someone like me. My childhood was marked by both love and hardship. My mom worked incredibly hard, showing resilience in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time, while my father remained distant and disconnected. Read more>>
KELLY SHARP
In 2007/08 the economy and my marriage crashed. I had been selling real estate for 13 years. My next thought was time for something new. I’d always had an interest in cutting hair. I chose barbering to bring back a dying industry. In 2009 there weren’t that many barbershops in Minneapolis, seemed like a great location to build a business. Read more>>
Han Bui
I moved to Northfield in 2021 when I married my husband, Kyle. Coming from Saigon, I immediately noticed a big difference between the two places. In Saigon, there are countless restaurants and an incredible variety of food. People eat out all the time—including me—which is why I didn’t really know how to cook back then. Read more>>
Dylan & Hayden Moan
Hi! Our names are Dylan and Hayden, and our Mommy started The Potato Head Project in 2013 after our super early birth, we were only 23 weeks 6 days gestation. We were born at 1 pound 3 ounces and 1 pound 7 ounces (think of 4-5 sticks of butter!). Read more>>
Laura Brekke
I grew up on a small family beef farm next door to where I live now. I always loved the farm, and after a brief period away from the Otsego area, I returned and married my husband. Read more>>
Amy Dovenmuehle
I didn’t start Cardinal Wellness Coaching because I had everything perfectly figured out. In fact, it was the opposite. I went back to school through Mayo Clinic, became a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and started building my practice because I felt called to help people take better care of themselves in a way that felt realistic and sustainable. Read more>>
Shelley Rorvick
Wow, my story feels like a long journey with lots of winding roads, but ultimately, I always knew that I wanted to be in a helping profession. From the time I was 9, I decided to be a cardiovascular surgeon, so everything was geared towards the medical field, from early jobs to being pre-med in college. Read more>>
The Miles Family Dragon Forge Games
The love of all things ‘gaming’ has been in our family since childhood. Missy with a love of board games and Tim with a level of ‘nerd gamer’ that back in the 80’s was… just as cool as Stranger Things makes it look. Or, so we like to believe. Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons was life. Read more>>
Makayla Anderson
My journey really started back in high school as an athlete. I was introduced to Herbalife just as a way to feel better and perform better on game days, but at the time I didn’t fully see the bigger picture. After graduating, I worked in a nutrition club part-time, but it took a few years—and going through my own personal struggles—for everything to really click. Read more>>
