With Duluth's Animal Allies Humane Society one of the shelters leading the nation when it comes to finding homes for dogs and cats, it's easy to forget that's not the case everywhere in this country.

Former Animal Allies volunteer and 2000 East High School graduate Emily Allen is the Senior Director of PETA's Community Animal Project.

Freelance illustrator and University of Minnesota instructor John Owens didn't grow up heading to the Boundary Waters every summer, but once he went, he was hooked.

John Owens talked about how different artists capture inspiration, the fragility of stepping outside your comfort zone, and how you know when you have something good, this week on MN Reads.

John also mentioned a "teachable companion" to his book and you can find it here.

Animal Allies Humane Society is temporarily closed to visitors. Interested adopters are encouraged to make an appointment to visit the pet of their interest if they would like to adopt.

Roscoe

Haley Diem was a little embarrassed this past weekend.

The One Vegetable, One Community coordinator (it's a new position this year at the Duluth Community Garden Program) had just covered every flat surface of her kitchen with home-grown produce and had only one thing left before she began her annual salsa-making operation: getting some canning jars.

Long story short, Diem returned home sans jars and had to start dumping out condiments and Mason-jar vases in order to start canning.

Members of Black Men Serving Excellence, photographed earlier this month
First row: (l to r) Michael Kirkendoll, Javien Versey Chamere Thomas, Jackyse Jacox, Barry Moreland
Second Row: Joshua Brown, Dayvia Gbor, Treyvon Cahalan, Corey White Jr., Justic’e King
Third row: Marcus McLin

UMD assistant football coach Marcus McLin wanted to see more Black men as leaders,  and represented that way on campus and in the community.

 (This episode was originally aired April 27, 2020)

In this episode, we meet Cindy Hale of Clover Valley Farms, accidental farmer, educator, and now producer, educator, and infrastructure coordinator for the Finland Food Chain.

It's hard not to think, in the midst of our pandemic-challenged lives, that this whole "how am I gonna get food" thing would be a lot simpler if we could just go back in time about 80 years.

Someday, Tom Kasper wants to find a grant that will help him build small gardens for folks who couldn't afford it otherwise.

It feels like at least six years in Pandemic Time ... but in actuality it's only been six months. 

But artists have been hard at work responding to these times through their art, trying to figure out how to survive financially, and how to maintain their creative and economic health.

Some are doing a canvas a day to keep their artistic and marketing chops honedd, but even if you're not an artist yourself, Annie Dugan is suggesting you take a look at your social media feed through the lens of art.

Skip Sandman is one of our spiritual leaders and he spoke for the pipe.