Editor's Journal

The world is shrinking.

We can google a name or phrase and find information on nearly any person or topic in the world in mere nanoseconds. I was folding clothes the other day and saw a label inside a pair of jeans—they were made in Madagascar. I finished folding them, breathing a hasty prayer that they weren’t assembled by an eight-year-old. Then I googled Madagascar to find out how far they had traveled to be worn by a Minnesota editor. Madagascar, the fourth-largest island in the world, is on the other side of the globe in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa (www.cia.gov, click “World Factbook”). There was a wealth of additional information, but I only have a three hundred word editorial.

When all is said and done, clothing can come from halfway around the world, but it’s still reassuring to know that the best tomatoes are found in Ft. Ripley (p. 38), world-class photography shot by an Aitkin grocery-store owner graces the walls of his local market (as well as LCJM, p. 42), and some forms of wholesome, family entertainment are still popular (p. 54). We even talked Grand Rapids resident, Heidi Holtan, into sharing a few of her favorite places to eat (“Noshing, Grand Rapids-Style,” p. 52).

What do you love about Lake Country? From food to folks, sites to activities, as we expand our region to include a larger slice of central and northern Minnesota, we’d like to find out what you enjoy about your own piece of the Lake Country geographical pie. To get the dialogue started, see page 15, as well as www.lakecountryjournal.com (click “What do you love about . . .” to share your answers).

Tomatoes from Ft. Ripley, photography from Aitkin, great Mexican food in Grand Rapids—who knew?

Jodi Schwen

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF