April 2015 Lake Minnetonka Magazine

In the April issue of Lake Minnetonka Magazine you'll find tips on creating expert floral arrangments of blooming beauties, brush up on your chess skills with international player Wesley So, and meet a modern Swiss Family Robinson who have built a wow-worthy treehouse right in their back yard.

Here in the lake area, rowing might not be the first sport that comes to mind for water lovers. Nor is Long Lake the first lake that comes to mind. The Long Lake Rowing Crew is trying to change all that.

 

When subject and serendipity meet, something spectacular can happen. Dick Osgood, formerly of Shorewood, went for a walk one late August afternoon near Tonka Bay City Hall, intending to snap some photographs of lake birds, herons and egrets.

 

When you open a menu at a restaurant, where do you look? Some check out the desserts (guilty as charged), while others go straight to the entrées. It’s safe to say that no one scans the side dishes first.

 

Lafayette Club’s annual holiday fashion show and boutique featured dozens of local vendors selling holiday gifts as well as a holiday luncheon and fashion show presented by local stylist Grant Whittaker.

 

Once upon a pre-settlement time, there were 2,000 square miles of “big woods” around Lake Minnetonka.

 

The sea of trees is hard to picture now. Where there once stood a line of trees countless years old, there now stands one, the rest wiped out in a 2012 storm that many lake-area residents remember vividly.

 

Glance up Heather and Brent Holm’s driveway, and you will spot three signs on the front wooden gate: “Monarch Way Station,” “Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes,” and an award for a first-place restoration project.

 

Wesley So became a chess Grandmaster (GM) at age 14. Now 21, he’s a three-time Philippine National Champion and one of the biggest names in the international chess world.

 

She wasn’t allowed to wear pants or play with boys, and trips into the lush and visually tempting rainforest were strictly prohibited. Some of those rules she could abide by, and others she broke, propelled by an unexplainable passion for beauty.

 

Looking for an under-the-radar sign of spring? The annual Lake Minnetonka Studio Art Tour may just be the perfect event. Every spring, more than 25 artists get together to showcase not only their work, but also their workspaces around the lake area.

 

Most Minnesotans know former Twins player Harmon Killebrew for his impeccable batting average—but his accomplishments off the field are just as noteworthy.

 

It took Katie Skinner only about five minutes to trust Tom Lecy, a then-19-year-old college kid pitching an idea to clean up the water off the dock of her lakeside home in Excelsior.

 

As winter slowly gives way to spring, many Minnesotans find themselves ready for a bit of green. Even if the weather isn’t cooperative, indoor plants provide that hopeful taste of summer.

 

With summer just around the corner and winter (we hope) decidedly behind us, it can be difficult to find the right footwear.

 

Though her name may not be familiar, Ronnie Winsor’s work has touched an extraordinary number of lives.

 

Excelsior resident Becky Salita doesn’t do anything halfway, from directing elementary school musicals to group fitness classes. Her latest venture, the purchase of A-List Entertainment, is no exception.

 

Four years ago, downtown Wayzata had an atmosphere of change. Lake Street was under construction, and many local businesses were forced to relocate.

 

Minnetrista’s Jeff Hagen believes that a wine cellar is essential for the dedicated wine drinker. “It’s not like beer,” he says.

 

In the middle of a muddy spring fog, gigantic flowers sprout from a Minnetonka yard. Though no other houses have blooms, glass poppies rise, dreamlike, from the front lawn of artist Trish Gardiner.