Community Voices ⎸ Finding joy in winter
Project Optimist readers and staff marvel at the beauty of winter.
Community Voices ⎸ Diving into housing: A recap of our Winona dialogue event
What's it like moderating a dialogue event? Project Optimist's managing editor shares her experience.
Community Voices ⎸ Bio·phil·ia: A new grant for our new program on nature, design, and connection to the living world
Thanks to a grant from Arts Midwest, Project Optimist will feature essays, visual art, and design about connecting with the natural world in 2024.
How a grassroots group helps Minnesota youth touched by domestic violence
Rivers of Hope has worked to prevent domestic violence in Wright and Sherburne counties for 35 years.
How do you get a rural doc? Launch a rural med school
The Medical College of Wisconsin launched a central Wisconsin campus 10 years ago. The effort offers lessons for University of Minnesota officials to consider as they prepare to open a new medical school campus in St. Cloud in 2025.
Community Voices ⎸ Another year on the books: Here's how Project Optimist grew in Year 2
Where we've been in 2023 and where we're growing in 2024.
Drawn by Nature: Taking a liking to lichens
While often overlooked, lichen are prevalent in Minnesota, with an estimated 700 to 800 species in the state.
Artist spotlight: Behind-the-scenes of Tech High School's new pottery installation
How Desi Murphy created a large ceramic art installation for St. Cloud's Tech High School.
The U.S. is moving away from coal. We toured a central Minnesota plant in transition
It’s the beginning of the end for the coal-fired units at Sherco power plant as the first of three units powers down.