From the Editor

Throughout the last year, we have embraced themes encouraging action. We’ve featured women who embody what it means to move, own, do, envision and reclaim “it”—whether that “it” was their careers, their families, their creativity or their community and their place within it. All of these actions build toward an eventual outcome.

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They are the hard work along the way that leads to success. That leads to us to the point at which we are able to “Nail It.”

Many of the women you will read about in this issue have followed that path of action to achieve the successes and lives they enjoy today. They envisioned the future they wanted, moved to find career advancements or adventure, owned the challenges that were placed in their paths, reclaimed hometowns and have done the hard work all along the way.

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And yet, they often acknowledge that nailing it isn’t the end of the story. There are still daily decisions to be made, challenges to overcome and mini victories to cherish, because life is anything but static.

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Our cover woman, Kristy Stokke, is a perfect example of this. She envisioned, from her high school years, a career in the stars. She moved to take on challenges and do the hard work of becoming an aerospace engineer. And then she came home to La Crosse to reclaim her place in her family, supporting her mother, Kerry, through an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and the changes and challenges that has brought, all while directing cameras on the International Space Station from her living room in the Coulee Region.

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We would say she has “nailed it,” though she humbly admits that her current role doesn’t have a set “mission accomplished” success point. It calls on her instead to focus on each day as it happens.

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Of course, “Nail It” offers the opportunity for us to highlight those whose careers are brought to mind by that phrase, from a young carpenter hammering out a place for women in the construction industry to the nail technicians who bring holiday styles and fun to our fingertips. You’ll find a family who took a chance and stuck the landing when they turned a farm shed into a gymnastics studio 20 years ago; they are still tumbling together as they flip the page to the next iteration of their business.

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Inside this issue you can explore ideas for getting kids into the kitchen, get creative with cookies after a visit to The Craft Barn or find the perfect winter outfit in our Retail Therapy feature. What success looks like is up to you.

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With the coming of a new year, I encourage you to think about all we have learned in 2024 from the women in our stories, and I would bring you back to those themes:

Move It!

Own It!

Do It!

Envision It!

Reclaim It!

Nail It!

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Together, they create “Modern,” defined as relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past. It can be comforting to look back, and we’ve done that in previous issues. It is exciting to look forward, and our new Women of the Future section will be dedicated to continuing to do just that. But really, one of the most important things we can do, as Kristy Stokke has shown us, is experience the right now.

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If only for a moment, you deserve to just be present.