From the Editor

Are  you the kind of person with an alarm that goes off at the exact same time every day? Do you have a consistent punch list of projects that are performed in precise order each week? Do you wish that were the case? Or does the idea leave you feeling claustrophobic and trapped?

​

We each have a unique relationship to the idea of “routines.” Some of us crave them while others cringe. Personally, as much I really would love to sleep in an extra hour each morning, experience has shown me that I truly need my morning workout—at least most days—to set the tone for what lies ahead. And my Monday morning feels completely unmoored without a Sunday evening time set aside to review the next week’s calendar and create my to-do list: written in pencil on a reporter notebook, because old habits can be reassuring.

​

Early birds and night owls, planners and procrastinators—it takes all types to make the Coulee Region go around, and there are local women who fit all of those categories filling needs in our community each and every hour of the day.

That’s why we wanted to take our Routines issue around the clock—no matter what time it is, one of these women is awake and working.

​

If you start your day with coffee and the news, you may be hearing from WKBT’s Alexandra Carter. But by the time her first newscast goes live at 5 a.m., the mother of a preschooler has already been up and around for hours. Just the thought makes me think she deserves a maple long john (which Karen Sorum’s crew at Bloedow Bakery slid into their Winona ovens about the same time Carter arrived at work).

When the sun rises, Amy Forgues is there to see it kiss the fields full of ewes and lambs—and then she steps into the farm creamery where the next task on her cheesemaking to-do list waits. Publisher Betty Christiansen is collecting herself with coffee and quiet, and she encourages you to find your own moment to yourself every day.

​

Morning is also a great time for those spring seasonal routines that make our homes and gardens shine, whether that means sprucing up flower beds for new growth or cleaning filters on key home appliances to lengthen their useful lives.

Families rely on many others in the community to help them maintain the routines that keep their kids thriving, from nutrition and love dished out by “lunch ladies” like Blessed Sacrament Elementary’s Melissa Meier to after-school consistency provided Maggie Solberg and her Boys & Girls Clubs colleagues. As evening and enrichment activities like music lessons roll around, routine practice meets creativity under the direction of music educators Linda Lebakken and Alethia Kenworthy.

​

As the workday closes and relaxation beckons, take inspiration from our Retail Therapy looks, designed to take you from day to night, work to cocktail hour, in style.

​

But we know not everyone finishes their day at 5 p.m. Instead, many Coulee Region women in essential roles are just clocking in. And we know how important it is that women like emergency room nurse Lydia Wallace, police officer Shelby Johnson (and her K9 partner, River) and 911 communications supervisor Heather Hawes are alert and ready for anything their unpredictable jobs can throw at them in the overnight hours.

​

I’m tired now just thinking about what it takes to keep the Coulee Region running, safe and healthy, 24 hours a day. I’ll raise a cup of coffee in salute—and try to be mindful that I may have neighbors on the nightshift who are currently trying to get their rest. Sleep tight.