Valerie Kirn-Duensing

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing Soul Step Urban Dance is Phat
Valerie Kirn-Duensing 3/2/09

A dance studio typically evokes images of pink leotards, satin ribbon toe shoes and minions of little girls lined up with their hair pulled back into tight little buns. At Soul Step Urban Dance Studio you need to stop, rewind and erase those images. It ain’t like nuthin’ we’ve seen here in Northern Michigan.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing With snow already on the ground, many people are thinking one of two things: “Yes! Ski season is here” or “How long until spring?”
No matter what your attitude is towards the fluffy white stuff, the best way to spend a winter in Northern Michigan is to try and enjoy the snow. For those familiar with the sport of skiing, it is not exactly the most affordable activity out there. A full day lift ticket on a Saturday at the big resorts can cost up to $65. A more affordable alternative may be the small ski hills where lift ticket prices start at just $1 (Hansen Hills in Grayling)!

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing Good news. Bad news. That seems to be the way things work. The good news is that breast cancer detection and survival rates are improving. The bad news is that once you survive the rigors of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, a condition called Secondary Lymphedema is likely to park itself front and center in your life as a result of the surgery and follow-up treatment. Again, the good news is lymphedema is finally receiving more attention and therefore more research dollars. The bad news is once you develop it, there is no cure. It becomes a life-long concern.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing Care to take a trip around the world? No, better than that. Care to take a trip around the world, visiting hundreds of small villages and towns to watch native craftswomen and men work their wonders upon canvas, silk, pottery, wood, stone and silver? Best of all, you’d be able to buy these works of art for a fair price – a price that leaves the struggling artisans with enough income to feed, clothe and educate their family as never before. Welcome to Unity Fair Trade Marketplace and Gathering Space in downtown Traverse City.
Unity is the area’s first fair trade certified merchant, selling handcrafted goods from around the world. The store is the dream come true for Traverse City residents Nichole Warner (formerly Manning -- she just got married) and Vicki Kinney.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing In 1992 the Northern Express was a newborn babe. I was lucky enough to cross paths with Express founders Bob Downes and George Foster and, as a young writer new to the area, I seized the opportunity to get in on the ground level of such a brave enterprise.
My first big story was to be an interview with a woman who was the newly appointed director of a local domestic violence agency. Recently, I have come to realize how that interview changed my life and now I see the ripple effects on the development of my two daughters.
Mary Lee Lord was the woman I interviewed 14 years ago. It was a cold, snowy day when I showed up at the ramshackle office of the Women’s Resource Center, located at that time at 1017 Hannah Street in Traverse City. I recall the staff members were practically sitting on top of one another in the cramped office space. Counselors shared offices and when a client came in for confidential counseling, a strange version of musical chairs took place with staffers moving from this desk to that one in order to accommodate the client’s privacy. Most appalling of all, Mary Lee didn’t even have an office. Her desk, piled high with files, books and binders, was out in the hall. Gracious as ever, Mary Lee whisked me into a small conference room where the interview was to take place.
For the next 30 minutes I unsuccessfully attempted to get this woman to talk about herself. I wanted her to tell me about her background, training, major accomplishments, awards bestowed upon her. Nada. She was amazingly adept at answering all my questions in such a way that it was always about the agency - what it needed, what it was planning to do and how the community – or better yet, how I could assist.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing The year was 284. It was the height of the Roman Empire when a young noble woman named Lucia (pronounced Lu-see-yah) lived on the island of Sicily. Legend has it that on the eve of her wedding day, Lucia’s mother fell gravely ill. Lucia prayed for her mother’s recovery, vowing to give all of her wealth -- including her extensive wedding dowry -- to the poor if her mother returned to good health. Each day as her mother’s illness eased, Lucia fitted a crown of candles upon her head so that her arms could remain free to carry food to the hungry hiding in caves to escape religious persecution, as this was the dawn of Christianity. Needless to say, her dwindling dowry did not please Lucia’s future husband – especially since it was being squandered on the Christians. He accused her of witchcraft and she was sentenced to death. It is believed she was executed on December 13. Years later the Catholic Church declared Lucia a saint.
Today, St. Lucia Day is one of the best-loved and most traditionally celebrated holidays in Sweden. It is said that Lucia visited Sweden during the Middle Ages when terrible famine gripped the small nation. The story goes that one day a large white vessel loaded with food and clothing appeared on Lake Vänern. At the helm of the boat stood a beautiful young woman in a gleaming white robe, her head encircled by a crown of radiant beams. Once unloaded, the ship vanished, but many people were saved from certain death.

Music Valerie Kirn-Duensing For old fans of the Traverse City band “Splendid Havoc,” change is in the air. For those not yet acquainted with the band, a treat is in store as their second CD is being released this summer, entitled “Pasticcio” – which, incidentally, is Italian for medley or combination of work.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing Of all the development taking place in the Traverse City area, one project stands alone. In fact, it is pretty much the polar opposite to all the “big box” stores feasting upon the remaining open space along the outskirts of town.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing In 1964 Millard Fuller was a 29-year-old self-made millionaire who owned a hugely successful marketing firm in Alabama. He was married to his college sweetheart, Linda, and they had four children. On the surface, Fuller seemed to have it all, but on the inside, his life was coming apart at the seams. Fuller’s health, integrity and marriage were all teetering upon collapse.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing William Shakespeare’s love sonnets are often quoted on Valentine‘s Day. But according to marriage therapist Leslie Graham, M.A., perhaps the best Shakespearean quote is “to thine own self be true.” Forget the love, sweet-smelling roses and “Romeo where are you?” stuff.

Features Valerie Kirn-Duensing William Shakespeare’s love sonnets are often quoted on Valentine‘s Day. But according to marriage therapist Leslie Graham, M.A., perhaps the best Shakespearean quote is “to thine own self be true.” Forget the love, sweet-smelling roses and “Romeo where are you?” stuff.