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Inspire(d) Media

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Inspire(d) Media

We believe there's always magic to be found. Learn more and read our magazine at iloveinspired.com Do you have an idea for a story? Interested in contributing?

Inspire(d) Media is a very small, very independent media company based in Decorah, Iowa. We print Inspire(d) Magazine, filled with stories about amazing people and places in our tri-state area of the Driftless Region. Aryn and Benji Nichols founded Inspire(d) in September of 2007 – shortly after they got married (!) and have grown from printing 3,000 magazines per issue to 15,000+, now published o

n a quarterly basis. Although it’s a two-person show at Inspire(d) Headquarters – Aryn is the editor and graphic designer and Benji heads up the ad sales department – we’d be nothing without our fabulous contributors who come from different areas across the Driftless Region and beyond. Simply said, Inspire(d) in every form is an experiment in the positive. We focus on the good in life because, really, what’s the point in dwelling on the bad? Think we should be doing something differently? Drop us a line…. aryn(at)iloveinspired.com or benji(at)iloveinspired.com

About the founders:
Aryn Henning Nichols grew up in the woods. Not literally – she had a house and a bed and lots of books – but it was still pretty rural. The nearest town – Frankville, Iowa – had less than 100 people living in it and her high school graduating class – one town over in Postville – had only 52 students. She left Northeast Iowa in 1999 to join the world of anonymity… to be “just a number” at the University of Iowa. 30,000 students felt just right at the time. After graduating with a degree in English and journalism in 2003 and post-design magazine internship in Toronto (http://www.appliedartsmag.com), she sought an even denser population: China. She lived there for just over a year, winging it as an English teacher to nearly 800 middle school students and traveling as much and as often as possible. She now believes international travel should be a prerequisite to college graduation. Aryn returned to Northeast Iowa late 2005 doing the typical liberal arts degree thing – living with her parents, waitressing, and applying for jobs. Her parents had moved from the woods to Decorah so she began to re-explore (and adore) this corner of the world – finding that community and a slower pace of life had new appeal. She worked briefly at the local newspaper where she, in a very convoluted manner, met her now husband, Benji. He lived in California at the time but it was still love at first phone conversation. They met in person June of 2006, got married August of 2007, and started Inspire(d) Media that October, just one month after returning from their honeymoon. She might be a little crazy, but she’s having loads of fun. Benji Nichols was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa – home to a ridiculous amount of Norwegian American stuff, and a lot of great people. After graduating high school in 1996 he left for music school in Boston (Berklee), and promptly returned 10 years later – with a six-year hiatus in the San Francisco Bay Area. From playing music, to baking bread, traveling to 49 states, and working with some of the best in the concert industry, it was a decade well spent. These days you’ll find him in or working at Inspire(d) HQ, being a Dad, out making something noisy, or out on the single-track just minutes from home.

11/16/2024

Hey! Did you know you can revisit all of the stories from this current issue? Check them out online at www.iloveinspired.com/category/current-issue ❤️

11/16/2024

Just two weeks left to take our readership survey and be entered into the giveaway for this awesome “We love Decorah” package of good stuff!

(Check out the pics to see what one lucky winner will receive! 🎉)

We plan to keep bringing positivity to the Driftless for many years to come, but we’d like to learn more about our readers and what you hope to see in the future!

Take the survey here: http://tiny.cc/43fizz

THANK YOU for inspiring us for 17 years! We appreciate you!

Giveaway winner announced November 30. Each person who completes the survey will be entered into the giveaway once. Only one entry per person.

11/08/2024

Sometimes we need a little guidance in finding hope through difficult times. In the current Fall 2024 issue of Inspire(d), mental health counselor Olivia Lynn Schnur shares ways we can look for pinpricks of hope and light, helping to see that better days will come again. ✨

Read the full article and download the mental health worksheet online at iloveinspired.com/mental-health-finding-hope (or on pages 44 - 47 of the fall mag)!

11/03/2024

Probituary: A Notice of Life!

Marlene Fenstermann, interviewed by friend Becky Olafsen, has fostered a life of caring…for barns, flowering plants, and, most importantly, people. Throughout her 32-year career in public health nursing, she tended to the widely varied needs of their patients – from prenatal care to terminal care and a myriad of physical and mental conditions in between birth and death. Read a bit about her life story on page 66 in the current Fall 2024 Inspire(d), or online here: iloveinspired.com/marlene-fenstermann

11/01/2024

It is Wellness Weekend - Friday, Nov. 1st through Sunday, Nov. 3rd!

"The Decorah Area has a lot to offer when it comes to services for personal wellness, self-care, and fitness as well as exceptional spaces for exercise outdoors and a healthy lifestyle. Use this weekend to try something new and give the gift of time for your personal well-being..." Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce

Click open this post to check out all of the awesome wellness-minded weekend offerings! 💚

The Chamber is pleased to celebrate Wellness Weekend this upcoming Friday, Nov. 1st through Sunday, Nov. 3rd! The Decorah Area has a lot to offer when it comes to services for personal wellness, self-care, and fitness as well as exceptional spaces for exercise outdoors and a healthy lifestyle. Use this weekend to try something new and give the gift of time for your personal well-being.

Check out these wellness minded weekend offerings!

Driftless Yoga Center
Friday, Nov 1:
5:30a Dynamic Vinyasa
8:30a Mindful Vinyasa
10:00a wiggles & Giggles – FREE Yoga & Movement for the littlest yogis and their caregivers thanks to the Decorah Public Library
Saturday, Nov. 2:
7:00a Sculpt Flow 45
8:00a Dynamic Vinyasa
9:00a-12:00p Wellness Weekend Open House – Come explore our space, sip on complimentary Reefuel Smoothies while supplies last, and enter to win two free weeks of classes for new-to-DYC friends. Plus, shop our curated selection of Beyond Yoga and Manduka apparel to kickstart your wellness journey in style!

Serenity Fitness Decorah
New Member Deal! November 1st – 7th – New members sign up for 6 months
get the 7th month for $10!
Wellness Weekend Zumba class on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 4pm. Buy 1 class get one free!

Oneota Valley Family Eye Care
Love Your Lids!
Friday, Nov. 1st stop in and treat yourself to 25% off sunglasses,
prescription and non-prescription and enter to win a “Love Your Lids” care package
1- 4 PM receive a complimentary eyelid screening photo with lid exfoliation.

Salú Sauna + Wellness Spa
Wellness Weekend Open House
Saturday, Nov. 2 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Featuring Nomad Boutique + Permanent Jewelry. The event will also showcase a new collaboration with Root 43 Juicery. Check out the wellness modalities Salú offers, shop, get some new permanent jewelry with Nomad Boutique, and be the first to try a new collaborative offering from Root 43 Juicery.

Oneota Community Food Co-op
Saturday, Nov. 2nd – 11 AM – 2 PM
Evan Healy Demo – Evan Healy products are sourced via Fair Trade principles from women’s cooperatives, villages and family farms. No parabens, artificial fragrances or animal testing. Sampling also includes Nordic Naturals, Host Defense & more.
Register to win one of 3 raffle baskets full of great body care products!
*20% off body care, book & gift items – Saturday, Nov. 2 only!*

Yoga Room
Rejuvenate and Restore Yoga Class
Sunday, Nov. 3rd – 10:30 AM – 12 PM
Yoga to support the body, mind, and spirit as we turn the clocks and get used to the shorter days.
(for any body, stage, or level) w/ Molly Gallagher, CIYT
at The Yoga Studio, 306 W Water Street, Decorah
Cost: $20

The Well at Crater Fitness is celebrating 1 year of Indoor Cycling!
Friday, Nov. 1 - 5:30am Classic Cycle w/ Allie ~ Pitbull Theme
Saturday, Nov. 2 - 7:30am SCY (Strength, Cycling, Yoga) w/ Annette, Nicole & Heidi 75-min followed by mimosas, coffee & treats! 24 spots available ~ $6 if new to The Well!
Sunday, Nov. 3 - 8:30am Classic Cycle w/ Shelly ~ Movie Soundtrack Theme

10/29/2024

Fox River Mills has been making high-quality, cozy socks in Iowa since 1900. And every fall since 1989, they’ve put together an epic, in-person sale: Socktoberfest. Did you miss the early October sale this year? Or did you go (pics please!)?

Either way, we suggest you put it on your calendar for 2025, and read all about the history of this fun Osage, Iowa, event in writer Renee Brincks’ great story in print on page 60 or online here:

iloveinspired.com/socktoberfest-at-fox-river-mills 🧦

10/25/2024

High fives and a huge thank you to the volunteers at Decorah Human Powered Trails for their HUNDREDS (more than 450!!!) of hours building and maintaining trails in the City of Decorah in this year alone! Clearing trees, tackling invasive species, grooming trails, mowing, repairing storm damage…it’s a lot of work to keep these trails usable. We are grateful to them, and so lucky that we get to enjoy nature and this beautiful place through their work. Thanks, DHPT!

decorahnews.com/news/13141/decorah-human-powered-trails-celebrates-volunteers-for-contributing-over-450-hours

DHPT, now a nonprofit organization, relies mostly on volunteers to build, maintain, promote and enhance trail experiences

10/24/2024

Decorah’s 2nd Annual Wellness Weekend is coming up NEXT weekend, November 1-3, so we put together a Wellness Weekend Toolkit with inspo to get you ready and inspired for a little (or a lot of) self-care. Join in the fun in Decorah, or plan your own Wellness Weekend at home!

iloveinspired.com/wellness-weekend-toolkit

Don’t ever forget it: You deserve and are worthy of taking time for yourself! 💖

10/22/2024

Laree Schouweiler is the kind of person who manages to turn strangers into friends within one conversation. Her work as the founder of Driftless Yoga Center in downtown Decorah is inspiring, community-building, and endorphin-boosting: A perfect fit for the Fall 2024 Inspire(d) Sum of Your Business Q&A feature!

Read about Laree’s path to creating the Driftless Yoga Center in the print mag on page 52 or online here: iloveinspired.com/laree-schouweiler-of-driftless-yoga-center 🧘‍♀️🤸🏽‍♂️

10/21/2024

Paper Project: Fill-in Thank You Cards

At Inspire(d) HQ, we are big fans of paper thank yous (okay, paper anything, really!). Plus, we always feel extra thankful in the fall as we celebrate our business anniversary, Thanksgiving nears, and the cozy time of cooler days starts to trickle in. So it felt fitting to make our Fall 2024 Paper Project DIY Thank You cards! There are even gratitude prompts on the inside to make your thank you writing easier!

Download our templates and see step-by-step instructions here! iloveinspired.com/fill-in-thank-you-cards 💌

10/18/2024

Mental Health: Finding Hope

Mental health counselor Olivia Lynn Schnur walks us through tips for finding hope and remembering our why. She writes, “Seek out those pinpricks of hope that shine like stars in the darkness. Even if you only catch one for a fleeting moment, peaking through the clouds, take a moment to let it sink in and serve as a reminder that brighter days are ahead.”

Read the full article online at iloveinspired.com/mental-health-finding-hope (or on pages 44 - 47 of the fall mag)!

10/16/2024

“Resilience is a funny thing. In me, it kind of conjures up these fight or flight feelings. You don’t really want to HAVE to be resilient, because it means you’ve had to deal with hard things. But hard things are virtually unavoidable in life. And, despite the difficulty, in all the times I’ve dug deep to get through necessary tough moments, I’ve been proud of myself and the effort I put in. If the effort is for something that really matters, it’s been worth it. Resilience has served its purpose. But how do we strengthen a character trait like resilience?

Here are 17 Ways to Foster Resilience in your life so we can all keep on keeping on, working toward a better community and world!” Xoxox, Aryn

iloveinspired.com/17-ways-to-foster-resilience (or on pages 41-43 in the fall mag!)

10/14/2024

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! 🙌❤️🎉

We’re teaming up with The Getup, Decorah’s local, sustainable boutique, for a giveaway!

Inspire(d) Media is possible because of our amazing advertisers, so we are excited to share the love even more (and give you a chance to win some swag) on social media! Our fabulous friends at The Getup stock their super cool shop with a hand-curated, like-new selection of secondhand clothing and gear for the entire family – from newborn all the way up to adult, plus maternity, shoes, and toys. They buy and sell brands like Patagonia, Gap, Cat & Jack, American Eagle Outfitters, Nike, Lands’ End, and more. Save the planet and your wallet at The Getup!

For this GIVEAWAY, you get:
• One-year Inspire(d) Membership ($35) - Positive news in the mail for you or a loved one!
• Gift Certificate to The Getup ($35) - Shop for great clothing and gear in Downtown Decorah!

To enter:
– Like (and save) this post
– Follow and (you won’t regret it - The Getup gals make some FUNNY reels!)
– Leave a comment and/or tag a friend
(Bonus entry: share this post to your story!)

Giveaway open for 2 weeks (ending on Monday, October 28th). One winner has been chosen and contacted directly... Thank you all for participating and being a part of this community! We truly appreciate you! 😘🥳

10/11/2024

A note from Inspire(d) editor Aryn Henning Nichols: We got great feedback from folks about our daughter, Roxie’s, first Future Focused column in the Summer Inspire(d), and were super excited when she agreed to write a second for our fall issue! The topic this round? Inspiration, in honor of her parents making Inspire(d) Magazine for 17 years.

Check out what inspiration means to this 12-year-old on page 50 in the mag, or online here: iloveinspired.com/on-inspiration

10/09/2024

Thanks to Jason Ray Photography for this gorgeous center spread photo in the current Fall 2024 Inspire(d).

“I took this image a few years ago from Grandad Bluff which sits atop the city of La Crosse, WI,” Jason says of this shot. “With the ability to see three different states in the Driftless Region, the view from here is always beautiful no matter the season. But when the light is right, the sights become even better and the light this evening was spectacular. The skies were partly cloudy and the shadows danced across the landscape, selectively highlighting the bluffs off in the distance and the city below. This image remains one of my all-time favorites I’ve taken.”

See Jason’s work online at jasonrayphotography.com.

📸: Jason Ray Photography

10/07/2024

Wanting to wish Inspire(d) a Happy 17th (whoa, how can we be that old?!) Birthday this month? Please take our readership survey! We’d like to learn more about our readers and what you want to see from our company in the future. All survey-takers have the chance to win an awesome bag totally stocked with “We love Decorah” swag. (Winner announced on November 30.) 😘🥳

Thanks for your support – we appreciate you!

Readership Survey: http://tiny.cc/43fizz

10/04/2024

Today is Inspire(d) Magazine’s 17th birthday! Yay!

Honestly, it doesn’t seem possible. But here we are, 78 magazines, 200ish pallets, and roughly 5300 pages later, still inspired by you all every day. It has been a real honor to make a business out of sharing positive news, and we are so grateful for your support. We hope you find a piece of cake to dig into today, because you deserve it! Cheers to 17 years! 🎂🎉

(P.S. Link to Aryn’s Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe in comments)

Address

412 Oak Street
Decorah, IA
52101

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://iloveinspired.com/

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Videos

It’s the Strawberry Moon! 🍓🌕 Let’s create the DIY strawberry box paper craft for the Strawberry Moon! Perhaps as a party favor to help celebrate this summer’s first full moon? Yes please! We love any excuse to craft (and have a party). 🎉 See the full step-by-step tutorial on our website: iloveinspired.com/giant-paper-strawberry-box

Cleary-Kumm Luckey Climber at the Children's Museum of La Crosse

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Our Story

Inspire(d) Media is a small, independent media company based in Decorah, Iowa. We publish Inspire(d) Magazine four times per years, with a focus on the positive people, places, and events of the Driftless Region. Aryn and Benji Nichols founded Inspire(d) in September of 2007 – shortly after they were married and have grown from printing 3,000 magazines per issue to upwards of 20,000 on a quarterly basis. Inspire(d) – pronounced in-spy-erd… you know: inspired – stands for both inspire and inspired. The idea is that person one inspires person two. That person is now inspired. Then that person inspires person three (or person one again), who is now inspired. Then the cycle continues! That’s what those arrows around the (d) are about! Inspire. Be Inspired. Our mission is, ultimately, to change the world… starting with our own community! Simply said, Inspire(d) in every form is an experiment in the positive. We focus on the good in life because, really, what’s the point in dwelling on the bad?

Do you have an idea for a story? Interested in contributing? Think we should be doing something differently? Drop us a line…. aryn(at)iloveinspired.com or benji(at)iloveinspired.com About the founders: Aryn Henning Nichols grew up in the woods. Not literally – she had a house and a bed and lots of books – but it was still pretty rural. The nearest town – Frankville, Iowa – had less than 100 people living in it and her high school graduating class – one town over in Postville – had only 52 students. She left Northeast Iowa in 1999 to join the world of anonymity… to be “just a number” at the University of Iowa. 30,000 students felt just right at the time. After graduating with a degree in English and journalism in 2003 and post-design magazine internship in Toronto (http://www.appliedartsmag.com), she sought an even denser population: China. She lived there for just over a year, winging it as an English teacher to nearly 800 middle school students and traveling as much and as often as possible. She now believes international travel should be a prerequisite to college graduation. Aryn returned to Northeast Iowa late 2005 doing the typical liberal arts degree thing – living with her parents, waitressing, and applying for jobs. Her parents had moved from the woods to Decorah so she began to re-explore (and adore) this corner of the world – finding that community and a slower pace of life had new appeal. She worked briefly at the local newspaper where she, in a very convoluted manner, met her now husband, Benji. He lived in California at the time but it was still love at first phone conversation. They met in person June of 2006, got married August of 2007, and started Inspire(d) Media that October, just one month after returning from their honeymoon. Benji Nichols was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa – home to a ridiculous amount of Norwegian American stuff, and a lot of great people. After graduating high school in 1996 he left for music school in Boston (Berklee), and promptly returned 10 years later – with a six-year hiatus in the San Francisco Bay Area. From playing music, to baking bread, traveling and touring 49 states, and working with some of the best in the concert industry, it was a decade well spent. These days you’ll find him in or working on Inspire(d) HQ, being a Dad, out making something noisy, or out on the single-track just minutes from home.

We invite you learn more and be inspired about our beautiful corner of the world!