Inspire(d) Media

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.

Valentine’s Day is coming up…but honestly, who needs a holiday to decorate your home with hearts and love?! Follow this ...
02/04/2025

Valentine’s Day is coming up…but honestly, who needs a holiday to decorate your home with hearts and love?! Follow this simple Paper Heart Wreath tutorial to bring a little brightness to your lives this late winter! iloveinspired.com/paper-heart-wreath ❤️

Aryn loves it when her friends (and Inspire(d) team members) interview their loved ones for the probituary, so she was d...
01/30/2025

Aryn loves it when her friends (and Inspire(d) team members) interview their loved ones for the probituary, so she was delighted to feature Lynsey Moritz’s grandma, Martha Deines, on the back page Q&A. We whole-heartedly agree with (and hope to adopt in 2025) Martha’s advice: “Play it cool and don’t go to bed angry.” 💜

Read the whole interview on page 66 in the Winter Mag or online here: iloveinspired.com/martha-deines

We’ve loved watching wrestler Naomi Simon make her way from the Decorah mats during her high school years to the U20 Wor...
01/27/2025

We’ve loved watching wrestler Naomi Simon make her way from the Decorah mats during her high school years to the U20 World Championships in 2024. Her journey has been full of perseverance and determination, and despite being an individual sport, Naomi insists that the real heart of wrestling is the supportive, tight-knit community it provides. “Wrestlers are really hard-working people,” she explains. “When you spend time around other wrestlers, you automatically have this point of connection that most people can’t understand.”

Naomi’s currently rocking her first season as a wrestler at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Read more about her wrestling career (so far) on page 60 of the current Inspire(d) Mag, or online here: iloveinspired.com/naomi-simon-fought-to-the-top

Looking Back on 2024 / Looking Forward to 2025“If I write a retrospective and it’s still January, it counts, right?” ask...
01/23/2025

Looking Back on 2024 / Looking Forward to 2025

“If I write a retrospective and it’s still January, it counts, right?” asks Inspire(d) Editor-in-Chief Aryn Henning Nichols . In this post, she spends a little time looking back on the themes of 2024, and looking forward to another year of making positive news and working to make our world even just a little bit better with each issue. Thanks for reading and being Inspire(d), friends!

iloveinspired.com/looking-back-on-2024-looking-forward-to-2025

Spring Inspire(d) deadline ahead!Working on the Spring Inspire(d) in January is always a lovely way to dream of warmer d...
01/16/2025

Spring Inspire(d) deadline ahead!

Working on the Spring Inspire(d) in January is always a lovely way to dream of warmer days ahead. We are so grateful to our amazing advertisers who make this magazine possible. Are you interested in marketing your business in Inspire(d) in 2025? Learn more about ad options and opportunities online here, then reach out to Aryn or Benji to chat. Thanks for supporting positive, independent news!

iloveinspired.com/advertise

We’ve all got work to do. True to its name, a woodpecker’s life is about pecking. In the Winter Inspire(d), writer Craig...
01/13/2025

We’ve all got work to do. True to its name, a woodpecker’s life is about pecking. In the Winter Inspire(d), writer Craig Thompson tells us more about these bold, noisy birds. Winter, with its leafless trees, is ideal for woodpecker viewing. As cold winter days slowly lengthen, woodpeckers begin to drum. Short, staccato bursts are a percussive proclamation of territory and a sure sign that spring is indeed on the way.

Read Craig’s story and see Mary Thompson’s gorgeous woodpecker artwork on page 50 of the current mag, or online here: iloveinspired.com/woodpeckers 🐦

“My beautiful daughter’s life ended on a cold kitchen floor of a dumpy studio apartment near La Crosse while I slept in ...
01/10/2025

“My beautiful daughter’s life ended on a cold kitchen floor of a dumpy studio apartment near La Crosse while I slept in my bed in Westby,” says Heidi Overson, describing her heart-breaking experience of a parent’s worst nightmare. “I wasn’t there to help her, to hold her, to try and bring her back to life. I never got to say, ‘I love you’ one last time.” Within months of Amara’s passing, the Amara Rose Foundation, Inc. was founded in an effort to change lives, offer support, and help others avoid this tragedy. Read more about the Amara Rose Foundation on page 44 in the current Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d), or online here: iloveinspired.com/amara-rose-foundation

The Amara Rose Foundation was the result of a family turning tragedy into a mission to honor lives lost to addiction and fentanyl poisoning.

Winter provides an opportunity to sink into a cocoon of rest and stillness. But if we aren’t careful, a welcome retreat ...
01/08/2025

Winter provides an opportunity to sink into a cocoon of rest and stillness. But if we aren’t careful, a welcome retreat can become an isolation habit. Once the holidays pass, it can be easy to disengage from the people and hobbies we’ve loved just months before. Yet, connection is not something that we can postpone until the warmer days of spring. Meaningful relationships are necessary for our health and happiness year-round. In the current Winter Inspire(d), mental health writer Olivia Lynn Schnur guides you through ways to connect with yourself and others this season.

Find it on page 40 of the print mag, or online here: iloveinspired.com/finding-connection-for-improved-mental-health

“When the world feels full of darkness – both literally and figuratively – it’s easy to want to run away from it all. To...
01/06/2025

“When the world feels full of darkness – both literally and figuratively – it’s easy to want to run away from it all. To cut yourself off and hunker down for the duration. But the magic of life lives in the connections you make,” writes Inspire(d) editor-in-chief Aryn Henning Nichols.
“What types of connections do you need? What sorts of possibilities are ahead for you in 2025?
Every day is an opportunity to learn more, change perspectives, do something different. Every day is an experiment in humanity. And we’re all connected through that humanity. We’re all in this together. So: My hope, this winter season, is that we all find the collective strength to work toward a better future.”

Check out Aryn’s 8 Tips for Finding Connection on page 37 in the current Winter Inspire(d), or online here: iloveinspired.com/8-tips-for-finding-connection 💙

Thanks to Michael Floy Photography for contributing the beautiful Winter 2025 Center Spread Photo. Michael writes, “On J...
01/04/2025

Thanks to Michael Floy Photography for contributing the beautiful Winter 2025 Center Spread Photo. Michael writes, “On January 1st, 2021, while most were still recovering from New Year’s Eve, I ventured out early to capture the enchanting beauty of a location in Decorah known as “The Cut”. The scene evoked a calm peacefulness, with only the gentle sound of water trickling beneath the ice, making its way towards the Upper Iowa River. It was a serene moment of winter’s quiet splendor, beautifully frozen in time.” Learn more about Michael’s work at facebook.com/michaelfloyphotography, or see it in person at Impact Coffee in Decorah throughout the month of January!

Happy New Year!!! Here at Inspire(d) HQ, we are looking forward to (and planning away at) another great year of highligh...
01/02/2025

Happy New Year!!! Here at Inspire(d) HQ, we are looking forward to (and planning away at) another great year of highlighting positive, good, and inspiring things in the Driftless. Join us (and support the positive news movement) by signing up for an Inspire(d) Membership. Let’s all shine bright in 2025!

www.iloveinspired.com/membership ❤️

Winter break is upon us! Looking for some peace of mind (for yourself or perhaps some littles in your life)? Check out t...
12/23/2024

Winter break is upon us! Looking for some peace of mind (for yourself or perhaps some littles in your life)? Check out this fun selection of Paper Projects and downloads from our online Inspire(d) archive to find some calm, quiet time this holiday season!

iloveinspired.com/category/paper-projects

MAKE IT:

Affirmation Cards - iloveinspired.com/diy-affirmation-cards

Dream Board - iloveinspired.com/make-it-dream-board

Paper Gift Bows - iloveinspired.com/dyi-paper-gift-bows

Paper Crown - iloveinspired.com/make-it-paper-crowns

Sun Bookmark - iloveinspired.com/make-it-sun-bookmark

Kathleen Jensen + The Little Heart ProjectIn stores, parks, and restaurants all over the world, little hearts – smaller ...
12/19/2024

Kathleen Jensen + The Little Heart Project

In stores, parks, and restaurants all over the world, little hearts – smaller than the palm of your hand – are spreading positivity. Crocheted with love in all sorts of colors, the hearts are affixed with tags sending messages of hope and light to all who encounter them. These tiny reminders of good are made through The Little Heart Project (TLHP). The project’s creator, Kathleen Jensen, says they’re a “soft entry point” to making a difference in the world. Read more about Kathleen – and the community she’s helping to build – on page 28 of the Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d), or online here: iloveinspired.com/the-little-heart-project

💕💕

Shopping at Cardboard Robot in Decorah always makes us here at Inspire(d) HQ feel happy. It’s a place filled with creati...
12/15/2024

Shopping at Cardboard Robot in Decorah always makes us here at Inspire(d) HQ feel happy. It’s a place filled with creativity and inspiration – art supplies, craft kits, nice paper and journals, and lots of nice pens (and other good stuff too). Plus, owner Eric Sovern is hilarious, kind, and helpful.

“I love it so much when people come in and have an idea of a thing they want to make. I want to help with that. A mom came in one year frustrated that her daughter didn’t want any of the princess costumes that were offered for Halloween, but instead wanted to be a clothes dryer. Yes, please! Getting to help bounce around ideas about how that might work was 100 percent satisfying.”

We so love that attitude. You can read more of Eric’s Sum of Your Business answers in the current Winter Inspire(d) mag (starting on page 54) or online here: iloveinspired.com/cardboard-robot-eric-sovern

No matter a town’s size or age of its people, community-building happens best in simple ways, says Lanesboro, Minnesota ...
12/12/2024

No matter a town’s size or age of its people, community-building happens best in simple ways, says Lanesboro, Minnesota Community Builder Kara Maloney. “It’s about building relationships. It’s about being curious and staying open-minded. Most of all, it’s about showing up.”

Read more about how Kara contributes to the Lanesboro community on page 24 of the 2024-25 Winter Inspire(d), or online here: iloveinspired.com/kara-maloney

P.S. Heading to SE Minnesota soon? Check out Lanesboro Arts holiday shopping art sale December 14 (Hot cocoa and cookies! Artists in-store! Free coloring pages!)!

It felt like the perfect…well, connection… to have weaving as the cover art for an Inspire(d) Magazine centered around C...
12/10/2024

It felt like the perfect…well, connection… to have weaving as the cover art for an Inspire(d) Magazine centered around Connection. The threads of humanity come together to create such a beautiful, connected, and complex world. Check out more of Decorah artist Laura Demuth’s work, and read her lovely and meandering life story, on page 16 of the current Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d), or online here! iloveinspired.com/laura-demuth ❤️

Woohoo, new magazine time! Driftless folks: Watch for the Winter Inspire(d) showing up on a stand near you this week. An...
12/09/2024

Woohoo, new magazine time!

Driftless folks: Watch for the Winter Inspire(d) showing up on a stand near you this week. And if you’re not a local (or you just can’t wait), you can read the stories online! I (Aryn) just got them all uploaded, woot!

“Flip” to the front of the mag by starting with my editor’s letter here: iloveinspired.com/winter-2024-25-inspired-editors-letter

Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d) We’re all in this together. And despite all our differences – or perhaps in celebration of them – I’d like to remind…

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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!