Hey Original Storytelling - www.donnyrowles.com

28/06/2024

As a ten-year-old, I wanted more than anything to be able to draw…well.

I couldn't. I had a friend named Peter. He could draw SO well, I was jealous. I believed that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to draw as well as he could.

I am still fascinated by artists who can create beautiful images, from scratch. As a tv segment producer, I get to meet, interview and tell the stories of a lot of musicians and artists.

When I saw Amber Rahe's (pronounced Ray) artwork - I was floored. I wanted to learn about when she realized she was an artist and how she approaches her artwork today.

If you have 5 minutes - I invite you to spend it watching this piece, about her.
https://lnkd.in/gF5F5GP4

You may enjoy Amber's art as much as I do.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, in the comments!
Her website: https://amberrahe.com/

21/05/2024

Rochester friends - I'm working on a story about property taxes - and I'm looking for anecdotal information from 10 friends who live in the city of Rochester. If you have some time - could you email me at: [email protected] and let me know by what percentage your property taxes went up, (or down) last year? Thanks much for your time.

11/01/2024

Here's a piece "Hey!" did about former Rochester basketball star, Matthew Hurt. Hurt is currently playing professional basketball after starring for two years at Duke.

On this episode: rising basketball star Matthew Hurt, the Mayo High School Planetarium, Dancing for the Arts, Driven by Rhythm, and the Schuster Brewery.

17/07/2023

Sometimes 12-year-olds have important insights to share. Meet Roberto - the winner of the SE Minnesota regional spelling bee...

To see more videos from Hey! Original Storytelling please click here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwvpTQ-Sq6lXPDyDfAgdBqNnAOW7GxrMa

10/06/2019

STEM Forward is an organization working to help teachers teach better, and improve education outcomes for southern Minnesota - for kids, for our economy, for all of us. https://bit.ly/2U9BfFE

20/12/2016

Some Rochester kids have spent thousands of hours working on their games. Come see what they've learned - December 29th and 30th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0kszy5LYfo

The Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament is December 29th and 30th at the Mayo Civic Center. Our kids have spent thousands of hours practicin...

29/11/2016

Hey! Original Storytelling was excited and proud to work with the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce to produce this piece for their 150th Anniversary celebration - this piece covers the past 60 years (from 1956-present). Please check it out if you have some time - we did lots of research for this one. (A longer version, spanning all 150 years, is in the works.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI1B6PghBqw

31/03/2016

We had a chance to work on this special project - if you know, or have known a woman in an abusive relationship, please check out this video, and share it with your friends. We hope that someday this may help get women out of unsafe situations, and into safe ones. http://www.womens-shelter.org/videos/index.html.

Welcome to Women’s Shelter, Inc., Women's Shelter, Inc. provides services, outreach, advocacy, and housing to battered women who are fleeing a life of abuse. The majority of our clients are from Olmsted county even though we serve an 11 county area. Yearly we shelter 277 unduplicated women and 235 u…

29/12/2015

Burnsville over Lake City 55-47.

28/12/2015

Ryan Nonn is a senior guard for Rochester Lourdes. He wears #3.

He says the best thing about the Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic, are the arenas the games are played in – and the exciting and intimate atmosphere that is created in them.

“I think the auditorium and the arena are the two best basketball courts in the state. Especially the auditorium – the atmosphere is so loud in there, and it’s so energetic. I love it there.”

Ryan likes to drive and dish to his teammates.

“My favorite thing is when it’s a close game and we’re running through a play and the play doesn’t necessarily work, but we still find a way through the defense and then one of my teammates hits a three pointer and the crowd goes crazy.”

Nonn hopes to win games on Tuesday and Wednesday – January 29th and 30th at Mayo Civic Center. Come down and watch!

And if you haven’t seen the video on Michael Hurt – and his family connections to the tournament – please check that out here:
And please SHARE this post with your friends!
http://bit.ly/1MtJ2P6

27/12/2015

Basketball has been a lifetime love for Rochester Century’s Jared Bakken.

“The first time I was on a team was kindergarten – so I was 5 years old. I picked up a ball when I was three.”

He says one great thing about the Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic is that it brings some of Minnesota’s best players, to Rochester.

“It’s always great basketball. Some of the top players in high school basketball in Minnesota so it’s always cool to see that. I’ve been going to the Rotary ever since I was a little kid. I always imagined myself to someday be out on the court, and now I get my chance. It’s a great feeling.”

We asked Jared what his favorite thing about playing in games, is.

“I’d say my favorite thing about playing in a game is just the energy and the intensity – all around just the when the crowd gets into it just the energy that it brings.”

And that’s one thing there will be a LOT of at this year’s Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic: ENERGY. It’s at Mayo Civic Center December 29th and 30th.

And if you haven’t seen the special piece on Michael Hurt – and his family connections to the tournament – please check that out here:
And please SHARE this post with your friends!
http://bit.ly/1MtJ2P6

26/12/2015

Rochester John Marshall’s Kami Haider: “An Underdog”

You could think of Rochester John Marshall’s Kami Haider as an underdog who has persevered. She didn’t start playing basketball until 6th grade. Many of her friends played. But when she started, she didn’t get to play with them.

“I made the lowest team in 6th grade. I was discouraged because a lot of my friends made the higher team. I had to go to the lower level and get exposure to the game and work with my coach after practice to try to improve.”

After working to improve – she became a varsity starter during her sophomore year. Her favorite part of the game, is defense.

“I love, love defense. I’ll go for the steal, before I’ll even look for a shot on offense. Sometimes I get in trouble with my coaches, because they don’t like me to gamble on defense as much as I do.”

Watch for Kami - #2 – going for steals at this year’s Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic – December 29th and 30th At Mayo Civic Center.
And if you haven’t seen the special piece on Michael Hurt – and his family connections to the tournament – please check that out here:
And please SHARE this post with your friends!
http://bit.ly/1MtJ2P6

23/12/2015

Rochester Mayo guard Trajan Grimsrud loves basketball.

“I think my favorite thing is some of the practices where everyone is competing and having fun – all my friends have come from basketball – I love meeting new people through basketball – and I love the competition, too.”

Trajan says he loves the Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic – because the environment at Mayo Civic Center is “electric.”

“Just being there is a lot of fun – both gyms are beautiful – and it’s a lot of fun to watch the small schools play bigger ones – it’s a fun atmosphere. It’s also kind of the Christmas spirit, the winter break. Its super fun to play in the Civic center, any floor there is a lot of fun. We play teams we’ll never see, we don’t see twin cities teams like that, so that will be a good challenge, and a lot of fun.”

He says the game has taught him lessons that go well beyond the game.

“It’s taught me mental toughness through adversity. We’ve lost a lot of games, but we’ve had a lot of hard fought battles. During the game if you take a shot to not be discouraged and take the next one – if you turn the ball over – not to dwell on it and make more mistakes but have a short term memory about it and compete and get on with the next play.”

The Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic is December 29th and 30th at Mayo Civic Center.

23/12/2015

What do a Mayo Clinic Doctor, The First Ever Rotary US Bank Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament, a young couple who played in the first-ever tournament – and their oldest son, have in common? They’re all in this story – 3 generations, multiple stories – and one tournament – the US Bank Holiday Classic at Mayo Civic Center on December 29th and 30th.
http://bit.ly/1MtJ2P6

Michael Hurt is heading to the University of Minnesota next year. This year, the John Marshall senior is playing in the Holiday Classic Tournament in Rochest...

21/10/2015

On the second morning Jarvis’ family was eating breakfast in the hospital cafeteria when Tanisha got a call on her cell phone. It was a nurse.

“You need to get down here immediately,” the nurse said.

Tanisha’s heart sank.

From page 39 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson – available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

19/10/2015

He’s Moving Around When he Hears Dad’s Voice

“The next day,” Tanisha says, “Jarvis would only respond to Curtis' voice.”

This hurt her.

“I would go talk to him, he wouldn't do anything. If Curtis talked to him he'd kind of start moving and get antsy, and I was just like, I'm Mom! That hurt me, ooh my God I boo-hooed! I did cry for that!”

The medical staff said Jarvis may have been responding to Curtis’ voice, because his was the last voice Jarvis heard.

“So every time I came into the hospital I'd have to try to change my voice,” Curtis says. “Make it lighter, or you know, whisper. It made me feel good cause every time he heard my voice, he would try to get up.”
From page 38 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson – available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

17/10/2015

Cooling Jarvis Down, and Warming Him Up Again

The Johnson’s prayed. Doctors decided to do a “cool down” process with Jarvis’ body. They turned his body temperature down, and planned to warm it up to see if he would “come to” as a result.

During this process, Jarvis showed some signs that his brain was back there, somewhere. Including every time he heard Curtis’ voice.

From page 38 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson – available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

05/10/2015

What Happened Inside Jarvis’ Body?

Dr. Christopher Carter is a Pediatric Cardiologist at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, where Jarvis was treated. They discovered that Jarvis had something called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, or HCM.

“It’s a defect that results in the heart muscle becoming very disorganized…and it also predisposes to rhythm problems,” Dr. Carter says.
Rhythm problems, including a stopping of the heart.

“The term for what Jarvis experienced most generally would be sudden cardiac death,” Dr. Carter says.

Carter says HCM is the most common cardiac cause of sudden death in young athletes.

From page 37 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson, available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

30/09/2015

It didn’t look good, but one doctor had a different perspective on Jarvis.

“There was always one doctor that said this kid is gonna’ make it," Curtis says.

Curtis didn’t ask the doctor what make it meant, but it was a reason for optimism.

The optimistic doctor told Curtis he wasn’t convinced and he wanted to give Jarvis more time.

“Let’s see what happens,” the doctor said.

From page 36 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson, available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

29/09/2015

At one point, it seemed to the Johnson’s that the doctors expected Jarvis to die. But even if his body survived, his brain wouldn’t. At the very least, Jarvis would never be the same. This was logical.

The Johnson’s had a visit with expert physicians. Multiple doctors determined that there was no brain activity, no movement with Jarvis. They said they would call the neurologist and see what he had to say. Then they would make a decision on pulling the plug on Jarvis.

“I'm looking at him like, ‘What?’ Tanisha couldn’t believe it.

“If you try to pull the plug, you're gonna’ have to call security, you're gonna’ have to call the police, because I would never let you come in here and pull the plug.”

The doctor told Tanisha she wouldn’t have a choice.

“Yes I will," she said.

From page 35 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson, available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

28/09/2015

When doctors did their rounds, they would stop and talk in Jarvis’ room, within earshot of Jarvis, and Ty.

Tanisha remembers, “They were conversing in the room and Ty said, ‘Mom they can't talk negative around Jarvis.’”

Ty said, “Mom they have to go out."

He told the doctors, “When you guys come in here, if you have something negative to say, I need you to go outside of the room."

The doctors respected the 21-year-old’s request, and they’d leave the room.

“I was just like wow,” Tanisha says. “I never really thought about it, but when I was weak, Ty or Curtis or vice versa, there was always somebody up when somebody was down.”

From page 34 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson, available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

21/09/2015

The First Night was the Toughest

On the first night Jarvis was in the hospital, Tanisha and Tyseanna decided to go home.

But when they got home, everywhere they looked, were reminders of Jarvis.

“Me and Seanna cried the whole night. He had shoes on the counter, everything possible that was Jarvis’ was laid out.”

It didn’t feel right to be there. They needed to be with Jarvis. They went back to the hospital.

From page 33 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson, available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story. Jarvis died, and came back. Jarvis' heart stopped for ten minutes. Minneapolis basketball star. De La Salle.

15/09/2015

Tanisha and Curtis spoke with a doctor. He said it wasn’t looking good.

Words no parent wants to hear, but Tanisha would not accept the idea that Jarvis was dying.

She says the doctor told them Jarvis’ kidneys were failing, and that he wouldn’t make it though the night.

Tanisha said, “Nope."

She wasn’t crying. Her cousin was nearby, watching her. She questioned whether Tanisha was thinking clearly.

“Are you okay?” Her cousin asked.

“Yep, I'm fine,” Tanisha said.

“I don't think so,” her cousin said.

From page 32 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson. Available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story is about a young basketball prodigy who went through something most of us can’t even imagine.

14/09/2015

Then Tanisha came into Jarvis’ room. She explained the situation to Ty.

“I sit down. That's when it really hits me,” he says. “These people are here because he might not live through the night.”

From page 31 of “GET UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson. Available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

10/09/2015

It didn’t take a doctor’s diagnosis for Ty to understand. Jarvis was in serious trouble.

“I see a huge tube in his mouth and his eyes are open but they're rolled to the back of his head. You could see the machine breathing for him. It makes a noise, ‘Shee-huuuh.’ It was graphic because I had never seen him with more than a sprained ankle. I'm talking to him–“

‘Jarvis can you hear me?’

From page 31 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson” Available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

10/09/2015

It didn’t take a doctor’s diagnosis for Ty to understand. Jarvis was in serious trouble.

“I see a huge tube in his mouth and his eyes are open but they're rolled to the back of his head. You could see the machine breathing for him. It makes a noise, ‘Shee-huuuh.’ It was graphic because I had never seen him with more than a sprained ankle. I'm talking to him–“

‘Jarvis can you hear me?’

From page 31 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson” Available below.
http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

08/09/2015

There are 300 people in the hospital’s waiting room, when Ty sees his sister, Tyseanna.

“She sees me and she really started crying,” Ty says. “And I'm thinking why is my sister crying like this?”

Ty still didn’t know what was going on with Jarvis.

From page 30 of "Get UP! The Miracle Story, of Jarvis Johnson. Available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story is about a young basketball prodigy who went through something most of us can’t even imagine.

01/09/2015

When Ty arrived at Children’s Hospital, he didn’t know what to think.

“It's a big huge room, I would say with probably three hundred people in there, and I'm still confused,” Ty said. “I'm thinking, my brother passed out, why are there this many people here?

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

31/08/2015

After his game Ty walked into the Bethel college locker room, and picked up a phone full of new messages.

One caught his eyes.

It read, “I'm praying for your brother I hope he's okay.”

“So I'm thinking the passing out must be a little bit more serious than I had thought,” Ty said.

Then he saw another message, from Tanisha: “Get dropped off at Children's Hospital."
From page 30 of “Get UP! The Miracle Story of Jarvis Johnson,” available below.

http://bit.ly/1JOWc8v

Jarvis Johnson: A Miracle Story is about a young basketball prodigy who went through something most of us can’t even imagine.