Trip to Minneapolis!

Today, I have for you a review of my trip to Minneapolis with Jeff about a week ago, but FIRST--

I understand some people have had issues getting my blog to "show up" on their RSS feeds, such as Feedly or BlogLovin'. I think I finally have the tech side of this figured out so you could find Prairie Sun Life on your blog feeds. Try copy/pasting this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePrairieSunLife   It seems to be working so far. If you continue to have trouble, please let me know! I don't want to miss anyone!

Now, on to the Minneapolis trip!

As I mentioned in my most recent Weekly Review post, Jeff and I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the National Farmers Union Convention. The Convention was held March 4-8 at the Radisson Blu- Mall of America hotel and convention center. We had a nice trip getting together with Farmers Union friends and colleagues. We also saw a lot of the Mall of America, and I had a chance to meet up with a blogging friend, Jessie. Read on for the details!

The convention was held at the Radisson Blu- MOA. This was a really nice hotel, and very modern in aesthetic. It was also attached to the Mall via skyway. It was a nice host site in that it was big enough and had many nice amenities. Personally, I would have actually preferred not to be attached to MOA and to have had more opportunity to be outside. The Mall of America "experience" wore off quickly. It is still just a mall...

My friend Tom lounges in one of these suspended pods they had in the lobby of the hotel. Very modern, indeed!

Anyway, the committee that I am on- Next Generation Advisory Council- presented our Strategic Plan to the NFU Board of Directors on Saturday morning. We have spent about a year working on this and had some really great suggestions for moving NFU forward with the "next generation" of farmers, ranchers, and consumers. Our ideas fell into three main themes: Membership, Leadership, and Mentorship. As a Council, we were all very pleased to see and experience positive reactions from the Board after our presentation.

I wore this necklace that I made for my presentation. Each tab has one of the brands that have been used on our family farm over time. I wanted a reminder to myself that it's not without respect to the past that we move forward.

I had a few other meetings throughout the weekend and enjoyed some of the keynote speakers and fundraising events before flying out on Monday. Jeff was elected as a Delegate to represent Montana Farmers Union, so he stayed on for the policy portion of the Convention. It sounds like there were a lot of differing opinions about policy and proposed changes. Ultimately, one thing I really love about Farmers Union on a State and National level is that we as members have the opportunity to argue policy and use a truly democratic process to build our position and give voice to the whole. I am really glad Jeff had the opportunity to serve as a Delegate and represent our State. I know he did a good job, even if I wasn't there to see it in person.

There were many speakers at Convention that addressed the gathering before policy began. I was sure to catch Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speak. I may break down some of what he spoke about in a separate post because there was a lot that is very relevant to Agriculture, obviously. I always enjoy hearing what Secretary Vilsack has to say and I appreciate the work he has done as our Secretary of Ag.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses the Convention.

A major highlight of the trip for me was simply gathering and getting together with some of our Farmers Union friends, from near and far. A group of us shared several meals and lots of free time together and it was just wonderful to be together. Several times I remarked that I hadn't laughed that much in a long, long time. To me, that's another aspect of what makes Farmers Union special- you become family with these people over time. I know that, even though some of my friends live in separate states, they will be there for me for years to come, and vice versa.

Two of our close friends, Bryan and Jennifer, are from Minnesota and took us out to some fun Minneapolis restaurants while we were there. One being Spoon and Stable, which was sort of a fine dining restaurant with innovative menu. We sampled a wide variety of dishes from their menu and shared them all among the table. My favorite out of everything was a dessert item called Honey and Cream Cake-- sooooooo good! Some of their menu can be pricey, but you could always go just for dessert and drinks if you're in the area. Make sure you call ahead for a reservation, though!

The other restaurant they took us to was a Thai restaurant called Sen Yai Sen Lek. This restaurant is part of the Minnesota Cooks: Food From The Farm collective. The Thai food was really good-- exactly what one wants from a Thai restaurant. We shared some spring rolls and each ordered our own lunch plates. I had a dish called Pad Bai Gra Prow with chicken. It was like a Thai spiced ground chicken with vegetables over rice, and the entire thing was topped with a fried egg. Soooooo delicious! This restaurant was also very affordable. I'd highly recommend it if you are in the Cities and hankering for some Thai! Plus, you know that anything from the Minnesota Cooks group is going to be really good farm to table food.

Another major highlight of the trip for me was meeting a fellow blogger- Jessie from The Right Fits. We have been following each others blogs for a long time, so it was really great to meet in person! Jessie is also a runner (she runs much more than I do!) and has a vizsla!! We met up for a walk near downtown Minneapolis, together with her dog Matilda the vizsla. It was so great to meet, get to know one another, get some exercise, get out of MOA, learn about and see Minneapolis from a local, and to see a beautiful Vizsla!!! Thanks, Jessie, for the meet up! You are the embodiment of "Minnesota Nice!" Readers, if you like reading about running, the Twin Cities, and/or Vizslas, definitely check out The Right Fits! Jessie does a really wonderful job!

Matilda, Jessie, and me over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis!
Thanks, Jessie, for sharing this photo with me!

While Harvey couldn't come to Minneapolis to meet Jessie and Matilda, he did send his love in the form of a gift. Harvey picked out a toy from his favorite made in Montana dog toy company- West Paw Designs. It's a grizzly bear. I delivered it to Matilda when I saw her. It looks like she likes it!

Matilda enjoys her new dog toy, from Harvey.
Photo credit to Jessie from The Right Fits. 

Well, it was a really great trip to Minneapolis and I hope to make it back there sometime soon. It's an easy city to fly to from Great Falls as we actually have a direct flight! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about what we did on our trip. Have you ever traveled to the Twin Cities?