Red Bull Mississippi Grind

Red Bull hosts the Mississippi Grind, a skateboard competition held on a floating barge.  During a 28-day voyage, the barge will take skaters 1.705 miles to their final destination in New Orleans, LA, also making stops in St. Paul, Minn., Quad Cities, IA, and St. Louis, MO along the way.

Emaciated horses treated at University of Minnesota

             Police served a search warrant Wednesday at a horse farm in East Bethel, Minn.  Ten Horses were confiscated and brought to the University of Minnesota's Large Animal Hospital for treatment.  At the time that the warrant was served, the horse farm had approximately 60 horses.  Animal abuse is a misdemeanor; the highest penalty for which in Minnesota is a $1000 dollar fine and/or 90 days in jail.  The abused animals were found to be full of parasites and must be gradually brought back to a healthy diet.

     Fourth year veterinary student Jess DeSimone, left, and University of Minnesota Large Animal Hospital Manager Sheryl Ferguson administer a deworming paste to one of the first two horses   removed by police.

                 Large Animal Hospital Manager Sheryl Ferguson feeds an undernourished, 22-year-old mare named Iris.

The Boundary Waters

I went camping with some friends in the boundary waters five days prior to moving into a new apartment, starting two new jobs on top of my last semester in college.  It was a much needed vacation.  In the woods I was reminded of myself, stalking chipmunks and turkey with my minolta in hand in the backyard of our suburban home.  I dreamed of National Geographic and the adventures that must have accompanied the 1200 dpi photos.  I've always looked up to Nat Geo photographers like Jim Brandenburg and Nick Brandt.

Charlie

I was working on this shot the other day at the Sheradons.  I saw a young man spinning his daughter Charlie at a party in Watertown and asked if I could join the fun.  The bilingual three-year-old had an endless amount of energy.  She would later dance to live music beside a bonfire until midnight.

A Day at the Sheradon's

Today I visited my friends the Sheradons at their home in Maple Plain, Minn.  The Sheradons are a family of mechanics and DIY advocates.  I go to them when in need of some car advice or a competitive game of horseshoe.  The kids are two and four years old and are already incredibly skilled at bicycling, trampolining, dirt biking, and getting into trouble.

13th annual 'Drunken Stupor Day' 08-08-11

As is customary, many of the artists involved in the Minneapolis Uptown Art Fair gather the day after the fair ends to take part in the 'Drunken Stupor Day'.  The annual shindig boasts a tradition of homemade food, beer, alcoholic treats, live music, chicken bingo raffles, fire performers and scandalous pursuits from guests of all ages.

LED hula hoop on fire.

In Chicken Bingo, a hen is placed in a pen with a numbered floor.  

If your number receives a special present from above (chicken poop), you win the raffle.

BLIND Inc.'s The Buddy Program teaches visually impaired children valuable skills for navigating the world

12-year-old Katie Fritz gets off a metro transit bus in South Minneapolis.  During a day in The Buddy Program, which is a three week program designed to teach visually impaired children useful skills, Fritz rode the bus to and from the University of Minnesota.

11-year-old Jamison Christopher, right, learns computer skills at the Pillsbury Mansion in South Minneapolis. Instead of requiring a monitor, the visually impaired children use an audio speaker that verbalizes their actions in order to keep track of their work.