Vice President, Administrative Officer and Human Resources Coordinator, Premier Bank Leadership Greater Rochester, Class of 2013

Hometown: Blue Earth, Minnesota

Age: 47

Family: Husband, Scott; daughter, Erin; son-in-law, Casey; and a grandchild on the way.

Starting Out: I earned my bachelor's degree in business from the University of Minnesota in Waseca. Since then, I’ve worked in human resources. I love working with people.

Making Others a Priority: I’m blessed to have the opportunity to interact with a large variety of terrific people every day from employees, managers, partners, customers and tenants to people in the community. I value each relationship.

To be a mother is to be intimately involved in something bigger than oneself. Mothers are often attributed as being the supportive arms that encourage a child to grow and the gentle strength that holds a family together.

This is a story of three single moms: Rosemary Ptacek, Darcy Buntrock and Jennifer Gangloff. Each has a unique reason for parenting solo—whether by adoption, divorce or tragedy—but all three have overcome adversity and mothered their children exceptionally well through difficult trials.

Layered recipes offer an opportunity to feast first with our eyes on the visual complexities of the culinary arts before relishing the unique flavors those layers place on our palate. All restaurant chefs know this, which is why we, as consumers, see them plating everything from appetizers to desserts as architectural presentations.

Now here’s your chance to try it at home. Use these recipes to create your own culinary layered looks. Take your creativity to the table in how you serve an item, such as presenting a layered salad in individual martini glasses. Layers allow you to be as creative as you want to be!

Gnocchi (pronounced no-key) are little potato dumplings that can be served as a side dish with a simple sauce, herbed oils/butters or turned into an elegant main entrée. Meticulous preparation is required, so we spent a morning in Pescara restaurant’s kitchen with Chef Tony Pester learning how to “do it right!”

Not My Parents' Wine

Forty years ago France produced the finest wines in the world. French, Italian and a few Spanish wines were the only wines Americans really knew at that time. My parents drank cheap Burgundy or mixed drinks and “highballs.” When I went onto college I entered the realm of Boone’s Farm (“graduating” since).

Hunting the elusive morel mushroom

When my foodie friend Doug insisted on a spring visit to Minnesota, I was floored: “You wanna fly all the way from Chicago to hunt mushrooms?”

“Yeah. Morels taste better than truffles.”

“But that means hiking through . . . nature,” I replied.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

Gorgeous garden spaces for outdoor living

Elegantly framing her family’s residence, Suzanne Dinusson’s gardens represent nature’s abundance with blooming perennials, textured foliage and colorful annuals. There, Suzanne hosts a variety of activities such as intimate get-togethers, bridal showers and birthday, graduation and retirement parties. These welcoming garden spaces reflect her and her home and are a haven for her family and guests.

A guide to decking from a local company that has been selling lumber for 98 years

In 1915 former Iowan H.J. Kruse built a business in Rochester that would, over the course of 98 years, outlast a host of independent competitors. Originally known as Kruse Lumber and Coal, the family-owned store has successfully evolved and continues to operate under the philosophy of its founder: Succeed by offering service and products that are a fair deal to the customer.

Taking the plunge of putting in a pool was something that Dick and Evelyn Berger had thought about many times over the years.

“We always wanted a swimming pool, but I loved the landscaping and my Eastern Redbud trees were so beautiful that we kept putting it off,” says Evelyn, whose landscape would have to be completely remodeled—including removing her favorite trees—to accommodate a pool.