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Let's Visit Pine River!

Pine River is a quaint community with a population of just under 1000 people. It's a rural town with a progressive spirit. Hunt Utilities Group is on a mission to make the world more sustainable in many different ways. Happy Dancing Turtleis a non-profit dedicated to creating learning experiences for all ages that make a lasting impact in the name of sustainability.  A CBD oil manufacturer is coming to town and currently renovating the empty Alco building and a business that transforms horse trailers into high end travel experiences is adding more employees exponentially.  In these Let’s Visit segments, learn about Pine River life from three locals and learn about what they do in their town.  Paul Hunt shares technologies and experiments happening at Hunt Utilities Group in Pine River,  Chris O’dell from Pine River-based Complete Chimney Care discusses chimney care tips, and Quinn Swanson shares some of the magic being planned at the upcoming Back to Basics event organized by the non-profit Happy Dancing Turtle. 

We want to change the world! – Paul Hunt, Hunt Utilities Group

My father is a masonry contractor and so I grew up building chimneys. I grew up working on chimneys and so I came at it from the masonry side of repairing chimneys, more into the service side of inspections and cleaning and things. So that's really how it evolved. It evolved pretty grassroots. I was working on chimneys - repairing them and learned more about servicing and cleaning and that's how I became a chimney sweep. - Chris O’Dell

chris_o_dell_chimney_sweep.mp3
Chris O'Dell of Pine River discusses Pine River life and his work as a Chimney Sweep

I think we're absolutely seeing, as a society, that we need to spend a lot less time with screens and the challenge is that they're becoming more prevalent in our schools and ... in our after school or out of work time. We're tied so dramatically to that... We're a science experiment...we have no idea what that is doing to us as individuals in our relationships, our communities...And so if we can be that little entry into outdoor time and it's benefits, then great!.… – Quinn Swanson, Happy Dancing Turtle

quinn_swanson.mp3
Quinn Swanson of Happy Dancing Turtle on her work and life in Pine River

Katie Carter started at Northern Community Radio in 2008 as Managing Editor of the station's grant-funded, online news experiment Northern Community Internet. She returned for a second stint in 2016-23. She produced Area Voices showcasing the arts, culture, and history stories of northern Minnesota.