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Community Matters: Dr. Colleen Iversen and the intersection of science, art, and community.

Wild strawberries in watercolor and embroidery
Created and photographed by Dr. Colleen Iversen
/
http://www.colleeniversen.com/embroideries.html
Wild strawberries in watercolor and embroidery

Listen to a conversation with enthusiasm for science, art, and community.

In an occasionally emotional segment Tuesday morning, John invited his friend (and collaborator/boss) Dr. Colleen Iverson to discuss her enthusiasm for science, art, and community. In addition to her 'day job' as a Senior Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Colleen also creates breathtaking multimedia embroidery featuring her scientific subjects, special places, and the interests of her friends and family. Their discussion ranges from the biology of root growth (why do roots sometimes die back in a healthy plant?), how Covid-19 inspired her art, and the deep meaning of a gift of wild strawberries. It's an incredible radio segment, and a written transcript won't do it justice. Please enjoy, and Colleen, we hope to hear from you again soon!

Heidi Holtan is Director of Content and Public Affairs. She manages producers/hosts and is the host of the KAXE Morning Show, including a variety of local content like Phenology, What's for Breakfast, Area Voices, The Sports Page and much more, alongside Morning Edition from NPR.
As a mail carrier in rural Grand Rapids, Minn., for 35 years, John Latimer put his own stamp on a career that delivered more than letters. Indeed, while driving the hundred-mile round-trip daily route, he passed the time by observing and recording seasonal changes in nature, learning everything he could about the area’s weather, plants and animals, and becoming the go-to guy who could answer customers’ questions about what they were seeing in the environment.
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.


With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)