- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(bright music) (upbeat music) - [Host] Coming up next, "Off 90", join us as we travel to Albert Lea to visit Creating Sew Much... ...hop a few blocks to check out the B&B Cafe... ...travel to Mankato to learn about Sibley Farm... ...and finally visit Rochester to learn about a young tennis player.

It's all just ahead "Off 90".

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (inspiring music) - Hi, I am Jessica Henry, co-owner of Creating Sew Much here in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

We opened our doors on February 21st, 2024.

We were a block over at our first location and now we've moved a block down.

But the whole reason behind everything was that, we had worked at another location that did sewing machines and service, and when they were closing for retirement, everyone said, "Well, you still need to do it."

And, "We, we don't know what to do and we don't know where to go."

So we thought, "Well we should probably help."

- And so we decided that we wanted to open up some kind of a shop.

We weren't sure what we were gonna do, but we ended up with growth here.

We were a year a block down.

We kind of outgrew that and we got this location and it's just been wonderful.

The community has been welcoming to us greatly here.

- We are a Janome and a Brother dealer and service center.

So as far as that we have new sewing machine sales, but we also really important have sewing machine service for all the brands we carry and just about any other major brand.

So even some of people's older sewing machines like their grandma's used to have or that they've had since high school graduation.

Other than that, we have all kinds of other services, like we have fabric for sale, we have education classes, project classes, other events like that for people to come, enjoy their craft, maybe learn a thing or two and just really have a good time.

And then we have all kinds of other little things available in store to support those crafts.

- We teach anything from sewing to crocheting, macrame, we have children's classes.

So every second Thursday of the month we have kids club and they get to come in and learn different kinds of crafts.

So it's not always just sewing with us here.

We also teach fun and exciting crafts.

So we want it to be a place where people can come in from seven years of age and older and just enjoy some kind of craft and get the confidence to make some of the projects that we have from tote bags to quilts to stuffies and everything like that.

When the children come in and they're just, "Look what I can do."

And you're going, "Oh wow, you just made a pillow."

"I did?"

"Yes you did."

(laughs) - We actually have an open sew just about every Wednesday and we have a pretty dedicated crowd that comes in and they're a great resource to kind of pick the brains of.

- It's not just sewing a quilt, it's not just making a piece of clothing from scratch.

It's adding new items to an old item.

It's creating something new that no one else has used.

It's your creativity coming to life.

That's always, I think, some of the greatest things that come out of here.

It's the recreation of a memory that will spark new memories with them.

I think I really enjoy, 'cause we've also worked on quilts that their great-great-grandmother has made and obviously has passed away and everything and there's some rips or something like that.

They just want their quilt back.

It's not even a, "Oh well I can buy a new one" 'cause we're not all like that.

We want the sentimental value of that quilt.

So when we can help somebody to recreate that feeling, it's a magical moment.

And that's why we opened.

We opened to help people.

- And I love working with the customers of designing.

If they come in with questions on their quilts, what colors go together, what patterns we have and just helping the customers with things.

- I'd say my favorite part is just seeing the reaction on the people that come in the door when they get their stuff back.

My favorite's really when they come back and they say, "You know, my sewing machine's working fantastic" or "That was a really good idea.

I really liked how the thing I've been working on has turned out my quilts, my tote bag," whatever it is they're working on.

- And just the friendships that have been developed with different customers and just the connection that you can have with them and seeing the different projects that they do that their creativity has brought out.

And they'll take different projects and incorporate them with their personal touches and see, okay, how can I do this differently?

How can I make this easier, more creative?

- My favorite part about working here is seeing all the people get excited over the projects they've created or the new fabric that now they can create that project that they wanted.

And I love just seeing the excitement from the kids, 'cause I'm the one that teaches the classes for kids that they're, it's just excitement, seeing them happy that they accomplish something, it's something they can wear or something they can use.

And just seeing that spark in everyone, that's my favorite part.

(inspiring music) (playful music) - I am Holly Miller and I co-own the B&B Cafe with my husband Clint.

The B&B Cafe started in 1950.

It began with two local men, and B were both their initials and they came together and wanted to start a business and the name's never been changed.

We're just known for that.

And it's kept through five owners.

We bought it in 2002 and we were both in corporate life.

I was managing corporate businesses and Clint was the vice president at Wells Fargo and we were just kind of wanting a slower pace and to be able to spend more time together.

So we left corporate roots and jumped right in.

(playful music) Tuesday through Friday we're open from 6:00 to 10:30 and Saturdays we're open 5:30 AM to 10:30 AM.

The pancakes we're very well known for.

But our french toast is kind of edging it out a little bit.

People are loving that.

So the french toast recipe I came up with and the pancake recipe is a very deep secret that we will never share anywhere.

(playful music) Bless our community.

They will stand out there in the heat and the snow and the cold and wait for us every single Saturday.

We are so lucky.

(playful music) We do large carry out orders.

We don't do like on site catering, but we'll take a large catering order anytime.

So we'll deliver or they can pick up.

(playful music) The weekend help comes and goes.

The girls grow up.

We have a lot of high school students, but other than that, had a little bump in the road lately just with people like going off to college and things like that.

But we have like eight new people that have added to our crew and they're amazing.

So we're excited to see how that goes.

(playful music) So Clint turns 70 this year, so we're hoping in the next couple years to maybe find the next owner.

But no rush.

We're happy here.

We need to stay active and we love it and we love the people so it doesn't seem like work.

So we're happy here, as long as our health stays well, and we're here.

(playful music) Now we have grandkids that are working for us.

I mean it's really cycled through.

Our son and our daughter both waited tables, and now the grand girls are here.

One of them's learning how to cook to help out just in case we need it.

And our senior granddaughter has been working here for a couple years and we're not gonna let her go to college.

We haven't told her yet because she has to stay (laughs).

(playful music) I was cooking my own dinners when I was six years old for my generation, so, yeah.

And Clint has always loved it.

So we would cook.

That's kind of what stemmed that up was that he, we both love cooking, and I'm like, "You know, we should just do this someday."

And the opportunity came out and we made an offer and they took it.

So it was obviously supposed to be part of our path.

(playful music) I think just entertaining and passion just goes with cooking.

Welcoming, welcoming people, and it's very much Clint's passion.

He loves it.

I love it too.

I feel like you're entertaining your family every single day.

And then my other true passion is floral design and we've had a business there running as well on the side and we started that about three years ago and it's growing very fastly.

So I am not always here on Saturday when I'm at weddings, I am doing that.

(playful music) I feel like our entire business is a family.

So there's people we've watched sit, come in as babies and now they're grown and bringing in their own kids.

It's kind of crazy.

So I just feel like traditions are made here.

So many people have traditions of coming in the first day of school and the last day of school and we've had parents that come in like every single year since kindergarten till taking kids to college this week, and just, we have, we're just a family.

All of us, we've had a lot of people you know have passed away and we feel that deeply and we just love it here.

Everybody's just happy to be here and we love that about it.

(playful music) (playful music continues) (inspiring music) (lively music) (lively music continues) - The Sibley Farm, located inside of Sibley Park, is a wonderful amenity.

It is a petting zoo of sorts.

Some animals you can interact with, some animals you can't, but it's an opportunity to engage with the farming industry in an interesting way.

There's also some really great animals that you can see.

One of my personal favorites is the pond.

We have koi fish in it and there's a bridge that you can walk across, but otherwise it's a great gathering place and a place to interact with your family, your friends or walk through.

The farm is physically here all year.

We have animals available to view typically from early to mid-May to mid-October.

We encourage people to come during daylight hours.

So the park is technically open 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM.

These are of course real animals.

They're going to be asleep at different times.

So your best chance at seeing an animal and getting an interaction is going to be during daylight hours.

(lively music) We have a lot of different types of animals.

You're gonna see hogs, you're going to see cattle, you're gonna see some sheep and goats and then there's the birds.

We've got turkey and chickens and pheasants and peacocks.

There's lots of variety but very much centered on that Midwestern farm concept.

- I think the kids get a lot out of coming here, especially kids that are in the city that never grew up on a farm, and they don't normally get to see farm animals.

Where now, they'll get to see 'em up close, or like the birds, like we got some exotic pheasants that people don't get to see normally ever, so.

(lively music) - I'm told that the biggest draw is our hogs.

You really don't see hogs in a normal day unless you live on a hog farm or a hobby farm.

So to get to interact with them, to see them in a more natural state, you'll see them rooting potentially.

You'll see how messy, the concept of the pigpen, you really see that in practice.

They're dirty animals.

They keep themselves quite clean in spite of it, but you get to see them try and keep cool or to build ponds for themselves to then lay in.

So it's a really fun attraction.

But of course whenever the peacocks are displaying, the male peacocks, that is a beautiful site.

I love koi fish.

I just think they're so beautiful.

They're very responsive.

They love getting fed the fish food.

So it's an easy way to get an interaction with an an animal, but it's also beautifully landscaped.

The water feature in the center of the farm really helps to ground the whole space and make it feel really like you're in a little sanctuary and I think it's just a very attractive, calming place to be.

(lively music) - The animals come here every year.

I am in contact with local farmers around the area and they are loaned to us from the middle of early to beginning of May until about the middle of October when they all go back home.

- The farmers enjoy having their animals on display.

We take care of them during that time.

It's a way for the community to interact with these animals and for the animals to have somewhere to go in the winter time because their enclosures are largely outdoors.

(lively music) So we do provide feed to interact with the animals.

So there's corn for some of the animals and then the fish, there's fish food that you can feed them.

Some animals you have the ability to interact with and feed.

For example, the sheep and the goat particularly love to be fed the corn that we have available.

We do have fences in place.

We ask that nobody goes over the fence, sits on the fence, uses it to stand on.

So some of our animals, it's just more complicated and difficult to feed them.

The hogs for example, are very difficult to feed just to keep that separation between the people and the animals' enclosure.

So if it's available and it's safe to do so, we encourage you to feed the animals.

- An important fact to know about these animals as well.

It's always important to wash your hands and be mindful that these are animals when you are feeding them as well.

You know they are farm animals and just always when you're done feeding them, make sure you wash your hands and personal care on that, that side.

So the people that take care of the farm, there's a lot of people that goes into this.

We do have one main full-time person that's in charge of it.

And then a lot of seasonals come and help us as well.

Of everybody that's in the public works, all of us at some point will be down here doing chores or maintaining or cleaning barns or doing something along that.

- The farm is supported through the same funding that supports our local parks.

Property taxes are the primary supporter of those.

Some folks over the years have made donations towards specific areas including the farm.

But the primary focus is the community is paying for this farm.

We really want the community to enjoy this space as the benefactor.

Lots of different groups like to come to the Sibley Farm.

We have a lot of school groups that will come in the summertime, after school programs that do summer camps.

The YMCA has summer camps that come here, the YWCA, and then communities around the Mankato area will also come here.

Sibley Park is a great place, it has lots of amenities.

So the Sibley Farm is an additional value add to that experience.

So you can spend a day here with the summer camp and enjoy it.

And then we also have a couple of senior care facilities within walking distance of the farm.

They love to come through here and walk through.

They like to see the kids playing and enjoying the animals themselves as well.

(lively music) (inspiring music) (gentle music) - [Anjali] "Tej" in Indian language means energy and luster.

I think Tej is very true to his name.

- He was full of energy.

I mean, he had more energy than Anjali and me combined.

(upbeat music) (Tej cheering) And that forced us to be active with him even at age two or three.

And then we tried to find ways to channelize his energy.

(upbeat music) I can think back to the day that Tej came home for the first time from the hospital and Ojas would not let us call him Tej because he was Ojas' baby or Ojas' brother.

So for the first day or two it was something that belonged to Ojas.

- Tej grew up as his big brother's, like literally inseparable shadow, like you cannot separate the two to the point that it was hard when Ojas was going for sleepovers and play dates and Tej just had kind of like separation anxiety.

(uplifting music) - I started playing at around seven or eight, and Tej was four.

Every time I'd kind of go to a lesson, Tej would be there just hitting against the walls.

(uplifting music) - I was very intrinsically motivated to start hitting against walls randomly.

You know, at four or five years old I was constantly always hitting against something and I'd always want to keep hitting and keep developing and I think right away my technique as like a little kid was, it was pretty solid.

- And while kids were trying to say bounce them off their racket for the first time, this guy was running and sliding to the baseline to make sure he always got the ball, and it was almost as if he kind of knew the sport having played, you know, hit balls, good hand eye coordination.

So he kind of separated himself from the rest of the crowd at age, you know, four or five and then basically getting better every, every day, every month.

- [Anjali] One of Tej's coaches who I would say inspired the love for tennis in Tej, Mike, he said, "You know, Tej is like a sponge.

Every single thing I tell him, I see him do."

- There's plenty of practice at our home.

I mean I hit against the garage even now.

And our basement as well has a pretty solid area where you can actually hit more forcefully.

'Cause the, you don't want to break the garage, but- - Which we have.

- Yeah, we have in the past, but... - He was a pretty athletic kid.

We played soccer, tennis, swimming, but I think when I started to, you know, focus more in on tennis at around age nine, you know, Tej was probably six or seven then and together we both started playing tournaments, and as we kept going to tournaments, Tej was always kind of getting first place or second place and I was like, "Okay, we're going to the same tournaments and someone's ending up with more trophies.

This is already a good start for the little bro."

- One of the quickest ways I developed was just playing tournaments.

You know, you get put in those pressure situations and you know have to deal with how you're playing.

(uplifting music) In a tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, I played at level five, 12 and under, I think I was nine at the time and I won the tournament.

I beat, you know, three guys back to back that were at least 11 or 12.

I was kind of thinking like, "Why am I getting away with this?"

- Sumit had taken Tej for a national tennis tournament when Tej was probably eight or nine years old, and him going with no preparation to a big national tournament and winning, that's when for me, for the first time, I was like, "Oh my god, our kid might have like, you know, real potential."

- [Ojas] He joined my group at The Rack when I was around 13 years old.

(intriguing music) Having Tej join the group, it was called Ace One, having to play against him, I mean, this kid can defend really well and he has the tools to become even better.

(upbeat music) - I've been here for 20 years now.

Tej in terms of anticipating and defending is the best I've ever seen.

He's incredible just knowing where the ball's gonna be.

(upbeat music) - [Ojas] And he has this natural instinct and feel for the ball so he could drop shot it, he could slice it in these ways that were kind of harder to play against.

I mean he was a really, really just fierce competitor and everything kind of led to him being a really, really special player on court.

- Right away I'd go to my brother for tennis issues or you know, things that were on my mind.

So a lot of guidance from him.

He's pretty much always been there for like every tournament, always willing to help me and talk about things and talk about mental aspects.

So definitely very thankful.

- I think my parents set a really good example.

You know, in our family, it's just you depend on your friends, you depend on your family members and you really just give them all you can.

It felt like a very team-based approach from our family.

With The Rack being very communal, it felt like everyone had a stake in each other and that was really helpful to grow in.

(gentle music) - Started in seventh grade, I was behind him in singles.

He was one singles, I was two singles.

That was definitely really special.

- Oh, he very, he was short, but he was still quick, you know, and fast and a great athlete but just got a ton of balls back.

When they would attack him, he would lob over their head, and so yeah, I mean even back in seventh grade he was very consistent.

- That year, seventh grade, I got to the individuals of state as well, so in that moment in seventh grade, I'm like, "Okay, you know, I got this, you know, I can do it."

Eighth grade year I went to individuals in doubles with my partner Spencer Bush.

But my most special year was definitely my sophomore year.

(intriguing music) - You know, I know his last year winning the state championship, he didn't lose a set the entire year, and so, you know, there weren't a lot of real competitive matches.

- Being undefeated during the season generally means you're gonna go into the state tournament, ranked number one, and certainly I think he was the betting favorite, but it also means that there's a certain amount of pressure that comes along with that.

(calm music) - I was playing too tentative and too passive, and he was playing, you know, I would say he was playing pretty fearless.

He was still, you know, hitting the ball really well and coming in.

My first match point that I had in that final, I literally dumped a backhand in the middle of the net because I was, I was nervous.

I was so nervous, like I have a chance right here.

I had to, you know, regroup, and you know, I took the last two points and finished the match and celebrated.

(audience cheering) It was so much like emotion and relief coming over me because I did feel quite a bit of pressure.

But you know, I prevailed in the end and showed, you know, the competitor I am and the fighter I am.

I love tennis because I loved the fact that there's no timer, that you can come back logistically from anything.

You can be down 6-0, 5-0, 40-love, and still win that match.

- His game, which is just, you know, fight, make as many balls as possible.

Make it as hard as you can on the opponent.

He just makes you beat him, right?

Like he's not beating himself.

- One thing for me that I saw Tej excel at right away is the pressure moments in tennis, you win or lose based on the margin of five or six points and how you play those five or six points is super mental.

So it's about can you win the right points at the right time.

- [Josh] It's just mentally grueling out there, just every point you have to just dig down and deep and just, he just makes you work so hard for it.

- [Ojas] The coaches were always a little harder on Tej than a lot of other players.

The coaches did a really good job at keeping him accountable.

- With Tej, I would just usually ask him, on a scale of 1 to 10 how he played, you know, five being average, and you know, what are some things he could have done differently.

- I honestly had a lot of fun playing on the team.

I decided to step away from high school tennis because there was a bunch of different tournaments that were occurring in the spring of course and into the summer.

I really wanted to play those tournaments to fully challenge myself because guys in the first round, these guys are, you know, top a hundred juniors in the world.

While I just have so much more room to grow.

(enchanting music) - Tej is now gonna go out to an academy in California for a couple weeks and travel to a tournament in the summer, and he's gone Monday through Friday.

It's just him, his parents aren't there.

He does national tournaments, which the top players do, but he didn't play high school tennis this year, which is pretty rare.

- Right from the get go, Brown was one of my top options for sure.

I definitely wanted to go to a more academically inclined institution as well as play tennis, and I really enjoyed being with the team and it felt like a place where I could develop.

I love tennis because I also think it's the hardest sport in the world because I think the mental and physical aspect is so, there's just so much to improve on.

Yeah, I don't think I'll ever stop loving it.

(enchanting music) (uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (bright music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.