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

(bright chiming music) (lively upbeat music) - [Narrator] Coming up next "Off 90."

Join us as we check out a fix-it clinic in Dodge County, revisit a feature on a local Civil War reenactment, and revisit a feature on a local natural wonder.

It's all just ahead "Off 90."

(mellow orchestral upbeat music) (mellow orchestral upbeat music) (intriguing orchestral music) (intriguing orchestral music continues) - My name is Emily Barker, I'm the Executive Director of Reuse Minnesota.

We are a nonprofit dedicated to education and advocacy in the reuse sector here in the state of Minnesota, and we are involved with the fix-it clinics here in Dodge County and Kasson, also in Rochester and Olmsted County, because we helped apply for a grant through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

It's a waste reduction and reuse grant that they offered to help reduce waste and encourage repair, and things like swap events throughout the state.

And we worked with the counties to help expand reuse through fix-it clinics in greater Minnesota.

The fix-it clinic programs have been well-established in the metro for a number of years, and we wanted to help see those grow and expand to folks across the state, and so, Dodge County is one of our partners for that event.

(tranquil orchestral music) So fix-it clinics are actually something that have been going on for many, many years.

From our knowledge, some of the first ones started actually in Amsterdam as repair cafes, and in Minnesota, the first one was done in Hennepin County in 2012, and then they grew throughout the metro, six of the seven metro counties, as well as the Minnesota Tool Library offered them on anywhere from a quarterly to a monthly basis.

And with these, we really wanted to see other parts of the state have access, and we've partnered with five areas of Minnesota, so Olmsted and Dodge County are our two Southern Minnesota partners, we're also working with Chisago County, Pope Douglas Solid Waste and the Stearns History Museum, which serves the Saint Cloud area.

And so, our goal is we did the population math, and it's about another half a million Minnesotans that will have access to fix-it clinics, once these are well-established.

(bright triumphant orchestral music) - We have not had a fix-it clinic before, I have not been to one.

My boss did go to the one in Olmsted County just to kind of check it out to see what it was about.

A lot of the fix-it clinics currently are held in the metro area, so that's why we're trying to get these started more out in the greater Minnesota areas.

I'm Rita Cole, I work for Dodge County Environmental Services, I also am a member of Reuse Minnesota, and I'm also a Board member of Reuse Minnesota.

(bright triumphant orchestral music) - So fix-it clinics definitely have many purposes.

For me, personally, and for Reuse Minnesota, a big thing is the environmental piece and the waste reduction part.

But it's not just about keeping things out of landfill, it's also recognizing that every product we have, whether it's your toaster or an article of clothing takes resources to make.

And so, a big part of it is about reducing the amount of natural resources we're putting in and taking out of the world to make new stuff.

So if you can keep your lamp going another 10 or 20 years instead of buying a new one, that helps reduce all of those resources that have to go into it.

But, for a lot of folks, it's also about economics.

So saving money, especially right now where things are very expensive, and, you know, everybody likes to save money.

And so, keeping hold of the things we already have helps with that.

We also see this as a really important way of intergenerational sharing of skills.

Unfortunately, a lot of the skills that you see happening at the clinics are things that aren't really being taught in schools as much anymore, there isn't as much of that transfer between younger folks.

I know I grew up in a rural area in Montana, so I know some things, I learned some mending, but I certainly didn't learn a lot of the fix-it things.

And so, I think it's a really great way for these skills to be shared within a community when you have folks that are excited to share them.

And to build that community, that's another really important part.

I know one of the volunteers who's here today has been a long time volunteer with Hennepin County, she came to share her wisdom, and she said one of the things she likes is the community they have between the fixers.

So they really get to know each other over time and build that community.

And then the other thing is, there's the nostalgic factor too where, you know, maybe I have something that someone gave me and it's really special to me because it was given to me by a parent or a grandparent, and throwing that item away just feels like not honoring that and wanting to hold onto those cherished items, or some of them might be a piece of furniture that's come down through multiple generations, and they wanna just give it a refresh and make sure it still stays with them for a long time to come.

So, really, it's not a one size fits all, which is one of the reasons I love repair, is because there is literally something for everyone.

(bright triumphant orchestral music) - My name's DeAnne Dubbs, and I volunteer for Hennepin County fix-it clinics, and we're here today to help start the fix-it clinic here.

When I retired a few years ago, my daughter, who is a librarian at Hennepin County said, "Mom, you would be great for fix-it clinic."

And I was curious, because I had heard about fix-it clinics and wondered how to get involved.

And it's simple, you just contact them and they hook you up, and it's a great volunteer program for anyone who's got the knack for fixing things, or mending things, and easy to volunteer.

(intriguing orchestral upbeat music) - So we welcome volunteers with all sorts of interests and skills.

Our two primary repair side is the menders, so those are folks who are working on things like textiles, the clothing, anything made out of fabric, that might include things like pillows, or we've had stuffed animal, we've had those in the past, where someone brings in a stuffed animal that's had an item, you know, a dog chews off a nose or something like that.

The other side is the fixers who are doing things like electrical, woodworking, we have a bike repair as an option.

So there's a variety of different skills that can be utilized through that.

The other thing is, if you're not somebody who fixes things, we always need volunteers to help with check-in and welcoming.

So somebody who's willing to sit at the computer, welcome guests, write down what they're bringing in, we track all of that data because for our grant, they wanna know the environmental impact.

So we say, "Okay, we fixed these hundred numbers of items over all of these fix-it clinics, and that added up to this many pounds."

So we need somebody who's able to welcome people, be that friendly face, especially if somebody's nervous about being here, to be that smile when somebody comes in the door and welcome them, and help them figure out what's going on.

So we have space for just about everyone.

Generally speaking, volunteering is mostly adults, but we certainly welcome younger folks if they're with an adult.

So if they're young people who wanna come with a parent or another guardian, we do welcome young folks as well.

(tranquil orchestral music) - I've been a sewing enthusiast for many years, and I have done all sorts of mending and sewing.

And so, this was a talent that I could share and be a hero for people as I fix things.

So often, in today's society, people throw things away, which would be very easily fixed.

And, in our culture, we need to get a handle on this, we need to stop throwing away things that can be fixed.

And it's often a sentimental thing that people bring in, and don't wanna throw away.

And so, they're grateful for any help we can give them to return their item in a usable facility.

(bright triumphant orchestral music) My name's Rose Sundermeyer, I live in Kasson, and my husband was looking to have his chair repaired.

Our neighbor recommended the place, he's one of the volunteers here, and so, he mentioned it was coming.

The chair's been in my husband's family for over 70 years.

His uncle had made it when he was a child.

And I've been married to him 30 years, and we've had it that entire time, and he had it before we were married.

It's a heavily used chair, it's one of his favorites, so we are looking to get it repaired.

(intriguing orchestral music) It's very important for us, it means a lot from a continuity of family perspective.

So having the chair, that is actually a nice looking chair to look at, available to use.

It's also important from a health perspective, my husband's having physical problems, and this is a sturdy enough chair that he can get in and out of it comfortably, and the rocking ability makes it easier for him to stand up.

So it's a usable chair as well as being a lovely chair to look at.

(intriguing orchestral music) - We've had at least three bikes.

We have one gentleman who brought in a couple of items that needed to be fixed with our fixers, and a couple of mending things.

So we have one chair that we're working on.

So I think it's been a great turnout, of course, we always wish for more.

I always hope that people will think about it the next time that we have, when we're gonna start having them quarterly.

So Reuse Minnesota will help us with the next one also, hoping in the end of September, we'll put the dates out there, and then we'll continue this for quarterly from now on.

(bright orchestral triumphant music) - I think we would love, if there are people who are interested in getting involved, please do reach out to your county, or you can connect with us at Reuse Minnesota.

Our events page is a great place to find the fix-it clinic that's coming up.

So it's reusemn.org\events, and we list all of the fix-it clinics that we're working on on that website.

So if you have any questions, you can also find things like swap events, and all sorts of different things there that are happening in the Reuse community.

So definitely do that, or if you're interested in volunteering, you can sign up, anybody is welcome to do that.

If you're interested in starting a fix-it clinic where you live, and there isn't one already, we're happy to be a resource to help you connect with the folks in your community that might be able to make that happen.

(volunteers chattering) I have been passionate about repairing stuff and helping figure out how to make stuff last for a long time, for as long as I can remember.

I worked in the solid waste field for about the last 10 years, I actually worked for the state of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for a couple of years, mostly focused on recycling and composting, and then I worked for the city of St. Louis Park for five years, and I was able to start some swap events.

So we did clothing swaps, and media swap events, and really used that as a way to connect with people and build that community and reach out to people who maybe aren't as excited about other things like recycling or whatnot.

But I love it because there's always something that I can learn, whether it's a mending technique, or how to repair something, and I've always been driven by keeping stuff out of the trash and reusing stuff for as long as I can.

(bright triumphant orchestral music) (lively mellow orchestral music) - [Drill Sergeant] On your mark!

Arm!

(people chattering) (drums beating) - I'll be honest, you know, I've been teaching school for 27 years, and I thought I knew a lot about the Civil War.

I found out I knew very little about the Civil War.

(triumphant martial music) - We are not here to glorify war.

(cannon booming) (personnel cheering) Our goal here is to teach people, to show 'em what the life was like back then, what they went through and how they did it.

(martial triumphant music) - [Tom] They're just following orders, doing their patriotic duty... - Aim!

Fire!

(firearms banging) - Because they think what they're doing is right.

Whether they were north or south, they all felt the same thing.

(intriguing martial triumphant music) (intriguing martial triumphant music continues) (intriguing martial triumphant music continues) (intriguing martial triumphant music continues) - Fire!

(cannons booming) (people clamoring) (explosion booming) (firearms banging) (dramatic triumphant music) - I know guys that are still reenacting in their 70s, and I don't think I'd wanna try and outwalk 'em.

(martial triumphant music) We have all different religions, definitely different political views, and we get along.

There's something about it that brings, you know, everybody together on it.

(martial triumphant music) Union by birth, Confederate by choice.

That's about as easy as I can say it.

1st South Carolina, fall in!

For 1st South Carolina volunteers, I portrayed Captain William Haskell.

By the left, wheel, march.

Definitely, born in South Carolina, grew up on a plantation, was tutored on that plantation, and then attended university in Virginia, and came back, did a little bit of teaching, honed a newspaper man and speaker, and then when the war broke out, signed up with the militia.

Front rank, ready, aim, (firearm banging) fire!

Wait for the command.

Who fired first?

Fire!

(firearm banging) That was bad, that was bad.

So you could get wounded and killed, you could get wounded twice.

But we like to do this because when we do it today, they're gonna go, "Well, look at that.

They're firing at each other and nobody's dropping."

Well, if you do it the way it was actually fought, it'd be over in five minutes.

So we do this, we try and take as many hits as we can, and recycle 'em back into the line.

(dramatic martial music) - [Commander] Charge!

Bayonets!

(people clamoring) - [Bill] I think it's worth checking out.

105 degree heat, smoke in your eyes, the smell of sulfur, sunburns, heat stroke, mosquito bites, et cetera, and do that for three days and come home and say, "Geez, I had a great time."

So I figure if there's a psychiatrist out there who can actually pinpoint how somebody could go through that in the course of a day and come up with a logistical reason for it, they could get an automatic free PhD.

(commander shouting) (explosion booming) (cannon booming) (triumphant martial music) - Well, I've heard some people, editors, or online, or whoever, saying that they don't think this is a proper hobby for people to have, because of how it glorifies war, you know, it makes it fun.

No, it doesn't, not in my opinion anyway.

We are not here to glorify war.

War is bad.

- Fire!

(firearms banging) Nice!

- For me, it's mostly just learning, "Okay, how did they live, what was it like?"

And, yeah, they were a whole lot tougher than me.

Okay, you guys ready?

- Yes, sir.

- Detail, forward, march!

We'll fall in by our companies, and we'll form up our lines.

By the right, march!

March out to the field.

Careful on the mud, it's real slick.

And then depending upon which one we're doing at the time, we'll either be dug in and waiting for the other guys, or we'll be advancing on their position.

Detail, column march left, march!

Basically listening to what the officers tell us to do, and going where they tell us to go, which is a large reason for why we drill.

(martial drums beating) You know, and then the question they always just ask, "How do you know if you've been hit or not?"

Well, mostly we do that on an honor system.

You know, if you look down the field and you see some guy, he's got you in the sight and you see the gun powder go off, you know, I'll generally drop, you know, he's got me.

(firearms banging) - Aim!

Fire!

(firearms banging) So, yes, it is a blank cartridge.

There is no lead, nothing else besides the powder.

But if you're not careful, you can still severely hurt someone.

(martial triumphant music) Well, reenactors, in my opinion, you know, for the most part, we're a pretty good bunch.

(martial triumphant music) (martial triumphant music continues) (martial triumphant music continues) - Dodge County's and Wasioja's involvement in the Civil War, there was a lot of involvement, a lot of soldiers left from here, it's one of the highest percentages of participation in the war of any county in the country.

Dodge County residents in the 1860s were very patriotic.

They're newly arrived in this country, many of them, and newly arrived to this new state that had only been formed in '58.

So they were very patriotic and willing to serve.

- [Announcer] The Union and Confederate commanders on the field today are conferring.

- [Tom] I'm sure we have well over 200 volunteers who participated in the event, up to the start of the event.

And with all of the parking and the registration and all of the other things, probably, I'm sure at least another hundred volunteers that were involved in the event the last three days, it's hauling in bleachers, setting up tents, setting up fences.

The locals have been fantastic, people have just come out of nowhere to volunteer to help.

(cannon booming) (personnel cheering) The 25-acre battle site was cow pasture.

John doesn't currently milk anymore, so we didn't have to displace any of his livestock from the property here, but he seeded it down for us, so it wouldn't be like a plowed field for our encampment area.

- Minnesota being the 32nd state... - [Tom] It's all about education, they love to tell their story, they love to explain to people about what these folks went through, the sacrifices they made 150 years ago.

- We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.

The brave men living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

♪ We are coming, Father Abraham, 300,000 more ♪ ♪ From Mississippi's winding stream ♪ ♪ And from New England's shore ♪ ♪ We ♪ - Most Americans aren't concerned with their history.

We lose a lot of our history, we don't maintain it, we throw it away.

And to me, that's a shame.

You're losing invaluable information, experiences, what made us what we are today.

(somber tranquil triumphant music) (somber tranquil triumphant music continues) (lively mellow orchestral music) (intriguing orchestral music) - [Mark] A woman came in and asked to purchase a ticket, and said that she would like to see the cave, because it was rated one of the top 10 caves in the country.

And I said, "Really?"

I said, "How did you hear about that?"

She said she saw it in the newspaper.

(intriguing orchestral music) - My name is Ryan Bishop, I'm a tour guide down at Niagara Cave in Harmony, Minnesota.

This cave was formed by ancient underground river that carved out these passageways.

A lot of our visitors come to see the underground waterfall, it's kind of the unique feature of the cave, that's why the cave was named Niagara Cave, after the waterfall, and then the water does flow over a 60-foot drop.

(water pattering) It is very rare to have underground stream flowing through a cave that people can access and actually see for themselves.

The limestone is about 450 million years old.

It was laid down when a shallow sea used to cover this Midwestern area here, and everything that lived in the sea, the plants and the animals when they died, they fell to the bottom, and their bodies built up over each other over a long period of time, and it became rock.

And we have a lot of evidence of the ancient life preserved today as fossils.

(visitors chattering) This cave had began forming thousands of years ago during the ice ages when glaciers covered most of Northern Minnesota.

And each summer when the glaciers melted, some of that water came down here to this part of Minnesota.

Over time, water worked its way through cracks in the rock, it eventually formed into an underground stream that carved out these passageways.

(water murmuring) - I'm Mark Bishop, owner of Niagara Cave.

(bright ethereal orchestral music) Well, the cave was discovered in 1924.

This area where the building sits and parking lot was a farmer's pasture, and the farmer that operated the land noticed he was missing three of his pigs.

So he sent his two nephews who lived across the road and his hired hand to go track the pigs down.

And they discovered the cave by locating the pigs in the sinkhole that the pigs had fallen into.

And so, they went to rescue the pigs and lo and behold, there was a huge cave system below there.

(cinematic orchestral music) Three gentlemen from Decorah, Iowa, Joe Flynn, Leo Tekippe, and Al Cremer, were businessmen down in Decorah and also cavers.

And they came and explored the cave.

And it was those three gentleman that decided to get permission from the landowner to develop it commercially.

So they did that in the '30s, and opened it in 1934, and they were the operators of the cave.

There's been just three cave owners since 1934.

And with my background in physical geography and environmental studies, it seemed like a perfect fit.

I love caves, purchased it in 1995, and been running it since.

(visitors chattering) - A tour around this cave will take you on about a mile walk, round-trip.

You go half a mile into the cave, then you turn around at the end and come back out the same way.

You descend to about 200 feet below the surface, and you'll be in an environment that is 48 degrees constantly all year round.

The second layer here with all the tack marks in it, it's called the Stewartville layer.

My favorite feature would probably have to be some of the fossils that we have.

I really liked fossil hunting as a child, and, you know, coming down here, every time I look for fossils, I can find new ones that I've never seen before, and I've been down here hundreds of times.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) - We have the cave formations, the stalactites, stalagmites, other caves, formations that you see in typical limestone caves, and just the unique shape of the cave makes it a very special place.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) Also, we have a wedding chapel in the cave.

Over 400 weddings have been performed there since 1934.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) We have a guest book inside, and we have visitors that sign our guest book that come from usually between 60 and 90 different countries and all 50 states typically on a given year.

Yeah, I have two sons, one has just finished his degree in geology, and the other one will have his degree in about, well, six months from now.

(tranquil orchestral music) They grew up in the cave, and have taken the caves in Europe and Central America and all of the United States as well.

So, yeah, they're very interested in caves and geology.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) - I got my degree in geology from the University of Hawaii.

I did spend a lot of time down here growing up, and I was fascinated by fossils, and I always crawled into every crack and crevice I could find down here when I was a kid.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) This is where I grew up, you know, this was my basement.

(intriguing tranquil orchestral music) (lively upbeat music) (lively upbeat music continues) (bright chiming music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.