(bright music) (bright music continues) - Welcome to "Almanac North."

I'm Brett Scott.

- And I'm Maarja Hewitt.

Thanks for joining us.

On this week's episode, we're digging into holiday food traditions in the Northland and hearing from one dietician on how to take care of your health with all of these treats.

- That is coming up on "Almanac North" this evening.

But first, we start off, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has announced the city of Marshfield is applying for funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program to replace lead service lines throughout the city.

The project will not have significant environmental impacts and no further analysis is needed at this time.

However, the public is encouraged to submit comments on the project by December the 25th.

For more information or to submit your comments, you can visit the Wisconsin DNR's website.

- The first wave of more than 550 citizen soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard's 34th Infantry Division, known as the Red Bulls, have returned home after a 10-month deployment to the Middle East.

The division successfully completed missions in Operation Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, conducting military exercises with partner nations.

The Red Bulls also modernized their division headquarters with cutting-edge communication equipment.

Spanning 216 communities across the US, the soldiers are now back home in time for the holidays.

Minnesota National Guard leaders expressed pride in their service and gratitude for the support of their families and communities.

- AFSCME Local 66, the union representing city workers, moves closer to a potential strike.

This follows a lengthy negotiation process that began in July and has yet to yield a contract agreement.

Union members, who provide critical city services such as snowplowing and water treatment, voted overwhelmingly on December the 10th to reject the city's latest settlement offer and authorize a strike.

The union says the city's proposal of a 1% wage increase in the first year and 6% over three years is inadequate, particularly as other city departments, including police and fire, have received larger adjustments in recent years.

AFSCME leaders are demanding an 8 to 12% market adjustment, citing uncompetitive wages and chronic understaffing.

Wendy Wohlwend, president of AFSCME Local 66, criticized the city's approach, stating, "Our members are working short-staffed, being called on to work longer and harder every day.

The city's proposal is insulting, inadequate, and unacceptable."

The union has also raised concerns about mandatory overtime and proposed changes to work schedules, which they say undermines workers' dignity and exacerbate burnout.

In response, the city of Duluth emphasized negotiations are ongoing and highlighted a willingness to meet again with mediators.

City officials say they have offered wage increases ranging from 13.5% to 21.5% over the course of a proposed three-year contract.

They point out that nearly 14 hours of mediation occurred last month and another session is already scheduled for January the 6th.

If an agreement is not reached, a strike could begin as early as mid-January.

And now we head on over to Denny's Desk.

Denny?

- Thank you, Brett, and good evening, everyone.

Welcome to another edition of Denny's Desk.

Well, the holiday season is here, and for many of us here in the Northland, it's a time steeped in tradition, gathering with loved ones, lighting up our homes during these long, chilly nights, and celebrating the warmth of community and family.

Now, for some, this season can bring a mix of emotions, joy and nostalgia, yes, but also stress, worry, or even loneliness.

Navigating those feelings isn't always easy, but there are ways to approach the season with a little more balance.

It starts with being realistic.

The holidays often come with high expectations, trying to create the perfect celebration.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by all the preparations, it's okay to set limits.

Communicate your needs with your loved ones and give yourself permission to scale back when necessary.

Setting boundaries isn't just healthy, it's necessary for your emotional wellness.

Another helpful approach to staying grounded during the season is to plan ahead.

Organizing your tasks and bringing them into manageable steps can make a world of difference.

And if you're facing tricky conversations at the dinner table, remember it's okay to gently steer the discussion in a different direction if things get uncomfortable.

Sometimes a well-placed question about someone's favorite holiday memory can be just the thing to lighten the mood.

And don't forget about your go-to people, whether it's a close friend, a neighbor, or a family member.

Leaning on those trusted relationships can provide comfort and perspective.

These connections are part of what makes our holidays in this community so very special.

The holidays are all about caring for others, but let's not forget caring for yourself matters just as much.

So take a moment to breathe.

Really, a deep breathing or mindful exercise can calm a busy mind.

Maybe it's taking a walk in the snow or simply enjoying a quiet cup of coffee.

And if it all feels too overwhelming, remember there is no shame in reaching out for professional help.

A therapist could be a great resource for navigating these emotions.

As we move through this holiday season, let's focus on what truly matters: connection, kindness, and a little grace for ourselves and others.

After all, this is the season of light, and even the smallest flicker can warm the coldest night.

This is Dennis Anderson and this has been Denny's Desk.

And so from all of us here at "Almanac North," we wish you peace, joy, and a holiday season filled with hope.

Until next time, thank you and be kind.

And back to you, Brett and Maarja.

- Denny, thank you.

Our first guest comes to us from the Iron Range, owner of sweet candy shop Canelake's Candies, Pamela Canelake Matson.

Pamela, welcome to the show this evening.

- Thank you.

Glad to be here.

- We are happy to have you during the merriest time of the year, right?

- Oh.

- I'm sure you're busy.

- It's very busy, yes.

- Yes, you've brought so many wonderful things here, things that you make all year round, Christmas specialties.

What would you like to kick off with?

- Well, I think I'll show you our Santa mold, this is our biggest mold, and it's of a Santa head made by Sam Canelake, our nephew, and we think it's pretty cute.

- [Brett] It's very detailed too.

- It's very detailed- - The colors- - And he makes the colors on it kind of make the face pop there, so- - I love that.

- We like that one, thank you.

- Tell us a little bit about Canelake Candies and how you got your start.

You started in 1905.

- Right, that was my grandfather and his four brothers, and they came over from Greece, and the oldest brother went over to Providence, Rhode Island, and he learned how to make candy.

It wasn't native to Greece, but relatives before him came over there, made it, and he was fortunate enough to learn the candy-making trade from relatives.

And then he brought his own brothers back and they were told to go to the boom town of the Iron Range in Virginia, Minnesota.

So they went there in 1904 and started Canelake's Candies in 1905.

- Wow, that's amazing.

- Yeah.

- And at one point they had four stores.

Now you have two, correct?

Tell us about that.

- We have started our own candy store in 2007 in Knife River, Minnesota.

That was started after we got a sort of a longing to make candy in our older age, (chuckles) and we were retired, just retired, and so we started the Great!Lakes Candy store in Knife River.

And then from there, that was successful and it's still running, it's seasonal.

But from there, we learned how to be successful.

And then when we heard that Canelake's Candy was up for sale, because the second generation had sold it in the 1980s to Jim Cina, who worked there for 36 years, and then when he was retiring, we thought in 2018, we thought we would make an offer and get back into the business of owning our Canelake's family store.

- [Brett] You just can't get away from it.

- We couldn't get away from it, so.

(both laughing) - What's your favorite part about making candy?

It's gotta be fun.

- It is fun.

I really like cooking the traditional family recipes in the copper kettle and in the original kitchen where they cooked and where we've got pictures of our grandfather making candy, and my dad and my uncle, who are second generation, I'm third, and now we have fourth-generation nephew there too.

So it's really sort of a nice feeling to know that we are in the same, cooking candy in the same kitchen they did- - Sure.

- Many years ago.

- You're making some things that kind of bring us back, a little nostalgia, right?

We've got the special candy canes.

Tell us about those.

- Yeah, these, we follow in the same tradition as my grandfather, Gust, and we roll out our own candy canes on the table.

It's quite the process making hard candy, pulling it on a taffy hook, and then adding stripes and rolling it, cutting it, and bending it.

But in addition, we also have the ribbon candy that's very nostalgic to people.

Many remember the grandparents having this in their dishes for Christmas.

- [Brett] And you have an old antique machine here that you're still using today.

- Yep, this machine was patented in the 1890s, and we have it on display at the store.

And this is a little trough that it's supposed to come off on, but this one doesn't quite work on this machine, but- - Maarja's a professional- - It'll come off - At this.

- In loops, yeah, she's doing great.

And as it loops around, this is a pretend piece of candy (laughs) because it's just paper today, the real candy is very hot, and as it comes around, we just gather it in a loop and then push it down.

- It looks like that?

- Sometimes it'll go down the trough or this trough and then it'll come out looking all looped and pretty.

And the machine is really fun to operate.

We sometimes have a few candy demos at the store, too.

We're done this year, but we have kids and adults both come in and make candy canes and ribbons.

And we do announce that on Facebook, it's really a fun day.

- So was it fun for you growing up to take these traditions and keep them going?

- Yes.

We remember the old days where we would go to the candy store and make candy canes with my dad.

And then we remember the hot air candy especially because that is a unique candy to Canelake's, and that is a kind of a sponge candy and that's our best seller.

That is right over there.

I can grab it.

- This one right here?

- Yep, that's it.

- Ooh, that looks good.

- And it breaks open to be kinda looking like a sponge inside.

And we make this, now we're making like four or five batches a day.

- Wow.

- It's really amazing candy.

It's sometimes, like I said, it looks like a sponge, and then we chop it up when it's cool and then we dip it in candy.

It's hard to explain.

It's got a texture that melts in your mouth, it's really good.

- I think I've had this before, not yours, so I'm sure yours is way, way better.

- Ours is pretty good.

- I love the sticker.

It says "Full of hot air."

- Yeah, we're full of hot air- - That's funny.

- At the store.

(both laughing) - Tell us a little bit about the popped wild rice coated in chocolate.

- Yep.

This one is a very unique item.

This one is, it looks like little clusters of chocolate.

You can't tell what's inside, but what it is is wild rice from Nett Lake, wood parched, natural, naturally harvested wild rice that we have had a person from Nett Lake came over, showed us how to make it in our copper kettle, we pop it like popcorn.

And then once it's cooled, we dip it in chocolate into little clusters.

And they gave us permission to use the recipe and we've been doing it ever since.

It's really their tradition that they loved, and they're really happy we're making it.

- I love that, sharing the love throughout the community.

- Yeah, we are sharing their tradition.

- What is it like to see your customers come in, especially during the holiday season and want these traditional favorites that they get?

- Well, it's kind of rewarding because we get thanked every day for staying on with Canelake's because we have, we had just started back in 2018, and, again, Jim Cina continued it for our family for 36 years, and we're the oldest continuously running candy store in Minnesota.

So everyone's particularly thankful that they can get their favorite candies, and a lot of families come back during the holidays looking for hot air and turtles, and we have things like peppermint bark, it's kind of a new classic, that's a good one.

And then they just are very grateful to get turtles and hot air especially.

But we also have fudge, all sorts of things, other items, we have toffee- - All of the sweet treats - And caramels, our caramel is made with, everything's made with the, you know, quality ingredients, lots of butter and whipping cream.

- Yeah, so you mentioned you came out of retirement to reopen.

What is- - While we're young.

- Are we gonna have this for the next 10 years?

- Well, we have a great crew working for us, and we think they'll stay on and keep going for us, even if we just come back as visitors.

(laughs) That's kind of our goal, is just to come in, and we love talking to people when they come in and they share their memories, and we try to make new memories for the new people too.

- Well, Pamela, thank you, and happy holidays to you and your crew.

- Thank you so much.

We are having a great time.

We are keeping up.

(laughs) Thank you.

- Well, we're excited, yes.

- All right, thanks so much.

- It all looks so wonderful.

And we'll be right back with our next guest.

(soft music) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (soft music fades) - Thank you for staying with us.

Our next guest is a dietician with Aspirus St. Luke's here in Duluth, Sarah Stock.

Sarah, thank you for joining us.

- It's my pleasure, thank you for the invitation.

- I love the juxtaposition of these segments of Canelake's Candies and now we're talking about, you know, how to stay healthy through the holidays.

Do you have a favorite treat?

- Well, a tradition that I've kept up as an adult and shared with my family would be making lefse because I have some Scandinavian heritage.

However, I do have to say, I have many fond memories of Canelake's Candies coming home when my dad worked on the Iron Range, and he would stop on paydays and bring home a box of Canelake's candy.

- Oh, I love that connection.

- Yeah.

It's beautiful.

(Maarja laughs) So of course the holiday season is a time of indulgence.

- Yeah.

- Feasts, treats, you name it.

What are your top tips for maintaining a healthy balance between enjoying those festive foods but also maintaining your health?

- Well, I like for people to think about what their goals are and think about what's important to them.

And when you're going through all the different holiday parties, some of the strategies that you could use would be to put on a particular outfit, maybe a special shirt or a belt, a piece of jewelry, something that reminds you of why you want to keep your health up.

And then as you're at that party, if you're feeling like, oh, I'm just gonna dive in and just really go for all the amazing food that's available, perhaps just, you know, like maybe touching your watchband to remind you, or your belt buckle, or maybe if you're wearing some jewels, you know, just a gentle reminder to yourself of why you want to be at the party but also wanna maintain your health.

- So something that kinda grounds you- - Yeah, mm-hmm.

- Brings you back.

Do you have any strategies for, like, portion control (laughs) at those type of parties or making those healthy choices?

- Well, during the holidays, I really want holidays to be holidays.

We just heard all the lovely traditions that went along with making candy and just, like, even the special copper bowls that they used and all the just amazingly high quality ingredients.

So holidays are really, are meant to be a standalone and enjoyed.

So then, how do you manage your portions?

Well, just really being mindful, as you said, about what's important to you, what tastes good to you, what do you, or what are you curious about?

So there might be a lot of things that you see on every buffet table, and you could pass those up and just go for the things that look really interesting to you that maybe you haven't tried before or that you know are your just tried-and-true favorites.

- And, you know, for many people, eating can be closely tied and associated with mental health.

It can be stressful during the holidays.

- Yeah.

- Is that where you can tie in that mindful eating?

Is that part of it?

- That is part of it.

- Or do you have strategies for those that maybe fall into eating when they're stressed and maybe surrounded by stressful situations?

- So there's a lot of different things that we can do to treat ourselves and treat our emotions.

Of course, immediately we think of food because if you consider this, your very first episode on Earth, you were fed, you were...

Your mother birthed you, and it was painful for both of you, and how did it get resolved?

Somebody scooped you up in their arms and they fed you, either at the chest, with a bottle, but food really has been an emotional response, or used for an emotional response.

So I don't like people to beat themselves up so much about being an emotional eater.

I do like people to think about other ways they can manage their emotions.

So we could treat ourselves by maybe buying our favorite magazine, reading a book, going for a walk, connecting with a friend, doing other things that can be soothing without calories, mm-hmm.

- Mm-hmm.

I always hear a lot of talk of, you know, cheat days or, you know- - Oh, yeah.

- Like, being good for the week and kinda saving it up for the weekend.

- Yeah.

- Is that healthy?

Is there truth to that?

- (sighs) Shame never helps.

- [Maarja] Yes.

(Sarah laughs) - So, yes.

- In many areas of life, yes.

- So you're not cheating on anyone, you're honoring yourself.

So if there is something that you really, really want, you need to honor yourself.

And there is perhaps saving it up for the weekend, that does make sense, because we can certainly eat healthfully and then make a plan for indulging.

Yes, but you're not cheating on yourself.

(both laughing) - You know, we're also kind of leading into that time of year of resolutions, you know- - Yeah.

- New year, new you.

- [Sarah] Yeah.

- Do you have any overall strategies for, you know, trying to make some lifestyle changes for just being healthy year long, not just during the holidays but throughout the year?

- I would say pick one thing, start small, be consistent.

- I like that.

That seems manageable.

- Yeah.

(both laughing) - And, you know, I've always wondered this too, as a dietician, what does your day-to-day look like?

How does someone get connected with a dietician that wants to go down a path of a healthier lifestyle?

- Sure.

You could talk to your doctor and get a referral to see a dietician at a hospital.

You can reach out on social media.

Some places do have dieticians that do virtual visits and that you don't actually have to go into a hospital-type setting.

But we certainly would like you to have your doctor part of that discussion so that they're knowing what is on your mind and heart.

- And I'm sure it depends on the person, but is it a time and test-intensive, you meet weekly or you have different programs?

- There's...

It's, there's not a one-size-fits-all.

(both laughing) So, and I wouldn't say that there's a special program.

For people that have a particular health concern, such as cardiac or, you know, heart problems or diabetes, there are very special programs to follow that, but otherwise it's tailored to what your needs are.

- So if you can just give some advice to folks heading into the holiday season, preparing for those big family gatherings, those feasts, those treats at all the tables, what would you tell people to keep in mind as they head into that season?

- I would want people to just take a breath and tune in to how hungry am I?

Maybe even taking a moment to just discreetly put your hand on your stomach and say, "Oh, have I fed myself today?

How hungry am I?"

Maybe even lowering it down to your abdomen, where all your intestines are from the food from earlier in the day or earlier in the day before and say, "How full am I?

Could I handle some more food?"

So just really taking time to tune in and relax, enjoy the season.

- It's meant to be enjoyed.

- It is.

- Sarah, thank you so much for joining us.

- [Sarah] Thanks.

- We'll be right back with a few fun and festive activities to kickstart your weekend.

(soft music) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) (soft music continues) Coming up this weekend, the Biwabik Fire Department is hosting their annual Santa Night, fun for the whole family beginning at 5:00 PM and running until 8:00 PM.

Everyone is invited to come to the fire station and meet Santa for pictures and fun as well as meet some of the firefighters who help keep the town and neighboring community safe year round.

- Then on Saturday at the AAD Shriners Center in Hermantown, just off Miller Trunk Highway, the 3rd Annual Winter Wonderland Market is back.

Get started on your holiday gift shopping with a collection of unique handmade crafts, baked treats, and festive fun.

The event is free to attend and runs from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

More information can be found online at getschickdone.org.

- Next, we head to Grand Marais for your weekend planning.

The 2024 Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count is looking for more bird counters.

Both feeder watchers and walking/driving birders are needed for the 7.5-mile radius area near Devil Track Lake.

The event is open to watchers of all skill levels from novices to professionals.

Volunteers will need a guidebook, binoculars, a scope, warm clothes and boots, and a logbook, as well as a keen eye to keep track of the number and type of bird spotted.

For more information, interested parties can reach out to Jeremy Ridlbauer at sundew@boreal.org.

- Maarja, are you ready for the holidays?

- You know, I think so.

We did Bentleyville this week.

We saw Santa, I got my tree, the elf visits every evening, so I think we're good.

What about you?

- It's great, yeah.

I think I'm gonna just do all my goodie shopping with Canelake's Candies this year.

- I know.

- I was gonna try and bake this weekend, but it's too much work.

- No, I agree.

And she had it all laid out here.

- Perfect, yeah.

(Maarja laughs) Nice and easy.

- Yeah.

(laughs) Well, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

That's all for "Almanac North."

I'm Maarja Hewitt.

- And I'm Brett Scott.

We'll see you back here next week.

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