Two very different debut novels are today’s offerings. One is the story of women strikers in Detroit in the 1930s, the other a searing look at what bipolar disorder does to a woman’s life.

(Courtesy of the author.)

“Not Yet Lost”: by Janis M. Falk (She Writes Press, $17.99)

If you want an interesting history of people’s struggles in the early days of the labor movement, this novel by a resident of Door County, Wis., will teach you.

In a Polish community in Detroit in 1937, Florence and her fierce friend Basia hand-roll cigars for very low wages, care for children and try to be home to make supper. Detroit, home of U.S. auto manufacturing, is in the throes of labor organizing. The city is showing the first signs of coming out of the Great Depression, as people begin to buy cars. But the industry, and small businesses such as the cigar factory, run on low wages, long hours and unsafe, unsanitary working conditions. Poor immigrants who came to America for a better life are standing up for their rights as they band together in the American Federation of Labor (AFL), United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

One day the cigar factory manager pushes Basia too far in giving orders and a strike begins. The women take their tactics from men in the auto factories who have been striking, as well as women in other cigar workplaces. But Florence’s husband, Alex, is against this defiance, even more so when he unwittingly joins the Black Legion, whose members hate these Eastern Europeans and will do everything to keep them from thriving. (Florence and Alex are based on the author’s grandparents.)

Falk, a Detroit native, writes vividly about Florence and Basia’s strike, when they lock themselves in the cigar factory with other women. They are tired and worried about their children, but determined, even when police turn fire hoses blasting icy water on them. Women in the tight-knit Polish community who are not striking bring food and other supplies and see that kids and husbands of strikers are fed. And when Florence experiences a devastating death, she picks up the mantle of leadership and rallies her fellow strikers.

Readers are introduced to real-life early labor organizers such as Mary Zuk and Stanley and Margaret Nowak, as well as artist Diego Rivera, whose Detroit Industry Murals depict everything the author says she loves about the city, including innovation, hard work and the working class. This famous artwork, named a National Historic Landmark, can be seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

There is so much energy in Falk’s writing that the reader can feel tensions in the city as officials, some working secretly with the bosses, try to stop the cigar factory women from organizing, call them Communists and demean them for being Polish. She seamlessly weaves in women’s domestic duties, family life and the dishes they cook that people ate in the Old Country.

Don’t miss this important read, published by a small press.

Teaser quote: ” ‘Have you heard the news? It’s not just factories anymore! Shop girls are on strike. Women took over Woolworth’s drugstore. The downtown location. Even some customers refused to leave in order to support the workers…And shoe stores and hotels. The world’s with us ladies. It’s our time now.’ ”

(Courtesy of Coffee House Press)

“The Mind Reels”: by Fredrick deBoer (Coffee House Press, $28)

We take a horrifying trip through the mind of a bipolar woman in this novel from a Connecticut-based author who is himself bipolar, published by a Minneapolis-based press.

Alice is an ordinary young woman whose first mental break happens when she is a college freshman living in a dorm room where “she will go insane.” She’s so hyper her patient roommate moves out because she can’t stand Alice’s all-night talking. Alice is paranoid, thinking her roommate is rearranging her shower supplies and that someone might be poisoning her food. She can’t concentrate and only wants to sleep unless her brain is firing and then she runs, barefoot, across campus in terror. There are more hospitalizations and indifferent doctors who pile on more meds.

Years pass and Alice is 36, overweight from post-hospitalization meds that cause her difficulties the author explains at length. She’s done with indifferent sex with boys whom she wants to please, doing whatever they ask her to do. She has a minimal job, exactly what she’s looking for, so she doesn’t have to interact with other people. She’s mentally stable but indifferent to life too. Pills even out her emotions but her brain is joyless. She sees nothing in her future.

In the end (not a spoiler), Alice is sitting on her old couch facing two bottles of pills. One holds her prescription medication; the other is filled with a cocktail of pills that will kill her. Which does she take? The author doesn’t tell us. Some readers will be happy to imagine Alice chooses life. Others might feel the author cheats here, leaving it up to the reader to decide. But this is deBoer’s story. It seems only fair that after accompanying Alice on her long, cruel bipolar journey we should learn her fate.

DeBoer’s non-fiction books are “The Cult of Smart” and “How Elites Ate the Social Justice Movement.” His writing has been published in national newspapers and magazines.

Teaser quote: “In her brain, though, her synapses fired with an alien and mechanistic kind of purpose; there was no chaos, only an immensely misguided order. Some deep bestial neurological structures fired inappropriately and stoked within her an instinct of brute survival. The fragile skeleton of her ego threatened to snap under the pressure of the animal forces that pressed down on her consciousness, her narrative mind sagging and distended beneath pitiless and grandiose feeling. She must run. She must run. She must run.”

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In last week’s Skywatch, I described at least some of the celestial treasures waiting for you within the great constellation Orion the Hunter. You can have a lot of fun checking them out with even a small telescope or binoculars. You can dig for other treasures just by browsing “celestial objects in Orion.” There are also smartphone apps, such as Sky Guide, and great star map software, like Stellarium, which, by the way, is absolutely free. Relatively inexpensive smart photographic scopes also do a wonderful job of helping you get images of Orion’s treasures that will blow you away. Check last week’s Skywatch column for details.

While Orion the Hunter is certainly rich astronomically, the mythological legends of the mighty hunter are equally rich. There are so many stories and there’s no such thing as the correct mythology, since … it’s mythology!

One of my favorite stories about Orion comes from the Greeks and Romans. His father was Poseidon, god of the sea, and his mother was princess Euryale, who had a quite a reputation as a great hunter. It’s no wonder that Orion took a real liking to hunting, even as a young boy. He developed the discipline of patience he would need on long stakeouts. He also sharpened his senses of smell and sight, and especially night vision. That was essential since most serious hunting took place overnight.

(Mike Lynch)

Orion grew up to be a large and handsome young man, and like most hunters he preferred being a hermit. While he didn’t have human company, he traveled with two faithful hunting dogs that sniffed out potential prey and chased them down. Orion also traveled with a massive club and shield to fend off large predators like lions, bears, or wild boar.

Orion’s favorite prey was wild hare. Many times, the hares would outsmart and outrun him and his dogs, but when they caught one it was a sumptuous feast for both him and his hounds. He would also place a little bit of meat on hot coals as a sacrifice to Artemis, the goddess of hunting.

Artemis would watch over hunters and do the best she could to keep them safe. Since he was so handsome, Artemis took a real liking to Orion and even accompanied him on some of his hunts. Orion began to respond to Artemis’ affection. Suddenly though, Artemis had to cut off this fling, because gods and goddesses were not supposed to have romances with mortals. Zeus, the king of the gods, was Artemis’ father and she didn’t want to incur his wrath.

Even though they remained friends, Orion was bummed out, but life and the hunts went on. Romance was still on his mind, though. In his travels he would periodically run into seven orphaned daughters of Atlas, one of the former chief gods that Zeus overthrew. Even though he imposed never-ending punishment on Atlas, Zeus had a soft spot in his heart for his daughters.

Orion’s interest in the seven daughters intensified and he began to pursue them much more aggressively. The young ladies pleaded for help from Zeus. He responded by changing them into a flock of doves and eventually into the bright Pleiades star cluster that still adorns our autumn and winter heavens.

That incensed Orion, He became a madman, a reckless hunter who ravaged the countryside, trampling fauna, as well as looting and destroying the camps of other hunters. The goddess Gaea, the grandmother of Zeus and the goddess of the Earth had to stop this menace, permanently! She whipped up a significantly oversized scorpion to hunt down and kill Orion. Its deadly stinger was full of venom, much more potent and deadly than any snake.

On a moonless night she sent the scorpion out after his human prey. A few nights later, he found Orion, snuck up, and jumped him from behind. Orion managed to shake him off but a battle ensued that went on all night. Orion was getting the best of the beast. He was just about to land a crushing and killing blow with his club when he tripped over a giant boulder and hit the ground. That was the Scorpion’s big chance. It quickly thrust its heavily poisoned stinger into Orion’s heart and that was it; the hunter was history.

Shortly after, Artemis discovered the lifeless body of Orion. She also could see in the distance the giant scorpion in retreat. Out of deep grief and anger, the goddess grabbed the scorpion and flung it so far into the sky that it became the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Artemis then returned to the slain Orion and wept over him for hours and hours. Finally, she cradled his body in her arms and flew off with him. When she was high enough in the sky, she gently tossed Orion a little higher, magically turning him into the bright constellation we still see on winter nights. She also tossed up Orion’s hunting dogs and a wild hare into the heavens along with him to keep her dead former boyfriend company. We still see them as the constellations Canis Major and Minor, the big and little dog respectively, along with Lepus the Hare.

As a bonus, she made sure Orion was close to the Pleiades so he could forever admire their heavenly beauty. Her father Zeus placed Taurus the Bull between the Seven Little Sisters and Orion. Even in death the rogue hunter couldn’t be trusted.

Such drama in the night sky!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

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Apple Valley city officials will be asking the state to pitch in $40 million this legislative session for a water-treatment plant that would ensure what’s coming out of the tap is safe to drink for future generations.

The project, which would cost an estimated $106 million in total, would upgrade the city’s current treatment facilities in order to remove commonly called “forever chemicals” from Apple Valley’s municipal water.

Officials from cities and counties across the state have been preparing funding requests to the Minnesota Legislature for 2026 state bonding dollars, matching funds for various infrastructure, higher education, environmental, public safety and other public works projects. The 2026 session begins Feb. 17.

The man-made forever chemicals, known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are a family of nearly 5,000 compounds that have been used in many different ways, across many different industries over the last few decades. This includes items like nonstick cookware, water-repellent fabrics and food packaging resistant to oil and grease. Favored in commerce and industry for their durability and heat resistance, PFAS also resist breaking down naturally in the environment.

Long-term, repeated exposure to these chemical compounds has been linked to increased risk of some cancers, developmental delays in children and reproductive effects in pregnant women, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Addressing the presence of forever chemicals in groundwater has become more of a focus for cities in recent years. Among this year’s bonding requests, the cities of Stillwater, Oak Park Heights and Hastings also are making requests related to PFAS-related water treatment.

The city of Hastings is asking for about $39 million, split between two water-treatment facilities, to remove PFAS and nitrates from the city’s drinking water.

The city of Burnsville is making a request to upgrade its water-treatment plant, but the $8.75 million request does not include treatment for forever chemicals at this time. It does, however, include $6 million for site acquisition in the event of needing to expand treatment facilities to address PFAS-type contamination.

New EPA limits

For many municipalities, the issue came to the forefront in April 2024 when the EPA lowered the maximum contamination levels for PFOS and PFOA from 70 parts per trillion to 4 parts per trillion. With that threshold, seven of Apple Valley’s 16 wells exceeded the EPA’s maximum contaminant level.

Two of those wells have been shut down, Apple Valley Public Works Director Matt Saam said.

In 2018, 3M Co. agreed to give the state $850 million for water-quality programs in the east metro, settling a then eight-year lawsuit with the state of Minnesota that charged 3M with damaging groundwater by releasing these types of chemicals into the environment. In 2004, traces of the chemicals were discovered in the drinking water of 67,000 people in Lake Elmo, Oakdale, Woodbury and Cottage Grove, the Pioneer Press reported at the time.

Currently, Apple Valley’s water passes federal safety thresholds using a blending treatment process. Water is pumped back to the treatment plant and mixed with water from the city’s other wells, thereby lowering the parts-per-trillion levels before it flows out to homes.

In Hastings, all six of the city’s wells — as well as a seventh that is soon to come online — exceed the EPA’s maximum contamination levels, making any blending treatment impossible. City officials have tried to expedite the process, starting construction on a new treatment facility last year.

In 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found a definitive link between municipal well No. 5 in Hastings and the 3M site, allowing the city to receive $15 million through the state’s East Metro 3M settlement fund. Hastings has also received $8 million in grant funding.

Even still, cost estimates for the three treatment plants together total $70 million.

Residents have been left to buy bottled water, or install costly whole-home filtration systems, in addition to experiencing city water rates that increased 21 percent this year. Without additional funding, those rates will increase more than 150 percent from 2024 to 2028.

‘Contaminated water’

The need is critical, Hastings City Administrator Dan Wietecha said.

“This means, in essence, we’re drinking contaminated water until we get these plants built,” Wietecha said. “We can’t wait on grant applications, or bonding decisions.”

When addressing forever chemicals, Apple Valley city officials likewise said that temporary fixes won’t solve a long-term issue.

“In a town of just under 60,000 people, we can’t just continue to blend water and shut down wells as a solution going forward,” Saam said.

The source of Apple Valley’s contamination is still unidentified, Saam said.

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While PFAS contamination has been an issue for many cities in the east metro during the past two decades, cities in the south metro bordering Apple Valley have yet to see similar issues.

Total project costs in Apple Valley are estimated to reach $106 million, and Saam said city officials are “turning over every rock” they can to also find alternate funding sources like federal grants, in addition to asking for help from the state.

“This was not a naturally occurring thing in nature,” Saam said. “This was a man-made thing, someone put that into the environment here, and now our residents and people have to address it, through no fault of their own.”

Stillwater is known for hosting popular annual festivals, including Lumberjack Days, Stillwater Harvest Fest and the Rivertown Fall Art Festival.

But those events have nothing on the World Snow Sculpting Championship, which starts Wednesday in downtown Stillwater.

“It’s our biggest draw by far,” said Robin Anthony-Evenson, president of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce & Foundation. “There’s just so much talent. What they can do with snow is just unbelievable.”

Last year, the event featured 12 sculptures and brought more than 60,000 people to town. Anthony-Evenson expects even more to come to Lowell Park this year to see 16 sculptures created by teams from 16 different countries.

A record 36 teams, representing 24 countries, applied to compete in the event, which runs Wednesday through Saturday. This year’s lineup includes Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Great Britain, India, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Switzerland and the United States.

Organizers decided to add four teams to the event, which is sanctioned by Finland-based Association Internationale de Sculpture sur Neige et Glace. “We turned down so many and so much talent last year, and we figured, well, it is the World Snow Sculpting Championship,” she said. “We should have the biggest one.”

Breckenridge, Colo., holds an annual International Snow Sculpture Championships that features 12 teams, she said. “We wanted to be bigger and better and have more teams,” she said.

More teams, however, means more logistical issues, including arranging for visas and finding additional interpreters. Four countries — Ecuador, Thailand, Taiwan and Mongolia — are sending teams that “don’t speak any English at all,” Anthony-Evenson said.

How it works

The three-member snow-sculpting teams will be competing for $4,000 in prize money and the title of “World Champions,” Anthony-Evenson said.

Sculptors will have 68 hours — starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, and ending at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17 — to carve their sculptures out of 10-by-10-by-10-foot blocks of snow. Teams are allowed to work until 3 a.m. each day and can start anytime after 6 a.m.

Spectators can watch the entire process, visit with the teams and vote for their favorite sculpture; the team with the most votes will win “The People’s Choice Award.”

The competing teams also will have the opportunity to vote for their three favorite sculptures; the top vote-getter will win “The Artists’ Choice Award.”

The prize money will be distributed thusly: $1,500 for first place; $1,000 for second place; $500 for third place; $500 for “The People’s Choice Award,” and $500 for “The Artists’ Choice Award.”

Each team also receives a $3,000 travel stipend and has room and board covered while they are in Stillwater, Anthony-Evenson said. Local businesses are offering nearly $200,000 in in-kind donations to cover the teams’ lodging and food, she said. “We can’t do it without them, there’s no way,” she said. “The (teams) are wined and dined in a big way.”

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Other donations of note: Hudson, Wis.-based Striker Brands apparel company is donating bibs and winter gear, and Red Wing Shoes is donating boots for all the sculptors. “They’re each going to walk away with, like, $1,500 worth of winter gear,” she said.

A volunteer snowmaking crew from Afton Alps is creating a mountain of manmade snow in Lowell Park for the event. The crew hopes to make enough extra snow to construct a free sledding hill on Mulberry Point, north of Lowell Park near P.D. Pappy’s. A limited number of tubes and sleds will be available for visitors to use; visitors also are welcome to bring their own sleds, Anthony-Evenson said.

Taste of the Nations

Flags from Mexico, Ecuador and the United Kingdom, representing some of the 16 teams competing in this year’s World Snow Sculpting Championship, line Mulberry Street in downtown Stillwater. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Organizers spent last week getting downtown Stillwater ready for the big event. Flags from each of the competing countries line the streets of downtown Stillwater, and 16 restaurants in the St. Croix River Valley are featuring menu items from the selected countries, Anthony-Evenson said.

“Teams want to come here to compete in the event because of the way they are treated,” she said. “It’s very, very hometown, but it’s also international. They’re very excited to be in our country.”

Each team had to submit a sketch of their proposed sculpture as part of the application process; the sketches show sculptures that “blend cultural traditions, technical mastery and boundless imagination,” Anthony-Evenson said. “The artistry and dedication of these teams elevate snow sculpting to the level of world-class performance.”

Sixteen restaurants — one representing each team — are participating in a Taste of the Nations as part of the event. “Taste” runs until Jan. 25 and features restaurants in Stillwater, Bayport and Hudson, Anthony-Evenson said.

Customers can pick up a Taste passport at any of the participating restaurants and have it punched any time they order a featured Taste item. People who collect all 16 punches can return their completed passports to the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce office at 333 Main St. N., Stillwater, for entry into a drawing for a prize package containing $20 gift cards from each of the participating restaurants, Anthony-Evenson said.

Feller, located within the Lora Hotel in downtown Stillwater, is featuring lamb buuz, traditional Mongolian steamed dumplings.

Feller staff picked three countries to possibly feature, and they were assigned Mongolia, said Kadie Frey, general manager of Lora Hotel & Event Center.

“I literally listed them off to our chef and he said, ‘Whatever three are the hardest,’ just for the challenge,” Frey said. “We always like to try different things.”

Executive Chef Chris Whalen is “very diverse as far as what he can cook,” said Jason Miller, Feller’s general manager. “Chef, with his love of cooking lamb and chops and items like that, it was right up his alley to elevate a traditional Mongolian dish with his flair and panache.”

Miller said the event is a great way to get people to come to Stillwater in the winter.

“It’s one way to get the locals out of their hibernation, but also get some folks who typically wouldn’t come out but want to try something fun,” he said. “They can bounce around different restaurants. It really creates a community atmosphere.”

The teams from Great Britain, New Zealand, Mongolia and Taiwan are staying at the Lora Hotel, Frey said. “We invite them into the restaurant for a drink, or coffee in the morning, just to, you know, meet and learn more about them and their countries as well,” she said. “Our director of rooms is very, very into it. She’s making them all gift baskets.”

Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse in Hudson was assigned Switzerland as its featured country. The restaurant, which is owned by Jethro and Amy Lund, is selling a Swiss-inspired grilled sausage and potato pancake dish for $17 and a special “Swiss Kiss” cocktail for $8. The cocktail, created by General Manager Matt Yacoub, features “Stoli Vanilla, Crema De Coco, Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa mix and a splash of chocolate milk blended together,” said Amy Lund.

“Having people from around the world experience our community is incredibly special, and we’re proud to represent local food and hospitality,” she said. “Food is such a big part of how people remember an event, and we love being part of that experience — welcoming visitors and helping make their time in Stillwater truly memorable.”

Partnering with Mia

Event organizers this year also have partnered with the Minneapolis Institute of Art for the first time.

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At a panel at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, at Mia’s Pillsbury Auditorium, sculptors from Denmark, Mexico and Turkey will “share insights into their creative processes, their global artistic influences, and the teamwork and innovation required to transform blocks of snow into monumental works of art,” organizers said.

“At Mia, we believe art lives everywhere — inside our galleries, throughout our communities, and even within snow and ice,” said Rob Bedeaux, Mia’s head of marketing. “This partnership brings winter to life.”

“Creativity transcends borders,” Anthony-Evenson added. “Our partnership with Mia strengthens this mission and allows us to celebrate artists who bring extraordinary vision, skill, and cultural depth to a medium shaped by the elements themselves.”

World Snow Sculpting Championship

When: Wednesday through Saturday, Jan. 14-17

Where: Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater

More information: worldsnowcelebration.com