On a recent Saturday morning, in an over-100-year-old former church near Stillwater, a ballet student glided across the hardwood floor before leaping upwards.

“Use your arms to help you in the glissade,” Laura Daugherty reminded the dancer, who is playing a villager in St. Croix Ballet’s upcoming performance of the ballet “Coppélia.”

Daugherty, the owner and director of St. Croix Ballet and herself an alumna of the school, paused the music and scrawled a note on her yellow pad of paper. This was the first rehearsal after spring break, she explained, and it was time to refine more technical details before the show opens next month.

Students at St. Croix Ballet, ranging from elementary to high school, will present “Coppélia” at 7 p.m. May 2; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 3; and 2 p.m. May 4 at the Stillwater Area High School Auditorium (5701 Stillwater Blvd., Oak Park Heights). All tickets are $24 and can be purchased online at www.stcroixballet.com.

“Coppélia,” a love-triangle romantic comedy that premiered in 1870, is based on stories by the 19th-century German author E. T. A. Hoffmann, whose writing also served as the inspiration for the iconic ballet “The Nutcracker.”

Fairly uniquely for a youth ballet school, Daugherty said, St. Croix Ballet just presents full-length classic ballets, rather than recitals showcasing shorter or one-off pieces. The school’s major spring ballets rotate annually among “Coppélia,” “Cinderella” and “The Sleeping Beauty,” and the school also performs “The Nutcracker” during the holidays.

“Dancers grow up seeing how (a show) all fits together,” Daugherty said. “They start when they’re 6 or 7 and see the older dancers doing the harder roles, and they know, if they work hard, they’re going to develop and be able to progress. … So it helps them grow as dancers, with their technique and their artistry, and it also helps build a cool community.”

Students generally progress through the school’s curriculum in four divisions: Preparatory division, or pre-kindergarten and kindergarteners, focuses on creative movement. In Division I, elementary schoolers learn foundations. As students develop strength and skill, generally around upper middle school grades, they’ll begin dancing in pointe shoes in Division II, and by high school in Division III, they’re taking on more prominent roles in the school’s annual ballets.

Rehearsals for “Coppélia” began at the end of January, but the shows don’t just represent these several months of intense rehearsals, Daugherty said: What audiences see on stage is actually years of work.

“When kids do snowflakes in ‘The Nutcracker’ and it’s really clean and together, that’s four or five years of their training we’re seeing right there,” Daugherty said. “That’s not just a few months of rehearsal. It takes years of training and commitment. But I find that very rewarding and interesting, and I think they do too.”

Daugherty, who took over the school in late 2022, was one of founder Karla Sweeney’s first students when the school opened in the early 1990s, initially in Sweeney’s house. Daugherty trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Utah, then danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Colorado Ballet and returned to teach at St. Croix Ballet between 2012 and 2019.

Meanwhile, Sweeney moved the school in 1994 to its current home, a former Lutheran church officially in the city of Grant. She retired in 2012 amid a 13-year battle with aggressive breast cancer and ultimately passed away in 2015.

For much of the studio’s history, Sweeney, her successor Susan Hovey and now Daugherty have taught the Vaganova method, a classical Russian ballet technique. And, with a few adjustments, Daugherty maintains the traditional choreography in shows like “Coppélia.”

During that recent Saturday rehearsal, Daugherty was cross-referencing the dancers’ movements against a video of St. Croix Ballet’s 2022 performance of “Coppélia” — similar to what Daugherty’s own ballet teachers once did for her, albeit with a VCR and large television on a rolling cart, rather than on a slim laptop.

“This is very much how ballet works,” she said. “This is how ballet is passed on, from one generation to the next. I was taught to do (a certain movement) with my arm; now, I pass that to my students.”

Related Articles

Tamara Kangas Erickson tapped to head Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

Film adaptations, Sondheim and ‘Glensheen’ coming to local theaters

‘The Wizard of Oz,’ a hungry crocodile and the Grinch on tap for new Children’s Theatre Company season

New Broadway at the Ordway season includes ‘Sister Act,’ ‘The Notebook’ and ‘SIX’

As St. Paul-based TU Dance celebrates 20 years, founder Toni Pierce-Sands reflects on a lifetime in motion

Today we’ve got children’s picture books that emphasize kindness and anti-violence, and a new collection about New York from a Twin Cities baker/poet.

Minnesota author and graphic designer Michael Hall launches his new book “Punch!: A Story About Kindness” April 26, 2025, at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul. (Courtesy of the author)

“Punch!”: by Michael Hall (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers, $19.99)

Michael Hall (Courtesy of the author)

It’s always good news for the little ones and grown-ups when there’s a new picture book from nationally known author and graphic artist Hall. Subtitled “A Story About Kindness,” this one tells the story of Badger, who was looking for trouble. And he found it. “Badger tripped Frog/shoved Moose/kicked Elephant/and poked Bear with a shovel.” So Bear makes a three-part plan to teach Badger a lesson. In the end, we realize why Bear is so mean. Key words in big, bold colorful type are “Slug! Smack!”

Badger and all the animals in the story are blocky-bodied and big-eyed as are most of Hall’s funny characters in his previous books, including “Red: A Crayon’s Story,” “Perfect Square,” ‘It’s An Orange Aardvark,” and his 2015 debut, “My Heart Is Like a Zoo,” winner of a Minnesota Book Award.

Hall explains the new book this way: “When I was collecting homophones for my book ‘Cat Tale,’ I noticed an alarming number of them included synonyms for the word ‘hit.’ And I realized that if you were to say someone ‘socked, belted, cuffed, and crowned’ another person, you could mean either that they beat them up or got them dressed. This wordplay eventually led me to write ‘Punch!’, about the power of forgiveness and compassion over the impulse to seek revenge.”

Hall will launch his book, which has received two starred reviews, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day at Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul. At 1 p.m. Drew Brockingham will be at the store to discuss “Kitty Camp,” latest in his Catstronauts graphic novel series.

(Courtesy of Herald Press)

A more serious picture book is “Sparking Peace,” which looks at gun violence in a way children will understand with help from adults. Written by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky and Hannah Roe Martin, illustrated in bold colors by Gabhor Utomo, the story is about a boy who is taken by his father to a forge where the blacksmith heats a piece of metal that an older woman is pounding out in fury into something new: “As the blacksmith works/I see the faces of/people around me./They are sad./Some are crying./The blacksmith invites them/to take the hammer/and swing.” The piece of metal, once a gun barrel, becomes “…a garden tool/A shovel./Something that doesn’t/break hearts.”

This might not make sense to children of picture book age since they are too young to understand “swords into plowshares” (which is not explicitly in the book). But the authors say they are trying to find a way to begin discussions with children about gun violence.

“Sparking Peace” is published by Herald Press in cooperation with RAWtools Inc., a Colorado-based organization that turns guns into garden tools through blacksmithing.

(Courtesy of Paris Morning Publications)

“We Talked About New York”: by Klecko (Paris Morning Publications, $20)

To be a successful poet

You only have to follow two rules

# 1- Observe

# 2 –Love

it’s really that simple

if you are a poet

if you follow these rules

The fish will jump into the boat — from “We Talked About New York”

Danny Klecko (Courtesy of Danny Klecko)

“I’ve conquered New York,” Danny Klecko modestly says of his new collection about the sounds and sights of the Big Apple that inspired his 16th book, as well as having his poetry published seven times in the New York Times Metropolitan Diary feature. Add his public interview last year with New York-based actor Isabella Rossellini and you’ve got a book about a tall, multi-tattooed guy from Minnesota whose poems were inspired by E.B. White’s “Here Is New York.”

These poems, told in Klecko”s signature outsider-observing mode, range in topic from kids playing video games on the D-Line subway, his experience reading poems aloud in the rain in Central Park (“nobody paid attention”), to a visit to the Algonquin Hotel, home of the famous writers Round Table, as well as drinking with his entourage in a jazz club.

Instead of writing long poems, Klecko divides them into three and four short sections including Strawberry Fields, Coney Island and Kettle of Fish.

Klecko claims to “talk to everyone,” even (or especially) those who irritate him. He writes about conversing with a woman drummer and a taxi driver who now considers Klecko his brother. But he’s also a listener, as he shows in a poem about a woman with an umbrella who sits with a man having a bad day.

And then there’s Rossellini, who Klecko interviewed on-stage last year during Home For Life Animal Sanctuary’s gala. In 11 short poems he recalls that night and Rossellini’s graciousness, including her familiarity with his skills as a master bread maker: “She never mentioned herself/She never mentioned our show/Instead, she said with an accent/I won’t try to replicate/Good evening Mr. Klecko/What shall we discuss/Your poems/Or your sourdough starter?”

Klecko will launch his book at 4 p.m. April 27 at Black Forest Inn, 1 E. 26th St.,  Mpls., with guest poet Donna Isaac and poet/essayist Erica Christ. Klecko, who left St. Paul to live in Minneapolis (which he refers to as Babylon), is as much showman as poet. He is proud to say of his audiences: “At first they are stunned… because there is nobody like Klecko.”

Related Articles

Is he Christ? Is he Moses? Superman’s religious and ethical undertones add to his mystique

Book Review: ‘Make Sure You Die Screaming’ is an absurd road trip novel for modern times

Literary calendar for week of April 13

Readers and writers: Three new books for spring from Minnesota authors

South St. Paul: As a kid, he checked out a Cat Stevens vinyl from the library. As a grandpa, he tried to return it.

Lawmakers are questioning how Minnesota awards money to nonprofits as a state senator faces scrutiny for his association with groups he helped fund.

Sen. Bobby Joe Champion.

Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, recently stepped down as chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct amid questions about his pro bono legal work for the head of a nonprofit he helped get $3 million through a budget bill two years ago.

Champion, an attorney, has maintained his free legal work for Rev. Jerry McAfee, who heads the Minneapolis violence prevention organization 21 Days of Peace, did not coincide with his efforts to fund the group in 2023. His ties have prompted ethics concerns from his Senate colleagues.

Champion stepped down from the committee pending a review and advisory opinion, though a few days later, Senate Republicans filed an ethics complaint against him, asking the ethics committee to look into whether he violated rules prohibiting actions that discredit the Senate or undermine public trust in government.

Weak ethics rules

It’s rare for ethics complaints to result in serious action against a member of the Legislature. And direct funding for nonprofits through bills rather than through a competitive process is commonplace at the Capitol.

Further, Minnesota’s ethics laws for state lawmakers have historically been rated as weak by watchdog groups, and the part-time nature of the Legislature, where many members hold other jobs, lends itself to some level of conflicts of interest, political observers say.

David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University, said the nature of Minnesota’s “citizen Legislature” lends itself to an acceptance of the fact that lawmakers’ work will naturally intersect with their occupations.

In the 1990s, the state enacted a ban on lobbyist gifts to legislators, though few major changes have happened since, including disclosure rules. In fact, lawmakers relaxed some of those restrictions in 2013, MinnPost reported.

“We’ve been resting on our reputation for 30 years, thinking we’re doing a really good job, thinking that we have really good ethics disclosure rules, when, in fact, we don’t,” said Schultz.

In 2015, the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit watchdog, gave Minnesota a “D-” rating for government accountability and transparency, ranking it 28th out of 50 states. The score was a composite of many factors, including public access to information and lobbying disclosure.

On its legislative accountability index, the center rated Minnesota an “F” at 44th place. The state has made few changes to its ethics rules since.

Sen. Mark Johnson.

Current state ethics rules say members can’t vote on matters that result in a direct financial gain for themselves or their business disproportionate to others in the same field. There’s nothing preventing a teacher, farmer, nurse or business owner from voting on matters related to their work.

Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, told reporters that’s to be expected in a part-time legislature, but Champion’s ties warrant greater scrutiny.

“You have teachers voting on education bills, you have contractors voting on bonding bills. But here you have a specific group that a legislator funds money to and then they have connections,” he said. “We have some real concerns about that.”

Sen. Erin P. Murphy. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)

Asked by reporters about the potential conflict, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, recalled eventually leaving her position as executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association after being elected to the Legislature, despite her role not violating ethics rules.

“It is time for us to take a look again at what we need as a standard on the conflict of interest,” she said. “So, members doing good work for the people of Minnesota: Don’t get caught in that gray area.”

Legislatively named grants

It’s commonplace for Minnesota lawmakers to grant funding to specific nonprofit organizations. Museums, arts groups, charities, and educational groups are often funded by name in bills.

After Champion’s ties to nonprofits he helped fund came to light, lawmakers of both parties said the Legislature should explore changes to legislatively named grants.

Sen. Michael Kreun. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Among them is Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, who brought the Senate Republicans’ complaint against Champion. Kreun said there should be stricter rules on when nonprofit organizations get money directly through a bill rather than having to apply for it through a state agency.

“Maybe there are situations where it is appropriate, but I think they should be rare,” he said. ”I think we should take a look at the rules surrounding those so that those particular bills are scrutinized more.”

Even before Champion’s potential conflicts came to light, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers called for a competitive grant process rather than naming specific nonprofits as recipients.

The letter, signed by all eight members of the House Fraud and Government Oversight Committee — five Republicans and three DFLers — urged members of budgeting committees to stop making legislatively named grants. They noted that while they make sense in some cases, they should be the “rare exception rather than a general practice.”

Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, who authored the lobbyist gift ban from the 1990s, called the named appropriation issue an ethical “minefield” and said he’s interested in commissioning a report by experts to give the Legislature advice on changing the process.

“I think we do better than most states in a lot of ways, but … I think we have a long way to go,” he said. “We’ve got some good legislators trying to do good things, but, but we should be doing better, and it avoids more problems if we do this.”

Marty said one thing lawmakers need to consider when restricting direct grants to nonprofits is whether the bid process will actually result in a different outcome. In some cases, there may only be one nonprofit that fulfills the state’s needs, and a grant process would be redundant.

Sen. John Marty.

Another concern Marty raised is that well-established foundations that know the government bidding process well would outcompete smaller nonprofits or nonprofits from historically underrepresented minority communities.

House lawmakers signaled they were aware of that concern in their March letter.

“We want to reassure you that a shift away from direct legislative appropriations need not diminish our role in guiding funding to meet the unique needs of our communities, they wrote. “Guidelines and reviewers should ensure that smaller organizations and those serving underrepresented communities are not overlooked.”

Related Articles

Joe Soucheray: Cutting the pittance set aside for private schools? Typical

Letters: Seasons rule. We need permanent standard time, not DST

Private schools face cuts under Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget

Republicans will vie in Senate primary that followed Eichorn’s sex sting arrest

Audio of Keith Ellison with Feeding Our Future defendants draws Republican scrutiny

Wearing a graphic blazer designed in the style of Jean-Michel Basquiat, art collector Leif Hagen points to paintings on the walls of his new gallery in Eagan.

This study of a man, painted with unusually wide brushstrokes, is by a Greek artist in London, he explains. This painting, of a girl carrying a teddy bear on her back, is by an artist in Malawi and incorporates both acrylic paints and African textiles. This one, painted on a pillow-shaped ceramic tile, depicts a man in a Turkish fez hat; Hagen bought it when he was in Istanbul in February.

Several artworks hang on the wall at Hagen Hus Gallery in Eagan on April 14, 2025. Just about all the works on display in the gallery are for sale, and owner Leif Hagen plans to stage a new exhibition in the gallery every quarter or so. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

The gallery, Hagen Hus, is unexpected: It’s smaller than your average bedroom and located on the second floor of an office building, tucked inside the suite that houses Hagen’s day job; he works as a financial planner and insurance advisor. But Hagen Hus showcases several dozen bold and colorful works from more than 15 countries, reflecting Hagen’s eclectic, cross-cultural approach to art curation.

“Normally I wear a suit and tie and am all serious, but this is my fun art persona,” Hagen joked. “I tell my clients, I don’t have a cabin and I don’t have motorcycles, but I have a little art. We all have our own little collections and passions, and art is mine.”

By “a little art,’ of course, Hagen means a lot of art. Beyond the gallery, the office suite could easily contain a hundred individual paintings and artworks nestled together on the walls, Tetris-style. The walls of his home are the exact same way, said Hagen’s partner, Val Oliveira.

Dozens of original paintings and other artworks are nestled among one another on the walls of collector Leif Hagen’s office in Eagan. Hagen, a financial planner, recently built out a portion of a vacant neighboring office suite into an art gallery. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

“Empty wall space in my book is kind of a sin,” Hagen said. “It’s really kind of a waste, right?”

And every painting has a backstory, with which Hagen will readily regale you. Through buying their art, Hagen has struck up personal friendships with many of the artists whose paintings hang on his walls, and hearing about their backgrounds and day-to-day lives gives the works deeper meaning for him, he said.

It also speaks to Hagen’s decades-long reputation as a devoted pen pal. Growing up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, he wrote to people all over the world; in 2022, he visited Liechtenstein to mark 40 years of pen-pal friendship with a woman named Monica, an occasion that was covered by the daily Liechtensteiner Vaterland newspaper.

After graduating from St. Olaf College, Hagen spent several years teaching in Switzerland and Japan. He ultimately returned to Minnesota and followed in his father’s and twin brother’s footsteps as a financial advisor. But all along, he collected art, and the opening of Hagen Hus is a dream-come-true moment for him, he said.

Just about all the works on display in the gallery are for sale, and Hagen plans to stage a new exhibition in the gallery every quarter or so. Earlier this month, he spent a week in New York taking a gallery management short-course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

“At the end of the day a lot of days, when I’m ready to go home, I take a swing through the office before I turn the lights off,” he said. “It just brings me so much joy and happiness.”

Hagen Hus Gallery, which officially opens April 24, can be visited by appointment only. (Hagen still has to work, after all.) Hagen regularly shares art from his collection on Instagram @nordicartcollector, and the gallery itself is @hagenhusgallery.

Hagen Hus Gallery: 4640 Nicols Rd., Suite 203, Eagan; hagenhusgallery.com

Related Articles

Fine-art galleries and museum exhibitions are thinking big

‘The Threads That Bind Us’: Dakota County Historical Society hosts 30th annual quilt show

Museum offers new home to gun St. Paulites used to fire first American shots of WWII

At Shoreview’s Cafesjian Art Trust, new curatorial team aims to expand the contemporary art museum beyond glass

Stillwater man who invented the pop-up toaster to be celebrated at toast fundraiser