Starting with this, our fifth issue of Northern Spotlight, we’re grouping this set of stories into a larger theme. And we’re particularly excited about this issue’s theme, “community.” For us, this is an obvious starting point, since the idea of community is a core part of our mission.

Each story focuses on a different aspect and definition of community, as well as the unique needs and experiences people face in their community. First we have Tom Schmidt's story about an organization doing specialized outreach in specific communities to overcome vaccine hesitancy, Ariel Tilson's story about a healer, speaker, and teacher helping others to build bridges to different communities, and finally Amanda Becker's story about strengthening the bonds in a tight-knit family unit.

We hope these stories inspire you to think about the ways in which you interact with your community and even more closely examine how you define your community.