JOURNALISM
Kate Steensma: Fourth-generation dairy farmer
MY BELLINGHAM NOW
Kate Steensma sits at the kitchen table in her family’s farmhouse while her young son babbles away, playing with his grandmother. A few hundred feet behind the house, her father and brother tend to the family’s 200 cows.
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Steensma’s great-grandparents emigrated from Holland in 1946, eventually settling in Whatcom County, where they found fertile ground and a good farming climate. The family has lived and farmed in Lynden ever since, continuing the Steensma dairy legacy.
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“You can make a lot of milk out of this dirt,” Kate remarked.
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Today, Steensma Creamery is best known for their skyr, a yogurt-like cheese originating in northern Europe. It is the first locally produced skyr in the Pacific Northwest. READ MORE
Rick Larsen joins local leaders at opioid bill introduction event in Bellingham
MY BELLINGHAM NOW
Washington leaders are continuing to work together to combat the opioid crisis.
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On Friday, Oct. 25, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen joined local leaders to speak about collective efforts to support communities and individuals impacted by the opioid epidemic. Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund, Lummi Nation Chairman Anthony Hillaire and Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu were among the speakers at the event.
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Earlier this week, Larsen introduced the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act, which focused on harm reduction and expanding access to lifesaving programs and treatments. The bill is the most recent of Larsen’s four-pillar framework for fighting the opioid crisis.
PHOTOS: Bellingham SeaFeast highlights local waterfront traditions and seafood bounty
MY BELLINGHAM NOW
From fresh-caught fish to local artisan showcases to interactive kids’ activities, Bellingham’s yearly SeaFeast has something for everyone.
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The eighth annual event was held at Zuanich Point Park on Oct. 5 and 6 and featured a diverse lineup of activities, educational booths, vendors and more.
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This year’s celebrations included Lummi Nation traditional salmon smoking, boat rides, live music and speakers. Seafood enthusiasts could buy fresh fish from the dockside seafood market and local food vendors offered a variety of food and drink options.
Bellingham SeaFeast is dedicated to honoring waterfront culture... READ MORE
Bellingham runner sets new 50-mile race world record
MY BELLINGHAM NOW
A Bellingham native has made history in the sport of ultrarunning.
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37-year-old Courtney Olsen beat the long-standing women’s 50-mile world record at the Tunnel Hill 50 Mile race in Vienna, Illinois, on Nov. 9.
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The previous record, held by iconic ultrarunner Ann Trason, was set in 1991. Now, over 30 years later, Olsen has beaten the record by over eight minutes.
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“It feels incredible,” Olsen said. “It feels pretty powerful to have taken a record that was so powerful back then.” READ MORE
Context Is Key
KLIPSUN MAGAZINE
“The museum is a school,” reads an 8-by-8-foot plaque mounted next to the entrance to Western Washington University’s art museum, the Western Gallery. “The artist learns to communicate, the public learns to make connections.”
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Just minutes away from the Gallery lies a bronze sculpture collection called Feats of Strength, made up of seven unassuming “little guys” that have opened a complex dialogue about art, artists, audiences, and the degrees of separation between them.
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Once upon a time, Western faculty member Rob Eis would stop to take photos of his beloved German Shepherds, Leo and Mia, posed with the cartoonish figures. Now, he looks back on those photos through a different lens. READ MORE
Taking the Scenic Route to Graduation
KLIPSUN MAGAZINE
Another quarter, another set of surprises, setbacks and crises. As I return to campus, I wonder what the next 10 weeks have in store for me. I make my way to my favorite study spot as I have countless times before, smile at familiar faces — and feel the absence of others. I think of friends who graduated, transferred, dropped out or are taking time off from school, and I wonder where their paths have taken them.
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I settle in, open my laptop next to a group of freshmen chatting excitedly about dorm life, GURs and prospective majors. Their carefree confidence makes me smile, remembering the electives I took “just for fun” as a freshman. Maybe I am feeling especially cynical today, but I can’t help but wonder how their ambitions and plans will change over the next few years.​​ READ MORE
Plant Parenthood: A Beginner’s Guide to Houseplants
KLIPSUN MAGAZINE
With their late-afternoon sunsets and bare trees, dark, dreary Pacific Northwest winters can feel endless. Houseplants, however, can help. With a quick trip to a plant nursery — and a little dedication — you, too, can bring a breath of fresh air to your own home.
A sales associate at beloved Bellingham plant shop babygreens, as well as a self-proclaimed “resident plant expert,” Cavan Schmid recommends low-maintenance houseplants as ideal for beginners. A tropical paradise tucked away in a brick building in downtown Fairhaven, babygreens perfectly represents the transformative magic of houseplants. “Having a little bit of greenery, a little bit of life in your home, can do so much,” Schmid said. “It can take such a drab space and just turn it into a jungle.”
Student-run Dining Dollars Project combats food insecurity
THE FRONT
Western Washington University students Leo Curtis and Adele Delignette co-founded the Dining Dollars Project last spring as a solution for students to donate unused dining dollars back to the Western and greater Bellingham communities.
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Curtis and Delignette, both third-year students, started the project out of their home because they recognized dining dollars as an untapped source that could help battle food insecurity on and off campus.
“We saw that dining dollars were a product that wasn’t being used and that there was a need for dealing with food insecurity in our community,” Curtis said. READ MORE
WWU hosts 31st Annual Drag Show
THE FRONT
Western Washington University hosted its 31st annual drag show at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 8, making it the longest-running university drag show in Washington.
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The show, put on by LGBTQ+ Western and fully organized by students, benefitted local LGBTQ+ services Lifelong and Sean Humphrey House.
Local drag artist Mx hosted the performance, which featured 15 student, local and professional drag artists and ended with speeches by Hot Pink Shade and Navouny Divinne, making for an impactful evening. READ MORE​​