After facing some difficult and challenging times in his home state of Tennessee, Ray Joyce decided to make a big move northward to Minneapolis in March 2020 to get a fresh start.
And then the pandemic hit — rocking everyone’s world, including Ray’s.
Without a job or a place to
If this man’s friendly face looks familiar, you may recognize him from a Rise Reporter feature in the March 2020 issue.
OR — you may have asked him for directions in downtown Minneapolis and had him escort you to your destination.
Larry Mitchell works as an ‘ambassador’ with the Minneapolis
“Robert, could you please hand me that jar of honey on the top shelf?” a customer asked. “If I don’t come home with the right brand, my wife won’t let me in the door!” he added with a laugh.
Most of the customers at Jerry’s County Market in Hudson, Wis.,
Kevin Stignani has worked as a retail helper with the Kwik Trip in Chisago City for the past 14 months.
A dedicated employee who always arrives early for his shift, Kevin works safely by wearing a mask, social distancing, and sanitizing equipment. Kevin is proud of the work he does,
The temporarily tented Jerry’s Cub Food store in South Minneapolis was a lifeline to its many customers when protesters and looters severely damaged its brick-and-mortar building following the death of George Floyd on Memorial Day 2020.
Erected in July in the parking lot, the “Community Market Lake Street,” was in
“Wearing a mask has been the biggest challenge for me with the pandemic because communicating is harder,” said Laura Lecher using American Sign Language (ASL). She works as a stocker at the Walmart in Forest Lake.
“Before the pandemic, I was able to read people’s lips and help people faster.
With homeowners servicing their lawn mowers to be stowed away for the season and then tuning up and preparing their snowblowers for the coming winter, Medart CPD in Anoka is a busy place. As a distributor of more than 40,000 small engines, parts and equipment for lawnmowers and snowblowers, employees
Having worked since he was 13 years old, John Bradley’s strong work ethic and pride in a job well done have been honed over many years in different career fields. Starting over in a new town with a family to support has been challenging, but given’s John’s perseverance, it’s been
Combining his excellent writing skills with his interest in advocacy for disability-related issues, Michael Sack served as a senior volunteer consultant of voter accessibility for just over two months, September until the election in November, with Emma Greenman’s campaign. She won the Minnesota State House of Representatives (63B) seat with
Despite the initial snowflakes of what would end up being an October record snowfall the following day, Kristi Quammen was excited to spend the afternoon at the 21 Roots Farm in Grant, Minnesota, just outside of Stillwater. After greeting Oats, her favorite barn cat, she led the way across the