About Inspire(d)

Scroll to the middle of the page for the Inspire(d) Magazine distribution list for the Tri-state Driftless Region

Just who do these kids think they are?

Inspire(d) Media is a very small, very independent media company based in Decorah, Iowa. We print Inspire(d) Magazine and also offer a variety of freelance services through our company. Aryn and Benji Nichols founded Inspire(d) in September of 2007 – shortly after they got married (!) and now have grown to print 15,000 magazines every quarter – spring, summer, fall, winter. It’s a two-person show at Inspire(d) Headquarters: Aryn is the editor and graphic designer and Benji heads up the ad sales department, but we’d be nothing without our fabulous contributors who come from different areas across the Driftless Region and occasionally beyond.

The web portion of our lives began July 2009. Lindsey over at Creens has been a true gem – working her tail off and staying up late at night answering our questions and dealing with Aryn’s nitpicky design ideas – and we can’t wait for you to become a regular online reader of our feature stories, our blogs, our reviews; a listener to our sound bytes; a viewer of our videos. It’s a big multimedia world out there and we’re pumped to be bringing you positive news in as many avenues as possible.

Simply said, Inspire(d) in every form is an experiment in the positive. We focus on the good in life because, really, what’s the point in dwelling on the bad? Do you have an idea for a story? Interested in contributing? Think we should be doing something differently? Drop us a line….

aryn(at)theinspiredmedia.com or benji(at)theinspiredmedia.com

Aryn Henning Nichols grew up in the woods. Not literally – she had a house and a bed and lots of books – but it was still pretty rural. The nearest town – Frankville, Iowa – had less than 100 people living in it and her high school graduating class – one town over in Postville – had only 52 students. She left Northeast Iowa in 1999 to join the world of anonymity… to be “just a number” at the University of Iowa. 30,000 students felt just right at the time. After graduating with a degree in English and journalism in 2003 and post-design magazine internship in Toronto (http://www.appliedartsmag.com), she sought an even denser population: China. She lived there for just over a year, winging it as an English teacher to nearly 800 middle school students and traveling as much and as often as possible. She now believes international travel should be a prerequisite to college graduation.

Aryn returned to Northeast Iowa late 2005 doing the typical liberal arts degree thing – living with her parents, waitressing, and applying for jobs. Her parents had moved from the woods to Decorah so she began to re-explore (and adore) this corner of the world – finding that community and a slower pace of life had new appeal. She worked briefly at the local newspaper where she, in a very convoluted manner, met her now husband, Benji. He lived in California at the time but it was still love at first phone conversation. They met in person June of 2006, got married August of 2007, and started Inspire(d) Media that October, just one month after returning from their honeymoon. She might be a little crazy, but she’s having loads of fun.

Benji Nichols was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa – home to a ridiculous amount of Norwegian American stuff, and a lot of great people. After graduating high school in 1996 he left for music school in Boston (Berklee), and promptly returned 10 years later – with a six-year hiatus in the San Francisco Bay Area. From playing music, to baking bread, traveling to 49 states, and working with some of the best in the concert industry, it was a decade well spent. These days you’ll find him in or working at Inspire(d) HQ, out making something noisy, or occasionally beating down the single-track just minutes from home.

Looking for a print copy of Inspire(d)? We’ll make it easy for you. You can find them at any of these fine establishments in the tri-state Driftless Region. Places marked (rack) have designated Inspire(d) racks with a large supply. If you’d like to have a rack for Inspire(d) Magazines at your business, send a note to benji@theinspiredmedia.com. Thanks for reading!

DECORAH, IOWA
Agora Arts
Americana
Amundson’s Clothing
Appearences
ArtHaus
Back Home Bakery
Blue Heron Knittery
Bluff’s Inn
Casey’s (off Hwy 9)
Casey’s (on College St.)
Cenex Gas Station / Burl’s
Cooper’s Pub
Country Express (on Hwy 52 heading toward Rochester)
Country Inn and Suites
Curves
Day Spring Spa
Decorah Bank and Trust
Decorah Chamber of Commerce
Decorah Hatchery
Decorah Laundromat
Decorah Public Library
Decorah Senior Center (rack)
Donlon’s (rack)
Eastern Star Nursing Home
Eclips
Ede’s & the Angry Pickle (rack)
Fancy Pants
Fareway of Decorah (rack)
Gunderson Lutheran Clinic
Heartland Inn
Hotel Winneshiek
Java John’s (rack)
J-Tupy’s Clothing
KDEC Radio
Kwik Star
La Rana Bistro
Luther Center for the Arts
Luther Center of Faith and Life (rack)
Luther College Union
Mabe’s Pizza
Magpie Coffeehouse
Marty’s at Luther College (rack)
McCaffrey’s Dolce Vita (rack)
Meehan & Schwartz
Oneota Food Co-op (rack)
Oneota River Cycles
Pizza Ranch (rack)
Pulpit Rock Campground (rack)
Quillin’s
Rifresh Day Spa
Rubaiyat
Seed Savers Exchange
Stone Hearth Inn
Super 8 Motel
T-Bock’s Sports Bar and Grill
The Depot Outlet (rack)
The Family Care Clinic
The Family Table (rack)
The Perfect Edge
The Salon
Venneheim
Vesterheim
West Side Dental (rack)
Winneshiek Medical Center (variety of drop spots on campus)
Winneshiek Wildberry Winery (rack)

HARMONY, MINNESOTA
Bluff Country CVB
Country Lodge Motel
Harmony Foods (rack)
Heritage Grove Senior Living Facility
QUARTER/quarter Restaurant and Wine Bar

PRESTON, MINNESOTA
Country Trails Inn and Suites
F&M Community Bank
Los Gables Mexican Restaurant
Preston Foods Grocery
The Branding Iron
Trailhead Inn

FOUNTAIN, MINNESOTA
Village Square Restaurant
Willie’s Grocery & Locker

LANESBORO, MINNESOTA
Coffee St. Commons
Commonweal Theatre
Crown Trout Jewelers
Lanesboro Art Center (rack)
Pedal Pushers (rack)
Slant Avenue (rack)
The Cottage House Inn

CHATFIELD, MINNESOTA
Skippy’s Grocery

ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA
City Café / Newt’s
Hilton Garden Inn downtown
Jaspers Alscian Café
John Hardy BBQ (off Broadway)
Michael’s Restaurant
Rochester (Holiday) Inn downtown
Rochester Art Center
Rochester Good Food Store (rack)
Sontes Restaurant

WINONA, MINNESOTA
Acoustic Café
Blooming Commons Coffee
Blue Heron Coffee
Bluff Country Co-op (rack)
Ed’s No Name Bar
Minnesota Marine Art Museum

TREMPEALEAU, WISCONSIN
Trempealeau Hotel & Restaurant

LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN
Bodega Brew Pub
Courtyard Marriott
Deaf Ear Records
Holiday Inn
Jule’s Coffee Shop (rack)
People’s Food Co-op (rack)
Piggy’s Restaurant
The Pearl Soda Fountain and Espresso Bar
The Pump House
The Radisson
The Root Note (rack)
The Wine Guys

SPRING GROVE, MINNESOTA
Bluff Country Art Gallery
Doc’s Blue Moose Café
Red’s IGA
Spring Grove Cinema
Ye Old Opera House

WAUKON, IOWA
Elliot Jewelers
Hartig USADrug (rack)
Quillin’s (rack)
Stoney Creek Inn (rack)
Waukon Veteran’s Memorial Hospital
Wonderful House (rack)

CALMAR, IOWA
Gunderson Clinic
Horseshoe Tap
Lynch’s Bar
NICC library
NICC Student Union (rack)

POSTVILLE, IOWA
Brick Oven Pizza
Guppy’s 1 Stop (rack)
Kathy Gunderson CPA
Moore’s IGA
Postville Herald
Sabor Latino I (rack)
Tindell Shoes

SPOOK CAVE

MARQUETTE, IOWA
Eagle’s Landing Winery (rack)
Effigy Mounds

McGREGOR, IOWA
McGregor Chamber of Commerce
McGregor Public Library
Old Man River Restaurant and Brewery
Paper Moon Books (rack)

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, WISCONSIN
AmericInn
Best Western Bluffview Inn & Suites
Brisbois Motor Inn
Country Inn & Suites
Huckleberry’s Restaurant (rack)
Piggly Wiggly Grocery
Prairie Peddler
Simply Coffee Shop & Eatery
Super 8
The Main Entrance
Windsor Inn

GUNDER, IOWA
The Irish Shanti (rack)

FAYETTE, IOWA
AmericInn
Gavin’s IGA
Peacock Laundry
Pumper Gas Station
UIU – Student Affairs
Victories Restaurant & Bar

WEST UNION, IOWA
Curves
Moore’s IGA (rack)
Super 8
Traditions Assisted Living
West Union Public Library (rack)

OELWEIN, IOWA
Hub City Brewery

INDEPENDENCE, IOWA
Em & Jerri’s Coffee Company

CRESCO, IOWA
Cresco Public Library
Dough & Joe Bakery and Coffeeshop
Kwik Star
Super 8
Teluwut (rack)
Wildflower Art Gallery (rack)