Cork O’Connor belongs firmly in the environs of Northern Minnesota. With his mixed Ojibwe and Irish ancestry, he straddles two cultures and two communities, like many Midwesterners who have complicated lineages. The young couple in Sara’s Sault Ste. Marie could be pulled from a John Mellencamp song—Everett wants to stay and overcome endemic poverty, while Mary knows the only way is out. The Spahr family goes back generations to their Arctic fjord’s original settlers, casting the current descendants in a sort of blind optimism about their future. In small towns, where everyone knows everyone’s business, how does one choose how to live?

Presenters: William Kent Krueger, Sara Maurer, Kendra Langford Shaw

Moderator: Kent Case