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Twin Springs Supper Club of Decorah has been recognized as one of the Best Midwest Supper Clubs in the 2026 Best of the Midwest Awards from Midwest Living, celebrating the restaurant’s role in carrying on a beloved regional dining tradition.

Known for its classic supper club atmosphere, Twin Springs offers an experience rooted in comfort, consistency, and connection—where guests gather to enjoy a well-prepared meal in a relaxed and welcoming setting. The restaurant has built a loyal following among locals and travelers alike.

Hand-selected by the magazine’s editors, the Best of the Midwest Awards honor nearly 150 established and emerging leaders in travel and hospitality across the region. The awards span 16 categories, recognizing exceptional hotels, restaurants, vacation destinations, resorts, and travel experiences throughout the Midwest and beyond that define the region’s character and appeal.

“We are extremely honored and thankful to be recognized alongside so many outstanding Supper Clubs.” said owner Roumel Reynon. “We want every guest that visits our restaurant to experience remarkable dining and genuine hospitality. We are so fortunate to be part of a wonderful community in Decorah.”

Located in the scenic Driftless Region of northeast Iowa, Decorah has become a destination for its locally driven restaurant scene, where chefs and owners create memorable dining experiences rooted in quality, creativity, and community—complemented by the area’s heritage, arts, and outdoor beauty.

The full list of 2026 Best of the Midwest Award winners will appear in the Spring 2026 issue of Midwest Living and is available online at: midwestliving.com.

Decorah has been named a winner in the 2026 Best of the Midwest Awards presented by Midwest Living. The recognition highlights Decorah as a standout destination in the region for Best Small Towns, celebrating the community’s vibrant culture, outdoor beauty, and welcoming spirit.

Hand-selected by the magazine’s editors, the Best of the Midwest Awards honor nearly 150 established and emerging leaders in travel and hospitality across the region. The awards span 16 categories, recognizing exceptional hotels, restaurants, vacation destinations, resorts, and travel experiences throughout the Midwest and beyond.

“We’re honored to see Decorah recognized by the editors of Midwest Living,” said Alyssa Ritter of Visit Decorah. “Visitors come here for so many reasons—exceptional local dining, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and easy access to the outdoors—and this recognition reflects how those experiences come together to create something truly special.”

Located in the scenic Driftless Region of northeast Iowa, Decorah is known for its rich Norwegian-American heritage, thriving arts scene, locally owned shops and restaurants, and miles of trails and waterways that draw outdoor enthusiasts year-round for day-trips, weekend getaways, or intentionally-longer experiences.The full list of 2026 Best of the Midwest Award winners will appear in the Spring 2026 issue of Midwest Living and is available online at: www.midwestliving.com/best-midwest-small-towns-2026.

Lanesboro Arts is pleased to welcome Minneapolis-based ceramicist Chloe Bischoff as the Lanesboro Artist-in-Residence from April 1 – April 30.

During their residency, Bischoff will connect residents with the inert materials that make up the land around them through the mediums of clay and storytelling.

Everything from Lanesboro’s geography to its built environment have been shaped by the people and materials which exist there, from the steep bluffscapes that shape the river valley to the rich historical brick facades downtown. To explore this entanglement, Chloe will invite community members to collect soil samples from significant places in their lives, and incorporate them into clay to create a series of ceramic totems. The resulting collection of sculptures will tell a story about Lanesboro’s human and material community.

The community is invited to participate in a series of free public workshops and events, starting with a Welcome Potluck on Thursday, April 2nd. Folks will also get the opportunity to explore with clay in a set of hand-building workshops. Bischoff is offering two opportunities to attend each workshop, so that more people are able to engage with the totem-making process. The residency will culminate in a Capstone Presentation of the finished catalogue of totems and their respective stories on Wednesday, April 29th. The project will stand as a monument to Lanesboro residents’ varied relationships to the land. Those who made totems will be invited to take their finished piece home.

Residency Events:

• Thu, April 2nd, 5:00 – 7:00 pm: Welcome Potluck and Presentation
• Fri, April 10th, 6:00 – 7:00 pm & Sun, April 12th, 3:00 – 4:00 pm: Soil Collection and Pinch Pot Workshop
• Sat, April 11th, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Story Sharing Table at Lanesboro Winter Farmers Market
• Fri, April 17th, 6:00 – 7:00 pm & Sun, April 19th, 3:00 – 4:00 pm: Land Totem Making Workshop
• Wed, April 29th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm: Capstone Presentation

About Chloe Bischoff

Chloe Bischoff is a sculptor and ceramicist whose work investigates the millennia-old relationship between humans and clay. Their work investigates this relationship, beholding clay as an emissary of matter through which to explore themes of animism, selfhood, and queer ecology—concepts that dissolve boundaries between living and nonliving entities and reimagine nature as an non-hierarchical, entangled network of vibrant matter. Chloe sees their process as reciprocal interaction between themself and the clay rather than as a utilization of an inert medium.

About the Lanesboro Early Career Artist Residency Program

Since it began in 2001, the Lanesboro Early Career Artist Residency program has welcomed artists of all disciplines to live, work, and create in the rural context of greater Lanesboro. Supported through 2027 by the Jerome Foundation, the program awards two to three residencies per year to early career artists with projects that activate the people & places of Lanesboro while instigating positive change. The program is unique in that it provides an entire rural community and its myriad assets as a catalytic vehicle for engagement and artistic experimentation, with staff working with each resident to create a fully-customized residency experience. For more information, visit lanesboroarts.org.

DECORAH, Iowa — Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, is participating in the project, Handwork 2026, joining more than 250 arts organizations across the country, which are hosting exhibitions and events during 2026 to showcase the importance of the handmade throughout the country’s history and in contemporary life.

Presented by Craft in America, Handwork 2026 celebrates the diversity of the crafts that define the United States, bringing compelling stories and underrepresented art and artists into the spotlight. Developed in honor of the 250th birthday of the United States, the project invites a celebration of the country’s shared heritage through the beauty, skill, and stories of handmade objects created by and for Americans over the last two and a half centuries.

Vesterheim’s feature for Handwork 2026 is “The National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition,” showcasing contemporary American artists who create folk art rooted in Norwegian traditions. This exhibition celebrates folk art by encouraging and inspiring emerging and established folk artists to develop their craft. Artists submit work for evaluation by a team of judges, who offer feedback on the entries and award ribbons, which carry points that accumulate toward a Vesterheim Gold Medal.

The exhibition includes categories of blacksmithing, knifemaking, rosemaling, weaving, and woodworking, rooted in Norwegian traditions. Artists can submit pieces from May 1-20 for the opportunity to showcase their artwork in a gallery exhibit, receive judging feedback, and offer pieces for sale! The exhibit is open to the public from June 12-July 25, including during Decorah’s Nordic Fest from July 23-25, which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. Check vesterheim.org for entry information and forms, as well as profiles of Vesterheim Gold Medalists.

Handwork 2026 was developed by the team behind Craft in America and its Peabody Award–winning documentary series. It unfolds over the course of the year in venues across the country and on multiple platforms, including a four-part PBS series, a landmark publication, and the initiative’s core exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Carol Sauvion, Executive Director of Craft in America, said, “Craft connects us. It reminds us of who we are and what we share. Making by hand links us through creativity across generations. From the earliest artisans to today’s makers, the handmade continues to shape our American story.”

Handwork 2026 brings compelling stories, art, and artists into the spotlight through the following activities:

PBS Documentary Series
Four special episodes of Craft in America, the Peabody Award-winning Series, entitled EAST, WEST, NORTH, and SOUTH, present a rich exploration of the handmade in traditional, studio, ethnic, and contemporary processes.

Education
With a special focus on grades K-12, education guides take a wide look at the history, cultural traditions, and impact of craft in the United States, from Indigenous origins until today, and include hands-on craft activities. Available beginning January 2026 on handwork2026.org, CraftInAmerica.org, and through PBS LearningMedia.

Publication
Presenting the extraordinary range of the handmade in the United States, “Handwork: Handcrafted Things That Made America” will be rich in images of exquisite handmade objects, featured alongside artist statements and essays by leading experts. The publication is scheduled for release in April 2026.

Nationwide Exhibitions & Events
A core tenet of Handwork 2026 is its extraordinary scale of collaboration. Along with Vesterheim’s “National Norwegian-American Folk Art Exhibition,” many organizations nationwide have joined this initiative, including the Museum of Arts & Design, New York; Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Corning Museum of Glass, New York; Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa; and many more. For a current list of all participating institutions, visit www.handwork2026.org/participants.

Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to engage in the conversation of the American immigrant journey through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience. Vesterheim offers innovative and interactive exhibits, classes, and programs, both at the dynamic campus and park in scenic Decorah, Iowa, and online at vesterheim.org and Vesterheim social media. For more information on exhibits, classes, programs, tours, membership opportunities, and ways to donate and volunteer, connect at vesterheim.org, (563) 382-9681, and Vesterheim, 520 W. Water St., P.O. Box 379, Decorah, IA, 52101-0379.