From the Editor

At the midpoint of creating this issue, our staff gathered to plan themes for 2027. That day the world learned of the death of one of America’s most universally loved women: Dolly Parton.

    Naturally, our conversations centered around the 80-year-old songwriter, singer, businesswoman and philanthropist: what made her so loved and how we could be more like her.

    Her songwriting and performance record, of course, is incredible. She is credited with writing more than 3,000 songs in her lifetime and recording more than 40 albums.

    She was an astute businesswoman—something often overshadowed by her personality and persona. And she turned that success into philanthropy—putting more than 300 million books into the hands of children.

    But what struck me most in the days after her passing was realizing how much of what she did was in collaboration with others, not just other country artists, but across genres. She loaned her voice to many recordings in which someone else took top billing. She didn’t cocoon herself in one image. 

    In fact, at 76, she stepped onto an entirely different stage to record a rock album, one in which she collaborated with her favorite rock artists to showcase them as much as her own versatility.

    She brought out the possibilities in others, with love, support, an unwavering sense of who she was and an incredible belief in what others can be.

    Thankfully, Dolly was not alone.

    This issue is full of women who see what could be and create the connections that allow those possibilities to come to fruition.

    Our cover woman, Hetti Brown, seeks out the talents in others and combines them to achieve great things in the community. From the helm of Couleecap, she has led collaborative efforts to drive housing, business growth and social services outreach in new and creative ways.

    Tristen Landers, owner and manager of Pizza Ranch in La Crosse, sees the potential in people whose pasts sometimes disqualify them from opportunities. 

Carmen Hass-Michel and her family’s businesses are reimagining what the former La Crosse Rubber Mills campus can be.

    And the women of Brave Spaces Counseling & Wellness look beyond basic talk therapy to connect through art, movement and even furry companions to find a path to wellness.

    This issue will help you uncover possibilities in your own life: colors that make you glow, new spices for your menus and planning to carry your legacy into the future.

    My favorite Dolly Parton song is, unsurprisingly, another of her collaborations. In 1987, she partnered with two other legendary women in American music, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, to record the Trio album. 

    “Wildflowers” explores Dolly’s need to branch out and find the possibilities that were out there waiting for her. “I hitched a ride with wind, and because he was my friend, I let him decide where we would go. … Wildflowers don’t care where they grow.”

    To me, the meaning has always been that you can find success anywhere life takes you: Just plant your roots and share beauty with those around you.

    But as I was writing this note, I also came across this from Rachel Hardage Barrett, editor-in-chief of Country Living: 

    “Unlike a formal garden, a wildflower meadow isn’t organized around uniformity. Its strength comes from variety—different colors, heights, root systems, and growing habits occupying the same shared space. Wildflowers thrive as a group because they don’t all need the same things.”

    Dolly recognized that not only do we all need something different from the community around us, but that we all have something unique to give back to that community.

    May we always recognize that truth and do our best to bring together women in ways that allow them to reach their goals, employ their talents and make the entire community better as a whole through the uniqueness of each individual.