- [Announcer] Funding for "Off 90" is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) - Cruising Your Way next "Off 90."

Evangelist and recording artist Lowell Lundstrom, the Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing, a community bike program in Rochester, and a zoo and nature center in Byron.

It's all coming up on your next stop, Off 90.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Hi, I'm Barbara Keith, thanks for joining me on this trip Off 90.

For more than 57 years, Lowell Lundstrom and his musical family have entertained as well as spread the gospel.

Lowell wrote hundreds of songs and many books, recorded dozens of albums, and impacted generations.

♪ Well I found a love that will burn till I die ♪ ♪ I found the Lord, a rich man and more ♪ - My father had a passion to reach people with the gospel because he himself was transformed.

♪ I found the Lord, a rich man and more ♪ Our family was the Christian version of the Partridge Family.

Everybody lived on a bus.

Everybody sang, everybody played an instrument.

Everybody did something or you frankly never left the bus.

So like, pick an instrument, pick a song, do something.

But we're all gonna do this together.

You know what?

I'm grateful for that.

♪ I found happiness, I found peace of mind ♪ Because it kept our family together.

It wasn't like dad's gone doing his thing, it was a family thing.

The reach of dad's creativity and our family's ministry, all of us still feel.

I cannot go to a city anywhere to speak or sing and somebody doesn't come up and go "My parents found Christ in one of your family's meetings."

I was 10 years old when I came.

(upbeat music) 1957 was a pivotal year.

They graduated from high school.

Mom and dad got married.

He went to Bible college, and then even during Bible college, he went to every prison, he went to every nursing home, he sang anywhere they would have him because he had begun writing songs.

And so that ministry just grew and grew and grew.

They started out in a 1957 Rambler and they would go anywhere that they would have them.

My dad was highly creative.

He was a songwriter.

Many people don't know that he was inducted into both the Minnesota and the South Dakota Music Hall of Fame because of his songwriting, because of his music.

You see behind me all these record albums, this is just some of the 60 plus record albums that our family made over the years.

He was nocturnal.

He'd be up all hours of the night.

He wrote maybe 30 actual books his whole career and was still writing on books.

I still have notepads of books that he was writing when he passed.

He never stopped creating, never stop growing.

- The greatest part of the traveling was every night, Lowell would give the message for those who wanted to give their lives to Christ.

And we'd see hundreds of people coming forward, and that was Lowell's inspiration to bring people saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

- There's a great man of God.

His name was Jack Hayford.

He just went to be with Jesus a few months ago.

Jack Hayford called my father the Billy Graham of the Midwest.

- Jesus said "My sheep, hear my voice.

Jesus is talking to you, friend, and you can feel it.

Will you give God your heart tonight?"

- Lowell Lundstrom was totally sold out to God.

When he was on stage, the Holy Spirit was upon him, and he always preached.

I saw him preach once when he was deathly sick.

- There's over 1 million actual decision cards of people that accepted Christ in my family's services.

Does not include the decades on radio, the decades on television, weekly television, and the TV specials.

You can't count that.

We had two different kinds of events that our family would do.

We would call them one-nighters or Crusades.

Crusades are where we would spend one week and sometimes two weeks in one city.

So our family loved being all over southern Minnesota.

Winona, Rochester, Owatonna, northern Nebraska, Iowa.

So there's tons of memories all through the entire Midwest.

Our family really focused right here, the upper Midwest, Montana, all the way down, kind of down through Nebraska, Kansas, you know, Missouri, up through Michigan, Wisconsin.

We kind of focused on that whole upper Midwest area.

And Lowell Lundstrom Ministries was also a ministry in Canada.

So we did a lot of work across Canada.

He rallied churches.

Remember, our family ministry was interdenominational.

That just means that we preached a very simple message.

All the churches would come together in an area, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal, you name it, didn't matter.

If we agree that Jesus is Lord, that God loves us and we need to live for God, then all these churches would get on board, sometimes 30, 40, 50, 60 churches in an area to bring our family, the whole team, which at the height of the ministry was three buses, trailers, trucks.

Big, big team, big road crew.

We believed in something called entertainment evangelism.

Dad always said "You gotta get their butts in the seats and then we can tell them about Jesus."

So that was the attraction of a family.

Along the way, he began on radio and everywhere they go, they took the little reel to reel recorder and mom and dad, it was called Message for America.

I know it was on well over 100 radio stations nationwide and the big radio stations that were the very strongest.

And today I still hear people, "Oh, I used to listen to your dad on the radio."

And so in the 70s, 80s, we would have nationwide TV specials.

Many of these records are from those TV specials and those TV specials would be aired prime time back when there was three big stations, ABC, NBC, and CBS, nationwide.

And of course then that would bring attention when we would go to cities, oh that's the family on TV.

And then it grew into weekly television.

So we were on hundreds of weekly television stations all of across America.

He was a visionary.

One of his statements leading the whole team and our family was "no means go.

When you hear no, you gotta go."

He just never stopped.

I always tell people he didn't die, he just wore out.

Over 300 nights a year for 40 plus years before he began to come off the road a little bit.

And then we planted a church as a family here in the South Minneapolis area because he was born in Minneapolis.

And so there was kind of a, oh, well, you know, maybe he always kind of had that in his heart.

And we were like, dad, what are you talking about?

A church, what?

And so that became part of the latter years of his ministry was us working together in the church with him.

"People are the only thing that lasts forever."

He would always say that.

So how his passion to tell people the good news of Jesus changed and translated not just a person, but families and generations.

Right now, when I travel and sing with my husband and our team, I minister to the great grandchildren of those that accepted Christ in our family's meetings.

The legacy of Lowell Lundstrom are the lives of the people that he touched.

- And what Christ has done for the Lundstroms and what Christ has done for all of these, Christ will do for you, but you've gotta open the door of your heart.

(upbeat music) - The Sheldon Theatre in Red Wing is among the oldest theaters in Minnesota.

The architectural gem has been prominent in the city since 1904 and continues to this day as a venue for live performances.

Let's take a look.

- All right, well come on into the house and I will show you the theater.

We just have to get out from under the balcony first here.

(gentle music) The Sheldon Theatre is one of the first municipal theaters in the United States.

It was built in 1904, and it's been pretty much in continuous use one way or another since the earliest days.

It was granted to the city of Red Wing through an inheritance of T.B.

Sheldon who was a prominent businessman here in town.

And when he died, he left half his fortune to the city for some beneficent purpose.

He didn't specify though, but his widow and his trustees got together and they decided that a theater would be the thing to have, something to really boost Red Wing.

They had different designs drawn up, and eventually this one was chosen.

It's just a beautiful neo-renaissance design, very graceful.

It's just been a prominent piece of Red Wing architecture since 1904.

So you can see it's been restored and is pretty much the way it was in 1904.

And you can see over here the box seats.

People ask us, do we still use those?

And they are just for show.

Originally there would've been two up and two down also on both sides.

And those were the place to sit if you wanted to be seen, if you were prominent.

Above the seats, you can see those old fashioned globe lights.

Those were found in the basement during the restoration.

And moving up even higher, you see the Sheldon Muse on each side, and there she is in the big mural in the center.

That's not original.

There was a mural there, which of course was destroyed.

So they recreated it, painted it in San Francisco, I believe, and had it put up there during the 1987 restoration.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) When the Sheldon was built, I think the intention was that it would be very classical, more high brow entertainment would come here.

Maybe some of the other theaters could have the more tawdry stuff.

But they struggled financially in the beginning quite a bit.

There was no endowment built into the will.

It had to make money.

In order for it to be economically viable, they just had to cater to the audience they really had.

You pretty much had to have a mixed bill affair.

So Vaudeville mixed with an opera singer.

(gentle music) There was a fire that broke out in 1917 one night after a performance.

The interior was pretty much gutted.

Seats were melted.

They got the original builders to come back in and restore the theater and it was all very grand all over again.

(upbeat music) After the first fire, the grand reopening was to a movie, I think 1917 film "Tom Sawyer" which was a silent movie.

So that kind of heralded a change.

The movies were here to stay once that began.

And the Sheldon Board reacted in going out and purchasing this grand Kilgen organ to accompany the silent films.

And we have some wonderful photographs of that too.

And in fact, we still have the organ.

This is the view from the balcony and the view of the balcony of the Sheldon Theatre, which is now back to its original graceful horseshoe shape.

When it was converted to a movie theater in the 1930s, this balcony was straightened so they could pack in as many seats as possible.

(gentle music) The full name of the Sheldon is the T.B.

Sheldon Memorial Auditorium, which is a mouthful.

So when we were growing up, we just called it the Aud.

And we would go down to the movies at the Aud, I'd ask my dad for $2, one for the ticket and 50 cents for pop and 50 cents for popcorn.

This is the main lobby and it has been recreated too because when I was a child, all of this was covered.

There was carpet on the floor, this beautiful French tile floor was covered with carpet, plywood on the walls, and there was a drop ceiling.

So all of this had to be uncovered in 1987.

(gentle music) We are a working theater and we have a lot of variety.

Everything from the Canine Stars to just the other day, we had over 800 preschoolers and kindergartners in to see "The Gruffalo" on stage.

Red Wing is a family town, so we do a lot of family shows.

- Is that your change?

- Yes.

- [Leah] This weekend, the local theater group, the Phoenix Theater is going to put on a play called "Almost Maine."

- I just want to sit like this, close.

- It's a play for romantics.

It's about love, and it's just done in a very creative way.

- There's always been variety here.

I think that's why it has sustained itself as a performing arts theater.

(gentle music) - There's 13 churches in this five to eight block area here in Red Wing, and they say, well, you know, Sundays and this.

I said "This is my spiritual place."

I come into this theater and I can feel the 117 odd years of history in here.

I'm often in this building by myself.

I'm often working late hours, but I feel that energy and I respect it.

(upbeat music) - Rochester police have made connecting with the community a priority.

Under the motto "Every contact counts" officers try to make a positive connection with people, including kids.

We visit a bike rodeo in which police fix kids' bikes and teach them safety and the rules of the road.

(upbeat music) - So today we're partnered with a Meadow Park Initiative who are putting on a bike rodeo and we're here, we're actually gonna be here grilling out some hot dogs for them, assisting with the bike rodeo, and then doing a bike fix-it clinic.

So if there's kids that bring their bikes in here today, we're able to give them a tuneup.

Maybe they got a flat tire, unable to get around.

I remember growing up as a kid, that was kind of our main mode of transportation was our bike.

So it's a huge huge thing to get them back on the road again.

- Be predictable in where and how we ride our bikes.

If we're all over the road and we're in the middle of the road, a driver doesn't know what you're gonna do next.

- We want everybody to feel the same about us.

I mean we wanted across the board everybody to think law enforcement's here for them.

We approach these events and do these events.

Everybody's the same, but there are kids that are a little more weary of us having these interactions on a different level than law enforcement coming into your house.

I mean, a little bit goes a long ways.

It's kind of like mechanical abilities.

Back in high school I was a motorhead, so I did a lot of my own working on my cars and stuff like that.

I suppose we've probably had maybe 20 events over the last four years, I suppose, where we've gone to different apartment complexes and worked on kids' bikes, did the bike rodeos.

It kind of gets law enforcement in there and gives the support.

We want them to understand that we're human and we have feelings and a person just like them.

And just to build that connection with these individuals that, hey, if you need something, we're here to help.

Getting out there and fixing their bike.

- This hand to go that way, that hand to go that way.

- You got it.

Ready?

All right.

Keep going.

- One of Chief Franklin's mottos is every contact counts.

It's on our garage door as we leave the garage.

So we see that every time we leave our garage.

And it's the truth, I mean, however little a contact that we may have out here, it's gonna make an impression on that individual.

And a lot of times we only have this minute time to make that impression.

Versus family members and stuff like that, it's a little bit more difficult.

So we wanna make sure that when we have contact with them that it's positive and that it counts.

When Chief Franklin came to the department a few years ago, I mean, we did some community engagement, but since he's come, we've really amped it up.

I mean, that was one of his priorities is to want to engage the community to the fullest.

Just having that continued involvement with the group of individuals, I think that can raise their awareness to law enforcement that, hey, they're good people, we're here to help, and if they need something, please call us.

That's a lot of times what happens is a lot of these families, they're afraid to reach out to us.

A little bit maybe.

So we're trying to build these bridges so that they're comfortable talking to us and communicating to us.

So that's what all this is about.

Starting with the youth.

The youth are eventually gonna be young adults and be adults and raise families and if they have stories to tell as they get older about, hey, I remember this, and this officer came and helped me out with my bike, I mean, you know, officers are great or whatever.

So it's just, it's a good thing.

There you go.

(upbeat music) - Wouldn't say I know them by name, but they recognize me.

I'll come down there, hey, you're Officer Marsolek.

I see a lot more kids than what the kids see, probably see officers.

Hey, you were here last time, you helped me out with my bike.

So they do remember.

We did a preschool presentation at one of the Kinder Cares here in town, and I was at Safe City Nights and this little girl comes up to me and she's like "Hey Officer Marsolek, you were over and you seen me at Kinder Care, we got to look at your squad car and stuff like that."

So it's like these kids do remember, I mean, and they appreciate what we do for them and we do have that.

We do have a good impact on them.

(upbeat music) - Oxbow Park an Zollman Zoo north of Byron house more than 30 species of animals native to Minnesota.

The centerpiece of the zoo is the new interpretive center which features interactive exhibits that appeal to all ages.

(children laughing) - I always say that I have one of the best jobs in the county because I get to do all the fun stuff.

My name is Megan Long and I'm a naturalist at Oxbow Park near Byron.

Oxbow Park was started in 1969, and in the 80s, Nature Center was built.

And we also have our zoo with Minnesota native animals.

And then we just got a brand new Nature Center because we kind of outgrew that one.

We're very popular and people like to come visit.

We have something for everyone at the park.

So here at Oxbow you can come for the day to visit the zoo and the Nature Center.

You can go picnicking.

We have a campground, hiking trails.

We also do skiing and snowshoeing in the wintertime.

Lots of school groups come during the year, so they'll come for field trips, especially in the springtime.

And then on the weekends we have weekend programs so families can come for maybe a guided hike or come learn about the zoo animals that we have, all sorts of different activities and it's always busy.

Something's going on.

Every day is different.

You never know what it's gonna be.

I get to care for the animals.

I get to teach classes, share about why I'm passionate about nature with others.

So our old Nature Center was built in the 80s and it served its purpose for a numerous amount of years.

And then in the early 2020s, we decided that it was time for a new one.

We had outgrown that building.

So we started planning for a new nature center which is about three times the size of our old one.

Lots more space for classrooms since we're very busy with field trips, lots of space for an exhibit hall, which was a new upgrade.

We have our home for the animals that we have and then a lot of interactive exhibits too.

So we needed that upgrade and it was time and we're really excited to have this new space for everyone to come and explore.

So here at Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo, we have all Minnesota native animals, which is something that's pretty unique.

Just meaning that all the animals here at the zoo can be found somewhere in Minnesota.

So some of them you can find in your own backyard, maybe the turtles or some of the birds that we have.

And others you might have to go a little farther north to see like those wolves.

Some of the animals can be hard to see out in the wild.

So this is a great time to come and check them out and get a great view at them because you might not be able to see them when you're out exploring.

(gentle music) We have a variety of animals all the way from small animals like our toads and salamanders up to our biggest animal, the bison, and all sorts of animals in between.

Foxes and porcupines, otters, badgers, bears, wild cats, and a few others in between there too.

With our new Nature Center, we have a lot more to offer.

So we not only have our animals that were housed in the old one, but they're here with bigger and better exhibits and habitats.

And we also have a lot more interactive exhibits for people to be able to check out and learn from.

And we have a lot more space.

We outgrew our old building, so now if it's a chilly day, if it's rainy, if it's real warm out, people can come in here and still learn about the park and check things out.

And this is kind of their home base.

Learn a little bit about the park and then get out into the greater park area and explore.

Some of the unique features that we have in our Nature Center would be our wood structures that we have.

So a few years ago they had to do a road realignment for the road coming into the park because it was in the flood plain.

So with that process, had to take down a lot of trees.

And with the foresight of the brand new Nature Center coming we kept some of those trees and were able to make tree slabs which we used for our exhibits in the Nature Center.

We used it to make various benches throughout the nature center, and then also our front desk.

So it was really cool to be able to repurpose those from one project and then be able to bring them into the park and kind of have a part of the park inside.

With our Nature Center and zoo, it provides a place for people to be able to connect with nature so they can come into the Nature Center, learn all about the different features that we have in the park, and then be able to go out and explore.

And with the animals, they're able to learn more about these animals that might be in their own backyard, but they aren't able to see for various reasons.

Maybe they're nocturnal or just a little more elusive.

So it really helps people to be able to build that connection with nature and care about it and be able to build that connection to see what they can do to help their wild counterparts that are out in the wild.

We've had lots of great responses with our brand new Nature Center.

Everyone walks through the door and is in awe as they walk through.

It's definitely a big upgrade from our old one.

They can see the animals in their natural habitats.

They can learn about all the features that we have here at the park, gets them excited to be outside and what else they can explore.

And everyone's excited to see the brand new exhibits, the interactive exhibits, and it's fun to see everyone get so excited about it.

So we have a new Nature Center that was built and a fun place for people to explore and even people that have been here before are coming to check out all the new things we have.

- We've reached the end of this trip.

Thanks for riding along.

See you next time Off 90.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (gentle music) - [Announcer] Funding for "Off 90" is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.