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With spring temperatures and sunny weather (at least this week), the Peace Crew has been thinking more and more about climbing out of winter hibernation and mixing it up out in the "real" world. So, we ask, what's a better time to celebrate extreme sports? In this issue of Peace Spokes, we've got a Q&A with two North Star Roller Girls, whose Wild Wild Midwest Bout takes center stage at the Minneapolis Convention Center this Saturday night (March 20, 2010, for those just coming out of your winter cave). Also in the issue, we offer ice biker Marlin Ledin's account of his adventures crossing the Apostle Islands (fueled by Peace Coffee, of course!). And we've got an IATP Report, a spring event roundup and Keith's Roaster's Corner. Lace 'em up, grab a mug o' Peace Coffee and read on...
Peace Coffee sat down recently with two of the North Stars Roller Girls. Props to RAGE-edy Ann and Stalker Channing for sharing their skater stories and for giving us the basics about the action-packed sport (that many of us come to love -- and fear!) that is Roller Derby!
How did you decide/choose your roller girl name?
 RA: There is an international registry of roller girl names, so once you register your name, no one else can take it. What that really means is that it’s increasingly hard to find a name that isn’t already someone else’s. Finding a name is tough—you think of a bunch of them, but then find out that they are already taken. I did not want a name that implied that I was really fast or tough, since that seemed to be a lot to live up to. And, I have kids, so it had to be a name that my kids could tell their teacher, which was also limiting. One day, I was cleaning up my kids’ toys, and while throwing the Raggedy Ann doll in the toy box, RAGE-edy Ann occurred to me. Thankfully it wasn’t taken! And, I’m little and angry, so it works for me.
 SC: Well, since you have to register your name, and it can’t be close to another rollergirl’s name, it took me a couple of days to find one that wasn’t similar to someone else. In the end, I was trying to think of celebrity names I could butcher (since that’s a common way to come up with a name). I also wanted a name that could be said around my niece since she enjoys coming to see me play. Thus, Stalker Channing was born. I had come up with a few other names, put it to my friends for a vote, and have been a Stalker ever since.
When & why did you decide to become a roller girl?
RA: I went to a bout, and as soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to do it.
SC: I moved back to MN in 2006 and a friend of mine said, “There’s this thing. It’s called roller derby! It’s awesome!” I went to both Minnesota RollerGirls bouts and North Star Roller Girls bouts and when I heard NSRG was having tryouts, I figured I’d give it a try. I hadn’t skated in years, and I barely made it, but it is hands down the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
Which team do you skate with and what position do you play?
RA: I am the co-Captain of the Violent Femmes, and I am primarily a blocker and pivot. Sometimes I have to jam, but I don’t like it.
SC: I am the co-Captain of the Kilmore Girls. I was also on the 2009 North Star Supernovas (the All-Star Team) I am predominantly a jammer, but I also play blocker and pivot occasionally.
How would you explain roller derby to a person who's never come to a bout?
RA: There are 4 blockers on each team, and one jammer (who scores the points). The blockers play offense and defense to get their jammer through the pack and to stop the other jammer from getting through. The first jammer to get through the pack is the lead jammer, which means she can strategically stop the jam at any time. After their initial pass through the pack, the jammers get one point for each blocker they pass during each subsequent pass. And, there’s lots of hitting. And falling. And girls in skirts and hotpants!
SC: Roller Derby is a full contact sport played on quad roller skates. It’s one of the only sports where you play offense and defense at the same time. We play flat-track roller derby, which means our track is laid out on the ground. A bout is made up of 2 periods, in which each team tries to score the most points to win.
The game is played with each team having 5 members on the track: 1 pivot, 3 blockers, and 1 jammer. The Pivot is the last line of defense, and she also controls the speed and strategy of the pack. Blockers play various positions within the pack, but their job is to both stop the opposing jammer from getting through the pack and to help their own jammer through the pack. Jammers are the only players who can score points. They do so by passing opposing players legally, scoring 1 point for each person passed.
Read more...
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Exploring the Sounds of Ice
by Marlin Ledin, Ice Biker
 Peace Coffee supplied Marlin with coffee on his recent ice bike journey across the Apostle Islands. Our coffee fuels so many amazing feats on wheels!
It was a day when most people are crawling out of bed to the sounds of an alarm clock, suiting up, and going off to work. It was a sunny day, bright, fresh, and warm for the season. I searched ferociously, frantic like, not finding what I wanted. Sweating, still not finding what I was sure I had packed, obsessively, I searched for my coffee. No joke. I had packed and repacked my gear three times last night, making sure to have everything in its most useful location on my bike and sled. Now here I was, out on the ice, ready to go, unpacking everything. Tossing things out onto the snow, cursing, and searching.
My plan was to go out onto the frozen surface of Lake Superior for a week, self supported, solo, to seek out and record the sounds of the shifting ice. It was late February and unseasonably warm, so all the ingredients were there to make for a vast array of sounds. The sounds I was listening for were created by the expanding and contracting of the ice. Cold nights, warm days. Thick and thin ice. A winning combination for ice sounds. I had my recording gear, which included a Hydrophone (for recording under water), food for two weeks, a solid understanding of winter ice travel (and the proper gear to do so), my bike with raft in tow, and motivation. All the ingredients were there...except for the coffee. Eventually I found the coffee. It was in the first place I thought to look, but the last place I did look. Now, repacking my gear for the fourth time in the last 12 hours, I was actually ready to leave.
Read more...
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Farm to school numbers up -- and rising
by Andrew Ranallo, Communications Assistant, IATP
 A new survey, released today by the Minnesota School Nutrition Association (MSNA) and IATP, can serve as both encouragement for farm to school advocates and as a road map for schools, administrators or farmers looking to get involved in the growing movement. According to the survey, the number of Minnesota school districts purchasing fresh food from local farms has more than doubled in the last 15 months. Even more encouraging is the fact that 77 percent of the districts currently involved in farm to school indicated that they expect to expand their farm to school activities in the upcoming school year.
According to IATP’s JoAnne Berkenkamp, “Parents, students and educators know that good nutrition is essential if our kids are to be healthy and ready to learn. Small and mid-size farmers, whose products have largely been absent from America’s lunch trays, can offer our children fresh, less-processed choices and a chance to learn how and where their food is grown.”
Some other highlights of the survey include:
- Nearly 43 percent of school districts purchasing Minnesota-grown food in 2009 did so by purchasing directly from a farmer or farmer co-op.
- The biggest barriers to expanding farm to school purchases were the need for extra labor and preparation time in the cafeteria, pricing and tight food budgets, and difficulty finding nearby farmers to purchase from directly.
- In the future, schools are most interested in purchasing local vegetables and fruit, with growing interest in bread/grains, dairy and meat.
- The survey also showed strong interest in expanding student education about farm to school and growing food in school gardens.
See the entire survey or take a look at our press release for further information. Also, listen to our newest episode of Radio Sustain for an interview with JoAnne Berkenkamp.
Andrew Ranallo is the Communications Assistant at IATP. The new Pollinator Blend rocks his socks off.
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by Keith Tomlinson, Peace Coffee Head Roaster
 My first North Star Roller Girls bout was exciting, intimidating and confusing. So, like the first time I cupped coffee, I had to break it down and simplify it. I started by picking out something that was easy, something that stood out and was fun, something I could latch onto. That was Tin Lizzy. She was graceful and present and, where others seemed to either be skating in circles or getting knocked around, she simply glided around and through everyone else as though she wasn’t even aware of their presence, or they her's. She was simultaneously like an apparition and the only thing I could see or make sense of. I watched her the whole bout, even when she wasn’t skating, even when her team wasn’t skating. Maybe it was the camouflage skirt, maybe it was that she was brutish, arrogant and yet still had a sense of calm and kindness. One thing was for sure, she was fun to watch. The rest was a mess. Whistles blowing at seemingly random times, multiple refs that made bizarre hand gestures, women getting hit and that sometimes being okay and sometimes they would get kicked out of the jam for it, someone with a star on their helmet… for some reason. And yet, despite all the chaos, between Tin Lizzy and the greatest collection of weirdos and misfits that I have seen since my group of friends in high school, I was hooked. I wanted to understand it all. Incidentally, Sumatran was the first coffee I clung on to. Amongst all the other coffees it was immediately unique and interesting with its earthy soil smell and lingering tobacco. I could always, from the beginning, identify Sumatran coffees.
The next bout was a little easier, but I still walked away confused. The tutorial helped a lot. Blocker, pivot, jammer. Got it. Lead jammer is in control of ending the jam, scores points, passes people. I even recognized some of the team members from the last bout I had been at. The refs were still a mystery, when and why they blew their whistles and what on earth those hand signals meant. But I was getting it and it was fun and embracing and everyone was willing to answer questions when I had them. Repetition and dedication is key in understanding and appreciating something. Cupping coffee every day is imperative to really understanding the coffee you are drinking and how it slowly changes over time, and how it can abruptly change with just a few extra seconds in the roaster.
 Now I’m to the point where I’m picking up on strategy and to where I was probably annoying to watch Whip It with. I have many favorites to cheer for, though I’m still partial to Tin Lizzy. And I’m really excited to announce our new Northern Fights Roast in conjunction with the North Star Roller Girls. It is a Peruvian bean from Cenfrocafe in Northern Peru. For those of you that remember and loved our limited Peruvian offering, here is your chance to enjoy it yet again. This coffee is very personal to me since we starting receiving it as a result of a Peru visit I made with Cooperative Coffees in the summer of 2008, and I’m thrilled we’ve been able to find a way of showcasing it as a single origin. Called AA since it passes rigorous quality sorting and testing, this coffee is buttery and well balanced all with a dark chocolate aftertaste, but my favorite is the soft presence of stone fruit at the front of the cup. Come out to a bout, pick up a pound of coffee and fall in love with something.
Cheers,
Keith (aka Homer Roddick)
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 The Peace Coffee Events Team is buzzing from all the Pollinator Blend we’re drinking and sampling! We’ll be brewing and enjoying more of it this spring at lots of fun events around town.
March 20th 8pm
Luke Redfield CD Release Party: Come enjoy Luke Redfield’s fun tunes at the Fine Line! Presented by 89.3 THE CURRENT w/ Greycoats, Aria Souder, Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream sound. Only $8 at the door!
March 27th 7am
Gardening Matters: Learn tips for gardening at this great community workshop
April 6th 5:30pm
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Women and Global Health: Join an interesting discussion on climate change, food security and global health, and why women are the key to lasting solutions
April 10th 8pm
Rogue Valley with singer/songwriter Chris Koza: Enjoy the sweet sound of Rogue Valley at the Historic Fitzgerald Theatre. All tickets are $25.00. Minnesota Public Radio members receive a discount.
April 17th
Minneapolis Watershed Clean Up: Volunteer on Earth Day at the Watershed Clean up! Volunteers pick up trash and assist in cleaning up Minneapolis’ water resources. Volunteers are invited to attend a celebration party after the clean up where refreshments, door prizes and watershed educational programming is available.
April 18th
Minneapolis Recycle Run: Bring family and friends to the 2010 5k Fun Run. The first 500 pre-registered participants will receive a free ticket to a Minnesota Twins game. All pre-registered participants are guaranteed a Performance T-shirt and water bottle.
April 24th 11am-3pm
Seward CSA Fair Stop by the Seward Co-op to meet local farmers and to learn more about CSA options.
April 25th 8am
Iron Man Bike Ride Sign up for the Iron Man Ride today! You can do a 30, 65 or 100 mile ride. Peace Coffee at all the stops will keep you energized!
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In honor of the North Star Roller Girls and the wild and crazy sport of roller derby, try our new Northern Fights Roast or any of our coffees, teas, equipment or Peace Gear and take 15% off your entire order (before shipping charges
are added).
To get your discount, enter NSRG in the Promo Box at checkout. Offer ends April 19th.
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"For some people there's therapy, for the rest of us, there's roller derby."
~ anonymous fan
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Photos of the North Stars Roller Girls in this issue by Preflash Gordon,
http://www.flickr.com/people/preflashgordon/
Peace Spokes is a monthly publication from the crew at Peace Coffee.
ph 612-870-3440
ph 888-324-7872
fax 612-252-1821
info@peacecoffee.com
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