From The Editor: What’s Love Got To Do With It?

We lost a great performer and an ally for our community in Tina Turner earlier this year at the age of 81. She leaves a legacy of music and truth in her many years of performing.

Turner also serves as a lesson about love. Perhaps it is a reality we all face when we are faced with adversity in our own relationships. It takes perseverance and determination to transition from one situation to another.

Some may argue that her biggest hit song was about love itself. It is, but not exactly what everyone wants to hear. It is reflection of where Turner had been and where she hoped to be.

Spoiler alert: She did find love in the end. Rest in peace, our Private Dancer.

I mention Turner and the title of her greatest song as an overarching question about our love. Not to be cynical, but rather to get us thinking about our own definition of love, relationships, and the idea of being a forever couple.

We are also reminded of the many steps towards making our love real. Ten years ago, love became the law. After being challenged on what defines legal matrimony, we fought that fight at the polls and carried it into the Minnesota state legislature. Now, we can marry legally – and happily ever after! In sickness and in health…‘til death do us part!

In this issue, we offer you an encore to Heidi Sakallah’s amazing photo essay on LGBTQ+ families that appeared in our Pride issue back in June. Your response was immeasurable and beyond our wildest dreams. If you loved her photo essay back in June, you will love her new one in this issue!

We also offer up another great venue for your wedding and/or romantic getaway. It is a classic location and venue right in The Cities.

Plus, have you been watching “Heartstopper” or “Red, White & Royal Blue”? So have we. We dive into these new television shows for you.

Lastly our own Elise Maren starts her new monthly column, “Ask Elise.” She kicks off her column with a love-themed question she fielded from you. Her answer is in the pages ahead…

There is so much to love in this issue. Just read on. Find your inspiration. Then, answer that question of “what’s love got to do with it.” Because there’s so much that fills that answer.