Two cultures, one family

Like hundreds of Twin Cities couples, Laura Lee and Abe Knudson are trying to raise their kids, hold two jobs, pay their bills and manage to find a little time for themselves.

What they are also doing is blending two cultures that stretch 8,000 miles from Minnesota’s Iron Range, where Abe grew up, to the highlands of Laos, where Laura’s parents were born.

Anika Bowie, with the help of 2009 St. Thomas graduate Allison McDonald, gives an up-close look at this family of five, including three small children, and how they manage to not only hold it together but make it flourish.