Armed with trash bags, Minnesota woman helps clean the streets during her runs

A woman runs down a road.
(Image credit: iStock)

Laurie Hanson is known as the Trash Lady of Ramsey, a nickname that she takes in stride.

Hanson lives in Ramsey, Minnesota, and started running when her daughter Jessica, a nurse, was deployed to Afghanistan. When Jessica returned home, they ran a 5K together, and soon, Hanson was running 10Ks and half-marathons. In 2019, she finished the Chicago and Boston marathons, but with coronavirus canceling her races this year, she needed to find something else to motivate her.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.