While the cupcakes are a’ bakin’ the bows are a’ flyin’

Let’s dive right in.

At 29 years old, and only shooting bow for a little over 3 years, Kacey Stromlund already has numerous awards hanging on her wall, one of which includes being named the Minnesota State Archery Association Grand Champion! “My goal for the past 2 years was to win the MSAA Grand Champion Award,” Kacey beams. She accomplished that goal the weekend of August 6th, 2016. To win the MSAA Grand Champion Award, Kacey had to attend archery shoots at Duluth, Bemidji, Red Wood Falls and Marshall throughout the whole year, where she competed against other women. Each location was a different style of shooting. Kacey says, “Redwood Falls was in April and that was an indoor shoot at 20 yards. Marshall was next in June; a 900 round outside at 40, 50 and 60 yards over a 2-day period! July’s location was in Bemidji and was a field round over a 2-day period. The last shoot, which was August in Duluth, was a 3d shoot, which was the last one that determined I was the grand champ!” (Minnesota awards the grand champion who has the highest accumulated points.) Kacey will be further recognized next April as there will be a banquet in Bemidji at the 2017 Indoor State Tournament that will recognize the 2016 Grand Champions – men and women divisions both!

“I’ve met so many friends all over the state and country. It’s like an archery family,” she says proudly.

Kacey first got interested in bow hunting a few years ago. She says the rifle season is so short and shooting competitively never crossed her mind. She decided to join the TRF Archery Club and ended up meeting some great friends who got her interested in shooting at a competitive level during the off hunting season. Kacey says she enjoyed it so much and practiced A LOT, even putting a couple of arrows in her basement wall by accident! “The drive of wanting to get better and have perfect scores turned it into wanting to compete,” she stated. 

The desire to compete has even led her to a couple of national competitions in Las Vegas and Des Moines, but mainly she competes against adult women, sometimes men, within the state of Minnesota. Her archery skills have landed her numerous medals and plaques that make for a nice display on a wall in her home.

In addition to perfecting her archery competitively, Kacey also enjoys bow hunting, saying, “Every animal I take with a bow is a trophy to me, but my 290 pound chocolate bear is my most prized.” That chocolate bear rug also hangs on the award wall mentioned above. Kacey is currently on the hunt for another bear this season, and looks forward to taking her bow out with her when deer season rolls around, as well.

Between her exciting archery hobby, and her full-time job at Digi-Key, Kacey still finds time to manage an in-home cake business. Perhaps you’ve heard of Kacey’s Cakes!? If not, where have you been hiding!? They are all the rage with locals as Kacey’s Cakes not only taste delicious, they truly look one-of-a-kind.

Her almost full-time wedding cake and cupcake business is booming. Kacey has always loved to bake cakes for birthdays since she was old enough to work an oven. “It really all began when a friend of mine got married, and for some reason, I volunteered to make the cake! It turned out pretty good for my first one and then, by word of mouth, Kacey’s cakes started growing!” When asked where she draws her inspiration and ideas from, Kacey offers that she’s always loved art and painting, which a lot of that passion comes out in her cakes. Making cakes for mainly weddings and birthdays, a lot of people have suggested she open her own shop. Kacey laughs, “Right now, I have no plans to do that. I like to make my own hours, go hunting, help my dad in the field and work from home with my cake business. I like to have time off to enjoy doing my other hobbies, too!

Wait, she has MORE hobbies!? Where does she find the time? Like mentioned, Kacey Stromlund is getting things done – no doubt about it!

Customers looking to place an order for a custom cake, can check out Kacey’s Cakes on Facebook, where many pictures await for you to be amazed at. You can also call Kacey at 218-689-6725 to place an order.

Lastly, we just had to ask her, “Highest number of cupcakes you’ve ever made?” To which Kacey replied, “700……..700 cupcakes and 2 cakes…it was stressful!”