Well, the sauna industry in the U.S. is heating up.

More and more health-conscious Americans are embracing this ancient Finnish tradition as a modern way to help reduce stress and promote wellness.

The surge in popularity is happening nationwide, but nowhere has the sauna culture taken root more deeply than in Minnesota.

Kaomi Lee from Twin Cities, PBS, has the story.

These are front row seats, so it's about as close as you can get to Lake Superior

and enjoy it from the inside of a sauna.

This sweeping view is from one of two cedarline saunas at Cisou and Lolu in Grand

Moray, Minnesota.

Owner, Katie Yusum, explains the name Sisu comes from Finnish, a nod to the Nordic-style

sauna experience she's brought to life here.

It refers to the concept of fortitude, tenacity, or grit, and Lolo refers to the steam that rises off of the sauna rocks when you put water on them.

Her dream to start a business on the shores of Lake Superior began when she and her family moved here after COVID.

That's when Yusum stumbled onto this lakeside property, which included an old

fish house. It was in need of a lot of repair, but it sparked an idea. She and her husband

invested a million dollars between savings and loans. At first, some wondered if their business

was just hot air. I know there were some people when we opened up and started

talking about creating a sauna business. Some people are like, how are you going to make money at that?

Or will that last? The risk paid off. Four years later, Yusum now has eight part-time staff.

A floating sauna and a mobile sauna have been added, and there's more

to come. About a hundred miles south in the city of Duluth, Justin Jontinen has had the same success.

He believes saunas, pronounced sauna in Finnish, are having a moment, and he expects it to last.

We're too stressed out. We're full of anxiety. We're expects it to last. We're too stressed out.

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