Processing’s Photo of the Month — July 2026
Processing’s photo of the month for July is this image I took of the former Ardent Mills grain silos in Mankato, Minnesota. The silos dominate the downtown skyline of the small city, which is situated at the confluence of the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers in southern Minnesota. While the photo is not artistic itself, the silos provide the canvas for a monumental mural painted by the Australian artist Guido van Helten, who specializes in painting enormous murals on buildings, silos, and other large structures.
The project was commissioned in 2018 by CityArt, a program of Mankato’s Twin Rivers Council for the Arts and was completed in 2020. The artist was inspired by attending Mankato’s annual Mahkato Wacipi powwow, a gathering to honor Dakota culture, and the mural was designed to “bring together the shared ideals of community, diversity, and inclusion” and “pay respect to history while encouraging a positive dialogue on the future identity of the Mankato area.”
Ardent Mills is the largest flour milling company in the U.S., operating more than 40 locations, including three in Canada and one in Puerto Rico. The company closed the Mankato mill in January of 2025.
Processing’s Photo of the Month is a regular feature where we invite professionals from across the process industries to share compelling images from their operations. Photos can be artistic, technical, historical, timely, or simply intriguing. Please include a couple paragraphs describing what the image shows, where it was taken, and why it matters. Tell us what is happening, what challenges were involved, or what makes this moment worth sharing with the broader industry.
All photos must be submitted by the original owner or with explicit permission from the owner and with minimal digital editing. Basic adjustments such as cropping or color correction are expected, but the image should be an accurate depiction of the subject.
Each month, our editorial team will select one image to feature. It’s an opportunity to highlight your work, your facility, and your perspective, while contributing to a richer visual record of the processing industries.
Great processes deserve to be seen. We look forward to seeing yours. Send submissions to [email protected].
