I sat behind these healthcare professionals at the meeting hosted by the Minnesota State Attorney General’s office. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I’VE BEEN SITTING on pages and pages of notes from a community forum held in Faribault earlier this week on the proposed sale of Minnesota-based Allina Health to California-based Sutter Health. The Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office hosted the meeting, which drew around 200 people.
The intent of the listening session, according to Attorney General Keith Ellison, was to evaluate if the proposal is in the public interest. He cited concerns like wages, competition, unions and access to services. By state law (Statute 145D.01), Ellison is required to consider public input and then make a decision.
But Wednesday’s listening session, which allowed those who signed up in advance to comment for one minute each, seemed anything but a community-oriented event. Rather, Sutter flew in top leaders. Likewise Allina was well-represented by leaders and employees. This seemed well-orchestrated and slanted toward the proposed acquisition. Sixty-two people, nearly all healthcare leaders or professionals and others in leadership positions, spoke.
AVERAGE PERSON UNHEARD
I felt like the average person, the patients, the people in my city and surrounding areas served by Allina Health, were not well-represented. Maybe it’s their fault for not showing up more than they did. Maybe they weren’t aware of the meeting. Maybe they were, like me, intimidated by speaking before a crowd. Maybe jumping through the hoops to comment and/or register online and then waiting to learn the meeting location proved too technologically difficult. I think all factored into the voice of everyday people being mostly left unheard. Two friends of mine who registered online never received email notification of the meeting location.
I didn’t speak. I could have. But I’m uncomfortable standing in front of and addressing a large audience. I’d prefer a roundtable approach, where every voice, not just those of polished professionals, is heard, in person, not via a comment form.
Follow the top right pointing arrow to the emergency room at Allina Health Faribault Medical Center. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
AN IMPACTFUL STORY
Yet it was the voice of a rural Faribault resident who made the most impactful comment of the evening, in my opinion. And it was because of a personal story he shared. Stories connect us, proving to be undeniably powerful in making a point.
This man spoke of a neighbor finding him unresponsive, an ambulance transporting him to the Faribault hospital and then learning from his healthcare team that he had been within minutes of death. His point: He likely would not have survived a longer transport to a hospital in another community.
“If we have to go back to the municipal model, let’s do it,” he said. The Faribault hospital was community-owned until Allina bought Rice County District One Hospital in 2015. And now, 11 years later, change could be, likely will be, coming again with a large California-based healthcare nonprofit buying a smaller Minnesota healthcare nonprofit.
The birthing center in our local hospital, left, recently closed. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
FROM OUT OF STATE & BIGGER
That concerns me—a much larger entity from out of state buying a healthcare system that currently provides services throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin, including in Faribault and neighboring Owatonna. Allina just recently closed Faribault’s birthing center.
The CEOs of both Allina and Sutter used the word “partnership” multiple times in describing the proposed purchase of Allina by Sutter. In my head, I was thinking, “Call it what it is, a sale.”
I get my primary care here, at the Allina Health Faribault Clinic. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
EMPHASIS ON LOCAL CARE
Allina CEO Lisa Shannon, stating that “healthcare is in real trouble,” something we all know, promised access to affordable and high quality care, keeping the patient as close to home as possible. Likewise Sutter CEO Warner Thomas said several times that “Local care is best care.” I agree. I prefer local to going out of town for my healthcare, although I understand sometimes that’s necessary.
I hope the two CEOs mean what they said. Numerous commenters asked for assurances in writing to protect patients and employees. That seems a valid request.
TECHNOLOGY & FINAL THOUGHTS
The topic of technology also came up repeatedly in referencing benefits of the acquisition by Sutter Health. That bothered me, not because I don’t consider advances in technology in healthcare to be important, but because technology was emphasized so much. It is people who are at the heart of healthcare, not technology.
I could write much more about the positives and negatives expressed during the state-hosted listening session. But rather I’ll stop, hoping that the distrust, doubts and concerns I feel are unwarranted. I will continue to stay informed.
I hope, if this purchase happens, that healthcare in Faribault remains strong—available, accessible and affordable for everyone. That means no closures, no loss of services. I hope I can continue to get most of my healthcare locally from professionals I’ve grown to know and trust. That’s important to me, especially as an aging Baby Boomer.
Signs direct peach purchasers to the parking lot. A street by the church is under construction, necessitating the signage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Boxes of stacked peaches awaited pick-up in the basement during the annual peach sale benefiting the congregation’s youth. They’d sold 560 boxes delivered from family-owned Noland Orchards in Colorado.
The peaches come from Noland Orchards in Colorado. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
“People love Colorado peaches,” said Ane Mentz, church administrator. And they must given the sale of seven pallets, or 11,200 pounds, of the stone fruit, if you’re counting. That’s the max First English could order and they sold out of the 20-pound pre-ordered boxes.
My husband, Randy, arrives to pick up the 10 pounds of peaches he ordered. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Buyers included the piemakers at Trinity Lutheran Church, blocks away from First English. The volunteers will make homemade pies from 10 boxes of peaches purchased during the sale.
Another buyer, a home brewer, bought 20 boxes of peaches to craft beer. He’s been buying for years, upping the quantity each season, said Mentz.
And, in the past, a local restaurant ordered peaches to create menu items.
First English handed out information about peaches to customers. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
First English sells the 20-pound boxes for $38 or half a box for $19, a substantial reduction from the going fruit truck rate of $60, according to Mentz. The church keeps the price lower, she said, because they want to offer fresh fruit and healthy food to people “without breaking the bank.”
For some 20 summers, this congregation has been selling Colorado peaches, which usually arrive in early August. This year the peaches came early, Mentz said, due to a short winter and early blooms.
Buyers arrive to pick up peaches in the lower level of First English. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Buyers arrived Tuesday to pay for and pick up their peaches from youth and other volunteers. Youth ages three to seniors in high school bank their money for upcoming church-sanctioned activities like mission and camping trips.
Phoebe Sanchez helped with peach pick-up on Tuesday. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Phoebe Sanchez, who helps with Sunday School and who was assisting at the peach pick-up, recently returned from a church trip to Montana. That’s just a skip of a state away from Colorado and Noland Orchards, source of all those fresh peaches in the basement of First English.
Acres and acres of corn grow in fields along this county road near Delhi in southwestern Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
SEEMINGLY ENDLESS FIELDS of tasseling corn stretched before us. Row upon row upon row of corn flanking the roadways along with soybeans and the occasional sugar beets. All three crops define the southern Minnesota landscape in July. But corn is decidedly king.
A farm site along U.S. Highway 14 near Janesville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
As Randy and I traveled from Faribault to the Kletscher family reunion in Echo in Yellow Medicine County on the last Sunday of July, we observed the crops. Most looked good. But the farther west we went, we began to notice signs of stress in the corn.
Driving along State Highway 68 by Morgan in eastern Redwood County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
A July 21 drought monitoring report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed our observations with conditions listed as abnormally dry in my home county of Redwood and neighboring counties. Randy and I, even decades removed from the farm, can still accurately assess crops.
Spraying a cornfield just west of Redwood Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
To the west of Redwood Falls along Minnesota State Highway 19, we watched a bright yellow crop duster swoop low over the road in front of us, barely clearing the power lines to drop chemicals onto a cornfield. It was thrilling to watch the pilot’s daring descent while simultaneously wondering what the plane was unleashing upon the land.
Earlier, outside New Ulm, I saw a woman walking beans, meaning she was walking through a soybean field eradicating weeds by hand, a memory-familiar task. I walked a lot of beans during my youth. No chemicals used, only my hands and/or a hoe.
Corn surrounds this barn along State Highway 19 west of Redwood Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
From inside the cool, air conditioned van, Randy and I pressed onward, sheltered from the sweltering heat and humidity of the July day. We passed massive barns swallowed by cornfields. So much corn. Shortly before noon we reached our destination, the Echo Community Center.
This 1936 photo displayed at the reunion shows my grandparents, Henry and Ida Kletscher, with six of their children. My dad, Elvern, is smack dab in the middle, second row.Others include the oldest, Elaine, then Elvira, Mike, Harold and baby Clarence. (Photo studio unknown)
After several hours of food, conversation and sharing memories with extended family, we were on the road again heading the 130 miles back home to Faribault.
This farm site sits near Delhi. Those are sugar beets growing in the foreground. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The temperature had only risen, grown more stifling, more oppressive. Temp rising. Corn rising. Farm sites rising like islands in an ocean of crops.
Grain bins west of New Ulm will soon hold the harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
This is rural southern Minnesota, in the thick of the growing season. The promise of a bountiful harvest measured in growth, rainfall, and hail and windstorms avoided.
Transporting Allis Chalmers tractors from a tractor show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Just north of Sleepy Eye along State Highway 4, a semi truck hauled three Allis Chalmers tractors returning, said Randy, from the Orange Spectacular (Allis Chalmers Tractor Show) in Hutchinson. I picked up my camera, zoomed in and snapped two images, the second with the tractors appearing to drive atop a cornfield.
From this camera perspective, the tractors appear to be driving on the corn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
It was only an illusion, similar to the mirage of water slicing across the roadway on this hot summer day.
That’s not water on the road, only a mirage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Had we stuck around into the evening and paused beside a cornfield, we likely would have heard the corn growing. There’s scientific truth underlying that statement.
A tractor and baler wait along U.S. Highway 14 between Nicollet and Mankato. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The adage of “make hay while the sun shines” also rings true. I noticed several farmers baling hay on this hot and humid July afternoon. Farming doesn’t wait for cooler weather. Just like corn continues to grow, stretching across the rural southern Minnesota landscape seemingly into forever.
I’ve had physical and occupational therapy at Courage Kenny in Faribault multiple times, most recently in 2023. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2026)
FOR SIX MONTHS in 2023, once a week, my husband, Randy, drove me across the bridge to therapy at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Faribault for vestibular rehab therapy. Without that intense weekly therapy, I doubt I would have reclaimed my ability to function in daily life.
Early in that year, I developed debilitating neurological symptoms following a virus, likely COVID, although I never tested positive for it. There was no other explanation for my sensory overload issues which kept me unable to handle light, motion, sound, anything really entering my brain.
I stayed inside the house, curtains drawn, shutting out sensory input. I couldn’t tolerate watching TV. I couldn’t read. I could hardly handle a phone call or conversation. I felt anxious, overstimulated by even the smallest external stimuli. I barely ate because of hyper-sensitive taste buds. I lost weight. I couldn’t tolerate toothpaste. I couldn’t sleep. I struggled to maintain. Managing daily living seemed nearly impossible. Basically, I was confined to my house, unable to function outside of it.
And then my family doctor, Dr. Todd Sykora of Allina Health in Faribault, referred me to Allina’s Courage Kenny. Sykora had seen me multiple times, determined to find a way to help me. I’d gone through a battery of tests to rule out causes like a brain tumor. I’ll always feel grateful for my doctor’s genuine care and compassion, for not giving up and for admitting that he didn’t have the answers. He eventually suggested vestibular rehab therapy to treat my long COVID.
That therapy would put me on the road back to good health. I was ready to try anything at that point.
Some of the exercises I did in vestibular rehab therapy. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Enter Courage Kenny therapist Ryan Iverson, who’s trained in vestibular rehab therapy. From the get-go, Iverson assured me he could help. He validated my traumatic brain injury type symptoms. And then we set to work at those weekly sessions with homework exercises assigned each week. I worked hard, experienced some setbacks, but, eventually graduated after six months. I’d reclaimed my life.
Today I am doing well, although minor sensory issues linger. But now I know how to cope, how to manage. I am living my life, doing the things I love, being with people, out and about. And I owe that to my Allina Health primary care doctor and my vestibular rehab therapist. If not for this great local care, I would still be struggling.
This sign on the Allina Health Faribault campus directs patients and visitors to the hospital, pharmacy and clinic. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I share all of this again three years later because the Allina Health system, which serves Minnesota and western Wisconsin with 12 hospitals, 60 primary care clinics, 20 urgent care centers and more than 100 specialty care clinics, has signed an agreement with California-based Sutter Health to buy Allina. And that affects me given I get my care through Allina.
From 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, the Minnesota State Attorney General’s office will host a listening session in Faribault on that proposed acquisition. I’ll be there. You can attend also, but only if you pre-register. And, if you wish to speak, you must complete a form in advance. Only then will you be notified of the community forum location.
This is an important meeting. Important because this is about healthcare. Local healthcare. I’m thankful I could get my vestibular rehab therapy in Faribault. I can’t imagine traveling out of town once a week for six months to access care. It would have been difficult and draining for me, taxing for my brain. Plus, the time and travel expense would have added to an already challenging situation.
I don’t know what will happen if Sutter assumes ownership of Allina Health in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. I expect this acquisition will happen. But I hope safeguards are put in place to continue services, to keep clinics and hospitals open, to protect the jobs of 27,000 employees.
There’s a lot at stake here for any community served by Allina Health.
Buckham Memorial Library, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The trio would be impressed by our local library, which actively promotes gardening via programming, a seed library, an organic learning garden, bee lawn, pollinator habitat and native prairie plantings. Plus, the current children’s summer reading program, “Plant a Seed, Read/Planta una semilla, lee,” themes to seeds.
Three informational panels comprise the Seedswomen exhibit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Credit info is featured at the bottom of the panels. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Lippincott, White and Prior focus the three-panel exhibit crafted from information in the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Andersen Horticultural Library.
Jessie Prior marketed herself as a “flower seed specialist.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
My love of libraries, reading, learning, flowers and vegetables drew me to the exhibit. I’d never heard of the three enterprising women who became successful in their field on a national scale. Prior, who started Prior Seed Company in 1895 at age eighteen, called herself a “flower seed specialist.”
Among the many flowers growing on library grounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Lippincott labeled herself as “The Pioneer Seedwoman of America,” operating Lippincott Flower Seeds in partnership with family. She made a point of hiring women.
Colorful artwork promotes Emma White’s company, Choice Flower Seeds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Likewise, White’s Choice Flower Seeds tapped into women, specifically female artists, to create catalog covers. She marketed to women with Sunbonnet Babies and Brownies (elf-like creatures) artwork. The previous owner of the seed company enthusiastically endorsed his successor, telling customers White deserved their business and trust.
Each of the three panels is packed with information and illustrations. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Each woman, in her own way, made her mark in the seed-selling business. Yet, together they shared the commonality of women entering business during a time when most businesses were run by men. I expect these businesswomen had to work hard to prove themselves, to distinguish themselves, to compete and succeed.
Seeds in Buckham’s seed library come from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
And succeed they did. Prior won a bronze medal in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair for the pansies she grew. White, especially active in the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, became the first to guarantee packet size rather than seed numbers. Lippincott set herself apart by arranging catalog seed offerings alphabetically. In many other ways these women promoted and grew their Minneapolis-based seed companies.
“Why Local Seed Matters” posted on a library wall. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
In the competitive world of seed-selling, the three most assuredly understood the importance of standing out. Whether through colorful, eye-catching catalogs (Lippincott), creative writing and pansy growing competitions (White) or becoming an accomplished grower of sweet peas (Prior), the three seedswomen showed business savvy.
Creativity in encouraging reading, a woodcarving, “Story Time,” by world-renowned carver Ivan Whillock of Faribault hangs in Buckham Library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
All were decidedly creative in marketing through their colorful catalogs, growing guides, leaflets and books. They shared their gardening knowledge, which likely helped grow a loyal customer base. These women were business smart. And they were strong. Those are among my take-aways from the traveling exhibit.
Posters hang throughout the library promoting the seed-themed summer reading program for kids. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The log for the summer reading program at Buckham. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Seed-themed, gardening and other related books on display at the library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
After I read the information on the panels, I entered Buckham library, thinking about Lippincott, White and Prior. I pictured them opening the drawers of an old library card catalog, now holding seed packets. I envisioned them paging through the seed and gardening books on display. And I imagined them enthusiastically encouraging kids to participate in the “Plant a Seed, Read” summer reading program.
Community members can harvest vegetables from the library’s organic learning garden. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Stepping outdoors, I saw them admiring the many flowers flourishing around the library. And they may have, like me, pulled ruby red rhubarb from the organic learning garden.
The rhubarb crisp I made with exceptionally red rhubarb from the library garden. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Afterwards, I would have welcomed my new friends, Carrie, Emma and Jessie, to my home blocks from the library. Over plates of tangy rhubarb crisp, I would thank these seedswomen for their pioneering efforts as strong, innovative and creative businesswomen. And, if they were willing, I would put them to work in my tangled mess of flower gardens.
Signage directs patients, visitors and others to various sites on the Allina Health Faribault Medical Center campus. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
ACCESS TO LOCAL HEALTHCARE ranks high on my list of necessities. I expect it does for almost everyone, especially seniors like me.
This building on the Faribault campus houses the clinic and urgent care. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I appreciate that I can go across town to see my family doctor, specialists and other medical professionals in our local clinics and hospital.
As someone who grew up in rural southwestern Minnesota with only a few doctors to serve the entire county decades ago, I deeply value living in a city with multiple clinics, a hospital, numerous therapists and more. I value local.
This sign directs patients to some of the services provided on the Allina Health Faribault Medical Center campus. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The Minnesota State Attorney General’s office is hosting the meeting to lay out details about the proposal and to get public input. It’s a process required by state law.
I care enough about local healthcare to attend. I need to learn more, to begin to understand what this could mean for me, my family and others in my community and area. Locally, Allina owns the hospital, a general clinic, specialty clinics and a sports rehab/therapy center. I’ve been a patient at these clinics, gone to therapy, used the emergency room and been hospitalized many times locally. Likewise family members have accessed Allina health services.
This shows the entrance to the hospital, left, and the space linking the clinic to the hospital. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I don’t know much about the proposed acquisition, only that I grow concerned when ownership is assumed by an out-of-state nonprofit that is massive in size. My local hospital was once community-owned, until it became part of the Allina system in 2015.
Much-needed improvements were made to the surgical and emergency departments by Allina Health. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Allina invested in the former District One Hospital with improvements to the emergency and surgical departments and more. But recently we lost our birthing center and hospital pediatric care. That’s a loss to parents and families who must now travel out of town to have their babies and get hospital care for their kids.
Talk of change always sparks questions. And it should. I encourage anyone who cares about the future of healthcare in Faribault to attend Wednesday’s public forum. This offers an opportunity to listen and to be heard.
More specialty care on the Allina Health Faribault Medical Center campus. This is located across the street from the main clinic and hospital. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
However, there are some guidelines. To even attend, and that includes media, you must register in advance online. It’s not difficult to do. But requiring online registration could easily discourage people, especially those without computer access or skills, from attending. Then, the location of the hearing in Faribault will not be disclosed until 48 hours before the meeting.
If you wish to speak at the forum, you must also register in advance. That requirement seems more reasonable. Still, it’s another obstacle.
No matter, please, if you live in the Faribault area, make attending the community forum on the proposed acquisition of Allina Health by Sutter Health a priority on Wednesday evening. Come. Listen. Learn. Become informed. Be seen. And let your voice be heard if you choose to speak.
UPDATE, Sunday, July 26: Please click here to complete a survey by Sam Temple, a Faribault resident, documentary filmmaker, local historian, candidate for Rice County commissioner and more. Temple plans to share concerns and stories at the July 29 forum. You can complete his survey, “Share Your Allina Story,” anonymously if you wish.
Chocolate chip cookies (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
THE OTHER MORNING, after I finished baking a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I stepped outside into an ideal summer day. The temp hovered around 70 degrees with a sky that transitioned from sunny to cloudy and back. Freshly-laundered sheets and towels hung on my backyard clothesline. All was good in my world.
But it was about to become better. Not because anything extraordinary happened. Rather a decision I made to pick a bouquet of flowers flipped my day into a feel-good, generous day.
I grabbed a clippers from the garage, headed to my messy front yard flowerbeds and started cutting phlox. The purple, pink and white flowers run rampant among equally untamed ferns anchored by hydrangea.
As I clipped and gathered, I breathed in the strong perfume scent of these flowers that some may consider weeds—only if they are unwanted—but which I love. They are, simply put, lovely.
Once I had a sizable clutch of phlox, I started back to the house. And then I saw her, the young woman walking down the sidewalk towards me. In that moment, I decided my fresh floral bouquet would be hers. I asked if she was heading home soon. She was.
I extended the flowers to the 20-something, told her I wanted her to have the bouquet. I advised her that the phlox were delicate, might last a few days. She thanked me, smiled the most beautiful smile and said she would put the flowers in water as soon as she got home.
A kindness rock found in Montgomery, MN. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Our interaction, our conversation, was brief. Yet, it was deeply meaningful. To be able to give something to a stranger, to extend kindness, uplifted me. I hope the young woman felt likewise.
I watched my new acquaintance walk away with her flowers, then went back to clipping phlox. I gathered a bouquet for myself, all the while thinking about the importance of kindness, even small, spur-of-the-moment acts of kindness that can flip a day for the giver as much as the recipient.
TELL ME: Please share your kindness stories. I’d like to hear how you’ve either given or received kindness recently.
Identifying signage for some of the property owners along Horseshoe Lake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
FOR MANY MINNESOTANS, going Up North to the lake cabin for a week in the summer is a time-honored tradition. They go to the same mom-and-pop, or luxury, resort. Stay at the family cabin. Or camp at a private campground or state park.
Mission Tavern, a local gathering spot just south of the cabin. We have not been here. Yet. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
They fish. Swim. Boat. Hike. They dine out and shop and play hard. It’s all part of the experience.
The northwoods cabin where we stay each summer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Seven years ago, I finally joined this Minnesota summer-time phenomenon when a sister-in-law and brother-in-law purchased lake property and opened the on-site cabin to family. Every summer since, Randy and I have headed to Horseshoe Lake south of Crosslake in the Brainerd lakes area for a week-long get-away.
A warm welcome banners a business in Garrison, on the way to the cabin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I’ve grown to know and love this region of north central Minnesota, decidedly different than southern Minnesota. Here woods and pristine lakes define the landscape. Narrow tree-lined gravel roads trail into the woods. Personalized signs identify cabin locations. Boats, bait and beer are common refrains.
The sun rises over Horseshoe Lake in Crow Wing County during a previous visit. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
For those of us who come here to vacation, this place provides a respite from everyday life, a peaceful place to plant ourselves for a bit. Lounging lakeside. Dining lakeside. Drinking coffee as the sun rises over the lake. Reading lakeside.
Loons in Horseshoe Lake south of Crosslake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Here the unique call of loons carries across the water. Here rods bend as weighty fish take bait. Here the sun sets on a campfire complete with s’mores. Here time has no clock.
Grandpa and grandchildren follow the pine-edged driveway in one of my favorite cabin photos. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
And for me, cabin life means, above all, being with family. Our eldest daughter, her husband and their two elementary-aged children join us for several days. I love sleeping under the same roof, the grandkids in a loft, the adults in two bedrooms.
We gather around the campfire for s’mores and stories. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I love gathering around the same table for meals. Grilled pork chops, burgers, hot dogs, veggies and, one evening, take-out pizza. I brought banana bread and chocolate chip cookies from home to share. And this stay we picked up a made-from-scratch-daily Grandma Bettie Jane’s blackberry/peach pie from Schaefer’s Foods in Nisswa to celebrate the son-in-law’s birthday.
Grandpa fishes with the kids. This year they each reeled in sizeable bass, which were released. Another lunker fish snapped the line. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I love playing games. Some numbers game dreamed up by math whiz Isaac, 7, who seemed determined to stump Grandma. Or BUILDZI, a tabletop game challenging players to stack uniquely-shaped blocks into a tower. No bumping the table, please. And when the grandkids left and quiet settled in, Randy and I played Yahtzee.
Copper Cats Escape Games in Brainerd offers three escape rooms rated by level of difficulty. The one available happened to be the easiest of the trio, perfect for newbies. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
But before everyone left, when extreme heat confined us to the indoors, the daughter suggested booking an escape room at Copper Cat Escape Games in Brainerd. I’ve always wanted to try this mystery endeavor. And so we did, looking for, solving and following clues to unlock locks, eventually leading us to Granny’s secret recipe. There was no sitting in a rocking chair for this Grandma. I was in the thick of the action, good at finding, not so good at deciphering. It was a whole lot of fun, earning a top rating from me.
Moonrise over Horseshoe Lake near Crosslake. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Not so easy, though, was sifting through sand searching for a small plastic toy dinosaur that Izzy, 10, found in the lake, buried on the beach and then couldn’t find. Our efforts turned up nothing. But this search is now the stuff of family stories.
The Andersons have been making memories on Horseshoe Lake in the Brainerd lakes area since 1968. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Up North at the cabin is about sharing stories, about connecting, about making memories and about understanding that, above all, family matters most.
TELL ME: Do you get away with your family to a special place each year? I’d like to hear. I should note here that I would love to have all of my family—the son and his girlfriend from Boston and the second daughter and her husband and our other grandson from Madison, WI.—together with us at the cabin. Maybe some day…
Coneflowers and other flowers are in full bloom in the on-site gardens. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
I’m detail-oriented. So when I was at the fairgrounds with my camera several days in advance of the fair, I focused on signage and other evidence of fair prep and readiness.
The smallest of signs in the fairy garden. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
In the Rice County Master Gardeners Teaching Gardens on the east side of the fairgrounds, among all the plants and flowers, I found the smallest of welcome signs. In the fairy garden. Usually tiny figurines occupy the space along with small-scale plants and stones. But, none were there yet during my Saturday evening walk.
The Pledge of Allegiance on a banner in the sheep barn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Over in the sheep barn on the opposite end of the fairgrounds, patriotic and 4-H banners, yet to be hung, draped pens.
The grandstand ticket booth. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The ticket booth was locked tight outside the grandstand, awaiting paying customers.
A cartoonish pig fits The Pork Booth concession stand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Likewise concession stands were shuttered. I’m drawn to signage like that on The Pork Booth, which leaves no question about the food served there. The Rice County Pork Producers sell pork chops on-a-stick, pork burgers and pulled pork.
Barnyard signage honors a long-time fair board member. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
This fair is rooted in agriculture as noted by the line of barns stretching along the south side of the fairgrounds. A sign on the children’s barnyard honors Diane Hohrman. She started the barn for kids. The Northfield woman, who died in 2017, served on the fair board and was as an adult leader of the Big Giants 4-H Club for 33 years. I’d say Hohrman deserved this name-sake barnyard in her honor.
Bench signage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Small Holstein Club signs label benches outside the barns, a nod to a breed of cattle. My dad raised Holsteins, which I helped care for while growing up. But I wasn’t in any clubs, including 4-H. No time for that, Dad said. He needed his kids on the farm, not going to meetings or working on projects. That may have been short-sighted on his part. But I wasn’t arguing when Dad needed me in the barn or field.
Beautiful potted flowers outside one of the barns. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The fair provides a good opportunity to learn about agriculture for kids and others not connected to rural life. That’s reality, vastly different from my youth when nearly all of my peers lived on small family farms.
A reminder from Rice County Public Health to wash your hands after going in the animal barns to prevent spread of disease. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copy
To celebrate agriculture up close with animals at the fair seems necessary in a time when many are a generation or more removed from the land. So the fair comes and goes each year, reminding us of our, or at least Rice County’s, agrarian roots.
TELL ME:What do you like best about a county fair?
Voting instructions photographed in an historic building in Rice County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I LIKE TO BE an informed voter. So this evening presents an ideal opportunity to learn more about candidates vying in the August 11 primary for three open seats on the Faribault City Council.
A candidates forum is slated for 7 p.m. today, July 20, at the Washington Rec Center, 117 Shumway Avenue, Faribault.
A banner hangs in Faribault’s downtown historic district. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
THREE QUESTIONS FOR 10 CANDIDATES
All 10 Faribault residents on the ballot—Jack A. Cluck, Thelma A. Estrada, Kameron Gustafson, Natalie Halverson, Katie Howard, Brett Pollard, Jacob Reed, John Rowan, Lexi Temple and Paul Wunderlich—have been invited to answer three pre-written questions and then mingle afterwards with attendees.
Those questions are:
What distinguishes you from the other candidates?
What is one concrete policy you would champion?
What is one thing about Faribault you hope doesn’t change?
A moderator will run the forum with candidates asked the same questions in a randomized order.
I look forward to hearing from these individuals who want a seat on the council. I’ve already met several and certainly know incumbent John Rowan. It’s important to understand their viewpoints, their goals, their plans and more as Faribault grows, changes, evolves.
A message posted on a house in neighboring Dundas during a past election. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo.)
HOT TOPICS
Already I know of topics of concern: a proposed data center in Faribault, property taxes, government spending, inflation, housing, privacy concerns over usage of Flock cameras by local law enforcement, a proposed community center…
It’s heartening to see 10 people running for city council, people willing to give of their time and talents to represent Faribault residents. I just want to know more about them so I can make an informed vote.
THANKS, SAM
I’m grateful to Sam Temple, life-long Faribault resident, local historian, documentary filmmaker, director of advancement for Faribault Community Television, active in local government and now a candidate for Rice County commissioner in the third district, for hosting this evening’s forum. Note that Temple’s sister, Lexi Temple, is on the ballot. But Sam states that he is not endorsing any candidates for city council.
Please plan to attend if you’re a Faribault resident and become informed as early voting is already underway for the August 11 primary in Minnesota.
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
My take on the state-hosted Allina-Sutter community forum in Faribault July 31, 2026
Tags: Allina Health, Allina Health Faribault Medical Center, commentary, community forum, health, healthcare, listening session, Minnesota State Attorney General's office, news, proposed acquisition, Sutter Health
I’VE BEEN SITTING on pages and pages of notes from a community forum held in Faribault earlier this week on the proposed sale of Minnesota-based Allina Health to California-based Sutter Health. The Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office hosted the meeting, which drew around 200 people.
The intent of the listening session, according to Attorney General Keith Ellison, was to evaluate if the proposal is in the public interest. He cited concerns like wages, competition, unions and access to services. By state law (Statute 145D.01), Ellison is required to consider public input and then make a decision.
But Wednesday’s listening session, which allowed those who signed up in advance to comment for one minute each, seemed anything but a community-oriented event. Rather, Sutter flew in top leaders. Likewise Allina was well-represented by leaders and employees. This seemed well-orchestrated and slanted toward the proposed acquisition. Sixty-two people, nearly all healthcare leaders or professionals and others in leadership positions, spoke.
AVERAGE PERSON UNHEARD
I felt like the average person, the patients, the people in my city and surrounding areas served by Allina Health, were not well-represented. Maybe it’s their fault for not showing up more than they did. Maybe they weren’t aware of the meeting. Maybe they were, like me, intimidated by speaking before a crowd. Maybe jumping through the hoops to comment and/or register online and then waiting to learn the meeting location proved too technologically difficult. I think all factored into the voice of everyday people being mostly left unheard. Two friends of mine who registered online never received email notification of the meeting location.
I didn’t speak. I could have. But I’m uncomfortable standing in front of and addressing a large audience. I’d prefer a roundtable approach, where every voice, not just those of polished professionals, is heard, in person, not via a comment form.
AN IMPACTFUL STORY
Yet it was the voice of a rural Faribault resident who made the most impactful comment of the evening, in my opinion. And it was because of a personal story he shared. Stories connect us, proving to be undeniably powerful in making a point.
This man spoke of a neighbor finding him unresponsive, an ambulance transporting him to the Faribault hospital and then learning from his healthcare team that he had been within minutes of death. His point: He likely would not have survived a longer transport to a hospital in another community.
“If we have to go back to the municipal model, let’s do it,” he said. The Faribault hospital was community-owned until Allina bought Rice County District One Hospital in 2015. And now, 11 years later, change could be, likely will be, coming again with a large California-based healthcare nonprofit buying a smaller Minnesota healthcare nonprofit.
FROM OUT OF STATE & BIGGER
That concerns me—a much larger entity from out of state buying a healthcare system that currently provides services throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin, including in Faribault and neighboring Owatonna. Allina just recently closed Faribault’s birthing center.
The CEOs of both Allina and Sutter used the word “partnership” multiple times in describing the proposed purchase of Allina by Sutter. In my head, I was thinking, “Call it what it is, a sale.”
EMPHASIS ON LOCAL CARE
Allina CEO Lisa Shannon, stating that “healthcare is in real trouble,” something we all know, promised access to affordable and high quality care, keeping the patient as close to home as possible. Likewise Sutter CEO Warner Thomas said several times that “Local care is best care.” I agree. I prefer local to going out of town for my healthcare, although I understand sometimes that’s necessary.
I hope the two CEOs mean what they said. Numerous commenters asked for assurances in writing to protect patients and employees. That seems a valid request.
TECHNOLOGY & FINAL THOUGHTS
The topic of technology also came up repeatedly in referencing benefits of the acquisition by Sutter Health. That bothered me, not because I don’t consider advances in technology in healthcare to be important, but because technology was emphasized so much. It is people who are at the heart of healthcare, not technology.
I could write much more about the positives and negatives expressed during the state-hosted listening session. But rather I’ll stop, hoping that the distrust, doubts and concerns I feel are unwarranted. I will continue to stay informed.
I hope, if this purchase happens, that healthcare in Faribault remains strong—available, accessible and affordable for everyone. That means no closures, no loss of services. I hope I can continue to get most of my healthcare locally from professionals I’ve grown to know and trust. That’s important to me, especially as an aging Baby Boomer.
THOUGHTS?
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling