Minnesota Prairie Roots

A mural on the back of a downtown Pelican Rapids building.

VIEW A COMMUNITY ONLY from its public front face and you miss seeing the entire portrait of a place.

Pete the Pelican

On a recent visit to Pelican Rapids in northwestern Minnesota, a side pathway between buildings led me to the Pete the Pelican sculpture.

And more—a unique suspension footbridge

and art on the backs of businesses.

Pelican Rapids, as you might rightly guess, identifies itself with pelicans. An early history of the town states that enormous pelicans circled overhead as they moved towards their nesting area at the upper rapids.

And so the pelican became this town’s symbol…

© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling