I COME FROM A LONG LINE of engaged citizenry rooted in the rich dark soil of the southwestern Minnesota prairie. On that land, generations of my family used their voices and skills to create change, to make the place they called home a better place. My paternal great grandfather, Rudolph, started that engagement by helping found a Lutheran church in my hometown. Pre-building, congregants met in his farmhouse.
From that church to school boards to county boards, from elementary schools to high schools to college campuses and more, countless family members have served and continue to serve others by representing them, crafting policies, improving lives. I am proud of that legacy.
Now you might ask, what about you, Audrey? I, too, have served, but in a different capacity. I’ve never held a desire to lead, to run for elected office or even sit on a board. Rather, I’ve observed, used the written word to inform others. During my years working as a newspaper reporter, I covered endless county board, city council, planning and zoning board, school board, caucuses and other meetings. I learned a lot about how government does and doesn’t work during those many hours of scribbling notes, gathering quotes, writing news stories. I learned, too, that individual voices matter and are heard. And I shared that in my unbiased, balanced reporting.
Today I craft writing that is not straight news reporting, because I am no longer a newspaper reporter. Rather, my writing is personal and sometimes opinionated. My voice matters…as much as anyone’s.
While coming of age near the end of the Vietnam war, I began writing angsty poetry about the war. I purchased and wore a POW bracelet, a thick silver band that wrapped around my wrist. It was engraved with the name of an American soldier held as a prisoner of war. I also wrote the occasional opinion piece for my high school paper. Not about the war, but on other topics.
It was my dad, a dairy and crop farmer, who inspired me to voice my thoughts in the May 24, 1974, issue of my school paper, Rabbit Tracks. In an opinion piece titled “Farmers Develop Backbone of America,” teenage me wrote about low farm prices and how farmers were struggling to survive. I had witnessed my dad dumping milk down the drain during a nationwide protest by the National Farmers Organization. All these decades later, I more fully understand how difficult that must have been for Dad. He depended on income from milk sales to provide for our family. But he sacrificed and let his voice be heard in that NFO protest.
Sunday evening I listened to another farmer voice his thoughts, this time in the open mic part of a Town Hall meeting attended by hundreds in nearby Owatonna. He drove from Janesville to share concerns about how tariffs will negatively affect his farming operation via market loss, dropping crop prices and rising costs for everything from tractor parts to fertilizer and fuel. This farmer of 60-plus years pleaded with his Congressman, Representative Brad Finstad (a fourth-generation farmer who was invited but did not attend), to listen and to do something. It was a powerful and particularly emotional delivery.
Emotions are running high right now across this country. I cannot imagine anyone who would disagree with that. We may disagree on policies, decisions and leaders. But we still—as of this writing—have a voice, even as efforts to suppress our voices continue. We can protest, like my 82-year-old uncle did on Saturday at the Minnesota State Capitol. We can attend town halls to learn, to speak, to let our voices be heard. We can contact our elected officials via phone and/or email and tell them what we think. We can engage. We can vote.
A long line of speakers and attendees of all ages addressed numerous topics from veterans’ issues to education to housing to healthcare to democracy and more at the Sunday Town Hall in respectful conversation. The common threads weaving through the event were a deep concern for what is happening in our country and to assure our voices are heard.
I leave you with this opinion piece published in the October 15, 1974, issue of my high school newspaper. An 11th grader wrote about posters she created and which students were defacing. Here’s Mary’s closing sentence in a letter to the editor titled “Keep Hands, Pens Off”: A lot of time and effort has been put into these signs and the least you can do is keep your hands off of them. If everyone is so anxious to write something on the wall, make your own posters. How applicable those words are to today.
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NOTE: I welcome respectful conversation here. That said, I moderate all comments on this, my personal blog, and make the final decision on publishing comments.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Audrey, aside from food, (which both of us seem to enjoy!) I also agree with you farmers form the back bone of this nation (or any nation for that matter), Early in my family history – an ancestor Elias Rachie was a Minnesota Congressman and is buried in Red Wing, Minnesota.
Farmers are facing crippling manufacturing (and other issues) from Farm Equipment companies that car and truck buyer have been facing for years, That is making the equipment so complicated that a simple fix is no longer possible.
An Air Force General Nathan Twining I believe , in his book “Neither Safety Nor Security” explained how we ended up in Viet Nam.
Not sure what DJT is doing with the Tax Import Tax but I do agree that everyone should be concerned – but it was that tax that the US Government ran on until the Personal Income Tax Codes were written, These taxes (Morrell Tax I think) was the actual reason that the “Civil War” (which it wasn’t) was about. Not slavery).
One HAS to do a LOT of reading – reading books that were written in and around that time or just after to start seeing the light). The Hot product of the day was “King Cotton” (grown only in the South) which was exported & taxed at the insulting and staggering rate of about 48%. which proceeds were used to fuel the North’s industrial revolution. (whole reason the tax collector at Fort Sumpter refused to abandon one of the most lucrative (now) Northern tax collector bases in the former USofA Country – remember, South Carolina had left the Union and HAD its’ own standing army.
Many politicians are on my father’s side as well as Confederates (which is why this Yankee boy picked up books profusely reading about it and why I questioned you on one of your sources).
Terrible that we are in such a stage of distrust of the government or the intent of others or politicians are more concerned about themselves than they are about the people they represent.
If we do not study history, we are doomed to repeat it!
Gunny, I respect that you read lots of history books. You are correct that we learn from our past. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Audrey, you are the performer and see beauty where you find it. I am a one-on-one type of guy restricted by trying to make a point in a language that uses too many words to make a point – or in this case many points. So, you do way better than I can. Understand that I am learning stuff that we as children should have been taught. THANKS for being here.
Thanks, Gunny, although I’m uncertain about your calling me a “performer.” That I am not. Like you, I am always learning. We may not always agree on everything, but I appreciate that we can have some interesting discussions.
I’m so proud of you and your family’s legacy and all of your important roles in your great state of Minnesota. You have had a voice for many years, and thank you for sharing the many ways you have actively voiced your opinions and stood up for what is important in your community and continue to do so, especially in these very challenging times in our country, states, and local communities. It is people like you who inspire us and keep us informed through it all. Thank you so much for all you do.
You are welcome, Beth. We each do what we can with the skillset we have. I appreciate your voice so much and that you, too, are standing up during these challenging times.
each in our own way, that’s what we do
So true!
The budding protests that are appearing across the country are, I hope, a sign of spring, as well as a heritage of resistance and community building.
I hope those in power pay attention to the resistance. I don’t know how they can possibly ignore the rising masses.
Learning about your dad’s involvement years ago was interesting. His voice counted, your voice counts, and so does mine. The piece about keeping hands off the signs was interesting too. At the Hands-Off rally, on Saturday, there were many creative, hand-written signs which were made by individuals, with sentiments for the common good.
When I was paging through those old issues of my high school newspaper, I thought that “hands off” story was so fitting for today. I’m glad you participated in the Northfield protest. And, yes, lots of creative signage based on the pix you shared with me. I fully intend to participate in future hands off rallies. Yes, our voices matter. I used my voice today to, again, email my congressman.
And, yes, that protest by my dad was especially memorable. I recall churning butter when he was dumping milk. His actions made quite an impression on me, carrying through to today. Our voices matter. To remain silent seems almost complicit.