Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Weather update: Tornado touches down near Faribault April 29, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 11:18 AM
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These are the most menacing (at least to me) clouds I’ve ever photographed. I shot this image in July 2011 on a friend’s country acreage between Faribault and Nerstrand. I don’t have any photos from yesterday as I was hunkered in my basement. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo July 2011)

I OWE YOU a weather report.

The much-touted level 4 risk (out of 5) of severe storms here yesterday did not materialize. At least not in Faribault. But just to the east it did. A confirmed tornado touched down southeast of town in Richland Township, destroying several farm buildings and damaging a silo on a neighboring farm. That’s close enough for me. I feel badly for that farm family. Property damage was also reported by the Rice County Sheriff’s Department near Morristown, which is southwest of Faribault.

While that was happening, Randy and I were sheltering in our basement after warning sirens sounded just before 5:30 p.m. I’d prepared, earlier in the day gathering documents and items (yes, including my camera and Randy’s hearing aids) that I didn’t want blown away in a storm. My retired National Weather Service friend, who grew up in southwestern Minnesota, was keeping me updated on the weather throughout the day.

“PLEASE, JUST GET HOME.”

The biggest issue for me was that Randy was not yet home when the emergency sirens went off. I’d tried several times to reach him at work late Monday afternoon to warn him of the bad weather moving into our area. But his cellphone mostly doesn’t work inside the pole shed style garage in the countryside near Randolph. I texted and called numerous times in hopes that he might actually be in a part of the building with cell reception. I finally resorted to phoning the main garage in nearby Cannon Falls. Ideally, whoever answered could ring up Randy in the machine shop. That didn’t happen.

While I wanted Randy home, I really just wanted him safe. A pole shed, with no place to shelter, offers no protection during a storm. And I had no idea how weather-aware he was staying. Probably not too much given he’s swamped at work. He can’t hear warning sirens either.

In the end, it all worked out. Randy pulled into the driveway after sirens had been sounding for awhile. He’d stopped at the Faribault compost pile to drop off plant debris rather than driving directly home. Really? While sirens are wailing and a storm is moving in?

THREE LAUGHING EMOJIS

I recognize that Randy doesn’t fear storms. He doesn’t have the storm history that I do. I’m the one hustling us to the basement. It’s a bit of a joke with our adult kids. The second daughter, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, texted yesterday, “Randy, get in the basement!” with three laughing emojis. Humor helps in a tense situation.

Many Minnesotans were not laughing yesterday as storms rolled in with tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings resulting in damaging winds and hail and that confirmed tornado between Faribault and Kenyon.

FEELING GRATEFUL THIS MORNING

This morning the sun is shining, popping through massive clouds in a deep blue sky. Crisp, cool air has replaced the heat and humidity of yesterday. Snow even fell in parts of northern Minnesota. Yesterday’s storms are behind us. I, for one, am thankful that strong tornadoes did not develop, that the National Weather Service and Twin Cities TV meteorologists prepared us and kept us informed, that my NWS friend, Brad, updated me and that Randy finally got home. Now, if only his cellphone would work inside that pole shed a 32-minute drive away. I’d feel much better next time severe weather rolls in.

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TELL ME: If you live in Minnesota or a neighboring state, did you experience any storms and/or storm damage on Monday? How do you react to storms, including warning sirens going off?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Finding peace & more on a spring day at River Bend

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
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This small memorial plaque honors parents and River Bend with joyful words. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

FOR YOU SHALL GO out in joy, and be led back in peace. Those words from Isaiah 55:12, printed on a memorial plaque by a tree near the River Bend Nature Center interpretative center, summarize well my feelings about this spacious public area of ponds and river, woodland and prairie in Faribault. Whenever I arrive here, I come with joyful anticipation. I always leave feeling refreshed, at peace. Nature has a way of infusing happiness while simultaneously calming the spirit.

I love the contrast of textured white bark against the bold blue sky of a sunny spring afternoon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

After a long winter, which wasn’t particularly harsh by Minnesota standards, River Bend draws friends, families, couples, individuals and students to experience the unfolding of spring, me among them. This time of year, perhaps more than any other, I am cognizant of the natural world evolving, changing, teeming with life.

Buds unfurl as temps warm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

In the shelter of woods, buds tip trees, unfurling with each warm and sunny day until the barren gray branches of winter morph into a canopy of green. We’re not quite there yet. But I see the greenery. I doubt there’s a green more intense than that of early spring.

Pockets of green along the Straight River bottom. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Sunlight slices shadows onto the path to the Turtle Pond and spotlights greenery. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Sunlight illuminates patches of grass growing among limestone. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

On recent hikes at River Bend, I noticed vivid swaths of green by the Straight River, scattered patches of green on the forest floor, tufts of greenery clinging to a rocky hillside. Green. Green. Green.

Lazy turtles on a log cause me to stop and linger. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
And sometimes turtles choose to hang out alone. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

At the Turtle Pond, I delighted in the emergence of painted turtles, a cluster of them sunning themselves on a weather-worn tree lying near pond’s edge. Others chose to sunbathe alone. I am always fascinated by these creatures. They impart a sense of serenity, perhaps giving us permission to pause and enjoy the simple things in life. Like watching lounging turtles, reminding us that life’s pace needn’t always be hurried.

A family walks along a trail near the river. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
Natural entertainment…balancing on a tree branch. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)
About to load up the bikes after biking at River Bend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

I especially appreciate seeing families outdoors. Walking. Balancing on a fallen branch. Biking. Being away from the distractions of busy schedules and technology and everything that intrudes on time together outside in nature.

River Bend proves a popular place for humans and dogs. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

In the woods, we are sheltered and embraced while walking side-by-side, close to one another along narrow pathways. Conversations happen. We notice things, like squirrels scampering across dried leaves that hide as yet unseen spring wildflowers. Birds flit. The woods are beginning to awaken within our vision and hearing.

From a hilltop overlook, I view a diverse landscape of prairie and woods. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

Outside the woods on the prairie, I feel exposed but innately comfortable for I am of prairie stock. I know this wind. I know this wide sky. I know these tall grasses. This landscape would please Willa Cather, American author who wrote of the Great Plains and life thereon. In her novels, she shared a deep love of the land, of place.

That blue of pond and sky…beautiful to behold. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

At the prairie-side pond, I stop to take in water and sky and land—below, above and beyond. The deep blue of the pond, a reflection of the blue sky, contrasts sharply with the muted brown of dried pond grasses and reeds. The scene is painterly beautiful.

River Bend covers hundreds of acres and is one of Faribault’s greatest treasures. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

My time at River Bend always leaves me feeling better as I forget about worries and responsibilities, deadlines and everyday distractions.

A sizable deer population lives at River Bend. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo April 2025)

Upon exiting the nature center, I am offered one final gift—three deer leisurely grazing alongside the road. They hold minimal fear of humans, so comfortable are they with the many visitors here. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if the deer would rather we just move along rather than watch them with wonder, our eyes, our souls, seeking joy and peace.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling