Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

When buying a coffee maker is about more than buying a coffee maker March 7, 2020

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I wanted a coffee maker just like this. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2017.

 

MY COFFEE POT SPRANG a leak. A few days ago I filled the pot for my usual morning cup only to have water gush onto the counter. It took me a moment to determine what was happening before I moved the pot to the sink, then wiped up the mess flooding the countertop and the floor. Only then did I notice the small hole in the bottom of the glass carafe.

No morning cup of joe for me.

Later I went to a local big box store to buy a replacement. Except no replacement was to be found in the size and name brand I desired. So it was either go without coffee for another day or buy the off-brand for $10 with a one-year warranty. That worked.

Now why do I tell you this story? Because it relates to the Coronavirus. Sorry, the COVID-19 tag doesn’t stick with me.

I’d heard stories about stores selling out of antibacterial sanitizers, soap, cleaners, over-the-counter meds… But those reports came from the Twin Cities metro and I doubted that applied to Faribault, an hour from downtown Minneapolis. But it appears people here are stocking up, too, although not me. Not yet.

In the soap aisle, I found shelves nearly cleared of liquid antibacterial soaps. I buy the mega size of liquid soap (not antibacterial) and then pour the soap into a dispenser. Randy commented on that choice, wondering whether I was stocking up because of the Coronavirus. Nope, I always buy the larger size to save money. How could he not notice?

Anyway, then it was on to the coffee maker aisle, where I’d already requested Randy to scout the choices. I didn’t expect a shortage. As we stood there moving boxes, looking for the size and brand I desired, we joked about people buying out the smaller coffee pots due to the Coronavirus.

Now don’t get me wrong, I consider this current outbreak serious. I first became personally concerned several weeks ago when an infected person was treated at a Madison, Wisconsin, emergency room. My second daughter works as an independent healthcare-related contractor in that hospital and learned about the case from her sister in Minnesota who read about it in the media. That didn’t give me much confidence in the system. But Wisconsin has reported no additional cases. So that’s good.

Anyway, back to those coffee makers. When I texted the Minnesota daughter about the shortage, she texted back, “People need their coffee if they will be quarantined.” Yes, they do.

Sometimes you just have to find a humorous angle in a situation or worry can overtake you.

While paying for the coffee maker, soap and other purchases, I asked the big box clerk if customers are clearing shelves of deemed preparatory essentials related to the Coronavirus. She answered in the affirmative.

As we wheeled our cart out the store, past a pallet of antibacterial spray, I wondered whether we should be stockpiling anything. How about you? Are you stocking up due to the Coronavirus? If yes, what are you buying?

At least I now have a working coffee maker. And coffee. That’s something.

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FOLLOW-UP added at 5 pm Friday: Within hours of finishing this post on Friday, I learned of the first “presumptive case” of Coronavirus in Minnesota via media reports. An “older adult” in Ramsey County tested positive for the virus, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. At the time of the announcement, the word “presumptive” was used because the Centers for Disease Control had yet to officially confirm the positive test.

The infected individual is now isolated at home in Ramsey County while health officials investigate and attempt to determine who may have been exposed. The individual was on a cruise ship with a known Coronavirus case. State Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm stated in a press conference Friday afternoon that the COVID-19 positive person in Minnesota “largely has been at home.” Symptoms reportedly developed on February 25 with the individual seeking medical attention Thursday.

The focus now is on containment and prevention, officials repeated as they reminded Minnesotans to cover their coughs, wash their hands with soap and water, and stay home if they are sick. They emphasized the need to protect those most at risk—older people and individuals with underlying health conditions. Those exposed to the infected person will be quarantined, officials said.

Our capital city of St. Paul is located in Ramsey County, thus we’re talking a heavily-populated metro area. And the daughter who joked with me about the coffee maker, well, she and her family live in Ramsey County…

 

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

From Faribault: The art of youth March 6, 2020

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A streetscape by Brooklyn, Faribault Lutheran School. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo March 2017.

 

SEVERAL DAYS AGO, I tore a sheet from a coloring book, sat down and colored a picture of a butterfly and flowers for my nearly four-year-old granddaughter. Isabelle asked for art, something she can look at when she misses me. She remembered my comment about thinking of her whenever I see her art displayed on my fridge.

As I colored, including Izzy’s favorite purple and pink, I thought of this sweet little girl and how much I love her. And now this art would visually connect us in our absence from one another.

Art is powerful. In this instance, it shows Izzy that I love her, that I am always here for her, even when I’m not.

 

Viewing student art inside the second floor gallery at the Paradise Center for the Arts. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

This evening marks the opening reception for a favorite annual local art show, Area Student Exhibition, at the Paradise Center for the Arts in historic downtown Faribault from 5-7 pm. Art created by students from elementary to high school age and from 10 area schools will line hallways and gallery space on the second floor.

The show runs through April 10.

Every single year the work of these young artists impresses me. Part of the credit goes to teachers and parents who guide them. But most of the kudos go to the youth. They are the ones who do the work, although I hope they don’t consider creating art to be work or just some assignment they need to finish. I hope they find joy in the thinking, in the doing, in the creative process.

 

Henry Johnson of Nerstrand Charter School created this vivid work of art. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

For those of us who are artists—and I consider myself one as a writer and a photographer—making art is a passion. I love words and writing, whether a blog post, an essay, a feature story, a poem, a short story or a piece of creative nonfiction. I love using my camera to photograph the world around me. I love telling stories via my images and my words. Creating brings me joy.

Will Izzy create like me some day? Who knows? For now she primarily embraces the performing arts, dancing her way into my heart with her sweetness, her hugs, her “I love you, Grandma,” and the occasional ballet performance.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

From Wisconsin: Quick, look before the snow melts March 5, 2020

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An iconic Wisconsin farm site photographed from Interstate 90 on February 15.

 

OH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE a few weeks make. I’m talking snow cover here. With temps rising into the 40s, even 50s in some places in Minnesota, and sun shining bright in the afternoons, the snow pack is diminishing.

 

Photographed on February 15 while traveling along Interstate 90 in Wisconsin, this tree stand appears like an island in an ocean of snow.

 

I can now see patches of grass in my lawn, curbing along streets and indications that we are getting closer to spring. As a life-long Minnesotan, though, I recognize the potential for lots more snowfall, even into May.

But for now, we’re delighting in days that lean toward spring. Sixty degrees is forecast for this weekend. Imagine how that will facilitate snow melt. And lift spirits.

 

This hillside barn is located near Madison, in an area more urban than rural.

 

That all said, I’m finally getting around to sharing snowscape photos I took in mid-February while traveling along Interstate 90 in Wisconsin, eastbound toward Madison. Scenes along that route are becoming familiar to me now given the frequency of trips to visit our second daughter, her husband and our son in the capital city.

 

A pastoral scene along I-90 in southern Wisconsin.

 

Wisconsin, for all the jokes about beer, brats and cheese, and fan fanaticism for the Packers and Badgers, is a lot like Minnesota. Friendly folks. Diverse landscape. Mostly rural with just enough urban. Interesting. I’ve enjoyed exploring Madison from botanical gardens to art museums to a repurposed mill next to my son’s apartment building.

 

In the valley east of La Crosse, the length of this barn along I-90 impresses me.

 

A picturesque farm site sits in the valley.

 

Another long barn.

 

 

With the exception of Rochester, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin, the four-hour drive to Madison from Faribault takes us primarily through rural regions. I especially like the area east of La Crosse where high rolling hills border farm fields and farm sites in the valley. Hills and wide sky dwarf the farms, a strong visual that always impresses upon me our smallness in this vast universe.

 

This scene, especially, emphasizes our smallness.

 

Such are my thoughts as we travel. I never tire of looking at these rural scenes, often wishing we had time to follow backroads deep into the hills. We did once, years ago while vacationing, and nearly lost our way such are the twisting paths within those hills.

 

Nearing Madison, a traditional farmhouse and barn define this farm.

 

I digress. I expect if I was to photograph these sames scenes today, they would appear much different with snow no longer defining the landscape. What a difference only a few weeks make…

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reminders to “be still” & the value therein March 4, 2020

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Minnesota Prairie Roots edited file photo December 2017.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN to be still?

The answer to that, I suppose, can be far-ranging depending on context. Ask a child to be still and you likely want them to sit quietly. Waiting.

Ask an adult to be still and you likely want them to listen.

Waiting and listening. Both are important in relationships, in communicating, in understanding.

Now take those two words and consider them from a faith perspective. Be still and know that I am God. That scripture, Psalm 46:10, has once again—thrice in the past several days—popped right before my eyes. And I mean that in the literal sense although “popped” may be a bit of a stretch. While reading the book, Red Letter Challenge, for a Lenten series focus at my church, that bible verse showed up on page 19 in the introduction.

Only two days prior I found Psalm 46:10 penned in my handwriting on an envelope buried in a drawer I haven’t looked in for months.

And then, yesterday, I found a bookmark inside Troubled Minds—Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission by Amy Simpson (a book I’d highly recommend) and gifted to me by a dear friend. She’d tucked the bookmark, with the verse, Be still and know that I am God, inside. I read the book months ago. But a recent sermon on the stigmas of mental illness by the pastor at my friend’s church, Emmaus in Northfield, prompted me to pull the Simpson book from the shelf. And then rediscover the be still bookmark. I’d highly recommend you listen to this sermon series about the “no casserole disease.”

But back to Psalm 46:10. I’ve written here previously about that scripture first emphasized to me by my friend Steve. And then soon thereafter, during an especially challenging period in my family’s life, the bible verse just kept showing up. In hymns, devotionals, on a child’s drawing, on a print in the public restroom of my mom’s care center, on a handcrafted paper angel…

Some might call this coincidence. I don’t. As a woman of faith, I believe these words were meant to be imprinted upon my heart. Psalm 46:10 reminds me that even in the midst of chaos, God is here, with me, carrying me through difficult days, encouraging me to be calm, to be still, to understand that I am not alone.

Nor are you alone. As human beings, we all hold the capacity to be there for one another. To sit quietly. To listen. And then, when we can, offer compassion, support, hope and encouragement. To bring the hotdish when no one else does. To love and embrace. To be there.

THOUGHTS?

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A reminder to vote on Super Tuesday March 3, 2020

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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped African Americans exercise their right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Stephen Somerstein photographed Bobby Simmons, a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committe. Simmons was wearing zinc oxide to prevent sunburn and wrote VOTE onto his forehead. This photo shows a section of Somerstein’s portrait of Simmons showcased in an April 2015 exhibit, “Selma to Montgomery: Marching Along the Voting Rights Trail,” at St. Olaf College. I photographed the photo with permission. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2015

 

VOTE. I encourage you, if you live in one of 14 states with primaries today, Super Tuesday, to vote.

This is not a political post. This is simply a strong suggestion that you exercise your right in our democracy.

As I pondered this subject, I was reminded of an exhibit, “Selma to Montgomery: Marching Along the Voting Rights Trail,” which I viewed at St. Olaf College in Northfield in April 2015. The 45 black-and-white images of the 1965 Civil Rights Movement by photographer Stephen Somerstein and more impressed upon me the importance of the right to vote.

I’d suggest you read that initial post by clicking here.

And then, go to your polling place and vote. It’s your right and your responsibility.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Yeah, the Little DQ opens in Faribault February 28, 2020

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Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo of the Little DQ of Faribault.

 

JUST AS WINTER BEGINS to feel too long, a sure sign of spring springs forth in my southeastern Minnesota community. The Little DQ of Faribault opens today. And the masses are rejoicing, if Facebook is an indication of how much locals welcome need this break from winter.

Every year for the past several, Randy and I, like so many others here in the land of cold and snow, have embraced this re-opening of the walk-up/drive-up Dairy Queen at 309 Lyndale Avenue North. The cozy ice cream shop closed for the season on November 1, while the larger Dairy Queen Brazier, just down Minnesota State Highway 60 to the west, stays open year-round.

 

Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

Around this time each February, the Little DQ opens with a Peanut Buster Parfait special, this year priced at $1.99 (same as last), limit of three, from February 28 to March 1. The deal is good at both locations. But you can bet the lines will be longer at the smaller DQ. This place holds nostalgic charm. That coupled with the traditional spring opening special draw winter-weary ice cream lovers.

 

Set against a backdrop of snow, the Peanut Buster Parfait. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

Never mind the calories—710. It’s best not to think about those as you dig into the hot fudge, the peanuts, the sweet sweet ice cream.

It’s seldom Randy and I indulge in Dairy Queen. But this Peanut Buster Parfait special, well, we can’t let it pass. We sit in our van with the heater blasting warmth while we enjoy our first unofficial taste of spring.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Congrats to these area groups for award-winning tourism promotion in southern Minnesota February 27, 2020

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The historic Security National Bank building backdrops this banner in historic downtown Faribault. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo April 2019.

 

TRAVEL. When you read that word, what flashes through your mind? Travel abroad? Destinations within your region or state? A cross-country road trip? Whatever your answer, travel is a big industry on levels from local to national to international.

This week those involved in Minnesota tourism gathered in Alexandria to share ideas, to connect, to celebrate. Tourism, after all, ranks as a $16 billion industry here, according to the Explore Minnesota website.

During the 2020 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference, individuals and organizations were recognized for their accomplishments. And that includes entities from my region.

 

Faribault tourism’s newest billboard along Interstate 35 north of town promotes attractions in my Minnesota community. Minnesota Prairie Roots edited photo April 2019.

 

To my friends at the Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, congratulations on winning the Destination Marketing Award for best “Branding and Integrated Marketing Campaign.” The branding of Faribault as “Making American Stories” is catchy and timeless. As I see it, this theme engages not only our past, but also the present and future. I’ve witnessed our local tourism team working hard to get the word out about Faribault, to draw people and businesses here. For a day. For a life-time. I especially love the new banners around town that define areas like the historic district, the mill district and more.

 

This vintage wagon promotes tourism and the Minne-Roadtrip that includes the communities of Faribault, Northfield and Owatonna. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

More kudos go to the Faribault tourism folks, and also to those in Owatonna and Northfield, for their tri-city marketing of “Minne-Roadtrip.” The group won the Destination Marketing Award in the “Special Project” category for their work in marketing the three neighboring cities as a destination. I especially appreciate their joint efforts to promote regional tourism. Often we can achieve more through cooperation than alone.

 

Signage in downtown Montgomery promoting Kolacky Days. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo January 2020.

 

Finally, my congratulations to the Montgomery Area Community Club for earning the Destination Marketing Award in “Niche Targeting.” You all know how much I love Montgomery as evidenced by my many posts about this town of some 3,000 in Le Sueur County. The Community Club focused on growing and promoting Kolacky Days, an annual summer celebration honoring the town’s Czech heritage. Montgomery is located in what is commonly known as Minnesota Czech Country.

 

A close-up of the banner posted outside Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault.  Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

 

Wherever you live—whether on the vast plains of the Dakotas or in the heart of a city dense with skyscrapers or in an historic community like mine—I hope you appreciate the place you call home. I value Faribault for its historic downtown, its natural beauty, its arts scene, its diversity…and for the friendships I’ve formed here, in this place where I write American stories.

Click here to read background details about the above referenced awards.

Disclaimer: I’ve previously written about Faribault for the local tourism website.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Montgomery revisited, Part I February 26, 2020

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A section of downtown Montgomery, Minnesota, with its many historic buildings.

 

I DOUBT I’VE WRITTEN about any small Minnesota community more than I’ve written about Montgomery. Located within a half hour of my Faribault home, it’s a quick drive away. And Montgomery offers just enough to keep me returning.

 

Signs always draw my eye, including this one. It’s simple, nostalgic…

 

Especially interesting is the downtown with eye-catching signage, aged buildings and home-grown shops.

 

Among the sweet offerings at the long-time, popular Franke’s Bakery.

 

An old-fashioned bakery.

 

Outside the entry to the Montgomery Arts & Heritage Center located in Hilltop Hall.

 

A thriving Arts & Heritage Center.

 

Beer to go at Montgomery Brewing.

 

A brewery with outstanding craft beers.

 

The friendly young man I met while photographing downtown. He paused to let me pet Buddy.

 

Friendly people.

 

Everywhere downtown you’ll find signs promoting kolacky.

 

A deep appreciation for the area’s Czech heritage. Combine those and you have a small town that appeals to me.

 

Third-generation Franke’s Bakery is known for its kolacky.

 

I recognize that what interests me may not interest you. But there’s something to be said for small towns with a strong sense of identity and pride in that identity. For Montgomery, it’s the tag, “Kolacky Capital of the World.” The kolacky is a bun-like Czech pastry filled with a fruit or poppyseed filling. Risking the wrath of the Czech, I will tell you that it’s not a favorite of mine. I’d choose a doughnut before a kolacky. But then I am of German descent and was not raised in this area of Minnesota.

 

Stand in the grocery store parking lot and you can see the grain elevator in one direction, the brewery in another and the main street through downtown, too.

 

None of that matters really. What matters is that I like Montgomery. Unleash me with a camera in this town and I get excited about the photo ops, all the ways I can capture the essence of this place. If my creative work is anything, it has always been about defining place.

 

Spotted in the window of a downtown business. These handwritten signs give a place character.

 

I will always feel most comfortable in a rural town like Montgomery. I appreciate a place where I can view a grain elevator, spot handwritten signs on business doors and windows, chat it up with the locals, stop to pet a passerby’s dog and stand in the middle of Main Street to take a photo without worry of traffic.

Now that my photo essay about Montgomery has published in the March issue of Southern Minn Scene magazine, I am free to share more photos from my January day trip to this Le Sueur County community. Enjoy and watch for additional posts highlighting Montgomery as I, once again, define this place in images and words.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Montgomery, Through a SoMinn Lens February 24, 2020

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A scene outside Franke’s Bakery in downtown Montgomery, Minnesota, on a recent Saturday morning. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo January 2020.

 

SEVERAL WEEKS HAVE PASSED since my last day trip to Montgomery, a small Minnesota town of some 3,000 about a 30-minute drive from my Faribault home.

Randy and I went to Montgomery specifically to view an exhibit of 1900s era photos of Native Americans by noted photographer Edward S. Curtis. The exhibit at the Montgomery Arts & Heritage Center closes this Saturday, February 29. You can learn more about that show by clicking here and reading a previous post.

My reason for writing about Montgomery today is to share my latest Through a SoMinn Lens photo essay column, “Day trip to Montgomery, Kolacky Capital of the World,” which just published in the March issue of Southern Minn Scene. To see the current issue of this free lifestyle, arts and entertainment magazine, click here.

As always, I am delighted to showcase a small Minnesota community well worth your visit. As time allows this week (I’m trying to complete other writing projects with deadlines), I will share more Montgomery photos with you. Enjoy!

And if you have any suggestions of small towns (or attractions) in southern Minnesota that I should visit, please pass along your ideas.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Pass the salt, please, or not February 20, 2020

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Interstate 90 in Wisconsin is noticeably white from road salt. It was like this all the way from La Crosse to Madison last weekend.

 

WHEN YOU’RE ON THE INTERSTATE for nearly four hours, you start to notice things. Like the semi drivers seemingly nodding behind the wheel as their rigs hit the rumble strip or drift toward your lane. Or the guy driving with his window open on a cold February afternoon because maybe, just maybe, he’s trying to stay awake. Or the driver who can’t wait even a second as he tailgates, then swoops around on the right before cutting in front of you.

All of this happened on a recent trip to and from Madison, Wisconsin, along Interstate 90. In addition to the questionable, and often frightening behavior (especially by four professional truck drivers), I noticed something else—a heavily-salted interstate. I-90 in Wisconsin stretched before Randy and me like ribbons of white.

 

There was much less salt, if any, on I-90 in southeastern Minnesota.

 

By contrast, I-90 in Minnesota appeared mostly clear of road salt. Why the difference in bordering states? I don’t know the stance Wisconsin takes on salting to cut snow and ice. But I do know that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is shifting toward a more conservative use of salt due to concerns about salt entering our waterways. We are, after all, The Land of 10,000 Lakes.

 

This sign along I-90 welcomes travelers to Minnesota along the Mississippi River by La Crosse, Wisconsin.

 

In media reports I’ve heard and read, MnDOT is taking a technological and scientific approach to treating roads in an effort to reduce salt usage. That includes pre-treating roads before storms (which uses less salt), relying on calibrations, factoring in temperature and other data to determine how roadways should be treated. It’s no longer simply a load up the trucks with salt and sand and chemicals and get out there mindset.

I appreciate this respect for our natural resources, this shift in thinking. Just remind me of that the next time I complain of icy roads or sidewalks. Or the next time Randy and I throw salt down on our icy driveway or sidewalk.

© Copyright 2020 Audrey Kletscher Helbling