Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Standing in strong solidarity on No Kings Day in Faribault March 28, 2026

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One of my favorite signs, expressing truth no matter your political affiliation. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

WE GATHERED, 175 STRONG, in Faribault on Saturday morning for the third nationwide No Kings Day protest. In a city which is decidedly red, this number impresses. This marked a record turn-out, far surpassing our top participation of eighty. I saw many new faces. And a few new dogs.

This shows only a small portion of the line of protesters, some of whom brought their dogs. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

From a preschooler, who plastered stickers onto a cardboard sign and held his mom’s hand, to a first-time protester in her eighties, and all ages in between, we came.

The Faribault protest site is along Minnesota State Highway 60 outside the Rice County government services building. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

We stood along Minnesota State Highway 60 in this city of 25,000 an hour south of the Twin Cities to raise our voices. We care about this country enough to step up and speak out. And not a single one of us was paid to protest, as some erroneously claim.

We came with hope and energy and enthusiasm.

Another favorite sign, for its message, creativity and humor. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

We came, too, with our signs. Grievances. Concerns. Demands. Strong statements in support of freedom, democracy, voting rights, immigrants… Strong statements against the leadership in this country, immigration enforcement, the war in Iran. Strong statements about the state of the nation, the economy, whatever worries us.

When I saw several protesters without signs, I offered extras I brought. Pulling the signs from the back of the van, I asked them to put the signs back before they left. They did.

My friend Ann, center, came in a flower power sweater she handcrafted. I absolutely love this vintage 70s look, which fits protesting. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

We came in our red Norwegian resistance hats and our handcrafted flower power sweaters and our Rebel Loon shirts.

A sign, with a humorous twist, that shows deep concern about Trump’s presidency. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

We came, too, with our music, a guitarist and a bagpipe player adding a celebratory tone to the event. This was, after all, also a rally for like-minded folks who care about each other, their neighbors, this community, this state and America.

The Rebel Loon, on the backs of these shirts, has become a symbol of resistance in Minnesota. The loon is our state bird. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

It felt good to stand in solidarity, to talk and smile and lift each other up. To not feel so alone in one’s beliefs in a mostly Republican town.

My husband, Randy, made and carried this humorous sign, which garnered lots of laughs. And compliments. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

It felt good also to laugh at humorous signs. To compliment those who made especially creative signs. To recognize that every person lining the sidewalk on both sides of the highway had a vested interest in publicly standing up for what is right and good and decent.

I walked the protest line, welcoming protesters, looking at their signs, thanking them for coming, encouraging them to return next Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon.

This is not done. This resistance.

As a Christian, this sign really resonates with me. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo March 2026)

We will continue to come with our signs. We will come with our peace and Minnesota state and American flags. We will come with our stories and our words and our voices.

We will come in the spirit of peaceful resistance. In the spirit of resilience and strength and compassion. We are, and remain, Minnesota Strong.

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THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the No Kings Day protests at 3,100 sites across this nation today. A special thanks to those who showed up in Faribault. To those I invited, those I met, those I knew from past protests, know how much I value you and your voice. To the estimated 100,000 who attended the flagship event at the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul, thank you for showing the world the strength of Minnesotans. To protesters who gathered in other countries, this American is grateful for your support. Continue to stand strong in solidarity for freedom. We must. We will.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Protests planned along I-35 & across the country March 25, 2026

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A protest in downtown Minneapolis in January, at the height of Operation Metro Surge. (Photo credit: A cousin who lives in south Minneapolis.)

THIS MARKS A BIG WEEK for anyone concerned about the future of this country under the leadership of President Donald Trump and his administration. That includes me. This is a week of unified nationwide protests.

I’ve protested so many times already—in Faribault, Northfield and Owatonna—against what’s unfolding in America that I’ve lost count. And lest anyone thinks peaceful public protests don’t matter, they do. This is one way to raise our voices, to stand up for democracy, to protect our voting rights, to support our immigrant neighbors, to oppose that which is morally and ethically wrong. To resist and publicly stand for freedom, justice, peace, and much more.

This Thursday and then again on Saturday, concerned Americans will rise up, not in a violent insurrection, but in peaceful protest. Using our voices and our signs, we will make our statements. And, living in a primarily “red” community like I do, it’s especially important for me and others to take a visible public stand.

At a NO KINGS protest in Northfield in October, protesters stand along busy Minnesota State Highway 3. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2025)

BRIDGE PROTEST ALONG I-35

The week’s protests begin on Thursday with a No Kings Democracy Bridge Protest along the Interstate 35 corridor from Minnesota to Texas. If Faribault had a bridge over the interstate, we’d be out there. We don’t. But only a short drive to the south in Owatonna and Medford, organized protests on bridges are planned from 4-5:50 p.m. on Thursday. Protesters gathering on 46 bridges over and along I-35 will hold letter signs (rather than individual signs), spelling out messages, making the words highly-visible to the millions traveling this corridor. Messages like: NO WAR NO KINGS and YES DEMOCRACY—NO KINGS 3/28!

This shows a portion of the people protesting in Faribault on a frigid February morning. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

NO KINGS DAY PROTEST

Thursday’s border-to-border bridge protests are a lead-up to the main event, the third nationwide NO KINGS protest on Saturday, March 28. Here in Faribault, we will gather outside the Rice County government services building along Minnesota State Highway 60 from 11 a.m.-noon as we have every Saturday for almost three months.

I’ve stood there in frigid cold, in a snowstorm, in near 80-degree temps. And I’ve met the most wonderful people. Individuals who care deeply about this country. People who value freedom, democracy, justice, peace, their neighbors… We bring our signs, sharing whatever concerns us, whatever we want the public to read. Some bring American, Minnesota state and peace flags. And this past Saturday, a man wore an inflatable frog costume. A passing motorist brought us doughnuts.

We stand united, overwhelmingly supported by those who drive by, waving, giving us the thumbs up, honking their horns. But, of course, we are also flipped off, have profanities shouted at us, and are threatened by drivers of over-sized pickup trucks who drive dangerously close and fast, rolling coal. They are attempting to intimidate us into silence.

I was holding this sign when a driver told me to “find Jesus.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo by Randy Helbling)

And then there was the driver who last week slowed and shouted, “You need to find Jesus!” I held a sign with a message to love each other. A young man next to me held a “peace, not war” sign. I believe Jesus would have approved of our signs.

My friend Larry, in his eighties, told me he hadn’t protested since the Vietnam War. But he’s joined us in Faribault for many of our Saturday morning protests. People of all ages partcipate. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

FLAGSHIP PROTEST IN THE TWIN CITIES

This Saturday we will hold our signs again in Faribault. To the north in the Twin Cities, protesters will gather at noon to march from three sites in St. Paul to the Minnesota State Capitol. The Twin Cities is the flagship location for the March 28 NO KINGS Day protest. At 2 p.m., an impressive line-up will lead a rally. Those include Senator Bernie Sanders, Jane Fonda, Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and the boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. The musician will perform his anti-ICE song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”

In the words of Springsteen, “We will take our stand for this land.” We will raise our voices. From the small towns and cities of the Heartland, from rural and urban areas coast-to-coast, Americans will rise up and peacefully protest. Unified in purpose. Determined. Standing strong.

FYI: To learn more about the Thursday protests on I-35 bridges, click here. To find a NO KINGS Day protest location near you, click here.

ADDITIONALLY, the people of the Twin Cities have been awarded the 2026 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for their actions during the massive federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Click here to learn more about that award, which will be presented at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on May 31. So proud of you, Twin Cities, and all other Minnesotans who stepped up, helped, protested, etc. during Operation Metro Surge. That includes right here in my community of Faribault.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

“Evening Prayer for Our Nation” planned at Bishop Whipple’s church in Faribault February 2, 2026

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(Promo courtesy of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour)

FIFTY MILES FROM THE NON-DESCRIPT Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building currently housing ICE detainees in Minneapolis, a beautiful, aged cathedral rises high in the heart of Faribault. Wednesday evening, February 4, that magnificent, massive cathedral—Bishop Whipple’s church—will center a community gathering.

The historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, 515 Second Avenue Northwest, across from Central Park in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2025)

Beginning at 7 p.m. the historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour will open its doors for “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” in support of Faribault’s refugees and immigrants. The Cathedral’s pastor, the Rev. James Zotalis, and the Rev. Henry Doyle will lead the event, which includes prayers, readings, music and teachings from Bishop Whipple.

Organizers also promise networking opportunities and information about ways to help others.

A mural on the back side of the Central Park bandshell in Faribault features a portrait and information about Bishop Henry Whipple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Bishop Whipple, who shepherded this congregation while serving as the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota beginning in 1859, would surely be pleased with the upcoming gathering just as he would surely be displeased with the imprisonment of detainees at the federal building bearing his name. He would likely be standing alongside protesters protesting immigration enforcement and asking to visit detainees inside.

This clergyman focused his ministry on “justice and mercy for all.” And that is evidenced in his ministry to the Dakota both in Faribault and parts west in Minnesota and then at Fort Snelling. Whipple went to the fort and ministered to the Dakota held captive there following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

When 303 Dakota were sentenced to hanging after the war, Whipple traveled to Washington DC to ask President Abraham Lincoln to spare their lives. Lincoln pardoned most, but 38 were still hung in the nation’s largest mass execution.

Encouraging words posted near a garden in the heart of downtown Faribault many years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

If Bishop Whipple was alive today, I expect he would be doing everything in his power to help anyone threatened and/or taken by ICE and CBC. But because he is not here, it is up to us to help. I know many people in my community are helping quietly behind the scenes. Walking kids to bus stops. Giving co-workers rides. Delivering groceries. Donating money and food. Volunteering.

Wednesday evening’s “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” is needed, too. It’s needed to bring people together in community, to unite, to uplift, to pray, to share, to recharge, to publicly support our neighbors, to find tangible ways to help. Bishop Whipple would feel grateful. He cared. And so should we.

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FYI: Whether you live near or far, Faribault nonprofits are in need of donations to help families sheltering in place during ICE operations in Minnesota. This is not just a Twin Cities metro enforcement. Many communities in greater Minnesota, including mine, are suffering.

Please consider helping immigrants and refugees in my community via a monetary donation to the Community Action Center in Faribault (Community Response Fund) or to St. Vincent de Paul. The need for rental assistance, especially, is growing.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

1984 Oceania & 2025 America December 31, 2025

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Here’s the early 1970s edition of “1984” which I read. The print was small, difficult to read.(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

MULTIPLE TIMES I NEARLY STOPPED reading the book. But I was determined to finish, although the process took weeks. Sometimes I could read many pages. Other times I had to stop, set the book aside and not pick it up for several days. Yet, I continued slogging through the pages.

What book caused me to struggle so? The answer: 1984 by George Orwell.

If you’ve never read this dystopian novel and, no, I hadn’t, you should. Written in 1949, it is so relevant to today that the book could easily be titled 2025. And that’s not a good thing.

I jotted four full-sized pages of notes while reading. And what emerged was downright scary, because the fiction Orwell penned 76 years ago strongly resembles the United States of America under our current administration.

PLOT SUMMARY

But first, a summary of 1984. Main character Winston Smith lives in Oceania, a country ruled by The Party and the unseen Big Brother, who is watching, always watching. Smith is a writer, working for The Ministry of Truth, which is anything but. Workers there are tasked with rewriting history, basically erasing the past. Censorship. Smith, however, secretly disagrees with The Party’s work and ideology. But he, like others of the same mind, must be careful, oh, so careful. No one can be trusted, as Smith eventually learns firsthand.

People are disappeared from the streets, snatched. Vaporized, as if they never existed.

Troubling words like hatred, Thought Police, thought crime and control emerge in this novel. All are connected to The Party, a party focused on absolute power, world domination, acquiring more territory, on shaping narrative, on eliminating art, literature and science.

If The Party told you that 2+2=5, you better believe that. Smith didn’t.

The Party aims for absolute dominance—authoritarian rule under a dictatorship that opposes individual freedom and seeks to control every facet of life and the mind. Children are indoctrinated, blindly following and adoring The Party, becoming little spies who will turn on anyone suspected of defying Big Brother’s ideology. A woman calls Big Brother “My Savior.” Big Brother’s image is imprinted upon a coin. The eyes are watching, always watching.

HOW WILL IT END?

As I turned page after page, I tried to hold hope that 1984 would end well, although I knew it wouldn’t. I can only hope that the fiction George Orwell wrote does not fully become our reality in America. Whether it does or doesn’t is on all of us.

We can choose love over hatred. We can choose to exercise our personal liberties by speaking up, voting, contacting our elected officials, protesting, standing strong in and for freedom. We can advocate for others, calling out wrongs, working for the marginalized, the “snatched,” those struggling emotionally, financially and otherwise. We can help, encourage, uplift. We can listen. We can remember and learn from the past, not some rewritten version of the past. We can stand up for art, science, literature, truth. We can support freedom of the press, turn to trusted and reliable media sources. We can declare that we, the people, hold the power. Not Big Brother. Not a single man or his followers. Not The Party. But, we, the people.

WE THE PEOPLE

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. —Preamble to the United States Constitution

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TELL ME: Have you read 1984? If yes, what are your thoughts in the context of today, specifically in America? Do you see similarities, relevancy? What concerns you, if anything?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A Christmas message from southern Minnesota December 24, 2025

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“Silent Night,” an acrylic painting by Adele Beals, for sale at the Holly Days Sale, Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)

THERE’S MUCH TO PONDER this Christmas as we find our nation in turmoil. Anger simmers and boils. Discord rises. Oppression continues. Peace in our country, let alone throughout the world, feels more elusive than ever. These are difficult days.

A baby in a manger at my church, Trinity Lutheran, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo December 2025)

Likewise, the newborn Jesus and his parents faced similar challenges some 2,000 years ago. They were refugees who fled their Judean homeland for Egypt under the threat of an oppressive and violent leader. King Herod ordered all baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed after learning that a “King of the Jews” was born there. He feared being replaced. When I consider a leader so cold, calculating and cruel that he would mandate the killing of any boy age two and under to retain power, well, it seems unconscionable. But it was reality. And, had I been Mary, I also would have done everything possible to save my son.

Consider that in the context of today. Here. In America. Threats to our immigrants may not be as severe as death, although some have died in ICE custody. But detention and deportation, or the threat thereof, are very real. This is happening all over the U.S., including right here in my southern Minnesota community.

Photographed several years ago along a recreational trail in Madison, Wisconsin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

For example, locally-based HealthFinders Collaborative, a community health center serving the underserved and uninsured in my area, has issued a statement that their patients, staff, volunteers and others do not feel safe due to visibly present federal agents in our communities. People are canceling appointments. People are afraid. In response to the very real fear people are feeling, HealthFinders is expanding virtual visits and is locking clinic doors. I expect those living in biblical times felt similar angst under the authoritarian rule of King Herod. No wonder Mary and Joseph fled with Jesus to Egypt.

This Christmas I can’t pretend everything is OK while hatred, disparaging rhetoric and injustices run rampant in this country. As a woman of faith, I look at Jesus and see how he lovingly embraced people. He showed love, care, compassion, kindness. To all. He would not be alright with certain groups of people being hated on. He would not be OK with people targeted, hunted, gathered, detained, sent away. Poof. Gone.

Among my favorite signs/messages at a No Kings protest I attended in Northfield this past summer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo June 2025)

If there’s any message to take away from Christmas this year, it’s that we need to stand up for our neighbors. Ask ourselves the once-trendy question, “What Would Jesus Do?” We need to voice our concerns. Resist. Help. Encourage. Follow Jesus’ lead of serving, loving and supporting those who need us most right now. And that’s not the King Herods who choose power over humanity.

In closing, I hold hope that we, as individuals and a nation, will stand strong against that which oppresses us, that which is inhumane and that which is just plain wrong. We all, whether people of faith or not, inherently understand the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Let us live as people who care about goodness, kindness, compassion, love and peace.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Commentary: I care about my neighbors, a free press, freedom & more December 3, 2025

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Protesting in Northfield at a NO KINGS rally. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2025)

I CAN’T IGNORE the news. I want to, no, need to, know what’s happening on all levels from local to international. Perhaps it’s my innate curiosity or my journalism background that compels me to read and watch media reports. I feel an obligation, especially in these challenging times, to be as informed as possible.

What I’ve been hearing and reading from the federal government in Washington DC continues to concern me. Deeply. I can hardly believe the rhetoric, the hatred, the awfulness that is flowing like hot lava from fiery mouths upon this land.

Somali women walk through downtown Faribault during a community event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

The latest is the hatred directed by our president toward Somalis living in America, including some 80,000 in Minnesota. My community of Faribault is home to many Somali Americans. The president has singled out Somalis in Minnesota with his derogatory words and planned, targeted ICE raids here. I am proud of the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul and other leaders, including the Minneapolis police chief, for speaking up and standing strong for the Somali community during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. They recognize the threat to this specific demographic. And they value the Somalis who call Minnesota home.

“Who,” I ask, “will be next? Me, because my eyes are green?” Maybe he doesn’t care for green-eyed people. Or you? Because he doesn’t like something about you.

This is a pig, not a female journalist. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

He certainly doesn’t care for journalists, especially female journalists. I realize a dislike of journalists is nothing new. But this president has gone well beyond “dislike” to outright meanness, bullying and name-calling. I never thought I would see the day when the leader of our country would chastise a reporter with “Quiet, piggy.” I never thought I would hear an American president call a reporter fat or terrible or ugly or any other adjective while hissing “fake news” at the media.

Bracelets against censorship and for rights. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

When the U.S. government launched a Media Bias page on the official White House website just days ago, I felt nothing short of outraged. This is the United States of America, where freedom of the press ought to mean something, where the media is independent of the government, where reporters have a right and a duty to accurately report the truth without fear of intimidation, public shaming, recrimination,… This newest tactic of naming a “Media Offender of the Week” ought to anger every single person in this country. I don’t care what side of the political aisle you sit on. This latest action speaks to censorship, to controlling the press, to propaganda, to anything but democracy.

I value freedom. I hope you do, too, enough to stand up for a free press, individual rights, freedom from fear, intimidation, oppression and all that threatens us. These are unprecedented times (yes, I recognize that may be an overused word, but it fits) in our country. I refuse to remain silent.

THOUGHTS?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Protesting in Minnesota October 19, 2025

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Protesters stand along Minnesota State Highway 3 in Northfield on Saturday afternoon during the NO KINGS protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

I AM AN AMERICAN, a Minnesotan, a resident of Rice County and the city of Faribault. I am a writer, photographer, blogger, poet. I am a wife, mother, grandmother. And I am also a protester.

A snapshot of a portion of the crowd protesting in Northfield, population around 21,000. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

On Saturday I joined millions across the country and world participating in NO KINGS rallies in my fourth protest since June 14. I care about America. I love America. But I don’t like what’s happening here under the Trump administration, which is eroding our democracy and taking, or attempting to take, away our rights, freedoms and, oh, so much more by authoritarian rule, force, threats, retribution, control, manipulation…

I refuse to remain silent at a time such as this. So I exercised my rights to free speech and freedom of peaceful assembly under the First Amendment to the Constitution by participating in a protest in neighboring Northfield along with a thousand or more others. We packed Ames Park along the Cannon River and lined the east side of Minnesota State Highway 3 for a block to listen to speakers, to share our concerns, to hold protest signs high, to hear plans of action, to sing and pray and reflect, and to engage in conversation.

Minnesota Highway 3 through Northfield is a busy roadway, providing a highly-visible location to protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

At times throughout the 1 ½-hour event, I protested next to a Vietnam War veteran, a mechanic, a retired professor of Spanish and Latin American literature (also a poet), a retired college office employee, a retired engineer, a retired elementary school teacher… I also mingled among countless others there for the same reason—to protest. To express our concerns about healthcare, education, the economy, immigration, due process, freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair elections, government funding cuts, the presence of military in our cities, the balance of power, the judiciary, the overreach of power, clean energy… The list goes on and on.

I saw a baby strapped to his/her mom. Kids on shoulders. Kids with signs. Young people of high school age and early adulthood. Those in their middle years. Those in their sixties, like me. And those even older, some probably pushing ninety. The turn-out for this protest was even bigger and more diverse age-wise than the one in June in Northfield on the date Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Doug, were assassinated.

Clever and creative signage is always part of the protests. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

To be among this group of peacefully protesting concerned Americans during the NO KINGS rally felt empowering. Uplifting. We were unified in our movement, even as one speaker pointed out that we may not agree on everything. Another termed what’s unfolding in America today as not “normal.” It is not, and should not be, normal. Ever.

Support from motorists passing by was overwhelmingly positive with honking horns and waves. Of course, we got a few middle fingers and intentionally roaring, racing vehicles. Only once did I feel unsafe—when a car sped by at a dangerously high speed, the driver clearly attempting to antagonize and threaten us. That was the only overt hatred I witnessed.

The crowd listens to speakers during the Northfield protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

Those of us peacefully gathered did not, as some Republican politicians adamantly and wrongly stated, come because we hate America. Far from it. We love America. That was clear in the peaceful tone of the event, in American flags waving, in recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, in singing of the national anthem, in signage, in our desire to uphold the Constitution, in our genuinely deep concern about the state of our country under President Donald Trump. In our voices rising. Loud. And free.

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NOTE: Please be respectful in your comments. I moderate all comments on this, my personal blog.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

From words on a government website to soybean markets & a crisis in rural America October 15, 2025

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Combining soybeans in rural Rice County, Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2022)

WHEN I FIRST READ the message bannering the United States Department of Agriculture website during the current government shutdown, my jaw dropped. In a two-sentence statement, “The Radical Left Democrats” are blamed for the closure of the federal government. How unprofessional, I thought, to so blatantly put politics out there on a website designed to help America’s farmers. But then again, why should this surprise me?

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is doing the same in a video message blaming Democrats for the shutdown. She expects this to be broadcast in airport terminals. Many are opting not to air her clearly political statement. And they shouldn’t. It’s unprofessional and wrong in more ways than I can list, no matter what your political affiliation may be.

But back to that message on the USDA website. It goes on to say that President Donald Trump wants to keep the government open “and support those who feed, fuel and clothe the American people.” Now that is certainly a noble statement at face value, one we could all applaud. Who doesn’t want to support our farmers? But in the context of what the President has done to farmers, the statement seems laughable.

Rural Minnesota, planted in corn and soybeans. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2024)

Here in the heartland, farmers have lost a major market for soybeans, my state’s top agricultural export. China has stopped buying soybeans from not only Minnesota, but America. That’s billions of dollars in lost income. And all because of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, begun by the man who slapped tariffs—now averaging 58 percent—on Chinese imports with a threat to increase that to 100 percent. I’m no economist. But even I understand China’s retaliatory tariffs and actions to tap other markets for soybeans. They went to Brazil and Argentina.

And now President Trump proposes sending $20 billion in aid to Argentina, all tied to an upcoming election there. Why would we bail out a country exporting their soybeans to China while our own financially-strapped farmers are suffering because they’ve lost a key market? This makes no sense to me. Again, I’m not an economist or a politician, simply an ordinary American citizen, with a farm upbringing (and who decades ago freelanced for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association), questioning the logic of any of this.

Even without the Argentinian component tossed into the mix, there’s more. President Trump has proposed an aid package for farmers to help them get through the financial crisis he created via his tariffs and the resulting trade war with China. That aid would come from the money collected from tariffs. Now I know farmers—my dad was one—are fiercely independent and would rather have a market for their cash crops than government aid. If not for the tariffs…

Trucks await the harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2022)

As the harvest continues here in Minnesota, I can’t help but feel for those who work the land, who continue to face so many uncertainties, financial challenges and stressors. Interest rates on loans remain high. Market prices remain low. Land rents continue to rise. Equipment and other costs are high. And on and on, including the loss of the long-standing soybean export market to China, which quite likely may never be reclaimed.

This is becoming a crisis situation for farmers—those who feed, fuel and clothe Americans. From fields to small town Main Street, rural America is hurting. And politically-biased blame words published on a government website aren’t helping.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

A Banned Books Week commentary on free speech October 10, 2025

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This American Library Association poster anchors the Banned Books Week display at my local library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

AS A WRITER, journalist and avid reader, I’m a firm believer in free speech. Never have I seen that right more threatened in America than it is today. It’s downright scary—efforts by the federal government to suppress voices (already occurring), promises of retribution (now being carried out), abuse of power (happening on so many levels) and much more that threatens our very freedoms, our democracy. I could go on and on.

But today I want to focus on Banned Books Week, which ends tomorrow. Thursday evening I gathered with a group of volunteers for an appreciation event at Books on Central in Faribault, a used bookshop founded by the Rice County Area United Way. While I don’t volunteer there (yet), I’ve blogged about the bookstore numerous times because I love books and I love that monies from BOC book sales help nonprofits in my area. We weren’t there to discuss banned books, though, but rather to celebrate volunteerism and this small bookshop which has become much-beloved by the Faribault community and beyond.

It was not lost on me as I sat there surrounded by books, listening to volunteers share their passion for this place and for books, that everyone who walks in the door is surrounded by choices. As it should be. Choose what you want to read or want to share with others.

A powerful and fitting quote for Banned Book Week displayed at Buckham Library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

Yet, there are individuals, organizations, elected government officials and others who want to determine what we can read by banning books from libraries, schools and elsewhere. That, my friends, is censorship. And I’m not OK with that. If I find the content of a book to be offensive, then I can stop reading it or never open it in the first place. Likewise parents can monitor their child’s reading materials just as they would online content.

A sampling of books that have been banned in various places in America. These were included in a display at my library. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

In the words of the American Library Association’s 2025 Banned Books Week theme, “CENSORSHIP is so 1984.” That’s a reference to George Orwell’s prophetic 1949 novel, 1984, about a totalitarian government. That’s a simplistic summary. But the book is particularly relevant to today. I intend to check it out from my library to reread.

Bracelets available at Buckham Library support the RIGHT TO READ. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo October 2025)

After the bookshop appreciation event Thursday evening, I stopped at Buckham Memorial Library to see if staff had created a Banned Books display as they have in the past. They did. After I read the information and looked at a sampling of books that have been banned (not from my library), I grabbed a green bracelet imprinted with this message: CENSORSHIP is so 1984. READ FOR YOUR RIGHTS.

I will continue to read. I will continue to write. And I will continue to embrace, support and advocate for free speech. I have a voice. I refuse to be silenced.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling