Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

In Kenyon: How a small town police chief connects via Facebook December 3, 2015

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
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Kenyon's Boulevard of Roses cuts through Minnesota Highway 60.

Kenyon’s Boulevard of Roses cuts through Minnesota Highway 60. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

ABOUT 15 MILES TO THE EAST of Faribault lies the town of Kenyon. Other than roses planted along the boulevard of Minnesota State Highway 60, Kenyon appears your typical southern Minnesota farming community. Hardware store. VFW. Restaurants. Grocery store. Municipal swimming pool. Police station.

Kenyon, Minnesota, welcomes visitors to its recent Rose Fest.

Kenyon, Minnesota, welcomes visitors to its annual August Rose Fest. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

But look a little closer, online closer, and you discover that things operate a little differently in Kenyon. Specifically in the police department. Police Chief Lee Sjolander, according to a recent story in the Kenyon Leader, “highlights the positive, human side of law enforcement with Facebook.”

And that he does, so I confirmed after checking out the Kenyon (MN) Police Department Facebook page penned by the Chief. With introspective, encouraging and uplifting words, often mixed with humor, this policeman shows care and compassion for those in his community of around 1,800.

Don’t just take my word for it. Read the Chief’s thoughts on thankfulness, safe driving, the challenges of his job and more. Read his encouraging words to a commenter who feels like an outcast. Read how his department is helping those in need at its annual Garage of Goodness, a give-away event set for noon to 4:30 p.m. December 5.

View the photos and read the stories in the Chief’s “My hands, my story” series.

Laugh at the postings in his “Life with my teenage daughter” series.

Cats roam the farm and kids chase after them.

Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo used for illustration only (not photographed in Kenyon).

See how he cares for wandering dogs and cats in Kenyon.

His posts get hundreds of likes.

In a day when law enforcement officers are less and less appreciated, it’s refreshing to see the support given to the Kenyon Police Department, to read the words of a police chief who cares deeply and passionately for those he serves.

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Check back on Friday to read another story that originates in Kenyon.

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Creativity unleashed at Bethany, my alma mater January 14, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:05 AM
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TYPICALLY, COLLEGE ALUMNI magazines hold my interest only long enough to thumb to the section where class updates are printed. I read those and then toss the publication into the recycling bin.

But recently, the bold, artsy cover of the November issue of the Bethany Report, the alumni magazine of Bethany Lutheran College, caused me to take a closer look at an article detailing the school’s new media arts program. I’m a Bethany grad, which in 1976 offered only a two-year associate arts degree to undergraduates.

Today this scenic hilltop campus in Mankato offers an array of four-year degrees, including one in communications, my eventual major at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Oh, how I wish majors and minors had been available back in my Bethany years, because I loved that small Christian college.

All of that aside, today’s Bethany students with an interest in communications, the fine arts and technology can enroll in the media arts major. I don’t pretend to know how Bethany’s program compares to that of other colleges.

I did my own editing on this recent photo of a Bethany billboard along U.S. Highway 14.

I did my own editing on this recent photo of a Bethany billboard along U.S. Highway 14.

But when I saw that magazine cover design emphasizing the media arts program and then an equally vivid, eye-catching billboard along U.S. Highway 14 near Janesville recently, I was impressed enough to visit the BLC website.

There I clicked onto a portfolio showcasing the creations of current and former students.

I’m no expert on the fusing of art, technology and communication. But I liked what I saw. And perhaps that uninformed spontaneous reaction counts for more than the dissected opinion of anyone in academia.

© Copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

I cave in to technology November 17, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:41 AM
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I GOT A NEW CELL PHONE 2 ½ weeks ago. Big deal, you say.

Well, if you’re me, this is a big deal. You see, up until Halloween, I did not own a cell phone.

I know, I know, that is difficult to believe. But I have, for years, resisted getting a cell phone. I told myself I really didn’t need one and couldn’t justify the added monthly expense.

Then my second-born handed over her cell phone before leaving for a six-month stay in Argentina. I got used to having the darned thing. When she returned to the United States and I had to give her phone back, I kind of missed it. Yet, I didn’t cave in and get my own phone.

But then she went to Argentina again and, before leaving, handed over her cell phone for the second time. That did it. Upon her return in October, I got a cell phone and so did my husband and our 16-year-old son. Our two daughters upgraded.

I still cannot believe that we (I) did this. Me, the last hold-out in modern civilization now owns a cell phone with a slide-out keyboard. And I am texting, yes, texting.

 

 

My new, very own, fancy schmancy cell phone with slide-out keyboard.

 

Initially I balked at the very idea of texting. Why would I want to text? How could I possibly tap out a message with my thumbs on such a small keyboard? I am. (It doesn’t work to use your index finger; I tried that.)

I won’t win any texting contests. I’m slow. And the writer in me struggles with the language of texting—the abbreviations, lack of proper punctuation and capitalization.

But…I’m adapting. I type “u” for “you.” I punch “r” for “are.” It is sad and pathetic and I feel almost like a traitor to the English language. I wonder if someday while writing a story, I’ll write like I’m texting.

That brings up an interesting point. How will this style of communication affect today’s younger generation? Will they know how to spell? Will they be able to write complete and properly punctuated sentences?

Will they know how to communicate face-to-face?

I am sounding like an old-timer here. I realize that. But when I consider advances in my lifetime, technology marks the biggest change. I grew up in a house that, for the longest time, did not have a telephone. When my parents finally got one, we were on a party line and answered our number—2074—to two long rings.

During my freshman and sophomore years of college, the one phone in my dorm was four floors down and shared by everyone.

I remember when I thought getting a cordless phone was a big deal. I still have that free-range phone and my corded landline.

How many phones does one woman need? Do I really, truly, need a cell phone? I still struggle with justifying the expense.

That is me, though. I’ve always been frugal and slow to embrace technology and change. I wasn’t the first in line to buy a microwave, a computer, a VCR or…fill in the blank. My television is a freebie garage sale 1990s vintage set. It works just fine, thank you, unless the weather is humid or windy. (Yes, I rely on an antenna for reception.)

Now I have this cell phone. I suppose eventually I will want to upgrade to internet capabilities. But first I need to learn how to check my voicemail, take photos…

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE on cell phones and how they impact our lives? What are positives and negatives? Share your thoughts in a comment to Minnesota Prairie Roots. I’d like to hear.

If you wish to congratulate me on my cell phone acquisition, feel free to do so. You won’t be the first, though, to do so.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling