NOT EVERYONE LIKES THEM. Rabbits, that is. They can be a nuisance, nibbling, even devouring, garden flowers and vegetables. I understand that justified dislike. My oldest daughter, who has been trying to establish a flowerbed in front of her Lakeville home, battles rabbits every year. They win, mostly.
But this week, rabbits are in good favor. Or should I say at least one rabbit is welcomed. That would be the Easter Bunny, bearer of candy. I will like him a whole lot if he drops a delivery of Reese’s pieces eggs (peanut butter candy in a crunchy shell) off at my house…because I limited my Easter candy purchase to one bag. I bought Robin eggs, which are malted milk candy in a crunchy shell, for Randy as they are his favorite. And they were reasonably priced at $2.48 for a 9-ounce bag. Cost—around $5 for most bags of candy—kept more candy out of my shopping cart. Not even the grandkids or my two out-of-town adult children will get chocolate bunnies from me this year. They’ll have to hope the Easter Bunny comes through.
Ah, Rabbits. I really do like them. I’m amazed at their swiftness, hopping across yards, including mine, at seemingly record-breaking speed. Yet, they can also sit statue still and commence a stare-down.
That brings me to the mammoth rabbit statue which sits along Minnesota State Highway 68 in Wabasso in southwestern Minnesota. I attended high school in this rural community named after a Native American word meaning “white rabbit.” Our school mascot was Thumper. No jokes, please. I heard plenty of bunny jokes decades ago. I am forever proud to be a Wabasso Rabbit. I mean, who has a school mascot that interesting and unique? A name that actually connects to history and place and is found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “The Song of Hiawatha.”
Just the other evening I saw some unique rabbit art at the Paradise Center for the Arts. I was sitting at the annual PCA membership meeting when I spotted this art in the gallery. When the meeting concluded, I hopped (well, not quite, but the word fits here) over to look at the work of Minneapolis artist Karen Peters. She explores color through printmaking, creating relief prints. Rabbits are among the subjects of her prints.
Now I expect my eldest daughter, given her dislike of rabbits, would probably favor Peters’ “More Rage” print. Amber has raged more than once about invasive rabbits and their path of destruction.
Me? I rather like Peters’ “Spiro rabbit” print with its contrast of black rabbit lurking among yellow flowers created with a Spirograph. The last time the grandkids stayed overnight, I pulled out the Spirograph, a geometric drawing device that has been around since 1965, way back when I was a kid. That Peters used this popular art tool to bloom flowers into her rabbit print shows out-of-the-box creative thinking.
Upon leaving the Paradise, I passed by Mill Town Cycles, glancing at the window display to see more creativity. You guessed it. There was another rabbit, this one poking through the grass to sniff a bee. It was a cute scene, perfect for spring, perfect for Easter.
Whether you like rabbits or not, universally-speaking, the Easter Bunny seems like a rabbit we can all love. As long as he stays out of the garden. And brings lots of candy.
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FYI: The art of Karen Peters, Justin Peters, Clayton Hubert, Scott Maggart, Gail Gaits, Sushila Anderson and Bethlehem Academy students will be on display until May 10 at the Paradise Center for the Arts in historic downtown Faribault. I photographed the art of Karen Peters with permission of the PCA. The white spots in my photos of her framed art are unavoidable glare on the glass.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Town hall talk, a commentary March 20, 2025
Tags: 1st Congressional District, Americans, commentary, concerns, democracy, DFL Senate District 19, education, Faribault, farming, federal government, Minnesota, opinion, Representative Brad Finstad, social issues, town hall meeting, veterans
I DEBATED FOR SEVERAL DAYS whether I should write this post, because it could be misconstrued as purely political. It is not. Rather this is a story about a grassroots gathering of people sharing information, ideas and opinions. Democracy at its core. This story is about us as Americans—listening, learning, agreeing or disagreeing, and letting our voices be heard.
Tuesday evening I attended a town hall meeting in Faribault hosted by DFL Senate District 19. It was open to everyone, regardless of political affiliation. But the crowd was decidedly Democrat, as you would expect given the hosting group. Republican Brad Finstad, who represents the 1st Congressional District in Minnesota, was invited, but did not attend. His district includes parts of Goodhue, Rice (where I live), Steele and Waseca counties in rural southern Minnesota.
Some 300 constituents packed the space, overflowing into adjacent rooms. Yes. Even I was surprised by the turn out. That tells me a whole lot of people have concerns about what is currently happening at the federal level and how government action is, or will, impact them. I expect not a single American will be untouched, whether directly or indirectly, by slashes in government personnel and funding and/or by changes in domestic and foreign policies.
Town hall organizers lined up speakers to address topics covering a broad range of subjects affecting a whole lot of people and programs—farmers, education, healthcare, seniors, veterans, those with disabilities, communication, nonprofits and much more. I was impressed by how well prepared these speakers were with facts and statistics. I learned a lot.
I’m not going to give you a detailed report of what each speaker said. Rather, I want to share several messages or phrases which really resonated with me and which should resonate with every American, no matter who they voted for. The phrase “we the people” was repeated by one speaker and embraced by the crowd. “We the people” means us. Americans, not members of one political party or the other. And, yes, I’m well aware of how those words from the preamble to the Constitution are being used politically as a mantra of sorts. But in this context, “we the people” references our right to speak up, to be heard, to tell our elected officials what we think and what we would like them to do as our representatives in Washington DC. That can be done by attending town halls like this; the meeting was video taped and will be sent to Representative Finstad. We can be heard via phone calls, emails and letters. We the people have power in our voices, in our votes, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent.
Secondly, a local educator asked the crowd and Finstad to ask themselves this question: “How are the children?” So, yes, how are the children, when many live in poverty, when federal funding for education is in imminent danger of being mostly cut, when…fill in the blank here? I think we can all agree that children are our future and we ought to care about their health, happiness, education and much more.
Third, one of the speakers shared that, as someone of the Catholic faith, he is called upon to help others. He called upon Representative Finstad, who is also Catholic, to do the same. That means feeding the hungry (funding USAID, for example), protecting Medicaid and Social Security, etc. all of those ways and places we help one another as human beings in this country and abroad. Now I’m not Catholic; I’m Lutheran. Doesn’t matter. My faith compels me to show love, compassion and care for others, especially those in need. America once did that as a country. Generously. But that is changing. We have bounty and resources we can share to help starving children, to provide medical care, to help others in any way we can. It is the right thing to do as a nation blessed with great bounty.
Fourth, a local farmer spoke about $3.2 million in contracts with farmers in our district which have now been broken by the U.S. government. The consequences will be devastating to those farmers who have already invested those federal monies in their operations. Trust has been broken, she said. I think we can all agree that when a legal contract is broken, it’s a breach of trust.
There’s so much more I could share from that town hall session. But I want to conclude with this. I encourage you, if you have the opportunity to do so, attend a town hall meeting. Listen. Learn. Engage. Let your voice be heard. Remind your elected officials, too, that they need to listen, learn and engage.
FYI: A second Town Hall Meeting hosted by DFL Senate District 19 is set for 6 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Mineral Springs Brewery, 210 N. Oak Ave., Suite 1, in Owatonna. It will follow the same format as the Faribault Town Hall with a moderator, speakers and an open mic. Representative Brad Finstad has been invited.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling