THIS NOTICE IS PRIMARILY for anyone living in Faribault. If you have a question, a concern, an idea, a solution or just want to connect with elected city officials and/or staff informally about city-related issues, plan to attend this week’s monthly Council Chat.
The public event, with a theme of “Open Office Hours,” is scheduled from 5-6 p.m. Wednesday, September 9, in Faribault’s Central Park. Show up, mingle and talk with city council members, the mayor and city staff. They will listen to your questions and concerns and, hopefully, provide answers, information and/or follow-up.
I’ve previously attended several of these casual Council Chats held at various locations in the city and with differing themes. But this month, the gathering is open-ended with no specific focus. I appreciate that. I value this opportunity to meet one-on-one rather than appearing before the City Council at a formal meeting or contacting city hall.
Meeting face-to-face seems a much more effective way of communicating concerns. But it needs to be done respectfully. Residents need to be heard as do those with the city. At the heart of everything should be an authentic desire to do what is best for the residents of Faribault.
Right now, my focus is on my Willow Street neighborhood. Yes, that’s a narrow perspective. But that’s OK. I need to express my concerns over speeding, crashes and a junkyard property. I want to feel safe and respected in my home along this busy arterial street. Right now I don’t feel that way. I want my voice to be heard and for something to be done to address these issues.
Maybe you have something on your mind. Data centers. Property taxes. City spending. Enforcement of existing city ordinances and laws. A problem property. Even speeding. Now’s your chance to talk with your local elected officials and city employees one-on-one, face-to-face. Let your voice be heard this Wednesday, 5-6 p.m. at Central Park.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Hearing, listening & the drone of war August 14, 2025
Tags: Alaska, commentary, hearing, listening, listening exercise, meeting, news, President Donald Trump, President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, war
IF I LISTEN CLOSELY, I can hear the incessant chirp of crickets beneath the steady drone of traffic rushing past my house. I live along a busy street, where noise is a constant except in the deep hours of the night. Even then, though, the lone blare of a siren may pierce the night silence, enough to awaken me.
I hear lots of sounds. But that’s not the same as listening. There’s a difference. Hearing is simply taking in sound waves. But listening requires intentional focus. Not only physically hearing, but also paying attention, picking up on verbal and non-verbal cues, remaining quiet.
Many of us are not particularly good at listening. It requires discipline, silence and an understanding that whatever we hear holds significance. Chirping crickets signal the end of summer. Screeching sirens indicate an emergency. And when someone is speaking to me, it means they have something to say. And I need to listen.
I consider myself to be a pretty good listener. As a journalist, I really honed my listening skills, a necessity in covering any news story, doing any interview. And on a personal level, I’ve always been more interested in what others are saying than in hearing my own voice.
Therein lies the problem. Too many of us like the sound of our own voices. If someone starts sharing their own story, their own challenges, we tend to interject our own stories. That’s when a push “pause” seems appropriate. Our listening skills need to kick in as we clamp our lips in silence and remember that the conversation is not about us.
So all of this leads me to the meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the war in Ukraine. Noticeably absent will be Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Now you’d think, given the war is raging in Ukraine, that Zelenskyy should be at the table. He asked to be there. But, if the two other leaders heard, they didn’t listen. A pre-meeting conversation between Trump and Zelenskyy isn’t the same as including the Ukrainian president in the summit.
From all accounts, the Trump administration is now billing Friday’s meeting as a “listening exercise.” I find that to be an interesting choice of words. I can’t imagine that either Trump or Putin will really be “listening,” based on past meetings between the two and observations I’ve made about them. But, hey, maybe this time they really will hear the crickets chirping above the drone of war, the blaring of sirens.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling