EVEN NOW, MANY DECADES LATER, I can still picture the art I created in grade school and junior high school. A rug woven from strips of fabric. A cat crafted from a spray painted 7-UP bottle and Styrofoam. A swan painted on glass. A girl created with scrap fabric and yarn glued onto burlap. A color wheel painted on paper. A small bowl shaped from clay. If only I still had that artwork which holds the work of my hands, the memories of youth. And if only I could step back in time, I would take art classes in high school. I didn’t and really have no idea why.
Today students seem to have more opportunities in the arts and more opportunities to get their work out there to the public. One example is the Area Student Art Show which opened in early March and closes April 12 at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault. Students from Jefferson Elementary School, Faribault Middle School and High School, the Faribault Area Learning Center, Cannon River STEM School, Bethlehem Academy and Waterville-Elysian-Morriston Schools (WEM) have art in the 2025 exhibit.
Each year I am amazed at the art these talented students from kindergarten to 12th grade create. It is remarkable really. I expect some will, post school, pursue art either for enjoyment or professionally. At least I hope they do. I see the possibilities to work in design, marketing, photography, teaching, fashion, even book illustrating…
When I view the artwork of students from these seven southern Minnesota schools, I see a passion for art fueled perhaps by their own inner desire to create, but also by parents and teachers who foster creativity. I watched and listened as WEM kindergartner Edwin and his mom found his bee art and then artwork created by classmates. Edwin was clearly proud of his art as was his mom. I loved that they drove over to Faribault from the Waterville area just to see the student exhibit. That’s sending a strong message to Edwin, that what he created matters.
And I think that’s part of the reason the annual Area Student Art Show rates as one of my favorite exhibits at the Paradise. It’s important to encourage students in the arts. Oftentimes, it seems athleticism is valued and the arts are not. All of us are not athletic. I am raising my hand high on that statement. Not all of us care much about sports. I am raising my hand high on that statement also. Yes, sports have their place and value. I’m not saying they don’t. But so do the arts.
I truly am in awe of this student art exhibit. The portraits, especially, impress me. And to think most of these artists are still in high school or younger.
But I am equally as impressed by the vivid florals, the animals, the abstracts, the still lifes, the landscapes, insects and much more.
There are no cats crafted from 7-UP bottles. No swans painted on glass. No woven rugs. But there exists in each work of art the element of creativity. To create is to put yourself out there, to share something with the world, to show that, hey, I made this. I matter. My art matters.
FYI: In addition to the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault, other area art centers are hosting exhibitions of student art in celebration of National Youth Art Month in March. Those include shows at the Owatonna Arts Center until March 30, the Waseca Art Center until April 18 and The Arts & Heritage Center of Montgomery until May 17. Art featured in this post is only a small sampling of the wonderful student art showcased at the Paradise during this exhibit.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling. Photographed with permission of the Paradise Center for the Arts. Student artists retain copyrights to their work.
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