Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

How you can help my southern Minnesota community of Faribault following Operation Metro Surge February 26, 2026

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A painting on burlap by Mexican artist Jose Maria de Servin from my art collection. It seems to fit the moment. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

AS I GATHERED INFORMATION for this blog post, I wondered how to start. I’ll begin with one simple statement: The need is great here in Minnesota following the largest mass federal immigration enforcement in the country.

That’s a broad, undefined statement which I want to narrow down to specifics in my community of 25,000 in southeastern Minnesota, an hour south of Minneapolis. Faribault is a blue collar city, home to many people of color, including Somalis, Hispanics and Latinos, the demographic hit hardest by the months’ long Operation Metro Surge.

I can’t tell you how many people have been taken from my Greater Minnesota community by ICE. I can’t tell you how many people have been racially profiled, stopped and questioned. But residents of Faribault have been taken. And stopped, because of their skin color. I know this simply by being out and about, talking with people. This federal activity, which initially saw 3,000 immigration agents in the state, is not done, despite statements otherwise.

This shows a portion of a promo I received in the mail this week from the Community Action Center with locations in Faribault and in Northfield.

FACING FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

That brings me to the topic of today’s post. Need. And how you can help the many people in my community who now find themselves facing financial challenges due to ICE activity. Many have been sheltering in their homes, afraid to go to work or the grocery store or church. Afraid to take their kids to school…

The fear they’ve felt of being detained, even if they’ve done nothing wrong, even if they are here legally, even if they are American citizens, has been great. As a white woman, as a human being, I feel a moral obligation to do what I can for my neighbors who are suffering. Many people in Faribault have stepped up—taking kids to school, delivering groceries, driving people to work, donating food and money…

Some of you have asked me how you can help, and some of you have already helped. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your kindness, your care, your compassion, your support, your encouragement and your financial gifts.

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church has been a collection site for food and non-food items during the current crisis. (Graphic sourced from the Our Savior’s Facebook page)

FACING EVICTION

Monies for rental assistance seem to be the main need right now. Last week the Faribault City Council did not move forward with a request from the Faribault Community Action Center for $50,000 in emergency rental assistance. I won’t get into reasons behind that denial. It’s done.

The demand for funds to assist renters facing eviction is high. These are people who have not gone to work because they fear ICE. No work equals no income equals no money to pay the rent or other expenses.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Faribault is among the organizations helping people in my community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

HELPING PEOPLE IN FARIBAULT

I’ve compiled a short list of selected places to which you can donate monies that will help those impacted by federal immigration enforcement, and others, in Faribault. Please click on the boldfaced organization names to reach websites, where you will find donation tabs and more information. Thank you for considering my request to help people in my community. I am grateful.

Faribault Community Action Center. Donate to the CAC Community Response Fund which meets urgent and evolving needs such as for food and rent. Please designate your gift for the FARIBAULT CAC as one exists in neighboring Northfield. That town’s council approved a $50,000 request for emergency rental assistance.

Spreading Warmth: Supporting Immigrant Families in Faribault. This is a GoFundMe campaign aiming to raise $30,000 (a new goal) to help struggling immigrant families. Thus far, the effort has raised nearly $21,000. The organizer provides detailed info on needs and how families have already been helped.

Faribault Supporting Families. This group manages a small community-supported fund to help families facing urgent immigration-related challenges.

Three Rivers Community Action. This organization offers multi-faceted services, including in the area of housing, such as rental assistance.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul. This faith-based nonprofit offers food, clothing, household and limited financial aid to qualifying individuals and families.

©Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Every poem is a witness in “Words to Meet the Moment” February 25, 2026

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Mark Heiman designed the book cover. (Image sourced online)

IN A SLIM VOLUME of poetry collected by a small town Minnesota independent bookstore and printed by a small town printer, 22 area poets raise their voices in response to the massive immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota. The result is 26 powerful, empowering, strongly-worded poems that hold back nothing.

These poets unleash their fury, their fears, their frustrations, layers of intense emotions. “Let every poem be a witness,” writes my friend and former Northfield Poet Laureate Rob Hardy in his poem, “A Witness.” He writes that in the context of the fatal shooting of mother and poet, Renee Nicole Good, by a federal immigration agent on the streets of Minneapolis on January 7.

The poets and their poems plus an intro by Lindsay Ness, co-owner of The Grand Event Center. She introduced a “Words to Meet the Moment: Poets Against Fascism” poetry reading which preceded publication of this chapbook. If you find the title of a poem offensive, read the poem and you will understand the title. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Every poem in this chapbook, Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism, is a witness.

Two poems, “Last Words” by Susan Jaret McKinstry and “I’m Not Mad at You” by Marie Gery, quote Renee Good’s final words—”I’m not mad at you”—spoken to a federal immigration agent right before her fatal shooting.

The words within these 26 poems reflect not only individual poets’ thoughts but also a collective community reaction to ICE in Minnesota. Themes of anger, fear, unity, dignity, hope and light run throughout this poetry.

Colorful merchandise inside Mercado Local in Northfield, where I met Mar Valdecantos and read poetry with Becky Boling and D.E. Green. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I especially appreciate the writing of two immigrants, including my friend Mar Valdecantos, who came to the U.S. from Spain many years ago. She uses humor to make a point, stating that perhaps she should cover her dark hair with a blonde wig. That would allow her to semi hide her ethnicity and allow her to feel safer while out and about in the community. Safe against racial profiling, used freely by immigration agents to stop people of color in Minnesota.

Latino immigrant Heriberto Rosas, in “Minnesota es un lugar de contrastes,” writes of whence and why he came to America, the challenges he and other immigrants have faced, and the hope and gratitude they hold. It’s an especially revealing poem written in Spanish and translated into English on the opposite page.

My poet friend D.E. (Doug) Green also writes “hope” into his poem, “A Bridge Too Far,” as he references the Civil Rights Movement and the bridge crossed, literally, “in the face of violence, cruelty and terrible hatred.” A bridge which must once again be crossed.

I picked up my copy of the chapbook at Content Bookstore after a morning of protesting in Faribault, thus the flat hair. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo by Randy Helbling)

These poems are raw, relentless, sometimes raging in content. That includes my “Fiery Resistance” and “Death of a Poet.” Words hold power. “We the people have a job to do,” writes Orick Peterson in “ICE Prowls Our Streets.” He asks us to muster our courage against the bullies, take on our neighbors’ fears, lean into each other.

Steve McCown, who died unexpectedly on the day he was to read his original poem, “Ice and Fire,” at a “Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism” event on January 18 in Northfield, summarizes everything well in the final line of his poem: “We can build a fire on ice.” Let me repeat his final line, with emphasis: “We can build a fire on ice.”

FYI: The 42-page chapbook, Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism, is for sale only at Content Bookstore in Northfield. Cost is $10. The bookstore will ship domestically at a cost of $4.99, the media mail book rate, with an additional $1 charge for each book ordered.

Content Bookstore published the chapbook with printing By All Means Graphics. The original print run is 300 books. Once expenses are paid, proceeds from sale of the chapbook will go to the Northfield Community Action Center.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Authors for Minnesota Day on February 28 supports community & immigrant rights February 24, 2026

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(Graphic sourced online)

THE MINNESOTA WRITING COMMUNITY has always impressed me as talented, prolific and generously giving.

Now add united activism to that list as 50-plus Minnesota authors join from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, February 28, in an Authors for Minnesota Day event at 24 independent bookstores across the state. Their efforts focus on “A Day of Books, Community, and Support for Immigrant Rights.”

I could not be more proud of these writers and booksellers who are publicly raising awareness of the challenges our immigrant neighbors, our communities and small businesses (including indie bookstores) have faced, and continue to face, in the wake of massive federal immigration enforcement throughout Minnesota.

These authors and bookstore owners are taking their support to the next step—action. Anyone who makes an on-site donation to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and/or the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigration Rapid Response Fund on Saturday will get a free, signed copy of a participating author’s book, while supplies last. (See online donation options at the end of this post.)

Bestselling mystery writer William Kent Krueger will be at Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis along with Allan Evans and Patrick Barb. (Graphic sourced online)

Among participating authors are Heid E. Erdrich, Allen Eskens, William Kent Krueger, Lorna Landvik, Bao Phi and many others, including Jess Lourey. She co-organized the event with Kristi Belcamino as “a coordinated act of civic support,” Lourey writes on her website. I’ve read many of Lourey’s bestselling mysteries and heard her speak at my local library. “Find your people and tell your truth,” she said at one of those appearances in emphasizing the value of community.

Saturday it will be all about community and supporting community as book lovers meet with authors in bookshops across Minnesota. While most host sites are located in the metro, three are in greater Minnesota—Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais, in the far northeastern corner of Minnesota; Hey Darling in Austin near the Iowa border; and then Content Bookstore in Northfield, south of the metro and a 20-minute drive from my home.

(Book cover sourced online)

Bestselling mystery and thriller author Allen Eskens of nearby St. Peter, and one of my favorite Minnesota writers, will be at Content Bookstore signing his latest novel, The Quiet Librarian, now out in paperback. Northfield writer Mary Bleckwehl will also be at Content with her children’s picture book, ARRRGH! Me Have to Wait.

Signage on Content Bookstore along Division Street in downtown Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Here’s a complete list of independent bookstores hosting Authors for Minnesota Day from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday: Avant Garden (Anoka), Big Hill Books (Minneapolis), Birchbark Books (Minneapolis), Black Garnet Books (St. Paul), Comma, a Bookshop (Minneapolis), Content Bookstore (Northfield), Cream & Amber (Hopkins), Drury Lane Books (Grand Marais), The Enchanted Quill (North Branch), Excelsior Bay Books (Excelsior), Hey Darling (Austin), Inkwell Booksellers (Minneapolis), Irreverent Bookworm (Minneapolis), Lake Country Booksellers (White Bear Lake), Moon Palace (Minneapolis), Next Chapter Booksellers (St. Paul), Niche Books (Lakeville), Once Upon a Crime (Minneapolis), Red Balloon (St. Paul), Scout and Morgan (Cambridge), Subtext (St. Paul), Tropes and Trifles (Minneapolis), Valley Bookseller (Stillwater), and Well Read Books (Elk River).

FYI: For those of you who can’t attend but still want to support this cause, you can donate online to the two recipient organizations. Click here for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. And click here for the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigration Rapid Response Fund.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Dispatches from the protest line in Faribault February 22, 2026

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Protesters line up along Minnesota State Highway 60 in Faribault two weeks ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

WE PULLED INTO THE PARKING LOT shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, grabbed our signs from the back of the van and headed to the sidewalk. There Randy and I joined others filtering in to protest by the Rice County government services building along busy Minnesota State Highway 60/Fourth Street in Faribault.

For six Saturday mornings now, people have gathered here to raise their voices against aggressive federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and against many other policies and directives of the Trump administration negatively affecting our lives (and that of our neighbors) and/or threatening our country. Whatever concerns someone—democracy, Constitutional rights, due process, tariffs, the economy, voting rights, authoritarianism, immigration—those topics are covered in signage and/or in conversations.

Saturday morning we stood some 40 strong in 15-degree temps with a biting wind. That’s about half our usual number. Some of the regulars were missing, but I also saw many new faces.

Protesting against ICE two weeks ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

ICE IS STILL HERE

Top on all of our minds remains Operation Metro Surge, the largest mass immigration enforcement effort in the country which saw 3,000 federal agents descend on Minnesota. That includes here in our community, home to many Latinos, Hispanics and Somalis.

Despite the announced drawdown of those agents, ICE activity in Faribault has not decreased since they started working here in early December, according to one protester I questioned on Saturday. He laughed when I inquired, a telling response. He’s a trustworthy source, a boots-on-the-ground individual who is active and informed.

Groceries and personal care items collected by a church in the south metro for those in need. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

THE PERSONAL & FINANCIAL FALL-OUT

To hear stories of retired teachers giving kids rides to school is simultaneously heartening and heartbreaking. Parents should be driving their children to school or walking them to the bus stop. But, because of ICE, others are doing that while they are sheltered at home, afraid to leave, not working, not going to the grocery store.

Food shelves have sprung up in schools and in churches, supplementing already existing nonprofit food shelves. The need is great. I recently started volunteering at a local food shelf.

Families unable to pay rent now face eviction. The Faribault City Council last week denied a request from the Faribault Community Action Center for $50,000 in emergency rental assistance. In neighboring Northfield, the city council unanimously approved an identical request from the Northfield Community Action Center.

Faribault is a blue collar community that runs red. Northfield is white collar blue.

A sign held at a previous protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

REACTIONS TO OUR PROTESTS

Whenever we protest, we are subjected to profanity, vulgarity and negative behavior from passing motorists among the overwhelmingly positive support. Based on my observations the four past Saturday mornings, the loudest and angriest are white women probably in their forties. I don’t understand the intensity of their angry outbursts. We just smile and wave, figuring we got to them with our messages.

Near the center of this frame, a protester carries a Rebel Loon sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

THE STORIES

I like to mingle when I protest. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, to hear stories. Like that of an elementary school student who returned to classes last week after a two-month absence. Or the first-time protester whose husband, an immigrant, has worked mostly remotely rather than drive to his job in Minneapolis. Or the man who crafted a Rebel Loon (the Minnesota state bird) sign and was protesting for someone who could not be there for fear of ICE.

These are real stories of real people in my community. I may not know the little girl who returned to school or the protester’s husband or the friend of the Rebel Loon guy. But I do know that I care about the people in my community who have lived in, and continue to live in, fear of federal immigration agents regardless of legal status. Residents of my community have been racially profiled, stopped, questioned because they are black or brown, have an accent, dress differently. I have talked to a Hispanic woman, an American citizen, who was stopped by ICE.

This is why I protest in the deep cold of a Minnesota winter, standing beside others with signs, Minnesota state flags and peace flags in a town of 25,000 where protesting exposes you to criticism. It matters to my profiled and targeted neighbors that I am publicly standing up for them. They’ve told me so. I cannot remain silent. We are stronger together. Minnesota Strong.

The winter boots I wear while protesting. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

BREAD BAGS

We protesters brave the cold for those who cannot safely stand here. We wrap scarves around our necks, put on parkas, pull on long johns and ear flapper caps and wool socks and winter boots, sometimes adding foot and hand warmers. Several of us joked about returning next week with bread bags inside our boots for another layer of warmth, a throwback to our childhood days.

By then I’d been outside for an hour, my cheeks slapped red by the wind, my fingers and toes growing numb. But I was laughing, deep belly laughing, at the bread bag stories. It felt good to laugh with these protesters, to find comedic relief in the darkest of times.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

“Words to Meet the Moment,” a timely poetry chapbook from southern Minnesota February 19, 2026

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“Words to Meet the Moment,” published by Content Bookstore, Northfield, Minnesota, and printed by Northfield-based By All Means Graphics. (Book cover designed by Mark Heiman)

POETRY HOLDS POWER. And perhaps no time has that been more evident in Minnesota than during the massive federal immigration enforcement, Operation Metro Surge.

In January, poets from my area of southern Minnesota gathered to read original poetry at a “Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism” event in Northfield. I was in Wisconsin, unable to attend. But a poet friend, Becky Boling, read my two poems, “Death of a Poet” and “Fiery Resistance.”

T-shirts for sale at Content Bookstore. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo February 2026)

Now those two poems and others read at The Grand Event Center in January have been printed in a chapbook, Words to Meet the Moment, published by Content Bookstore. That’s an independent, socially-conscious bookshop in the heart of historic downtown Northfield. Once printing costs have been covered, all proceeds from chapbook sales will be donated to the Northfield Community Action Center, a nonprofit serving the community.

The work of 20 poets, some of whom I know personally (and have read poetry with) or whom I’ve heard read, are printed therein. These are gifted poets, many with their own published collections of poetry. Several were previous poet laureates in Northfield.

I picked up this zine when I was recently at Content Bookstore. It includes three poems, “Ice and Fire” by Steve McCown, “Last Words for Renee Nicole Good” by Susan Jaret McKinstry and “A Witness” by Rob Hardy. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

All of us wrote in response to ICE’s presence in Minnesota and/or in reaction to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent on January 7. This was prior to the second fatal shooting, that of Alex Pretti, by ICE agents. Good was a poet, which makes this new chapbook especially meaningful.

Whether you like poetry or not, this is one collection you should read to better understand how we as Minnesotans, we as poets, have been feeling these past few months. Poetry holds power. It is a way to raise our voices against injustice, a way to express our thoughts, our feelings. A way to make a difference. A way to meet the moment.

FYI: To pre-order/order Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism, click here. The chapbook is priced at $10. Content Bookstore will ship the chapbook domestically for an additional cost of $4.99, the media mail book rate, plus an additional $1 per book shipped. Only one printing is planned, unless the chapbook sells quickly. Books will also be available for purchase in the store.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Protesting on Valentine’s Day with love February 14, 2026

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Holding my love-themed protest sign. (Photo credit: Randy Helbling)

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, everyone!

In the spirit of the day, the sign I carried at today’s protest in Faribault focused on one simple message: loving each other.

I could have crafted a sign about a hundred different issues that concern me right now in this country. But I decided instead to keep my message universal.

However, look closely and you will see that the hands I cut from construction paper are black and brown. That was intentional, representing the Hispanics, Latinos and Somalis who live in my community. Many have been racially-profiled by ICE, stopped, questioned. Doesn’t matter your immigration and/or citizenship status. If you’re black or brown, you likely will be stopped. I have no idea how many in Faribault have been disappeared by ICE, but certainly too many.

Back to my sign. I held it proudly at the hour-long protest along Minnesota State Highway 60 by the Rice County government services building. Today brought another 75 or so protesters, including many newbies, to line the block. I pulled signs I’d placed in the back of the van to share with three people who showed up without signs.

If honks and waves are a poll of public opinion, well the reaction from passing motorists has been overwhelmingly supportive of protesters.

It’s OK to disagree with us. But when people start yelling profanities, drive by at a dangerously high rate of speed, “roll coal” and/or give us the middle finger, I have to wonder why they feel so compelled to project such hate.

My message today was all about love. Simple, universal, and perfect for Valentine’s Day. Just love one another.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

ICE OUT, a photo essay & commentary from Minnesota February 13, 2026

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Northfield, typically a welcoming community, has not welcomed ICE as seen in this sign downtown. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

THE DAY AFTER BORDER CZAR (anyone dislike that title as much as me?) Tom Homan announced a draw-down of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, I’m feeling, as Governor Tim Walz said, “cautiously optimistic.” Recent history has proven that we can’t necessarily believe or trust what federal government officials tell us. But I’m trying to be hopeful.

T-shirts for sale at Content Bookstore in Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

For more than two months, 3,000 immigration enforcement agents have been working in Minnesota. And if anyone still believes that they are/were doing only targeted enforcement, arresting “the worst of the worst,” then I have some lakefront property to sell you.

Let’s go back to Thursday morning, when Homan made his draw-down announcement complete with praise for his agents and the success of their mission in Minnesota. I couldn’t listen any more. I’d heard enough.

Buttons for sale at Content Bookstore, an independent bookshop in Northfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

I had an appointment in neighboring Northfield anyway so off I went to this college town that, like Faribault, has been recently inundated by ICE. Except in Northfield, a decidedly blue city, the business community is publicly vocal about its opposition to ICE’s presence unlike in my decidedly red city.

Empowering signage in the window of a downtown Northfield business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

In the heart of downtown Northfield, on one side of a block along Division Street, nearly every business has posted an anti-ICE sign and/or uplifting signage. I felt the strength of those shopkeepers willing to stand up for and encourage others. There’s power in raising united voices in opposition to wrong.

Buy a sticker at Content and help Northfield’s children. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Inside Content Bookstore, where I stopped to shop for a baby shower gift, I discovered even more messaging and ways in which the Northfield community is stepping up to help their immigrant neighbors, including children affected by ICE’s actions. Monies from the sale of Minnesota state flag and “Rebel Loon” (our state bird) stickers will go toward books and activities for those kids. Content is also collaborating on a poetry chapbook, Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism, releasing soon.

Strong words for ICE posted on a downtown Northfield business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

As ICE supposedly ends Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota (which also encompassed cities and small towns outside the metro like my city of 25,000), we are left with a mess. Let me define that. The personal toll is huge. Trauma has been inflicted upon thousands. “Generational trauma,” Governor Walz said.

Another inspirational message posted at a Northfield business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

I worry about the kids who witnessed family members being taken or who saw armed, masked immigration officers with guns outside their schools (with classmates taken by ICE), outside their daycares, outside or inside their homes, at their bus stops, on the streets. It’s hard enough for adults to see such threatening power, aggression and use of excessive force. But our children? The mental health of all Minnesotans concerns me, especially that of the youngest among us.

Northfielders have stepped up to help one another as seen in this sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

And then there is the financial fall-out with people now unable to pay their bills, including rent, facing eviction because they haven’t gone to work out of fear of ICE. Again, legal status matters not as anyone with brown or black skin has been targeted. These same individuals and families have relied on community members and nonprofits to help with rent payments and to bring them groceries. This is not long-term sustainable.

Against the backdrop of the Minnesota state flag, the message is clear on a Northfield business: ICE OUT. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Until we are all confident that ICE is really, truly gone and is doing only targeted enforcement of “the worst of the worst,” we will all remain on edge. Rebuilding trust, restoring life to normalcy will assuredly take time.

A great quote from Maya Angelou fits the strength and resilience of Minnesotans. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Likewise, the Minnesota economy has suffered severe damage, especially small businesses. Governor Walz has proposed a $10 million forgivable loan recovery plan to help the business community and is also hoping for help from the federal government. Good luck with that.

While on the Riverwalk in Northfield, I spotted this graffiti on the pedestrian bridge over the Cannon River. I don’t condone this graffiti, but I certainly understand it. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

While in Northfield on Thursday, I learned that ICE agents recently went along Division Street, asking for employment records at some businesses. I don’t know details. But in my mind, I envision these armed, masked officers as a threatening presence in the heart of this picturesque, riverside American city. This community doesn’t back down from threats. In September 1876, townsfolk stopped the James-Younger Gang from robbing the First National Bank. Northfield is a community which cares for one another and which, in the midst of a federal invasion, has stood, is still standing, Minnesota Strong.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Continuing to raise our Minnesota Strong voices in Faribault February 9, 2026

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My protest sign focuses on human rights while another sign I created calls for ICE to get out of Rice County and Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

I PULLED OUT my long johns, wool socks, stocking cap, mittens, hand warmers, winter boots and scarf. Then I pulled out my parka and my protest sign: STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

This photo shows just a section of the protesters lining Minnesota State Highway 60 on Saturday. Protesters meet here weekly at 11 a.m. for an hour of peaceful protest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Just before 11 a.m. Saturday, Randy and I joined others outside the Rice County government services building along Minnesota State Highway 60 for our fourth protest there and the fifth in Faribault. Each week numbers grow, this time reaching some 80 of us stretched along the sidewalk with our signs.

Bundled up in 25-degree temps, a protester displays a sign against ICE. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

We are not agitators or paid protesters as some claim, but rather ordinary Minnesotans united, called by our morals, our compassion, our concerns, to publicly say we are not OK with what is happening in this country. We are Minnesotans who care about immigrants and refugees, about freedom, about the Constitution, about due process and much more. We are concerned about the presence of ICE agents, whom we want out of our community, out of our state, after two-plus months of occupation.

If you look closely at the banner on the lamp post, you will see a photo of a local veteran. Many veterans have joined the Saturday protests, recognizing the importance of standing up for freedom and Constitutional rights. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

And so we protest, week after week in our community an hour south of Minneapolis, because our city, too, has been impacted by ICE. People have been taken by federal agents from an apartment complex near the public library, by the railroad tracks near the turkey processing plant, from the trailer parks… It’s documented in videos. Warning horns blare, whistles sound, bystanders yell, sometimes. ICE has parked for hours in a neighborhood with Hispanic families. Watching, intimidating, silently threatening. Agents have photographed license plates at a gas station. This is reality in my city of 25,000.

School attendance has dropped. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to go grocery shopping and/or to food shelves (because ICE is watching), afraid to go to the doctor, afraid to leave their homes for fear of being taken by ICE. Legal status doesn’t seem to matter, only skin color, although even white people have been detained (with two killed) in Minnesota. Neighbors, churches and more have rallied to help with grocery shopping and delivery, walking kids to bus stops, giving co-workers rides. That support matters as does participating in protests. I’ve personally been thanked by Latinos and a Somali man for protesting.

This is why I’ve become an activist. This is why I use my voice as a writer and photographer. That is why I’ve started volunteering at a local food shelf. No one should live in fear of simply going about their daily lives. I am also doing this for my young grandchildren. I want them to understand the importance of speaking up for others. I want them to realize, when they are old enough, that their grandma did not remain silent in the face of atrocities inflicted by the federal government upon its people.

One protester drew on history to create his protest sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

There is value in publicly taking a stand, especially in a city like mine which votes red. (Well, certainly not all of us.) Every protest brings out some who object to our activism as they drive by. That is their Constitutional right. They flash middle fingers, shout profanities, sometimes drive aggressively close, raging mad. That is not OK, potentially endangering people protesting in a public space. But we remain undeterred in raising our voices.

Cold winter weather has not stopped Minnesotans from bundling up to speak up. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, a group of county residents are going to the Rice County Board of Commissioners meeting to speak about the impact of ICE on the community. That will happen during the open comments portion of the meeting at 8 a.m. I’m not part of that group, but was made aware of it. I’ve felt for a while that our local city and county government officials need to address this topic. ICE is certainly having a negative impact on the health, safety and well-being of county residents both directly and indirectly. That should not, and cannot, be ignored.

We must all do whatever we can, whenever we can, however we can to speak up, help and love our neighbors, and stand strong in the face of tyranny and injustice.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Coming together in prayer, reflection & unity at Bishop Whipple’s church in Faribault February 5, 2026

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The service program cover featured an historic photo of Native Americans incarcerated at Ft. Snelling following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 prior to their deportation from Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

WE GATHERED. On a day when I learned that a friend, an American citizen, was recently racially-profiled and stopped by ICE. On a day when I learned that ICE vehicles have been parked in my neighborhood. On a day when several Minnesota children were released from federal detainment in Texas. On a day when the border czar announced the draw-down of 700 federal agents (out of 3,000) in Minnesota. On this early February day, 75 of us gathered for an “Evening Prayer Service for Our Nation” at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Bishop Henry Whipple’s church.

The prayer service was open to anyone who wanted to attend in a church I’ve always considered especially welcoming and focused on serving community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

I needed this service of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet my troubled spirit. But I needed, too, to hold space, to sit and stand and sing and pray in community, in support of anyone—especially our immigrant and refugee neighbors—illegally stopped, taken and/or detained by ICE.

A couple leans on one another during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

This was not a protest service. Rather, this was a reflective, prayerful, unifying, worshipful coming together of people in my community who care deeply about their neighbors and about this nation.

People arrive for the 7 pm service inside the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

The Rev. James Zotalis welcomed attendees to the event held inside the massive Episcopal cathedral completed in 1869 under the leadership of Bishop Whipple. “Welcome to the Whipple building,” Zotalis said in opening his short homily. “This is the real Whipple building.”

Gathered inside the cathedral for the prayer service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

He contrasted the beautiful church to the stark seven-story Whipple Federal Building 50 miles to the north that bears the good bishop’s name and which is now a temporary detention center for those detained by ICE in Minnesota. Conditions inside have been described as “inhumane” by officials who have visited the facility.

A portrait of Bishop Henry Whipple hanging inside the cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

The cathedral, Zotalis said, is a place of love and peace, its ministry modeled after that of Bishop Whipple and his first wife, Cornelia. Arriving here from Chicago in 1859, the couple had already served in dangerous areas of that city, connecting with people in tangible, helpful ways, much like we see Minnesotans stepping up and helping others today.

The Rev. Henry Doyle, left, a church member, and the Rev. James Zotalis, right, start the service with a processional. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

With a repeated directive to “always say no to evil,” Zotalis said Minnesotans have done just that since the invasion of our state by masked federal agents two months ago. He listed specifics: bringing food to people afraid to leave their homes, providing rides, offering free legal aid and peacefully protesting.

Among the many hymns we sang was #482, “Lord of all hopefulness.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

“Love your neighbor as yourself” was emphasized often in love-themed Scripture readings (Luke 10:27, I Corinthians 13:13, I John 4:11) during the Wednesday evening service. Like the good people of Minnesota today, Bishop Whipple showed that love long ago in his ministry to the Dakota people locally, across the state and during their imprisonment after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 at Fort Snelling, where the Whipple Federal Building is located. Whipple faced death threats for those who opposed his compassionate work with Native Americans.

Death. In a time of remembrance during Wednesday’s service, attendees could speak the names of “deceased and alive during this time of tragedy and strife.” I spoke first: “Renee Good.” Then another voice: “Alex Pretti.” And then an attendee read the names of 32 individuals who died in ICE detention in 2025. Thirty-two.

A woman holds a prayer book used often during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

Many times my emotions verged on tears. As we asked, “Lord, keep this nation under your care.” As we sang “America the Beautiful.” As we prayed a Collect for Peace. As I thought of Jesus, who also lived in troubled times and who served with love and compassion.

Theme words of love, compassion, mercy and neighbor threaded throughout the service led by the reverends Zotalis and Henry Doyle. I could feel those words. And I could feel, too, the collective sense that we all needed this evening of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet our troubled spirits.

FYI: To watch a video of the service online, click here.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

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

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:07 PM
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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