Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Protesting in Faribault January 11, 2026

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 1:04 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Me with my new friend, Bashir, a U.S. citizen who now carries his passport with him at all times. Bashir works as a family and community engagement specialist in the Faribault Public Schools. (Copyrighted photo by & courtesy of Chloe Kucera, Faribault Daily News)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, as a raw northwest wind swept down Minnesota State Highway 60, I stood side-by-side with others at a busy intersection in the heart of downtown Faribault. I stood in solidarity over concerns about ICE enforcement locally, across the state and country. I stood in solidarity over concerns about the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7. I stood in solidarity over concerns for our democracy. And I stood in love and support of my neighbors.

Neighbors like Bashir, a long-time Faribault resident whom I met shortly after arriving at the gathering to the sound of bagpipes. My interaction with him nearly broke me emotionally after Bashir reached inside his jacket and pulled out his passport. “I carry this with me everywhere now,” he said. It’s one thing to hear and read about this in media reports. It’s quite another to meet a U.S. citizen “forced” to carry his passport by a president who has publicly stated he wants Somalis out of the country.

My humanity, my compassion, my heart and soul and spirit call upon me to support individuals like my new friend, Bashir, in this moment. My humanity also calls upon me to support the Latino and Hispanic communities who comprised the majority of the 25 or so of us gathered during the quickly-organized protest on Saturday.

Organizer Sonia mingled among us, protesting, passing out hot chocolate and later distributing educational information about Constitutional rights, alerting others to ICE’s presence and more.

The second protest sign I made and which my husband carried. Many at the rally held similar signs. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo January 2026)

ICE IN FARIBAULT

In conversations, I learned that ICE has been especially active in Faribault recently. I’d heard this previously from multiple sources. Protester Travis, who works in the school system, confirmed this, noting that student attendance is down. He watched for ICE vehicles during the rally and had every right to be worried given ICE activity along Lyndale Avenue in Faribault earlier Saturday. That resulted in multiple 911 calls, including one from a caller claiming they were “about to get shot,” according to a media release from Faribault Police Chief John Sherwin. Officers responded to ensure public safety. ICE was there. But no shooting occurred.

We are a state and community on edge following the killing of Renee Good. We are a state and community under incredible stress as the federal government relentlessly targets Minnesota and the people who call this state home. It is unfathomable to think that those of skin tones other than white must fear they will be taken by masked agents. It was not lost on me that I am (at least for now) exempt because I am white.

Another new friend, a young Hispanic woman named Christina, shared how ICE agents are patrolling the Cannon River Mobile Home Park, home to many Hispanics and Latinos. Residents are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being taken by ICE. Doesn’t matter if you are here legally or not.

Protesters line the sidewalk at the intersection of Central Avenue and highway 60. I am hugging Bashir in this image. (Copyrighted photo by & courtesy of Chloe Kucera, Faribault Daily News)

OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE SUPPORT

As I stood with Bashir, Sonia, Travis, Christina, Hannah, a high school senior and a mix of multi-aged Latinos, Hispanics and white people like me, I felt empowered. Our numbers may have been small. But for a last-minute protest and the first in Faribault, turn-out was encouraging.

Even more encouraging was the overwhelmingly positive response we got from passing motorists in honks, friendly waves, thumbs up and more to counter the few middle fingers, thumbs down and venomous words spewed by one especially angry young female driver. How anyone can hold such hate toward immigrants is beyond my understanding.

I felt only love in the presence of my new friends. Many thanked me for coming. I hugged several, offered words of encouragement. Words matter. And so do actions. A Somali couple arrived to distribute hot tea. I’d been protesting for 1 ½ hours and felt chilled to the bone by the estimated zero-degree windchill. That offering of Somali tea warmed my body and my heart. As I reached for a cup of the hot beverage, I was overcome by emotion. The message I carried—“I LOVE my immigrant neighbors”—reflected back on me as I, too, felt loved in that moment.

#

NOTE: I moderate all comments on this, my personal blog. I will not publish comments which express hatred or are otherwise offensive, include intentional false information and/or do not meet the standards of decency I expect here.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Reflecting from Minnesota on the killing of Renee Good, wife, mom, writer & poet January 8, 2026

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 4:24 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
This photo reflects how I am feeling today. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

ALL OF THIS is beyond belief, yet it isn’t.

I texted that to a friend today. “This” refers to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis on Wednesday morning. The governor of Minnesota, the mayor of Minneapolis, the police chief of Minneapolis all publicly predicted several weeks ago that something like “this” could happen during ICE’s ramped up immigration enforcement here.

I’m not surprised either. Tensions have been building, not only in Minnesota but across the country, as ICE swarms cities and communities. ICE tactics seem unnecessarily aggressive and sometimes violent. I see zero humanity. Zero compassion. Zero care. I wonder about the vetting, the training, the actions, the accountability of these ICE agents.

Now in the aftermath of Renee’s killing, the FBI, which originally agreed to work with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on investigating the fatal shooting, has backtracked. The FBI will be the sole investigator and will not provide any investigative information to the BCA. It is impossible for me to trust the process since, shortly after the shooting, Renee Good was tagged “a domestic terrorist” by the feds. Judgment was already made.

(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

Nothing I’ve read or heard indicates to me that Renee was anything but a wife, mom, writer and poet. Recently-moved to Minneapolis, the 37-year-old was young enough to be my daughter. She had a full life ahead of her.

Because I am also a wife, mom, writer and poet, I relate personally and professionally to Renee. I am grieving the senseless loss of not only a human being, but of another creative. In 2020, Renee won an Academy of American Poets Prize for her poem, “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs.” That’s quite an accomplishment for a then-undergrad at Old Dominion University. She graduated with an English degree in 2020. Today I think of all the poems this poet will never write, all the hugs and kisses this mom will never give to her three children.

A partial quote by Georgia Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, photographed several years ago in Dundas, Minnesota, and fitting for today. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

I appreciate a three-paragraph statement released by Old Dominion President Brian O. Hemphill. It reads in part:

“…May Renee’s life be a reminder of what unites us: freedom, love, and peace. My hope is for compassion, healing, and reflection at a time that is becoming one of the darkest and most uncertain periods in our nation’s history.”

I think, as a creative, that Renee would have appreciated those well-crafted words. I do. In continuing to process this tragedy, I feel uplifted by those of you who have encouraged not only me, but Minnesotans as a whole. Your solidarity, your supportive actions, your caring words all matter while we work through this collective trauma. Thank you.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

When the feds target Minnesota, the state I love, I refuse to remain silent January 7, 2026

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 8:39 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

NOTE: As I was writing this post Wednesday morning, unbeknownst to me, tragedy was unfolding 40 miles away in south Minneapolis. An ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis resident. That is a fact. She was, according to a Minnesota state senator, a legal observer of federal actions. I decided to publish this post as written before learning of Renee’s death. No rewriting or editing. Right now my emotions are raw. I am outraged. I offer no apologies for my feelings.

This sign along I-90 welcomes travelers to Minnesota along the Mississippi River by La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

WITH THE FEDERAL FOCUS on uncovering fraud and on heavy immigration enforcement in Minnesota right now, I’m feeling defensive. I understand that fraud is unacceptable. I, too, have concerns about the seemingly high amount of fraud in my home state. But I will say this. I feel like Minnesota is being unfairly and aggressively targeted on both the fraud and immigration enforcement fronts.

This seems more a personal vendetta by the President against our state than anything. He’s targeted our governor and our Somali community. And I’m not OK with that. Not the actions, not the rhetoric.

I photographed this sign in the window of a downtown Faribault business many years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

THE GOODNESS OF MINNESOTANS

But rather than turn this into a political rant, I want to tell you this: We in Minnesota are, for the most part, good, kind, decent people. The term “Minnesota Nice” is a moniker tagged to those of us who call this place home. It fits. We may live in a cold and snowy state, but we are not cold.

Our generosity shines in strong volunteerism, in supporting others. It also shines in an abundance of nonprofits that assist those in need. For example, one organization is currently heading up a workforce and emergency housing development project in Faribault. Within blocks of my home, I see those buildings rising. An all-volunteer local bookshop sells used books donated by community members. Profits go to the Rice County Area United Way. Local churches house food shelves. Local shelters and centers help those dealing with domestic abuse and violence and substance abuse. The list goes on and on of organizations dedicated to helping those in need.

On a personal level, I know a friend who has taken a man experiencing homelessness out to eat several times. Another friend gave her mittens to an unsheltered man. Two others paid for a bus ticket to Iowa for an individual without a home, per his request to return there. Another is assisting our immigrants as a trained Constitutional observer. These are small acts of kindness and care that go unnoticed, yet are happening throughout my community.

Photographed in my local library in 2024. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

AND THEN COMES ICE

As all of these good things are occurring in Minnesota, so is the negative. And right now that is massive ICE enforcement efforts, including in Faribault with its large Somali and Latino populations. Imagine if you were of either ethnicity, how fearful you would feel. You could be stopped simply because of your skin color, your dress, your spoken language. Grab, detain and ask questions later seems to be the mode of operation for ICE.

Clearly I have sidetracked here. But I offer no apologies for feeling as I do about aggressive ICE actions with agents wrongfully detaining people. I take issue also with elected officials who fail to do anything about this, who fail to protect Constitutional rights, who think this is alright.

The type of ice we like here in Minnesota is the frozen surface of a lake where we angle for fish in the winter. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

ICE OUT

In closing, I want to reiterate that I love Minnesota (except when winter gets too long). This is a wonderful place to live with its diverse geography, its natural beauty, its diverse residents, its strong arts community, its caring people…

I appreciate the many immigrants who have chosen to call Minnesota home. They make our communities stronger and better in endless ways. Just like my German ancestors who sailed across the Atlantic to America, eventually settling in Minnesota. I hope our newest residents in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes” find a welcoming place to establish roots, to grow a life.

Eventually they may even understand our Minnesota excitement over ice out after a long, cold winter.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Commentary: I care about my neighbors, a free press, freedom & more December 3, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:01 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Protesting in Northfield at a NO KINGS rally. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2025)

I CAN’T IGNORE the news. I want to, no, need to, know what’s happening on all levels from local to international. Perhaps it’s my innate curiosity or my journalism background that compels me to read and watch media reports. I feel an obligation, especially in these challenging times, to be as informed as possible.

What I’ve been hearing and reading from the federal government in Washington DC continues to concern me. Deeply. I can hardly believe the rhetoric, the hatred, the awfulness that is flowing like hot lava from fiery mouths upon this land.

Somali women walk through downtown Faribault during a community event. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

The latest is the hatred directed by our president toward Somalis living in America, including some 80,000 in Minnesota. My community of Faribault is home to many Somali Americans. The president has singled out Somalis in Minnesota with his derogatory words and planned, targeted ICE raids here. I am proud of the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul and other leaders, including the Minneapolis police chief, for speaking up and standing strong for the Somali community during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. They recognize the threat to this specific demographic. And they value the Somalis who call Minnesota home.

“Who,” I ask, “will be next? Me, because my eyes are green?” Maybe he doesn’t care for green-eyed people. Or you? Because he doesn’t like something about you.

This is a pig, not a female journalist. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

He certainly doesn’t care for journalists, especially female journalists. I realize a dislike of journalists is nothing new. But this president has gone well beyond “dislike” to outright meanness, bullying and name-calling. I never thought I would see the day when the leader of our country would chastise a reporter with “Quiet, piggy.” I never thought I would hear an American president call a reporter fat or terrible or ugly or any other adjective while hissing “fake news” at the media.

Bracelets against censorship and for rights. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)

When the U.S. government launched a Media Bias page on the official White House website just days ago, I felt nothing short of outraged. This is the United States of America, where freedom of the press ought to mean something, where the media is independent of the government, where reporters have a right and a duty to accurately report the truth without fear of intimidation, public shaming, recrimination,… This newest tactic of naming a “Media Offender of the Week” ought to anger every single person in this country. I don’t care what side of the political aisle you sit on. This latest action speaks to censorship, to controlling the press, to propaganda, to anything but democracy.

I value freedom. I hope you do, too, enough to stand up for a free press, individual rights, freedom from fear, intimidation, oppression and all that threatens us. These are unprecedented times (yes, I recognize that may be an overused word, but it fits) in our country. I refuse to remain silent.

THOUGHTS?

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

“Love your neighbor,” Part I from Northfield November 17, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:14 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Photographed many years ago in downtown Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo used here for illustration only)

MY SUNDAY BEGAN as most Sundays do with morning worship at my church. The sermon highlighted sections of Mark 12, which includes this verse: Love your neighbor as yourself. That would theme the rest of my day.

Hours later I found myself gathered with others for the annual Rice County Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kickoff. Again, the focus was on neighbors, specifically helping our neighbors in need.

Shortly after that event, Randy and I were on the road to neighboring Northfield for a 5 pm candlelight prayer vigil at Bridge Square. That, too, was about loving our neighbors. This time the gathering focused on supporting the family of Adan Nunez Gonzalez, a 41-year-old father of four snatched by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at gunpoint on November 11 in a residential neighborhood of Northfield. That incident has sparked outrage in this southern Minnesota college town and beyond.

Several family members and others witnessed Nunez Gonzalez being pulled from the passenger side of a vehicle while he was arriving at a job site along Washington Street. He’s a painter, originally from Mexico, with reportedly no criminal record who has been living in the US for 11 years. The entire incident was captured on video by his teenage son, called to the scene, and has been widely-circulated on social media. Nunez Gonzalez is now being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail. That county is among eight in Minnesota assisting with various aspects of ICE enforcement efforts. My county of Rice is not among them.

Attendees gather at Bridge Square as the candlelight prayer vigil is about to begin. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

HEAVY, YET HOPEFUL, HEARTS

The mood at Sunday’s prayer vigil felt heavy, yet hopeful, as some 200 of us gathered in the town square for this event organized by the Northfield faith community. As the sun set, as the nearby Cannon River roared over the dam, candles were distributed, lit and the crowd pressed together around a monument honoring Civil War soldiers. In late September, football players from Carleton College, blocks away, met here to turn the eagle atop the monument toward their college after defeating across-town rival St. Olaf College. It’s an annual celebratory tradition for the winning team.

Bridge Square has long been a community gathering spot, a place to celebrate, to peacefully protest, to meet one another for local events.

On this mid-November evening, it felt right and necessary to be here. To pray. To sing. To hear scripture quoted. To contemplate the gravity of ICE actions that have traumatized, torn families apart, instilled fear in communities across the country, raised the ire and concerns of many Americans like me who care about our neighbors and how they are being unjustly treated. Taken by armed, masked ICE agents and Border Patrol. Confined. Deported. Without due process of law.

Clergy gather before the start of the prayer vigil. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

A COMMUNITY RESPONDS

I felt the unity of a community determined to raise their voices and to take action. Northfielders have fed the family of their detained neighbor, organized activities for his children, started a GoFundMe to cover legal and other expenses, emailed support, expressed outrage and much more.

Love your neighbor as yourself was emphasized by clergy leading the vigil. One after another they stepped up to the mic, the first pastor leading us in The Lord’s Prayer. One referenced the biblical parable of the mustard seed and how we are to plant seeds of hope, faith, advocacy that will grow sturdy and strong among us. Another spoke of Jesus and his family fleeing to Egypt after his birth following threats from King Herod to find and kill all first-born males. It was fitting.

Another view of the crowd, not all of it, but a section of the attendees. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo November 2025)

A BIBLICAL DIRECTIVE

And then there was the well-known scripture from Matthew 25 in which Jesus asks us to care for one another—when hungry or thirsty, in need of clothing, when sick and in prison. It is as strong a directive as any in the bible to love our neighbors and to show that love in kind, caring and compassionate action.

The 25-minute Sunday evening prayer vigil closed with singing of “This Little Light of Mine.” Voices rose clear and strong in the darkness, arms stretched high, each hand grasping a single candle. A light. Many candles shining lights of support, hope, protest, resistance, outrage and more in a community that cares deeply about its neighbors.

#

NOTE: Please check back for a second “Love your neighbor” post, this one on the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign Kickoff. Also, note that the vigil images in this post were taken with my smartphone, thus the quality is not great compared with pix I would have taken with my 35 mm Canon. I left that at home, opting to be in the moment.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

When an out-of-control vehicle crashes into your yard, nearly missing your house September 17, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:29 AM
Tags: , , , , , , ,
A view of Willow Street and our yard shows the corner of our house, the fence we finished staining at 4 p.m. Tuesday, skid marks on the sidewalk and a track across the lawn from the vehicle that slammed into our fence. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 17, 2025)

FIVE HOURS AFTER we finished staining the fence enclosing our backyard, an out-of-control vehicle slammed into it, missing our house by about 15 feet.

The Suburban that crashed into our fence Tuesday evening. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 16, 2025)

We were just wrapping up bible study at a friend’s house across town when my neighbor, Ken, called around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. It is the first time Ken has ever called me, so I figured something must be up. It was. Or, rather, down. There was, he said, a vehicle crashed in our yard with fence panels down and the cops on site. You might want to come home, he suggested.

Randy and I arrived home to a street flooded with emergency vehicles and personnel and neighbors outdoors watching everything unfold. By then, Willow Street, an arterial roadway through Faribault, had been blocked. Likewise, Tower Place, the side street along our corner property was closed to traffic.

The snapped power pole, pushed from its place near the corner of the boulevard, landing near our front door. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 16, 2025)

As Randy pulled the van into the driveway, I saw the power pole on the corner was askew, broken. We, and others in the neighborhood, were without power. A power line stretched low across Willow, high enough for most vehicles, but not semis.

A tow truck arrives to remove the Suburban lodged in our yard between fence panels. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 16, 2025)

Then we walked around our garage to see a black Suburban partially sticking into our yard, one fence panel angled, another demolished, a third scratched. I’ll admit, I was furious. So angry I didn’t even ask about the condition of the driver initially. All I could think of was the fence, the one we’d just finished staining hours earlier in the heat of an unusually hot and humid September day. The 10-panel lattice-topped fence that has stood for some 25 years unscathed.

This is the second vehicle involved, the pickup, being towed away. That’s our house and the leaning power pole in the background. (Photo credit: Randy Helbling)

I asked what happened. Good question, the officer replied. By then I realized a second vehicle, a pick-up truck, was also involved. That sat turned across Willow Street near its intersection with Tower. Finally, I inquired about the drivers. They fled the scene, the policeman said. I asked the officer to check our garage to assure no one was hiding inside. It was empty.

It was a long night. Of talking to police. Of calling our eldest daughter, who lives in Minnesota. Of texting our insurance agent. Of texting our bible study friends. Of talking to the tow truck driver. Of talking to the Xcel Energy crew dispatched to install a new power pole. They labored until 4 a.m. to place the new pole and wires and restore power.

We slept only a few hours given adrenalin and then the noise of the Xcel trucks.

Skid marks on Willow Street show the path the vehicles took down the street, over the curb and onto the boulevard where the Suburban hit the power pole. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 16, 2025)

I’m still mad about all of this. I want to know what happened. What occurred between the two vehicles to cause the Suburban to take out a power pole, nearly hitting our bedroom and wiping out part of our fence. A high rate of speed was apparently involved given skid marks and damage to vehicles. Why did the drivers flee the scene?

The fence panel to the right was shoved in and damaged. The next panel was demolished. And the third panel also has some damage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 17 2025)

And who’s going to pay for new fence panels? Install them? And stain them?

In the light of Wednesday morning, my anger has lessened some as I reflect on a “this could have been worse scenario.” The drivers could have been killed. The Suburban could have hit our house, specifically our bedroom, when we were sleeping. Had this happened during the day, when we were staining the fence, well, I don’t really want to think about that.

The back of the Suburban. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 16, 2025)

One witness has the answers. He sat calmly in the front passenger seat of the Suburban. So quiet I didn’t even realize he was there until an officer alerted me. The witness, a Saint Bernard, was coaxed out of the Suburban and loaded into the back of a squad car. If only dogs could speak.

#

NOTE: Nighttime images were taken with cellphones, thus the low quality.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

As school starts for most in Minnesota September 2, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
I photographed this creative back-to-school front window display at Owatonna Shoes Monday afternoon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2025)

HOW WELL I REMEMBER the first day of classes at the start of a new school year. Decades ago as a student. Then as a parent of three. And now as a grandparent.

As a student, I felt excited. Nervous. Happy. I remember the sharp tips of new Crayola crayons. The discomfort of new shoes. Piles of multi-colored notebooks awaiting words.

As a mom, I remember worrying if my kids would catch the right bus, make friends, like their teachers.

But none of that matches the concerns I feel today as the grandmother of a first grader and a fourth grader who begin classes Tuesday morning in a community in the south metro. The deadly shooting of two students and injury of 21 others (including three octogenarian worshipers) during a morning back-to-school Mass last week at Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis weighs heavy on all of us.

(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2025)

Children, teachers and staff should feel and be safe in school. Parents should never have to wonder if their children will come home. Grandparents shouldn’t have to worry how their children, their grandchildren, are going to navigate all of this.

But school violence is all too real. And it shouldn’t be. I invite you to read a blog post by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson (click here), a mother, grandmother, writer, photographer, poet and activist. She writes with passion and clarity about the Annunciation shooting and gun violence, including steps we can take to change things. Kathleen’s words are powerful and move us to a place of action with the strong word, “Demand.”

As someone who grew up in Minneapolis, Kathleen writes from the heart. She is grieving. Angry. Frustrated. Just like me. Just like so many of us in Minnesota and beyond.

(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2025)

To the politicians out there who put guns before kids and who vote against funding for mental health programs, pause for a moment and assess your priorities. Walk in the shoes of kids, parents, grandparents, teachers. And then think of Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, shot to death in a Minneapolis church during the first week of classes at Annunciation Catholic School.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

The day after a mass shooting…thoughts from Minnesota August 28, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 10:53 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
An inspirational word in an art installation honoring Barb Larson, shot and killed in 2016 inside her workplace, the Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. Used here for illustration only. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

IN MY BIBLE, I highlight verses that resonate with me, that inspire, that uplift and offer hope. Those include Jeremiah 29:11. It reads: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. In faith communities, this specific scripture is often directed to youth, who are our future.

On Wednesday morning those words written by the prophet Jeremiah were shared by Matt DeBoer, principal of Annunciation Catholic School in south Minneapolis, following a mass shooting at the adjacent church. The shooter fired from outside through stained glass windows into the church, killing two students and wounding 18 others, including three parishioners in their eighties. All were attending a back-to-school morning Mass.

The churning Straight River, visually reflective of what we’re feeling now in Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

“NEVER AGAIN”

This act of gun violence is nothing short of horrific. No one can deny that. Fletcher, 8, and Harper, 10, are dead. Seven others were critically injured, taken to a level 1 trauma center. All are expected to survive. The level of pain and grief and anger, yes, anger, we are feeling collectively in Minnesota right now is palpable.

In all the media coverage I’ve watched and read, I keep circling back to Principal DeBoer and his message at a late Wednesday morning press conference hours after the shooting. He shared the school’s Jeremiah 29 based theme for 2025-2026 of “a future filled with hope.” Hope happens to be one of my favorite words, but not one I personally relate to a mass shooting. Yet on Wednesday morning, the principal called for all of us to look to the future with hope, because we can’t change the past. I listened. I heard. I heard him say, “Never again.” I heard DeBoer ask us to commit those two words to our speech pattern. “Never again.”

And I heard, too, his call for action as he referenced this African proverb: When you pray, move your feet.

As the day progressed into evening vigils, I continued to watch television coverage. Clergy led a prayer service at the Academy of Holy Angels, a nearby private Catholic high school that Annunciation students often attend beginning in ninth grade. In a message also themed to hope, Archbishop Bernard Hebda mentioned the broad support received from those of all faiths—Protestants, Jews, Muslims… And from Pope Leo XIV. I would expect nothing less. We are all hurting.

Another vigil followed at Lynnhurst Park. As I watched television coverage begin, I focused on the diverse crowd. A young girl seated on the ground clutching a teddy bear. A priest in a wheelchair. Attendees sheltering flickering candles with their hands. People in bright orange t-shirts emblazoned with “Protect Minnesota.” Photographers working. A woman in a black tee with the simple word, “Enough,” and a slash drawn through a circled gun. Instrumental music played—”Bridge Over Troubled Water”—setting an introspective mood.

“Doing something” must be about our kids. Photo used for illustration only. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

“WE NEED TO…”

And then the line up of speakers stepped up, addressing the crowd. The mood at this vigil was decidedly different. This gathering focused on a call to action in oftentimes fiery and emotional speeches by politicians and local leaders calling for stronger gun laws. In all the thoughts shared, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan’s message rose to the top for me. While she spoke the usual “You are not alone” and “Enough is enough,” here’s the one soundbite that sticks with me: “We need to love our babies and our children more than our guns.” That bears repeating. “We need to love our babies and our children more than our guns.”

On this, the morning after the murder of two children and wounding of 17 others at Annunciation Catholic Church less than an hour from my Faribault home, I reflect on Flanagan’s words. And I think of my own two elementary-aged grandchildren starting the new school year on Tuesday. I want them to feel, to be, safe. I want this gun violence to end. As the mayor of Minneapolis said, his is “a city united in grief,” which must now become “a city united in action.”

I hold hope that perhaps this time something will change. I understand that gun violence is complicated, that it involves addressing the root causes of such violence. Yet, if not for the guns—three used in the Minneapolis shooting—two children would still be alive.

#

This story has been updated to include the first names of the two children killed in the shooting. Their names were released late Thursday afternoon. The number of injured has also been updated to 18.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

My heart breaks after another mass shooting, this time at a Minneapolis church/school August 27, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 12:34 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
I’ve photographed many stained glass windows in churches. I looked through my archives and found this image of a window at Mother of Good Counsel Votive Chapel, LaCrosse, Wisconsin and it struck me as fitting for this post. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2015)

I HAD MY MORNING PLANNED. Wash sheets and towels and hang them on the line. Pay bills. Write a blog post. I finished the laundry. But then all activity stopped and my attention focused to breaking news—a mass shooting in south Minneapolis.

For hours I’ve watched media coverage of events unfolding at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in south Minneapolis. Early today two school children were shot and killed during morning Mass. Seventeen others were injured, among them two adults. Four required surgery. Seven were in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center, a level one trauma center. Several went to other hospitals.

My heart breaks for the families, friends and classmates of the eight and 10-year-olds who were killed. My heart breaks for all who were part of and witness to this violence. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who spoke at a press conference, echoed the same. Their pain and anguish were evident in their words, their voices breaking with emotion.

I was especially touched by Mayor Frey’s message that we must go beyond simply saying “thoughts and prayers” because, as he stated, these kids were literally in church praying. He’s right. I believe in prayer. But I also believe that caring and compassionate action must accompany prayer. Frey called upon all of us to wrap our arms around the affected families, to love and support them. These are not only Minneapolis families affected, but American families, he said, adding that these shootings happen far too often.

According to officials, the gunman, dressed in black and armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, fired from the outside through church stained glass windows, hitting victims sitting in the pews. The man, in his early 20s and with no known criminal record, is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the police chief.

Both the mayor and police chief used the word “evil” when describing this morning’s shooting. They also used words like “deliberate act of violence,” “unspeakable act,” and “unthinkable tragedy.” We’ve heard those words way too often following mass shootings that have occurred way too often. Once is too often.

My day goes on, not as I planned, but tinged now with deep sadness. I can’t shake the images of children emerging from Annunciation School with their parents, hands clasped, faces showing the deep pain they are feeling. They are forever changed.

This is tough. All of it. Something must change.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hearing, listening & the drone of war August 14, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
(Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)

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