En route to Vesta and back, we passed endless ripening fields and farm sites, including this one in the New Ulm area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
ACRE UPON ACRE of drying corn and soybean fields unrolled before us as Randy and I headed west 120 miles from Faribault to my hometown for a mournful family gathering, this time to honor my cousin Jeff. He died unexpectedly at the age of 63 only three months after his mother, my Aunt Marilyn.
Here we were again, back at the hilltop Vesta Cemetery, circling around gravestones to hear Scripture, to pray, to sing, to comfort one another, to remember Jeff while a fierce wind blew and the bright sunshine warmed us.
On the northwest edge of Vesta, a sign notes a corn research site. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
As I stood there, I took in the countryside of this prairie place. I love this land of rich, dark soil. This land from which seeds sprout, grow into plants reaching toward the sun. This is fertile land that holds the promise of a plentiful harvest. Redwood County has, undeniably, some of the best farmland in Minnesota.
Combining soybeans north of Sleepy Eye. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 12, 2026)
All through our 5-hour round trip, Randy and I kept a watchful eye on the crops, noting some nearly ready for harvest, others awaiting ripening. And in one spot north of Sleepy Eye, we came across farmers harvesting soybeans.
A gravel road southeast of Morgan threads between corn and soybean fields. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
We are both farm kids—he a native of Morrison County in central Minnesota. As such, our observation of crops comes from a childhood of living on the land, of working the land (Randy more than me), of watching our farmer fathers work.
Farmward Cooperative centers the agricultural business community in Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
On this mid-September road trip, I was, in some ways, transported back in time to the farm. My focus shifted to the impending harvest. Preparation. Grain bins emptied to receive new crops. Combines and grain trucks at the ready.
Corn has already been harvested at this farm along Minnesota State Highway 19 only miles from Vesta. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
A sense of anticipation prevails this time of year as farmers prepare to gather in the crops.
A barn near New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
But beyond the fields, I noticed, too, the detailed ruralness of place the farther west we traveled. West of Mankato, the agrarian way of life always seems more defined as distances between farm sites grow.
Cattle grazing in the Janesville area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
With fewer visual distractions, I see the barns, the grain bins, the occasional cattle grazing.
Roadside pumpkin stands, like Moll’s Produce near New Ulm, are beginning to pop up. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
I see roadside stands stocked with plump pumpkins ushering in autumn.
The soybean field backdropping this Old Sod Days sign south of Belview is beginning to ripen. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
I see corn leaves curling, drying. I see soybean fields morphing from green to yellow to brown.
A partially-visible sign next to a cornfield thanks farmers. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
Near Morgan, the site of Farm Fest, a yearly Minnesota agricultural celebration, I spot several signs thanking farmers. Likewise in areas along U.S. Highway 14 between Owatonna and Mankato, farm-themed signage billboards the roadway.
Sugar beets piled at a dumping station along Minnesota State Highway 19 between Redwood Falls and Vesta. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
There is reason to feel grateful for Minnesota farmers who grow the corn, soybeans and sugar beets I saw on this road trip. They work hard. They invest time, energy and lots of money in producing crops that benefit all of us. I could not do their job; I am risk averse.
Parked next to a cornfield along U.S. Highway 14 in the New Ulm area, a John Deere tractor for sale. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
In a year like this with current diesel fuel prices at their highest level ever, profit margins will be slimmer, if at all. I cannot imagine the stress farmers feel as they crunch numbers, check prices, budget for expenses, wonder how they will make loan payments or pay for diesel to fuel up farm equipment.
A billboard in the Janesville area advertises a seed brand. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2026)
It takes courage to be a farmer. Optimism. Strength, too. Yet, farmers are a resilient bunch. Come next spring, most will be back on the land, seeding another crop in anticipation of another harvest.
Plowing with horses at the 2025 Rice County Steam & Gas Engines fall show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
STEP ONTO THE RICE COUNTY Steam & Gas Engines showgrounds this Labor Day weekend in rural Dundas, and you’ll return to farming of yesteryear, exactly as the organizers intend. The fall show, along with the spring show in May, honors the past in a big way with hundreds of old tractors, several steam engines, demonstrations of long ago farming and a whole lot more.
An Allis-Chalmers guy through and through. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
This year’s show features the Allis-Chalmers tractor brand, noted for its signature bright orange color.
Square dancers dance inside the music shed at last year’s show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
But you needn’t be all that interested in tractors or even have a farm background to appreciate this event. There’s plenty more to do with a flea market, petting zoo, music, food, cornhole tournament, kids’ pedal tractor pull, mini train rides and on and on. Enough to keep you on the grounds for hours, if not a full day or multiple days. The event runs September 4-6 with gates opening at 7 a.m.
This pair works at shelling corn in 2025. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I approach this ag-focused show with historic, artistic and photographic interests. My farm background draws me to demonstrations like threshing, shelling corn and plowing. And among the rows and rows of tractors, I always search for my favorite B-Farmall, the tractor I drove as a farm kid, and a John Deere like my Dad’s.
I’m not old enough to remember steam engines, but these engines always draw lots of interest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
There’s something comforting about turning back the clock, of being in the presence of memories, of feeling a connection to my farming past. I am rooted in the rich black soil of southwestern Minnesota, the place which shaped me, my writing and my photography.
One of my favorite photos because of the admiration I see in the young boy’s eyes as he rides in the 2025 tractor parade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Oh, the photos I find while at the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show. I’ve managed through many years of attending the fall and spring shows, to gather a collection of images that reflect a deep love and respect for the land, for farmers, for heritage. I especially delight in spotting “characters” or catching a “look” or a moment. Some of my favorites came last year while roaming the showgrounds and also while watching the tractor parade.
My favorite find at last year’s flea market, a Le Sueur-based Minnesota Valley Canning Co. commemorative Green Giant mug, which I totally regret not buying. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
The flea market has also always offered plenty of photo ops as I search for the weird, the quirky, the unusual, the artsy. More and more, I find merch from my youth, prompting long ago memories.
Look at the sheer joy in this boy’s face as he competes in the pedal tractor pull. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
Whether I’m perusing second-hand goods, touring on-site historic buildings like a 1920s farmhouse or an old one-room schoolhouse, visiting with friends, enjoying a burger from the Knights of Columbus food stand or an Amish-made fruit pastry, listening to music, meandering among the tractors, watching a farming demo or one of many other show options, I find myself immersed in the experiences.
A horse-drawn wagon offers rides at the farm show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2025)
Above all, I value this opportunity to reconnect with my rural roots, to celebrate my rural-ness, to honor those who’ve worked the land. Like my dad. Except for a short stint serving on the front lines during the Korean War, farming was Dad’s life. He milked cows, grew corn and soybeans, all in a time period of intense hands-on labor. He, along with my mom, raised six children to work the soil, to tend the animals, to understand the importance of faith, family and farming. And for that I am grateful
This crockpot flag mural in downtown Willmar reflects the city’s cultural diversity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo June 2026)
WHENEVER I DISCOVER a public mural that celebrates community, especially the cultural diversity of a place, I get excited. Such art builds community in a strong, vibrant, visible way.
Mexico’s flag on the mural in Willmar. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Earlier this summer, while traveling through west central Minnesota, I found a pop art mural in the heart of downtown Willmar. Titled “Bring Some to Share,” the art by Minneapolis muralist Lili Lennox makes a bold statement on the exterior of Midtown Plaza Mall.
Hanging out in downtown Willmar near Midtown Plaza, this young man invited me to take his portrait. He represents the changing face of this west central Minnesota city. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo June 2026)
The public art speaks to the diversity of this city of some 21,000 which, when I grew up an hour to the south, was overwhelmingly White. Today Hispanics, Latinos and Blacks account for nearly 40 percent of Willmar’s population.
The Honduran flag on the Willmar mural. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Thus the eight aluminum panels featuring flags of the USA, Somalia, Mexico, Honduras, India, Norway and the Karen National Union, plus the old Minnesota state flag, painted on slow cookers certainly represent Willmar today.
A Somali man walks past the “Bring Some to Share” mural on Midtown Plaza in Willmar. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
The location of the mural on Midtown Plaza seems especially fitting, The building serves as a business center and gathering space for East African immigrants. It once housed Erickson Furniture, a long-time regional business with connections to Faribault. The Erickson family also operated a furniture store in Faribault beginning in 1956 until its closure in 2025. The store has since reopened as Erickson Family Furniture, but is no longer in the Erickson family.
This mural in downtown Faribault reflects the city’s diversity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Faribault, slightly larger than Willmar at 25,000 residents, is also a diverse city with sizable Somali and Hispanic/Latino populations. And Faribault, too, celebrates its diversity via a public mural in the heart of downtown. “Love for All” features multi-hued hands signing the word “love” in American sign language.
This photo taken in June shows two Somali women in downtown Faribault, where many Somalis live, work and own businesses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I appreciate that Minneapolis artist Jordyn Brennan’s inclusive artwork depicts how this county seat town has evolved—no longer mostly all White, but rather of differing races. Today Whites comprise about 66 percent of Faribault’s population.
A mural on Lucky Cat Records in Minneapolis celebrates community and the diverse culture of the Whittier neighborhood.More and more, communities in greater Minnesota are growing culturally diverse, just like their big city counterparts. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo)
Statistics aside, Faribault and Willmar are examples of a changing rural Minnesota. Like long ago European immigrants, East Africans, Hispanics, Latinos and others come here for jobs, for opportunities, for a new life. They come to work, to start businesses, to raise their families, to pursue the American dream. Some have escaped war, poverty and other violence in their native countries.
The Somali flag on the Willmar mural. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that not everyone values the cultural diversity of cities like Faribault and Willmar. I’ve heard and read the derogatory comments, which I won’t repeat. Rather, it’s important to remember that all of us in Minnesota, except Native Americans and descendants of slaves, are either immigrants or the descendants of immigrants.
Carrying a crockpot from an event in Kerkhoven, just northwest of Willmar, in June. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
So let’s bring our crockpots brimming with assorted flavors to the table to share. Let’s celebrate each other by connecting in conversations, gathering in community and understanding that we are more alike than we are different.
Acres and acres of corn grow in fields along this county road near Delhi in southwestern Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
SEEMINGLY ENDLESS FIELDS of tasseling corn stretched before us. Row upon row upon row of corn flanking the roadways along with soybeans and the occasional sugar beets. All three crops define the southern Minnesota landscape in July. But corn is decidedly king.
A farm site along U.S. Highway 14 near Janesville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
As Randy and I traveled from Faribault to the Kletscher family reunion in Echo in Yellow Medicine County on the last Sunday of July, we observed the crops. Most looked good. But the farther west we went, we began to notice signs of stress in the corn.
Driving along State Highway 68 by Morgan in eastern Redwood County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
A July 21 drought monitoring report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed our observations with conditions listed as abnormally dry in my home county of Redwood and neighboring counties. Randy and I, even decades removed from the farm, can still accurately assess crops.
Spraying a cornfield just west of Redwood Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
To the west of Redwood Falls along Minnesota State Highway 19, we watched a bright yellow crop duster swoop low over the road in front of us, barely clearing the power lines to drop chemicals onto a cornfield. It was thrilling to watch the pilot’s daring descent while simultaneously wondering what the plane was unleashing upon the land.
Earlier, outside New Ulm, I saw a woman walking beans, meaning she was walking through a soybean field eradicating weeds by hand, a memory-familiar task. I walked a lot of beans during my youth. No chemicals used, only my hands and/or a hoe.
Corn surrounds this barn along State Highway 19 west of Redwood Falls. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
From inside the cool, air conditioned van, Randy and I pressed onward, sheltered from the sweltering heat and humidity of the July day. We passed massive barns swallowed by cornfields. So much corn. Shortly before noon we reached our destination, the Echo Community Center.
This 1936 photo displayed at the reunion shows my grandparents, Henry and Ida Kletscher, with six of their children. My dad, Elvern, is smack dab in the middle, second row.Others include the oldest, Elaine, then Elvira, Mike, Harold and baby Clarence. (Photo studio unknown)
After several hours of food, conversation and sharing memories with extended family, we were on the road again heading the 130 miles back home to Faribault.
This farm site sits near Delhi. Those are sugar beets growing in the foreground. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The temperature had only risen, grown more stifling, more oppressive. Temp rising. Corn rising. Farm sites rising like islands in an ocean of crops.
Grain bins west of New Ulm will soon hold the harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
This is rural southern Minnesota, in the thick of the growing season. The promise of a bountiful harvest measured in growth, rainfall, and hail and windstorms avoided.
Transporting Allis Chalmers tractors from a tractor show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Just north of Sleepy Eye along State Highway 4, a semi truck hauled three Allis Chalmers tractors returning, said Randy, from the Orange Spectacular (Allis Chalmers Tractor Show) in Hutchinson. I picked up my camera, zoomed in and snapped two images, the second with the tractors appearing to drive atop a cornfield.
From this camera perspective, the tractors appear to be driving on the corn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
It was only an illusion, similar to the mirage of water slicing across the roadway on this hot summer day.
That’s not water on the road, only a mirage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
Had we stuck around into the evening and paused beside a cornfield, we likely would have heard the corn growing. There’s scientific truth underlying that statement.
A tractor and baler wait along U.S. Highway 14 between Nicollet and Mankato. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo July 2026)
The adage of “make hay while the sun shines” also rings true. I noticed several farmers baling hay on this hot and humid July afternoon. Farming doesn’t wait for cooler weather. Just like corn continues to grow, stretching across the rural southern Minnesota landscape seemingly into forever.
Once the Vesta Municipal Liquor Store, the business is now privately-owned. This has always been my favorite building downtown because of the unique tile front. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
WHENEVER SOMEONE ASKS if I’m from Faribault, I respond, “Well, I’ve lived here for 44 years, but I’m new.” I say that half-jokingly, half-truthfully. I’ll never be “from” here. And I am “new” because I haven’t lived here my entire life, like many have. And I’m not related to half the town (semi-exaggerating), like many are.
The City of Vesta maintenance building. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Then I attempt to explain from whence I came. I start with Mankato, the nearest large city to the west, then work my way westward to New Ulm and Redwood Falls, eventually landing on my hometown of Vesta in northwestern Redwood County. Most have never heard of this southwestern Minnesota small town, but a few have.
The old St. John’s Lutheran Church, where I was baptized and confirmed before a new church was built and the building sold and converted into apartments. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Looking north on Vesta’s main street, once filled with buildings and businesses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A building seemingly no longer in use, left, the now painted brick bank with a drive-up, right, and a complex of grain bins in the background. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Recently I returned to this farming community of some 300 for an aunt’s funeral. After the church service, burial service and a luncheon at St. John’s Lutheran Church, and before the 120-mile return trip to Faribault, I stopped downtown. By downtown, I mean a single block, today defined primarily by vacant lots and abandoned buildings.
A former gas station and garage at the north end of Vesta’s main street. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Vesta, like so many small towns, once had a thriving core business community. That declined as society became more mobile, as young people graduated and left the area, as shopping habits changed. I could see that already when I left my hometown in 1974. My mom shopped for groceries once a month or so in neighboring Redwood Falls. That city and Marshall, 20 miles to the west, centered regional shopping then.
Looking south along Vesta’s main street, only a few businesses remain. The Vesta Cafe sits on the right. And in the distance, the liquor store and bank are at the end of the block. Parking is diagonal on the sides and parallel in the middle. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A Grain Belt beer sign hangs from the liquor store, which once also had a vintage Schells sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
This is a farming community as seen in these grain bins and the enclosed space where corn is often heaped after fall harvest. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Back to Vesta today. The former municipal liquor store, now privately-owned, and the bank anchor the south corners of the downtown block, with the post office and grain elevator complex just across the street. Long gone is the towering grain elevator where farmers, including my dad, once delivered corn and soybeans. Clusters of grain bins now hold harvested crops.
The old Kletscher family farmhouse, left, with the “new house” in the background. I grew up in these two houses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots Kletscher family photo)
Also long gone is the feed mill and the lumberyard across the street. I remember going to the dusty feed mill with my dad. And I remember my mom gathering booklets of house floor plans from the lumberyard. After years of hoping and planning, my parents built a new house on our farm just south of town in 1967 to accommodate their growing family. We were all happy to move from our aged, cramped farmhouse into a spacious home with more bedrooms and a bathroom.
The city ice skating pond is apparently downtown now on this vacant lot as noted by the sign. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Downtown Vesta today bears little resemblance to the teeming town of my youth—the place where I was baptized, married, attended elementary school (long closed), ice skated in the shadow of the grain elevator, visited my grandparents… The place where I bought caps for my cap gun at Joe Engel’s Hardware Store, Bazooka bubblegum at Rasmussen’s grocery, a set of amber drinking glasses at Marquardt’s Hardware for my mom on Mother’s Day. The place where Dad occasionally treated me to a candy bar at Wiegers’ or the muni or to a bottle of pop at my Uncle Harold’s service station.
Grain bins dwarf the former Vesta Community Center, which centered community life. There we gathered for Memorial Day and Santa Day. There I celebrated my 1982 wedding with a reception and dance. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
This is the place where I sold poppies on Poppy Day and read “In Flanders Fields” during the annual Memorial Day program. The place where I boarded a Greyhound bus as a kid and rode alone all the way to Minneapolis to visit an aunt and uncle. The memories go on and on.
This building may have been Don’s Cafe at one time, but I’m not sure. It’s changed too much for me to know that for certain. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
I knew I would eventually leave Vesta for good with no opportunities to keep me in my hometown. But that doesn’t diminish how much I still appreciate this prairie place which shaped me. I need to revisit Vesta occasionally to remind me of its importance in my life. I will be forever connected to this small town and its people.
The Vesta Cafe, built by the community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
This bread truck had just left the cafe and was driving by the post office when I photographed it. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
The Vesta Post Office on the south end of the main street replaced an older one. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Toward the north end of the downtown block stands the Vesta Cafe, new since I left, although Don’s Cafe was open when I was a kid. Locals gather here for morning coffee and cards, catching up on the latest. And when the town whistle blows at noon, as I heard it recently while standing at my aunt’s graveside, customers arrive at the cafe for dinner. And, yes, the noon meal is “dinner,” the evening meal, “supper,” in this rural area. Menu items and specials like hamburger corn hotdish, liver and onions, and a beef commercial draw diners. My Dad, on the rare occasion he dined out, would always order a beef commercial—roast beef piled onto white bread, topped with gravy, then a scoop of mashed potatoes smothered with more gravy. That’s the ultimate in old school rural dining.
Vesta is decidedly rural as shown in this truck parked along the main street. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
The liquor store and a former leather works business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A snippet of the land my father farmed, my middle brother after him. The farm has since been sold. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Rural rooted and grew me. From the once-flourishing community of Vesta to the crop and dairy farm across the Redwood River a mile south of town on the county road to Lucan, this prairie place shaped me as a person, a writer and a photographer. I am still “from” here, even though gone for more than 50 years now.
This barn sits along Minnesota State Highway 57 north of Mantorville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
IF A SINGLE BUILDING symbolizes agriculture in Minnesota, it is a barn.
A massive barn in the Cosmos area, which is northwest of Hutchinson. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Barns hold the history of farming within their walls. They hold the stories of farm families who labored therein. They hold memories—the heat of cattle, the lingering scent of manure, the pulse of milking machines, the scurrying of barn cats and much more.
Barns also hold heartaches and challenges and the satisfaction and rewards that come with farming.
A farm site in the Arlington area with a signature red barn. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
To step inside a barn, or even to observe one from a distance as I did on recent trips out and about in rural Minnesota, is to understand the importance agriculture plays in this state.
Photographed traveling west of Cosmos on Minnesota State Highway 7. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Sure, farming has changed. Many barns no longer house animals, once a farm staple, as ag has shifted to crop farming. But at its core, this profession, this way of life, still centers rural parts of Minnesota, keeps small towns going. I saw that, from Mantorville to Faribault and from Faribault to Morris and back home.
A grain elevator complex with fading “Grove City Market Company” signage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Barns dominate farm sites just like grain elevators landmark many small rural communities.
Efforts have been made to upkeep the aged farm building, likely a small barn, on the left. This is along Minnesota State Highway 57 between Mantorville and Wanamingo. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
While I see too many dilapidated barns fallen into heaps of rotting wood, I also see those that are well-cared for, still standing strong against the ravages of time and weather. I know that comes at a cost to the landowner. Keeping a barn properly roofed and painted is a major expense. I appreciate efforts to preserve barns built by generations past.
A farm site in, I believe, Sibley County. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
My ancestry traces to farming, to German immigrants who arrived in America, eventually making their way to southwestern Minnesota. There they found rich dark soil in which to plant seeds. Land upon which to build farmhouses, barns and other buildings necessary to the operation of a farm.
Still standing…the old barn and the old corn crib to the left. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I am rooted in farming. I worked inside the barn my father built. I shoveled manure, scooped silage, pushed a wheelbarrow heaping with ground feed, carried pails brimming with milk, bedded straw, tossed hay bales from the hayloft, fed calves… I worked the land, too, picking rock and pulling cockleburrs. I carried lunch to my dad and uncles on hot summer days of baling hay.
Based on the side door and address number on the building, this barn near Hutchinson has been refashioned into perhaps a home or business. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
There is nothing romantic about farming. It is hard work. It is a risky business affected by weather, markets, prices, too many factors out of a farmer’s control.
A farm site near Mantorville along Minnesota State Highway 57. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Yet, I will unequivocally state that I am incredibly thankful I grew up on a working farm. The lessons learned there about working together, about forging forward despite setbacks, about standing independent and strong are ingrained in me.
A pick-up truck kicks up dust along a gravel road in the Cosmos area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
My dad laughed when I told him I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. He knew better. There was nothing to keep me on the farm. And so I left, went to college, became a journalist. But even though physically-removed from the farm, I’ve always carried my ruralness within me, reflected in my writing and photography.
This massive barn near Hutchinson appears to have been repurposed for another use besides sheltering animals. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I find myself still drawn to rural scenes. A farm site. A grain elevator. A gravel road. Cattle grazing. Farm machinery, especially tractors, traversing fields. These all define agriculture. But it is the barn which symbolizes farming and the enduring strength and hope of a farmer.
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NOTE: I took these photos from the front passenger seat, either through the windshield or side window while traveling at highway speeds. Locations of several photos are not noted as I don’t recall the exact locations.
Photographed in Kenyon. Two guys and a tractor. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
EVERYDAY LIFE presents snapshots of ordinary moments worthy of documentation. So, when I’m out and about in public places, I look for those unique storytelling moments. To capture them with my camera gives me a sense of satisfaction. To share those images is to share a slice of life.
Defined, this is candid street photography. People just going about their daily lives when I take a photo unnoticed. I’m always respectful in my photography, often opting for side or back images. Occasionally I ask for a posed portrait. But my preference is always natural, unscripted.
Our destination, All Seasons Thrift Store in Kenyon. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo 2024)
Recently, upon a return road trip from Rochester, Randy and I stopped in small town Kenyon to shop at a downtown thrift store. But before we could even exit the van, I noticed two guys across the street standing by a mid-1950s International Harvester Farmall tractor chained onto a trailer.
I can only guess at their conversation. Perhaps they were bartering over a price, talking repairs or reminiscing. But the scene was so typical rural Minnesota. Guys dressed in their work-worn jeans (one with suspenders), sturdy work boots and everyday shirts engaged deep in conversation. Only their seed corn caps were missing.
A scene along Central Avenue during the June 19 Car Cruise Night shows a Mexican restaurant in the background (right), one of several in downtown Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
The scene was decidedly different in Faribault the next evening. While attending Car Cruise Night, two Somali women crossed my path on Central Avenue. I smiled and greeted them as they continued down the sidewalk. They carried textiles similar to those I’ve seen in storefront windows of some local Somali-owned businesses.
Downtown Faribault is home to numerous Somali-owned businesses. Many Somalis also live in the downtown area. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I appreciated the moment because the women reflect the cultural diversity of my community. The demographics of Faribault, of Minnesota, have changed a lot in recent years and I’m happy to showcase that in my work.
A street scene in downtown Willmar. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Some 135 miles to the northwest in Willmar, I once again saw the cultural diversity of a city which is home to many Latinos and those with East African roots, especially Somalis. A short walk and drive about the downtown confirmed that.
This young man invited me to take his portrait in downtown Willmar. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
While photographing an artsy street bench, I encountered a young man sitting on a large planter box. I noticed his patriotic-themed shirt featuring a liberty bell against a backdrop American flag and the message, Let Freedom Ring. “I like your shirt,” I said, as he pulled out his ear buds and then invited me to take his photo. I jumped at the chance to photograph him, creating a memorable portrait. He reflects the diversity of his community. And his t-shirt made a strong statement about liberty during this, the 250th birthday year of a nation built by immigrants.
Sweets Ice Cream in Kerkhoven in far western Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Up the road some 20 miles northwest of Willmar, I took a street portrait, literally in the street, outside the Kerkhoven Civic Center. The building houses city hall, the library, a heritage room and a community gathering space. It’s just down the street from an ice cream shop along busy U.S. Highway 12.
Leaving a potluck on a Saturday afternoon in Kerkhoven. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
After enjoying bowls heaping with scoops of key lime pie ice cream and maple nut ice cream from Sweets Ice Cream, Randy and I headed for the van. That’s when I saw a guy leaving the civic center with a crockpot in hands. I stood in the middle of the street—you can do that in Kerkhoven, population around 800—and took his photograph.
If anything says “Minnesota,” it’s a potluck. I didn’t track the guy down to ask if he had any leftovers. I wasn’t hungry after eating all that ice cream. But I was delighted to photograph him in this signature Minnesota moment.
Candid street photography tells a story within a moment of time. History. A record of everyday life. And when I can snapshot that, I feel a sense of accomplishment because I’ve documented a moment worth honoring, worth sharing, worth much more than a thousand words.
The Rev. Penny Bonsell of Little Prairie United Methodist Church, in the background, welcomes the crowd and introduces the Old Country Boys at a June 10 concert. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
HEAT AND HUMIDITY gave way to a lovely evening on the prairie. Here, on a grassy space edged by trees, a cornfield, county road and gravel parking lot south of Dundas, folks gathered for “Music on the Prairie.”
Waiting to buy a $5 meal deal. The meat portion of the menu varies at each concert. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
And, oh, what an event, the first in a three-part summer concert series hosted, fittingly, by Little Prairie United Methodist Church. As I took in the scene, I thought, life doesn’t get much better than this—great food, music and conversation in the outdoors on a perfect summer evening in southern Minnesota.
Volunteers grill burgers crafted from locally-raised beef. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Waiting in line for food. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
A volunteer hands out delicious homemade cookies. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Even waiting in line for a fresh local beef patty, a cup of specialty beans (the special ingredient being sauerkraut) and the most delicious homemade chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with sea salt didn’t phase typically-impatient me. Conversation flowed. And the down-home music of the Old Country Boys thrummed a beat across the land as they performed atop a flatbed trailer.
Dancing to the music of the Old Country Boys. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
This was an evening meant for pulling out the lawn chairs, for coming here to eat a meal served up by church members, to chat with friends old and new, and to listen to songs like “Ring of Fire,” “King of the Road,” “Sweet Caroline,” “Country Roads” and more. Music that got some in the crowd waving their arms, singing along and others on their feet dancing across the lawn.
The Rev. Penny Bonsell, accompanied by the Old Country Boys, sings to her husband, Tom. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
The Rev. Penny Bonsell and her husband, Tom Hollenhorst, dressed all in black, briefly took the stage to entertain the crowd as June Carter and Johnny Cash singing “Jackson,” the duo’s 1967 billboard country chart hit. The performance was a hit with the audience as was a song Bonsell sang for her husband in honor of their third wedding anniversary.
Cowboy hats fit the music. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Another couple in the crowd was celebrating their 70-something anniversary (I didn’t catch the exact year). They were married at Little Prairie, a picturesque white country church located on a country crossroads corner just to the east of the concert site.
The band performs as smoke from the grill drifts and a large crowd listens. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Both anniversaries were recognized with rounds of applause. A band member also led the crowd in welcoming a woman home from a lengthy hospital stay while he videotaped the message for Deb. Such care and compassion builds community, connects us.
Afton hangs out by coolers filled with pop and water available for purchase. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
All ages came to “Music on the Prairie”—babies in strollers, toddler Afton in her floral skirt and soft pink Princess tee celebrating her first birthday the next day, a four-year-old girl who had just finished preschool, young people, parents and grandparents. All generations.
Creating big bubbles on the spacious green space next to a cornfield. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Daughter and dad string beads into a bracelet. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
Kids run around the grounds and play on the fenced in playground built next to a mini Little Prairie church replica facade. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I watched as a little girl dipped an over-sized wand in a bucket, then drew bubbles across the air. I watched as a dad helped his two-year-old daughter thread beads onto a string, making a bracelet for her mom. I watched as kids climbed ladders inside the Little Prairie Playground, a mini replica of the church.
I stepped into the cornfield to take this photo of concert goers. This is a definitively rural location in the middle of farm fields. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I listened as a train whistle blew, the train rumbling past on a track through a tree line next to the cornfield next to the lawn where we sat enjoying the music of the Old Country Boys.
Kids pull on the rope to ring the bell inside the steeple of the playground church. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I listened to the clang of a church bell inside the playground, the hum of a generator powering the band’s amplifiers and electric guitars.
The Old Country Boys drummer. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
I hugged my friend Lee whom I haven’t seen in a while. I talked to other friends I haven’t seen in a while. And I made new friends here at Little Prairie where great food, music and conversation connected all of us on a beautiful early June evening in the countryside.
The crowd gathers and settles in for the Old Country Boys concert. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo June 2026)
FYI: The next “Music on the Prairie” on Wednesday, July 22, features the Over and Back Band playing funky rock n roll and gypsy bluegrass. The third and final summer concert happens on Wednesday August 19, with The Rockin’ Hep Cats performing roots rock n roll. Attendees can purchase a meal beginning at 5:30 p.m. Music is from 6-8 p.m.The concert is free with donations accepted to support Little Prairie ministries.
Driving into Redwood County near Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo May 2026)
WHILE ON THE ROAD from Faribault to my hometown of Vesta and back recently, I noticed interesting roadside details. These may not necessarily catch the attention of other motorists. But they caught my eye.
Unleaded gas was priced substantially lower than other places at Morgan Convenience on May 26. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
“BARGAIN” GAS
Let’s start with the price of unleaded gas at Morgan Convenience, Food & Fuel. It was priced at $4.18 (rounded up a tenth) on May 26. Elsewhere along the route, the cost was $4.49 (rounded up a tenth). I don’t understand how the gas price in Morgan, a small rural Minnesota town of some 900, can be so much lower than in neighboring New Ulm, population around 14,000, for example. Or in Faribault with about 25,000 residents. This makes no sense to me and is not the first time gas prices in more rural outstate Minnesota have been priced considerably lower.
Signage at a restaurant and bar in Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
MORE THAN JUST BURGERS
Also in Morgan, I spotted this sign: THE SPOTT. And, yes, the period is part of the abbreviated name. Clever. Upon returning home, I researched this business, full name The Spotted Bear Ale House. It’s a restaurant and full service bar.
The Facebook page features lots of food I’d enjoy: loaded pulled pork baked potato; pulled beef Gouda sliders with Parmesan fries; caramel, strawberry lemon, raspberry and/or banana rolls with peanut butter frosting; General Tso chicken and rice with crab salad; and more. Yum. The offerings impress me as vastly different from your typical small town burgers and other bar food. As a side note, this business is for sale.
An old threshing machine is the backdrop for Gilfillan Estate signage. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
AN ESTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF FARM FIELDS
Just down the highway, another sign grabbed my attention. That was signage on an old threshing machine marking the Redwood County Historical Society’s Gilfillan Estate. It’s not the sign so much as this property west of Morgan along Minnesota State Highway 67 that is noteworthy. Here you’ll find both the estate and the site of Minnesota Farmfest.
The estate, with its long, tree-lined driveway leading to a stately house, has been here for as long as I can remember. The original owner, Charles Duncan Gilfillan (1831-1902), bought 10,000 acres of Redwood County farmland. He built a house, offices, a grain elevator, stockyard and tenet homes here and raised purebred livestock exported to Great Britain. Eventually his son, Charles Oswin Gilfillan, took over the estate. The younger Gilfillan was an active philanthropist in Redwood County. I must make an effort sometime to tour the estate and learn more about the Gilfillans and their generosity.
An A.C.O. silo still stands between New Ulm and Courtland. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
A NOD TO FARMING OF YESTERYEAR
More history is written onto a silo that hugs U.S. Highway 14 east of New Ulm. The A.C.O. on the brick silo stands for AC Ochs of the AC Ochs Brick and Tile Company in Springfield, several towns down the road to the west 30 miles distant. These silos, made from curved bricks, were built across the Midwest between 1910-1945. I love their historic, signature look and their unique construction. They are landmarks of a bygone era of diversified small family farms.
The Colonial Inn, with a 73-year history in New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
AN OLD SCHOOL MOTEL
In New Ulm, the Colonial Inn along North Broadway/Highway 14 appears old school motel. And it is. Built in 1953, rooms in the U-shaped building open to the paved parking lot. While I’ve only seen the motel from the exterior and a few photos on the no-frills website, this motel seems exactly as I would expect. Basic. Simple. And a throwback to yesteryear with the exception of WiFi.
A billboard with an unusual question. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
FIRE & BRIMSTONE
Finally, in the Smiths Mill area along Highway 14 east of Mankato, a thought-provoking sign asks whether you will go to heaven or to hell when you die. I have no idea who paid for this billboard with the John 3:36 notation at the bottom. But it’s certainly an oddity in highway signage. Fire or no fire?
You never know what you’ll discover while on the road.
A red barn and red outbuildings define this farm site along U.S. Highway 14 west of Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
THROUGH SEVEN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA counties we traveled—Rice, Steele, Waseca, Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown and, then, home to Redwood. Westward bound.
Another farm site west of Owatonna. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Only occasionally now, mostly for the annual family reunion and on this day a beloved aunt’s funeral, do Randy and I follow this 125-mile route back to my native Redwood County.
West of Owatonna, a cloudy morning sky dwarfs a distant farm site. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Every trip, I see the immensity of sky and land as the landscape unfolds before me. The farther west we drive, the more rural the look, the feel, with the exception of Mankato and New Ulm.
A barn photographed along highway 14 west of Mankato. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
We bypass the small towns along four-lane U.S. Highway 14 while passing endless farm sites and fields.
This mammoth barn sits along Broun County Road 29 west of New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
I have my eye on the view from the passenger side of our van, scanning the land, watching for photo ops. Photography can be a challenge while traveling at highway speeds. Still, I try, managing to capture images that document the ruralness of this place.
A well-kept, sturdy barn along Brown County 29 west of New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
Barns, especially red ones, always grab my attention. They symbolize agriculture more than any other building. Yet, most no longer center a farming operation. Absent of animals, many barns have been repurposed or have fallen into heaps of rotting wood. I always appreciate a well-kept barn still standing strong against elements and the passage of time.
A greening field west of Morgan along Minnesota State Highway 67. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
This trip I’m also cognizant of crops at the beginning of the growing season. Corn is popping up in rows across the land, green shoots reaching toward the sun, the sky. Green is good. When my next trip this direction comes in late July, that corn will stand towering and dense across acres of fields.
Entering Redwood County on Minnesota State Highway 68 east of Morgan. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
I may not be a farmer, but my connection to the land more than 50 decades removed from my childhood farm remains strong. I still look at the crops. I still hope to spot a herd of Holsteins. I still see a silo and mentally climb the interior ladder to throw down silage. I still eye a grove of trees with the playfulness of youth.
Farmward Cooperative, left, with downtown Morgan to the right. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
While nostalgia runs high on trips like this deep into Minnesota farm country, reality is that farming remains as challenging as ever with ever-rising expenses, low commodity prices and the uncertainties of weather. Will rain fall when needed? Will storms come with devastating wind and hail? Always, always, the risks exist from planting to growing to harvest.
Sky meets land and farm sites along Brown County Road 29 west of New Ulm. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
But on this day, mile after mile after mile, I see the hope of a farmer. I see a way of life. I see dreams.
Minnesota State Highway 19 stretches before us between Redwood Falls and my hometown of Vesta. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo May 2026)
And I feel small in this place where land and sky dwarf farm sites, where fields stretch across endless acres, where the highway ribbons ahead of us across seven rural southern Minnesota counties, westward bound.
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Barns, an enduring symbol of farming June 25, 2026
Tags: agricultural symbol, agriculture, barns, childhood memories, commentary, cosmos, farm sites, farming, Hutchinson, Mantorville, Minnesota, photography, road trip, rural life, rural Minnesota, southern Minnesota, travel
IF A SINGLE BUILDING symbolizes agriculture in Minnesota, it is a barn.
Barns hold the history of farming within their walls. They hold the stories of farm families who labored therein. They hold memories—the heat of cattle, the lingering scent of manure, the pulse of milking machines, the scurrying of barn cats and much more.
Barns also hold heartaches and challenges and the satisfaction and rewards that come with farming.
To step inside a barn, or even to observe one from a distance as I did on recent trips out and about in rural Minnesota, is to understand the importance agriculture plays in this state.
Sure, farming has changed. Many barns no longer house animals, once a farm staple, as ag has shifted to crop farming. But at its core, this profession, this way of life, still centers rural parts of Minnesota, keeps small towns going. I saw that, from Mantorville to Faribault and from Faribault to Morris and back home.
Barns dominate farm sites just like grain elevators landmark many small rural communities.
While I see too many dilapidated barns fallen into heaps of rotting wood, I also see those that are well-cared for, still standing strong against the ravages of time and weather. I know that comes at a cost to the landowner. Keeping a barn properly roofed and painted is a major expense. I appreciate efforts to preserve barns built by generations past.
My ancestry traces to farming, to German immigrants who arrived in America, eventually making their way to southwestern Minnesota. There they found rich dark soil in which to plant seeds. Land upon which to build farmhouses, barns and other buildings necessary to the operation of a farm.
I am rooted in farming. I worked inside the barn my father built. I shoveled manure, scooped silage, pushed a wheelbarrow heaping with ground feed, carried pails brimming with milk, bedded straw, tossed hay bales from the hayloft, fed calves… I worked the land, too, picking rock and pulling cockleburrs. I carried lunch to my dad and uncles on hot summer days of baling hay.
There is nothing romantic about farming. It is hard work. It is a risky business affected by weather, markets, prices, too many factors out of a farmer’s control.
Yet, I will unequivocally state that I am incredibly thankful I grew up on a working farm. The lessons learned there about working together, about forging forward despite setbacks, about standing independent and strong are ingrained in me.
My dad laughed when I told him I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. He knew better. There was nothing to keep me on the farm. And so I left, went to college, became a journalist. But even though physically-removed from the farm, I’ve always carried my ruralness within me, reflected in my writing and photography.
I find myself still drawn to rural scenes. A farm site. A grain elevator. A gravel road. Cattle grazing. Farm machinery, especially tractors, traversing fields. These all define agriculture. But it is the barn which symbolizes farming and the enduring strength and hope of a farmer.
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NOTE: I took these photos from the front passenger seat, either through the windshield or side window while traveling at highway speeds. Locations of several photos are not noted as I don’t recall the exact locations.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling