AS A WRITER, I’m drawn to words. Perhaps that’s why I appreciate signs, slogans, even interesting messages on t-shirts such as “I put ketchup on my ketchup.” I spotted a guy in Faribault recently wearing a ketchup tee and told him I liked his shirt. I appreciated the humor. It was his second compliment of the day, he said. I’m not surprised given an American obsession with the condiment. I mean, my older brother squirted ketchup on his potatoes when we were kids. And most people can’t eat fries without ketchup. I can.
Then there’s the t-shirt I saw for sale earlier this year at a Czech celebration in Montgomery. In white letters on black fabric, the noun, Czech girl, was defined “like a normal girl but cooler.” I guess I will never be Czech cool since my heritage is German.
Nor will I hold Bohemian power or pride as printed on two buttons worn by a man in traditional Czech attire at the same Montgomery event. He was in the right place, Minnesota’s Czech triangle, to be sporting those ethnic-proud buttons.
But I saw one identifier in Montgomery that proved relatable. And that was “Hope Dealer” displayed on a downtown storefront window. Hope happens to be one of my favorite words, one I’ve leaned into often during challenging times in my life. There’s nothing quite like hope to focus thoughts on difficult days. In Montgomery, “Hope Dealer” marks a substance abuse treatment center, which offers hope to those who walk through the door. The noun applies to me when I offer hope to someone who needs to be uplifted, encouraged and supported, maybe even inspired.
Sometimes superheroes inspire as seen on a flashy purple car parked at a downtown Faribault Car Cruise Night this summer. Captain Marvel themed the car. The Minnesota license plate, CPTMRVL, did not escape my notice. This car owner clearly identifies with the positive superhuman powers of Captain Marvel.
Over in Northfield at Makeshift Accessories, a home-grown shop featuring art crafted from primarily recycled materials, I found a sign that fits me—MN G1RL. It’s made from Minnesota license plate letters and a single number cobbled together. The rustic look appeals to me. But mostly, it’s the words I appreciate. I am a life-long Minnesota girl. If I were to define MN G1RL, I’d write “like a normal girl but stronger.” You’ve got to be strong to survive our long, harsh winters (although they are not as long and harsh as they once were).
Whether you’re from Minnesota or elsewhere matters not. Whether you’re into superheroes or not doesn’t matter to me. Whether you’re Bohemian or German or some other ethnicity matters not either. Whether you douse everything in ketchup or not, I don’t care.
But it does matter to me that you hold hope. It matters to me that you can read that singular word and feel the optimism it carries. You can carry hope in your heart. And you can dispense hope within your community through your words and actions. While you do that, notice the signs, slogans and interesting messages that surround you, that are part of everyday life wherever you live. Words matter. So says this southern Minnesota writer.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
ICE OUT, a photo essay & commentary from Minnesota February 13, 2026
Tags: businesses, commentary, Content Bookstore, Division Street, Governor Tim Walz, ICE OUT, immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Minnesota, Minnesota Strong, news, Northfield, photo essay, photography, signs, strength
THE DAY AFTER BORDER CZAR (anyone dislike that title as much as me?) Tom Homan announced a draw-down of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, I’m feeling, as Governor Tim Walz said, “cautiously optimistic.” Recent history has proven that we can’t necessarily believe or trust what federal government officials tell us. But I’m trying to be hopeful.
For more than two months, 3,000 immigration enforcement agents have been working in Minnesota. And if anyone still believes that they are/were doing only targeted enforcement, arresting “the worst of the worst,” then I have some lakefront property to sell you.
Let’s go back to Thursday morning, when Homan made his draw-down announcement complete with praise for his agents and the success of their mission in Minnesota. I couldn’t listen any more. I’d heard enough.
I had an appointment in neighboring Northfield anyway so off I went to this college town that, like Faribault, has been recently inundated by ICE. Except in Northfield, a decidedly blue city, the business community is publicly vocal about its opposition to ICE’s presence unlike in my decidedly red city.
In the heart of downtown Northfield, on one side of a block along Division Street, nearly every business has posted an anti-ICE sign and/or uplifting signage. I felt the strength of those shopkeepers willing to stand up for and encourage others. There’s power in raising united voices in opposition to wrong.
Inside Content Bookstore, where I stopped to shop for a baby shower gift, I discovered even more messaging and ways in which the Northfield community is stepping up to help their immigrant neighbors, including children affected by ICE’s actions. Monies from the sale of Minnesota state flag and “Rebel Loon” (our state bird) stickers will go toward books and activities for those kids. Content is also collaborating on a poetry chapbook, Words to Meet the Moment: Poetry Against Fascism, releasing soon.
As ICE supposedly ends Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota (which also encompassed cities and small towns outside the metro like my city of 25,000), we are left with a mess. Let me define that. The personal toll is huge. Trauma has been inflicted upon thousands. “Generational trauma,” Governor Walz said.
I worry about the kids who witnessed family members being taken or who saw armed, masked immigration officers with guns outside their schools (with classmates taken by ICE), outside their daycares, outside or inside their homes, at their bus stops, on the streets. It’s hard enough for adults to see such threatening power, aggression and use of excessive force. But our children? The mental health of all Minnesotans concerns me, especially that of the youngest among us.
And then there is the financial fall-out with people now unable to pay their bills, including rent, facing eviction because they haven’t gone to work out of fear of ICE. Again, legal status matters not as anyone with brown or black skin has been targeted. These same individuals and families have relied on community members and nonprofits to help with rent payments and to bring them groceries. This is not long-term sustainable.
Until we are all confident that ICE is really, truly gone and is doing only targeted enforcement of “the worst of the worst,” we will all remain on edge. Rebuilding trust, restoring life to normalcy will assuredly take time.
Likewise, the Minnesota economy has suffered severe damage, especially small businesses. Governor Walz has proposed a $10 million forgivable loan recovery plan to help the business community and is also hoping for help from the federal government. Good luck with that.
While in Northfield on Thursday, I learned that ICE agents recently went along Division Street, asking for employment records at some businesses. I don’t know details. But in my mind, I envision these armed, masked officers as a threatening presence in the heart of this picturesque, riverside American city. This community doesn’t back down from threats. In September 1876, townsfolk stopped the James-Younger Gang from robbing the First National Bank. Northfield is a community which cares for one another and which, in the midst of a federal invasion, has stood, is still standing, Minnesota Strong.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling