LAST WEEK’S STREAK of gloriously warm, sunny days here in southern Minnesota beckoned Randy and me to hit the road on Friday to view the fall colors. We’d worked hard earlier in the week, me writing and painting and he laboring over automotive jobs.
As life-long Minnesotans, we understand that these golden autumn days are fleeting. And, indeed, the weather has now changed to cold, gloomy and rainy. So our decision to take a day off and away proved the right choice.
I love these day trips into the countryside and into the small towns in our region. It’s an opportunity to get out of Faribault, reconnect to our rural roots and delight in new discoveries.
Before this outing even began, though, the day opened with a sunrise so lovely that I simply stood at my living room window taking in the scene before me. Light in shades of red, gold and orange fired across the eastern sky, blazing between clouds, creating a painterly visual.
Soon we would be off, picnic lunch packed, driving east into a landscape hazy with wind-blown harvest dust and land in need of a good, soaking rain.
We saw our first masses of color in the dense woods of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. We opted not to stop at this busy fall destination park, but rather continued on to the small town of Nerstrand.
A quick drive-through didn’t reveal much new in Nerstrand. But I did spot the most inviting front porch area graced with autumn décor of pumpkins, mums and a corn shock plus a vintage bike and lush ferns. I wanted to walk right up the front steps, knock on the door and ask to sit a spell in one of the comfy wicker chairs for conversation and perhaps a mug of steaming coffee. I’ve always wanted to live in a house with a front porch.
Onward we drove, winding our way toward Dennison, past farms and occasional splashes of colorful trees.
Once in town, I noticed a new establishment, Cattlemen’s Saloon, which seems a fitting name for this small farming community. The saloon, previously the 625 Bar & Grill, opened a year ago under the same ownership but with a new focus and branding.
I also happened upon some no trespassing signage that left me feeling uneasy. I got the message, as intended, that I ought to stay clear of this vacant property or else. I just don’t share the owner’s sense of humor regarding weapons.
Next we aimed toward Cannon Falls, twisting through the picturesque Sogn Valley area. Some fall color tinted hillsides of trees, but nothing spectacular. We realized that perhaps we were a week late to see the peak of autumn hues here.
Yet, a drive like this doesn’t depend on a singular attraction to make it enjoyable. Rather, I delight in the unexpected, the quirky, the details that help define a place. And first off in Cannon Falls, that was an old John Deere tractor hoisted high atop a metal frame on the south edge of town. I wondered how that tractor was lifted into place.
But it was in downtown Cannon Falls where I found the highlight of the day—Sweet Kneads. I love a good local bakery. Only on day trips do I treat myself to a bakery sweet, this time a blueberry Bismarck donut that was over-the-top yummy, oozing with blueberry filling that tasted fresh, not canned. It was one of the best bakery treats, if not the best, I’ve ever eaten.
With sweets fueling us, Randy and I were ready to hit the road again, but not before a quick look at seasonally-decorated storefronts at neighboring businesses. We could easily have spent several hours downtown, home to restaurants, boutiques, a cheese shop, florist, winery, brewery, antique store and much more. Cannon Falls offers a lot. We’ve previously lingered for hours here. But this trip we focused on finding fall colors. So out of town we headed, eastward bound toward Welch.
FYI: Please check back as I continue on this fall color day trip into rural southern Minnesota.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
In appreciation of those protesting in rural areas on No Kings Day March 27, 2026
Tags: commentary, democracy, Minnesota, No Kings Day, opinion, protesting, protests, resistance, rural Minnesota, small towns
ON THIS, THE DAY before nationwide No Kings Day protests, I want to pause and thank the many people in small towns, in the most rural of regions, who are standing up for democracy. Media attention tomorrow will focus on protests in big cities. That coverage is expected. But equally as important are the rallies in communities of a couple hundred or several thousand deep in red territory.
In these places, publicly standing against the Trump administration takes, simply put, guts. Everyone knows everyone in small towns and it’s not necessarily easy to be politically at odds with one another. These are the people you see at the post office, worship with, meet for coffee, work beside, live next door to, do business with.
When those who oppose Trump, his administration and policies protest in rural Republican strongholds, they expose themselves as “the other.” Yet, it is this very public act of defiance and resistance which can get people thinking, start conversations, open doors to change. Now, more than ever, it’s important to fearlessly oppose tyranny. It’s important to stand up for freedom, voting rights, immigrants, justice, due process… It’s important to express concerns about the economy, the war in Iran, the overall state of this country.
Upon looking at a map of all the No Kings Day protest sites in Minnesota, I found many in rural areas. From Madison, population 1,500 and the self-proclaimed “Lutefisk Capital of the USA” near the South Dakota border, to Baudette, population 1,100 and the “Walleye Capital of the World” near the Canadian border, Minnesotans will gather. Even in my deeply red home county of Redwood in southwestern Minnesota, a protest is planned in the county seat of Redwood Falls.
In St. James, also in southwestern Minnesota and a town where I once lived and worked as a regional news reporter for the Mankato Free Press, a No Kings Day event is set. The community of 4,800 is home to many Hispanics and Latinos and was targeted by federal immigration enforcement agents during Operation Metro Surge.
Even Hackensack, in Paul Bunyan’s northern Minnesota lake country, is on the Saturday protest map. That town has a population of just under 300 as does Cyrus, near Morris in far western Minnesota, also holding a No Kings Day protest.
From my community of Faribault, with a population of around 25,000, to Kenyon to the east with some 1,800 residents, to the small towns of Rushford, St. Charles, Spring Grove and Preston in the far southeastern corner of Minnesota, and many small towns and cities across the state, people will gather in protest on Saturday.
In St. Paul, organizers are expecting up to 100,000 to rally at the state capitol. Those are some impressive numbers. Yet, if even five people show up in a small town to protest, that’s impressive, too.
Every voice of resistance matters, wherever you live, rural, suburban or urban.
FYI: The Faribault No Kings Day protest is from 11 a.m.-noon March 28 (and every Saturday) by the Rice County government services building along Minnesota State Highway 60.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling