Columns

John Eggers Column: A Fourth of July report card

John Eggers — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 14:00:00 GMT

If you had to give America a letter grade this Fourth of July, what would you give it? Do we deserve any “A’s”? Are we failing in any areas?

On the "A" side

Our standard of living is higher than that of many countries. Our schools, at the K-12, college, and university levels, these are considered among the best in the world.

We have the freedom to worship or not to worship. Although our health care system is in jeopardy, it remains among the best if not the best in the world. We are fortunate to have a diverse range of entertainment options. We love our parades.

Remember Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote "Democracy in America" in 1831? He authored the book after visiting the United States that same year. He only lived to be 54 years old, but his book, after nearly 200 years, is considered the most quoted work on democracy. He came to America to observe what a great republic was like.

He was struck by our country's equality and democratic way of life. He said, both as a truth and a warning, “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Are there signs that we are not as good as we could be or once were? Do you worry about America? Are we failing in some areas? I am on my last round-up, and I have never been as worried as I am now about the America my granddaughter will inherit.

I should be basking on some white sands under a palm tree, drinking an ice-cold glass of pink lemonade. I’m too old to worry, but here I am. What am I worried about? Maybe you share the same worries.

On the failing side

I worry about masked men seizing people off the streets without giving them due process required by law. That’s a worry I have. That deserves a failing grade.

I worry about the aid we should be providing to countries like Africa that need our support but are being denied. I worry our birthright citizenship may be taken away.

I worry about people who want to come to the United States but cannot enter, despite what it says on the Statue of Liberty.

I worry that we are failing to fulfill our obligation to Ukraine by not giving them what they need to stop Russia, who is the aggressor. How could we be so cruel?

I worry that our leaders seem to be more obsessed with power and riches as opposed to taking care of the poor and the oppressed. I worry that our healthcare system is being threatened by misinformation from leaders who are not trained medical professionals.

I worry that our educational system is being gutted by people who have no idea what it means to be in a classroom. I worry that the Peace Corps will face the same fate as Americorps, which no longer exists. How sad.

On this Fourth of July, all of the above deserve a failing grade. As we celebrate America’s greatness, we need to ask ourselves, "Are we really that great anymore?"

Tocqueville also said, "The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."

Everyone, the 2025 Fourth of July finds us in a serious situation where we see many issues that need fixing. Can we do it in time before they become unfixable?

Crossroads Church

I had the privilege of attending the 9 o'clock service at Crossroads Church last Sunday as part of my quest to visit every church in Bemidji. It’s a charming, comfortable church with a fresh spiritual vibe.

The three singers and the drummer leading the group were outstanding and inspiring. I felt like I was at a Christian music concert. I appreciated the pastor’s inspiring sermon. Thanks to the worshipers at Crossroads for their warm welcome.

Riddle: What did one firecracker say to the other firecracker? (Answer: My Pop is bigger than your Pop. Have a safe Fourth. Let’s work on our failing grades.)

100%

I will be at the parades in Debs, Bemidji and Red Lake. Come and support 100% graduation rate goal.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.]]>

Pioneer Perspectives: Grieving lost trees and cherishing their memories

Dennis Doeden — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 11:50:00 GMT

Sometimes you just don’t know what to do.

So you go with what you know.

That’s what people like Cate Belleveau and Barb Lee Schueppert did in the aftermath of Bemidji’s 2025 blowdown. Cate used her event planning skills and connection to the arts; Schueppert turned to songwriting.

Belleveau has organized “In Memoriam — To the Trees Lost,” a concert of regional musicians and spoken word artists. It will be held on the Beltrami County Courthouse grounds at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 18.

One of the people to take the stage that evening is Schueppert, who wrote and recorded “Elegy for the Lost Trees.” It’s a song she initially wrote just for herself, but thought “since it made me feel a little better maybe it would make other people feel a little better, too.”

Both women have what they call survivor’s guilt. Both live north of town and had little or no damage to their property. It was only after they realized the extent of the devastation elsewhere that they decided to act.

“Historically we've always called upon the troubadours and singers and poets and storytellers to help us celebrate,” Belleveau said. “But sometimes when there's a collective grieving you call upon those folks to pull those emotions together for people who are grieving, and there's definitely a lot of grieving going on in our community right now.”

It’s not just the loss of a tree, but the memories. After a fallen tree is cut and moved, you might see little tracks where the ground was worn because children had been using a swing that hung from it.

“If you asked a lot of the folks who lost their trees, they'd probably have some stories they would connect with, why that felt like such a big loss,” Belleveau said. “It was connected with their family and their memories.”

That’s what Barb Lee Schueppert was thinking about after she made her first trip into town following the storm. She wanted to check on the gravesite of her late husband, Rick Lee, at Greenwood Cemetery after winds toppled many of its towering pines. That’s when she realized the depth of destruction.

“I was so sad,” she said. “Even though nothing happened to me, I was just sad for the town center, the loss of the trees, and that it would never be the same again.”

So the retired educator turned to songwriting, a hobby that she picked up during COVID. She has written more than two dozen songs, and calls many of them therapeutic. She said she sat down and wrote the lyrics for “Elegy for the Lost Trees” in about half an hour.

“It just flowed because it was just so real,” Barb said. “I felt sad, but I felt like I had a place to put that sadness. So it's kind of a release. I think it was because it was meant to be.”

Barb shared an audio recording of the song on social media, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. A friend passed it on to Cate Belleveau, who was planning her July 18 event.

Schueppert is not accustomed to sharing her music outside her family and friends, but she agreed to step out of her comfort zone to perform this song at the event.

She will leave the audience with these words:

“Beloved pines,

Sentinels through time,

Symbols of our identity

Embedded in our minds.

We didn’t know how much we’d miss you till you were gone.”

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Finding Faith: Small lake offers surprising glimpses of creation

Devlyn Brooks — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 14:30:00 GMT

When was the last time that you scooped up a handful of lake water? Felt the cool refreshment of one of nature’s most vital gifts?

When was the last time you got your nose into a handful of soil? Enjoyed its earthy aroma? Felt its velvety nature as it slipped through the cracks of your fingers?

When was the last time you stopped still to enjoy the scenery of a forest, prairie or mountainscape? Let the majesty of the enormity of it all whisk your imagination away?

I’ve been blessed this summer to spend some time on a small lake in northern Minnesota, and I have been struck by how creation still has the power to surprise and move me.

For instance, one night while quietly gazing at the last orange rays of the sunset, I saw a beaver slowly swim across the front of the dock, creating a beautiful “V”-shaped fan rippling out behind it on glasslike water. Never in all my years of coming to this spot had I seen this happen.

What a joyful surprise!

Another time this summer, there was a collection of six loons that had gathered not far off the end of the dock, and I’d also never seen six adult loons gather either. What a cacophony of beautiful sound they made!

I also saw a heron fly parallel to the beach right over the dock and land in a tree on the bank just some 15 yards or so from us. Again, I’d never seen a gull land in a tree!

While all of these remarkable first-time experiences have made my soul sing and given me great joy, they also reminded me just how disconnected from creation we all are. Well, not all of us. More specifically, how disconnected our white, Westernized culture is.

It wasn’t always this way, of course. Once upon a time, it was necessary for all of us to interact with creation on a daily basis. In one way or another, we were all dependent on the flora, fauna and inanimate natural resources gifted to us by the Creator.

But as we modernized and mechanized and consumerized our society, the necessity to interface with creation has been minimized. Many of us go all week long, moving from climate-controlled homes to climate-controlled vehicles to climate-controlled public spaces and back again. We very rarely need to encounter nature.

Friends, this is our loss, and also contributes to our massive lack of concern about the gift of creation that we are so quickly spoiling.

This week, go outside. Get your snoot in a handful of dirt! Witness the beauty of a bird that’s new to you. Touch the grass; eye up a beautiful flower. Take in the vast array of life besides us.

It’ll do your soul, and faith, some real good. Amen.

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Are the worst of the storms behind us?

Michael Johnson — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 10:30:00 GMT

Maybe it’s my poor memory or perhaps my deficient record keeping, but it seems like we are having another year of unusual and severe weather happenings.

Sure, things started out kind of quiet this spring. In fact, we were, for once in what seemed like a while, enjoying a longer-than-usual spring. It was a spring that actually happened. I liked it. In contrast, 2023 and 2022 seemed to go straight from winter to summer.

Then again, summer has been a mix of a blast furnace and a broken furnace, often seeing 40-degree shifts from one day to the next.

And those huge shifts have brought with them severe weather more often than not. I think I personally had at least four tornado watch alerts during the month of June. Even some came in May. I was lucky enough not to actually see a tornado or suffer the effects of one so far. But thanks to social media, we don’t have to miss anything. Seems like any tornado formation gets posted online, and with the recent high activity of tornadoes in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, I’ve been seeing reports from more storm chasers than I ever knew existed.

I imagine the highways must be getting crowded by people heading toward these tornadoes rather than away from them. If they are helping provide early warning to residents, great. If they end up causing accidents in their chase, they are simply adding to the difficult work of emergency responders.

Perhaps my favorite post from one storm chaser in particular was on the last day of June, he announced he headed south because he felt the worst of the storms hitting the upper Midwest was probably over. I pray he is right.

We moved from our home in Verndale, Minnesota, not long after a tornado remodeled our entire landscape. It left our property rather devoid of trees, which was sad for anyone who cares about having trees as much as I do. We tend to shape our outdoor activities around those giant wonders. I know readers out on the open prairie love their wide open spaces, but I enjoy the shade and sounds of a mature grove of trees on a hot summer day.

Our current property is marked by damage from a tornado that passed through some 15 years ago. The large trees bear the scars and misshapen crowns of a powerful wind. Twisted metal from outbuildings can still be seen wrapped around trees nearby.

I know some places have had back-to-back damage this year from straight-line winds and tornadoes. That can be disheartening and scary. I’ve been thinking that if this persists, home builders like my brother will have to start building underground bunkers, and not just for those who think the world is ending, but for those of us who think their home underground stands a better chance than one above ground. Of course, that’s not likely to happen here in swamp country, where much of my region lives where groundwater is just a few feet below the surface.

There have been worse times, I know.

Preliminary reports show that we’ve notched 48 tornadoes in Minnesota this year. June 20 is a day many in our readership will remember for spawning tornadoes across a huge area of the northern Plains and Northwoods. Our average is 46 annually. But 2010 had 48 tornadoes in one day — June 17, 2010. That’s the most tornadoes in one day ever recorded in the state. That’s the day a tornado blew down my neighboring town, Wadena. Across the state, there were three fatalities, the most since Aug. 6, 1969. In that year, the infamous “Northwoods” outbreak killed 12 people with an F-4 rated tornado that had a surveyed width of 1-2 miles, according to the Minnesota DNR.

Meanwhile, North Dakota has racked up 34 preliminary tornado reports, the most since 2011.

In my research for writing this column, I came across one tidbit that I wish I had known before. It turns out, Otter Tail County, where I live, leads the entire state for the number of tornadoes recorded since 1950, by a long shot — 87 tornadoes on record.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the basement.

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LaDuke: Be a patriot to the land

Winona LaDuke — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Akiing, the land to which I belong. That’s how I feel about this land. It turns out that I am a patriot to a land, not a flag, and yet some of the basic principles that the U.S. was founded upon resonate with me. Those principles are about dignity, respect, having a voice, being fair. Those are all the constitutional principles of American Democracy. America didn’t discover representational democracy, they learned it from the Iroquois confederacy, which had put aside the weapons of war and made great peace. Iroquois territory spanned upstate New York, Pennsylvania, into Ontario and more. A territory as big as Germany. Lots of peace. That’s what I like.

The Anishinaabe made treaties with the Iroquois. One was called the One Dish, One Spoon Treaty: We have one dish, Mother Earth, and as such we should take care of her. One spoon shared between all the peoples, a ritual carried out in many cultures, making relatives. One Dish, One Spoon, we are related.

Other treaties of peace came about between the Anishinaabe and the Dakota spanning the area along the Red River. That agreement, known as the Sweet Corn Treaty, reaffirmed our right to coexist and live on these lands. We keep that agreement with the Dakota, and after many years of brutal warfare maintain peace and are told that there should be no animosity between us.

These days, there is no peace, there is conflict everywhere, and there is confusion and fear amongst many. The idea that conflicts should be solved by shooting the speaker of the House of Minnesota, is wrong. The suggestion that we should forget about the Rev. Martin Luther King, and remove his bust from the White House, diminishes all that the people of this land have aspired to.

Great nations make peace. Spending $45 million on a party for yourself, which looks a lot like a party thrown by North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, isn’t a compliment to American people, especially with cuts to the Veterans Administration, Medicare and more.

There’s a set of ethics which guides many of us. As we see the Trump administration planning to sell off federally protected lands for logging, and legalizing polluters, it’s easy to say, “It’s legal now, so I am going to do it.” It reminds me a lot of a gang rape of a woman, or maybe the Whitestone Hill Massacre. Just because someone said you can do it, does not mean you should. There are soldiers who disobeyed orders to murder and rape, and there are, hopefully a few corporations which say, just because we can steal and pollute, we are not going to do that, because our children will drink this water, and because we are better people.

This is a time for restraint. In the teachings of Native people, like the Iroquois, this is a time to think seven generations ahead. “In each deliberation we must consider the seventh generation from now” is an essential cornerstone and covenant of the oldest democracy in North America, the Iroquois Confederacy. That covenant reminds us that when we make decisions today about water, about pollution, the sort of behavior we tolerate, the impacts will be felt seven generations from now. That is certainly true as we see the onset of crazy weather patterns, and freak storms: Those are a consequence of decisions made many years ago to add more carbon to the environment. We have a chance to change that.

The American mirage is based on the idea of a western frontier, or greener pastures ahead. The time of frontiers is over, except perhaps for those billionaire space cowboys who want to head to other planets. The fact is that there’s not another frontier for us. There’s this land, akiing, this very land to which we belong, and it’s time to be a patriot to this land. To take care of her, our Mother Earth.

It’s time for all of us to reach deep into our souls, which have been nourished by water and foods from these lands, and seek to be our best selves. Sitting Bull, the great Lakota leader, would say, “Let us put our minds together to see what kind of future we can make for our children.”

That teaching is good now. As I look at my clean lake, the herons who fly above me, the fireflies which are said to be disappearing everywhere, I think of the teachings of my ancestors, and how those teachings kept our behavior as humans in check, and in accordance with the laws of Mother Earth. Those laws are how “America was great.” Let me be clear, I think that America was great when you could drink water from every stream and river, there were 50 million buffalo, and passenger pigeons blackened the skies, fish and maple sugar were in abundance and there was peace. That’s what I am here for, seeing the return of the buffalo, the biggest wasteful dam projects come down, like those on the Klamath River, and waters full of life.

As America celebrates its independence in troubling times, remember the dignity that our ancestors sought, and the very land to which we belong. I am a patriot to this land. Let us all care for our Mother Earth and make peace again.

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Sanford Health Column: What is an Advanced Practice Provider?

Brad Smith, Sanford Bemidji — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 11:50:00 GMT

Back in the early 1990s, in what I like to refer to as my first life, I was a paramedic in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

It was a challenging, exciting and often hair-raising job for a 20-year-old kid from a small-town in northern Minnesota. At that time, we worked 24-hour shifts.

Let me just say that a lot can happen in 24 hours. Each shift threw us into a wide range of unpredictable and dynamic situations, demanding quick thinking, adaptability and a steady hand.

That experience continues to influence how I approach health care to this day. It taught me the importance of staying calm under pressure, adapting to whatever comes next and relying on the strength of a dependable team.

One moment, you may be extracting a trauma patient from a vehicle after a collision. The next, a frantic mother is placing a struggling infant in your arms. Soon after, you’re offering a steady hand and calm reassurance to a confused, hurting elderly patient.

Providing health care in such a diverse and unpredictable environment demands adaptability, compassion and a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure patients receive the care they need.

When someone sustains major trauma injuries, it sets off a large, coordinated response within the hospital. Care teams from multiple specialties and departments mobilize to be ready the moment that patient arrives in the ER.

I will never forget one shift early in my career, when we brought in a trauma patient into the trauma center. Among the many providers in the room, one person stood out to me. He wasn’t a physician or a nurse, but he played a significant role in the patient’s care.

I later came to learn that he was a PA, a Physician Assistant. That was my first introduction to what we now refer to as APPs, Advanced Practice Providers.

At Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota, nearly half of our clinical team is made up of APPs, working alongside our physician colleagues, and they are a vital part of our care delivery team.

Our APP staff includes nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA), audiologists (AuD) and geneticists (CGC).

This group of talented individuals brings to the table a broad variety of educational backgrounds, clinical training and work and life experience, as the varying array of titles may suggest.

Many of these professionals have a prior career in another area of health care before settling into their spot as an APP. It is not unusual for patients to assume we are still in training. While further education could be an option, many already hold a master’s or doctoral degree.

On the flip side, we are also often mistaken for physicians, which we are not. We deeply value our partnership with physicians, whose training includes medical school, residency and often specialty training beyond our own six to ten years of training that APPs typically complete.

One of the unique strengths of APPs is our versatility. Many of us can work across multiple specialties or transition into new clinical areas as needs arise. We prescribe medications, diagnose and treat a broad range of acute and chronic conditions and provide both primary and specialty care.

In some cases, APPs are the only clinician serving in a rural ER, primary care clinic or specialty session. Some APPs function with a high degree of independence, while others work closely within a physician-led team.

If you have accessed health care anywhere across the U.S., you have most certainly received care from an APP.

Whether you visited a walk-in clinic, were hospitalized, had surgery, received a hearing aid or sleep apnea diagnosis, underwent genetic counseling or got a refill for your high blood pressure medication, it’s likely an APP helped you.

Just like paramedics must adapt to the unpredictability of every call, APPs must respond to the evolving needs of our patient populations and organization’s staffing needs.

At Sanford Health, we've relied on APPs to help maintain services through staffing transitions and to help launch new offerings across our region. Today, nearly 100 APPs serve patients throughout Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota, providing critical roles in the delivery of health care.

As our population grows and ages, the demand for providers will continue to increase. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the U.S. population is estimated to increase by 8.4% by 2036, but the 65+ age group is projected to increase by a staggering 34%.

At the same time, one in five physicians today is at or near retirement age. These trends point a clear need for both physicians and APPs to meet our increasing demand for care.

We are fortunate to have such a dedicated, skilled and compassionate group of APPs serving our communities and playing such an integral role in our health care system.

Every day, I am inspired by the knowledge, skill and work ethic our APPs and physicians bring to their work. As health care continues to evolve, one thing remains constant: the commitment, expertise and heart our clinicians bring to every patient interaction. It’s an honor to work beside them.

Brad Smith, PA-C, is a physician assistant in general surgery at Sanford Bemidji Main Clinic and an outgoing chair of Sanford Bemidji’s regional Advanced Practice Provider Council and an outgoing council member of Sanford Bemidji’s regional Physician Executive Council.]]>

Here's hoping that the 'storm of a lifetime' lives up to its label

Jenny Schlecht — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 10:30:00 GMT

Of all the odd things that I saw on the morning of June 21, the one that will stick in my mind the longest is probably the free-standing panel twisted around a fence in our feedlot.

I stared at it several times that day, trying to figure out how it got where it was, halfway through the corral panel and somehow twisted both upward and downward, flapping in the breeze. It will be, forever in my mind, the symbol of the power and unpredictability of the weather. Looking at it, it was hard to believe that the evening before, we'd thought maybe the predicted storms would fizzle before it got to us.

On the evening of June 20, my husband and I were sorting heifers when my youngest daughter started sending me messages from the old decommissioned iPhone she can use in the house: "Are you coming in?" "Mom mom mom mom." "I'm scared."

I'd instructed her to leave the TV on in case there were any weather warnings, knowing that meteorologists had been calling for strong storms in the evening. She'd worked herself into a frenzy before my husband and I returned to the house. We told her the storms she was hearing about to our west likely would calm down before they got to us. After cleaning up, I started making a quick, extremely late supper of grilled cheese.

But before the sandwiches were even half done, our phones and TV went off, alerting us we were in a tornado warning. A quick look at where the spotted cloud was and where it was headed told us we might be in the path. We spent a little more than half an hour in the basement before reemerging. The power had gone out. But we thought the wind would start to taper off before too long.

Instead, it picked up, suddenly and severely. We could hear debris smacking against the siding and made the quick decision to go back downstairs. We all huddled into our spare bedroom for the night.

In the morning, my older daughter and I could no longer sleep and went outside to check things over. While we had known one barn had lost some tin and her basketball hoop had fallen over, what we found went far beyond what we could have imagined. Every building on the farm has some sort of damage, including our house, with a partially ruined roof and deep dents in the siding where debris flew. The two barns in the yard — filled right now with bottle calves and 4-H animals but very vital in calving season — both were missing much of their roofs, and rafters and tin were scattered throughout the yard. Our multipurpose working building — where we park machinery, work cows and store a variety of necessities — strangely had a garage door up that definitely had been down when we left it the evening before. The strong winds had blown through and damaged the opposite wall, leaving piles of insulation to clean up.

There were corrals demolished, panels twisted, trees uprooted or broken off. Everywhere we looked, we saw problems, many we could never explain. That panel in the feedlot, twisted and broken, was the hardest to explain. The National Weather Service, using our photos and those of a neighbor, ruled that a tornado had gone through our farm.

But everywhere we looked, we saw blessings. We were all safe, as were our neighbors, who also had severe damage. We learned quickly, not everyone was so lucky in the storms that had stretched from eastern Montana all the way to Minnesota. The storms were deadly for three people in Enderlin, North Dakota, and multiple families in the region lost their homes. Our house was very much still standing and livable. Our barns, while likely damaged beyond repair, were in no immediate danger of collapsing, and the animals inside were only concerned with how long it had taken us to feed them. My husband's sister and her husband rushed three hours to bring us supplies to patch our roof and help clean up trees and other debris, and their children helped raise our spirits, just by being themselves.

I saw a meteorologist call the storms that blew through multiple states in the region a "once in a lifetime" event. I sure hope he's right. We don't need to experience anything like that ever again.

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Support Within Reach: Making a difference in our community for sexual violence survivors

Malissa Kerr, Support Within Reach — Sat, 28 Jun 2025 11:50:00 GMT

Support Within Reach is a community resource agency that seeks to support survivors of sexual violence and exploitation. Our goal is not only to provide victim support and advocacy.

We have a 24-hour crisis line, medical accompaniment to sexual assault examinations, one-on-one peer support, law enforcement and prosecution advocacy.

We acknowledge and come alongside real people in need of respectful and honest support. We can provide connections with other agencies and professionals that provide supportive services as well.

But what of you, the individual within the community living, working or moving within the same community as those who have had their world forever changed by an uninvited sexual assault encounter?

Can you have an impact on their healing journey? The answer is — absolutely.

How does one come alongside another person to validate and acknowledge that while you wish they were not in this situation, you want to be there for them?

The first action is to believe. Assure them that it is not their fault. When someone chooses to disclose their experience of violence, believe them.

Often fear, coercion and isolation are experienced by the survivor, but these cannot stop us from reaching into the lives of others. Belief builds a bridge of trust.

Another way to support is to listen without trying to fix it. Listen to what they are saying they need. Do not make assumptions but actively listen. Do they need safety, a place to stay, food, clothes or maybe just a kind ear to hear?

Do not judge. Create a safe space for them to share their story. Support that gives dignity and respect can make all the difference.

Let them lead. It is up to the survivors how they want to navigate their healing journey. Sexual assault is about power and control. We can provide support for how, when and if they choose to report. Seeking medical or other assistance is important, but it needs to be their decision.

Be willing to be uncomfortable. It is not about you but about how they are feeling.

Educate yourself: understand consent and the need for it to be freely offered and respected. Become trauma informed. Recognizing that each person’s trauma influences their physical wellbeing, behaviors and emotions and will be uniquely their own.

This type of support changes the question from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”

Help survivors by encouraging self-care, placing value on who they are and what they might need to feel healthy. This can create a stronger sense of self and value. They deserve to move toward healing.

What does the average person, neighbor, coworker or friend do to support or understand how to support from the survivor’s perspective? Be present, attentive and engaged in a genuine and trusting way.

Kindness does not need an organization; it just needs one person to take small steps to another person to make a big difference.

Sometimes, seeing the humanity of others, we find ourselves.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, we have advocates available to help. Reach out to Support Within Reach at our 24/7 crisis hotlines: (800) 708-2727 in Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard and Cass, or (866) 747-5008 in Itasca and Aitkin Counties.

For more information about Support Within Reach, visit supportwithinreach.org.

Malissa Kerr is the Clearwater County advocate and sexually exploited youth coordinator for Support Within Reach.]]>

Finding Faith: The spirit in other people's joy

Devlyn Brooks — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:30:00 GMT

The other night I was leaving work, just as the evening sun was taking its turn downward. Another 12-hour day at the emergency shelter, a typical schedule these past 10 months as we’ve worked to turn things around.

I was pulling out of our parking lot and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of our emergency shelter guests gesticulating wildly out my driver’s side window. But not in a menacing way. Rather, you could see their broad smile as they waved their arms over their head to get my attention.

I braked and rolled down my window, and heard the guest shout, “I get citizenship! I get citizenship certificate today!”

Not entirely sure that I was understanding, but sensing the guest’s joy, I put the pickup in park and got out to talk with them.

The guest repeated their news; then things clicked. There was a large naturalization ceremony that took place in our city that day, and evidently our guest was one of 200 people who took their oath of citizenship.

He was thanking me for the support that our shelter had provided him in seeking his citizenship. And he simply wanted to share his immense joy with me!

Before long, we were enveloped in a memorable hug, right there in the parking lot.

What an announcement! How serendipitous for me to have been leaving at the same time our guest was walking to the bus stop on the corner. (Kidding, I know it was more than just coincidence!)

There, in that moment, my fatigue melted; my resolve strengthened; and my wonderment about the many miracles that take place under our shelter’s roof every single day grew yet again.

The work is often challenging, and there are long intervals between these spectacular moments of joy. But the episode reminded me of the gospel that takes place each and every day at our shelter. So many things our team does that others wouldn’t recognize as holy. But trust me, when helping a guest obtain citizenship, the Holy Spirit is involved there somewhere.

Friends, the work we do as Jesus followers doesn’t always look like it does on Sunday mornings. Sometimes the work is the real nitty gritty of making sure someone has a meal, or a new pair of socks, or a place to lay their head that night.

Sometimes the gospel looks like assisting someone in obtaining a government identification, or filling out a confusing application for services … or, yes, helping a person obtain their citizenship.

Take a look around you, friends. There is plenty of need in your community. Being the church sometimes means doing the unexpected, but in the end, we are called to do on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

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Viewpoint: Congress must act to help the new postmaster general pull USPS back from the brink

Martha Diaz Aszkenazy — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:26:00 GMT

The United States Postal Service is on the brink of a self-induced collapse. The failed policies of the Delivering for America Plan have driven away customers through a combination of sky-high rate increases and degraded service. David Steiner, who will take over as postmaster general on July 14, has a tough job to do and little time to do it with some estimates indicating the USPS could be insolvent as soon as 2028.

Congress has a key role to play in helping him right the ship but must get off the sidelines and act. A useful step occurred earlier this week with a hearing before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations. The National Newspaper Association (NNA) provided a statement for the hearing that lays out key actions Congress can take to help restore the USPS.

We emphasized that NNA members serve their communities, providing news on local events and civic matters that are not covered anywhere else, and that they depend on the USPS to get their papers to subscribers. The USPS — and by extension the small businesses in the communities they serve — faces an immediate and existential crisis. We urge Congress to act swiftly and compel meaningful reform at the USPS.

Here are three actions Congress can take right now to get the USPS back on track and keep commerce in America moving:

Demand the USPS Board halt the Delivering for America Plan including the large rate increase planned for July 13, 2025. This increase, far above the rate of inflation will only deepen the hole and ties the hands of incoming Postmaster General David Steiner, who should have the opportunity to assess the situation. The same holds true for the network consolidations and service cuts. Every customer that is lost through these increases and service reductions is one less Steiner can rely on in the future. Modernize and empower the USPS regulator. Effective checks and balances are needed to keep the USPS on track. Congress needs to update and modernize the postal regulatory process to better safeguard against excessive rates and poor service by passing H.R. 3004, The USPS SERVES US Act. Measure newspaper costs accurately. Congress should compel accurate measurement of newspaper service and hold the USPS accountable for maintaining and improving service quality by enacting H.R. 2098/S.1002, the Deliver for Democracy Act.

These are all commonsense steps Congress can take to address what has been clearly a failed approach by USPS management. Steiner has a huge job ahead of him and will need all the help he can get. Congress must act now to make sure the nation’s next postmaster general is not the last one.

Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, publisher of the San Fernando Valley (California) Sun, is chairwoman of the National Newspaper Association.]]>