After 18 years of sharing stories with southern Minnesota readers, this is my last op-ed as President and CEO of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF). As I prepare to retire, I do so with immense gratitude and pride.

For the past few years, I’ve covered a number of folks who have been passionate pickleball players.
I had one source in particular, at my last newspaper, who anytime I tried to get a hold of him, if he didn’t answer, there was a good chance he was going to call me back and tell me he was playing a game of pickleball.

A corporate culture of indifference permeates America. A crash earlier this month that resulted in the death of 43 pigs near our family farm in Dodge County is illustrative of this indifference. Disposal of the dead pigs was easy. Within hours, the euthanized pigs were added to dead boxes or composting stations in area swine factory farms, heaped a little higher with pig piles of dead pigs.

Friends and neighbors,
The 2025 regular legislative session came to a disappointing conclusion at midnight on May 20. The Constitution requires us to write a new state budget this year. Unfortunately, despite my hope and optimism, we were unable to finish our work.

Minnesota relies on the strength of our state’s rural communities and farmlands. As your Senator and as one of the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee, it’s important to me to hear directly about the challenges you are facing. Every year I go to all 87 of Minnesota’s counties, and last month, I went on a 19-county tour to visit farms, small businesses, and other organizations throughout rural Minnesota.

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize and honor the critical role that foster parents play in the lives of children and youth in care. Across the country, thousands of individuals and families open their homes and hearts to children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These foster parents provide not only shelter and safety, but also compassion, stability, and a path toward healing and hope.