Resiliency, Energy, and Hope in 2023: Editor’s Letter and TOC
It was another tough year for so many reasons. From the broader perspective: Ukraine, Israel-Hamas, Sudan, Iran, increasing signs of the climate crisis, and anti-democracy extremism. Statewide: ongoing suffering from long-term under-investment in treating mental illness and substance abuse, creating affordable housing, and additional solutions to reducing crime.
At the magazine, our staff is balancing family obligations and financial strife. We have been close this fall, more so even than during the pandemic, to closing this 38-year-old magazine because of revenue issues.
However, with supportive community comes resiliency, energy, and hope. More than 140 readers have stepped up to become ongoing Badass members, starting at $5/month so far. Five key individuals contributed substantially. Because of this support, we are able to print our December Changemakers issue — a tradition going back to 1989.
Next year, thanks to grants and new underwriting contracts, as well as a new part-time member on our sales force, we hope to return to a longer magazine.
Addressing gender-based inequities, youth well-being, and deep community advocacy tend to be focal points of our magazine. This year, readers nominated Rhonda Martinson, Mercedes Yarbrough, and Hli Xyooj as particular powerhouses we should recognize in those areas.
This was an historic year of action at the state capitol with the most diverse group of legislators ever. Rather than lift up Minnesota senators and representatives, who tend to be more noticed by media, we asked former senator Patricia Torres Ray to write about unsung heroines who work behind the scenes to get things done.
We also spotlight coverage of long-entrenched issues of gender-based violence as a prelude to our April 13 solutions- and-action event. In 2024, we plan to offer regular online Legacy stories from our archives on issues we have been writing about for nearly four decades.
Table of Contents
- 2023 Changemakers:
- Rhonda Martinson: Policing the Response to Domestic Violence
- Mercedes Yarbrough: Re-Envisioning Education One Comic Book at a Time
- Hli Xyooj: Bridging the Hmong Community
- The People Behind the Legislature
- Legacy: Three Decades of Covering Gender-Based Violence
- Money & Business: Minnesota Women Labor Journalists Uplifted Working People for Decades
- Thoughts: “Song for the Generations, December 26,” by Gwen Nell Westerman
- Healing Guide: The Audacity to Be Asian in Rural America
- Holiday Guide: The People Who Help Us Bloom
- Classified Ads
For 2025 coverage, Minnesota Women’s Press earned a community leadership award, three photography awards, and four editorial awards, including for coverage of social issues and for our Spring 2025 “Know Your Rights” special section supported by Unidos MN. Our publisher was named Journalist of the Year by Violence Free Minnesota for gender-based violence coverage.
