Editor’s Letter: “Move Your Feet”

This double issue includes the annual tradition of recognizing Minnesota Changemakers, who were nominated by Badass members and our editorial board. This year we honor community members who provide dignity and stability to low-income mothers, bring storytelling and education to farming neighbors and classrooms, and center Indigenous empowerment, among others.

We also dig deep into conversations Minnesotans are having about gun violence this year. Thanks to a media partnership with Project Optimist, we look at how trained mental health professionals are handling crisis response, and the impact of extreme risk protection orders to temporarily take firearms from people threatening violence. We share viewpoints of Grand Rapids citizens who talked to us about their experiences with firearms.

We also feature discussions with five Minnesota senators about what it will take to curb gun violence. Despite notable gun-related tragedies in Minnesota this year, they indicate that, realistically, gun legislation policies might not move forward until 2027, and explain why.

The Roots of Gun Violence

A recent one-hour TV documentary screamed the message that the Twin Cities is besieged by gang violence. While Minneapolis has significantly more gun violence than Saint Paul, the fear-mongering might be considered a diversion from notable causes of gun homicides in our state this year.

The political assassination of Melissa Hortman and her husband, the shooting at a Catholic school that killed two children and wounded 20 others, and the high rates of suicide throughout the state (813 in 2024), especially in Greater Minnesota, are not gang-related.

In our Changemakers Alliance section, I cite a conversation I had with a police commander in Saint Paul about successful prevention work there. At the time this issue went to press, there had been eight homicides in Saint Paul this year, compared to 51 in Minneapolis (which had a total of 76 in 2024). We talked about the why and how.

In a round-up of talking points about guns, we mention a book that explores the roots behind violence. Two decades of research in Chicago revealed that the fleeting emotions of arguments are a primary cause of gun homicide.

The cover at right is from a 2016 issue of Minnesota Women’s Press about gun culture. The image of Dawn Marie Sanquist-Anderson was painted by Bonnie Lee, who started creating portraits of Minnesotans killed by domestic violence. We reported in October that 62 percent of the 2024 Minnesota domestic violence victims were killed by gunshot, according to the Violence Free Minnesota report.

Moms Who Demand Action

Vivian St. Clair, 9, was one of the students wounded during the August mass shooting. Her mother, Malia Kimbrell, says, “We all know that thoughts didn’t stop the bullets. Prayers didn’t stop the bullets. Action is our only hope.”

She asked for more funding for mental health support, as well as a ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. Kimbrell says any lawmaker who stands in the way of that happening will be invited to her home to hold Vivian’s hand while they clean her bullet wounds.

Another mother, Leah Kaiser, implored lawmakers: “Please, use this moment to move your feet and transcend our political divides.”

This magazine is filled with people who know that law enforcement and gun ownership are not the answer to reducing violence — and that mental health needs, abusive behavior, abandonment, and significant income disparities can lead to crime. We meet Minnesotans who offer support to help make neighbors safer and healthier.

Gender-Based Violence — What Have We Learned So Far From Minnesota’s Red Flag Laws?

Greater Minnesota — A Civil Conversation in Grand Rapids About Firearms

Policy & Politics — Talking to Five Senators About How to Reduce Gun Deaths in Minnesota

Changemakers