Veterans: Edit Letter and TOC

My mother spent most of her career at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis (VA), eventually doing home-based health care as a nurse practitioner. From her I learned about the frustrations of working in a bureaucratic system, but also how much she loved her caregiving role.

My dad had fond memories of his time on a reconnaissance team during the Korean War. He spent the last six months of his life at the Veterans Home. Our family appreciated the care he received after increasing dementia required him to leave home. He didn’t love being surrounded by “old men,” but one caretaker in particular was wonderful with him.

One of my housemates is an Iraq War veteran who has resisted getting governmental benefits. His experiences in the Marines left invisible scars, yet also gave him opportunities that lifted him out of a challenging childhood. With him I have seen overwhelming paperwork and a labyrinth of overloaded service providers, but he now has a great advocate with the VA.

In this month’s issue, we look at how Minnesota’s women veterans are being served. The theme was suggested at our 2023 staff retreat by Ashley Findlay, a veteran who leads our sales efforts. From Ashley — and conversations with county, state, and nonprofit veterans’ advocates — I am learning about the positives and negatives in accessing and funding veteran resources. From veterans, I am learning about the simultaneous mix of traumas and joys from service. Mostly, what I have heard is the desire of service providers to be able to serve veterans better.

Thanks to Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans for funds to ship the issue to women veterans’ organizations.

Reader Survey

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2024 Reader Survey, which helps us explain who reads this publication and accesses our website, and why. This information helps us match with the right advertisers and underwriters, which is vital to our sustainability.

Our readership is well-balanced in age — with a higher percentage of readers ages 18 to 39 than there used to be. The people who are most engaged are voters (97 percent) who donate to causes (87 percent), love to read (85 percent), attend concerts at least four times a year (72 percent), and prefer to shop with their values for local and women-owned businesses.

You also told us what you love about the stories we produce, and gave us feedback for a few changes we will implement in 2025:

• “I think it should go bigger. It’s really the only women’s paper in the state.”
• “I lived in the SF Bay Area for many years and was so surprised to learn they didn’t have an equivalent, at least not one that I found. You have reason to be proud.”
• “I appreciate that stories include Greater Minnesota as well as the Twin Cities metro area.”
• “It’s a touchstone in this Twin Cities community for women’s and human issues. It has a heart.”
• “I love its unique lens on the news, which I don’t find elsewhere, even at publications I admire such as MinnPost and Sahan Journal.”

Congratulations to Naomi English, who won the drawing for taking the survey and will receive a weekend at Arc Retreat Community.

Table of Contents

“How shall we explain the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted for war to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country?”

— Jeannette Rankin, first woman in Congress, 1917

Tapestry — Recording the Stories of Veterans

Money & Business — Returning to My Hometown After Three Decades in the Military

Health — Building Trust: The People Who Try to Help Veterans Access Benefits

Perspective — My Mental Health Experience as a Vet

Resources — Benefits and Services for Veterans

Gender-Based Violence — Preventing Sexual Assault in the Military

Changemakers Alliance — Election Coverage, Domestic Violence

Pets — The Menagerie of Therapy Animals

Holiday — How Can You Serve Vets?