Neil Haugerud, former sheriff
"Recently, at age 67, while on a writing assignment in Iowa, I was arrested for the first time. I'd come upon two police officers fussing with a ragged man on a bench. I thought I would jot down my observations, but the policemen told me to move on. Knowing full well there's no law against observing officers, I declined. So, I was arrested and jailed overnight for not doing as I was told. I think it's a prime example of modern day police becoming "the law" rather than representing the law."
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Laura J. Thelander, associate pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Moose Lake
"As a woman I am much more aware of my vulnerability when I am out running or biking on the local recreational trails. I am also haunted every time I drive past the business where Katie Poirier was abducted. As a member of the community I feel as though I too have lost a loved one. As a pastor I continue to struggle with how to deal with the anger and rage so many of us feel while at the same time to speak of God's forgiving love."
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Judge James Dehn, Isanti County
"I know a man, let's call him Michael, who sold his snowmobile to post bail after his fifth DWI charge so that he could continue to drink while his court hearings dragged on. Last year, in rural Minnesota, over 15,000 people just like Michael were arrested for drunk driving. Nearly half of them were repeat offenders. Even more alarming is the fact that most drivers get behind the wheel while intoxicated up to 1,000 times before they are arrested."
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Carol Watson , executive director of Missing Children Minnesota
"On January 14, 1983, my whole world changed. That was the day my beautiful tow-headed two-year-old son was abducted by my ex-husband. That day the world became a different place. I cried everyday of the 13 months he was gone. I was frustrated by the lack of help from law enforcement and the legal system."
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Eric Bergeson
"Rural people often assume that country burglars are little more than benevolent kleptomaniacs. They might come over and take some of your stuff, but they're probably just drunk or troubled. They might help themselves to chainsaws and wrench sets, but they wouldn't hurt anybody."
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Dennis Cobb, Prisoner #171959 Stillwater Prison
But I am governed daily by more than base instincts of fear and hunger or thirst. I have emotional needs that are equally important to my survival. Love, understanding, attention, anger, sadness and often times acceptance. All these elements have their place in my life.
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Bettye King
"Minnesota reminds me of the '60s pre-civil-rights era. Invisible flames of institutionalized racism, crimes of racial harassment and tokenism as racism are acted out daily on Minnesotans of color, behind a smoke screen of 'Minnesota Nice.'"
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Steve Hirsh, regional coordinator for the Center for Reducing Rural Violence
"While city dwellers may cause and experience similar levels of violence in their homes, some aspects of rural life make it harder for community members to name these issues out loud. There's less anonymity in rural communities. The perpetrators aren't strangers, they are neighbors, co-workers, fellow members of the church congregation. The ethic that what goes on in the home is private and no one else's business, is still strong. And victims are often isolated and either unaware of, or unable to access help."
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Dr. Nancy Harles
"Is the Circle losing its true value and meaning.? Are these circles being viewed in the same light as the traditional Circle? Can the Circle be adapted to meet the needs of modern society without being changed beyond recognition?"
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Steve Ward, licensed psychologist and a management consultant
"We walk a fine line between denial and despair and both can be dangerous. Denial blinds us to the causes of violence on our main street. Despair can drive us indoors and deprive us of a sense of safety in our own towns."
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