Faith from Minnesooota

Pride, Service, and the Spirit of Home

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

During freshman year at the University of Portland—my first experience living outside Minnesota—friends often referred to me as Faith from Minnesooota, in part because of my accent (I still got it!) and in part because I bragged about Minnesota. A lot. Since then, across life in three more states, my praise for the place and the people who shaped my life and worldview has continued—sometimes to the annoyance of others.

Never though, in my 50+ years, have I felt more proud to be a Minnesotan than I have these last weeks. Watching the state, and my friends and family, protect one another and stand strong against ICE has not only reaffirmed pride in my home state, it’s bolstered my hope and that of so many others outside the state as our democracy and national ideals of equality and justice for all are challenged.

Minnesota Nice

Known for pleasantness and agreeability, Minnesotans are also tough. You don’t survive months of cold and darkness–Every. Single. Year–by being weak. Below zero temps for days and even weeks on end? A foot of snow? Life goes on. During my childhood, after a major snowstorm left roads impassable, my mom walked miles to open the grocery store she managed—the only employee to make it in to serve the handful of customers who lived close enough to get there on foot—while the rest of the city waited for plows to come through. Her determination and sense of responsibility taught me to take action, to do what I can even when it’s hard or doesn’t seem like much.

I see that today. In addition to those we see on social media actively protesting ICE’s lawlessness and disorderly conduct, countless others are alerting neighbors and loved ones of ICE’s presence, buying and delivering groceries and supplies to those who are now homebound, and supporting GoFundMe’s to provide legal and other support to those who need it. Minnesotans are standing as one.

Despite the niceness and fortitude of its people, Minnesota is not perfect. Racism–in the form of lynchings, redlining and segregation—plays too prominent a role in the state’s history. As well as its present. We witnessed the murders of Philando Castile and George Floyd; too many others were not caught on tape. Minnesota faces the same challenges we face as a nation. But most Minnesotans—including those who lead within the state and represent it beyond—understand that, in the words of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, “We all do better when we all do better.”

So, despite not looking like or agreeing with our neighbors, or worshipping in the same way or spaces they do, our efforts and our energy are better spent building communities that function for us all than fighting amongst ourselves. While not alone in this belief—a September 2025 Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 90% of Americans see an “urgent need for greater unity”—Minnesotans today are showing the country and the world what it looks like in practice.

Civic-minded and community-focused

Several years ago, a friend here in Dallas commended me for volunteering. Repeatedly. Every time it came up in conversation, she gushed about how great it was that I volunteer. To my Minnesotan ears, her praise was disconcerting. It felt over-the-top, disproportionate to my effort. A participation trophy of sorts awarded for something that feels natural and even expected. To me, her view of volunteering as extraordinary felt just as unusual as my volunteering was to her. Rather than exceptional, volunteering—serving on boards, delivering Meals on Wheels, reading in classrooms, or shoveling your neighbor’s sidewalk—is simply a way of life in Minnesota.

Thus, while I am deeply proud, I am not at all surprised by Minnesota’s response to ICE.

One of my all-time-favorite, most awe-inspiring things occurs every Spring in Minnesota when the last of the lake ice, now broken into small pieces, blows against shore creating the ethereal tinkling of windchimes. A signal that winter is over, the magical sound promises warmer temperatures and brighter days ahead. I eagerly await that day—literally and metaphorically—more urgently than ever this year.