NSS Weekly: One Year Later: Remembering the Annunciation School Tragedy

Transcript

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INTRO: You are listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a weekly newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota, produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's community radio stations.

BRITT AAMODT: This week, we reflect on the anniversary of the tragic events at Annunciation Catholic School and Church.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Then, we look at ways communities can heal from collective trauma, and why mental health support is especially important as students return to school. I'm Victor Palomino.

BRITT AAMODT: And I'm Britt Aamodt.

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BRITT AAMODT: But first, North Star Stories reporter Xan Holston with some of the news that made the headlines around the state.

XAN HOLSTON: The new $8 million meat processing facility in North Central Minnesota is now giving farmers a closer option for their livestock. The Minnesota Farmers Union plant celebrated the grand opening of the new meat processing plant last week. Some area livestock farmers had to haul animals for 200 miles to the nearest processing plant in Cannon Falls. Farmers Union Chair Carol Anderson tells AMPERS member station KAXE that the Staples plant can lower transportation and fuel costs while also reducing stress on livestock.

CAROL ANDERSON: With diesel at over five bucks a gallon-that's expensive, you know-and the farmer then doesn't have to do that. There's not as much stress on the animal.

XAN HOLSTON: The plant can handle up to 15 animals a day and could eventually employ 15 people. Operators say they plan to continue building their steady base of local producers and to add a retail market.

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A new permanent exhibit with thousands of years of Anishinaabe history is now open at Chik-Wauk Museum. The project was years in the making and funded with public grants and other foundation and private support. Zagaandagaa-Anishinaabeg fills nine areas of the museum with rarely displayed artifacts, an interactive map, an animated account of Chief Blackstone's last walk, and a new mural by Anishinaabe artist Sam Zimmerman. Visitors can also scan each display to hear its story and Ojibwe words read aloud.

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School districts throughout Minnesota are struggling financially. While some districts announced layoffs earlier this summer, others, like Ely are going to a four-day week with longer school days. Earlier this summer, the Rock Ridge School Board in northeastern Minnesota rejected a four-day week that would have saved about a quarter of a million dollars in transportation costs. Instead, Rockridge opted to cut programs and dip into reserves. Meanwhile, in the East Metro, Stillwater School District is among the first in the state to go back to school. Stillwater is also redesigning and centralizing bus routes to save more than $650,000 in transportation cost. The district is also saving money with online learning. Stillwater says more than 700 students each semester registered for online courses.

Back up north, Duluth is bridging the transportation gap for students. The city is now providing free public transit to middle schoolers. A partnership between Duluth Public Schools and the Duluth Transit Authority already allows high school students and staff to ride for free. Now Duluth Public Middle School students will have access to unlimited free rides anywhere and anytime by showing their school IDs.

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A new state law is requiring every district and charter school to have a cardiac emergency plan in place by the time classes begin this fall. The law requires schools to create response teams, run practice drills, and ensure automatic external defibrillators or AEDs can be reached quickly in case of emergencies. Parent Kelly Youland became an advocate after her young daughter survived cardiac arrest. She tells the public news service the risk isn't limited to students.

KELLY YOULAND: It can happen to a teacher in her classroom preparing for the next day. It can happen to somebody working in the cafeteria, and so these are all situations that we need to be prepared for.

XAN HOLSTON: Youland is still pushing for the state to require teachers and coaches to have CPR and AED training.

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And finally…

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XAN HOLSTON: …the Minnesota State Fair is giving music fans something to talk about right out of the or in the gate. Bonnie Raitt is opening this year's Grandstand concert series. It'll be the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's ninth grandstand appearance and her first at the fair in a decade. And while you're at the Great Minnesota Get Together, be sure to stop by our AMPERS radio booth in the Education Building, where a different AMPERS station will be live broadcasting every day. AMPERS produces North Star Stories and represents and supports 17 independent non-commercial community radio stations throughout Minnesota. For North Star Stories, I'm Xan Holston.

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BRITT AAMODT: Last summer, news of an active shooter at Annunciation Catholic School and Church in south Minneapolis shocked Minnesotans and prompted acts of kindness and support across the state and nation.

VICTOR PALOMINO: One year later, the community is coming together to remember the victims and support their families. Reporter Katharine DeCelle has the story.

MOLLY MERKEL: I fed the kids breakfast. They had breakfast sandwiches, and Fletcher had ketchup on his face. My big fear that day was that Fletcher was going to come home and the white shirt would be dirty.

KATHARINE DECELLE: That was a typical morning for Molly Merkel and her family in the Kenny neighborhood of Minneapolis until August 27 of last year. That's when the unimaginable happened. Eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed when a gunman opened fire through the windows of their school, Annunciation Catholic Church, during a school mass. Twenty-one other people were injured. Harper's dad, Michael Moyski, remembers walking his daughters into Annunciation that morning.

MICHAEL MOYSKI: I remember walking Harper and Quinn up the stairs into Annunciation. Told them I loved them. Gave both of them a side squeeze.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Those seemingly ordinary moments took on a different meaning after that morning. In the years since the tragedy, the community surrounding the Annunciation School has tried to respond to this unimaginable loss with care. They've raised money, delivered meals, and tied thousands of ribbons on trees and posts around the city to honor the memories of those lost and remind the families impacted by the tragedy that the community has not forgotten. Nearly a year later, that support is seen along the shore of Grass Lake. Earlier this month, hundreds of people gathered at the Minneapolis lake, just blocks from Annunciation School, to dedicate a bench to Fletcher Merkel. Barb Brady chairs the Kenny Neighborhood Association where Fletcher lived.

BARB BRADY: We're the next neighborhood over from the Annunciation Church and School, someone calls it a small but mighty neighborhood because we're one of the smaller neighborhoods. But we have so many wonderful, amazing people who just rose up and said, "We will do whatever it takes for the Merkles" and the Annunciation family and everybody we can. Because we were all heartbroken when this happened.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Barb says she didn't personally know Fletcher Merkel, but that she and neighbors raised about $3,000 to put up Fletcher's bench at Grass Lake. She says the community came together after the tragedy to help in any way they could.

BARB BRADY: We all donated. We went to the church and put on flowers, and we raised donations for this bench. And meals prepared for them for months, like till Christmas.

KATHARINE DECELLE: And it wasn't just neighbors who donated. Funds came in from across the world to support the church, school, and families affected by the shooting. The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota says it has collected $4.7 million from nearly 10,000 contributions as of June, but some of the support from the community can't be measured in dollars. The grassroots Bows of Love effort grew to around 50,000 blue and green bows tied around trees and posts across the state. These bows are now being preserved for Annunciation students to transform into a permanent art piece, a reminder of the love Minnesotans have for Annunciation. Back in the Kenny neighborhood that surrounds Annunciation, neighbors still struggle to wrap their heads around how this could have happened in their small community.

LIBBY: I just remember waking up to a text from my son's group of friends' moms alerting us to like the neighborhood news. It was just so shocking. Just think, like what happened? You know, it's Annunciation. Like I just couldn't even, like I couldn't put it together.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Libby has lived in the Kenny neighborhood for 16 years. Her youngest child was in preschool with Fletcher, and her family lives just a few blocks from Annunciation.

LIBBY: It's just so frightening. It's just a parent's worst nightmare. This is something that it touches everyone. This is something that can happen in any community because our little neighborhood is so quiet and seemingly so safe.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Libby and her family were among hundreds of neighbors who showed up at Grass Lake to honor Fletcher at his new bench. She says despite how hard the last year has been, it's helped to have a community to share both love and grief with.

LIBBY: When you go through something that's like collective grief, it's difficult, but then it's also beautiful to see people coming together and showing up, people organizing, laying flowers for the memorial outside the church, and just talking to people was for me a way to share in the experience and try to process it, I guess.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Fletcher's memorial at Grass Lake has its own story. The plaque on the new memorial bench reads, "For the boy who proved there are fish in Grass Lake." Here's his mom, Molly Merkel, speaking at the site.

MOLLY MERKEL: After we moved in, he asked neighbors if they fished in the lake. Most of them said absolutely not. There was nothing to catch there. He was convinced otherwise.

KATHARINE DECELLE: His mom says Fletcher would spend countless joy-filled hours at the lake, determined to catch a fish.

MOLLY MERKEL: One summer day, he caught his first fish. He put it in a bucket and paraded it around the neighborhood, telling everybody he saw that he caught a fish in Grass Lake. He was so proud.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Molly added that after his first catch, Fletcher kept fishing there. He brought his friends and taught them to fish. August 26 was his last day of fishing at Grass Lake. The following day, tragedy struck. Now his bench overlooks the water where he made the impossible possible. He hoped there was something beneath the water, even when other people couldn't see it. His community has spent the last year holding onto hope too. For North Star Stories, I'm Katharine DeCelle.

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BRITT AAMODT: After the break, we look at how communities can begin to heal after collective trauma. This is North Star Stories, voices from where we live.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's Community Radio Stations, with support from the State of Minnesota. We'll be right back.

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[NSS Promo: "North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's Community Radio Stations. Check out our other programs at AMPERS dot ORG: Minnesota Native News brings you weekly coverage of the state's Native American communities. MN90 - Minnesota History in 90 Seconds - transports you to historical moments in our state through short, engaging stories. Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is a weekly podcast featuring conversations between Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo, and Native community members. Hear more at AMPERS dot ORG."]

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BRITT AAMODT: You are listening to North Star Stories. I'm Britt Aamodt.

VICTOR PALOMINO: And I'm Victor Palomino. Community support after a tragedy can be a powerful expression of care, connection, and resilience. At the same time, traumatic events can have lasting effects on individuals, families, and entire communities.

BRITT AAMODT: To help us understand trauma, collective healing, and the resources available to Minnesotans, we're joined by Marcus Schmit, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Minnesota, or NAMI. NAMI Minnesota is a mental health organization that works to improve the lives of children and adults living with mental illness, as well as their families, through education, support, and advocacy. Thank you so much for coming on.

MARCUS SCHMIT: Thanks, Britt. It's nice to be here.

BRITT AAMODT: So, when we use the word trauma, what does it mean? Like, can trauma be experienced collectively, not only by individuals that are directly involved, but also those who weren't in an event?

MARCUS SCHMIT: Yeah, when you step back and reflect on the last six years, pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, political assassination, the Annunciation school shooting, Operation Metro Surge, and immigration enforcement across the state, not to mention all the economic pressures that people are feeling right now with the cost of living, Minnesota could really use a break. I think we see collective grief and collective trauma as an opportunity. We know that people are more likely to heal when they heal together, and that there is a lot of support right now that is being provided to those who are impacted by the loss of Harper and Fletcher at Annunciation, those who are impacted by immigration enforcement that separated families, those who are impacted by loss of loved ones through the pandemic. What we have going for us here in Minnesota, at least, is a lot of support within our community to help people recover.

BRITT AAMODT: And how does NAMI fit into that collective process?

MARCUS SCHMIT: There are a couple different ways that we're trying to position ourselves to be supportive. I mentioned all these events and the compounding impact, and for many of our communities, particularly our immigrants here in Minnesota, it wasn't just trauma; it was re-traumatization. And so we're positioning ourselves to launch this initiative. It's called Healing Minnesota, and the focus of Healing Minnesota is really to help communities recover, in part by advancing our own resources. So we offer classes on trauma and other mental health-related classes to provide that education and support to people who are just trying to navigate some difficult circumstances, and then we provide support groups as well. So that what they're feeling isn't in isolation. We know that supportive relationships are one of the keys to moving through trauma and trying to achieve some level of stability. And we're also working with community organizations that are already plugged in with the individuals and families and other community members that are experiencing some of this trauma right now could really use some mental health supports.

BRITT AAMODT: It sounds like your partnerships with these other organizations are a way for you to also support maybe some culturally rooted community work.

MARCUS SCHMIT: Yeah, that's right. We're always trying to adapt our resources to meet the need, and we know that we have some work to do in underserved communities, in our immigrant communities, communities in Greater Minnesota that may not have access to all the tools that they need to manage their own mental health challenges. So, what one community may need is different than another, and what we see through Healing Minnesota is an opportunity to really build those authentic relationships to understand literally what the language is that we can speak with each other to try to meet some of those needs. And so the hope here is that through Healing Minnesota, we're really going to be able to expand our impact as well. NAMI functions within Minnesota. Where would you say our state is in terms of availability of mental health resources? We have a lot of work to do when it comes to access. One of the things that we have going for us here in Minnesota is mental health is a bipartisan issue. We know that no matter what side of the aisle you're on at the state legislature, you're willing to invest in mental health. We also know what works. We do have programs and resources that are already in place. We just need to fund them and we need to make them more accessible. When we look at all the conversations that we're having with parents of loved ones who are impacted by mental illness and people who are working within these systems, access rises to the top as far as a challenge, and so that's something that we're going to continue to work to improve, and we're going to work with anybody and everybody who is willing to roll their sleeves up to try to make mental health resources more accessible to people across the state.

BRITT AAMODT: I know that we're talking to now in the aftermath of you know you mentioned COVID, George Floyd, Operation Metro Surge, and then obviously Annunciation. What could we do as a community to build in resilience so that we can be ready for the next crisis, if there is a possibility to be ready for something like that?

MARCUS SCHMIT: What Minnesotans showed the world in the midst of Operation Metro Surge, following all these other tragic events, is we know how to respond, and through healing Minnesota and the work that so many others are doing across the state, we're going to show the world how you recover, and one of the ways that we know we can do that is just continuing with this neighborliness, those supportive relationships, and the importance of not isolating right now or through traumatic events is just so critical. We just continue to encourage people to make connections in real life, not on your phone through social media and doom scrolling. And what we really encourage people to do is, if you got involved in a community group over the last couple of years, stay involved. If you want to get involved in a community group, reach out to a neighbor because they might already be engaged in some sort of supportive conversation or setting. And just at the end of the day, make yourself aware. Make yourself aware of the resources. Stay plugged in to what's happening in your community, and get that help that you need to, and we need to make sure that we're helping the helpers as well.

BRITT AAMODT: As we get to the end of our conversation, is there anything else that you wanted to bring up and share?

MARCUS SCHMIT: Yeah, two things. One, if you or anybody you know is in crisis, please, please, please call or text 988. And two is if you want to learn more about the resources that we have available here at NAMI, whether it's education or peer support, please check out our website at www.NAMIMN.org, or check us out on social media, and we're happy to get you plugged in.

BRITT AAMODT: Great way to end it. Thank you so much, Marcus.

MARCUS SCHMIT: Thanks so much.

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BRITT AAMODT: In recent years, Minnesotans have experienced traumatic events that have affected families and entire communities, from the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School to the fear and disruption connected to Operation Metro Surge.

VICTOR PALOMINO: To help us understand the true impact of events like this and how to overcome them, we're joined by Ana Mariella Rivera. She is a bicultural psychotherapist, mental health strategist, and community advocate based in the Twin Cities. She specializes in healing-centered, community-based approaches to mental health, with a focus on immigrant families, diverse students, and Latine communities. Thank you for joining us.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Thank you for having me.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Events such as the Annunciation shooting of Operation Metro Surge are are very different, but they can create a lot of grief and anxiety in in communities. How can events like these can affect young people and parents?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: One of the things that I've been thinking about is the integration, rather than the idea of like getting over a traumatic event or recovering from a traumatic event. And what I mean by this is that with support, children and families, especially those who were closely impacted. I'm thinking about Annunciation, the school community, what happened that day. They can continue to carry that, but alongside an expanding life, right? So the idea that a child can still remember and even grief and experience like the ones they had and still experience joy. For example, thinking about returning to school a year after, or that they can be exposed to a trauma reminder and still come to feel safe again, even though trauma happened and hit this community. Healing is never linear, and that's another important thing that we need to remember. That sadness and grief can still coexist with a child and a family experiencing life, being excited about going back to school. I think not just for Annunciation parents, but for all of us who sometimes the start of a school year can trigger some of those fears.

VICTOR PALOMINO: For parents that are getting ready to send their kids back to school, how can they notice if their kids are going through that experience of remembering the trauma?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: I think we need to think about parents, like as parents. I'm a parent. I have two kids, and I think a helpful idea is to remember our role as a parent, as a co-regulator of our child's emotions and internal and psychological world, and so modeling right, like talking out loud about the things that we may be apprehensive about, because as parents we too are carrying some of these anxieties, some of these triggers maybe, and so making the those conversations accessible. This is how I'm feeling. How are you feeling? I'm aware that last year was really heavy. Was really like was a really hard start of the school year for a lot of us. Do you remember what happened at Annunciation? Do you ever think about that? Do you have any questions about that? Because this is another important thing: is that a year has passed, and the understanding that, for instance, a seven-year-old had at the time may be different a year later. Their maturity level is different. Their comprehension level, you know, has grown as a year has gone by, and so children may have different questions, and with that, of course, different anxieties or apprehensions.

VICTOR PALOMINO: For many families, especially immigrant families, are going back to school can also bring memories of the beginning of the year with Operation Metro Surge. How do you think those families are coping now?

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: I love your question because your question is centering children who have been exposed to another traumatic yet collective experience, and that is of Metro Surge, particularly BIPOC children and children of color, Latino children, Somali children, children of immigrant parents, children of mixed status families. It is important to bring awareness and extend empathy, and this goes for educators, for other parents, maybe whose children's experience is different and reality is different is to still remember that a lot of these children have been exposed to tremendous, tremendous harm and fear of persecution, of racial profiling, of being separated from their parents. So returning to a new school year for many of these children is going to re-expose fears of separation. For example, my message is that of let's keep this in mind as educators, as adults working, trying to make those new environments, classrooms, school environments as welcoming, reassuring as possible for a lot of these children. So it's basically going back to communicating, listening, and seeing what are the needs of these children of their families. I am thinking about you know school staff, teachers, educators, other parents, right? Now when I think about the families and the parents who are sending their kids to school another year, you know, a lot of conversations I know are happening are around plans, contingency plans. You know, what happens if one of us is missing? Who do you go with? This is a person that's going to take care of you. This is what's going to happen. These are really, really hard and profoundly anxiety-provoking conversations to have with a child, and their parents are having to manage their own fear while also sending their kids off to a new school year. So I wish I had like a list of you know these are recommendations and yeah certainly discussing plans you know trying to keep routines at home as steady as possible making sure parents are checking in with their kids.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Now that you said that, it's also as a reminder, as the for the community at large, to just be kinder to one another. You know, because you never know what's on the mind of everybody. And a lot of families right now might be going through a lot.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Absolutely, I think you put it you put it beautifully, and that is exactly what we can do as a collective and as a community, as a caring and loving community who want to all children to have the best return to school.

VICTOR PALOMINO: Ana Mariella, thank you so much for all your information and for coming here to North Star Stories.

ANA MARIELLA RIVERA: Thank you, Victor. Thank you for having me.

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VICTOR PALOMINO: This is it for today's program. If you missed any part of today's newscast, you can find this and past episodes at AMPERS.org or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

BRITT AAMODT: You can also get North Star Stories Daily on our website or check your favorite station's schedule. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week with more stories and voices from the North Star State.

OUTRO: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, Minnesota's community radio stations with support from the state of Minnesota. Online at ampers.org.