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www.driftlessjournal.com | news@driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, June 27, 2023 | Vol. 5 Issue 26
The broccoli breakthrough
Cole Hoscheit is pictured with the crew on his Caledonia, Minn. dairy farm (submitted photo)
Family creates common ground across cultures By Amy Kyllo Staff Writer for Dairy Star Newspaper “All dairy, all the time.” A bimonthly dairy newspaper covering Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. Published with Dairy Star permission; visit dairystar.com for more Dairy Star articles. As Mike Johnson met his employee Raphael’s daughter, Ashley, it was a special moment. Holding Ashley in his arms for a photo, Johnson had the privilege of doing something Raphael has never done: meet Ashley in person. “Raphael has been employed with me a long, long time, and I’ve known a lot about this girl,” Johnson said. “To get to meet her in person was pretty special.” Johnson, a dairy farmer from Fountain, Minn., was part of a recent trip to Mexico with Puentes Bridges, a nonprofit organization that works with dairy farmers and their employees from Mexico. The organization plans trips so dairy farmers can learn the culture and meet the families of their employees. Johnson, Cole Hoscheit, a
dairy farmer from Caledonia, Minn., and Mercedes Falk, director of Puentes Bridges, shared details from their trip April 17 during an event hosted by the Lions Club in Preston. Johnson encountered a sense of commonality between the rural Mexican culture he experienced and his own rural midwestern culture. Values like family, work ethic, frugal living and agriculture were all traits Johnson said he connected with. “I always knew a family was important, but to be there … and see that … kind of took it to a different level for me,” Johnson said. Many farm employees invest their money in their families in Mexico, working to give them a better life. Johnson shared the conditions of one family they visited. “There’s no way to get more money in that area,” Johnson said. “They’re just subsistence farmers. They just live on what they grow and that’s it.” Some former employees of members on the trip had taken their earnings and invested in starting their own small businesses like a restaurant, technology store, school supply store and taxi business.
Ishmael, a former employee who Johnson visited, shared the difference his job on Johnson’s farm made. “Before he worked on our farm, he had barely any education,” Johnson said. “Working for us and helping us, he had been able to build a house to provide for his family.” The scene was emotional as Johnson and Ishmael gave each other a long hug amid tears. Some employees leave behind spouses and children as they sacrifice to create a better future for their families. Falk met the mother of one of her students, Gustavo. Falk shared what Gustavo’s mother told her about him working in the U.S. “Gustavo’s mother told me, ‘Even though he’s gone, Gustavo makes sure that we always have tortillas on the table,’” Falk said. “‘His siblings can keep going to school. He calls us every two days, and we are never lacking anything because of him. We would love for him to be here with us, but because he’s there, we have enough down here.’”
Common ground
continued on page 3
By Rachael Munn Program Director for ReRooted Connections, Decorah Growing up, I was never a fan of broccoli. The overcooked mush from the school cafeteria went best stuffed in an empty milk carton (evading the cafeteria veggie police), and the rubbery raw stuff at potlucks and holiday parties was just a vehicle for ranch dressing. Needless to say, broccoli was rarely on the menu once I had any say in the matter. When our twins were born, my husband and I were advised to eat what we wanted our kids to eat. Determined to raise healthy eaters, we dutifully cooked, smashed and ate up (sometimes with feigned delight) all the veggies we could think of – including broccoli. And of course, the veggie that took hold with my two little darlings – became a first word, even – was broccoli. It seemed I was going to have to learn to like broccoli - if not for my health, at the very least to be a good parent. I tried growing it in my garden, knowing that the magic of homegrown veggies often helped develop a taste for them. But in the Iowa heat, the heirloom varieties I chose always went to seed before producing any heads. So I continued to chew on the
Rachael Munn’s twins are eager to see the broccoli forming in the garden – it’s their favorite vegetable! (submitted) store-bought broccoli that came strangled in plastic, saying to my kids through giant mouthfuls: “mmm” and “yum,” and “good, huh?” — all the while wishing I had one of those cardboard milk containers to spit it into. How could I ever consider myself to be a good parent while living such a lie? When my family moved to Decorah to become the caretakers at ReRooted Connections, we took on the responsibility of growing and maintaining the Edible Landscape at Winneshiek Medical Center, from which produce is used by Nutrition Services in the cafeteria. It was here that I was introduced to a selection of bolt-resistant hybrid broccolis. For the first
time, I successfully grew from seed those beautiful tightly bound heads of broccoli that looked just like the pictures in the seed catalogs. And it was delicious! Perfectly crisp and so sweet, with just the tiniest hint of bitterness to bring all the flavors together. It wasn’t that I didn’t like broccoli – it’s just that I hadn’t had the right kind: fresh and filled with local flavor. My family of broccoli lovers continues to eat it voraciously in all forms: cooked, steamed, raw – even frozen. One of my favorite recipes is from the
Field to Fork
continued on page 6
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) seeking local volunteers
CASA advocates are ordinary people who care about children. They volunteer their time and talents to help make sure that children who have experienced abuse or neglect aren’t negatively affected by the state system intended to protect them. Iowa CASA is affiliated with the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/ Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, which, together with its state and local members, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advo-
G 30 N I K UNE O BO NS J E P O
cacy so that every child in crisis can be safe, establish permanence and have the opportunity to thrive. Kerry Brennan, CASA Program Coordinator and CAMS Specialist reported there is an urgent need for CASA advocates in northeast Iowa. “We need volunteers in this area to join us in supporting children in the foster care system by becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Make a difference in a child’s life by providing them with a voice in court and advo-
cating for their best interests.”
What does a CASA volunteer do? CASA volunteers advocate for children who are in Iowa’s child welfare system due to abuse and/ or neglect. They are assigned one case at a time, focusing solely on that one child or sibling group and their family. CASA volunteers provide a consistent presence in a child’s life. They visit their assigned child or sibling group at least once a month, interact with others involved in
the case, and write reports for the juvenile judge. CASA volunteers stay with the child for the duration of the case, advocating for their needs to be met. “This program was started by a district judge in 1976 who saw there was a need for more advocacy for the children affected by these cases. The reports provided by the CASA volunteers are 100 percent read and taken into consideration by the judges. It helps them know the childrens’ interests are being represented,” added Brennan.
“Historically, we see a big increase in case referrals when school begins. Currently we have four case referrals for children in your area who really need a CASA,” said Brennan. Anyone interested in becoming a CASA should contact Brennan at 515-725-5350 or 563-5681049. Please leave a message if the call is not answered immediately. Anyone can go online to https://iowachildadvocacymatch.com/csp/icasa/scrVolunteerAppPublicPreScreen.csp to fill out a pre-screening applica-
tion to begin the volunteer process as well. Brennan also added, “Even if you know of anyone who would make a good advocate, please refer them to us. Our goal is to have a CASA for every child who needs one. Right now, we just don’t have enough volunteers.” For more information, visit the Iowa Child Advocacy Board website at childadvocacy.iowa. gov, or nationalcasagal.org, or call their main information line at 866-448-4608.
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