Sunday December 6, 2015
With less than four weeks left in the calendar year, it's time to start picking those people, organizations and things in Central Minnesota that made the biggest differences in 2015.Why? Because on Dec. 27, this board will name its Difference Makers along with your selections.
In keeping with a tradition this board established 11 years ago, Difference Makers represent the board's view of local people, groups and even events it believes made the biggest differences — good or bad — in the calendar year.
The board's picks for 2014 included key players in getting (and losing) air service between St. Cloud Regional Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Shout-outs also went to three Somali natives who filed as candidates in St. Cloud City Council and St. Cloud school board races. And local hockey player Anne Schleper's run with 2014 U.S. Olympic women's hockey team in brought out not just U.S. but hometown pride across the St. Cloud metro area.So as this board considers potential Difference Makers for 2015, we want to know what you think.
What individuals or groups of local folks are making differences this calendar year? What specific organization — public or private — has taken a leading role shaping life in Central Minnesota the past 11 months?
Here are a few examples this board is considering:
• In March, about 70 Technical High School students, most Somali, walked out of classes twice to protest how they were being treated. Their actions raised awareness of cultural tensions not just at Tech, but across the St. Cloud metro area. Several students, though, didn't just walk out. They joined school leaders in trying to find solutions. They formed the Tech Student Advocate Team and the Tech Culture and Climate Group, both of which are focused on implementing solutions.
• Speaking of cultural tensions, an informal group of residents this year has raised questions about only the costs of refugee resettlement in the St. Cloud area. Not coincidentally, the group known as #unitecloud has spoken out about the importance of this area welcoming people of all backgrounds.
• People on all sides of the debate on the future of Technical and Apollo High Schools and other facilities in the St. Cloud school district.
• The St. Cloud Area YMCA on Nov. 25 completed its goal of raising more than $10 million in private funds to match about $14 million in public money and build the long-awaited community aquatics center in St. Cloud.
• The Sartell City Council's decision in August to build a community center on the city's southern border has created positive and negative feedback in the community. The city has long planned such a center, but this location revealed a failure to collaborate with residents wanting a library branch. It also raised concerns from school district leaders looking to expand facilities in the near future.
• Patty and Jerry Wetterling's 26-year search for their abducted son Jacob catapulted back into the headlines Oct. 30 when authorities arrested Annandale resident Danny Heinrich, 52, and charged him with five counts of possessing and receiving child pornography. In doing so, law enforcement called him a "person of interest" in the October 1989 abduction of Jacob.
Your picks please!
So who — or what — do you see as local Difference Makers in 2015?
Send us your picks and a brief explanation by 5 p.m. Dec. 21. They can be emailed to [email protected], faxed to 320-255-8775 or mailed to Difference Maker c/o Times Opinion Pages, PO Box 768, St. Cloud MN 56302.
Although anonymous submissions will be accepted, those provided with the author's full name and contact information will be given priority for publication Dec. 27.