Minnesota’s disability community is mourning the deaths of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and supporting the recovery of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. The four were shot early June 14 in what authorities described as a targeted attack on elected officials and others.
Vance Boelter is in custody for the crimes, arrested June 15 in Sibley County after an extensive manhunt. Boelter is accused of creating a lengthy hit list with names and addresses. Many on the list are DFL lawmakers.
A large memorial, with notes of support for both families, grew at the capitol. Hundreds of people attended a vigil there June 19.
Both Hortman and Hoffman are well known to Minnesota’s disability community. Hortman was elected in 2004, and Hoffman in 2012. Both have carried numerous pieces of legislation important to disabled Minnesotans. Both have attended disability rally events at the state capitol and appeared at other community events.
The Hoffman’s daughter, Hope Hoffman, was at the family home in Champlin when the shootings there occurred. Hope Hoffman is a disability rights advocate, has worked in government and policy-making, and is well-known at the capitol. She lives with spina bifida. Her father has often said that the issues she and others with disabilities face are what motivated him to seek office.
Many disability community members are stunned and heartbroken by the tragedy. State and federal lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz weighed in, with many praising the two lawmakers for their ability to get work done and to reach across the aisle to make changes.
Dozens of disability groups and service organizations statewide paid tribute to the two lawmakers and offered support for their families. The Minnesota Council on Disability said:
Speaker Hortman was a dedicated leader and a tireless champion for the rights and dignity of Minnesotans with disabilities. Her unwavering commitment to justice, equity, and inclusion left an indelible mark on our state and community.
Senator Hoffman has long been a passionate advocate for disability rights. Our hearts are with John, Yvette, and their daughter, Hope, as well as their extended family. We commit to supporting you as you have supported us all these years.
In this time of profound loss and grief, we are united as a community—honoring Speaker Hortman’s legacy, supporting the Hoffmans’ healing, and offering strength to all who are affected.
TRAGEDY To page 16
1990 2025
I was at the White House for the signing of the ADA. I was with Margot Imdieke and Irving Martin as we watched President Bush sign it with Justin Dart beside him. It was an exciting day and the crowd was filled with hope, that barriers would come down and new pathways would open.
State shutdown averted with pact, but
waiting for the federal changes
Minnesotans with disabilities and their allies saw mixed results when the 2025 Minnesota Legislature wrapped up a special session early June 10. A $66 billion state budget was passed by the House and Senate.
All of the budget bills passed have been signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz. The regular session was dominated by political infighting and a battle for control of
Read more ADA and Access Press history inside!
Thirty-five years later, we remember the ADA’s start
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most significant pieces of civil rights and social policy legislation to become law in our lifetimes. It was passed by the 101st Congress and signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. At the time it provided more than 43 million Americans with equal access to public services, employment, accommodations, transportation and more.
Minnesotans involved in the ADA’s passage are remembered 35 years later. Many worked for decades prior for civil rights reforms. Many of those civil rights pioneers are not with us today.
Signing day!
The president likened the signing of the ADA to the smashing of the Berlin Wall, saying that the action “takes a sledgehammer” to the wall of discrimination against people with disabilities.
“We will not accept, we will not excuse, we will not tolerate discrimination in America,” Bush said.
He also said, “I know there may have been concerns that the ADA may be too vague or too costly, or may lead endlessly to litigation.
But I want to reassure you right now that my administration and the United States Congress have carefully crafted this act. We’ve all been determined to ensure that it gives flexibility, particularly in terms of the timetable of implementation; and we’ve been committed to containing the costs that may be incurred . . . Let the
of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” Many groups worked together to ensure the ADA’s passage. Justin Dart, who is still viewed as the father of the ADA, sat near the president. It was a triumph for Dart as he had been widely criticized for the idea of a civil rights law for people with disabilities. It was also a big win for Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. “It (the ADA) will change the way we live forever,” he said. Crowd estimates for the ADA signing varied
SHUTDOWN To page 17
shameful wall
The final rallies of the 2025 session emphasized the need for disability services funding.
George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with the Disabilities Act during a ceremony in the Rose Garden. Seated to right are Evan Kemp, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Bush and Justin Dart, Chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Standing left to right are Reverend Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability.
Sue Abderholden, executive director, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Minnesota
Both Access Press and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turn 35 this year. Both birthdays are reason to celebrate. Both are important anniversaries.
Both birthdays also give us reason for reflection and a look at what is on the horizon. Our look ahead raises some concerns.
We as a disability community need to be hypervigilant about the ADA and any attempts to undermine it. Efforts to quash diversity, equity, inclusion and access initiatives are just plain wrong.
Efforts to take away any gains made under the ADA must be challenged. The fights to save these pillars of disability services must continue to the bitter end.
The threatened cuts to programs and university-based centers on developmental disabilities are alarming. So are proposed changes to support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Medicaid/ Medicare and many other vital services.
Many elders with disabilities question whether they’ll be around long enough to see our civil rights movement succeed. Yes, there have been many gains. We’ve seen a lot of change. But there is so much left to do. And it is disheartening to see years of hard work undone with the swipe of a pen. When one in four of us becomes disabled during a lifetime, it is incredible to think of how many are impacted with the rolling back of our hardfought victories.
As for Access Press? We and many other news organizations are in a time of great transition. While preparing content for this issue, it was striking to realize how much has changed – not just in the world of disability rights, but also in the media world.
Access Press began at a time when most news coverage of disability centered on
We've seen a lot of change. But there is so much left to do. And it is disheartening to see years of hard work undone with the swipe of a pen. When one in four of us becomes disabled during a lifetime, it is incredible to think of how many are impacted with the rolling back of our hard-fought victories.
“pity stories.” Who remembers the nonstop news coverage of the Jerry Lewis telethon, when disabled people were trotted out as heartstring-pulling props?
People with disabilities made the news because they were viewed as “inspiring” or “brave.” Or perhaps someone’s disability was a problem to be solved. A subtext to this kind of news coverage was “there but for the grace of God go I.”
Important issues weren’t covered. Or coverage lacked context. A reference to Olmstead probably had readers thinking that some editor got the Minnesota county’s name spelling wrong. Few thought immediately
HISTORY NOTE
Editor’s note: As we celebrate the 35-year history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we also remember that decades of efforts went into getting the ADA passed.
This detailed history outlines the years of effort to get the ADA passed, the many important measures that followed its passage and the importance of other disability-focused federal legislation. The passage on Section 504 is an education in itself.
We hope that this excerpt of Arlene Mayerson’s fine work, taken from a comprehensive history on the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund website, will pique readers’ interests and leave them wanting to read and learn more. The complete story is posted with permission at www.accesspress.org by Arlene Mayerson, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, 1992
The history of the ADA did not begin on July 26, 1990 at the signing ceremony at the White House. It did not begin in 1988 when the first ADA was introduced in Congress. The ADA story began a long time ago in cities and towns throughout the United States when people with
disabilities began to challenge societal barriers that excluded them from their communities, and when parents of children with disabilities began to fight against the exclusion and segregation of their children. It began with the establishment of local groups to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. It began with the establishment of the independent living movement which challenged the notion that people with disabilities needed to be institutionalized, and which fought for and provided services for people with disabilities to live in the community.
The ADA owes its birthright not to any one person, or any few, but to the many thousands of people who make up the disability rights movement – people who have worked for years organizing and attending protests, licking envelopes, sending out alerts, drafting legislation, speaking, testifying, negotiating, lobbying, filing lawsuits, being arrested – doing whatever they could for a cause they believed in. There are far too many people whose commitment and hard work contributed to the passage of this historic piece of disability civil rights legislation to be able to
about a groundbreaking court decision.
Nor did we ever read about issues in the context of disability and our civil rights.
Access Press is an important part of a movement to change that news coverage, at the same time that the ADA literally and figuratively opened doors. We have always focused on public policy issues in news as well as commentary.
The commentary platform is especially important. We have advocated for our community on countless issues. We have given voice to people who otherwise had no voice. We have worked for social change.
Thirty-five years ago, we were part of a
give appropriate credit by name. Without the work of so many – without the disability rights movement – there would be no ADA.
The disability rights movement . . . has made the injustices faced by people with disabilities visible to the American public and to politicians. This required reversing the centuries long history of “out of sight, out of mind” that the segregation of disabled people served to promote. The disability rights movement adopted many of the strategies of the civil rights movements before it. . .
While some in the media portray this new era as falling from the sky unannounced, the thousands of men and women in the disability rights movement know that these rights were hard fought for and are long overdue. The ADA is radical only in comparison to a shameful history of outright exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities. From a civil rights perspective the Americans with Disabilities Act is a codification of simple justice.
Read more at: https://dredf.org/the-history-ofthe-americans-with-disabilities-act/
The History Note is a monthly column produced in cooperation with the Minnesota Governor’s
large community of urban neighborhood and BIPOC newspapers, one of the largest in the United States. Most of those papers are gone now.
A fall 2024 study indicated that in Minnesota alone, 20 percent of the state’s newspapers have closed.
The Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University tells us that more than 3,200 newspapers have closed since 2005.
The economic challenges newspaper face are a huge factor as we look ahead. For Access Press, another issue going forward is how do we serve readers in print and online in a changing news environment?
We still see many of those “pity” stories. We joke about “inspiration porn.” We’re not here to inspire you. Many of us are just happy to make it through another day.
We are glad to see much more solid and balanced coverage of policy issues affecting disabled Minnesotans in mainstream and alternative media. Minnesota print, online and broadcast media are doing amazing work. We especially appreciate the work of Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Minnesota Reformer and our Twin Cities television stations for expanding disability-focused coverage. KARE 11’s news staff has done yeoman’s work to expose fraud that hurts us all.
More extensive disability-focused coverage is something we really appreciate in a time of slender resources at Access Press. At the same time it raises the question: What is our role as a news organization going forward?
That is a question for our board and our next executive director to answer. We hope you continue to support us as we evolve in the years ahead.
EDITORIAL: Editorial submissions and news releases on topics of interest to persons with disabilities, or persons serving those with disabilities, are welcomed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Editorial material and advertising do not necessarily reflect the view of the editor/ publisher of Access Press.
DEADLINE: 15th of each month.
CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION: Distributed the 1st of each month through more than 200 locations statewide. Approximately 750 copies are mailed to individuals, including political, business, institutional and civic leaders.
SUBSCRIPTION: Free and accessible to anyone in MInnesota, visit www.accesspress.org to subscribe. ABOUT ACCESS PRESS: A monthly newspaper published for persons with disabilities by Access Press, Ltd.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Access Press, PO Box 40006, Industrial Station, St. Paul, MN 551048006
INQUIRIES AND ADDRESS CHANGES should be directed to: Access Press, PO Box 40006, Industrial Station, St. Paul, MN 55104-8006;
U of M Long COVID clinical trial could provide answers
People living with Long COVID have the opportunity to take part in a clinical trial at the University of Minnesota.
The study is centered on the drug Baricitinib. The drug, which has FDA approval, is already in use as a COVID treatment.
The University of Minnesota is one of six nationwide sites participating in the study. After initial questionnaires and bloodwork, selected patients will randomly get the study drug or a placebo for six months.
Dr. Carolyn Bramante of the University of Minnesota was recently interviewed by KSTP-TV about the study. She is an assistant professor of general internal medicine.
“The trial is answering important questions. It might show that [the drug] works, it doesn’t work in a subgroup of individuals, and all of that very valuable knowledge,” she said. “This is not the only Long COVID clinical trial that will be needed. The community deserves multiple treatment options.”
The drug is being studied to determine its effectiveness in helping Long COVID patients who are living with disabling neurocognitive symptoms. One frequent complaint Long COVID patients make is that the disease can affect memory and cloud thinking with a condition commonly described as brain fog.
Brain fog is not an official medical diagnosis. It’s an informal term that is used when describing a wide range of significant, persistent neurocognitive impairments. Yale Medicine provides this overview, saying that brain fog can cause such symptoms as sluggish thinking, difficulty processing information, forgetfulness, an inability to focus, pay attention or concentrate. With Long COVID, the exact combination of brain fog symptoms varies from one person to the next.
Many people with Long COVID also deal with ongoing fatigue, which the study website indicates will also be considered.
The U of M goal is to enroll 135 people and conduct the trial in smaller “batches” over the next couple of years.
Asked if the drug is being viewed by physicians as a possible breakthrough for people who have been suffering from Long COVID for years, Bramante replied, “Our job is to just do the protocol, and then the results will
be what they be.”
The intent is to enroll about 550 people who have had COVID. Half will be assigned to the Baricitinib group and half will be given placebos.
Participants will help researchers find answers about how taking baricitinib affects brain function, heart and lung function, and quality of life.
Who can participate? Adults 18 and older who have had thinking and memory problems for at least six months after a COVID-19 infection will be considered for the study. People need to fill out a short online questionnaire to be screened for selection. If selected they will take tests and have bloodwork done to participate.
People chosen for the study will be sent home with pills to take every day for six months. Once-monthly bloodwork is required as part of the study, for six months. Participants will also be asked to complete some questionnaires and tests at one month, three month and six month intervals.
Participants will stop taking pills after six months. They’ll then fill out monthly surveys in a phone app for another six months.
The final step after one year is to come in for one last in-person study visit. At that visit participants will do the same questionnaires,
tests, and bloodwork that was completed on the initial visit.
It will take about three to four years before the results of the trial will be available. The study is federally funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Other schools involved in the REVERSELC study are Yale, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of California San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania and Emory University in Atlanta. The U of M, UC-San Francisco, Vanderbilt and Emery are the sites where participants will be tested and interviewed.
Learn more about Reverse LC at https://www. reversinglongcovid.org/
Living with brain fog from Long COVID?
The Yale Medicine website has a lot of useful information, including tips on how to manage brain fog issues. Read the website information at https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-tomanage-long-covid-brain-fog
Access Press provides coverage of COVID issues with support from the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL). Learn more about MCIL at https://mcil-mn.org/
This activity is made possible by a grant from the Long COVID Program of the Minnesota Department of Health.
Tracking available on COVID trends
Looking for reliable information on COVID trends in Minnesota? The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has answers that people need to track trends and stay safe, on its situation update for COVID-19 website page. The link is at https://www.health.state.mn.us/ diseases/coronavirus/stats/index.html
The state website page is updated weekly. Updates are typically posted at 11 a.m. on Thursdays. Data is up to date as of 4 a.m. for the previous Tuesday.
The schedule can be affected by state holidays. The website allows community members to check hospital admissions levels of the disease county by county. This information is helpful not only on a regular basis at home, but also handy when travels around the state are planned. Hospital admission level maps, charts, and data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are updated every Thursday evening.
Information can also be found about COVID case rates, trends, demographics, current and past SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating. People with disabilities and related health risks may also find information about hospitalizations to be useful. MDH regularly posts COVID hospitalization and intensive care unit hospitalization rates, trends and demographics. Another part of the website shares information about mortality or death rates, trends and other demographics. Charts and a map of counties provide useful information. In general, disease rates have spiked since earlier this year.
For those who like a deeper data dive, the website also offers a data archive on COVID, as well as detailed information about viral respiratory illnesses in the state.
Weekly rates of selected viral respiratory illnesses are shared, including: COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. RSV is a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs. RSV symptoms make it difficult to distinguish it from the common cold or other respiratory viruses (like the flu or COVID).
Some data are only updated during the respiratory season and are paused at this time. Updates will resume for the next respiratory season in fall 2025.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
Honoring 35 years of the ADA, Access Press: A legacy still in motion
By Jennifer Walton, Executive Director, Advocating Change Together
This year marks a powerful double milestone: the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and 35 years of Access Press—a publication that has uplifted, informed, and amplified voices in Minnesota’s disability community. As the executive director of Advocating Change Together (ACT), I’m proud to stand at this intersection of reflection and momentum.
ACT has been organizing, educating, and advocating in the disability justice movement for more than 45 years. Our work is rooted in the belief that people with disabilities should lead the way in creating a more just world. The ADA was a critical step in that direction. It opened doors—literally and figuratively—and made it illegal to deny disabled people equal access in schools, jobs, transportation, and public life.
But as we celebrate this anniversary, we
also recognize that the promise of the ADA is still incomplete. At ACT, we work closely with self-advocates across Minnesota who remind us every day that civil rights laws are only as strong as the systems that uphold them. The ADA gave us the right to access—but access still isn’t always granted. We hear from people who can’t get on a bus, who are pushed out of schools, who can’t find affordable, accessible housing, or who face institutionalization simply because community supports aren’t available. The fight isn’t over.
That’s why disability justice matters.
Disability justice goes beyond legal compliance. It calls on all of us to examine how ableism is baked into the way our society operates—and to center the leadership of those most impacted: disabled people of color, queer and trans disabled folks, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and those living at the intersections of
multiple systems of oppression.
The ADA was never meant to be the finish line—it was the beginning of a much larger journey. While it outlawed discrimination and opened long-closed doors, it couldn’t undo generations of exclusion or change deeply embedded systems overnight. The promise of the ADA is only as strong as our willingness to keep pushing—to recognize that access isn’t just about curb cuts and compliance, but about justice, equity, and real belonging.
ACT has seen generations of change—and resistance. We’ve trained thousands in selfadvocacy, and we’ve built networks like SelfAdvocates Minnesota (SAM) that continue to demand dignity, equity, and full inclusion.
The ADA laid a foundation. Our job now is to keep building.
And we can’t do it without connection.
That’s where Access Press comes in. For 35 years, this paper has been a lifeline— connecting readers to advocacy, opportunities,
history, and each other. When mainstream media overlooks our stories, Access Press steps in. When policies threaten our rights, Access Press helps sound the alarm.
It’s not just about information—it’s about solidarity.
As we mark 35 years of the ADA, let’s remember that the law didn’t come from nowhere. It came from the collective power of disabled people who fought, organized, chained themselves to buses, and refused to be silent.
That legacy lives on in the pages of Access Press, in the work of ACT, and in every selfadvocate who speaks up for their rights and the rights of others.
With the ADA’s anniversary, we look back at the people who made a difference
by Joan Willshire
As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we ask ourselves what does the ADA mean to me?
The ADA is my civil rights as a person with a disability.
And then for me, I think about the person who helped create many of the accessibility standards under Title 3 of the ADA. That person was Margot lmdieke Cross, the accessibility specialist for the Minnesota Council on Disability. She was a lifelong resident of Minnesota and a person with a disability who passed away a year ago this summer on July 21, 2024. From the age of two Margot lived her life as a person with a disability and fighting for full accessibility so she and others could live, work and play along with the able bodied
in her community.
On July 26, 1990, Margot was one of the hundreds of people sitting on the White House lawn, when President George Bush walked up to the stage on the White House lawn for the ceremonial signing of the ADA into law. Everyone rose to their feet to stand, except Margot and others for whom the ADA was enacted. So they shouted, “down in front,” because they could not see! Their activism was loud and clear even as the most major civil rights action for people disabilities was being signed into law. Margot was right there at the forefront! Margot was instrumental in getting many laws in Minnesota passed that supported the ADA. The ADA was her baby. Recently an article in the Minnesota Star Tribune talked about how accessible many of the sports venues
Her ADA journey began as a
by Rachel Wobschall
For as long as I can remember, I have had to consciously think about how to get from where I was to where I wanted to go. As a child with cerebral palsy in Waseca, that meant considering the curbs, stairs or other kinds of terrain I would have to traverse. Later in life I would use this same critical thinking to advocate for others envisioning a society and a world where access and opportunity was available to everyone-especially those of us with disabilities.
In 1974, I participated in a Girl Scouts “wider opportunity” which teamed able-bodied and disabled girl scouts from across the country in a weeklong conference at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. It was then one of the leading accessible campuses in the United States. It was my first exposure architectural accessibility and 50 other girls with disabilities. The experience I gained at this conference inspired me to became active in student government, ultimately becoming an officer in the Minnesota Association of Student Councils and passing resolutions advocating for access and programming for students with disabilities in Minnesota high schools. Through my involvement state student
council and attending the University of St. Thomas, I met the late Gov. Rudy Perich who had a ramp installed in the governor’s residence long before the law required so his family members and friends could enjoy the historical building. Later I served on the governor’s staff as the director of open appointments where we worked to appoint women, members of diverse populations and individuals with disabilities to state boards and commissions.
In 1987, Perpich had the moral conviction and the prompting of the visionary Colleen Wieck, to create a blue-ribbon commission on Technology and Disability where I served as the staff person. We brought together consumers with disabilities, industry experts, providers and legislators to determine what we could do as a state to make sure that people had access and the opportunity to use assistive technology in their everyday lives.
The work of our group got the attention of Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and soon I was working with Bobby Silverstien, Harkin’s chief aide in drafting the “Tech Act” which would encourage states to establish gubernatorially directed programs and provided funding to provide education, demonstration and advocacy of potential of assistive technology.
are now in Minnesota. Why is that? It’s because of Margot! From Target Field, to US Bank Stadium, and Alliance Field, Margot worked her magic in all of them to ensure that they are accessible for people with disabilities.
What Margot did was talk to the architects and planners about the fact that the ADA is a minimum set of standards and to always try to push to go beyond those regulations. In many cases, Margot did succeed in doing just that. But we all need to remember this as well.
Margot knew how to advocate as a person with a disability. Because she had grown up with a disability and had encountered barriers to accessibility, she armed herself with knowledge and learned as much as she could about the ADA. She was the best at activism and this is what we need now more than ever!
These same men were champions of the ADA.
Work on the “Tech Act” legislation was exhilarating and brought me into contact with many leaders of disability movement including Justin Dart, Judy Huemann, Dr. Katherine Seelman and Ed Roberts, as well as Senators Ted Kennedy, and David Durenberger and many of Minnesota’s well-known advocates, Mary O’Hara Anderson, Margot Imdieke, David Schwartzkopf and many others.
The passage of the Technology Related Assistance Act for Individuals with Disabilities (tech act) P.L. 100-407 in1988 was swift. With such momentum, it seemed the time was right to fully push for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act-which we dreamed would finally provide the access and opportunity that had been dreamed of for so long.
Now my horizon was not only Minnesota, but the entire country. I became increasingly aware of the challenges and opposition to this civil rights legislation. One poignant memory is I was seated next to man who was blind on a flight to Washington D.C. He shared with me that he was on his way to oppose the ADA because it would be too expensive for businesses to implement. I drew him out and countered his assertions much to the bemusement of the
by Guthrie J. Byard, Community
Specialist – People with Disabilities
July 26 marks the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and as the community specialist for people with disabilities with the City of Minneapolis, I know we are better off for it. We honor the monumental impact this civil rights law has had in creating greater access to Minneapolis for residents, workers, and visitors with disabilities.
With the City’s ADA Transition Plan and ADA Action Plan, both updated within the last year, we are committed to not just complying with the law but working towards being a leader amongst local government in creating accessible programs, services, and spaces. Every department is engaged in this work and understands the need for it. We know that 35 years on, city documents are either a barrier or entry point into city work and increasingly require improved accessibility. Online and physical meeting spaces can and should be more accessible for greater community input, and along with the advice from the Minneapolis Advisory
Fast forward to today 35 years later and there seems to be a whole new younger generation that is vastly unfamiliar with all the issues that existed back in 1990 when the ADA was created. Currently Congress won't repeal the ADA, but it might be at risk to be unenforceable if the President decides the Department of Justice can’t prioritize it. And it's at risk in the courtroom; at any time a federal judge can ignore precedent supporting the disabled and create a new law that doesn’t support accessibility. People with disabilities have been ignored before so this isn’t anything new for the disability community to handle. But this definitely is a call to action!
Joan Willshire is a disability consultant and former executive director of the state’s Council on Disability.
passengers seated around us. Finally revealing my own physical disability-to his chagrin. I will never know if I changed his mind, but our exchange educated a few others in the process. Finally, with thousands of others, I was proud to be on the White House lawn at the signing ceremony on July 26,1990. That was the beginning.
In the past 35 years there have been more curb cuts, more access, and more opportunities. My personal experience has been made easier by the ADA as I travel around the world and enjoy life with the aid of assistive technology in daily life and recreation. I have been employed in government service, higher education, health care and nonprofit philanthropy. These doors that may not have been open to me without the awareness and implementation of the ADA. Everything we have dreamed of has yet to be realized. There is more work to do to maintain and advance these civil rights. I am grateful that the Americans with Disabilities Act is providing each of us a framework for where we want to go on our own journeys.
Rachel Wobschall is the planned and major gift officer for True Friends.
So today, I celebrate—and recommit. To the principles of the ADA. To the ongoing work of disability justice. To passing the mic. To listening. To acting. To never letting up. Here’s to the next 35 years—of advocacy, of community, and of pushing forward together. Minneapolis honors Disability Pride Month, celebrates 35 years of the ADA of the signing of the ADA. More details and registration are at https://www2.minneapolismn.
Committee on People with Disabilities, which dates back to the 1970s, we are working on all of this.
We also know that the city plays a crucial role in supporting those with disabilities in taking pride in who they are every day and to love the city they live, work, play, and learn in. To that end, the city is holding a public celebration and documentary screening event on Thursday, July 24. This event follows a mayor proclamation earlier in July celebrating July as Disability Pride Month and a Minneapolis City Council Honorary Resolution celebrating the 35th anniversary
call
ACCESS PRESS ADA 1990-2025
Grateful thanks to all who have made Access Press possible through the years
On behalf of everyone at Access Press, we want to thank everyone who has played a role in our first 35 years. Everyone has made a positive difference.
We thank the hundreds of advertisers who have made it possible for us to bring you the newspaper every month and the website and social media every day. We ask that readers support our advertisers as they support us.
We thank the individuals who have made financial contributions. No amount is too small.
We thank the foundations that have provided operating support and support for special projects.
We thank the Minnesota Newspaper Association and Institute for Nonprofit News
We thank the many, many community members who have written articles, taken pictures, drawn cartoons and sent us commentaries and letters to the editor. All of your voices matter. We also thank past and present board
members, staff and contractors.
While it may be a coincidence that our path and past coincide with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Access Press and the ADA are very closely entwined. We’re including some history of both Access Press and the ADA in this print edition.
Our website at www.accesspress.org will feature even more history. In July we’ll be sharing more ADA history, and a timeline from May 1990 to the present day of disability history
Knowledge is power and Access Press provides that for its readers
by Anne Henry
Access Press has been an invaluable beacon for the disability community for 35 years. From its inception in 1990, this independent, disabilityfocused newspaper has provided in-depth information and stories on disability issues not available anywhere else.
In my work on state and federal disability policy at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid’s Disability Law Center, I experienced firsthand the power of an informed and effective disability community.
Throughout its 35 years, Access Press has published clear and strong editorials which have been clarion calls to action for those concerned about disability policy. Access Press has informed, educated and empowered its readers to get involved at every level of public decision-making which affects the lives of persons with disabilities.
The significant impact of Access Press is due to the foresight of its founders, Bill and Charlie Smith, and the tenacious commitment of its editors, Charlie Smith, Tim Benjamin and Jane
in Minnesota as covered by Access Press. You can be part of the celebration by contributing to our online content. You can be part of our history. We invite you to send your own reflections on the ADA and Access Press to us so that we can continue to share these during our anniversary year. We’d also enjoy hearing about the people you think are worthy in joining the Darts as ADA heroes. We’ll have some of our own online as well. Send your stories to jane@accesspress.org
McClure, board members, and all the reporters and contributors. Access Press demonstrates the truth of the adage: Knowledge is Power. I have deep respect and gratitude for Access Press and look forward to many more years of this independent, high-quality, disability-focused press informing and empowering the disability community in our state.
Anne Henry worked for more than 40 years at the Minnesota Disability Law Center.
Changing, improving peoples' lives is a major part of our ADA legacy
by Tim Dickie, Rise President and CEO
At Rise, we are proud to be part of a legacy filled with people who have defied limits and built meaningful, connected lives in their communities. As we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we honor the people whose stories remind us why this work matters.
One of those people is Loring Tollefson. More than 50 years ago, Loring’s parents and a group of other families founded Rise because they believed Loring and his friends deserved to live full, active lives despite society’s limited expectations for people with intellectual disabilities. Loring thrived, and his story laid the foundation for everything we do.
Ted Brown was also among the first people supported by Rise. Over the decades, Ted
worked in competitive jobs across the Twin Cities, including at a Medtronic subsidiary. But his greatest joy has been his second career as a professional musician. Ted even performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and he is still on stages in the Twin Cities. Each year we look forward to his band’s performance at Rise’s annual employment programs holiday party.
More recently, we also celebrate Michael Sack, who is supported at Rise’s Crystal life enrichment program. Michael, who uses a power wheelchair, serves on the Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities. In 2021, he founded Minneapolis Sidewalk Repair Hunters because an inaccessible curb near his home challenged his independence. Today, he continues to locate and report curb cuts and sidewalks in
Our Life, Our Way: Independent Living
Leadership, Unity, Vision was the theme
It could all be possible, so it seemed All we would have to do is become a proactive power team Civil Rights are for everyone
We must not stop until the job is done
Failure is unthinkable, like the earth without the sun
Let’s get together and fight until we have won
Everyone should bond together and unite
We would be a wonderful sight
49 million people changing the wrong and right
Keeping us strong both day and night
Think about the future dream
You could call it Andrew’s scheme
You can vision the best is yet to be
Freedom, choices, empowerment and inclusion: that’s the vision for you and me
To choose where to eat, sleep and play
Where to go to work everyday
What doctors to see, we want say
And we want it all today
We need a leader, yes we do, someone who is true blue threw and threw
Someone who will not divide us as programs do
Someone who remembers that we want choices, freedoms and to be inclusive too
Who is our leader? Who should it be?
It could be you: It could be me
Not only you: not only me: It should be we... BECAUSE IT IS TIME FOR UNITY!!
Written by: Karen M. Larson
My name is Karen Larson. I am a parent of a young man with disabilities. Here is what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mean to us: Before the ADA was passed we as a family were struggling to get services for our son such as medical care, dental care education and access to many stores/shops and school. Some segregated services were offered but they were offered at the institutions only. In order for our son to get an education at the school his sister went to we had to
get a lawyer. It took a year of meetings and planning but he went to kindergarten at the same school as his sister.
Services and access were being denied Just because someone has a label or is in a wheelchair.
I was so moved that I wrote a poem. Since the ADA was passed it is easier to get services. It is easier to get into buildings. It is easier to get an education.
We have come a long, long way!!
need of repair. His work makes the city safer and more accessible for everyone.
Some of these stories began before the ADA was passed in 1990. Others are only possible because of it. The ADA has changed lives. It has ensured that people with disabilities have access to workplaces, housing, services, and their communities.
The ADA also allowed Rise to grow and change. Over the past 35 years, we’ve expanded our services, opened new locations, and created innovative programs in supported and competitive employment, life enrichment, mental health, housing and added support services for the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing communities. Most recently, we’ve transitioned to a fully community-based employment model where people work alongside their neighbors in
businesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Yet there is still more work to do. Too often, people with disabilities are excluded from the conversations that shape our communities. Their perspectives are overlooked in event planning, infrastructure, public policy, and daily life. To some, the ADA is only about regulations like door widths and parking spaces. But to those who rely on it, the ADA is about freedom, dignity, and opportunity. Rise was founded on the belief that people with disabilities have the right to live, work, and learn in their communities, just like everyone else. As we mark this milestone, we encourage our neighbors, lawmakers, and community leaders to keep pushing for full inclusion. When everyone belongs, we all thrive.
Anne Henry
Two Access Press leaders remembered for their community commitment
Two key figures in the history of Press are Charlie Smith and Tim Benjamin, who were the longest-term executive director/ editors in the organization’s history. Both shaped Access Press in different ways.
Smith led with conviction
Charlie Smith grew up in Minneapolis, with a sister and a brother. His life changed at age 14 after a diving accident at a public beach. He fell from a diving platform and landed on concrete. He became quadriplegic.
Smith’s family helped him start Press as a means of communication for Minnesota’s disability community. His father William Smith served as publisher, providing emotional as well as financial support.
The paper published its first issue in May 1990. Its anniversary is often celebrated in conjunction with the anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).
Smith championed many causes as an editor. He was a strong advocate for the personal care attendant (PCA) program because he relied on PCAs to work and live independently.
He was an early supporter of Medical Assistance for People with Disabilities (MAEPD), citing its importance in allowing disabled Minnesotans to work and retain health care coverage.
As an editor, Smith pulled no punches. One favorite target was paratransit. He was critical of the Regional Transit Board, which years ago oversaw Metro Mobility. Smith would cite poor service and refer to “Metro Immobility.”
The death of William Smith had his son questioning if Access Press could and should continue. But donations poured in. That in part promoted the decision to convert Access Press from for-profit to nonprofit status. Smith sought assistance to make the change, including work with the Twin Cities Neighborhood Press Association and its many nonprofit newspaper members. Dedicated supporters served on the first boards of directors, some jokingly calling themselves “Charlie’s Angels.”
Charlie Smith died of esophageal cancer in April 2001. He was 47 years old and lived in Minneapolis. Many people paid tribute.
“I don’t think anybody or any organization can replace what he and his newspaper have done for the community,” said Jeff Bangsberg. “And I think the disability community will be forever changed because of that.”
(Bangsberg was government relations director for the Minnesota Home Care Association.)
“Our community wouldn’t be strong if we couldn’t communicate,” said Margot Imdieke Cross. “This was our community newspaper and it will continue to be.”
Bridget Smith, Charlie’s sister, said, “He wanted to get people with disabilities in motion by giving them as much information as possible. I think he was a true believer that information is power.”
In 1996, he led a group seeking to talk to Gov. Arne Carlson about changes to disabilityfocused laws. When the group demanded to speak directly to Carlson, they were told that he was unavailable.
“We’ll just wait here, then,” Smith replied. And so the editor and a group of disability rights advocates waited.
State troopers were called. Much to the delight of the demonstrators and consternation of the troopers, no one could figure out how to transport the “Wheelchair Dozen” to jail. They were given a stern warning and asked to leave.
Smith quietly mentored dozens of people with disabilities, sharing his own story and encouraging them. He urged disabled Minnesotans to share their stories and spotlight their rights and needs.
He enjoyed spending time with children. He also loved being with friends, playing cards or just hanging out. He also enjoyed attending concerts.
John Schatzlein, who wrote a spirituality column for Access Press, remembered his friend. “Charlie was a person who was able to know his “inner self - sometimes called the ‘soul.’ One’s soul is the moral and/or the emotional makeup of a person, the spiritual or emotional warmth they bring to the world. Charlie shared his spirituality, his passion for right, his respect for others, and had an ability to convey patience and calmness while pushing for justice and inclusion.” Schatzlein added, “Charlie took on
challenges to search out facts and comments about needs, issues, systems, service delivery gaps and the overall societal myopia in the way individuals their plights and life concerns were viewed and ultimately accepted or respected by others in the community . . . He enjoyed the hunt for information, the challenges of fairness in representation of comments. He enjoyed the fights that were a part of the territory of change.”
Smith’s successor, Executive Director/Editor Tim Benjamin, said:
“As a journalist, Charlie did not hesitate to ask the difficult questions, and he knew when to back off to give an interviewee enough room, in the true Charlie style, to let them hang themselves with their own words. He was never afraid of dialogue and often would take the opposing position while maintaining his own integrity and values, just to get a good dialogue started.”
Benjamin added, “Charlie knew the value of getting people talking about uncomfortable issues. . . . As soon as the dialogue began, Charlie became the listener. If things got too heated, Charlie was the one who could break the tension with a joke and a smile.”
Read about Charlie Smith’s memorial service at https://accesspress.org/charlie-smithmemorialized-june-3-2001/
Read his work for Access Press at https:// accesspress.org/author/charlie-smith/
Benjamin sought positive change
Tim Benjamin is remembered as someone dedicated to shining a light on issues affecting Minnesota’s disability community, and protection of the community’s civil rights.
Benjamin, who worked at Access Press for more than two decades, died in July 2022. He was 69.
“Tim Benjamin was a real asset to the disability community,” said Joel Ulland, former chair of the Access Press Board of Directors. “He had an ability to connect with everyone he met and use the power of the newspaper to make positive changes for people with disabilities. He will be missed.”
Benjamin was a fifth-generation Minnesotan. His family moved to Arizona when he was very young but they maintained strong ties here.
He developed a lifelong love of fast cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, describing himself as a “motorhead.”
He came back to Minnesota as a young man. During the summer of 1974, Benjamin sustained a spinal cord injury in a diving accident and began life as a quadriplegic.
The story of how he met Access Press founding editor Charlie Smith Jr. and became involved in the newspaper and public affairs is one of serendipity. The Benjamin family banked at the same bank where Charlie Smith’s father, Bill Smith, was vice president. Bill Smith and Fred Benjamin became good friends as their sons shared the same life experiences with spinal cord injuries.
The sons met in 1975 while both were in rehabilitation at the University of Minnesota. In a 2002 Access Press interview, Benjamin recalled thinking of Charlie Smith as “the veteran” and the fellow who seemed to know everything about “how this disability thing worked.”
The two were activists together for a time,
before Benjamin took a 15-year break from advocacy to focus on rehabilitation and education. In the mid-1980s he attended St. Paul College to study computers, also going to Courage Center for further training.
In 1996 Benjamin began his studies at Metropolitan State University, initially focusing on technical writing.
After realizing that his real interest was in social science and government, Benjamin moved into the social science program. He would earn a degree in that field, with a minor in philosophy. Among those who urged him to finish his degree was his friend Smith.
In the mid-1990s Benjamin decided to get active in disability community issues again. He made a fateful call to “the veteran” who was editing Access Press. Smith and Benjamin began going to meetings of the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MNCCD).
Benjamin became leader of Access Press in spring 2001. Benjamin had worked with Smith at the newspaper part-time while Smith was ill with cancer, starting in 2000 with advertising sales. He transitioned into the executive director/editor role with the help of Jeff Nygaard. One joke he and Nygaard shared was WWCD or “what would Charlie do?”
For the next 19 years, Benjamin served as executive director and editor of Access Press, Minnesota's disability community newspaper. He was a fixture at the state capitol and rallies, and followed countless issues.
One of his favorite projects was producing documentary The Real Story in 2013, with friend and documentarian Jerry Smith. It gives an overview of news media coverage of disability. At the premiere he had to cut off noted TV journalist and panelist Don Shelby, whose comments went on for too long.
Benjamin slyly noted that years before, in a magazine story about highest and lowest-paid Twin Cities journalist, Shelby was highestpaid and …. Benjamin’s Access Press job was the lowest paid.
He wrote about 250 columns for Access Press and worked on many news articles. Employment and personal care issues were key issues.
“He really believed in the idea of disabilityfocused journalism,” said Editor Jane McClure. “He felt strongly about our coverage of issues through a disability lens. He really disliked
Minnesota Business Leadership Network, an employer organization with a commitment to hiring people with disabilities. He received many honors, including the Skip Kruse Memorial Return to Work Award from the Social Security Administration, for the newspaper’s work in making people in the community aware of SSA programs and opportunities to work.
Benjamin also very much enjoyed meeting and mentoring younger people with disabilities, especially those who were just getting their start. He urged everyone with disabilities and urging them to share their stories as a way to encourage systems change. Read more about him at https://accesspress. org/a-tribute-to-tim-benjamin/ Read his writings at https://accesspress.org/ author/tim-benjamin/
Tim Benjamin enjoyed greeting guests at the annua l Access Press banquet
Charlie Smith was a constant presence at the state capitol.
between 2,000 and 3,000. A story many people told is that when the ADA was signed, some people stood to get a better look. Onlookers in wheelchairs shouted, down in front!
It’s not clear how many Minnesotans were present. U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, one of the ADA champions, hosted a breakfast for about two dozen Minnesotans on signing day.
The senator sponsored Leah Welch’s trip.
The Minneapolis resident had lived with polio-related disabilities since 1949 and was executive director of a personal care attendant agency, Independence and Crossroads. She used a wheelchair and respirator.
Welch called the ADA “a really big step, long overdue.”
“I could not get out and do things,” Welch said. “There were many architectural barriers.”
The signing ceremony was against a backdrop of controversy for Durenberger. The day before, the Senate voted 96-0 to denounce him for ethics violations. Minnesota disability advocates nonetheless expressed their support.
“He’s dedicated to the cause, it’s business as usual,” Tim Larson, executive director of the Hibbing Center for Independent Living, told reporters.
President Bush himself would face controversy months later, and questions about his commitment to disabled Americans, with his veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990. Minnesotans celebrate
The ADA’s passage was celebrated throughout Minnesota and the nation. Charlie Smith, founding editor of Access Press, wrote in the August 1990 issue:
“By now the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has been passed and signed by President Bush. It is time for all of us to celebrate! What is this going to do for me, you may be asking. It will mean more than it’s against the law to discriminate. Employers are going to have to make their work places accessible to people with disabilities. Every large transit system will have to be accessible, including AMTRAK, the airlines and even the cross-country bus. Buildings being built for public accommodation will have to be accessible i.e.: hotels, office buildings, apartments, restaurants and shopping centers. It will be great . . . in the future. It will take time, a long time, before all of these things
ACCESS PRESS ADA 1990-2025
are a reality. Things are going to change, and with the help of the new legislation, it will start changing soon. The new law will force people to consider people with disabilities when they are planning to hire a new employee, open their restaurant, build an apartment complex, offer a new travel package. It will undoubtedly start changing attitudes and that, I think, is one of the most important things that will happen. It will force consideration of individuals with disabilities as people who are contributing citizens of our society. So do take a minute to remember and thank all the people who made the momentous legislation possible. The activists, lobbyists, legislators and everyone who took the time to care.”
The August 1990 issue of Access Press had the ADA passage story on page one.
“The bill is the most comprehensive antidiscrimination law to go into effect since the 1964 Civil Rights Act,” the article stated. It also described the many changes to be made to buildings, transportation and transit, telecommunications, employment and public accommodations.
Celebrations were held around statewide, at sheltered workshops, parks, day activity centers, city halls and other places. Some fetes were modest as small groups gathering for coffee and cake.
On August 17, 1990, more than 1,000 people at the Minneapolis Convention Center to celebrate the ADA’s passage, according to several news accounts. Lee Perish and Lucky, her hearing dog, were pictured at the event in a Star Tribune photo.
Passage of the ADA launched heightened opportunities to educate about disability rights. It was also a time for the fledgling Access Press newspaper to make itself known.
Those who helped get the law passed were thanked, including Durenberger and Harkin. Durenberger said that passing the law was no small accomplishment.
Celebrants were delighted with the ADA’s passage. Interpretations of its impacts varied.
“Similar to laws against discrimination on the basis of race or sex, the sweeping new law gives 43 million disabled Americans, including
500,000 Minnesotans, the same legal recourse if they believe they were discriminated against,” the Star Tribune article stated.
“I think this bill sends a message that the government firmly backs the rights of the disabled people in this country,” said John Healy. In 1990 he was communications manager for the Minnesota Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“It’s the emancipation, in a way, for many disabled Americans,” Healy said.
Also toasting the ADA’s signing was Kurt Strom. He led the Minnesota State Council on Disability, and noted that many statewide disability organizations and individual Minnesotans played significant roles in getting the ADA passed.
Strom told the Star Tribune that because Minnesotans were historically more enlightened about programs and services for people with disabilities. The state by 1990 had an active and involved disability community.
Strom, who lived with cerebral palsy, also said that the ADA wouldn’t make a drastic difference in the lives of Minnesotans because the state human rights law already provided assistance. What the ADA did was provide protections above and beyond what the state law provided.
Editor Smith and others wished for change to happen more quickly. He also pointed out a hoped-for immediate effect. “(The ADA) will undoubtably start changing attitudes
and that, I think, is one of the most important things that will happen. It will force consideration of individuals with disabilities as people who are contributing citizens of our society,” he said. What came next in 1990
The fact that ADA protections would roll gradually met mixed responses. Disability rights advocates were encouraged that the federal Justice Department made ADA enforcement a priority, adding attorneys to bring cases that expanded the government’s authority. Much focus before and after the ADA was signed was public education. For example, Winona State University hosted David Schwartzkopf, the 1990 Disabled American of the Year and assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Division of Rehabilitation Services. He spoke about human rights and the ADA, in a talk sponsored by the Winona Human Rights Commission. Chambers of commerce and business associations statewide heard presentations. Opponents had cited business costs and implications in opposing the ADA. The long phase-in for some changes was seen as appeasing business owners. In an interview, Larry Lajoie of North Country Independent Living in Superior said that was reasonable, adding “We don’t want to create undue hardship for anyone.”
In a Duluth News-Tribune article, disability rights advocates said they looked forward to change. Margot Imdieke (later Imdieke Cross) said, “It’s going to make all other parties take this whole disability rights movement a lot more seriously. I think that’s the important message here.”
Charles Wittwer, who worked at St. Mary’s Medical Center said, “I think the bill will help. It’s a step in the right direction.” Referencing his wheelchair, Wittwer quipped, “Probably ‘step is the wrong word. It’s a wheel in the right direction.”
Access Press archives, newspapers.com and newspaperarchive.com were used to write this article.
How it began – learn about events leading up to the ADA’s passage
decades.
Civil rights for people with disabilities have a long history, in the various movements that began more than 70 years ago. Parents wanted more for their disabled children. Family members demanded options in place of state institutions. People with disabilities wanted the same housing, education and employment opportunities that theirs had.
Histories tell us that the need for additional civil rights legislation for people with
disabilities emerged in the 1980s. There were some gains with the passage of Section 504, which is one of the civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
What is noteworthy about Section 504 is that for the first time, exclusion and segregation of persons with disabilities was seen as discriminatory.
But Section 504 was far from perfect. Nor was the main act itself as it didn’t provide needed protection against various forms of discrimination. Many types of businesses and service were exempt.
What was considered especially unacceptable was the “smaller provider” exemption that let many small businesses off of the hook in terms of accommodations.
The National Council on the Handicapped, as it was known then, took up the cause. (The independent federal agency later became the National Council on Disability, or NCD.) The council released a report titled “Toward Independence: An Assessment
of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting Persons with Disabilities - With Legislative Recommendations.” The report’s release in early 1986 led to the drafting of the first version of the ADA.
The ADA was introduced in April 1988, in the 100th Congress, by Senators Lowell Weicker of Connecticut and Tom Harkin of Iowa. Finally, the National Council on Disabilities would see a bill. This set the stage for the ADA to move ahead.
United States Representatives Tony Coelho of California and Silvio Conte of Massachusetts introduced the House version of the ADA of 1988.
But when Congress wasn’t moving quickly enough, activists staged what was called the “capitol crawl” on March 12, 1990. More than 1,000 protesters from 30 states gathered to protect delays, with rallies, speeches and a symbolic act by more than 60 people who abandoned their wheelchairs and mobility
devices. The group got down and began to crawl up the 83 stone steps of the nation’s capitol. They and others chanted and cheered, demanding the ADA’s passage. Want to learn more about ADA history? Many great books and websites are available. Here are just a few.
The ADA National Network timeline, which is very helpful in tracking official acts, is at https://adata.org/ada-timeline
The Temple University Institute on Disabilities has a very extensive timeline dating back more than a century. It is at https://disabilities.temple.edu/resources/ disability-rights-timeline
This is a very rich history.
The Administration for Community Living has a wealth of ADA history, including a three-part article at https://acl.gov/ada Disability Rights and Education Fund has a lot of great history as well. Go to https://dredf.org/thehistory-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act/
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) led efforts in Congress on the ADA. He is shown at a celebration
Heroes of the ADA: Justin and Yoshiko Dart
Of the ADA, Justin Dart said, 'How will we sleep at night if we don't try?'
Editor’s note: Many of us cringe when we hear people with disabilities described as “heroic” or “brave.” After all, most of us are just trying to live our lives as best as we can. We’d rather not be seen as superhuman and have the facts of our lives not turned into inspirational or pity stories. But looking back at the beginnings of our civil rights movement and the activities leading up to the approval of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), heroic acts and bravery were sometimes needed.
Many still remember the “capitol crawl” when about 60 people with disabilities crawled up the steps of the nation’s capitol to draw attention to the ADA and the need to get it passed. Others may recall, or have been involved in protests and other acts of civil disobedience.
Those were often scoffed at. When we people with disabilities protested, or even lobbied for our issues, we were all too often written off as “those people.”
One person who met pushback when he championed the ADA was Justin Dart. He and his wife Yoshiko are our first heroes. Feel free to submit your heroes to us at jane@accesspress.org
Justin Dart, Jr. provided powerful advocacy for civil rights for disabled Americans, at a time when that was widely questioned.
Dart is often recognized as “the godfather of the disability rights movement” and the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Dart was at the podium on the White House lawn when President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into law in July 1990.
This is excerpted from our archives.
What is considered to be the most impressive petition drive of its day, for the ADA, bore
The ADA Legacy Project celebrates the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on disability rights, and honors the contributions of individuals with disabilities and their allies who persevered in securing the passage of this landmark civil rights legislation. In order to fully realize a world where all people are accepted and valued, it is crucial to preserve and promote the history of the ADA and the disability rights movement. The content for each of the "Moments" was taken from materials already available at the Minnesota Governo’s Council on Developmental Disabilities (MNCDD) website and then framed around a specific individual and/or event that contributed to and eventually led to the signing of the ADA on July 26, 1990. Ed Preneta, former executive director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, created the narrative for each
the names of more than 8,500 people with disabilities, allies and organizations. While gathering thousands of petition signatures is easy today, this important petition took shape 35 years ago. Supporters often had to mail paper copies to get names added, which was
of the "Moments" and the list of links to the resources that were used in the narrative. The "Moments" are added to relevant sections of Parallels in Time, Part 2 under the heading "Don't forget to review…" to draw yet another connection and relationship to the ADA.
Topic links for Moment in Disability History can be found on the Access Press (www. accesspress.org) and state council websites (https://mn.gov/mnddc)
1: "The Birth of the Parent Movement"
2: "January 23, 2013 – Ed Roberts Day: Built Upon Alliances"
3: "The Right To Be Abroad in the Land"
4: "ADA: Back To The Future with U.S. District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank".
5: "ADA and Baby Doe"
6: "The Right to Education Based on Brown v. Board of Education"
7: "Solidarity Forever"
Here's to celebrating your past and future with more of your innovative stories, insightful articles, and influential contributions.
Congratulations Access Press from Eight Women writers
no easy task.
But the petition was needed to show support for the ADA and to keep elected officials from weakening its protections. By March 1990, the ADA passed the U.S. Senate, 76-8, and had bipartisan Congressional support. But the U.S.
8: "Alabama Federal District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr."
9: "Willowbrook Leads to New Protections of Rights"
10: "DD Act - Protection and Advocacy"
11: "Civil Rights: We're Going To Win This One"
12: "The Dignity of Risk"
13: "Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., Original 'Father' of the Americans with Disabilities Act"
14: "The Fight for 504 Regulations: 'We Won't Go Away'"
15: "Toward independence: Powerful Words"
16: "Wolfensberger's Influence"
17: "The Self Advocacy Movement"
18: "The Olmstead Decision"
19: "From the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Through the ADA Title II, to the Most Integrated Setting"
20: "Stories of Discrimination"
21: "S.933 – Americans with Disabilities Act
Thank you to the great organizations who have provided me an outlet for giving back to the community; MCIL, Wilder Foundation, The Guild and Access Press.
Brandon Miller
House was another story.
The petition appeared in the February 7, 1990 edition of the Washington Post. Yoshiko Dart recalled that it was very expensive to buy a full page ad but the Washington Post sales department was convinced to charge only half price.
Donations came in from around the country, kept up with hundreds of incoming contribution checks of $2, $5, $10 and $25; sorting and depositing them, and entering donors’ names by hand.
The ad was headlined, Message to Congress from Representatives of 43 Million Americans with Disabilities.
The ad stated, “WE URGE THE PROMPT APPROVAL by the US House of Representatives of this landmark legislation to provide to people with disabilities the comprehensive civil rights protection which other minorities attained more than two decades ago.”
The ad also urged that the House reject weakening the ADA, saying claims that it would businesses were groundless."
“They reflect the same obsolete attitudes, unfounded fears and doomsday predictions that have greeted all previous extensions of basic civil rights protections.”
One week later, on February 14, 1990, Justin Dart saw Bush in the Oval Office. One of Yoshiko Dart’s daughters wrote a message, with red marker, on the ad. “Mr. President, Happy Valentine’s! We love you!” That brought a smile from the commander-in-chief.
Justin Dart died in 2002 at the age of 71, from congestive heart failure related to complications of post-polio syndrome.
– 101st Congress"
22: "Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities"
23: "H.R. 2273 – The ADA in the House of Representatives"
24: "ADA's International Impact"
25: "Behind the Scenes in the Reagan and Bush Administrations – Stories from No Pity"
26: "Women Leaders of the ADA"
27: "A Magna Carta and the Ides of March to the ADA"
28: "The Original: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988"
29: "ADA: The Final Push"
31: "July 26, 1990: The Americans with Disabilities Act is Signed Into Law"
30: "Reflections on ADA's 25th Anniversary" Moment in Disability History
THANKS TO ALL!
Thanks to the contributing writers, photographers, cartoonists and proofreaders I have worked with for 17 years. I appreciate you all!
Jane McClure, Editor
Thank you, ANON, for your silent support of Access Press and your outspoken advocacy for the disability community.
From your biggest fan who appreciates all you do
In honor of my former employers ESR (now part of RISE) ; Jim Sevdy and Ted Lockett for getting me started in the Rehabilitation industry.
Brandon Miller
Remembering all my great colleagues at MN Department of Labor and Industry as well as US Department of Labor in DC.
Brandon Miller
In memory of those who envisioned the promise of the ADA. In honor of those who work to realize the promise today.
Rachel Wobschall
Celebrating 35 years of the ADA and Access Press — champions of disability rights and advocacy. Honoring their relentless dedication to inclusion, awareness, and empowerment. Together, transforming communities and breaking barriers for all. Thank you!
Mary Graba
Thanks Jane McClure, In-Fin Tuan, Mary Graba, Scott Stadum, and Rhett Lundgren for bringing us the news. We don’t often say it, but you are truly appreciated. We wouldn’t have Access Press without you.
Jane Larson
Flaharty’s Arden Bowl celebrates the Americans with Disabilities Act and honors Minnesota’s Special Olympians. Text or email ads@ accesspress,org, keyword ‘bowling’ to enter a drawing.
Jane Larson
Justin and Yoshiko Dart championed the ADA. When he met skepticism, Justin Dart would say, "How will we sleep at night if we don't try?"
ACCESS PRESS ADA 1990-2025
This is about us: The story of Access Press is the story of our shared history
“A broad-based editorial board is being formed
to ensure that the interests of all challenged communities are editorially addressed to the extent possible,” the article stated. “The paper's
Our first year of publication
Editor’s note: The story of disability in Minnesota, as told through the pages of Access Press, is one of victories and defeats, activism and awards. This is a look back at our first year of publication.
We’re not the only ones looking back at our early days. Founding Editor Charlie Smith also looked back on the paper’s first year, under the headline “Win Some, Lose Some” in the July 1991 issue. In his look back, Smith made it clear that the paper needed to increase revenues and be able to grow to serve its readers.
Smith continued his pull-no-punches editorial style, calling Gov. Arne Carlson “Reagan in a Gopher Suit” in one article.
The editor was unhappy that Carlson had just vetoed the health care access bill. “Minnesota was to be a trend-setter in the nation in this piece of legislation, even the watered-down version which finally passed,” Smith wrote.
A wide array of issues were covered during that first year. One issue followed closely were state efforts to expand assistive technology and offer more to Minnesotans who needed it.
Another was the work of the Minnesota Health Care Access Commission, which had been appointed by legislators in 1989. More than 10,000 Minnesotans were surveyed as part of the report, which is a remarkable number. Its report had huge implications for services for disabled Minnesotans.
The commission in 1990 presented its final report on the state of healthcare. The fact that thousands of Minnesotans lacked health care pointed to a system in need of reform, according to the report. High costs of health care and difficulty in even finding basic health insurance were other issues raised.
Paratrasit and Metro Mobility were favorite targets for Smith. He called for Metro Mobility Program to have full funding and a commitment of future growth. He noted that Metro Mobility was improving and drawing more riders each year, but that its funding needed to come from general taxation and not just the riders who could least afford rate increase.
It’s worth noting that our Directory of Organizations, which appears in this issue, got its
start in our first year.
We’re updating our history time, which hasn’t had a full update for a decade. Watch for it in July on our website, at www.accesspress.org.
May 1990
Access Press published its first issue, proclaiming that “a new monthly publication assumes an advocacy role for tens of thousands of previous under-represented Minnesotans – those with physical or mental disabilities.”
July 1990
Articles described the difficulty of finding accessible public transit. The Regional Transit Board (RTB) hosted meetings to seek input on the need for better transit access. Metro Transit buses were being equipped with lifts, but it would take 12 years to make the bus system 100 percent accessible.
September 1990
Several thousand low-income older Minnesotans who were eligible for cash benefits from the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program miss out because they either didn’t know about the benefits, don’t understand them or can’t figure out how to apply. As many as 50 percent of those eligible weren’t participating in the program.
November 1990
The Closing the Gap conference in Bloomington offered a way to exchange information on special education and rehabilitation. More than 1,300 people attended the many workshops and visited more than 500 exhibitors.
January 1991
Organizers were preparing for the Eighth Annual Special Olympics Games, to be held at locations throughout the area in July. It would be the largest international multisports competition ever held in Minnesota. Volunteers were sought to help with events
editorial mission will be two-fold, according to (founding Editor Charlie) Smith: to serve as a source of enlightenment for the disabled community, and to serve the general public as a source of enlightenment about the disabled community. Suggestions for editorial coverage, distribution points, or editorial board membership are welcomed.”
The first issue was 12 pages long. It included a congratulatory letter from Gov. Rudy Perpich, and articles about chemical dependency and the anticipated passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
One article was about the St. Paul Civitan Club. The club was one of about 1,800 such service clubs in the United States. It was unique in that men and women could be members, an unusual situation for a service
The clubs had the purpose “to serve the community by filling human needs that are noy being met by other organizations or individual efforts.” The St. Paul club had 26 members. Many of their activities were disability-focused, including helping out at the Special Olympics games and at the Children’s Miracle Network telethon. The local club and other Civitan clubs had focused on serving people with developmental disabilities since the 1950s. The first issue had a wide range of
at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the state capitol in St. Paul, the University of Minnesota campus, Minnesota State Fair and National Sports Center in Blaine.
March 1991
Affordable, accessible housing was the focus. Smith noted in his editor’s column that the problem was growing as federal home ownership efforts hadn’t expanded significantly since the 1940s. More subsidies were needed to provide affordable housing.
advertisers. Several were disability goods and service providers, including shops that sold equipment and vans, accessible housing providers and personal care attendant agencies. But advertisers also included Midwest Mountaineering and Down in the Valley records and CDs.
Only one of those original advertisers, Handi Medical, is with Access Press today.
Access Press joined a large group of urban neighborhood and community-focused newspapers in the Twin Cities. Most papers were published monthly or twice-monthly. Some served specific geographic areas. Others served various BIPOC communities or what were then referred to as “ethnic” communities.
The papers formed their own group, which eventually became the Twin Cities Neighborhood and Community Press Association. Members helped Access Press convert from for-profit to nonprofit status, and welcomed Access Press staff to their conventions. In those days community papers weren’t allow to join the Minnesota Newspaper Association so the smaller newspapers banded together to form their own organization. A timeline of events covered by Access Press has been prepared for our anniversary. Go to www.accesspress.org
May 1991
The waning days of the 1991 legislative session were met with dismay by Smith, who chided lawmakers for a lack of action. He scolded disability community members for not being more involved. He said discussions of the state’s budget shortfall were used as an “alibi for inaction” to ignore issues including health care reform. There was also frustration with possible personal care assistant (PCA) and Metro Mobility cuts.
The Guthrie is honored to celebrate this milestone with you. Through our shared commitment, we continue to make the arts more accessible for all. Here’s to many more years of impact!
For information about accessibility at the Guthrie and a performance calendar, visit guthrietheater.org/access underrepresented Minnesotans. The new paper pledged to serve readers with a wide range of disabilities.
Margot Imdieke Cross was an early board member of Access Press.
ADVOCACY
Advocating Change Together
Guthrie Bayard - People with Disabilities
Cow Tipping
Mayor's Advisory Council for People with Disabilities
MCIL
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid - MN Disability Law Center
MN Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
MN Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities
Guthrie Byard - People with Disabilities V-612-554-3666 guthrie.byard@minneapolismn.gov www.minneapolismn.gov/ncr Mayor's
REGIONAL NEWS
Maple Grove family gets a precedent-setting win at high court
A Twin Cities teen with a rare form of epilepsy won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling June 12. The ruling is expected to make it easier for families of children with disabilities to sue schools over access to education. But legal experts warn it could also add financial pressures for already-strapped school districts. Lawsuits are more likely, even if school officials are acting in good faith.
At the center of the Maple Grove family’s yearslong fight for their disabled daughter is that families alleging discrimination do not have to prove public school officials acted in bad faith when failing to make necessary accommodations.
The ruling could carry “huge” economic repercussions for school districts, said Peter Larsen, an associate professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul. He said it is great for families but could be incredibly costly for local school districts.
The ruling on behalf of Osseo Area Schools student Ava Tharpe is seen as precedentsetting. The decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts clears the way for the Tharpes and other families who had been barred from suing schools in the past to now take school districts to court.
Backlog in services eyed
A backlog at the Minnesota Department of Human Services has kept some lower-income people with disabilities from daily support services. Others are at risk of a gap in those services.
Hundreds of applications related to that care, known as Integrated Community Supports (ICS), sit unprocessed.
Justina Blatterman has been waiting for one such application to be processed. She relies on round-the-clock care, including a personal care attendant (PCA).
Those services are managed by non-profit Accessible Space, Inc. (ASI).
Blatterman wants to move to a new apartment closer to her community, a move that required ASI to send an application to DHS for approval to continue to care for her in the new location.
Josh Berg, director of Minnesota services and strategic growth for ASI, said the organization already provides services at that facility for several residents but needs approval to expand the number of units it’s authorized to support.
ASI applied to DHS in April 2024, and it hasn’t been processed more than a year later, according to Berg.
Blatterman has been on a waitlist for the Roseville apartment for four years. Now, she has to decide whether to take it and risk losing the care she relies on, or turn it down and get kicked back to the bottom of the wait list.
“It’s so simple. But they’re making they’re making it harder,” Blatterman said.
DHS declined multiple interview requests, saying they were “unable to accommodate it.”
KSTP-TV asked in an email why it has taken more than a year to process her application.
DHS did not answer that question directly. Rather, the agency said it’s prioritizing applications “outside the metro” where services are “limited,” adding that people can live where providers are already authorized or “…receive services from a different provider.”
“I can do that, but I’m asking them not to force me to do that, because there are no PCAs out there,” Blatterman said.
“ASI is the only one I found that can provide 24-hour service,” she added.
As of the end of May, DHS had a backlog of more than 400 applications dating back to at least 2023.
Asked why they’re behind, DHS said, in part, these reviews “…intensive and DHS has limited staffing resources.”
“So they haven’t processed an application, it’s my understanding, since October of 2023 in these counties, and we don’t know when or if there’s any light at the end of that tunnel,” Berg said.
“And in this particular location, we have staff available. We already have staff on site 24/7, we have nurse availability. We are ready to go aside from the one-page application update.”
According to Berg, DHS initially told ASI that the application would take up to six months to process. That was 14 months ago. Asked if DHS is or has taken any effort
Ava’s father, Aaron Tharpe described the case as a win for families who are at odds with school districts over accommodations. “It’s a compelling victory for all students and families with kids with disabilities,” he said. Osseo Area Schools spokeswoman Kay Villella said in a statement that the district is “committed to the principles and the ideals expressed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”
She added: “In the days and months ahead, Osseo Area Schools will continue to diligently focus on educating all of its students and providing needed services for every scholar’s learning needs.”
In 2015, the Tharpes and their then-10year-old daughter moved to Minnesota from Kentucky for Aaron’s work. The family enrolled Ava in Osseo Area Schools after officials there said they would meet her educational needs.
Ava is now 19 and will be a senior this fall at Maple Grove Senior High School. She has a rare form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and has seizures throughout the day, although they’re much more frequent in the morning. In Kentucky, school officials agreed to give her a school day from noon to 6 p.m.
to improve its ability to process these applications, a spokesperson responded, “There were legislative proposals related to ICS capacity and ICS setting application prioritization in 2025; none were passed by the legislature.”
Asked if he was satisfied by that response, Berg said, “No, it’s not good enough. And I think our system defaults to the barriers and, ‘Well, we can’t do anything about it,’ and, ‘We don’t have the legislation,’ ‘We don’t have the statutes,’ ‘We don’t have the cover to do what we need to do.’ I think we do, and I think we have the will and we have the ability, and we have the commitment from our legislators and others to be able to make this work.”
(Source: KSTP-TV)
Falls pose an increasing risk
Older U.S. adults are increasingly dying from unintentional falls, according to a new federal report.
From 2003 to 2023, death rates from falls rose more than 70 percent for adults ages 65 to 74, the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The rate increased more than 75 percent for people 75 to 84, and more than doubled for seniors 85 and older.
“Falls continue to be a public health problem worth paying attention to,” said Geoffrey Hoffman, a University of Michigan researcher who was not involved in the new report. “It's curious that these rates keep rising.”
The CDC researchers did not try to answer why death rates from falls are increasing. But experts said there may be a few reasons, such gradually improving an understanding of the role falls play in deaths and more people living longer -- to ages when falls are more likely to have deadly consequences.
More than 41,000 retirement-age Americans died of falls in 2023, the most recent year for which final statistics based on death certificates are available. That suggests that falls were blamed in about 1 of every 56 deaths in older Americans that year.
More than half of those 41,000 deaths were people 85 and older, the CDC found, and white people accounted for 87 percent of deaths in the oldest category.
Falls can cause head injuries or broken bones that can lead to permanent disability and trigger a cascade of other health problems. A number of factors can contribute to falls, including changes in hearing and vision and medications that can cause lightheadedness.
Death rates varied widely from state to state. In 2023, Wisconsin had the highest death rates from falls, followed by Minnesota, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont. Wisconsin's rate was more than five times higher than the rate of the lowest state, Alabama.
Ice and wintry weather may partly explain why fatal falls were more common in states in the upper Midwest and New England, but experts also pointed to other things at play, like differences in how well falls are reported and to what extent they are labeled a cause of death.
Although Osseo school officials originally said they would follow the same later-in-theday plan, Aaron Tharpe said they did not.
Years of meetings, conferences, complaints, litigation and appeals followed. They sued the school district under the
Researchers also can't yet explain why white seniors die of falls at higher rates than people in other racial and ethnic groups. In the 85-and-up age group, the death rate for white Americans is two or three times higher than any other group, while older Black people had the lowest fall-related death rate. (Source: Associated Press)
Group home employee kidnapped resident
A Cambridge man, Dean Michael Simonson, 58, is facing felony kidnapping and first degree burglary charges in connection to an incident occurring at a Pine City group home.
According to the criminal complaint, Pine County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report that Simonson came to the group home on June 10 around 6 a.m. Simonson was on medical leave as a group home employee after leave .According to the report, Simonson came into the group home, woke a resident up and left with the resident in Simonson’s truck at a high rate of speed, without gaining permission to take the resident from the home. The resident was reported to need round-the-clock supervision and is a vulnerable adult.
Law enforcement learned that Simonson was at a nearby car dealership, and cleaning staff there reported that Simonson was banging on the door while arguing with the group home resident.
Before officers arrived, Simonson left with the resident in his truck. Law enforcement located the truck driving at a high rate of speed. A deputy positioned his squad car behind the truck and initiated lights and sirens. Simonson did not immediately stop and turned onto another road before stopping abruptly in the middle of the road.
According to the complaint, Simonson got out of the truck yelling that he was going home, adding that he owned the road while refusing to follow commands from law enforcement. Simonson also yelled that he was the resident’s father but is not his father.
The resident was shaking and visibly
frightened. The resident told law enforcement that Simonson woke him up and told him to go with him because he had something to show him, assuming Simonson had permission to take him.
The resident reported that Simonson intended to try to switch cars at the dealership but the dealership was closed. The resident reported that the group home manager repeatedly tried to call Simonson, but Simonson refused to take the call and threw the cell phone out the truck window.
The resident observed the squad car lights and told Simonson to stop, but Simonson refused and insisted he owned the road, according to the report.
Officers arrested Simonson, and it took several officers to assist him into the squad car due to resistance. Law enforcement later located Simonson’s broken cell phone on the side of the road.
A group home employee reported that someone had called earlier in the morning claiming to be the resident’s father, “ranting and raving” about wanting his son. Shortly after the call, Simonson “busted” into the house and took the resident.
According to the complaint, Simonson dropped a notebook when taking the resident that contained statements another resident had said. Another employee reported that Simonson had been sending them erratic text messages with conspiracy theories related to other employees. Simonson’s family had requested a welfare check on him as well based on communication throughout the night.
The messages included a video of Simonson telling a relative to follow instructions or “someone will die.” In the background of the video was a list of group homes and names. The messages included Simonson praising the kidnapped resident.
Simonson is also being charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle which comes with a maximum jail sentence of three years and one day and/or a $5,000 fine.
(Source: Pine City Pioneer)
Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act seeking to secure her right to a full school day and compensatory damages.
(Source: Star Tribune)
PEOPLE AND PLACES
The Bush Fellowship is a self-designed leadership program that gives individuals the flexibility they need to develop their own capacity to lead effectively. It is a flagship project of the Bush Foundation.
Bush Fellows are at a point in their lives where they know what they need to do to become a stronger leader, and they have a plan for how to do it. The Fellowship provides them with the time and resources needed.
Up to 30 Bush Fellows are selected each year to receive up to $150,000 to support their self-designed leadership plan. The foundation welcomes leaders from any sector—including business, nonprofit and government.
Here are the 2025 Bush Fellows whose work has ties to disability.
Anisa Hagi-Mohamed is transforming how Somali and East African communities understand and talk about autism. A linguist, writer and neurodivergent mother raising autistic children, Hagi-Mohamed is reframing narratives rooted in shame and stigma into stories of strength. She and others helped coin a Somali term for autism— maangaar, or “unique mind”—to bring attention to neurodivergent terminology in the Somali language. That led to a movement for fostering acceptance, belonging and visibility for autistic Somali individuals.
Through affirmation cards, bilingual children’s books, sensory-friendly events and community conferences, she has helped shift public understanding of autism in immigrant and refugee communities. With the fellowship, she will deepen her academic training, build cross-cultural coalitions and lead a healing-centered movement that elevates neurodivergent voices across generations.
An array of disability issues are the focus for several Bush Fellows
Jason Grueneich is fighting for HIV advocacy and recovery support in North Dakota. Drawing on his experience as an HIV-positive man who has experienced homelessness and addiction, he helped launch and lead transformative initiatives: North Dakota’s HIV Peer Navigation Program, Bismarck’s first LGBTQ+ recovery group and the state’s first nonprofit dedicated to people living with HIV—Shine Bright & Live.
He chairs the North Dakota HIV Advisory Board, has shaped public policy around LGBTQ+ inclusion and HIV awareness and built coalitions that include doctors, police departments, libraries and faith leaders.
He will focus on personal healing as a foundation for his growth as a leader, deepen his nonprofit leadership skills and develop a long-term vision for destigmatizing HIV in rural America.
Maychee Mua is reimagining autism advocacy through a unique lens. A firstgeneration Hmong Chinese American and daughter of refugee parents who survived genocide and unimaginable hardship, she
Southeast Asian traditions with Western systems of care.
Since losing his leg in a 2016 car accident, Mohamed Ahmed has become an advocate for amputee rights and equitable access to prosthetic care. Currently training as a prosthetist, Ahmed wants to make advanced prosthetic technology accessible to underserved communities, particularly immigrants, refugees and people of color.
He advocated for a new Minnesota policy that ensures insurance covers a second “shower leg” prosthesis, and raised more than $20,000 for uninsured amputees. He provides
grants that launched digital storytelling initiatives for college students and refugee communities, to creating a podcast that demystifies the state’s behavioral health system, she is expanding education, shifting public perceptions and driving system change.
Her vision is to empower those historically excluded from the system to understand how mental health care works, how it can improve and how they can advocate for themselves and their communities.
She will seek formal certification in suicide prevention skills, deepen her research into
wellness support, and education. She hosts a top-rated podcast, Navigating Cancer TOGETHER, and serves as a health and wellness coach and community research partner.
She will pursue a National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching certification, travel to areas known for exceptional longevity and low rates of chronic disease, work with a coach to expand leadership skills, strengthen healthcare networks and champion holistic, personalized care for cancer patients and survivors.
AARP Community Challenge grants cover a wide range of needs in Minnesota
Six organizations throughout Minnesota will receive 2025 Community Challenge grants through AARP. The grants are part of AARP’s $4.2 million commitment to fund 383 quickaction projects. Project are meant to make communities more livable for people of all ages, with a focus on the needs of older adults. The funds will support efforts to improve public places, transportation, housing, digital connections and other key areas.
Now in its ninth year, the program has provided $558,589 with 45 grants in Minnesota since 2017 to nonprofit organizations and local government entities across the state. Grant projects will be funded in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2025.
“AARP Minnesota is proud to work with communities across the state to help make them more livable for people of all ages,” said Cathy McLeer, AARP Minnesota’s state director. “These projects are about turning great local ideas into real improvements that make everyday life better, especially for older Minnesotans.”
Various types of grants are awarded. The Flagship Program grants are for an array of projects. Projects can create vibrant public places that improve open spaces, parks and access to other amenities, or deliver a range of transportation and mobility options that increase connectivity, walkability,
bikeability and access to public and private transit. A third type of project can support housing options that increase the availability of accessible and affordable choices.
Other efforts are meant to increase digital connections and enhancing digital literacy skills. A fifth category of projects will support community resilience through investments that improve disaster management, preparedness and mitigation.
Four of the grants were awarded in Minnesota:
Parents Inspired, $16,000. Parents Inspired will pilot an on-demand transportation program for older adults age 50 and over and disabled individuals in Hutchinson. The service will prioritize medical appointments and offer non-medical rides based on driver availability, enhancing mobility and access to essential services within a 25-mile radius.
Mahnomen County, $15,000. Mahnomen
will upgrade its senior living center to improve accessibility for residents aged 50 and older. The project includes a wider doorway, ramp, and automatic door opener to ensure safer, more inclusive access for those with mobility challenges.
City of Newfolden, $15,000. City leaders will create an outdoor gathering area at the Newfolden Community and Senior Center. The space will feature accessible seating, planting areas, and tablescapes to promote intergenerational gathering and inclusivity for all mobility needs.
City of Sleepy Eye, $15,000. The project will create walkable access and rest areas connecting the senior center, museum, Chief Sleepy Eye Monument, Veterans Park and local shops. It will include benches, trash receptacles, flowerpots and a mural, enhancing accessibility and aesthetics for all visitors.
The smallest grants of $2,500 are the
capacity-building microgrants. Four types of grants are offered, all focused on specific communities and people ages 50 and older. Bike audits are used to enhance safety and bikeability. Walk audit assessments help to enhance safety and walkability. Disaster preparedness training programs and resources are funded, as are “lifelong homes” with education, simple home modifications and accessible safety solutions. Two grants were awarded in Minnesota: North East Seniors for Better Living (St. Paul), $2,500. North East Seniors will have staff visit the homes of older adults in need to provide small-scale repairs and make safety improvements. Staff will also help older adults find community services such as rides, chore help and in-home nursing to ensure they remain healthy and comfortable in their homes.
Mohamed Ahmed
Sarah Dixon-Hackey
Talaya Dendy
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Wheelchair athletes shine, set records at state track and field meet
The 2025 Minnesota State High School League Track and Field Meet June 10-12 at St. Michael-Albertville High School featured the state’s top prep wheelchair athletes. Despite rainy and windy weather at times, some records were broken.
The Class A competition was the Minnesota prep grand finale for one highly decorated wheelchair athlete. St. Charles senior Tyler Gunnarson went into his last state meet as a nine-time state champion, winding up his career with 12 gold medals and 20 medals overall. Gunnarson, who has set national records and competes at the international level, capped his prep career with four medals for each state meet since eighth grade.
This year he competed in four Class A events (discus, 100, 200 and 800 meters) after setting all-time state records in the 100 and 400 races in 2024. Gunnarson didn’t disappoint his fans.
He won the 100, with Terek Jenniges of Lakeview second and Robert Kendall of Osakis third. They also finished 1-2-3 in the 200.
Kendall won the 400. Gunnarson then won the 800.
Lakeview’s Broden Stensrud won the shot put, with Jenniges second and Kendall third. Stensrud then won the discus competition, with Gunnarson second and Jenniges third. Stensrud just completed his freshman season for Lakeview.
In girls Class A competition, Ana Barry, Mille Lacs, won the 100, 200 and 400 races.
In Class AA girls’ competition, returning athletes also led the way. Sophomore Adaylia Borgmeier of Mankato East won titles in the 200, 400 and 800 races, bringing her total of state wins to 12. In 2024 she set the all-time records in the 100, 200 and 400 last year. She also has the 800 record.
Fellow Mankato East athlete Madison
IN MEMORIAM
Schultz was avid skier
Daniel Winston “Hawkeye” Schultz was one of the early promoters of adapted skiing. Schultz died in June from complications of surgery. He was 74 and lived in Stillwater. Schulz was born in Charles City, Iowa and grew up with seven siblings on a farm near Rockford, Iowa. He graduated from Rockford High School in 1969, going on to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo. Schultz worked as an engineer/draftsman for NSP/ Xcel Energy retiring after 33 years.
At age 3, he contracted polio. He had several surgeries and rehabilitation treatments as a child.
He embraced being a part of the disability community as a strong role model and leader. As a child he attended Camp Sunnyside, for people with disabilities. He became a camp counselor. He was looked up to by other campers and maintained many lifelong friendships from his formative camp counselor days. He and his wife Sue Hamann met as Camp Sunnyside counselors and were married at the camp.
AARP
From page 13
Progressive Pathways (Minneapolis), $2,500. This project will conduct six sessions at various locations to prepare for summer storms and flooding. Informational magnets, checklists, and supplies will be distributed. Somali interpretation will be provided for sessions and materials.
No Minnesota projects received AARP Community Challenge Demonstration Grants, which encourage the replication of successful projects. Each has a specific area of funding support. Focuses for these grants are for pedestrian safety (Toyota Motors North America); expanding high-speed internet (broadband) access (Microsoft); housing design innovation (AARP Livable Communities article
Schultz was an organizer and leader for Courage Kenny Alpine Skiers, built his own ski chair and took many family ski trips out west. He played on the St Paul Rolling Thunder wheelchair basketball and softball teams for 13 years, winning 12 national softball championships. He also completed the RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa.
He also enjoyed playing and listening to music, family activities, fishing trips and being a handyman.
Schultz is survived by Sue, his wife of 50 years; two sons and their families, five of his siblings, and many other family members. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 8 at Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd., Stillwater. The celebration of Life is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 9th at Bradshaw, with visitation beginning at 3 p.m. Memorials preferred to Allina Health Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute Adaptive Ski and Snowboard Program or to Easter Seals Iowa Camp Sunnyside.
series Before the Highway). “AARP Community Challenge projects may be quick to launch, but their impact is long-lasting,” said Nancy A. LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. “We’re proud to support communities nationwide to advance solutions that make neighborhoods and towns of all sizes better places to live where everyone can thrive. And this year, we’re particularly proud to invest in projects benefitting often overlooked rural areas.”
View the full list of grantees and their projects at aarp.org/communitychallenge. Learn more about AARP’s work to support livable communities at aarp.org/livable.
Harbarth won the 100. LiYun Nelson of St. Cloud Tech finished second. Emily Scheidegger, Milaca, finished third. Nelson and Scheidegger finished second and third to Borgmeier in the 200. Scheidegger won a gold of her own in the 1,600, the longest wheelchair race at this year’s meet.
In Class AA discus competition, Big Lake junior Tayla Gassman broke her own Class AA state meet record with a throw of 46 feet, 5 inches. Gassman won her fourth consecutive state title in the process. Harbarth earned silver. Gassman also won the shot put, followed by Harbarth and Nelson
The boys’ Class AA competition was highlighted with two returning recordholders. Fairmont senior Nelson Remington went into the meet with four Class AA records. He set new state records with wins in the 200 and 1,600 races, and
also won the 400. His 200 time is an all-time state meet mark as well as a Class AA meet record. He finished his prep career with 10 gold medals.
Winona junior Devin Filzen surpassed his own Class AA State Meet record, defending his shot put title. Clayton Rudi of Thief River Falls earned silver, Filzen also won the discus throw, with Remington and Rudi in second and third.
Filzen also won the 100 and 800 races.
In Class 3A, Wayzata’s Macalister Hedkte and Elk River’s Logan Hovanetz duked it out. Hedtke won the shot put and discus events, as well as the 200. The junior won the 200 and discus for the third straight year. Hovanetz won the 100 meters and 400 meters, and placed second in the shot put. There were no female wheelchair athletes in Class 3A.
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St. Charles' Tyler Gunnarson led the pack in the Class A races, in his final state meet.
SMUGMUG
Adaylia Borgmeier of Mankato East had another stellar state meet.
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Age-Friendly Minnesota is awarding $1.3 million to advance the efforts of age-friendly communities. Thirty-five grants ranging from $9,000 to $75,000 were awarded.
Age-Friendly Minnesota is a statewide initiative aimed at making communities across Minnesota more supportive, inclusive and livable for people of all ages — particularly older adults.
“These grants are a concrete example of supporting Age Friendly Minnesota priorities,” said Age-Friendly Council Chair Sherrie Pugh. “These projects will help support aging in place, improve community design and foster health, well-being and other ways to improve aging.”
The Age-Friendly Minnesota Council, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, launched the grant program in 2022.
Central Minnesota, $154,000 Central Lakes College Foundation, Brainerd, $52,000. Two initiatives will enhance community engagement for adults 55 and older. 55+ Listening Sessions are at Central Lakes College for prospective and current students. Chatty hour will foster social connections among older adults.
Rivers of Hope, Monticello, $38,000. Funds will equip medical providers, senior centers and volunteers in Wright and Sherburne counties with knowledge and tools to identify and respond to domestic violence affecting older adults and address their unique challenges.
Veteran Resource & Enrichment Center Inc., St. Cloud, $49,000. The center will become an accessible facility for all military families and the community, to meet growing needs for veterans, their families and caregivers.
Wright County Historical Society, Buffalo, $15,000. The Wright County Historical Society will improve physical space accessibility.
Twin Cities, $597,000
Age-Friendly Equity Alliance, Ramsey County, St. Paul, $9,000. An ongoing process of community assessment and will include a series of community listening sessions. The focus will be compiling data from multiple sources.
Age Well at Home, Minneapolis, $27,000. An educational tool will be developed for a person-centered trauma informed approach to working with underserved populations and older homeowners who have experienced significant trauma.
Asian American Business Resilience Network, Minneapolis, $50,000. Project CONNECT empowers Asian American and Pacific Islander older adults with essential digital skills through a supportive, intergenerational approach led by trained bicultural/bilingual youth.
Centro Tyrone Guzman, Minneapolis, $26,000. Building improvements will create a more inclusive and accessible space for elders to engage in culturally appropriate educational, health and social activities.
Community Mediation Minnesota, Minneapolis, $60,000. Funding will increase access and awareness of the seven statewide community dispute resolution programs, focusing on elder law and justice.
East Side Neighborhood Services, Minneapolis, $36,000. Exposing youth to careers in health care and dementia care and increasing awareness about health care directives for older adults are the grant’s focus.
Faith Community Nurse Network of the Greater Twin Cities, Shoreview, $50,000. The funding will help identify underserved communities and develop faith community nurses and evidence-based program leaders.
Giving Voice Initiative, Minneapolis, $43,000. A pilot initiative will engage rural and underserved populations, building the framework to launch new dementia-friendly choruses statewide.
Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research, St. Paul, $70,000. Grant funds will support the Spanish/English bilingual AgeFriendly Economic Security and Vitality Project, which includes conducting a needs assessment, focus groups and interviews.
Kaleidoscope-Kawm Thiab Siv, Oakdale, $24,000. The project will enhance health and longevity in Minnesota’s aging Hmong community including a conference to present a culturally responsive healthy aging framework.
Living at Home Block Nurse Program, St. Paul, $40,000. Grant money will support Living at Home Network members and provide ongoing technical and analytical support.
Lmnop, St. Paul, $41,000. The “And So We Grow… Sowing Seeds to End Ageism” program brings storybooks that feature positive images of older characters to young children.
Minnesota Medication Repository, Minneapolis, $46,000. The Minnesota Medication Repository/Roundtable Rx collects surplus medications from health care facilities, pharmacies and individuals and redistributes them to needy Minnesotans.
Theatre 55, St. Paul, $75,000. Theatre 55 will develop educational video segments focused on addressing loneliness and isolation among ethnic communities and LGBTQ+ older adults.
Northeastern Minnesota, $208,000
Ecolibrium3, Duluth, $50,000. Funding will help establish home assessment tools that combine energy efficiency, electrification, healthy housing, aging-inplace and disaster resilience for Minnesota households.
ElderCircle, Grand Rapids, $29,000. ElderCircle will develop a medical and essential ride transportation program with the possibility of billing Medicare or other insurances for rural Itasca County residents.
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Cloquet, $12,000. Increasing mobility and improving cognitive health for the Brookston community by building accessible gardening improvements is the grant focus.
Justice North, Duluth, $33,000. Funds will improve placement and accessibility of legal information kiosks, locating them at easy-to-access locations frequented by older
Minnesotans.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, St. Paul, $41,000. A series of events is planned to share resources for rural LGBTQ+ older adults in Beltrami, Itasca and St. Louis counties.
Northspan Group, Duluth, $30,000. The goal is to create a comprehensive training program for businesses and organizations to implement structured job opportunities designed for older adults reentering the workforce.
St. Louis County, Duluth, $13,000. The county will bring emergency preparedness and response to the forefront for aging populations, seeking to integrate older adults into emergency response plans.
Southern Minnesota, $109,000 Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization (CAIRO), St. Cloud, $23,000. A series of listening sessions with older adults and their caregivers in Faribault will help design a program around their needs.
Byron Public Schools, Byron, $17,000. A needs assessment and strategic planning process will be used to make program and physical changes to a community education center in Byron.
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, St. Paul, $69,000. The grant enables upgrades to the legal risk detector for use across the state. It is a web-based legal health "check-up" tool designed for use by eldercare professionals to screen elders and refer them to legal services.
Northwestern Minnesota, $259,000
Advance Thief River, Thief River Falls, $28,000. A housing plan with community involvement will be created for residents ages 55 and older, addressing health, accessibility and social needs.
Bemidji Senior Center, Bemidji, $22,000. Building and program improvements at the Bemidji Senior Center will address safety concerns and make it a more welcoming place.
Brink Senior Center, Baudette, $25,000. An intergenerational community space will be updated.
City of New York Mills, New York Mills, $32,000. The project will provide shaded seating areas along a city owned walking trail.
City of Roseau, Roseau, $18,000. Funding will be used to purchase equipment to maintain dedicated snowshoe and crosscountry ski trails within the community.
Hallock Area Senior Center, Hallock, $75,000. Funds will support transportation system improvements and strengthening the community volunteer driver program.
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Headwaters Regional Development Commission, Bemidji, $59,000. Funds will help create a regional housing plan with extensive community involvement, focusing on design, accessibility, zoning, land use and in-home service considerations.
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A medication repository is one of the programs funded.
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Partners in Policymaking graduates reflect on what they have learned
The Class 42 Partners in Policymaking Program graduates are looking back on their experiences. The leadership training course is for adults with disabilities and parents of young children with developmental disabilities. Its goal is to equip participants with advocacy skills to influence public policy and systems change in the disability sphere. Started in 1987, the program has been replicated nationally and internationally.
Sessions are held one weekend a month from September through May, with participants taking on a combination of in-person sessions and additional assignments. Key topics include person-centered and person-directed planning; inclusive education and civil conversations; competitive integrated/customized employment; supported and independent living; assistive technology; lobbying skills; community organizing and media relations and leadership styles and board membership. One part of training centers on histories of disability services, and the parent, independent living and self-advocacy movements.
Participants meet 25 competencies to support their growth as leaders and advocates. Many take leadership roles in Minnesota’s disability community, relying on their training.
Rochelle Laumer, St. Paul, said the powerful, enlightening and impactful class was like a breath of fresh air. Partners is a place where her personal experience is valued.
Deborah Gleason, Minnetonka, said that the learning experience and her classmates have changed the direction of her career and life.
Roopa Rao, Plymouth, said she is proud to be part of the program. What she learned will help her support her son as he goes through the transition process. She learned how to communicate in order to make change and gained confidence to speak up for her son.
Haley Brunelle, Minnetonka, said she is grateful to be part of such a transformational experience. The education created a launching pad for lasting change. Not only is she leaving with the strengthened values of equity, inclusion and dignity but also with more hope for the future.
Not only did Abdulkadir Hassan, Blaine,
make new friends in Partners Class 42, he also gained invaluable skills and knowledge. He will share these with his community and through the Somali Parents Autism Network.
Brian Johnson, Hermantown, couldn’t express how much the class surpassed his expectations. He spent many hours digging into the content and learning. The sessions inspired his passion for new topics.
Tram Nguyen, Minneapolis, said that the experience of community building and connections has opened her eyes to look at disability and build community for everyone. She has learned that “we were never meant to do
Gilbert was a beloved pet; drew focus on service dogs
Accounts of the June 14 assassinations of Melissa and Mark Hortman also note that Gilbert, their four-year-old golden retriever, was shot and fatally injured.
Gilbert wasn’t just any dog. The Hortmans were volunteers with Helping Paws, and were among that organization’s volunteer dog trainers. Gilbert came to them as a service dog trainee, but wound up as a family pet.
Alyssa Golob, executive director of the nonprofit Helping Paws, explained in media interviews why Gilbert became a family pet. Helping Paws trains and places service animals with the help of volunteers like the Hortmans. Because Gilbert was friendly with many people, he became a better pet than a service dog.
Service dogs must focus on one person.
The Hortmans’ adult children had the dog humanely euthanized after the tragedy.
In a statement, Sophie and Colin Hortman listed several ways to keep their parents’ memories alive. One idea is to “pet a dog...a golden retriever is ideal, but any will do.”
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the Hortmans became involved with Helping Paws, which helps find service animals for people with disabilities, veterans and first responders, as part of Sophie’s service project during her senior year in high school. Their first service dog was placed with a Helping Paws client.
Gilbert would make appearances during online legislative sessions and visited the
this by ourselves.” The class has helped her learn what she needs to live a journey of advocacy.
For Ryann Beukema, Edgerton, the class transformed her life in the most unexpected way possible. The class has changed how she will advocate for her child and others. Over the course of the class she started a Facebook group for parents in her community. It is now a nonprofit called Building the Blessing.
Mao Vang, Cottage Grove, said that the program not only enhanced her advocacy but also gave her a real life example of mutual aid and natural supports. She is grateful that the program allowed her to be her authentic self. This program is one of the hardest experiences she has gone through but it was worth it and greatly enhanced her advocacy.
Other class members are Tamla Caldwell, Maplewood; Danielle Dahlstrom, Shorewood; Priyanka Eati, Plymouth; Angie Ellefson, Minneapolis; Kris Erickson, Brainerd; Misha Freeman, Brainerd; Sheyhan Gelle, Mounds View; Angela Harper, Alexandria; Melete Kiros, St. Paul; Morgan Klatt, Embarrass; Katie Legrid, Richfield; Eddie Reed, Minneapolis; Kari Reed, Minneapolis; Freya Roherty, St. Paul; Courtney Sailer, New Hope; Bethany Schwerr, Coon Rapids and Jessica Vinar, Burnsville. Applications for Class 43 are open until July 11. Costs for training, lodging, meals, and travel are covered. Learn more at https://mn.gov/mnddc/ partnersinpolicymaking/class43/index.html
To request a hard copy application, email Brenton Rice at brenton@TOGevents.com or call 651-242-6589.
capitol. He was frequently seen on walks with the Hortmans in their Brooklyn Park neighborhood.
Helping Paws has had many unsolicited donations since the tragedy. Typically the organization receives 50-100 contributions per month. Since June 14, Helping Paws has received 5,700 individual donations in just a few days — so many that they have not yet totaled the dollar amount.
Helping Paws leaders said they will work with the family to set up an appropriate memorial to Gilbert and the Hortmans.
At a candlelight vigil for the Hortmans, many Helping Paws dogs were present.
From page 1
The Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MNCCD) said: MNCCD is horrified by the violent attacks on our elected leaders and their families. Our thoughts are with the family of Melissa and Mark Hortman as they grieve and with John and Yvette Hoffman as they work toward recovery.
In her roles as a state representative and as speaker, Melissa Hortman played a vital role in forwarding important legislation affecting people with disabilities and all Minnesotans. Her leadership will be sorely missed.
Senator Hoffman and his family have been tremendous supporters of disability rights, advocacy, and visibility. We truly value his many years of thoughtful and dedicated collaboration with our members to advance public policy that benefits all members of the disability community.
MNCCD is a consortium of advocates and organizations who come together through engagement, awareness, and education. Violence is never the answer. We join the rest of Minnesota in condemning these attacks and look forward to cooperative actions toward building equity in our community.
The Hoffmans have released statements about the shootings at their Champlin home, and an update on their conditions. John Hoffman was still hospitalized as of Access Press deadline. Yvette Hoffman was released from the hospital June 19. As of deadline, Allina Health indicated that John Hoffman
was in serious but stable condition.
John Hoffman was shot nine times. Yvette Hoffman was shot eight times.
The family returned to their Champlin home the evening of July 13, after attending the DFL Humphrey-Mondale Dinner, where they spent time with colleagues including the Hortmans. At about 2 a.m. July 14, they were awakened by pounding on the front door and shouting from someone who said he was a police officer. They went to the door and were confronted by Boelter. Boelter was wearing what appeared to be a police uniform and wearing an over-the-head mask.
John Hoffman lunged at the gunman and was shot. Yvette Hoffman tried to push the gunman away and shut the door. She was shot through the door eight times. Hope Hoffman locked the door and called 911.
In their statement, the Hoffman said:
As we continue to receive medical care,
we are deeply grateful for those providers, for the first responders and for all those in law enforcement who worked so quickly, professionally and selflessly to safeguard others and to apprehend the shooter, starting with our own officers in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.
We are heartbroken to know that our friends Melissa and Mark Hortman were assassinated. Our daughter Hope and Sophie Hortman went to school together, and we know that they – along with Colin Hortman - will have each other’s support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night. . . We are uplifted by the prayers and support from so many across the state of Minnesota and the country: thank you.
Choosing to work in the public sector,
TRAGEDY To page 19
The Class 42 Partners in Policymaking gathered for a photo.
The Hortman's dog Gilbert
HELPING PAWS
Sen. John Hoffman
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Schluttenhofer honored with 'Inspire' award for her leadership, dedication
for Opportunity Partners in Minnetonka, has been awarded the 2025 Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation (MOHR) Inspire Award. The Inspire Award recognizes an outstanding individual whose leadership, dedication and collaboration have meaningfully improved the lives of people with disabilities; who has made a lasting impact in the field of disability services; and who motivates others to take action in support of inclusion and equity.
intellectual and developmental disabilities. She developed a deep, early awareness and compassion for people with disabilities. This personal connection inspired a lifelong commitment to person-centered services and advancing quality of life.
Opportunity Partners, where she oversees day, employment and residential services for more than 1,000 individuals with disabilities in the Twin Cities. She has been with Opportunity Partners for 13 years and held different posts.
CEO of Services, marking a historic shift to a co-CEO model at Opportunity Partners for the first time in its 70-year history. She leads with Bill Schultz, CEO of Operations and Strategy. She serves on the MOHR Board of Directors and represents MOHR on key state committees, including the Task Force on Eliminating Subminimum Wages and the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule Transition Advisory Committee. The latter committee helps to align services with
SHUTDOWN
From page 1
the Minnesota House. That forced a move to overtime, with closed door negotiations on various budget bills.
A 2026-2027 budget had to be in place before July 1 to avoid a state government shutdown. State lawmakers went into overtime when the regular session ended May 19 without agreements.
And it may not be over as federal spending decisions and their impacts are awaited. That could prompt a second special session.
During the one-day special session, the House and Senate passed 14 bills that had been hammered out in advance. The House adjourned at approximately 10:40 p.m. on June 9, and the Senate followed on June 10, just before 2 a.m.
Given a projected state budget deficit, 2025 was not a session to come in with lots of requests for new funding or expansion of existing programs and services. Instead 2025 will be remembered as a year of largely protecting what is already in place. Still, there were gains in a number of areas including program spending, policy and bonding. Disability services a focus
During the regular and special sessions, lawmakers contended that they need to make spending cuts now to reduce future deficits. That led to frustration among some disability rights advocates, who want to protect gains made in previous sessions.
One complaint about the end-of-session negotiations is that in the budget debates, state lawmakers were pitting nursing homes against disability services. As it was both sectors saw cuts.
A 4 percent inflationary cap on waiver services and an advisory group to look at ways to lower future costs were the key outcomes for waiver serv ices. The advisory group is tasks with looking for as much as $177.5 million in savings.
When Walz introduced his budget proposal early in the session, disability services and aspects of special education funding were among areas eyed for cuts. Rising costs for waiver service brought a proposal to possibly scale those back.
Walz spoke about that rapid growth when he unveiled his budget, saying it isn’t sustainable for the state over the long term.
About 66,000 Minnesotans use various waiver services to meet a wide range of needs, so the threat to waiver services was a major focus during rallies this past spring. And while the state-level cuts were not as severe as feared, the likelihood of Medicaid cuts at the federal level cast a long shadow over many lives.
One issue Walz and legislators grappled with is that waiver services payment rates are tied to inflation. Walz proposed capping inflationary increases at 2 percent per year. Another proposal, which drew pushback from county leaders and county umbrella organization,
She is a respected subject matter expert, and works tirelessly to understand and respond to policy changes, particularly those affecting the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She provides guidance and education to MOHR members, peer organizations, staff, families, and the broader community on complex regulatory and service issues.
During the most recent legislative session, she
was to have counties shoulder some of the residential services waiver costs. Some rural county leaders said that such a funding shift would bust their budgets.
They also created an advisory council to recommend ways to reduce the cost of services and support for Minnesotans with long-term needs. In the weeks and months ahead, one issue that will get a hard look is how many people will get what are called disability waiver rate exceptions. People with high-needs can seek exemptions for more costly, needed services.
Waiver services have become increasingly controversial in recent years, with debate centered on the ongoing Waiver Reimagine effort and its aim to transform the waiver system. Some disability rights advocates, including members of a high-profile Facebook group have called for delays to changes. They contend it could become harder to obtain waiver services in the end, and force people into institutions. Legislators didn’t approve delays but did expand the size of a related advisory group.
As for special education, a “blue ribbon commission” will look for about $250 million in future budget cuts. Transportation for special education was another area targeted by Walz.
Nursing homes were another area eyed for cuts, with a facility operating payment cap increase of 4 percent emerging from the session. That has sparked concerns that nursing facilities won’t be able to cover all of their costs and could in some cases close.
There were some wins. Those include batting back efforts to reinstate some parental fees for Medicaid services. The fees were eliminated two years ago, helping families save tens of thousands of dollars in some cases. Another win is that changes to the MnCHOICES assessments program could streamline the process and address a backlog of applications in some counties.
Also regarded as positive is passage of a disability-focused bill that makes it easier for people of all abilities to take swimming lessons and be able to enjoy swimming and aquatic activities.
Another measure regarded with cautious optimism is on seclusion, which some lawmakers had hoped to expand use of in education. Instead a working group working group on seclusion in education will start in August and report back in January, 2026.
One measure met with concern is in the tax bill, which increases the sales tax on legal cannabis from 10 percent to 15 percent. That has raised some concerns about disability advocates who use legal cannabis for pain management and other conditions.
Mental health made gains
Minnesota’s Mental Health Network scored some big wins during the special session, as state lawmakers passed several needed mental health reforms designed to strengthen and expand the state’s mental health system.
The legislation includes increased funding, new policies to protect and support people
spoke multiple times on the impact of proposed budget cuts, emphasizing the vulnerability of service providers and the importance of equitable funding for disability services.
Schluttenhofer often emphasizes that lawmakers want to hear directly from constituents - the single most impactful voice in this process. It's not about policy jargon or political agendas, but about humanizing the impact: telling the real stories of how funding decisions affect individuals, families, and communities. She is especially proud of the collaborative spirit between MOHR’s leadership and Government Affairs Committee, the strong turnout for 2025 Disability Services Day at the Capitol, and the success of “Mini Days at the Capitol”- strategic, collective efforts that showed how impactful MOHR can be when working together with a unified voice.
Get Up Stand Up makes key donation
Get Up Stand Up to Cure Paralysis has announce the donation of the groundbreaking ONWARD Medical ARC-EX System to HealthPartners Neuroscience Center, advancing efforts to transform the lives of individuals living with spinal cord injuries. The ARC-EX System, a cutting-edge, non-invasive neuromodulation device, has shown remarkable promise in enabling individuals with spinal cord injuries to improve hand strength and sensation through targeted spinal cord stimulation and rehabilitation.
The generous donation marks a significant milestone in expanding access to breakthrough treatments for spinal cord injuries. With ARC-EX now available at HealthPartners Neuroscience Center, patients in Minnesota and beyond will have the opportunity to
living with a mental illness and families, as well as initiatives to enhance access to services. This summary was released by the network and network members.
A win was in the bonding bill, which was held to just over $700 million. It includes $55 million to expand capacity at the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center. That would allow for the addition of 50 beds, to the 96 already in place. Another $20 million in the human services bill will also help the situation of people waiting in jail for months for a treatment bed.
Minnesota Attorney General Ellison praised the investment, which he said will help Minnesotans who have been civilly committed for the purposes of receiving necessary mental health care. The 50 new beds will reduce wait times and ensure some of the most vulnerable Minnesotans get the treatment they need.
The Civil Commitment statute allows for a person to be civilly committed to a treatment facility, like the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center, for the purpose of receiving needed treatment and care. In 2010, the average wait time for admission to the center was 19 days. By 2013, the average wait time jumped to 30 days and the time from the commitment order to placement had grown unacceptably long. Among those affected by the increased time were people with mental illnesses being held in jails that had not been convicted of a crime.
Other gains were also seen. Those include:
• Increasing rates for outpatient mental health services and substance use disorder (SUD) services
• Funding for school-linked mental health and a collaboration hub to help address ED and juvenile detention boarding issues
• Not allowing parents whose children are in the ER and can’t come home due to lack of services to be referred to child protection for neglect
• Requiring mental health providers to have training on tardive dyskinesia
• Requiring plans to continue medications
participate in life-changing rehabilitation programs using this innovative technology. Get Up Stand Up to Cure Paralysis is a nonprofit organization in Minnesota working to unite, educate and support those dealing with spinal cord injuries and to advocate for research and the restoration of function. Its vision is a world in which paralysis from spinal cord injury is curable.
ARMM announces finalists
The 2025 Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota (ARRM) Cares and Rising Star Award finalists and nominees. Finalists were recognized at ARRM Forward on June 25. Winners will be announced during Direct Support Professionals week in September.
ARRM Cares Finalists:
Alana Storch - Lutheran Home Association: Hope Residence
• Allison Eider - Dungarvin Minnesota
• Daniel Hymer - Companion Linc - Minnesota
Dominic Haugen – Duluth Regional Care Center (DRCC)
Julie Hanson - CCRI—Creative Care for Reaching Independence
• Kim Sirek - Mount Olivet Rolling AcresMORA
Marielle Clark - CCRI
Talasia Riley - Living Well Disability Services
• Zockinna Bell - Phoenix Residence Inc.
• Rising Star Finalists:
Alejanxro Castro - Living Well Disability Services
Bonnie Jenson - CCRI
Jeannie Hicks - Tender Loving Care of Duluth
• Thomas Kelley - Dungarvin Minnesota
people are currently receiving despite any formulary changes during the plan year
• Requiring a report on psychiatric residential treatment facilities to recommend how to expand and stabilize the critical level of care for children
• Continuing the Priority Admissions Review Panel to monitor the 48-hour law and requiring certain information to be posted on the Direct Care and Treatment (DTC) website
• Allowing up to 10 civilly committed patients per year in hospital settings to be added to the DTC admissions wait list
• Creating a certification process for recovery residences/sober homes
• Allowing mobile crisis services to use grant money for protected transport vehicles
• Preventing clients from being charged for crisis services and eliminating the cost-sharing under Medical Assistance for crisis services
• Changing the terms “emotional disturbance” and “serious emotional disturbance” to mental illness and serious mental illness
The Mental Health Legislative Network is a coalition of over 40 mental health and SUD organizations. Members before collaborated on many of these pieces of legislation to address the needs of Minnesotans. “It’s a testament to the importance placed on meeting the needs of people with mental illnesses by the legislature that we saw increased funding and important policy changes passed this session,” said Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) and co-chair of the MHLN. “Passage of mental health bills requires us to thank the countless people who contacted their elected officials sharing their stories about the need for change.”
This was Abderholden’s final session as NAMI’s leader as she has announced plans to retire.
Lori Schluttenhofer
Summer Reading
RADIO TALKING BOOK
For July, 26 new books will premiere. Radio Talking Book is not just for listeners with visual disabilities. Anyone with difficulty reading or turning pages can enjoy the service. Radio Talking Book schedules can be emailed. Sign up at tinyurl.com/RTBemail. If email is preferred, sign up and also contact Ronnie Washington at 651-539-1424 or SSB. Equipment@state.mn.us to indicate what version is desired.
The sampling published monthly in Access Press doesn’t represent the full array of programming. Listen to RTB’s live or archived programs online at www.mnssb.org/rtb Hear programming on a hand-held mobile device, for iOS or Android. Visit the Apple App Store for iOS, or Google Play for Android, and download the Minnesota Radio Talking Book app.
Missed a book broadcast? Access it for one week following its original broadcast in the online weekly program archive.
For help accessing the archive, contact Ronnie Washington at 651-539-1424 or SSB. Equipment@state.mn.us.
If the book’s broadcast is no longer available, contact staff librarian Molly McGilp at 651.539.1422 or Molly.McGilp@state.mn.us
Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available for loan through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault. The catalog is at www.mnbtbl.org. Call 800-722-0550, MonFri, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST.
Updates are also on the Facebook site Minnesota Radio Talking Book.
Audio information about the daily book listings is on the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) Newsline. Register for NFB Newsline by calling 651-539-1424. The NFB-NEWSLINE service provides access to more than 500 magazines and newspapers. Visit www.nfb.org/programs-services/nfbnewsline; 612-562-7803.
Staff welcomes any feedback or suggestions. Contact Joseph Papke at 651539-2316 or joseph.papke@state.mn.us or Tom Conry at 651-642-0880 or thomas. conry@state.mn.us about periodicals and newspapers programming.
Chautauqua*
Monday – Friday 6 a.m.
The Extinction of Experience, nonfiction by Christine Rosen, 2024. A reflective, original invitation to recover and cultivate the human experiences that have atrophied in the virtual world. Read by Jim Gregorich. Nine
broadcasts; begins Wed, July 2.
The Cult of Creativity, nonfiction by Samuel W. Franklin, 2023. A history of how, in the mid-twentieth century, we came to believe in the concept of creativity. Read by Don Lee. 10 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 15.
Reading the Constitution, nonfiction by Stephen Breyer, 2024. A retired U.S. Supreme Court justice deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current court’s supermajority and makes the case for a more pragmatic approach of the Constitution. Read by John Holden. 15 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 29
Past is Prologue*
Monday – Friday 11 a.m.
Age of Revolutions, nonfiction by Fareed Zakaria, 2024. An exploration of the revolutions―past and present―that define the polarized and unstable age in this time.
Read by Stevie Ray. 15 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 14.
Bookworm*
Monday – Friday 12 p.m.
Office Politics, fiction by Wilfrid Sheed, 2024.
A satire of 1960s intellectual New York and a celebration of that endangered species, the office, at its pettiest and most idealistic, as the proving ground where so much of grownup life takes place. Read by Jan Anderson. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 7.
Aesop's Fables – Fiction by Robin Waterfield, 2024. A new translation of classic, succinct fictional stories that illustrate moral lessons.
Read by Stuart Holland. Eight broadcasts; begins Wed, July 23.
The Writer’s Voice*
Monday – Friday 1 p.m.
The Rulebreaker, nonfiction by Susan Page, 2024. A biography of the most successful female broadcaster of all time, Barbara Walters. Read by Carol McPherson. 17 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 14.
Choice Reading*
Monday – Friday 2 p.m.
Ahnwee Days, fiction by William E. Burleson, 2024. The story of a small town on the edge of extinction and the young mayor who rallies the residents to keep it going. Read by Pat Muir. Nine broadcasts; begins Tue, July 1. – L, S
The Burrow, fiction by Melanie Cheng, 2024.
A wise and moving story about a family navigating grief, hope, and healing through a bond with a new pet rabbit. Read by Karen Ray. Five broadcasts; begins Mon, July 14. – L True Failure, fiction by Alex Higley, 2024.
A twisting examination of life under late
AROUND THE DIAL
NEW! Boldly Challenging Ableism, AM 950 Radio, Sunday 2-2:30 p.m. Boldly Challenging Ableism exposes ableism and dismantles myths that marginalize people with disabilities. Host Katrina Simons uses her lifelong disability and her experiences in advocacy at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration to boldly, irreverently go where everyone has gone before — to issues including employment, housing, justice, education and culture–but she brings along enough humor and an approachable style that listeners will be thinking anew about what community inclusion really means.
Disability and Progress, KFAI Radio 90.3, Thursday 6-7 p.m. DJs Sam Jasmine and Charlene Doll explore a wide range of topics that are important to people with disabilities. Shows are also now available on podcast. Ask the smart speaker to play Disability and Progress podcast for the latest episode. For easier access, download the app to a smart phone and hear shows on demand. Or hear Disability and Progress live; just tell the smart speaker to play KFAI Radio. KFAI is at 90.3 FM in Minneapolis and 106.7 in St. Paul. Listeners outside of the Twin Cities, or those looking for a past show, will find the show’s archives online.
Email questions and suggestions to
capitalism and the deceptions used to invent success stories. Read by John Potts. 10 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 21. – L
Afternoon Report*
Monday – Friday 4 p.m.
Beyond the Big Lie, nonfiction by Bill Adair, 2024. An informed, urgent, and alarming history of political deception and how to stop it once and for all. Read by John Potts. Nine broadcasts; begins Tue, July 1.
Morning After the Revolution, nonfiction by Nellie Bowles, 2024. A former New York Times reporter takes a look at how some of the most educated people in America lost their minds—and how she almost did, too. Read by Jan Anderson. Eight broadcasts; begins Mon, July 14. – L
Where Tyranny Begins, nonfiction by David Rohde, 2024. How Donald Trump used threats, co-option and conspiracy theories to bend DOJ and FBI officials to his will to a greater extent than publicly known. Read by Pat Muir. 10 broadcasts; begins Thu, July 24. – L
Night Journey*
Monday –Friday 7 p.m.
Lemons Never Lie, fiction by Donald E. Westlake, 2024. Actor/thief Alan Grofield focuses on the perilous consequences of refusing an offer you can’t refuse. Read by Paul Ranelli. 6 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 7. Ilium, fiction by Lea Carpenter, 2024. A lonely young London woman is unknowingly drawn into a high-stakes intelligence campaign by the man she marries. Read by Eileen Barratt. Seven broadcasts; begins Tue, July 15.
The Last Devil to Die, fiction by Richard Osman, 2023. A delightful mystery featuring four British old-age pensioners who solve crimes. Read by Philip Lowry. 10 broadcasts; begins Thu, July 24
Potpurri
Monday – Friday 9 p.m.
3 Shades of Blue, nonfiction by James Kaplan, 2024. The story of how jazz arrived at the pinnacle of American culture in 1959 with the iconic album, Kind of Blue. Read by Peter Danbury. 16 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 7. – L Shopkeeping, nonfiction by Peter Miller, 2024. A love letter to the small shop, and shop owners everywhere. Read by Roger Sheldon. Three broadcasts; begins Tuesday, July 29.
Good Night Owl
Monday – Friday 10 p.m.
Fever House, fiction by Keith Rosson, 2023. All hell breaks loose in Portland, Oregon, when a pair of thugs stumble into a world-
disabilityandprogress@samjasmine.com, or call 612-341-3144. Mail can be sent to KFAI, 1808 Riverside Ave. S., Disability and Progress, Box 116, Minneapolis MN 55454.
Conor’s Corner, WFNU Radio 94.1, Friday 10:30-11:30 a.m. Conor’s Corner by Conor O’Meara and co-host Scott can be heard at 94.1 or online at WFNU. org Frogtown Community Radio. The show can also be found on Spotify and Mixcloud. The on-air studio line, offered 10-11 a.m. Mondays, is 651313-5125. O’Meara conducts a wide range of interviews.
HoodWave Disability Radio, https:// www.hoodwave.org/Daniel and Leah Hood produce HoodWave Disability Radio. Find a wide range of timely stories of interest to the disability community.
All times listed are Central Standard Time.
Abbreviations
V
– violent content
R – racial epithets
L
– strong language
S – sexual situation
G – gory descriptions
breaking government conspiracy. Read by Jim Tarbox. 17 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 8. – L, V, G, R
Middle of the Night, fiction by Riley Sager 2024. A man must contend with the longago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his pictureperfect neighborhood. Read by Tom Speich. 12 broadcasts; begins Thu, July 31. – L
RTB After Hours*
Monday – Friday 11 p.m.
The Safekeep, fiction by Yael van der Wouden, 2024. A tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961. Read by Yelva Lynfield. 12 broadcasts; begins Tue, July 1. – S
The City in Glass, fiction by Nghi Vo, 2024. A beguiling fantasy and epic love story of redemption and desire strong enough to reduce a world to ashes and remake it anew. Read by Andrea Bell. Seven broadcasts; begins Thu, July 17. – L, S
The Finest Print, fiction by Erin Langston, 2024. A steamy, historical romance about love in a printer’s shop. Read by Mary Beth Redmond. 12 broadcasts; begins Mon, July 28. – L, S
Weekend Program Books
Your Personal World, 1 p.m. Sat, presents How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and The Quest for Fulfillment by Skye C. Cleary, read by Bev Burchett. For the Younger Set, 11 a.m. Sun, presents Krabat and the Sorcerer's Mill by Otfried Preussler, read by Julia Brown; followed by Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer, read by Stuart Holland. Poetic Reflections, noon Sun, presents Hold Everything by Dobby Gibson, read by Mary Beth Redmond; followed by Lying In by Elizabeth Metzger, read by Jan Petit. The Great North, 4 p.m. Sun, presents They Would Not Be Moved by Bruce White, read by Yelva Lynfield.
Disability Landscape/Disability Channel Minnesota is available on a YouTube channel and on MCN 6. Mark Hughes, Charlie Brose and his dedicated crew are regularly posting shows. The show is produced by volunteers at St. Paul Neighborhood Network. They are looking for contributors to the channel. Contact them at disabilitychannelmn@gmail.com. Access Press is interested in listing regularly scheduled broadcast, cablecast or podcast programs by and for people with disabilities. Programming needs to have a tie to Minnesota or the Upper Midwest. Around the Dial is on our website 24/7 and appears in print on a space-available basis. Anyone with questions can contact jane@ accesspress.org.
TRAGEDY
From page 16
even in as limited a way as John’s career as a senator, has always meant sacrificing a level of privacy. But now we are grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn’t like what you stand for. As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully. The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.
The Hoffmans have also clarified information that a family member posted after the shooting, releasing a statement to Morning Take, a respected political newsletter. The family member had posted that Yvette Hoffman had saved their daughter Hope, creating what the family called an ableist narrative. Hope Hoffman has also used
CLASSIFIEDS
July is not only when the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is marked, it’s also a time to celebrate Disability Pride Month. Two celebrations are coming up.
Twin Ports Disability Pride is 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wed, July 9. It will be held outside of Duluth City Hall during Downtown Duluth Days. Self-Advocates Minnesota (SAM) and Advocating Change Together (ACT), in partnership with Arc Northland, invite everyone to attend the Twin Ports’ first-ever Disability Pride event. This is an inclusive community event celebrating disability identity, culture and justice. The event will feature a short program including guest speakers reflecting on the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and current disability justice movements, and an open microphone for individuals to share their personal stories. Preregistration is not required for those wishing to attend. Register for an event t-shirt in advance. FFI: https://www.facebook.com/events/ priley-dr-duluth-mn-55802-united-states/ twin-ports-disability-pride-celebrati on-2025/703469165569515/
A second event is planned in St. Paul. ACT hosts the Third Annual Disability Pride Festival, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thu, July 17 at the state capitol grounds. The free public celebration brings together hundreds of self-advocates, families, allies, educators and community leaders to celebrate pride, inclusion and disability culture in Minnesota. Many groups host tables, including tables where people can make art. Music and inspiring speeches are also part of the fun. FFI: ACT, 651-641-0297 or act@ selfadvocacy.org
social media to correct the account of what happened and add her frustrations.
Here is the statement:
“We are deeply disturbed by the false and invasive information provided by our estranged nephew, Mat Ollig. Any loving parent would protect their child at gunpoint. Hope living with disability doesn’t make that instinct any more heroic. Disability is not the story here. Media outlets choosing to highlight and pity her disability while ignoring her role in saving our lives is not only filled with inaccuracies — it’s ableism. We are so grateful she was at our house that night. Without Hope, we wouldn’t be here right now. Our daughter’s quick instincts and wherewithal to state that her dad is Senator John Hoffman when she called 911 led the police getting to the Hortman’s so quickly and saving countless other lives. Respect our privacy, and respect our daughter.”
A story about the Hortmans’ dog Gilbert and their work with service dogs appears elsewhere in this issue
More disability pride events are planned throughout the state. The Arc Minnesota, ACT and Open Arts Minnesota host a familyfriendly celebration of disability pride through art, community, and creativity. The event is 6-7 p.m. Friday July 11 at the Carnegie Art Center in Mankato. Activities include creating a collaborative community mural; and an art show by disabled artists. Everyone is invited to come and celebrate disability pride at the art center at 120 S Broad St. Arc Minnesota, ACT and the SAM Central groups present the St. Cloud Disability Pride Festival at 12:30 p.m. Sat, July 26 at 1300 W. Germain St., St. Cloud. The program is at 1 p.m. and the pride rally at 3:30 p.m. Enjoy hands-on activities, a Cow Tipping Press book launch and author readings, pride stories and door prizes. Refreshments will be available.
ADA 35th Anniversary Celebration
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turns 35 years old in July. The City of Minneapolis hosts a celebration with a documentary, panel discussion and chance to share stories. The celebration is 5-8 p.m. Thu, July 24, will honor this with a celebration and documentary screening, in Room 100, Public Service Building, 505 4th Ave. S., Mpls. Preregister. Learn about the disability pride flag and watch the new PBS documentary, Change, Not Charity. It will have audio descriptions and captions.
An ASL interpreter and CART services will be available. Help make this a scent-free event by not wearing fragrances. Service animal relief area is in Government Center Plaza across 4th Ave. Street meters will be hooded and available to those with disability parking permits on 4th Ave. between 5th and
6th St. A disability transfer zone is available on the building side of this street. The nearest parking ramp is the Haaf Ramp at 424 S. 4th St. Parking vouchers will be available upon request. FFI: https://www2.minneapolismn. gov/government/departments/ncr/accessiblespaces-services/ada-anniversary/ Take Note! and consider sponsorship Access Press is listing fewer calendar items in print and encouraging more to be posted online. The change allows more immediate information about upcoming events. Online options include our free events calendar. Ways to post an event can be found at www.accesspress.org, under the listings tab. The event must be disabled focused, offer accommodations or led by a disability service organization. Please list your accommodations and complete information, such as time, date and place. That information is especially needed for users of paratransit who must often schedule rides in advance. Anyone with questions can contact Editor Jane McClure at jane@accesspress.org or 651-6442133 ext. 1 Another option is to consider an online or print ad to get the word out. If your organization or group isn’t in our Access Press Directory, a listing is an economical way to get the word out. Email ads@accesspress.org is to sponsor our online calendar. Being a sponsor is a great way to support Minnesota’s disability community and its events. Information can be obtained by emailing ads@accesspress.org
A fourth, ongoing option for an interested business or disability service organization is to sponsor our online calendar. Being a sponsor is a great way to support Minnesota’s disability community and its events. Information can be obtained by emailing ads@accesspress.org
Access Press is seeking an Executive Director to help develop and implement bold new strategies for the organization. Our goal is to provide timely news and in-depth information to more than 600,000 individuals in Minnesota who live with disabilities.
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Access Press was founded 35 years ago and we are looking for a leader committed to serving the community well into the future. Your rewards for creativity and revenue development can be high. The opportunity to make meaningful contributions in policy, advocacy, and individual information and education is unlimited.
Qualified candidates will possess:
· Journalism experience or a deep understanding of journalistic principles
· A strong desire to serve and advocate for people living with disabilities
· Relationship-building skills
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· Experience with online journalism and communications
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More information and application process at https://accesspress.org/
Access Press is an equal opportunity employer.
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