Letters to MinnPost: Mental health in farm country, standing with Somali Minnesotans, keeping prescriptions affordable

Supporting the mental health of Minnesota farmers

As the holidays season brings friends and families together around tables filled with food, I hope you’ll remember the people who make these meals possible: our nation’s farmers. 

Earlier this month Estefanía Pinto Ruiz’s compelling MinnPost article, “As farmers face trade wars and inflation, calls to mental health hotlines rise,” highlighted the immense pressures farmers are facing right now. Too often, factors beyond their control — from global markets to rising input costs — can take a serious toll on both the mental and financial health of farmers and their families. 

Here in Minnesota, we recognize that reality and have taken meaningful steps to respond. Our state leads the nation in making mental health and farmer support services available. The state Legislature funds three statewide agricultural mental health providers offering free, confidential counseling to farmers, their families and farm employees. Minnesota also has one of the most robust farm advocate networks in the country. Created in 1984, Minnesota’s Farm Advocate Program helps farmers navigate financial stress, mediation and complex legal or social service systems during times of crisis.

Continued investment in the health and well-being of both farmers and their farming operations reflects a shared understanding among farmers, communities, and policy makers that caring for the people who feed us is essential to the health of our food system. 

If you are, or know of, a farmer who is struggling this winter, please know support is available. Visit the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Coping with Farm & Rural Stress website at www.mnfarmstress.com to connect with free, confidential resources 24/7. As we gather this season, honoring farmers means more than giving thanks — it means making sure they know they are not alone and that help is within reach. 

Thom Petersen is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Protecting the human rights of Somali Minnesotans

Every Dec. 10, the world commemorates Human Rights Day. However, this year’s observance came during a period of time when Minnesota is being tested. As the nation observes this year’s global theme, “Our Everyday Essentials,” meant to refocus attention on dignity, safety, health and basic human wellbeing, Somali immigrants in Minnesota are facing intensified scrutiny and fear due to recent U.S. immigration enforcement practices.

This contradiction raises a critical question: How can we celebrate universal human rights while members of our own communities feel unsafe in their everyday lives?

Minnesota is home to over 60,000 Somalis, making it one of the largest and most vibrant Somali diasporas in the world. For decades, Somali Minnesotans have contributed to our economy, built thriving neighborhoods, energized our schools and strengthened the cultural fabric of our state. Yet today, many find themselves living with heightened anxiety, fear of raids, abrupt detentions, and the possibility of being separated from their families. These experiences are not abstract political debates; they directly threaten the “everyday essentials” that Human Rights Day seeks to uplift.

Safety is a human right, yet many Somali parents in Minnesota feel uncertain about leaving for work or sending their children to school. Dignity is a human right, yet constant stereotyping and misinformation fuel discrimination in workplaces, housing, and public spaces. Family unity is a human right, yet current immigration actions jeopardize the stability that families rely on to thrive.

When human rights are discussed, they often sound philosophical or distant. But for Minnesota’s Somali community, they are as practical as being able to pick up your child from daycare without fear. As fundamental as being able to access healthcare without worrying that a visit could expose immigration status. As essential as having clean water, livable wages or the peace of mind that comes with knowing your family will not be torn apart overnight.

Minnesota prides itself on fairness, care for neighbors and community. These values call us to reject policies and rhetoric that dehumanize immigrants and instead embrace solutions that ensure the wellbeing of all residents. That includes strengthening legal support networks, demanding humane immigration processes, and uplifting the voices of Somali Minnesotans in policymaking spaces. It means recognizing that human rights are not optional, but they are rather the foundation of stable, healthy communities.

As we mark Human Rights Day 2025, Minnesota must lead by example. Upholding “our everyday essentials” means standing firmly with Somali Minnesotans, ensuring they enjoy the safety, dignity, and opportunity they deserve. Our commitment to human rights is only meaningful if it applies to everyone who calls this state home.

Geoffrey Kaweesa is a board member of United Nations Association of Minnesota (UNA-MN), a nonprofit is committed to promoting the objectives and principles of the United Nations within Minnesota.

Keeping health care affordable for Minnesotans

When I was elected to the Minnesota State Senate, I made it clear from the beginning that making health care more affordable and transparent was an issue I care about deeply and would make a priority.

So much of health care policy is formed and implemented in Washington, D.C., where they talk a big game about affordability. But rarely do we see solutions for average Americans. In fact, we often see proposed changes to policies that are billed as reforms that could make healthcare even less affordable and accessible.

One such proposal is the effort to reform the 340B drug discount program. As is often the case with D.C.-speak, here, reform means cuts, and cuts will mean more challenges to affordability and accessibility.

First, 340B requires drugmakers to sell their products to safety net healthcare providers at a discount. If they agree, they can sell their products in the lucrative Medicare and Medicaid programs. If they don’t agree, they lose those markets but can continue to charge whatever prices they think consumers will swallow.

The great thing about 340B that sets it apart from virtually all other federal programs is that it doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. Instead, hospitals use the savings they earn from the discounts to pay for care — including but not limited to drugs — that patients with low incomes need but cannot afford. This is particularly crucial in our rural communities where access to healthcare is often limited and always under threat.

Without 340B, many more rural hospitals and clinics will have to close shop. What the drug industry lobbyists don’t say is that if 340B is cut back the money to pay for that care will have to come from taxpayers’ pockets. Meanwhile, Big Pharma’s profits get bigger. 340B is especially vital for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).

What is a CAH? It’s a rural public or nonprofit hospital that’s located more than 35 miles from any other hospital or CAH, provides 24-hour emergency care services, has 25 or fewer beds for acute inpatient care and keeps an inpatient for no longer than 96 hours. If you’re thinking CAHs sound like the sort of hospitals that are already under major financial pressure that will only get worse in 2026, you’re right. This begs the question as to why 340B would need to be reformed in a way that favors big drug companies?

The fact is, 340B benefits rural, hard-working Americans at zero cost to you and me (unlike other programs that aid rural health), and simply means drug companies who often grossly overcharge for their products anyway simply make less on some sales — while still profiting off of sales to Medicare and Medicaid. Of course, the pharma companies don’t like it. But 340B means a lot for everyone else, including taxpayers who do not want to have to bail out anyone, including rural hospitals.

Here in Minnesota, there are 76 CAHs that participate in the 340B program. Those 76 providers serve countless parents, grandparents, children, friends and neighbors in our local communities. If the giant pharmaceutical companies get their way, these CAHs could face the risk of closure and then what? Where will our fellow Minnesotans go to get care? What happens if over 35 miles in driving means life or death?

Preserving 340B as it is, how it currently functions, and how it serves those who need it the most, is of the utmost importance. I am holding to my promise for transparency with reduced costs and burdens on fellow Minnesotans.

I know Congress is working hard to make sure Minnesotans have reliable access to affordable medications and nearby medical care. That’s why programs like 340B matter. Preserving 340B is critical, and the people it serves are worth fighting for. I hope and pray you join me in that fight.

Minnesota Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake, represents District 22.

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