By Benya Kraus
President & CEO
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
January 22, 2026 – Our state is going through a lot right now. Crisis after crisis has put Minnesota in the national spotlight. What feels even more fraught is the way these crises seem to be tearing apart much of the social fabric that has knitted us together as Minnesotans for decades: a state that has led the nation in civic engagement, a people whose warmth binds us together through the sub-zero months, a team spirit that never gives up on the Vikings, no matter how many times we enter a Super Bowl playoff without them.
In times of crisis, we can choose to fan the fire, to respond with such force that one crisis begets another, to sow suspicion and blame in our neighbor. Or we can choose cooperation. To respond with measured reason, to hold multiple truths at the same time and believe that the solution is better when we work at it together.
And as Minnesotans, we’ve seen and chosen both paths in our history.
This year, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation – which is also 40 years since the farm crisis of the 1980s. I remember my uncle Paul driving me around our farm in the four wheeler near Waseca when I was a teenager, pointing out which plots of land used to be owned by which family. As the farm crisis unfolded, many of those families were forced to sell off land that generations of their ancestors stewarded. Some of those families were lost to suicide. All this was unfolding within the backdrop of the Cold War, where children had learned to practice hiding under desks for fear of nuclear attacks.
The farm crisis of the ‘80s had the potential to pit neighbor against neighbor, the urban metro benefitting from the gains of globalization while rural communities were shut out of financial markets. Yet, amidst the devastation – a group of Minnesotans came together across urban and rural communities to form the Minnesota Initiative Foundations. With the leadership and financial investment of the Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation, an endowment fund was set up in each of the six regions of Greater Minnesota as a way to keep as much wealth retained in our rural communities as possible. Residents of each region governed the fund that would impact where they lived, and in those 40 years since, generations of local donors and volunteers chose to invest in a fund where the returns would be distributed to future generations of entrepreneurs, child care providers and community leaders with big ideas to grow their small towns.
Forty years ago in a time of crisis, Minnesota chose cooperation and focused on meeting local need. They made immediate sacrifices in service of future generations they would never meet.
I find myself reflecting on this history now as we prepare to celebrate SMIF’s 40th anniversary on April 23, and as my husband and I prepare to welcome our first child in the coming month. The theme of SMIF’s anniversary event is “Honoring the Past, Building the Future” — which feels a lot like the weight of impending parenthood as well. As we think through names for our future child, we keep turning to the legacy of our grandparents as inspiration. Do we hope for our child to be strong in faith like Granny Jean and resilient like Khun Yai Somjit? Or perhaps humble like Grandpa Powell and selflessly headstrong like Grandpa Jim? We know the next generation will leave their own distinctive mark on the world in ways we will never be able to predict or control. Yet, how they handle crisis, the responsibility they will hold for their neighbor and community, is not forged in isolation. By looking to our past, to the lives of service that our ancestors led, we can choose to extend their legacy into the futures we build today.
As our state continues to navigate the intensity of today’s crises, I hope you will join us in finding new pathways forward beyond today’s cultural standstill. We may just find that looking at the past and honoring what it’s taught us is the best way we can build a new future together, and for our children.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions. You can reach me at benyak@smifoundation.org or 507-455-3215.
About Benya Kraus
Benya Kraus is the President & CEO of Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Benya is the co-founder of Lead for America and served as the Network Advancement Director at Resource Rural.
Leave a Reply