Weekly News & Event Invitations
In this issue:
100 Rural Women Podcast Episode #24
October Book Group
Civic Engagement
Rural Voice - Albert Lea - Faribault - Marshall
November FERC Conference
Podcast - Featuring Whitney Kimball Coe
🎙️ Welcome to 100 Rural Women and Their Stories — Episode #24.
In this episode, Whitney Kimball Coe shares her inspiring journey of embracing her rural identity and living out the life lessons modeled by her grandmother: hope, joy, and gratitude. From growing up in Tennessee to her work with the Center for Rural Strategies and leading the Rural Assembly, she is on the path to becoming an ordained Episcopal priest, Whitney’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of community and caring for the people around us.
Whitney reflects on the role of humor, gratitude, family, and faith as she navigates an unexpected and sometimes nonlinear journey—while finding ways to stay hopeful, serve her community, and make space for women to lead.
Know a woman whose story should be shared? We’d love to hear from you—connect with us at teresa@100ruralwomen.org.
New episodes drop every Wednesday.
🎧 Tune in and be inspired
Morning Connections
Thursdays@8:30 a.m. CT
☕ Join Us for Morning Connections
Looking for a simple way to connect with other women each week? Morning Connections is an informal Zoom gathering filled with light conversation, encouragement, and community.
Bring your coffee or tea, breakfast, children, pets, or even your work. There’s no agenda beyond taking a few moments to connect with others. A host will facilitate the conversation, making it easy to join in—whether you’re a regular or attending for the first time.
We’d love to have you join us!
Every Thursday Morning
🕣 8:30–9:00 a.m. CT
💻 Via Zoom
Come as you are—we look forward to connecting with you!
October Book
Come Join Us in the Reading Room!
Ghosts of 4th Street - My Family, a Death, and the Hills of Duluth
This book is an open, frank rumination on a brother’s death and its reverberations throughout a family.
Every family has its stories and secrets. Laurie Hertzel’s family had more than its share. At an early age, Laurie, the seventh of the ten Hertzel children, took on the challenge of sorting them out. Not old enough to be one of the Big Kids, yet too old to be with the Three Little Kids, she spent most of her time alone, reading, wandering, and observing her family as they moved around her in their house in Duluth.
We’ll gather on ZOOM for our October Book Group:
Wednesday, October 14th
⏰ 7:00 PM CT
💻 ZOOM
Civic Engagement
MN Permanent School Fund
This November, Minnesota voters will be asked to consider a constitutional amendment that would improve the distribution of funds to public schools from Minnesota’s Permanent School Fund.
MREA, MSBA, MASA and AMSD are joining forces to provide you, our members, tools to inform your communities about the constitutional amendment vote this November 3, and its impact on the education of your students and communities.
The Minnesota Permanent School Fund is not widely understood and yet is an important part of Minnesota’s public education financing.
Sharing this LWV Webpage Resource:
Voting in Minnesota – Your MN Election Guide.
For more than 100 years, the League of Women Voters has been a trusted source for nonpartisan voter registration and education, and a longstanding witness to Minnesota’s proud tradition of voter access and election integrity. This tradition is upheld by trained, non-partisan, election professionals who, together with local election judges from both major parties, conduct and verify our elections and ensure that all votes are correctly counted, using the many safeguards we currently have in place.
Over time, voters have become more interested in how elections work, especially with recent election policy changes. The purpose of this page is to provide fact-based information on elections and why the results can be trusted. This page includes information about state statutes, best practices, and safeguards associated with Minnesota elections.
Rural Voice
JOIN RURAL VOICE 2026
The Rural Voice series, hosted by MPR’s Kerri Miller, captures imaginative and illuminating town hall conversations about the rewards and challenges of making a home in rural America.
Upcoming meetings in Albert Lae, Faribault and Marshall,
Conference
100 Rural Women creates connections and inspires leadership. We see a future where more rural women lead positive change for themselves, their families, communities, the nation and the world. We are committed to building leadership through networks, mentorship, education, and civic engagement. Our 501(c) 3 non-profit organization is non-partisan.