Our children are telling us something. Are we listening?

By: Marcus Schmit

Outlets: Minnesota Reformer

Published: August 3, 2026

Words: 900

Last Updated: 9 hours, 22 minutes ago

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Brainerd lost two of its children this summer. Ava Starr was 11 years old. Alexis Thornton was 13. Both were students at Forestview Middle School. They died three weeks apart.

Brainerd is grieving. But Brainerd is not alone. Across Minnesota — in small towns and lake communities, on farms and in cities — families are facing the same unbearable loss. As Minnesotans, and as people who work every day on mental health, we owe it …

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