For leaders in business, failing to learn the lessons of a crisis can be disastrous. For leaders in government, when millions of lives are at risk, such disasters can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, that’s where the U.S. is heading, thanks to the disagreement that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has with his boss, President Donald Trump.

A little history: On Jan. 10, 2020, a Chinese scientist posted the genetic sequence of a “mystery virus” that had sickened dozens and caused at least one death. Forty-two days later, as COVID-19 spread across the globe, researchers near Boston sent the first shipment of an experimental vaccine to U.S. regulators. Three months after that, Trump announced Operation Warp Speed, an $18 billion effort to accelerate the development, approval and distribution of vaccines.

Within a year, billions of vaccine doses had been administered worldwide — saving millions of lives, including those of many Americans. As Trump said: “Operation Warp Speed, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, was one of the most incredible things ever done in this country.”

He was absolutely correct — but his health secretary disagrees. The question is: Will Trump allow Kennedy to destroy his legacy?

Kennedy recently canceled $500 million in contracts for the research and development of so-called messenger RNA vaccines. His defense — that mRNA technology is ineffective against respiratory infections — is wrong. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, must know that, so he subsequently offered a different defense: There is insufficient public confidence in it.

Bhattacharya didn’t mention, of course, that Kennedy has fueled that public distrust. Regardless, the correct response to misperceptions about lifesaving medicine is not to throw up one’s hands, cancel funding for it and walk away. It’s to use the power of the bully pulpit to bring people together — community, faith, civic and other leaders — to spread facts and overcome hesitations. That’s leadership.

Not content to peddle misinformation and halt existing projects, Kennedy also effectively terminated additional federal funding for research on mRNA vaccines. The two edicts put countless American lives at risk.

To see the scale of the danger Kennedy is creating, it helps to understand how revolutionary mRNA vaccines are. For many decades, traditional vaccines have injected a small part of a dead or weakened virus into a healthy person. This stimulates the immune system to create antibodies, which protect people from serious infection when they encounter the real thing. In some cases, millions of chicken eggs are used to develop and produce these traditional vaccines, by incubating the viruses. In other cases, cell cultures are grown in bioreactors. Both processes are complex and time-consuming.

New mRNA vaccines are faster to develop. Messenger RNA is a strand of genetic code that gives cells instructions. For decades, scientists worked to design a synthetic form of mRNA, which would then tell the body to fight specific infections. Such a discovery, in theory, would also enable drugmakers to manufacture a vaccine without using a virus, cutting months off development. Yet despite significant advances, an mRNA vaccine had never been produced or tested at scale.

Operation Warp Speed helped overcome the obstacles and produce vaccines in record time. The speed of this breakthrough led to fantastical theories, including that the shots change one’s DNA, insert microchips into the body and cause infertility. It was all nonsense — the ultimate fake news. But it spread nonetheless, amplified by skeptics like Kennedy. Countless studies proved the vaccines safe, and the two scientists behind their development won the Nobel Prize.

The misinformation couldn’t be contained, but Kennedy can be. All that’s needed is a call from the White House directing him to reverse his recent decisions. Otherwise, when the next pandemic strikes, other countries — including China — will be equipped to distribute a shot within weeks, while scientists in the U.S. will be left to fiddle with outdated technology as Americans wait in line.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, whose vote was critical for Kennedy’s confirmation, lamented this month that the secretary has “conceded to China an important technology” and is imperiling the administration’s goals. He’s right — yet Cassidy and his colleagues in Congress have stood aside while Kennedy puts American lives at risk.

Without government leadership, the private sector is unlikely to fill the funding gap. Research on treatments for a hypothetical pandemic is financially risky, so public funding is essential to saving lives.

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Kennedy’s actions will also have a chilling effect on other potential mRNA developments, including work on Type 1 diabetes, HIV, genetic diseases and myriad other illnesses, especially cancer. That bears repeating: mRNA research could lead to a cure for cancer. How many Americans who have family members suffering from cancer are ready to sacrifice them to Kennedy’s dunderheaded paranoias?

The White House should remember and celebrate its extraordinary first-term success — and build on it by reining in Kennedy. If it does that, the president who sped the development of the COVID vaccine might go down in history as doing the same for a cure for cancer and other diseases.

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, and the founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Listening to public radio one morning, Keely Wolter heard the following anecdotal statistic: By the time many children reach middle school, they’ve already viewed pornography.

When she heard that, Wolter said she thought, “That’s coming up sooner than I think.” She’s the mother of a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old.

What to do?

After several unsuccessful attempts to learn what her own kids would be taught in school for sex education, Wolter decided to take control of the situation. Her plan for her own kids is now her business, The Talk Toolbox — a monthly subscription box of materials designed to guide parents and their kids through comprehensive sex education with books, games and toys.

The Talk Toolbox made it to the semifinals of this year’s MN Cup competition, which awards seed money to Minnesota entrepreneurs. It brings together established business owners, experts in their field and everyday folks who have figured out a solution to one of life’s problems. Wolter falls into that last category. MN Cup recently named finalists in nine divisions and will announce a Grand Prize winner Oct. 6.

While Wolter’s startup did not make it to the finals, the Toolbox stood out among its competitors, said Kailin Oliver, director of the MN Cup. “They took a topic that is hard to talk about and made it resonate,” she said.

The goal of the toolbox, Wolter said, is to change that one-time dreaded “talk” for parents (and kids) into a series of little talks that focus on topics like autonomy, friendship versus romance, internet safety and handling rejection.

“So many of us who didn’t get a talk in our childhood, we don’t know how to have that talk with our kids because we never did it,” said Wolter, who works as a vocal coach for the Guthrie Theater and was born in St. Paul. “So we’re teaching kids and parents and fostering relationships and conversations.”

So far, Wolter’s invested $75,000 of her own savings into the business and is interested in working with potential investors.

The materials for the boxes are printed at Smartpress in Chanhassen and as for the manufacturing process, that’s all done in Wolter’s garage, she said, adding that her own children love folding the boxes.

How it works

Separated into four age groups — 4-7, 8-10, 11-13 and 14-16 — The Talk Toolbox is designed with age-appropriate content to meet kids where they’re at.

At $50 a month, each box comes with a book related to that month’s topic, a specialized game, a craft or activity, conversation cards, and a toy or stickers.

Keely Wolter talks about her product, The Talk Toolbox, at her Richfield home on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. The Talk Toolbox is a monthly subscription box to help parents teach their children comprehensive sex education. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

For the youngest age group, the basics covered are things such as the names of body parts and why it’s important to ask for permission before touching someone.

“Autonomy” is one of the themes for ages 8-10 with boxes addressing changing bodies and relationships.

For ages 11-13, themes include hormones, identities and hygiene, to name a few. For the oldest age group, 14-16, sex is at the forefront, Wolter said, and themes covered in the box include contraceptives and pornography literacy, such as being able to critically analyze porn and its potentially problematic themes.

Before it arrives in the mail, parents receive an email that outlines what they can expect in that month’s box.

The boxes can also be tailored to fit a family’s needs, Wolter said. For example, parents who don’t allow their children screen time can opt out of a book about internet safety. “It really puts the parents in control,” she said.

Choosing the curriculum

When it came to creating the curriculum, Wolter knew the questions she wanted to ask, but didn’t have the answers.

What do we need to be teaching them and when? What is age appropriate? When do we need to introduce certain topics? “I’m not a sex educator, I’m just a mother,” said Wolter.

Enter Dr. Kristen Mark, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and the Joycelyn Elders Endowed Chair in Sexual Health Education.

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“When (Wolter) reached out, I was like, ‘Yes, finally someone is doing something like this,’” said Mark, who also serves as the director of education at the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health and as the director of the Center for Women’s Health Research.

The content in each toolbox is based on scientific literature around sexual development, and the exercises and activities are aligned with developmental readiness and attention at that age, Mark said.

“Sex education entails way more than just the mechanics of sex,” she said.

For example, one box focuses on navigating and communicating consent and includes role-play scenarios where kids can practice saying yes and saying no in different situations.

Another box, focused on bodily autonomy, includes a sign for kids to hang on their door that says “accepting hugs” on one side and indicates “alone time” on the other. While it is a simple act, flipping the sign from one side to the other throughout the day gives kids agency over their bodies and their time.

‘Wonder and excitement’

Ingrid Wolter, 6, sets up the cards for a game included in The Talk Toolbox at her Richfield home on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. The Talk Toolbox is a monthly subscription box for parents to teach their children comprehensive sex education. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Freelancer Jason Ballweber, who created the games in the Toolbox, said his job starts once Mark’s ends.

As soon as a lesson plan is nailed down, he starts creating an interactive game that uses the lessons and information in that month’s box. Ballweber, who also handles administrative tasks for the Toolbox, has experience in educational theater ranging from summer camps to college students.

“I knew there was a lot I was going to have to learn because I didn’t get the female side of things in school and I didn’t want to put it on my partner just because she’s a woman,” said Ballweber, who has a 9-year-old daughter.

When playing the games in the box, Ballweber said he wants participants to “come at it from a place of wonder and excitement.”

When you ask really specific questions, it gives kids a guide and filters the conversation, he said, and his games are designed to do just that.

“None of the games are about winning, they are about ‘How do we make it more fun and more normal?’” he said.

One game that he created for the “anatomy” themed box is a variation of bingo where the spaces are different body parts. “It’s going to make kids giggle at first, but that’s okay, have it come from a place of fun, not shame or terror,” he said.

A card game Ballweber created asks kids how they would react to certain people or situations using only a handful of responses: “wave,” “high five,” “fist bump” and “kiss.”

Similar to the Apples to Apples party game, a universal card is flipped for everyone to respond to with their chosen reaction.

For example, say the universal card is “dentist” and everyone needs to pick a reaction.

“If the kid says — ‘I would kiss my dentist,’ — ask why,” Ballweber said. “To an 8-year-old, a kiss doesn’t mean a passionate, romantic kiss,” he said, adding that maybe it’s just because their mouth is clean.

“You learn a lot about each other when they go, ‘I would high five a potato, but never fist bump it,’” he said.

Even if the written rules of the game aren’t followed, Ballweber said, “The point is to get to a place where your kid feels comfortable talking about these things with you.”

Sex ed in school

“Sex ed in schools has not improved over time, in fact, in a lot of ways it has gotten less comprehensive,” Mark, the U of M professor, said.

Minnesota gets a B for its current sex ed requirement but the content was rated D+ by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a nonprofit that advocates for sex education. The curriculum focuses on abstinence and doesn’t require instruction on consent, sexual orientation or gender identity, according to SEICUS.

“Students in St. Paul Public Schools receive age-appropriate health lessons from their classroom teachers starting in kindergarten,” said Amy Wardell, physical education and health coordinator for SPPS, in an email. “In earlier grades, the focus is on safety and well-being. In later elementary grades, lessons include information about healthy relationships and human reproduction.”

The district also partners with Family Tree Clinic, Wardell said, to provide a comprehensive lesson plan on puberty for fourth and fifth grade students. Students are not separated by gender for these talks and parents are informed in advance of the lessons.

Health education continues in middle and high school at least one time for a semester each, according to the district.

Harmful misinformation

Mark said kids today are turning to online media like TikTok, Snapchat and pornography for sex education.

“Even if they’re Googling, the websites they can end up at might have wildly inaccurate information,” she said. “They don’t necessarily have at that age the ability to critically evaluate what their sources are.”

Without vetted sources, Mark said children could not only be given inaccurate information, but harmful misinformation.

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“They might stumble upon porn and get unrealistic expectations about sex,” Mark said.

“We know, and the research shows, that when you experience feelings of shame around sex, you are less likely to seek medical care, you are less likely to have a healthy sexual trajectory and more likely to have negative implications that can occur around sex happen to you,” Mark said.

“If no one is taught and no one knows where to find accurate, reliable, empirically informed information, then what do you do?” Mark said. “That’s what this (toolbox) is for.”

Currently in the pre-revenue stage, Wolter said once her online waitlist reaches 200, she will start shipping out the boxes herself.

To join the waitlist for The Talk Toolbox, go to thetalktoolbox.com.

(Courtesy of Dark Matter Ink)

PATRICK BARB: St. Paulite launches his debut novel “Abducted,” in which police sergeant Stacy is working her first case, the abduction of a young boy from his bedroom. The case goes cold until 19 years later when Stacy is on the verge of retirement. The young man has been found, but he has changed. And things about his story don’t add up. Stacy is skeptical of the official narrative and dives deep into investigating a case that has haunted her for decades. The author’s published works include dark fiction collections and novellas. He also runs the monthly interview column in Shortwave magazine. His 2023 short story “The Scare Groom” was selected for “Best Horror of the Year Volume 16.” 6 p.m. Tuesday, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

LAUREN STRINGER: Painter, writer, picture book illustrator and set designer launches her picture book “An Abundance of Light: A Story of Matisse in Morocco,” capturing the light and shadows in the city of Tangier, which captivated Matisse in 1912-13 and inspired an outburst of radical abstraction in his paintings and sculptures in the years that followed. 5 p.m. Tuesday, Groveland Gallery, 25 Groveland Terrace, Mpls.

NICOLE WELLS: Presents “It’s All About Astrology.” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. A portion of the day’s proceeds will support purchases for the Women’s Prison Book Project.

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“Despite Herself” by Jessie Chandler: (Bella Books, $17.95)

(Courtesy of Bella Books)

The pull I’d felt the first time I’d laid eyes on her hit me full force. The woman was a siren, one of those beautiful, mythical creatures who captivated the innocent with their irresistible songs and lured them to an untimely death.” — from “Despite Herself.”

Minnesotan Jessie Chandler saw herself as a mystery author with six books in her humorous Shay O’Hanlon Caper series that began her career in 2015 with “Bingo Barge Murder.” But at the urging of friends she decided to stretch those creative writing muscles and jump to romance with some mystery elements in a made-up genre she calls “romancification.”

Jessie Chandler

Set in Duluth, the author’s favorite city, the protagonists are Bec Harrison, a former Detroit police officer who joins the Duluth PD after a bitter divorce. Theo Zaccardo owns The Mashed Spud, a popular LGBTQ bar. The women are instantly attracted to one another, but this is a romance, so there’s lots of “Should we…?” They are thrown together when a body is found in a trash bin outside Theo’s bar. The murder weapon was a pizza cutter from Theo’s kitchen, and she becomes a suspect. As the investigation continues, Theo and Bec try to hide their growing feelings for one another, and each woman has reasons for vowing to never again get into a serious relationship. The mystery of who killed the dumpster corpse is sort of in the story, but Chandler never loses control of the romance element. She also has a little fun with her new genre, referring to “romance cliches”  in fiction and a book with cover art of “a guy brandishing a sword, someone who looked like that long-haired Italian guy on the front of a gazillion trashy romances from the 90s.” The murder is solved, the lovers reveal their secrets, and it’s mostly happily ever after.

Chandler knows abut law enforcement. She is a former police officer and State Patrol dispatcher. She hasn’t revealed whether there’s another romance in her career.

“Trusty Bus” and “Not a Spot to Spot” by Elizabeth Weiss Verdick: (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, both $19.99)

(Courtesy of Beach Lane Books / Simon & Schuster)

If you have a little one who’ll take a school bus for the first time this year, “Trusty Bus” will help the experience seem familiar. Trusty, a big yellow school bus, narrates the story about how Driver Dee (a bear) watches out for the kids and knows everyone on the route. Trusty knows Driver Dee will keep his tank filled, keep eyes on the road, wait for kids who are late, and stop for a mother duck leading ducklings across the road. On the ride home, Trusty is happy because the kids hold signs of love for their school bus. Jeff Harter, who lives in upstate New York, illustrates with detailed pictures of happy kids, buildings, ducks — everything little readers will identify with on their bus ride.

Elizabeth Weiss Verdick. (Courtesy of the author)

“Not a Spot to Spot” is inspired by the birth of a spotless giraffe in a private zoo in Tennessee. But this is no Ugly Duckling story. It’s about how this rare baby was embraced by the other zoo animals and made headlines around the world. After zookeepers asked the public for help in choosing a name, the calf was called Kipekee, meaning unique in the Swahili language. Illustrator Waring, who lives in England, shows giraffes and human kids with big, wondering eyes. For little ones who feel different, Mother giraffe has this advice: “When the calf slept,/head tucked to tail,/Mama Giraffe watched over her,/whispering,/’Grow up strong and sure./Always stand tall. Be proud of who you are.”

“Make Way for Harriet and May” by Elizabeth Weiss Verdick: (Worthy Kids/Hatchette Book Group, $18.99)

May Ann thinks the world is noisy, too “people-y,” and she’s a little lonely. When she finds a “May-sized stuffed spider” in a bargain bin, she names the long-legged creature Harriet, and loves her for the ability to become a shaggy pillow, a furry sleep mask or a helpful holder of snacks. Taking Harriet with her everywhere, May makes friends with a boy who has a stuffed friend called Sherm the worm. This warm-hearted story will resonate with youngsters who have sensory sensitivities. Illustrator Yana Kozak depicts May as a bright, endearing child holding Harriet, who grins around two large fangs.

“Along Lake Michigan: Shipwreck Stories of Life and Loss”: by Michael Schumacher (University of Minnesota Press, $24.95)

A Wisconsin author looks at fourteen 19th- and 20th-century shipwrecks, detailing the last minutes of these doomed ships along with the circumstances that surrounded their voyages on Lake Michigan, which has more shipwrecks than the other Great Lakes combined.

“Global Heartland: Cultivating the American Century on the Midwestern Farm”: by Peter Simons (University of Minnesota Press, $22.95)

Simons, a historian who lives in upstate New York, explores how Midwest farmers assumed renewed strategic and cultural importance as they produced essential sustenance during World War II for overseas troops and the domestic population. From the publisher: “Examining regional political parties, Lend-Lease programs, wartime mass media, and farm-relief programs, and interspersing this history with vignettes revisiting the Mercy Wheat campaign… the postwar International Farm Youth Exchange and the Flying Farmers organization, Simons offers an enlightening consideration of Midwestern farmers’ involvement in America’s international ascent.”

“In the Tilling”: by Donna Isaac (Finishing Line Press, $22.99)

Memories of childhood North and South combine with love of food and recipes (marinated salmon to pumpkin bread) in this collection by an award-winning Minnesota poet published earlier this year. This is friendly poetry that feels like a conversation over coffee. Isaac, who has an MFA from Hamline University, recalls her brothers using pinecones to make “grenades,” her love of apricots and avocados, dealing with failing vision, her feelings on reading Charles Bukowski’s poetry. What other collection includes an Ode to Okra? As we head into fall, here are the opening lines of “Reasons to Survive October:”

October like a mellow friend/bearing vintage wine and aged cheese/has crept in on soft-soled shoes,/washing canvases with golden/fire, tinging tangerine rugose leaves…”

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