Minnesota funds the cost of two counselors who provide mental health counseling to the agriculture community across the entire state, free of charge.

In north-central Minnesota, Region 5 Development Commission executive director Cheryal Hills describes the two rural mental health counselors as gems who “bleed rural.”

Those tasked with being available to those in the agriculture community going through times of crisis seven days a week include Ted Matthews, who has worked in rural counseling for over 45 years, and Monica McConkey, who has worked in the mental health sector for 25 years.

These two currently provide counseling services to farm individuals, couples and families anywhere in the state, either in person, via Zoom or over the phone. Their services are free and confidential.

Psychologist Ted Matthews testifies about farmer mental health in front of a Minnesota House committee in March 2018. Efforts to allocate more money for farmers’ mental health counseling failed that year. (Don Davis / Forum News Service file photo)

But at the end of June, Matthews is set to retire. Region 5 Development Commission is seeking a new mental health specialist in the state to fill Matthews’ shoes.

Hills is hopeful for even more help for those feeling stressed on the farm.

“The hope is that we’ll be able to fund a third person,” Hills said, depending on the outcome of budget negotiations at the state Capitol in St. Paul.

Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen agrees that farm stress is prevalent, as it often is in times of low commodity prices.

“They are busy,” Petersen said of the counselors and a group of 12 advocates who can assist farmers in getting help they need quickly. “We can see mediations are up, over 100 mediations in 2025. You know, we can see crop prices. Thank goodness for beef prices, you know, but those folks in the crop side, things are kind of tough.”

From conversations he’s had, he feels that two counselors, along with the 12 farm advocates in the state, deserve continued funding, but that they are able to handle the current demands.

Petersen gets calls from farmers, advocates and the counselors to stay up to date on what’s happening in the state. He’s happy to take the call from farmers in need, and he encourages them to reach out to an advocate to help them get help quickly. He reminds the ag community that there really is help available.

“I notice that people, sometimes, you have to ask them two or three times,” Petersen said. He recently had several phone calls from a farmer who was facing financial difficulties. After several attempts, Petersen talked him into calling an advocate who quickly helped resolve a financial issue that was keeping the farmer under tremendous stress when he needed to plant the crop.

“He said, ‘What a relief that was taken off my hands,’” Petersen recalled.

From the political side of things, Hills said some legislators believe that having President Donald Trump in office means that the economy is going to improve and the agriculture industry will reap the rewards.

“Some folks have a lot of optimism as to how things will shift,” Hills said. “Some do not.”

Hills said conversations around the issue of adding another specialist revolve around the abundance of uncertainty. Tariffs, trade implications and lower crop prices are all bringing stress. Hills said an often-brought-up subject is that if necessary, there will be a Trump administration bailout for farmers.

“Even if a bailout comes through, uncertainty remains,” Hills said. She said the actions seen so far do not offer much assurance to farmers that a bailout will come through.

“The confidence rating of this administration to help farmers is at an all-time low,” Hills said.

Politics aside, Hills said the mental health offerings have seen a dramatic increase in demand in the state.

“When things in the economy are impacted, that creates stress and additional requests for service,” Hills said.

Get help

The Minnesota Farm and Rural Helpline is open to anyone who is struggling with stress, anxiety, or depression. Calls are answered 24/7 by trained counselors who can lend a listening ear or connect you with help for business, financial, or legal problems. Call 833-600-2670 or text “FARMSTRESS” to 898211 to get started.

If you or someone you know is dealing with a crisis caused by either a natural disaster or financial problems, contact one of the MDA’s nine Farm Advocates. They know all about agricultural lending practices, mediation, lender negotiation, farm programs, crisis counseling, disaster programs, and to recognize the need for legal and/or social services.

Ted Matthews and Monica McConkey offer confidential counseling services at no cost to farm individuals, couples or families anywhere in the state. Sessions can take place in person, on Zoom, or over the phone, and insurance is not needed. They have helped hundreds of Minnesota farmers and farm family members over the years.

To learn more about all of the state resources that are available to help in times of stress, visit www.minnesotafarmstress.com.

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BRIMSON — Some residents displaced by the wildfires this week received good news late Thursday night.

St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay announced in a Facebook video that the evacuation orders for the Munger Shaw Fire had been lifted.

“Due to the more favorable weather conditions and successful work on preventing further spread, residents have been allowed to return to their properties beginning earlier (Thursday evening),” Ramsay said. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. The road closures that occurred so that the firefighters could do their work should be slowly lifted as well.”

Ramsay said that conditions for both the Munger Shaw and Camp House fires improved, though some hotspots popped up due to the wind picking up. The Camp House Fire saw some areas reignite, but Ramsey said crews were working hard to put them out. Evacuation orders are still in effect for residents affected by that fire.

Ramsay also provided an update on the Jenkins Creek Fire.

“We had some worries this afternoon when that wind really picked up,” he said. “It was gusting to the 30s. As the storm moved in, I heard in Hovland there was a gust of 74 mph. We were really concerned about that fire and what was happening with it. However, the rain came and diminished the worry significantly. The winds also died down.”

On Friday morning, Ramsay announced on Facebook that “Fire Incident Command is temporarily allowing property owners to enter the evacuation zones of Jenkins Creek and Camp House fires until 8 p.m. today, May 16, 2025.

“All personnel wishing to enter must first check in with the deputies who are staged at Hugo‘s Bar for the Camp House area, or at County Road 16 and Forest Highway 11 for the Jenkins Creek area. Be prepared to give identification and proof of property ownership to deputies. Upon leaving the evacuation zone, everyone who entered must check out with deputies. Be vigilant and cautious when entering because of the possibility of hazards such as downed trees.”

For questions about Camp House, Jenkins Creek fires
U.S. Forest Service hotline: 218-206-6805

Jenkins Creek Fire status, 9:17 a.m. Friday

Started: Monday
Acres: 15,571
Location: East of Hoyt Lakes
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 5 engines, 3 tenders, 3 tracked vehicles, air support, 63 personnel
Containment: Zero percent
Eastern Area Complex Incident Management Team notes: “The hot, windy weather in recent days led to some extreme fire behavior with crowning, torching and spread earlier in the week. Thursday night storms have mitigated some of that. Protection of the Skibo and Hoyt Lakes communities remains a priority operational objective. Firefighters continue to assess fire suppression control-line locations and dozers are extending and connecting those lines already developed. ‘Hot Shot’ crews have been inserted on this fire. The acreage total reflects accurate reports obtained via infrared reconnaissance flights.”

Camp House Fire status, 9:17 a.m. Friday

Started: Sunday
Acres: 14,852
Location: Brimson
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 32 engines, 13 tenders, 6 dozers, 3 tracked vehicles, air support, 264 personnel
Containment: Zero percent
Eastern Area Complex Incident Management Team notes: “Dozer crews advanced a containment line on the south end and west side of the fire and will implement direct attacks on those areas as conditions permit. A concerted effort has been made to protect the communications tower east of Bassett Lake. Crews are assessing the viability of setting up structure protection near Fairbanks. The fire is fueled by mixed forest vegetation and spruce budworm-infested forest stands. Dead and distressed balsam and aspen prone to ignition pose a significant hazard for firefighters. ‘Hot Shot’ crews are in the field. This fire has not grown, and the reduced acreage reported is the result of a more accurate scan by infrared reconnaissance flights.”

Munger Shaw Fire status, 11:10 a.m. Friday

Started: Monday
Acres: 1,600
Location: 2 miles east of Elora Lake
Cause: Under investigation
Resources: 65 personnel, 1 engine, 2 dozers
Containment: 25%
Minnesota Interagency Command Team A notes: “The fire is active in pine and lowland fuels. St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management are coordinating public safety efforts, including evacuations and road closures. Firefighters continue working to establish fire containment lines around the fire with heavy equipment and on-the-ground personnel. Temporary flight restrictions are in place. Today’s activities include strengthening and reinforcing existing containment lines and mop-up.”

 

Evacuations

St. Louis and Lake counties will contact residents in their respective counties if they need to evacuate. As of Thursday afternoon, current evacuations are still in place and new orders are not expected in the near future.

St. Louis County’s “ready, set, go!” evacuation zone map denotes evacuation status in yellow, orange and red, along with recommended plans to protect residents and their property.
Lake County’s “ready, set, go!” evacuation zone map denotes evacuation status in yellow, orange and red, along with recommended plans to protect residents and their property.

Evacuation centers

St. Louis County Public Health and American Red Cross shelter at the Fredenberg Community Center, 5104 Fish Lake Road, Duluth.
Old School Lives, 9165 U.S. Highway 53, Cotton.

Weather forecast

The National Weather Service forecast for the fire area Friday calls for cloudy conditions with high temperatures near 53 degrees. Between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of rain is predicted with periodic rain showers throughout the day. Winds will be breezy from the south at 10-15 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph.

How you can help

United Way of Northeastern Minnesota

For residents impacted in St. Louis County. It is working to establish a wildfire recovery fund. Immediate assistance is offered through its Comforts of Home program, which replaces lost items with referrals from agencies like the Red Cross and St. Louis County. All proceeds go to impacted community members.

Donate online: unitedwaynemn.org/firehelp
Donate via mail: United Way of Northeastern Minnesota, 608 East Drive, Chisholm, MN 55719.

Head of the Lakes United Way

For residents impacted in Lake County. All proceeds go to impacted community members.

Donate online: hlunitedway.harnessgiving.org/campaigns/18236
Donate via mail: Head of the Lakes United Way, 314 W. Superior St. #750, Duluth, MN 55802; include a note indicating “wildfire relief.”

Editors Katie Rohman and Rick Lubbers, and reporter Peter Passi contributed to this story.

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By KATHY McCORMACK and PATRICK WHITTLE

A woman charged in the January killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a Vermont traffic stop fired the bullet that struck him in the neck, authorities say in a new report.

Another agent fired back during the Jan. 20 stop, wounding Teresa Youngblut and killing her companion, Felix Bauckholt, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Wednesday.

Youngblut and Bauckholt were affiliated with the Zizians, a cultlike group that has also been linked to killings in Pennsylvania and California, authorities allege. The shootout happened after an agent pulled them over on Interstate 91 a few miles from the Canadian border.

About 30 minutes into the stop, the agents asked Youngblut and Bauckholt to get out of their car to be questioned, the border agency said in its report, which doesn’t name anyone involved. They reported that Youngblut “suddenly drew a firearm and opened fire,” killing the agent David Maland, it said.

One of four agents on the scene returned fire, striking Youngblut once in the arm and once in the leg. The same agent reported that Bauckholt began drawing a firearm from his side and that he ordered him to stop.

The agent said the man “failed to comply” and that he fired twice on the man, striking Bauckholt twice in the chest.

Two minutes after that exchange, an agent radioed in that another had suffered a critical gunshot wound to the neck, the report said. Agents and a Vermont state trooper rendered aid to him and he was driven to a hospital, where he died.

Youngblut was arrested and police attempted to place a tourniquet on her leg while awaiting emergency responders, according to the report.

In total, that agent fired about eight rounds and Youngblut fired four, according to the border agency. Two guns were later recovered from the scene that had been in Youngblut and Bauckholt’s possession, authorities said.

On Jan. 19, a border patrol agent assigned to a Homeland Security Investigations Task Force notified the border patrol Newport Station management of a report that the couple had checked into a hotel wearing black tactical gear on Jan. 13, according to the report. At least one of them was carrying a gun and both arrived in the Prius they were later in during the shootout.

The agent advised the Newport station that state and federal law enforcement officials “had previously identified the male as a German citizen, in possession of a H1B visa with unknown immigration status.”

Youngblut is charged with intentionally using a deadly weapon towards federal law enforcement, and using and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. She pleaded not guilty.

When asked to comment on the report, Fabienne Boisvert-DeFazio, a spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, said the office “does not comment on ongoing cases beyond the public record.”

It’s been more than 100 days since President Donald Trump took office. He vowed during the campaign to bring down food prices on day one, and while egg prices are finally falling, the cost of other consumer goods remains high.

Now $6 per pound, the average price of ground beef hit a record high for the third consecutive month, jumping 15 cents since March. The cost of electricity also remained at its peak in April, according to the latest data from the consumer price index.

Some good news? Egg prices are dropping from all-time highs. The average cost of eggs settled at $5.12 in April, declining roughly 18% from March.

Still, the cost of many goods and services has stayed much the same with the change of administrations. The price of milk, bread and chicken has moved very little since December.

Though many of these prices are not directly linked to the White House, they may soon be, with a burgeoning global trade war sure to affect average prices from the grocery store to the pump.

The Tribune is tracking 11 everyday costs for Americans — eggs, milk, bread, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, chicken, ground beef, gasoline, electricity and natural gas — and how they are changing (or not) under the second Trump administration. This tracker is updated monthly using CPI data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To see the average U.S. price of a specific good, click on the dropdown arrow below and select the item you wish to view.

Eggs

Breakfast lovers, rejoice! Egg prices dropped for the first time in months.

In April, the average cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs was $5.12 nationwide — falling more than a dollar from the previous month. This is the first time egg prices have decreased since October, likely due to a declining number of bird flu cases in commercial and backyard flocks.

In February, there were approximately 12.6 million birds affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In March, that number was 2.1 million, and as of April, only 1 million U.S. birds were affected — with those cases primarily concentrated in two commercial flocks in South Dakota and Ohio.

Still, the cost of eggs remains about 24% higher than before Trump took office. But with the number of reported bird flu cases on the decline, experts expect egg prices will continue dropping into the summer months.

Milk

It’s not just poultry flocks and wild birds that have been affected by bird flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus has been reported in dairy cows since March 2024, and just last month, there were 48 new confirmed cases at dairy farms in California, Arizona and Idaho.

But while avian flu cases are declining in poultry, they’re rising in cattle. In April, the number of newly infected dairy cows was double that of March and represented the greatest number of cases reported in a single month since the start of the new calendar year.

So it may not come as a surprise that the cost of milk is increasing, though far from the volatile spikes seen in egg prices. The current average cost is only a 4 cent difference from January.

As of April, a gallon of fresh, fortified whole milk would set you back about $4.07.

Bread

According to the national average, white bread was about $1.91 per pound in April. Bread is priced about 4.3% less than it was 12 months ago.

Bananas

One item that hasn’t seen much fluctuation in recent years is bananas. The fruit’s price has remained reliably low — hovering at $0.64 per pound as of April.

Oranges

Orange prices are expected to steadily rise in the coming months. But don’t fret, because that is normal.

Like many citrus fruits, orange prices are heavily tied to the harvesting season. As we exit orange season, supplies will decrease, coinciding with an increase in demand, thus triggering higher prices. This is standard for the fruit market, with oranges being cheapest in the winter months, then increasing in cost throughout the spring and summer and eventually peaking in September or October each year.

Currently, the average cost per pound for navel oranges is $1.49 nationwide.

Tomatoes

In the U.S., the average price of field-grown tomatoes was $1.79 per pound as of April. That cost is slightly lower than it was the previous month and down roughly 13% since Trump took power.

This change, however, likely has little to do with the administration. Like oranges, tomato prices vary depending on the time of year, rising in the fall, peaking in the early winter months and then plummeting in the spring.

Chicken

The national average crested above $2 per pound for fresh, whole chicken for the first time last year and hit a record high of $2.08 in November. Since then, the average cost has been roughly the same. According to the latest CPI figures, chicken is $2.06 per pound.

Ground beef

Your next backyard cookout might be more expensive, with the cost of ground beef rising.

Prices spiked again from March to April, jumping nearly 2.5% to an all-time high, according to BLS data. The average price of 100% beef ground chuck is now $6.00 per pound — 15 cents more than the previous record set just last month.

This is likely due to a number of factors. In addition to several major ground beef recalls reported in recent months, the U.S. cattle inventory is at a 25-year low, and severe drought in parts of the country has further reduced the feed supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

More recently, in trade talks with the U.S., the United Kingdom agreed to buy more American beef, a deal that the president says will lead to greater exports. But as China and the European Union’s tariffs on beef and other U.S. farm exports remain, this may not be the last time we see record prices this year.

Perhaps this is the year to give vegetarianism a try?

Electricity

In April, the average price of electricity nationwide was 18 cents per kilowatt-hour. That average has remained more or less the same since May of last year, with the typical month-over-month changes registering at less than a fraction of a cent.

Even so, the current cost of electricity is the highest on record — going back more than 45 years.

Gasoline

The price at the pump is climbing again.

The cost of gas rose 10 cents month-over-month to $3.33 per gallon of regular unleaded, about a 6% increase from the last month of the Biden administration.

Nonetheless, prices remain about 12% lower than they were in April 2024, and markedly less than the jaw-dropping numbers many Americans saw three summers ago.

Prices in Chicago, meanwhile, are about 12 cents higher than the nationwide average, sitting at $3.45 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Natural gas

Piped utility gas, or natural gas, is another expense that’s creeping up.

Average prices nationwide sit at $1.63 per therm — the highest they’ve been in two years.