(flourishing music) - [Amanda] Funding for Compass is provided in part by the McKnight Foundation and Members of Pioneer PBS.

Thank you.

It's a new year and it's a new season of Compass.

Tonight, we'll learn about Human Trafficking Awareness Month, experience the winter solstice celebration in Granite Falls, and introduce a fun new local food and drink segment.

And if you're unable to stick around and watch on air, all of these segments are available online.

Search for Compass on Pioneer on Facebook and YouTube, or visit us online at pioneer.org/compass.

(soft piano music) Good evening, and welcome to the January, 2022 edition of Compass.

I'm Amanda Anderson.

First, Happy New Year to all Compass viewers.

I hope your celebrations were fun and safe, and it's great to have you back with us tonight.

And note, before we start, we have a new look.

For the past year, I've been telling you about the experimental nature of this program, and we're always trying to keep it fresh and community centered.

We're also looking for community journalists, storytellers, correspondents.

If this is you or someone you know, or if this is something that you think you might be interested in, head over to pioneer.org/compass to learn more, and to get in contact with me.

We start tonight's program talking about human trafficking.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

The Women's Rural Advocacy Program is a nonprofit, with offices located in Marshall, Granite Falls and Redwood Falls.

The organization advocates and provide services for victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

Becky TenBensel is the executive director of the Women's Rural Advocacy Program.

Earlier this week, I talked with her about the organization's work.

You can watch our full conversation online at pioneer.org/compass.

Hi, Becky TenBensel.

Welcome to Compass, and thank you so much for taking the time to join me to talk about this issue.

Can you start, please, by talking about the Women's Rural Advocacy Program and the work that you and your organization do?

- Yeah.

First of all, thank you for inviting me to come and meet with you and talk to you today.

I always get excited about sharing information about the work that we do.

WRAP was started in 1994, and we were originally, we were originally funded to provide services to victims of domestic violence in Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood and Yellow Medicine counties.

And we have outreach offices.

We have one in Granite Falls.

We have... Our main office is in Marshall, and then we have another office in our Redwood Falls community.

- So can you explain what human trafficking is and how it impacts people living in rural areas, specifically?

- Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, coercion to obtain, to obtain some type of labor or commercial sexual act.

And it happens in rural Minnesota.

It happens in urban areas, and it happens to men, women, and children all over the world.

In rural communities, human trafficking, a lot of people don't think about, and they don't think that it happens here.

And some of the reasons that it does happen here is it creates a place where people think that it won't be identified.

So they find themselves in a rural area where there are not as many resources, and they find themselves isolated with little employment opportunities.

They don't know where to go to get help.

And the other piece is, is that everyone in small communities knows everyone.

So trafficking people often are stigmatized, and this area really has a lot of people that are very...

They are very susceptible to being trafficked.

There's a lot of runaway, there's homeless youth, there's indigenous people.

They are at some of the higher rates.

And if you're a temporary visa holder, you're at a higher rate of being trafficked.

- Can you talk about how COVID-19 has impacted domestic abuse and trafficking?

- Yeah.

When COVID started, kind of at the beginning, so March, 2020, when things really got brought to a head, and then the stay-at-home orders, and all of that kicked in, what we saw was that victims stopped calling.

We saw a real number or a real decrease in number of people reaching out to us, and that was because of the stay-at-home order.

Domestic violence and trafficking is about isolation.

Well, stay-at-home order just feeds that.

A lot of times people get support from their doctors, their nurses, teachers, and family members, and that was taken away.

And so we saw a real decrease in people reaching out.

Then I would say probably four to six months after that all was in place, we saw a real increase.

We started to get the calls again, and so that started to pick up.

But we also saw that the abuse that people were experiencing was much more severe.

And so that was, that was a real adjustment for my staff and adjusting the way that I supported my staff, so that they could continue to provide services.

The other thing about COVID-19, the way that it affected the people that we work with, is housing is such an issue.

There's always been a real connect between domestic violence and the lack of housing and homelessness, especially for women and children connected to domestic violence and trafficking.

That has been more of an issue, and we've really stepped up our game, and we've had to out of necessity for the people that we serve, to learn more about the housing world.

We were able to develop and set up two local safe houses because what we were finding is that people didn't want to go, or they weren't able to get into a shelter.

And our local shelters, our closest ones are in Wilmer, Mankato, the metro area.

So if we had a victim who was in need of housing or immediate shelter, they would have to uproot and leave the area completely.

So if they had a job or their children were in school, it was just another barrier.

So through COVID funding, we were able to set up those houses and we've been able to maintain those.

- What are some of the common misconceptions about trafficking?

- That human trafficking doesn't happen here.

That's probably the biggest one.

And sometimes we hear that it doesn't even happen in the United States.

Well, that's not true.

Other one is that victims are only foreign-born and they're poor, which is not true.

Anyone of any race, any socioeconomic background is susceptible to falling into being a victim of trafficking.

The other one, the biggest one probably is that human trafficking and human smuggling are the same.

A lot of times when people hear about trafficking, they think about the vans, the white vans with somebody that comes in and grabs someone and sticks them in the van.

That's not the way that trafficking works.

Most of the time, victims of human trafficking know they're traffickers, and a lot of times they are related to their traffickers.

And the other one that we hear a lot is that victims will attempt to seek help in public, and that's not true.

A victim of trafficking often just remains quiet, doesn't say anything to anyone, because it's a danger for them.

We have worked with several trafficking victims that not only are they in danger, if they say something, but the people that they love and they care about are also in danger.

- So what are some of, what are common signs of trafficking, and what can people do, if they suspect that someone might be, someone is being trafficked?

- Well, a lot of times people seem disconnected to friends and families, to the community organizations.

Maybe they belong to a church, and they kind of disconnect from people.

So that usually is a sign.

Youth, a lot of times they'll drop out of school.

They'll stop going to school on a regular basis.

That can be a sign.

There's a sudden or a dramatic change in behavior.

That person may seem disoriented or confused.

They might be showing signs of mental or physical abuse.

They might have bruises in different stages of healing.

They could be fearful, timid, or submissive.

What we see a lot of times is that someone else is controlling their life, they have someone that they have to report to at all times, that they are constantly being monitored, who they talk to, where they go.

- So what is some of the work that's being done in this area that gives you hope?

- Oh goodness, that's a good question.

We're really excited.

WRAP was awarded funds to provide services, supported services to victims of trafficking, in 2020, through the Minnesota Department of Health, through a program called Safe Harbor.

And Safe Harbor specifically funded us to provide supportive services, such as maybe they need help with clothing, or they need help working with law enforcement, or maybe they need someplace safe to go, or they need assistance to get out of this area, to flee the exploitation or the trafficking.

And we have funds available, and I have staff specifically trained to work with victims of trafficking.

So that's really encouraging.

And we are specifically funded for Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood and Yellow Medicine counties.

There are other programs available through Safe Harbor that work with different areas of the state.

And if somebody is in need or if they'd like to get connected to a program that's in their area and not within ours, you can go to the Minnesota Department of Health and search Safe Harbor, and there's a list of all of those programs and how to get connected to those.

So little background on Safe Harbor, Safe Harbor is a program that, it is a law that was passed in 2011.

That's kind of where we started from.

And for the first time in 2011, Minnesota youth who engaged in prostitution, were no longer looked at as criminals, but as victims and survivors of the crime.

Then in 2014, there was a lot of work that was done to help develop kind of a network for those people looking for resources.

So having the resources available, distributing that money throughout the state, so that if you're not in the metro, if you're in northern or southern, or western or wherever you're at in the state of Minnesota, that you would have access to resources.

And then in 2014 also, the No Wrong Door Program was developed, basically making those resources available to anyone who comes in contact with someone who is the victim of trafficking.

So really at that point, people started getting more information about the program.

So if a social worker, or a nurse, or a teacher, anyone in the community came in contact with a victim of trafficking, that there was No Wrong Door for them to get connected to these services.

So that's kind of where that comes from.

And then in 2016, Safe Harbor services were made available to individuals 24 and younger, instead of 18 and younger.

So that was... - Well, thank you so much for joining me to talk about this important issue.

Becky TenBensel is the executive director of the Women's Rural Advocacy Program.

You can learn more about them online on Facebook at facebook.com/womensruraladvocacyprograms, or at letswrap.com.

That's letswrap.com.

Thank you so much, Becky.

- Thank you for having me.

- People in the northern hemisphere recently observed the winter solstice, and for Minnesotans, that means the days are now getting longer, as we march towards summer.

Compass took a trip to downtown Granite Falls, where bonfires line the streets in celebration of the winter solstice.

(soft festive music) The winter solstice celebration in downtown Granite Falls started out as a way for Bethany Naab to thank her customers, but also entice people to pop into her business, Stella and Poppy, which she started in 2004.

- [Bethany] Well, I started actually in a hog barn on my property that we rebuilt, but it was a hog barn.

Best smelling hog barn in Yellow Medicine county, probably.

(laughs) - [Amanda] She moved to Granite Falls about four years ago to a building on Second Street.

She started her solstice celebrations then, but they weren't community-wide events.

- It was a way to get people to notice my business here in town, since I was off the beaten path.

I could have been in another county, where I was in my old building.

And so it really helped me out.

And since then, I've bought a building here on Main Street, and we have included all of the other businesses, and just tried to get people outside, which I think is always important.

Everybody goes inside, which in the winter is a good thing to do, but it's nice to be able to get outside and get fresh air.

- [Amanda] The winter solstice, this year was on December 21st, is the astronomical start of winter in the northern hemisphere, made distinct by being the darkest day of the year.

- [Bethany] We lose our sunshine quite quickly, and so that is something with the fire.

It is to bring light to our dark days.

We bring the light outside, and it also draws people's attention to our businesses.

Lets them know that we're open late.

And what I've wanted to do with this event was to make it beneficial, not only for our businesses and to thank our customers, but to be able to make it beneficial to somebody in this community, which this year we decided to help the Food Shelf out.

- [Amanda] Granite Falls Wood Works made the donation boxes that adorned participating businesses' counters, the cash contents benefiting the Neighbors United Resource Center Food Shelf, which Ray Martin runs.

He was tending a much needed fire down the street that chilly December evening.

- Beth down at Stella and Poppy, she came to me and says, "We're gonna have a food drive for you.

Is that all right?"

I said, "Yeah, that's fine with me."

I said, "Anytime I can get food, it's..." Because we feed quite a few people here in town.

We feed right now about 100 families a month, and that's like 9,000 pounds of food that we give out.

- [Amanda] Martin said that $179 were raised for the Food Shelf during the event, and they collected about 140 food items.

Any business in town can partake in the freezing cold fun.

There's no entry fee.

Naab only has a few requests for participants.

- [Bethany] Alls we ask is that you'll stay open til 8:00 PM, have some fun and have bonfires.

- [Amanda] Because tis the season to be freezing, so gather around the solstice community warmth.

Dry January is becoming more and more mainstream.

It's a time when people take a break from alcohol during the month of January.

Whether you're observing a dry or slightly more damp January, the Bluenose Gopher Public House has something ready for you.

Welcome to the Bluenose Gopher Public House.

(upbeat music) The Bluenose is a co-operative tap house in downtown Granite Falls.

I'm actually member number 298.

I'm here with Louwaina.

Louwaina, can you please tell me a little bit about yourself?

- Yeah.

So I am Louwaina Al-Otaibi, and I am the chief operating officer here at Bluenose Gopher Public House, and I'm also a member number eight.

- Can you tell me a little bit about the Bluenose Gopher?

- Yeah, so we... Bluenose Gopher Public House opened in February, 2019, and we are a taproom that serves Minnesota-made craft beer, wine, as well as some great NA beverages.

There's a lot of breweries popping up left and right here, so there's plenty to choose from, and we really think it's important to highlight what's here in our own state.

We also have a food menu where we serve primarily panini sandwiches, wraps, different soups.

And we do try and use local ingredients whenever possible as the seasons allow.

- So tell me about the selections that you have made.

- Yeah, so I'll start with our non-alcoholic beverage.

So what I have here is called Switchel Fizz.

So it's apple cider vinegar sweetened with honey, and we have them in three different flavors, cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne.

It's from Hobby Farmer Canning out of St. Paul.

- And what about those of us that maybe aren't participating in dry January?

- Yeah, so we have a lot of selections of beers and wines for those people too.

So my favorite type of beer are sours, and here at Bluenose, we always have a sour on tap.

When I started working here and stuff, I'd always hear where sours were kinda more a summer thing, more seasonal, but we always have a sour on tap, and we've seen sours become more popular in the last few years.

So they're great in the winter, summer, fall, whenever.

So what I have here is a sour beer from Talking Waters Brewery out of Montevideo, and it's a peach mango smoothie sour.

So it's very fruity and kind of a great...

It's kind of like sunshine in a glass.

Kind of reminds you a little bit of summer, and good for those drinkers who might be a little more scared of trying a very bitter hoppy IPA with the craft beer selection.

And so having these kinds of fruitier, lighter beverages is always a great, great options to have on tap.

- So can you talk a little bit about what it means to be a cooperative?

- Sure.

So we are a cooperative taproom, meaning that we are member owned.

So we have 335 members right now, and that number continues to grow, and each member has an equal share, equal share into the tap room.

So there is not one owner that controls, controls everything.

And then we have a board of directors that represent all of our...

So they're elected, and they represent all of our members.

So it's really cool that we are a community space that's literally owned by our community.

- Yeah, that's great.

- Yeah.

Because we're a cooperative taproom, I thought it would be really cool to have some of our members showcase some of their favorite beverages on tap.

- Whoa, who are you?

- My name is Miles Taylor.

I'm member number 330, and I'm the sound tech for Bluenose.

- [Amanda] So tell me about the beverage that you have chosen.

- [Miles] I call this the Woodlake Special because the Bluenose is very accommodating to most weird requests that you could have.

- So what kind of wine is it, and where is it from?

- It's the Round Lake Merlot.

It's a dry red, and I like to even out with a little ice.

- [Amanda] I'm not a huge wine drinker, and I don't say this quite often, but it does look really refreshing actually, even though it's really cold out.

(laughs) - [Miles] Yeah, it's definitely refreshing after many hours of working.

- Yeah, totally.

So what are we going to be drinking next?

- Next is the cookies and cream milk stout by Waconia Brewery.

♪ Something's in the air ♪ ♪ It's coming our way ♪ - [Paul] My name is Paul Drees.

I serve as associate pastor at Granite Fall's Lutheran Church, and I'm member 311.

- Ooh, nice to meet you.

- Likewise.

- So tell me about the beer that you have selected.

- Yeah, the beer that I picked out is the cookies and cream milk stout from Waconia Brewing.

I really like it because it has nice notes of cookies and cream, some dairy, alongside some chocolate and a beer, which is strange, so I kinda like that.

- Yeah, so I love dark beers, and I think a misconception about them is that they're always really heavy and intimidating, but I find that oftentimes to not be the case.

How would you recommend a dark beer to someone who hasn't tried one before?

- I would really recommend this beer because it has a really good balance to it.

It's not really dark.

You don't have to be like a beer snob to really enjoy it.

It's very approachable.

I like this beer a lot.

- Yeah, how did you discover this one?

Just trying different beers?

- Yeah, I was just, I was actually just here a few weeks ago, and I tried to order the weirdest thing I could find on the beer menu.

And so that's why I picked this cookies and cream milk stout.

That's a weird combo.

I wanna try it.

- It's not something that you hear of quite often in the thing you're drinking.

- No.

- I agree with you.

- No, definitely not.

- It's weird in like the greatest way.

- [Paul] Yeah, yeah.

- That's one of the things I love about the Bluenose, is there's such a good variety of beers here.

There's so much good variety of beers from Minnesota that I couldn't get if I went to anywhere else.

- [Arie] I'm Arie Herfindahl.

I'm member number 260.

- [Amanda] And how did you hear about the Bluenose Gopher?

- Actually during a parade about four years ago in town, they came down with free beer signs.

- [Amanda] So tell me about this wine that you chose.

- [Arie] This is the Old Red and White from the Bellevue Grandview winery.

I love it because it is sweet, but yet dry.

It's something that anybody can drink, whether you like your dry wine or your sweet wine.

This is a rosé.

It's very fruity, but yet it's not too overly sweet.

- My name is Carrie Speh.

I am member number 288, and I am also recently elected to the board of directors.

- Oh, wow.

Congratulations.

- Thank you very much.

- So tell me what the board of directors does.

- We do all the things.

I'm pretty new, so I haven't been involved in all of it, but we just wrapped up our strategic planning yesterday.

So we had set some goals for what we want to see here at Bluenose both this year, three years from now, and 10 years from now.

- [Amanda] So tell me about the beer that you've chosen.

- [Carrie] I have a lime Saison from Goat Ridge in New London.

- [Amanda] Oh yeah, I've been there actually.

It's like the little creek behind it.

- Yeah, yep.

- Yeah.

So what draws you to this particular beer?

- I like this beer because it has a little bit of the vibe of a sour, and then just a little more tart, but not quite as tart as an IPA.

So I like it 'cause it's nice and light with just that little bit of citrus.

- [Amanda] Yeah, the limey gives it a little bit of like a... - Yeah.

Yup.

♪ This separation makes me worry ♪ - [Amanda] Well, thank you everybody.

It's been great to meet you all and to hear about all these great drinks that are on tap here at the Bluenose Gopher Public House.

Cheers!

- [All] Cheers!

(heavy hip hop music) - And that does it for the January, 2022 edition of Compass.

Thanks for watching here and online.

We're still continuing our monthly broadcast schedule.

So a heads up, the February edition of Compass will air on February 10th on Pioneer PBS.

Talk to you then.

Funding for Compass is provided in part by the McKnight Foundation and Members of Pioneer PBS.

Thank you.

(soft piano music)