Many people are involved in getting this issue to you.  The writers can write and the editor can edit, but until the material is printed, brailled, recorded, and distributed, it is just a computer file.  Therefore, we owe great thanks to the following people for the work they do in producing this publication.

The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is two-fold — to help blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind.  By providing public education about blindness, information and referral services, scholarships, literature and publications about blindness, aids and appliances and other adaptive equipment for the blind, advocacy services and protection of civil rights, development and evaluation of technology, and support for blind persons and their families, members of the NFB strive to educate the publi

Metro Chapter — Twin Cities area; meets at 10:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month at NFB of MN Headquarters, 100 East 22nd Street in Minneapolis

Riverbend Chapter — New Ulm area; meets at 9:00 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month in New Ulm; contact Monica Buboltz at 507-354-5680 for meeting location

Rochester Chapter — Rochester area; meets at 7:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Peace United Church of Christ in Rochester 

Exciting times are coming in NFB conventions.  Keep these in mind as you plan your activities throughout the coming year.

The Semiannual NFB of Minnesota Convention will be May 17 2014 at the NFB of Minnesota building in Minneapolis.  Members will receive a letter with details, and the letter will be on our website at www.nfbmn.org.

Resolution A13-01

WHEREAS, in July of 2013, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP Committee) introduced the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), a reauthorization vehicle for the Rehabilitation Act; and

By Judy Sanders, Secretary

On the weekend of October 25, 2013 over 100 blind Minnesotans and their friends gathered at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington for the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. 

By Steve Jacobson

By Megan Bening

(Editor’s Note: This is the winner of the 2013 Metro Chapter essay contest.  Megan and her parents are members of our Riverbend Chapter.  Her mother, Jean Bening, is a board member of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, the parents division of the NFB.)

By Ben Katzner

(Editor’s Note:  This article appeared in the St. Cloud Times on January 5, 2014.)

When Gayle Gruber-Bengtson of Sauk Rapids moved into her current apartment, she had a hard time connecting with her neighbors.

Gruber, who is visually impaired, generally travels with a long white cane to help her keep her bearings.  When she came across neighbors, they'd maneuver around it.

By Lori Peglow

Message from the CMC President