Many Jewell County residents have worked with Amanda Horn, a staff member of the North Central Regional Planning Agency, on community improvement projects. At her request, this newspaper has published public notices related to community improvement projects like water system upgrades. Occassionaly we have communicated with her while she was in South Africa.
We know with modern communications equipment many people are now able to work from home but few we have worked have done so from a different continent. Though in recent months our Superior office worked closely with a woman in England who was assisting the Mainquist family with the publication of the Courtland Journal.
Througout much of the last half of 2024, the Journal was edited by a member of the Mainquist family living in Minnesota, paginated by a family friend in England, printed and addressed in Superior and brought to Mankato for mailing.
That changed with the new year. The paper is now owned by Kevin Zadina through his company, Sweet Tea Media. Sweet Tea Media also owns the Beloit Call and the Concordia Blade-Empire and it is now being produced by the folks associated with those newspapers and sent to Sheldon, Iowa, for printing along with other Sweet Tea publications.
Zadina’s parents, Betty and the late Leo Zadina, attended Mankato High School. He was raised in Superior.
Last week, we received the following letter (edited for publication purposes) from Amanda Horn which was addressed to Friends. A portion of that letter follows as we expect many Jewell County residents will wonder what happen to her.
As many of you know, I have been back in South Africa on and off for long periods of time the last two, almost three years. My husband moved back to take on his family’s 7th generation farm. Today officially marks my last day with North Central Regional Planning.
I’ve been taking some time to reflect on my “USA” journey and the times we’ve shared. It’s hard to put into words just how much this experience has meant to me -how much each of you have meant to me. Together, we’ve tackled challenges, celebrated victories and poured our hearts into making a tangible difference in the lives of the people we serve (whether through NCRPC or your respective communities you each work in). It has been nothing short of transformative for me to see the care and love you guys have for your communities. I don’t see this a lot in South Africa, and it showed me a great deal about how things could be, and should be!
This is going to be a bit sappy, so please bear with me. It is my last day after all.
To my incredible coworkers: You are more than colleagues- you are mentors, collaborators and friends. You’ve challenged me to be better, to think deeper and to laugh (and to always look over my shoulder - or surprise awaits). Your passion and dedication have left an imprint on my heart, and I will carry those lessons with me going forward.
To the communities and cities I have had the absolute pleasure of working with: Thank you for trusting us at NCRPC (and me) with your dreams, your needs and your vision for the future. Seeing your commitment to building stronger, more vibrant communities has been one of the most rewarding parts of my time here. You’ve reminded me, again and again, of the incredible power of collaboration and what we can achieve when we work together. Never forget that one successful project can kick start numerous others and give your people hope! Don’t shy away from trying no matter how scary or big the project may seem. It can be achieved even if it is at a smaller scale, or you need baby steps to get there.
This chapter is coming to a close, but I am thrilled to share a little about where I have been going. I originally trained as a conservation researcher. I’ve joined African Parks and am enjoying my new role immensely. African Parks is a non-profit conservation organization that manages and restores national parks and protected areas across all of Africa. They ensure long-term ecological, social and financial sustainability for the benefit of wildlife and local communities many of which are in severe poverty.
I am a part of their global PIRATE team (Proposal, Impact and Analysis Team). In this role, I work between their global funding team, park management and the communities who benefit from the parks’ resources. It’s deeply meaningful work that ensures the parks proposals meet the needs of all three entities - the donors, parks and communities alike. In many ways, it feels like an extension of what is done at NCRPC - making sure plans are practical, sustainable, impactful and focused on benefiting real people. I have been given three of their 13 countries to work with - Zimbabwe, South Sudan (where my sister lives) and their newest park in Ethiopia - all challenging landscapes, but very exciting too!
The work is somewhat daunting (I am still finding my feet), constantly changing due to shifting priorities and extremes (severe drought, torrential floods, random opportunity to move rhinos!) and full of purpose. I know I will draw on so much of what I have learned at NCRPC. This experience has given me a foundation I will always be grateful for.
I leave with a full heart, knowing you all have helped me grow in ways I never expected. Thank you for sharing this journey with me, for inspiring me, and for showing me how, together, we can make a difference. I will be cheering you on from afar, always proud of the work you’re doing and grateful to have able to witness it. My mom is staying in Kansas, so I will for sure be back every once in a while to visit.
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