skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump and China call off the divorce; Court ruling allows transgender troop removal to proceed; NC University provides guaranteed opportunity to students in struggling region; Program elimination, job loss as DOGE cuts funds for NM's AmeriCorps.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Advocates say Republicans' scaled back Medicaid cuts still put too much in jeopardy. President Trump defends getting a luxury jet from Qatar, and frustration grows among museum executives who say White House is trying to erase history.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

MN town practices art of love, one letter at a time

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 24, 2025   

By Alana Horton for Arts Midwest.
Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collaboration


When’s the last time you wrote a love letter—and then read it out loud to a room full of your neighbors?

That’s what happened in Granite Falls, Minnesota (population 2,600), during a recent artist residency featuring JJ Kapur, a theater performer turned psychology PhD student.

Over the course of a week, Kapur’s workshop, Letters of Love, invited participants to explore vulnerability through letter-writing and oral storytelling. Attendees spent two evenings writing heartfelt letters while sharing home-cooked Singaporean meals prepared by the artist’s father. The final night culminated in a public reading.

The love letters took many forms, including messages to partners, departed family members, and even the town itself.

“I did not expect people to open up the way that they did,” Kapur said. “There were folks who came up to me who literally didn’t know things about the people they’ve lived with in this community for years.”

A Space for Exchange

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Kapur was invited to rural Granite Falls by Department of Public Transformation, a nonprofit arts organization that runs a unique space called The YES! House.

The YES! House is a creative, multi-use community gathering space on Main Street. Upstairs, two apartments host visiting artists. Downstairs, community members can attend events, hold meetings, cowork, or simply hang out. Each year, the space hosts up to 20 artists-in-residence—a number that continues to grow.

Kapur said that staying at The YES! House during his residency was essential to Letters of Love, allowing him and his father to connect with community members and share stories and food beyond workshop sessions.

“We made The YES! House our home. In our Indian culture, when people come to your house, you take off your shoes, you’re offered tea, and the first thing someone asks is: ‘Have you eaten?’ Not ‘How are you?’” he said. “We wanted people to feel they could write from that place—like they were sitting in their living room.”

The ability to offer that kind of care is what makes The YES! House special, says coordinator Luwaina Al-Otaibi.

“Deep work takes more than a one-off event,” she said. “It’s about the connection between artists and the community—and how we can facilitate that.”

Healing and Performance

Kapur, who is studying to become a counseling psychologist, is drawn to the intersection of therapy and theater.

“I’m interested in how groups can heal together,” he said. “How is the theater therapeutic and how is therapy kind of a form of theater?”

That resonance was felt by participants, including Al-Otaibi, who read a love letter to her cat of 23 years who was nearing the end of his life.

“I would never just have had that outlet,” she said. “There’s something healing about getting up and reading something like that in front of people.”

In a world that often asks us to guard our hearts, Letters of Love made space for Granite Falls residents to speak theirs out loud—and be heard.


Alana Horton wrote this story for Arts Midwest.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
More than 250 rare, threatened or endangered species live along the Appalachian Trail corridor. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

As the Appalachian Trail turns 100, conservation groups are sounding alarms over federal funding freezes and staff cuts. The trail runs through the …


Social Issues

play sound

During every big election, tens of thousands of California voters make a mistake on their mail-in ballot and often get differing advice on how to fix …

Social Issues

play sound

A new report on homelessness in Colorado released by the Common Sense Institute has come under fire for muddying the waters for lawmakers and other st…


Data is big business. By 2028, the data broker market is expected to reach a value of $407.5 billion. (Pongsak/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new tool aims to equip Oregonians with the knowledge they need to take control of their personal data and protect their privacy online. Oregon …

Health and Wellness

play sound

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the latest state data show the number of Wisconsin youth who are struggling with their mental health has spik…

Americans consume more beef annually than any other country, at about 13.82 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Wyoming News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Social Issues

play sound

West Virginia coal miners filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to temporarily halt the Trump administration's layoffs impacting the Coal Workers Hea…

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund showed between 8,000 and 12,000 Kentuckians could lose their jobs as a result of the state implementing Medica…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021