I am a citizen of Long Lake, but I frequent Orono, Medina, and Minnetonka Beach to visit Orono Schools, businesses, and friends’ homes. It is very important to me that the fire service is cohesive and strong in all these communities.

As the wife of an 8-year firefighter serving on the Long Lake Fire Department, I have felt compelled to get involved many times over the past few years. However, until recently, I believed the two cities would come to some kind of agreement that would allow the existing firefighters to stay a cohesive unit.

Being a part of the LLFD fire family has been an amazing addition to our entire family, not just Zach. These families have become our family. We don’t want our family ripped apart, I fear it is actually too late to make a difference, but I could not sleep knowing we didn’t try. I firmly believe that grassroots efforts at every level of government remain one of the most effective ways of letting our voices be heard and ultimately impacting decisions our government officials make. That is why I chose to help create this coalition because we are running out of time to make our voices heard. In the words of Walter Payton, “We are stronger together than we are alone.”