Wendy Weiss Voeller, Minot

My name is Wendy K. Weiss Voeller, living in the Artspace Building downtown Minot.

I felt moved to write this following our removal from the Artspace building on Monday June 24.

There was evidence found by our Building Manager, Rose Hystad, and the Fire Dept that the structural integrity of our building was compromised, and Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel made the tough decision to remove all the Artspace tenants immediately for our own safety.

And all this happened 24 hours after the recent downtown shooting.

We were reeling and scared, and didn’t know if we were ever coming back.

We had 1 hour and 40 minutes to pack, and the Firemen helped! A Minot city bus took us and our pets to a local motel.

It couldn’t have been easy for the Fire Chief to stand in front of a building full of people and tell them they need to leave immediately. But I’m so glad she did.

When you get to witness people making courageous decisions for people’s wellbeing, even when those decisions might be unpopular, it’s inspiring.

And we didn’t go hungry thanks to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. And on top of all the work our Building Manager did in this crisis.

There’s a pretty long list of people that have our deepest gratitude. And it has made me proud of our town again. Thanks all.