EDITOR'S NOTE

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTENT INQUIRIES

Forum Communications Company Mary Jo Hotzler mhotzler@forumcomm.com Danielle Teigen danielle.teigen@forumcomm.com Tracy Briggs Melissa Davidson Alicia Strnad Hoalcraft Paula Quam Danielle Teigen Kathleen Wrigley Mark Von Bank adfeatures@forumcomm.com Sara Slaby specialsections@forumcomm.com Renee Clasen moms@forumcomm.com

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MISSION AND VISION

On the Minds of Moms is dedicated to providing a community of local support and real-life advice for the modern mom who is on the go and needs to know. We are inspired to help the woman behind “the mom” balance it all by offering support, validation and reassurance she is a good mom wanting only the best for herself and family.

On the Minds of Moms is an online community and magazine for and about local moms. We strive to achieve a balance between useful information and entertaining content. Written to serve as the local reading alternative to family magazines that are produced for a national audience.

On the Minds of Moms contains views from across the parenting spectrum. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. All activities listed in these pages are at your own risk and require appropriate supervision.

Back to school brings uncertainty, determination to MARY JO forge ahead

HOTZLER

When I was a kid, I loved summer. I soaked up every minute of those long, lazy days at the pool, riding my bike, and sleeping in late.

As great as summer was, there was always one season I loved even more: back-to-school season.

For me, it truly was a season. I was always happy to trade in swimsuits for backpacks, and school supply shopping was almost as thrilling as Christmas. I loved the hunt for matching folders, notebooks and pens, and I also loved the promise of new beginnings … not knowing what was around the corner but feeling hopeful.

I’m still this way (even the matching pens and notebooks part). But this year feels different. It IS different. The cloud of COVID-19 still hangs over all of us and will follow our young people into this new school year. We don’t fully know what’s around the corner, which makes it more difficult to be optimistic.

As moms, we’re all doing the best we can and know we must forge ahead and adapt to whatever this next season brings us. It’s what we do.

We are taking the same approach with On The Minds of Moms magazine. In this edition, we go full steam ahead with topics related to this special time of year. We introduce you to some inspiring moms, like Katherine Kiernan, who is no stranger to facing a challenge head on. And we tackle a few important topics, like Danielle Teigen’s article on educating children about complex topics like racism.

For parents and kids, the next few months will be trying, but we will forge ahead - as we must - with an open mind, and of course, with clean hands!

We hope you enjoy this issue of the magazine and as always, please share with us your feedback and ideas for future stories. Also, be sure to look for new articles throughout the week on InForum.com/on-the-minds-of-moms.

Mary Jo Hotzler is Forum Communications Company’s Chief Content Officer and editor of On the Minds of Moms magazine. She lives in Fargo with her husband and twin boys.