Ebola outbreak: “The church has to help”
Megan Brandsrud The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the largest and longest-lasting Ebola outbreak in recorded history. To further understand the scale of this disease, the Ebola outbreak is actually the first Ebola epidemic the world has experienced,...
Long-term recovery in progress following spring wildfires in California
Megan Brandsrud In May, a series of 9 wildfires broke out in San Diego County, Calif. Severe Santa Ana wind conditions and a heat wave played contributing factors in the spreading of the fires. By the time all of the...
Celebrating Disaster Preparedness Month with new Congregational Disaster Preparedness Guidebook
Megan Brandsrud September is National Disaster Preparedness Month, and what better way for us to celebrate than to announce our newCongregational Disaster Preparedness Guidebook! As the introduction in the guide says, “The purpose of this guidebook is to help congregations...
6.0 earthquake strikes near Napa, Calif.
Megan Brandsrud Early Sunday morning, Aug. 24, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco Bay Area. The earthquake, which was the largest seismic event in the area since a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in 1989, injured...
Long-term recovery following early summer storms in South Dakota
Megan Brandsrud In June, eastern South Dakota experienced severe weather ranging from record downpours to a tornado. Heavy rains lead to flooding During the night of June 16, Lincoln County received 8.5 inches of rain, which means it received a...
Unaccompanied and Migrant Children: Myths vs. Facts
Megan Brandsrud Since October 2013, approximately 60,000 children from Central America have crossed borders to arrive in the United States. This mass migration of children has garnered international media attention, and with it, a lot of contradictory information. So what...