There is nothing like the “C” word to make us stop and pause. I don’t think there is one of us that haven’t been impacted by it… if not ourselves, our friends and family. I was in my 20’s when my dad died from pancreatic cancer; my brother died almost two years ago from lung cancer, and my spouse is currently doing chemo (he has Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia and is feeling pretty good). Mayor Rich Mattern has recently had a clean bill of health after a bout of prostate cancer. And of course, our community was hugely impacted by the recent death of Mayor Dennis Walaker this past December.

The four metro Mayors, Mayors Olson (Dilworth), Mahoney (Fargo) and Mattern (West Fargo) and myself are teaming up to honor Denny and help fundraise for this year’s Relay for Life Campaign. We will kick it off March 25 at 3pm with relays (2 mayors at a time) walking the length of the Main Street bridge and back 30 times to mark the 30th Anniversary. We will finish with a press conference at Rustica. I will also be involved with the Moorhead Community and MSUM/Concordia Relay for Life walks. Our College Walk is April 11 (starts at Concordia), and the Clay County Walk is June 12 (starts at MSUM). I would like to encourage you to get involved. You can sign up for a Walk by going to www.relayforlife.com. Put in our zip code to search for the local walks. I will put a link to the Mayors Walk for Walaker Team Del Rae page on my Facebook page if you would like to donate. It’s time to kick Cancer to the curb.