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Students in 16 schools get training to help suicidal classmates
Tammy Diehn launched 2B Continued after her sister, Shelly, died by suicide.
LESTER PRAIRIE, Minn. — The notes on the white board pertain to WWII, but the topic of the day in this Lester Prairie High School history classroom is the battle within.
“That is our crisis situation,” the instructor tells her students. “A friend is having thoughts of suicide.”
This spring, every Lester Prairie 10th grader is learning how to spot the signs of a classmate in a mental health crisis.
The classes are sponsored by a Minnesota-based nonprofit called 2BE Continued.
The organization’s name was inspired by Shelly Teubert’s nickname.
“She was Teuby,” Tammy Diehn, Shelly’s older sister says.
But what does Shelly have to do with those kids in that classroom at her old high school?
“She died by suicide on January 21st, 2017,” Tammy says.
The irony of her sister’s death has not been lost on Tammy. Shelly was a mental health nurse.
“She cared for a lot of people and saved a lot of lives,” Shelly’s sister says.
Shelly’s passing wasn’t the first time Tammy’s family had been touched by suicide.
“My husband lost his brother to suicide in 1986,” Tammy says.
So, within months of her sister’s death – when Tammy brought in a speaker on suicide and packed a Lester Prairie church – she figured her community was ready to grow the conversation.
“Tammy Diehn contacted me in June of 2021,” Melissa Radeke, Lester Prairie’s superintendent of schools says.
Melissa agreed to let her students be part of a pilot program.
“We really felt this was an important step to take,” she says.
A first step for Lester Prairie, but Tammy was just getting started.
Now, in its third year, 2B Continued has four instructors working in 16 central Minnesota High Schools, teaching a curriculum written by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
“Sixteen schools and there’s already a waiting list for next year,” instructor Melissa Berget says, after finishing her teaching at Lester Prairie.
This spring, Sibley East High School in Arlington became the first to certify every 10th, 11th, and 12th grader in mental health first aid.
“I think it put a light on a dark situation that no one was ready to talk about,” sophomore Treyton Ender says. “But we just dove right in.”
His classmate Abi Montoya says the instruction has made her look more carefully at the emotional state of students around her, “people maybe I’m not even friends with.”
Could the training save a life?
“Most definitely,” sophomore Ady Beneke says.
To hear Sibley East English teacher Carrie Bartlette, the training already has.
Last year, the veteran teacher was struggling with her own mental wellbeing.
One day she found the emotional weight too heavy to bear and notified her principal she had to leave the school.
“My plan was to end my life that day,” the veteran teacher says.
Then, Carrie remembered listening in, as the 2BE Continued instructor taught in her classroom.
“And then, that day, I ended up going to therapy,” Carrie says. “Without the curriculum things would be very different for my family – my work family, and my home family.”
Seated at a kitchen island at her home, Tammy Diehn points to Shelly in a favorite photo.
“How I remember her,” she says. “Just smiling.”
Tammy has made sure her kid sister isn’t just a memory in family pictures.
She likes to think she’s still counseling, now in classrooms.
“I think she’d be very proud,” Tammy says as tears well up in her eyes. “Yep, she’d be happy.”
If you or someone you know is facing a mental health crisis, there is help available from the following resources:
Crisis Text Line – text “MN” to 741741 (standard data and text rates apply)
Crisis Phone Number in your Minnesota county
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, Talk to Someone Now
Throughout Minnesota call **CRISIS (**274747)
The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386
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Sergeant Tony Bryand spent 10 months in the Middle East, and never got to see his stepdaughter perform – until Saturday
CHANHASSEN, Minn. — Few things match the mystery of the theater, or the warmth that comes from the holidays. At the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, that warmth was easy to spot Saturday night.
Hundreds gathered to watch the musical White Christmas, but for one person, the show wasn’t the most important part of their evening.
It was who would be there.
“Me and her have had a really good bond since I’ve came into her life,” Sergeant Tony Bryand said.
Sgt. Bryand has been away on deployment in Kuwait for the last 10 months, returning home just in time for the holidays. On stage, his stepdaughter, nine-year-old Jenalia, plays Susan Waverly.
“Me being gone is a big change, really hard on her,” Sgt. Bryand said, choking up. “Hard on me.”
During the preshow announcement, emcee Nancy Nelson walked out, set to announce the start of the show.
Instead, she was interrupted by Jenalia.
“On behalf of the theater, Nancy, we would all like to thank you for all you do!” Jenalia said, surprising Nancy.
“You should have them, and I know someone who wants to give them to you, darling,” Nelson said in response. “Turn around!”
In front of the crowd, Jenalia turned and saw Sgt. Bryand, running into his arms, reuniting the two after months apart.
“He has not seen her on this stage, in this show, but he will tonight!” Nelson said while the two embraced.
Sgt. Bryand sat and watched his stepdaughter perform during the show, the nerves he had conquered, and now reunited for the holidays.
“Gonna give her a memory, gonna give us a memory that we’ll never forget,” he said.
The road conditions were snowy and icy when the crash occurred.
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. — One man was killed after his truck collided with another vehicle in Inver Grove Heights on Saturday afternoon, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
The man was driving up the entrance ramp from Concord Boulevard to northbound Highway 52 when his truck lost control, said the state patrol.
His truck crossed over the northbound lanes of Highway 52 before colliding with another vehicle, said the state patrol.
The road conditions were snowy and icy when the crash occurred.
The state patrol identified the man who died as 74-year-old Willard Pohl of Inver Grove Heights.
The driver of the other vehicle and his five passengers, which included four children, were not injured in the crash.
The Red Bulls were deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield, where they played a role in strengthening defense relationships with partner nations.
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division, known as the “Red Bulls,” has returned home after a 10-month deployment to the Middle East.
On Saturday, the second wave of over 550 Citizen-Soldiers reunited with their families at the division’s headquarters in Arden Hills.
This homecoming follows the first wave of soldiers who returned earlier this week, marking the end of a successful mission that began in February 2024.
The Red Bulls were deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield, where they played a role in strengthening defense relationships with partner nations.
During their deployment, the Red Bulls conducted numerous military-to-military exercises with partner nation forces in the region. They also modernized the division headquarters with top of the line communications equipment. Lieutenant Colonel Jay Hackett, the Infantry Battalion Commander, expressed pride in the unit’s focus and dedication throughout the mission.
“They really took care of the mission, and more importantly, they took care of each other,” Hackett said.
The scene at the Arden Hills headquarters was filled with emotion as families eagerly awaited their loved ones’ return. One soldier, medic Kacie Lou, was greeted with warm embraces from her parents and grandparents. When asked about her first desire upon returning home, she humorously replied, “I want to go eat some tacos.”
Another returning soldier described the surreal feeling of being back, stating, “It’s unexplainable. I feel like I’m in a dream, and I don’t think it’ll really set in until tomorrow morning when I wake up in my own bed.”
The Red Bulls’ return marks another chapter in the division’s rich history of service. With roots dating back to 1856, the Minnesota National Guard has consistently answered the nation’s call, with more than 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen serving across 58 communities in the state.
