BUILDING FUTURES AT MLEE: KLOBUCHAR VISITS MILLE LACS DURING STATEWIDE TOUR OF HEAD START PROGRAMS

September 30, 2026

By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar made an impromptu stop at Mille Lacs Early Education in District I while traveling through the area recently, taking time to learn how the Band is providing early childhood education and child care while keeping its youngest Band members connected to Ojibwe culture.

Klobuchar has been visiting Head Start and Early Head Start programs across Minnesota to learn about different approaches to child care and the challenges providers and families continue to face.

Minnesota has one of the highest rates of women participating in the workforce, Klobuchar noted, but families across the state continue to struggle with a shortage of available child care.

She said visiting programs such as Mille Lacs Early Education gives her an opportunity to see different models at work and hear directly from the people providing those services.

Nancy Saboo, MLEE Executive Director explained that the Bands programs serve children and families across all three districts and four sites. Approximately 115 children are served in District I, about 20 in the District | McGregor area and 24 at the recently opened District Ill Hinckley site. Azhoomog serves approximately 15 children.

Many of the parents whose children attend the programs are working, attending school or participating in job development programs.

By providing Early Head Start and child care, staff told Klobuchar, MLEE is doing more than supporting the development of young children. Reliable child care also gives parents opportunities to work, continue their education and participate more fully in the community.

The programs provide breakfast, lunch and snacks, and MLEE also offers wraparound care from 3 to 5 p.m. for $2 per hour, including snacks, diapers, wipes and other basic needs. Additional programming through Aanjibimaadizing helps families who need care for older children later in the day.

Chief Executive Virgil Wind told Klobuchar that serving the Band's children remains an important responsibility. Across the Mille Lacs Band, approximately 1,650 Band members are minors.

Meeting the needs of those children while ensuring they remain culturally connected is especially important, Wind said He pointed to one of his favorite MLEt traditions: the annual Early Head Start graduation.

"We really go all out," Wind said, describing the caps and gowns, ceremony and medallions presented to the children. "It really is one of my favorite days."

Culture is woven into the children's experience throughout the year. Staff told Klobuchar that children have an opportunity to participate in a powwow each month and spend time learning Ojibwe language and culture. An Ojibwe learning classroom is part of the program, with an Early Head Start transition classroom also in development.

"They just love it," staff said of the children participating in the monthly powwows and joining the circle.

Klobuchar asked how the Band's cultural immersion efforts work alongside national Head Start requirements. Staff explained that MLEE uses the national Head Start curriculum and follows required benchmarks and checkpoints, including social-emotional, physical and cognitive development measured through teacher observation and children's interactions.

Wind, who has grandchildren enrolled in the programs, said he has also been impressed by the daily communication and relationships between staff and families.

MLEE continues to rebuild enrollment and attendance following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge experienced by early childhood programs and schools across Minnesota. Attendance is moving in a positive direction, and MLEE is working to bring more children into its classrooms.

Demand remains strong. There is currently a waiting list for MLEE and Head Start services, and the program is working to hire additional staff so more classrooms can be opened. Teacher recruitment and compensation have been continuing challenges, Wind said, although staffing and pay levels have improved

The visit also gave Band leadership an opportunity to raise federal funding concerns directly with Klobuchar.

Wind reminded the senator of a letter previously sent by the Band outlining several budget concerns, including proposed changes that would reduce allowable administrative costs from 15 percent to 5 percent.

"When you see a percentage on paper, it doesn't really reflect how that will affect the Band members," Wind told her.

Following the discussion, Wind presented Klobuchar with gifts representing Mille Lacs traditions and the work of Band members: a bag of manoomin, or wild rice, and a bottle of maple syrup, both processed by Band members.

Then it was time to see the classrooms.

Klobuchar toured the infant, Head Start and Ojibwe immersion classrooms, visiting with teachers, Elders and children along the way. She also toured the outdoor playground.

In one classroom, however, the senator temporarily traded federal policy discussions for a construction project.

A couple of young girls were busy building a bridge with toy construction materials when Klobuchar joined them. Soon, the senator and the young builders were working together on the project - an all-female construction crew tackling the important business of getting their bridge built.

There was no discussion of federal infrastructure funding, construction deadlines or engineering studies. Just a few young builders figuring out how the pieces fit together, with Klobuchar lending a hand.

Perhaps they were future engineers. Maybe carpenters, equipment operators or other skilled trades workers.

For the moment, though, they were simply children learning the way young children do best — by imagining, building, trying and discovering what they can do.

And that, in many ways, brought the visit back to the purpose of Early Head Start itself: giving children a strong beginning while giving their families the support they need to work, learn and build their own futures.

Before Klobuchar continued on to Duluth, where she was scheduled to attend a bridge dedication, she had already helped build one at Mille Lacs — albeit a considerably smaller one.