By Wendy Berry

When I was named League president at last year’s LMC Annual Conference in Duluth, I said something I meant with my whole heart: true public service is inclusive, thoughtful, and grounded in the belief that everyone belongs. I didn’t know then just how much this year would test that conviction, or how much it would affirm it.

I grew up watching my grandmas always make room for one more, and my dad always make time for whoever needed him. Service was simply what you did. It wasn’t a title. That’s the spirit I’ve always carried into my role as a city council member, and it’s the spirit I’ve seen reflected back at me in city halls and council chambers across this state all year long.

Leading through a difficult year

This year, our roles in local leadership have been hard. Really hard. Minnesota cities have faced extraordinary pressure from rising property taxes, higher levies, and the deeply painful human consequences of federal immigration enforcement beginning in late 2025.

When Operation Metro Surge extended throughout Minnesota, it wasn’t just a headline. It meant residents and neighbors navigating uncertainty while still trying to support one another — delivering groceries to people afraid to leave their homes, checking in on families under stress, and finding ways to help at the city level. It was a reminder of how much we need each other when there is no easy playbook.

Lessons from the road

Member visits in December took me to Baldwin, Crosby, Wright, Keewatin, and Bovey — and what I found in each community was the same thing in a different form: people doing whatever it takes. A brand-new city, incorporated just months earlier, already had dozens of residents showing up to serve on committees. A librarian was quietly writing grants to keep her library alive as a hub for learning, connection, and opportunity for all. A mayor with a city hall that used to be a church, was stitching together water and sewer partnerships so his town could grow.

The people running these cities show up every single day, and it shows. What struck me most was how proud everyone was in that quiet, contagious way that makes you want to visit again and maybe never leave.

The people at home who hold things together while you’re gone deserve more credit than they ever get. My wife and our boys, 8 and 11, gave a lot of grace this year as my travel picked up. At one point, our youngest asked my wife if someone might kidnap me because, as he reasoned, I was president of all the cities and probably knew all their secrets. And the truth is, he’s not wrong — Minnesota’s cities really are full of hidden gems, best-kept secrets, and untold stories. It’s been such an honor spending the last year discovering them.

The people behind the work

There are also people without whom none of this would have been possible. To the League staff, whose thoughtfulness and intentionality behind the scenes are genuinely remarkable: It’s an organization full of smart, kind people, and I am grateful for every one of them.

To the current and past Board members and Executive Committee who shaped this role and, in many cases, shaped me as a leader: I am grateful beyond what I can put into words here.

And to the West St. Paul City Council and staff, who held things together while I was out learning about communities across the state and texting you all about them along the way — I meant it when I said you’re the best in the world.

What this year reinforced

Here’s what I know to be true after this year: The League is only as strong as its relationship with the cities it serves, and cities are only as strong as their relationship with the people who live in them.

That means all of them and not just the ones who show up at every meeting or agree with every decision. Every resident carries an experience worth understanding. Lead with empathy. Listen to all voices. Believe that everyone belongs.

Thank you for this extraordinary year. The title may be changing, but my commitment to this work is not. If you ever want to talk about what’s happening in your city, you know where to find me. I’ll be cheering all of you on from my seat in West St. Paul.

Wendy Berry is LMC past president and a City of West St. Paul council member.