Compassion & Choices - Minnesota

04/08/2026

If you're in Sibley County and want to talk advance care planning or end-of-life care options, come on down to the Sibley County Senior Expo tomorrow between 9am and 2pm, where Compassion & Choices volunteers will be sharing resources and information! We'll be at Peace Lutheran Church in Arlington, and we'd love to connect! https://www.facebook.com/sibleycountymn/posts/-2026-sibley-county-senior-expo-good-ol-days-join-us-for-a-fun-day-of-presentati/1254971753478078/

🌼 2026 Sibley County Senior Expo – Good Ol’ Days 🌼

Join us for a fun day of presentations, craft vendors, and helpful community resources for seniors!

📅 Thursday, April 9
⏰ 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
📍 Peace Lutheran Church, Arlington

🎟 Tickets: $10 in advance | $15 at the door

🎤 Featuring presentations on eye health, caregiver support, and more, plus resource booths (9:00–10:30 a.m.) and craft vendors.

🚐 Free transportation available through Trailblazer Transit
Call 1-888-743-3828 to schedule a ride.

📞 Questions? 507-237-4100

Sponsored by Gibbon Lions, Green Isle Lions & Sibley County Veterans Services.

04/03/2026

Thank you so much to our fantastic volunteer leaders Tara and Meg for tabling at the Metro Adventist Young Adult Community Health Fair in Brooklyn Center last weekend. We are so grateful to the Kenyan Community SDA Church for giving us the opportunity to share resources about advance care planning and end-of-life care options!

Are you looking for volunteers to share the latest information and resources about end-of-life planning with your community? Please reach out to our Minnesota state director at criley@compassionandchoices.org!

04/02/2026

Lawmakers are on spring break this week, and we're still waiting to confirm that we will be able to have a hearing on the End-of-Life Option Act this session.

Whether or not that hearing happens, our task between now and 2027 remains the same: talk with lawmakers and Minnesotans about why authorizing medical aid in dying is so important. Those person-to-person and constituent-to-lawmaker conversations are vital ways of demonstrating what we already know: that Minnesotans overwhelmingly support authorizing the option of medical aid in dying.

There are so many ways to get involved in our work. Our next volunteer meeting takes place on Thursday, April 23rd, at 7pm via Zoom. If you haven't yet signed up to volunteer, you can do so - and get our meeting invitations - at CompassionAndChoices.org/volunteer!

03/25/2026

Today in the Minnesota Reformer, the Rev. Ed Holland reflects on end-of-life care options in the context of Lent: "In this season of Lent — a time of reflection on suffering, mortality, and hope — perhaps we can find common ground. At the end of life, the most faithful response is one rooted in love: supporting the dying, surrounding them with compassion, and trusting them to make the deeply personal decisions that define their final days."

A gracious God empowers us to use science and medicine to compassionately relieve suffering as best we can.

03/19/2026

03/07/2026

After seeing his powerful op-ed in the Star Tribune, People Magazine covered Compassion & Choices Minnesota advocate Tom Albin's plea to lawmakers to authorize medical aid in dying: "I am not asking anyone else to make this choice. I’m asking for the option to choose it for myself, in consultation with my doctors and loved ones, if my suffering becomes unbearable."

Tom Albin, diagnosed with ALS, advocates for access to medical aid in dying, which is unavailable in his home state of Minnesota. He admitted his biggest fear is to go through “months of pure torture" from the disease.

03/06/2026

Next week is the Minnesota Social Service Association's Annual Conference, and if you're attending, we invite you to check out Compassion & Choices Minnesota supporter Mary Carlsen's breakout session, "Medical Aid in Dying: A Minnesota Option?" on March 11th at 9am! Please check the conference program for room information.

About 2/3 of Minnesotans support Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and it elicits strong opinions. Clients want to discuss it. Participants will increase their knowledge of MAID and sharpen their own perspective on its legalization. The presentation describes MAID using real stories, the process to use it, positions for and against MAID, the status of the Minnesota End of Life Option Act and its importance for social service professionals.

03/05/2026

Stories move people. The heart of the work we do are the stories our advocates share about their experiences, and those of their loved ones, at the end of life. We need to make sure that lawmakers hear from people with direct, personal experiences with end-of-life care. People living with a terminal illness, loved ones of those who have died, clinicians and healthcare providers who work with those at the end of life: all of these are essential perspectives that your legislators need to hear.

If you are comfortable sharing your experiences to help bring a fuller range of end-of-life care options to Minnesota, please reach out.

03/04/2026

In today's Star Tribune, C&C storyteller and advocate Tom Albin makes a powerful case for why Minnesota lawmakers should authorize medical aid in dying as an end-of-life care option in his op-ed "I love Minnesota. I shouldn’t have to leave it to die with dignity."

"I want to spend my last days in my home, with my family. I don’t fear death, I fear losing the life I still love and spending my last months in a body-sized torture chamber," Tom Albin writes.

02/26/2026

Please join us on March 3rd at 4pm for a training on how to best engage your community in essential conversations about end-of-life care options and advance care planning. Learn more and sign up at https://join.compassionandchoices.org/a/minnesota-volunteer-training-tips-tabling

02/20/2026

Heads up, Eden Prairie! Join us for an informative presentation on advance care planning by Mary Carlsen from Compassion and Choices!

This presentation will cover:

- Advance-care planning for healthy individuals
- Resources for those facing serious diagnoses
- Options for people with terminal illnesses
- Planning tools for potential dementia

The presentation will conclude with a Q & A session so please bring your questions.

Learn how to better navigate end-of-life decisions to do all you can to ensure your wishes are respected. This is an opportunity to gain valuable insights and have your questions answered by an expert in the field.

02/19/2026

Big news about Compassion & Choices' work in Minnesota, and what's to come.