The terrible storms that struck Kentucky Friday in Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri cut an incredible swath of tornado damage, especially in Kentucky. The death toll is expected to exceed 100, and hundreds of thousands are suffering, their homes destroyed and communities ravaged.

This tragedy is compounded as the tornadoes struck in the middle of the Christmas holiday season.

We in southern Minnesota know well the kind of devastation that tornadoes can cause. We have lived through the tornadoes that swept through Comfrey and St. Peter in 1998. We also know the kindness and care that people are capable of in the face of such horrible destruction.

We are sure people will respond again to this tragedy with generosity, especially in the season of giving and love for our fellow men and women.

Please take some of your holiday shopping budget and direct a little toward the relief efforts in our afflicted states.