Heating assistance: Aaron Brown on why the vulnerable among us deserve warmth

The 43-day federal government shutdown of 2025 may be over, but worries about getting through a Minnesota winter remain.

Lifelong Iron Ranger Aaron Brown has been there. Growing up in the '80s on his family's junkyard in Cherry, his family faced many cold winters with little resources.

In a recent KAXE Morning Show conversation, Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Brown reflected on how his parents were hesitant to accept help with heating bills and how their opinions mirror today’s debates over government support programs.

"It is wrapped up in our egocentric moment of time, where everything is a moral, cultural statement," he said.

Brown talked with rural agencies concerned about delays in heating assistance even after the federal government reopened.

"People of different backgrounds and views and varieties can benefit from this social safety net and do benefit. And if it is administered correctly, and if we think about the big picture issues," Brown explained, "we can keep benefits temporary and we can keep them merciful, short, and transition people to a more stable income situation."

Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule protects people when they can't pay their heating bills, if a payment plan is set up. In rural places many people heat their homes with fuels like propane, which are not on a monthly billed payment system. Rural people could be left out in the cold, literally.

The program Reach out for Warmth can be a backup for some, but it relies on donations from local organizations, which is then matched by the state of Minnesota. It can also help those who have higher incomes not eligible for the Energy Assistance program.

For Brown, one of the fundamental issues he sees is how the most vulnerable among us are having the hardest times.

"Finances are a big part of families' stresses. It's not just, 'Oh, I can't afford the third Frosty blowup decoration from Walmart.'"

It's a decision society has to make, Brown said. Living in the 21st century where people are cold, hungry and in need of health care, he poses the question: How are we going to get it to them?

"In the richest country on the planet, it does not have to be this way."

Hear the full conversation above.

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