This past May, Minnesotans mourned the passing of Koryne Horbal. In her lifetime, Horbal launched the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus and the DFL Feminist Caucus, served as a U.S. representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and was appointed the DFL party chair at the age of 31. A vocal and unapologetic activist, Horbal was a champion for women, as well as the LGBTQ+ community. Neither the loss of her husband in 2015 nor the three strokes she subsequently suffered stopped her from working on the 2016 presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton. Horbal did not have the money to attend college in the 1950s, but Augsburg University granted her an honorary degree in 2008 due to her work as a consultant with Augsburg’s Women’s Resources Center. Koryne Horbal lives on through her children, grandchildren, and the feminist spark that she ignited in people around the world.
You can read more about the extraordinary life of Koryne Horbal here.
At the Anne Pederson Women’s Resource Center Koryne Horbal lecture, two women were recognized for their courage and tenacity with the first annual Courageous Woman Awards. These awards acknowledge and recognize women who see injustice or need, act on it, take risks in order to “do the right thing,” and raise their voices to champion women. Founded in 2011 by Friends of the Anne Pederson Women’s Resource Center at Augsburg College, the awards program recognizes women who courageously strive for social justice and peace on campus or in the wider community and whose efforts, be they small or large, make a difference to women. The 2011 awards are given in memory of Jessica Nathanson whose life exemplified what it means to be a courageous woman. 
“Peace and War in the Heartland, ” a peace-and-war education project that focuses on the moral and constitutional issues of war, will offer several events at Augsburg College throughout the day of Feb. 20. The project is attempting to foster an inter-generational dialogue and discussion about the issues facing those of draft age (18-25 years old) in current and past military conflicts.