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Articles by Erich Mische
Opinion | The $200-plus million Meta settlement belongs to Minnesota’s kids, not the general fund
Opinion | The $200-plus million Meta settlement belongs to Minnesota’s kids, not the general fund The Legislature should lock this money away in a dedicated account. September 13, 2026 at 4:59AM (JASON HENRY/The New York Times) Comment Gift Share Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
Congress can take a critical step to protect kids on the internet
The last time Congress passed a major law protecting children on the internet was 1998. There were no smartphones. Social media as we know it did not exist. No child had ever confided in an AI chatbot. The families I work with every day lost their children to harms engineered into platforms nobody had yet built. That was more than a quarter century ago. In late June, that finally started to change.
Opinion | A Big Tobacco-style moment of accountability for Big Tech
Opinion | A Big Tobacco-style moment of accountability for Big Tech Recent rulings are the start. Those who helped the industry along the way, albeit with the best intent, also must reflect. Guest contributor(s) to the Minnesota Star Tribune Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves after testifying in a landmark trial over whether social media platforms deliberately addict and harm children: This case, writes Erich Mische, is one of several that herald the end of Big Tech's avoidance of accountability.
SAVE Urges House Energy and Commerce Committee to Advance Strongest Possible Kids Online Safety Act
Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.
Orianthi Headlines SAVE’s Bright Night as Event Introduces 988-Inspired Ticketing to Spotlight Lifeline
Orianthi to perform at SAVE Bright Night Event Bright Night Celebration April 11, 2026 Orianthi Some Kind of Feeling Album Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. April 11 celebration at The Fillmore Minneapolis features $9.88, $98.88, and $988.88 pricing to elevate awareness of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 save lives.
SAVE Removes Financial Barriers to Youth Suicide Prevention, Makes Green Bandana Project Free for Schools Nationwide
The Green Bandana Project The Green Bandana Project Program Coordinator, Soua Thao Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. The official 35th Anniversary logo for SAVE -Suicide Awareness Voices of Education SAVE makes The Green Bandana Project free nationwide, expanding access to student-led suicide prevention in schools.
SAVE Urges Responsible Reporting Following Reports of Minnesota Vikings Player Rondale Moore’s Death
Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. Following reports of Vikings player Rondale Moore’s death, SAVE urges national media to follow safe reporting guidelines to reduce harm and encourage help Moments like this carry enormous weight. How we talk about suicide matters.
Trump's order on artificial intelligence is a potential disaster
As of the time this piece was submitted for publication, it has been 29 years, 10 months and six days since a single law began shaping how children experience the digital world. That law is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, enacted on Feb. 8, 1996. Section 230 was intended to help the early internet grow by protecting platforms from being treated as publishers of everything their users posted.
International Star Orianthi Takes Center Stage for SAVE’s Premier Bright Night Suicide Prevention Event
International Star Orianthi Takes Center Stage for SAVE’s Premier Bright Night Suicide Prevention Event Bright Night Celebration April 11, 2026 Dez from KS95 to serve as Bright Night Master of Ceremonies Orianthi has shared stages with music legends including Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, and Carrie Underwood I’m thrilled to be part of Bright Night and to use my music to help support suicide prevention...supporting SAVE’s mission to prevent suicide and inspire hope makes this night truly...
SAVE CEO Calls for National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Rewrite to Confront Social Media and AI Harms
Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.
The US Needs a New Suicide Prevention Plan That Tackles Social Media and AI
The United States is racing to roll out machines that don’t care if our kids live or die, but our strategy to combat the nation’s suicide crisis doesn’t adequately reflect it. Artificial intelligence and social media are not neutral tools. They are shaping how an entire generation sees itself and the world around it, with research linking heavy social media use to higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among young people.
Meta's safety ratings for teens on Instagram are not what they appear to be
Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. Meta, the parent company behind Instagram and Facebook, recently announced that it would adopt a "PG-13" safety rating for Instagram Teen Accounts, modeled on the Motion Picture Association's film-rating system. It isn't progress. It's propaganda.
Are we done hating one another yet?
This piece isn’t about one president. It isn’t about one political party. It isn’t about one ideology. Hate has been with us a long time. It crosses elections, administrations, movements and generations. What should terrify us is how comfortable we’ve become with it, how quickly we excuse it when it comes from our side and how easily we wield it against anyone on the other. I have seen this hatred for a long time. It didn’t start with this president or this party.
Mourning Charlie Kirk's death isn't partisan
By Michael Brodkorb and Erich Mische Do not let this moment pass without acknowledging its demands on you. Go. Do something. Do anything that brings light back into this dark time. Because if this is the new America, one where political violence is routine, and mourning is partisan, then we've already lost. Let's not lose more. Michael Brodkorb is the former deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota. He is an author, communications strategist and podcaster.
National Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (NSPAN) Launches to Unite and Strengthen Community Suicide Prevention Orgs
NSPAN connects local and regional groups in U.S. fostering collaboration, sharing resources, and unified voice to shape suicide prevention policy and funding.
Woven 2 SAVE: New Initiative by Kurriizma and SAVE Debuts at NYFW
Woven 2 SAVE: New Initiative by Kurriizma and SAVE Debuts at NYFW A pose of Natasha's Ride Dress from the Woven 2 SAVE Collection The Woven 2 SAVE Collection featuring Natasha's Ride Dress Official Woven 2 SAVE Logo Kurriizma, Founder and Designer at Kurriizmatic Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.
Coalition for Suicide Prevention in Public Infrastructure Launches National Effort to Make Public Structures Safer
Coalition for Suicide Prevention in Public Infrastructure Trish Merelo, Co-Founder, Coalition for Suicide Prevention Public Infrastructure MJ Weiss Blair, Co-Founder, Coalition for Suicide Prevention in Public Infrastructure Suicide loss survivors, key members of Congress, industry & nonprofit leaders support Coalition effort to embed suicide prevention in nation's infrastructure.
HOPE ON DECK: Bass, Beats & Boards Collide in Suicide Prevention Benefit
HOPE ON DECK: Bass, Beats & Boards Collide in Suicide Prevention Benefit The official 35th Anniversary logo for SAVE -Suicide Awareness Voices of Education Hope On Deck Producer Atomic Entertainment "Bass-driven benefit event features EDM artists, pro skate demos, and mental health activism to support suicide prevention nonprofit SAVE" The reason I decided to put this event together is deeply personal: I've been impacted by suicide and have navigated mental health challenges my entire...
SAVE and Spare Key Partner to Help Suicide Loss Survivors Seek Community Support for Bills and Basic Living Expenses
SAVE and Spare Key Partner to Help Suicide Loss Survivors Seek Community Support for Bills and Basic Living Expenses This is the Help Me Bounce Program This is the Spare Key Logo HelpMeBounce.org Adds New Category to Empower Families Grieving a Suicide to Share Their Story and Receive Practical Support Allowing families to share their journey as suicide loss survivors is an important step in eliminating the stigma surrounding suicide.” — Sarah Rocklitz, Executive Director, Spare Key...
Woven 2 SAVE: Kurriizmatic and SAVE Launch Bold Fashion-Fueled Campaign to Help Prevent Suicide and Save Lives
Official Woven 2 SAVE Logo The Natasha's Ride Dress from the Woven 2 SAVE Collection Alanys Bruckman @alanysbruckman models The Natasha's Ride Dress A pose of Natasha's Ride Dress from the Woven 2 SAVE Collection The Woven 2 SAVE Collection featuring Natasha's Ride Dress Woven 2 SAVE honors those lost to suicide through sustainable fashion and ignites a national movement for prevention and mental health awareness. This is personal....This campaign is about purpose. It’s about hope.
KiDS Campaign Rallies World on Father’s Day with Launch of Global Warning Label Day
KiDS Campaign Rallies World on Father’s Day with Launch of Global Warning Label Day Global Warning Label Day Logo Partnership of nearly 40 organizations on 6 continents demand action from Big Tech Executives on Father's Day in many countries across the world This is a public health emergency. We need warning labels on every continent, in every language, for every child.
Minnesota Passes Groundbreaking Mental Health Warning Label Bill for Social Media Platforms
Minnesota Passes Groundbreaking Mental Health Warning Label Bill for Social Media Platforms Parent Groups, Non-Profit Organizations and Advocacy Groups Celebrate Minnesota Warning Label Legislation As Momentum Builds "We applaud the Minnesota Legislature for taking a bold and necessary step in passing the Social Media Warning Label Bill.” — Bridgette Norring, Founder, The Devin J.
It's a mistake to equate Harvey Milk with Confederate generals
In recent years, the United States has begun reckoning with which historical figures we choose to publicly honor. From statues to school names to military assets, our nation has slowly started confronting the stories we’ve told, and the ones we’ve silenced. That conversation reached the decks of the U.S. Navy when ships named after Confederate generals were ordered to be renamed. It was a long-overdue correction to decades of misplaced reverence.
KiDS Campaign Launches Global Warning Label Day to Demand Health Warnings on Social Media Amid Youth Crisis
Global Warning Label Day Logo As Big Tech CEOs—many fathers—stay silent, KiDS Campaign unites 38 orgs on June 15 to demand warning labels and protect kids As a parent who lost a child via social media harm, I wish I had a warning about the dangers of Snapchat before our son, Sammy, died. It might have saved his life.” — Samuel P.
Improving trend in Minnesota's suicide rate is a milestone, not a finish line
Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. But let's be clear that this is a milestone, not a finish line. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death in Minnesota, claiming more than 700 lives each year. Behind each number is a person - a parent, a child, a friend, coworker, neighbor - whose absence is felt forever. While the data may be improving, the crisis is far from over.
SAVE Commends Senate Champions of Kids Online Safety Act; Urges Swift Action to Hold Big Tech Accountable
SAVE Commends Senate Champions of Kids Online Safety Act; Urges Swift Action to Hold Big Tech Accountable Erich Mische is CEO of SAVE - Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.
The case for social media warning labels
Legislation proposed in Minnesota would set a critical precedent. By Erich Mische and Bridgette Norring February 26, 2025 at 11:29PM "Warning labels exist for cigarettes, alcohol and other consumer products that pose risks to public health. Research has shown that such labels change behavior, influence decisions and save lives," the writers say.
There should be warning labels on social media apps and platforms
The buzz over the U.S. Surgeon General’s New York Times op-ed calling for warning labels on social media apps and platforms is an important admission that Big Tech’s products are harming and killing American youth. Citing previous efforts to protect Americans from the ravages of cigarette smoking by requiring warning labels be printed on packs of cigarettes, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has made it clear that social media platforms have created a public health crisis.
OPINION EXCHANGE | Big Tech is the Big Tobacco of today
Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. ••• I was 12 years old when I took my first drag of a cigarette in what would become a 25-year battle with tobacco addiction. Cigarette and tobacco companies, with their calculated strategy of addiction by design ensnared me and millions of others. They kept us hooked and spent a fortune opposing policies that could save lives.
"Save&Raid" ORGANIZERS JOIN SAVE.ORG FOR LIVE FACEBOOK CONVERSATION ABOUT 2024 CHARITY EVENT THIS NOVEMBER 4 2023
SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) to host Facebook livestream with Save&Raid Organizers to promote 2024 Charity Gaming Event November 4th, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, November 2, 2023 / EINPresswire.com/ -- The organizers of the 2024 Save&Raid charity event to raise awareness and funds for SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) https://save.org/ will participate in a global livestreaming event on Facebook this Saturday, November 4th at 4:30 p.m. CST.
Promise Fellow program bridges gap between students’ academic success and social-emotional wellbeing
The U.S. Surgeon General reported in his 2023 advisory “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” that the feelings of isolation and insularity that were already becoming apparent in American life have become exponentially worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the advisory, “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling – it harms both individual and societal health.
Erich Mische: On the voyage of the S.S. Hail Mary, every single mile I found hope
And so, the raft on the river portion of Hope on the River has come to an end. At 6:58 a.m. Wednesday, my brother, Karl, and I made our last mad dash run from Lettsworth, La., heading to Baton Rouge. I had spent two restless nights worrying about the weather, the cranky two-stroke 60-horsepower Nissan motor, whether I had correctly calculated the amount of fuel and oil we needed to end the trip and just how many massive northbound towboats we would encounter.
Erich Mische: Pausing in Memphis, I do really feel the way I feel: scared, grateful, hopeful
It is early morning and I am typing this column in Memphis, Tenn. The day before my brother, Karl, and I traveled from Osceola, Ark., through roughly 50 miles of rough water, past five northbound towboats and 25- to 30-mph wind gusts. Thankfully, because of one southbound towboat, the other northbound towboats had to either slow down or stop altogether to let it pass.
Erich Mische: Bigger tows, more current, less gas, more MREs … the S.S. Hail Mary launches onto the Lower Mississippi
As my journey down the Mississippi River moves from what is called the Upper Mississippi River to the Lower Mississippi River, the challenge of finding food, fuel and shelter becomes a near-daily one. Unlike the river above the lock-and-dam system, the river below tends to be fairly barren of sustenance for both body and the raft.
Erich Mische: Lock-and-dammed and taking on water: The Voyage of the SS Hail Mary
I am safely ensconced at John’s Boat Harbor in St. Charles, Missouri. after what had been a mostly uneventful 52-mile journey from Rockport, Illinois. I will get back to that later in this column. When I conceived the plan of taking a raft down the river I admit that my lack of boating skills, knowledge of the river, and the challenges I would face weren’t really all that much on my mind.
Erich Mische: Respect for the mighty tows, but trouble with pleasure wakes (and night-time waking)
So, I am 57 years old and one would have thought by now that I would have established some kind of routine in my life. One would have thought wrong. But being on a homemade raft on the Mississippi River forces even an Old Dog to learn a few new tricks. My mornings now have a routine. It frightens me a bit that I have grown accustomed to knowing that each morning I have to: Make sure both motors start.
Erich Mische: Encouraging the daunted to be dauntless - the voyage of the S.S. Hail Mary
So, I am not the first person nor will I be the last to have suddenly decided to travel a significant length of one of the most powerful rivers in the world toward to its end. Long before me there were those who traveled the entire length of this river with nothing more than a dugout canoe, the weapons they built, the food they hunted and the common sense and wits they had acquired from hard living.
Erich Mische: Big river, big barges, big impact, big hope - the voyage of the S.S. Hail Mary
I started this journey along the Mississippi River on a rotted-out pontoon dock with a garden shed modified to serve as a kind of cabin with high hopes. So much so that I called the trip “Hope on the River” and, through the past 12 days I have seen it — hope — nearly everywhere. This magnificent Mississippi River isn’t just any river. It’s the river that helped make and build the America we know today.
Erich Mische: I’m 57, afraid of the dark and am riding a leaky pontoon down the big river. What could go wrong?
I am not the bravest person anybody knows. I am afraid of the dark. Animals, wild or otherwise, scare and intimidate me. Bats? Mice with wings and fangs. Bees? I run in circles from them screaming like a child who can’t catch the guy in the ice cream truck. Blackbirds? I literally hid in a strangers’ garage one time when I was doing my paper route because I was being attacked by a group – a murder? – of blackbirds. People? People don’t scare me. Nature will, I am certain, take my life.
Erich Mische: St. Paul City Council should delay vote on Ford site
The Pioneer Press Aug. 20 editorial (“As the Ford-site arguments condense … ”) strived to emulate Solomon on its way to taking no discernible position on the city of St. Paul’s vision for a radical mass density development on the site of the former Ford plant.
Erich Mische: We don’t need permission from government to make a difference
There’s nothing newsworthy about picking up garbage. The clamor over a group of neighbors getting together to pick up trash in the neighborhood of our fellow neighbors isn’t newsworthy because we did it. It’s because the city of St. Paul, the state of Minnesota and Ramsey County didn’t. Not because they couldn’t.
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