A display of stakes with the names and faces of Minnesota domestic homicide victims is outside the Lyon County Government Center in Marshall this week. Members of WoMen’s Rural Advocacy Programs (WRAP) say they are bringing the memorial to four area communities as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

MARSHALL — The impact of domestic violence is one that stretches across Minnesota, Becci ten Bensel said. It showed in the rows of memorial ribbons on display outside the Lyon County Government Center in Marshall. Each of the two dozen purple ribbons represents a person killed in Minnesota over the past year.

“Domestic violence is not just a personal problem or a private problem,” said ten Bensel, executive director of WoMen’s Rural Advocacy Programs (WRAP). “The effects of that affect family members, and community members as a whole.”

Ten Bensel said WRAP is bringing the memorial, and an informational display on domestic violence, to four area counties during October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This week, the memorial will be in Marshall. In the next couple of weeks, the memorial will travel to Granite Falls near the downtown pedestrian bridge, and the Ivanhoe city park, ten Bensel said.

The memorial includes purple ribbons honoring each of about two dozen victims of domestic homicide.

“Each year Violence Free Minnesota collects data of domestic homicide in the state of Minnesota,” ten Bensel said. The names and stories of people who were killed over the past year, as well as data collected by Violence Free Minnesota, are included in the memorial.

“Putting those stakes in the ground, and seeing the names and faces on those stakes, really brings it to life,” ten Bensel said.

Some of the Minnesotans who were killed as a result of domestic violence in the past year had connections to the area, ten Bensel said. Ariel Christine Sakry, 25, was from Clarkfield, she said. Sakry was shot 11 times by her husband, Isaac Malone, 25, in their Wadena home in 2022, Violence Free Minnesota said. Malone then shot and killed himself.

“Her family and friends have really rallied around WRAP,” ten Bensel said. Sakry’s family held are encouraging people to attend a live event for domestic violence awareness next week in Granite Falls.

A second person with ties to southwest Minnesota was 13-year-old Isaac Hoff, of Olivia. In March 2022, Hoff was stabbed by mother’s boyfriend, Houston Morris, 38, Violence Free Minnesota said. Morris had strangled and assaulted Hoff’s mother, before attempting to stab her. Morris missed and stabbed Hoff instead. Hoff called 911, and later died at the hospital.

Morris was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder, Violence Free Minnesota said.

Part of the memorial also includes statistics on intimate partner violence in Minnesota. Between 2020 and 2022, a total of 20 Minnesota women were murdered by a current or former intimate partner, the display said. That included a total of nine women from greater Minnesota. However, domestic violence can affect anyone. One in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence, the display said.

People can scan a QR code at the memorial to read the full 2022 Violence Free Minnesota homicide report. There are also codes and other contact information to get in touch with WRAP advocates who work with victims of domestic violence or human trafficking.

Ten Bensel said WRAP will be holding a silent auction to raise money to help support domestic violence victims. The auction will start Thursday, and will conclude at a live event at The Rock in Granite Falls on Oct. 19. “Bids Against Abuse” will feature a meal and a short program, starting at 5 p.m. Members of the public are encouraged to wear purple and attend the event, ten Bensel said.