Bus Crash @ MindSay 
COTTONWOOD, Minn. - Four students were killed Tuesday in a school bus crash in southwestern Minnesota, authorities said.
The students were in a Lakeview School bus that was hit by a van around 3:25 p.m. on Minnesota Highway 23 north of Cottonwood, Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson said. The bus then collided with a pickup and tipped on its side.
For full story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23243603/
Some of you are going *gasp* what a small school and my Gods, those poor families. Then there is the rest of us that live in the small rural communities in and around MN, are hugging our children rather closer than normal today. Because those 4 students that were killed and have moved on to rest in their God's arms, were not the only victim's in this crash. I laughed when I heard down in OK and TX, when people said we are a small town and the town was 30 thousand plus people and then a few thousand more outside of the town. You see I live in pretty much the same size town that suffered this tragedy. And it isn't just the family's of those injuried or killed that suffer it is the whole town and the surrounding communities.
My town is 1000 plus or minus depending on the year and another few hundred in the outlaying countryside. Towns around my town range in populations of a few hundred to maybe a few thousand. That could have been my community's bus that was crashed into. That could have been my friends' children, it could have been another towns bus and carried my realitves children, it could have been my kids' classmates' siblings that ride the bus to the public school. You see in the "larger" towns that have 30 thou or more in population you have a connection of tragedy but there is going to be someone and some family in that town NOT affected. In towns and villiages that are small rural communities like Cottonwood MN, the tragedy is felt in a larger radious because literally EVERYONE knows EVERYONE even if it isn't personally. Half the towns this size are related to each other via marriage, immideate, or distant blood ties. The towns that surround communities of this size, know people intimitly, of, and can relate to this community due to blood ties, friendships forged in highschool, and county events. This tragedy that Cottonwood MN suffered the whole area in Southwest MN, is suffering because it could have been their kids and ten to one they knew or knew about the kids injuried or killed.
Not to mention rural communites in MN not apart of this area, SD, IA, ND, and NE are all sending our prayers and our blessings to not only the families that lost their bright lights of their children but to the families of the other children and to the whole of the communites that this tragedy will affect. We will hold our children a little bit closer today and be thankful that it wasn't our children and our school buses.
Prayers and Blessings going out to Cottonwood, MN. May Anu wrap the children in love, comfort and warmth that made their way to Her, and may the Gods comfort and help ALL the families in this horrible situation.
