‘I lost my son and got smeared’

A man’s crusade to bring public safety to a controversial road near Blooming Prairie High School is forcing an unexpected turn of events.

Tom Peterson confirmed on Monday that his son, Jon Peterson, has sold his 8-acre property located on the west side of Blooming Prairie near the ball fields that have been the subject of extensive controversy for nearly the past year. 

“You’re dead because you lost you lost your kid, but you win because of public safety for Blooming Prairie,” said Tom Peterson. “I lost my son and got smeared from Facebook. I feel broken and that I’ve lost my son. It’s like a death, but you know the kid is still living.”

Peterson would not disclose where his son is moving for safety reasons.

What’s more Tom Peterson said he will likely leave the community that has been a part of his family for six generations within the next year. “It’s so sad that a sixth-generation family can feel as ostracized as we do,” he said. “The seventh generation will not be a part of Blooming Prairie,” he added.

Peterson began a campaign last fall to push for no parking signs along County Road 46 on the west side of Blooming Prairie. The area had attracted dozens of vehicles parked on a narrow roadway with very little room for traffic to pass through. He took his crusade to the school district and county board.

In April, the Steele County Board narrowly voted to ban parking on the roadway. Signs were finally posted in June, ending the years-long practice of vehicles parked for ball games at the fields.

It’s what happened next that caught the Petersons off guard and has left them dismayed.

Many people, including influential leaders or those with close ties to leaders within the community, took to social media to smear the Petersons and accuse them of stealing foul balls that landed on their property. The issue eventually became a frenzy for many media outlets reporting on the balls being taken. The Petersons remained silent throughout the ordeal.

During the smear campaign, Peterson claims his son received threats and people rolling by with the windows down “flipping the bird.” He said his son sat in his house with the shades pulled and frightened for his safety. “It was devastating on Jon,” the elder Peterson said.

For the Petersons, the Facebook smear “became a mob” with many people joining in “with the enjoyment of dumping on someone without a voice of truth.”

As for the accusations of taking balls and not returning them, Peterson said: “Not an ounce of truth.” He added the only thing they are guilty of is keeping people off their private property, which he said they are within their legal rights of doing.

Facebook, Peterson said, is a real opportunity for things to quickly get out of control. “There is no accountability for anything that’s put out there,” he said. “Facebook is a mob atmosphere with no one paying attention to what the law might be.”

Sadly, Peterson said he has found Blooming Prairie to not be the welcoming place it wants to portray itself as.

Tom Peterson said Jon was excited to move back to Blooming Prairie in 2022 after working in the Twin Cities for many years. “It’s a show place,” Tom Peterson said of the property his son lived on. “It’s a beautiful place to entertain.”

Peterson has felt the intense pressure as well in the community. Since the social media bashing began, he has not gone to church in Blooming Prairie. “I have a love of singing, and I can’t even sing in the choir,” he said. “It’s all because of the crazy insults hurled at us.”

He has found people within the community won’t even look at him even during emergency medical situations involving his brother.

Adding to the complexity of the controversy was the Blooming Prairie School Board’s decision earlier this summer to spend $60,000 for fencing at the field where the balls were constantly flying onto Peterson’s property.

“It’s a total bizarre flip-flop,” Peterson said of the school board’s decision. “After damage done from the smear on us, the school decided it has an issue and put up a fence.”

Looking at his son’s move and his own impending move, Peterson said: “I live by the sword, and I die by the sword. It got to be too much for us.”

But Peterson doesn’t regret what he has done for the community.

“For Blooming Prairie, there is no doubt County Road 46 is a safer place,” he said. “I win because I stood up for public safety, but I lose because my kid has had to move.”