Sheletta: Y’all knew former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic. I knew Kari D.

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My Minnesota Star Tribune colleague Rochelle Olson recently wrote a deeply reported news story about the life of Sen. Kari Dziedzic following her untimely death at the age of 62 from ovarian cancer.

Rochelle highlighted the political leader who brought persistence and passion to the people’s business in her role as a legislator.

That story told you all about Kari Dziedzic, the former Senate majority leader. I want to complement Rochelle’s piece with my story about Kari D, my friend.

For those of you who know both of us, it may be difficult to believe we were buddies. While I’m loud and love the limelight, Kari D did her work quietly, without seeking praise. When accolades came her way, she was so humble that she would step into the background. She preferred to find someone else to give the credit to, while I have a habit of taking out digital billboards to highlight my accomplishments.

Kari D was fun, fierce and fearless.

She always looked for ways to use her political power for good — and you didn’t even have to ask her for help.

We first met in 2016. Following the death of Philando Castile at the hands of a St. Anthony police officer, my oldest son, Andrew, then 10, worried about how police would engage with his three younger siblings, who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

He was especially fearful for his youngest brother, who was nonverbal at the time. What if Daniel, a young Black boy, had an encounter with police and an officer issued a command that he could not understand or respond to? Could he be shot for not following an order?

My son spoke up for his siblings in a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton that Kari D merely heard about. Now, keep in mind, the letter was not addressed to her. Our family lives in Cottage Grove, miles away from her Senate district that covers northeast Minneapolis.

My son’s fears shouldn’t have concerned her, but his plea touched her heart. She reached out to our family and made our cause hers. She invited us to the Minnesota State Capitol to share our story and drafted a bill to create enhanced training for first responders so they could better understand how to engage citizens with autism.

When we met with her, I saw her two sides — she was both the tender listener who squatted down in her high heels to look directly in my son’s eyes when they spoke and a strategist who had the know-how to create change and make the circumstances better for people like my children.

Soon we were like Dionne and Cher (Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone) from the 1995 hit movie “Clueless.”

I knew I could count on her. Kari D reliably showed up for events I supported, wrote letters of recommendation for me, and became my behind-the-scenes adviser as I created my promotions company, ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com.

Thanks to her talent, dedication and hard work, Kari D’s own profile heightened. Her peers at the Capitol recognized her intellect and extraordinary strategic skills and selected her as Senate majority leader.

As important as she became, she always took my calls and let me talk her ear off.

When I was working to help fund an after-school mentoring program for underserved girls, Kari D brought her prestige and her big grin to my bowling fundraiser. She laced up her shoes, hit the lanes and knocked down the pins to help us raise $10,000 for Girls Taking Action.

Amid her battle with cancer, her stamina was low, but her inner strength remained high.

Another time, she heard that I was meeting with Black business owners to help them write letters to the Minnesota congressional delegation to ask for assistance after the COVID crisis. She spent her Saturday with us, patiently coaching them on how to best target their concerns.

Here’s the thing: not one of these people, including me, lived in Senate District 60. There was no way for us to vote for her to show our appreciation. Kari D never asked us where we lived or if we voted Republican or lined up with the DFL. As an ally, she considered each one of us to be her constituent. She was a champion for all Minnesotans.

She never let on how sick she really was. Always smiling. Always helping. Always encouraging. Always Kari D.

I remember when I called her in February 2023 with the big idea to host the first ever Black Entrepreneurs Day at the Minnesota State Capitol. I realized that every industry and special interest group employs lobbyists to shed light on their specific needs. But no one represented Black-owned businesses. We had nobody making our case with lawmakers, which is why we oftentimes only hear about programs once the money has already been allocated.

I arranged for hundreds of Black founders to come to St. Paul and rally in the rotunda, meet one-on-one with legislators and then sit down for lunch to solidify our new relationships. For most of the business owners, this was their first foray into lobbying for themselves.

But I had one problem: I initially couldn’t get any of the legislators to speak at the rally. Because nothing like this had ever been done before, they didn’t know if I was leading with light and love or coming to torch the place. Kari D spoke up and spoke out for me. She even managed to bring Gov. Tim Walz to the event. She set up a meeting with him at the exact time of my event. When she got to his office, she said, “Let’s go check out Sheletta’s thing.” When they arrived together at the rotunda, they both addressed the crowd.

When I once again host Black entrepreneurs at the State Capitol on Feb. 3, 2025, we will have a moment of silence for her. Sen. Judy Seeberger has already promised to help pay tribute to Kari D by saying a few kind words.

Let me tell y’all something about my friend Kari D: She stood on business. She got outside herself and found common ground with people everywhere she went. Minnesota is better because she was here.

Knowing she’d never take credit for all of her amazing work, I’ve decided to make sure she gets her due.

I’m putting her likeness on digital billboards all over town to honor her memory. I wanted to make sure Kari D gets the spotlight that she didn’t like, but definitely deserves.

So while you’re riding around this week, look up in the sky and you’ll see her perched high above the highways of our state that she made so great. It’s almost like she’s looking out over us and for us, as she’s always done.