PIPESTONE, Minn. – Justin Rops’ life was full of promise. The 25-year-old was a very talented athlete, capturing records at the Pipestone, Minnesota high school in baseball and football. He was also working toward a degree in special eduction, but in Nov. 2022, Justin died unexpectedly from fentanyl poisoning.
His mother, Tish Kalla, found him unresponsive in their living room.
“It can happen to anyone. I’m a special education director. I was a school counselor. I was a special ed teacher prior to this job. There is no social class that’s left out of this problem. It can happen to anyone at anytime,” Kalla told KELOLAND Media Group at an event where Emily’s Hope founder Angela Kennecke was talking to Pipestone Area high schoolers about the danger.
Now Justin’s younger brother, Will Rops, is also raising awareness about the fentanyl crisis and looking to prevent future tragedies. Will is advocating for legislation in Minnesota that would require college campuses to have naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdoses, in residence halls. Will was 19 when his brother died.
“After Justin died, he and I were visiting about how crazy it was that K-12 public schools are required to have Narcan, but there was no requirement for colleges when that seems to be a vulnerable population,” Kalla told Emily’s Hope.
Will’s latest effort is Minnesota Senate File 164, which would require public postsecondary institutions to maintain a supply of opiate antagonists. He recently testified before the Minnesota Senate Higher Education Committee, urging lawmakers to act.
“Every single day, families in Minnesota, the Midwest and the entire country are being ripped apart by this epidemic,” Will told the Senate committee, according to the Worthington Daily Globe. “I’m here today because I want to save lives and I want to protect other families from experiencing the tragedy that mine has.”
The Higher Education Committee approved the bill with amendments, moving it forward to the Health and Human Services Committee for further consideration.