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The 15 people arrested this week in Minneapolis did not commit any crimes ... yet. That is the view the Trump administration is taking. But that these people were against them was enough, and federal charges have been brought against them.

The United States has free speech as one of, if not the, main pillars of its society. If this is taken away, what is left? What they are doing is trying to scare all of us, making us believe that even writing something or posting something on Facebook will be used against us as a crime.

He is trying to scare us all because what we are doing is working. We are fighting back. ICE is on a hiring spree, trying to hire more than 10,000 agents.

They know that if we win, their days are numbered and their whole house of cards will come crumbling down. The corruption, the Epstein Files, all of it will then be laid bare. So they are running scared, and we all know desperate people will do desperate things.

Stay strong. Do not give in and do not give up. Stand up and be counted, vote and help others vote, and speak up.

Locally, a lot of things are happening. Congressman Emmer went on several TV shows talking about how they are fighting antifa. The man has not held a town hall in years and then has the gall to say that protesters are bad people. Let’s vote him out, as he does not represent us at all.

Doug Chapin is running against him and has been at many of our events. We also have a very large data center that is now proposed to be built right here in Chaska. This data center would be 1.5 million square feet, and we need to stop it. Please get involved in stopping it.

Lastly, many of you know Mary Fuentes of Latino Voices. Mary worked tirelessly during Operation Metro Surge, helping everyone she could, and now she needs our help. Mary has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer, and she is in the hospital. A GoFundMe has been set up to help her and her family as they try to navigate this.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Trump is Scared. MAGA is Scared. That’s Why They’re Doing This.

On Tuesday morning, before most of Minnesota had made coffee, federal agents fanned out across Minneapolis and arrested twelve people.

By mid-morning, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen was at a podium calling them terrorists. Anarchists. Antifa.

The cameras rolled.
The message was loud.

It was a lie.

What the Indictment Actually Says

Here is what the 94-page federal indictment actually documents as evidence of a criminal conspiracy:

• Posting opinions on Facebook,

• Attending meetings,

• Wearing certain clothes,

• Standing on public streets and watching federal agents haul neighbors into unmarked vans.

Among the 15 people charged:

• Trade unionists,

• Educators,

• Community organizers.

Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, called the charges “completely disproportionate” and predicted they would be dismissed.

The government’s own track record backs him up. Of the 36 Minnesotans previously charged with interfering with ICE operations during Operation Metro Surge, at least 15 cases have already been dropped outright.

They arrested people for attending meetings. Then held a press conference to announce it.

That is not what winning looks like.

What Demoralization Is Designed to Do

If you’ve been feeling ground down lately, you’re not alone.

Some of you attended the DFL endorsing convention and watched the process feel frustratingly slow. A lot of you have been protesting every week.

Some of you were standing on cold streets, documenting what the federal government is doing in Minnesota, and now you’re watching neighbors face six-year federal conspiracy charges for it.

The exhaustion is real.
The frustration is real.

Some of it is engineered.

Scholars who study authoritarian governments call this tactic “lawfare”: using the legal system not to win in court, but to exhaust people, drain their money, scare off their friends, and make the cost of resistance feel higher than the cost of giving up.

The point is not conviction. The point is fear. The point is to make you feel small and alone and helpless, and to make you stay home.

They are doing this because they are losing. A movement that is winning does not need to arrest people for posting on Facebook.

The Numbers Say So

A president who is winning does not hold a 34% approval rating, the lowest of his second term, according to Pew Research Center. A political coalition that is winning does not lose ground in every single special election held in the country for the past year and a half.

Democrats are outperforming their 2024 margins by an average of 15 points in every special election this cycle, including flipping a Texas State Senate seat that Trump won by 17 points.

Just Security’s litigation tracker shows plaintiffs winning 272 federal cases against the Trump administration to the government’s 133. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down Trump’s sweeping tariff program in February, with Chief Justice Roberts writing that the administration’s legal claim “cannot bear such weight.”

For the first time since 2010, Democrats are more trusted than Republicans to handle the economy.

They know they are losing the public. They know they are losing the culture. So they pick a handful of people and make a spectacle of them. That is what scared movements do.

The Long Road

Today is Juneteenth.

On June 19, 1865, a Union Army general arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read aloud General Order No. 3. “All slaves are free.” The enslaved people of Texas learned, for the first time, that the law had already changed. The machinery of oppression had been doing everything in its power to keep that knowledge from reaching them.

Freedom came. But it came slowly, and under fire.

Reconstruction was dismantled. Jim Crow laws locked Black Americans out of schools, out of voting booths, out of restaurants and buses and neighborhoods.

Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. Four little girls were bombed in a Birmingham church in 1963. Medgar Evers was shot in his driveway.

And through all of it, Black Americans did not stop. They organized. They marched. They went to jail. They came back and marched again.

The Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. The Voting Rights Act in 1965. Not because the opposition gave up. Because the people pressing for freedom never did.

And they are pressing still. The disparities that Black Americans face today in housing, in health care, in policing, in wealth: They are still fighting those, too. Every generation has had to fight for the same ground their grandparents already bled for, and every generation has shown up anyway.

That is the road we are walking on. Their road. And we should be clear about that.

When federal agents pepper-spray legal observers in Minneapolis, when a U.S. Attorney labels union members terrorists, when the full machinery of the federal government turns against the people watching it: This is not a new story in America.

It is the oldest story. And we know it ends when people refuse to stop.

The Resistance Has Already Worked

Operation Metro Surge sent more than 2,000 federal agents into the Twin Cities, thirteen times the normal federal footprint, and it ended with ICE withdrawing. That withdrawal happened in significant part because sustained community resistance made the operation politically and legally untenable.

The community defense work now being criminalized in this indictment, the very work of watching and documenting and standing in the street, was recognized with the Kennedy Center Profiles in Courage Award.

They’re arresting people for it because it worked.

Where Your Effort Matters Most

Presidential elections get the attention. But the fights that shape your daily life are decided much closer to home, by margins of tens of votes, sometimes fewer.

Minnesota’s current legislative maps were drawn by a court in 2022 because the legislature deadlocked.

The next redistricting happens after the 2030 census. If Republicans hold a governing trifecta when that moment arrives (or even before), we have every reason to expect they will draw maps designed to lock in their advantage for a generation.

We have seen them break poltical norms with their unprecidented mid-decade redistricting schemes. With racially-motivated redistricting schemes. It is not speculation. It is the documented playbook.

Keeping that from happening starts right now, at the precinct level, in your neighborhood.

The special elections in Minnesota House districts 47A and 64A this January were both won by Democrats, restoring an even 67-67 split in the State House. Two races. Two wins. The balance of power shifted. Local races in this state have been decided by single digits before and will be again.

Your two votes could be those two wins.

Don’t Give Them What They’re Working For

Today, Juneteenth, is the right day to let history do what it is meant to do: Remind us of what people before us endured, what they refused to accept, and the future they built by refusing.

They had so much more to fight through than we do. They did not stop.

We are not losing. The numbers say so, the courts say so, and the opposition’s own panic says so. Every show of force, every pre-dawn arrest, every press conference labeling teachers and union members as terrorists: That is a regime telling on itself.

Don’t give them the demoralization they’re working so hard to manufacture.

Show up.
Knock on your neighbor’s door.
Vote.

Go to the school board meeting. Volunteer for the state legislative race in your district. If you want to support the Minnesota 15 directly, a legal defense fund is live at chuffed.org/project/186570-minnesota-15-legal-defense-fund.

The road is long. People before us walked farther on it than we have to.

They didn’t stop.

Neither should we.

Foot on the gas.

Full speed ahead!

David

Full Report

For the full sourced research report with citations and links to primary sources underlying this article, download the Southwest Crier Research Report: “The Show of Force Is the Tell.”

Swcrier Show Of Force Report June 2026

263KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Podcast Version

Here’s the podcast version if you don’t want to read it. (This was generated by Google’s Notebook LM tool.)

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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It is time to rise up!

No Official No Kings Protest, But…

First, let me address the confusion around Sunday’s events. There are no official No Kings protests scheduled on Sunday. Instead, the organizers wanted people to get together and form watch parties to watch the show they are putting together with Bette Midler, Jane Fonda, and others.

We are having our regular protest on Saturday, but if you want to attend a protest on Sunday, please consider the one in Norwood Young America from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This area of Carver County is small but mighty and would love to have you come out and support them!

The protest will be at Highway 212 and Foxton Road by McDonald’s. Please park on the street, as the local businesses (even the ones that are closed) have refused to let anyone park there.

Show The World

I think we all need to show the world that we are fed up and that we do not agree with what is happening. You can also just stand on any street corner or bridge and protest. You do not need others to be there. One person standing there is so powerful!

As for the businesses that are not supporting us, let’s let them know that we will not be supporting them either. We are the ones with the money!

Lawn Signs

Starting June 26, Minnesota law protects your right to have political signs in your yard. These do make a difference! Please contact your candidates and get yours ASAP!

Remember that Doug Chapin, Dan Kessler, Joe Brothers, Chrissy Ahola, Lucy Rehm, and Julie Kelzer are all running in our area. Don’t know who your candidates are? You can find them from the Secretary of State candidates page.

We have a chance in Carver County to unseat Emmer, Nash, and Coleman. They do not represent our values and do nothing to protect us. Right now, Republicans are working on cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, all of which we have been paying into since we started working. The consequences will be devastating if they are able to do this.

Sheriff Candidate Meetup

On June 24 at 6:00 p.m., you have a chance to see all five of the Carver County sheriff candidates in person. This event will be at Waconia Middle School and is being hosted by the Republican GOP. This means that they will only allow previously screened questions, but I encourage you to show up and ask the hard questions anyway.

I found out who I liked among the three I spoke to when I got in their face, asked pointed questions, and would not let them give me political answers. I have not spoken to the other two yet, but I hope to soon! If you go, I hope you let me know your thoughts!

Shop Local

There are many more opportunities to support and help, and I urge you to reach out to your candidates in person, on Facebook, or via email to get their updates. Do not sit at home frustrated or sad. Get angry and DO SOMETHING!

One of our amazing protesters sent me an email with news I had not even thought about in the last few weeks. With rising costs for gas, beef, food, and electricity, we have amazing locally owned restaurants like India Bar and Grill right here in Chaska that are struggling with increased costs.

The owner reported that one reason is that the spices they need to make their delicious food are getting more expensive too! I encourage you to order from local places when you go out. The big corporate chains are doing fine, and we do not get any benefit from them. Eating local means that local workers and owners make money that goes straight back into our community.

Stay Safe

Lastly, it was hot last week! Please wear hats, bring cold water, and do not forget to lather yourself up with sunscreen, especially on your feet, calves, and neck. Our team has sunscreen and water, so flag one of us down if you need it.

Come on Saturday and protest the destruction of our country! We are not giving up and not backing down!

We are the protectors!

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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The Most Important Door You’ll Knock This Year Is the One You Knock in June

Here’s a number that should change how you think about the next six months: 387.

That’s how many votes separated Matt Little from his opponent in 2016, when he won a state Senate seat in a district Donald Trump carried by roughly seventeen points. Three hundred eighty-seven neighbors. Fewer people than show up to a decent farmers market on a Saturday morning.

State Senate and House races are won and lost in margins that thin. And the thing that moves those margins isn’t the thirty-second ad you’ll be sick of by October.

It’s door knocking (and shouldn’t it be called door belling by now?) It’s a person standing on a porch, talking to another person.

That person could be you. The question is when you decide to start.

The science is settled, and it’s not subtle

For twenty-five years, political scientists have been running actual randomized experiments on what gets people to vote, the same way a doctor tests a drug. The founders of that work, Alan Gerber and Donald Green at Yale, knocked on tens of thousands of doors in New Haven in 1998 and measured the result against a control group.

Door knocking won. It wasn’t close.

Their findings [PDF], published in the American Political Science Review, became the standard reference for every serious campaign in the country. Face-to-face canvassing raised turnout by about six points overall, and by nearly nine points among the people a volunteer actually reached at the door.

Phone banks did less.

Mailers did less.

Email did almost nothing.

When researchers later pooled fifty-one of these door-knocking experiments together, the verdict held: roughly a 4.3 percentage-point bump in turnout among people contacted in person. Gerber and Green put it plainly in their handbook Get Out the Vote: a face-to-face conversation produces about one additional vote for every fourteen doors knocked.

Fourteen doors. One vote. Do that math against a margin of 387 and you start to see why the people who knock decide who wins.

Why October is too late

Here’s the part most people get backward.

The instinct is to wait. The election’s in November, so you’ll help in the fall, when it “matters.” Save your energy for the big push.

The research says that instinct is wrong, and it says so with unusual force.

In 2018, researchers Joshua Kalla and David Broockman analyzed forty-nine separate field experiments to find out when campaign contact actually changes minds. Their conclusion was sobering for anyone planning a last-minute blitz. Persuasion in the final stretch of a general election is, on average, almost nil. But there was an exception, and it’s the whole ballgame:

“When campaigns contact voters long before election day... campaigns often appear to persuade voters. However, this early persuasion decays before election day and the very same treatments usually cease working close to election day.”

Read that again. The conversation that changes a neighbor’s mind has to happen early. Knock on that same door in late October and you’ve missed the window.

There’s a deeper reason this works. The most durable persuasion doesn’t come from a script and a flyer. It comes from a real conversation, ten or fifteen minutes long, where a volunteer listens as much as talks. Broockman and Kalla showed in a study published in Science that one such conversation could shift someone’s views for months. But you cannot have a thousand fifteen-minute conversations in the last week of October. You build that, door by door, starting now.

Mobilization adds up. Start the pile early.

Persuasion is only half the job. The other half is turnout, getting the people who already agree with you to actually fill out the ballot.

Here the lesson is about accumulation. When researchers Ryan Enos and Anthony Fowler studied the massive 2012 ground campaigns, they found something campaigns dream about: “no evidence of diminishing marginal returns.” Every contact, each one small on its own, stacked on the last. Together they raised turnout by seven to eight points in the states where the work got done.

A campaign isn’t a fireworks finale. It’s a savings account. The deposits you make in June compound through November.

And there’s a quieter return on starting early that no spreadsheet fully captures: the volunteer who knocks a few doors in June becomes the team leader in August who trains four new neighbors in September. That’s how a campaign grows the army it needs for the final weekend. Wait until fall and there’s no time left to build it.

This is the work, and it’s down the street

We’ve watched this play out right here in the southwest metro.

The Minnesota Senate has flipped on a single seat twice in recent memory, in 2016 and again in 2022, and was held by a hair in the 2024 special election out in Lake Minnetonka, where one race, the only Senate seat on the ballot, decided whether control of the chamber would flip. One district. The whole state hung on it.

Down-ballot races are exactly where a knock on the door counts most. In a presidential year, voters drown in contact. In a state Senate or House race, a volunteer at the door might be the only campaign anyone in that household ever talks to. The research bears this out: personal contact does more in quiet, low-information races than in the loud ones at the top of the ticket.

So the seat is winnable. The margin will be thin. And the person who moves it is a neighbor on a porch, in daylight, in summer. It could be you.

What to do, and when to do it

Don’t wait for October. Here’s the path:

Sign up now. Knock your first doors this summer, while the conversations can still change a mind and while there’s time to learn the work.

Bring someone. The neighbor you recruit in June is the team leader the campaign needs in September.

Come back in the fall for the turnout push, when reminding our people to vote is the whole job, and do it knowing you helped build the operation that makes that final weekend possible.

Your Senate or House district race needs door knockers, and it needs them now, not in the panic of the last few weeks. An afternoon you give in June is worth more than the same afternoon in October. That’s not a pep talk. That’s what the data says.

Three hundred eighty-seven votes.

Some summer Saturday, on some street near you, a few of those votes are waiting behind a door nobody’s knocked on yet.

Go knock.

The Politics Chicks In Real Life Event

I wrote previously about the importance of political campaign donations and how you can take advantage of Minnesota’s excellent Political Contribution Refund program. Well, here’s a fun fundraiser:

Tomorrow, the hosts of the extremely popular Minnesota politics podcast, The Politics Chicks, are hosting a live conversation and audience Q&A with District 48 Senate candidate, Dan Kessler. This event doubles as a fundraiser for his campaign. Doors open at 6:30. Register here.

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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The Art Of Victimhood

MAGA has turned victimhood into a fine art.

They squeal about the latest wild conspiracy that’s trending in the dark corners of the internet. They continue to squeal about the long-running conspiracies they’ve always sqealed about.

The January 6ers sqeal about injustice despite their role in an attempted coup d’état and their assault on police officers defending the Capitol.

While the rest of us—the real victims of their malfeasance—grin and bear it.

We bear the indignity and the offensiveness of their wild-eyed insanity. They’ve damaged the pride we used to feel when our nation represented the good guys on the national stage.

More importantly, we bear the real burdens of their misrule:

• The plunder of our national treasury; stealing our tax dollars to fill their pockets while depriving us of a government that serves us all,

• Unchecked inflation driven by Trump’s crazy tariffs,

• Sky-high gas prices (and groceries, and utility bills, and air travel, and computer chips, and farm inputs, and…) due to their war of choice against Iran that they have no strategy for ending and which leaves Iran with a stronger strategic hand than before, and

• The silence of Republican elected leaders in the face of this madness.

Get Loud

It’s time for us to take a page from the MAGA playbook and squeal ourselves, but with actual justification and bringing actual receipts.

• Complain to your neighbors and friends about whatever it is you are paying more for and make a direct connection to the policies that are responsible for those costs. Make it clear who is responsible.

• Whenever you fill up your tank, take a photo of the pump and post it online and thank Trump, MAGA, and your local Republican representative for the higher costs. (It costs me $20 more to fill up my tank than it did before Trump started the war against Iran.)

• Take a picture of your grocery receipts (remember to redact your card number) and do the same.

• Is your company requiring you to return to the office? Complain about the cost of child care or the cost of clothes and do it publicly.

Carver County has a beautiful and very popular system of nature trails. Take chalk with you the next time you go for a walk to leave messages along the trail (or other high-traffic areas). Paint messages on stones to leave along the trail. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Trumpflation Is Killing Us

• Republican Rule = High Prices

• Billionaires Got Deals. You Paid The Price.

• Vote Like Your Rent Depends On It

Be loud. Be persistant. And be clear about who you hold responsible.

Affordability Resources

For my day job, I have the privilege of being able to work on projects that leave the world in a little better place. In these trying times, many of us are going to need a little help to get by.

I’ve added two of those projects to our Mutual Aid page:

Get Gambling Help

In 1945, Minnesota partially legalized gambling by allowing charitable bingo to help nonprofits raise funds. Over the years, legal gambling expanded to the point where we are today with a state lottery, parimutual betting and tribal casinos.

Recognizing the risk of addiction to gambling, state legislators carved out set-aside funds from gambling revenue devoted to a program to oversee problem gambling prevention, education, and reimbursement for clinical treatment. Because gambling addiction is not heavily subsidized by federal healthcare funding, the state built a self-sustaining funding pipeline directly attached to gambling revenues.

Gambling addiction often causes a financial burden not only on the individual suffering from the addiction but on their families and loved ones as well.

That program runs a gambling helpline and its associated GetGamblingHelp.org website to promote free resources to help those struggling with gambling.

Quit Partner Minnesota

Quit Partner is Minnesota’s official, free state-run family of programs designed to help residents kick nicotine and commercial tobacco addictions, including smoking, vaping, and chewing.

The program relies on a mix of behavioral therapy and clinical treatment, offering flexible resources that let people “quit their way.”

• Free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): For adults 18 and older, Quit Partner mails free two-week starter kits of patches, gum, or lozenges directly to their door (limited to two kits per person, per year).

• One-on-One Coaching: Enrollees get access to trained tobacco cessation coaches 24/7. Coaching can be done entirely over the phone, via live web chats, or through interactive texting.

• Digital Scaffolding: For those who prefer a self-guided approach, the program offers automated text messaging tracks and email programs designed to provide behavioral tips, daily motivation, and strategies to conquer cravings.

• Language Accessibility: Services are offered in multiple languages, utilizing specialized translation networks (like LanguageLine) to support Hmong, Somali, Spanish, and over 200 other spoken languages.

I personally took advantage of Quit Partner’s predecessor program, QuitPlan, to sucessfully quit smoking in 2001. Quitting now is a great way to free up budget for the higher costs of everything else.

That program was funded as a result of then-state Attorney General Skip Humphrey’s 1998 landmark settlement with the tobacco industry, which won $6.5 billion for the state of Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota.

THAT is what it looks like when you hold power to account.

P.S., Uncle Sam is pretty pissed off about the cost of living, too!

I Need Your Help

My company has another project currently underway for which we are trying to recruit young Minnesotans (13-24) to provide their perspective in a cannabis-use research study.

Eligible participants will take part in a 90-minute virtual focus group or interview, for which they will receive a $75 gift card of their choice. It is a confidential and judgment-free discussion. You do not have to be a cannabis user to particpate. Visit YouthHealthMN.com for more information and to apply.

Below, I’ve included program flyers in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong. Please share with your networks!

YouthHealthMN.co

It should be 80 and sunny for tomorrow’s rally!

See you there.

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Get angry!

I again started to get depressed these last few days. The constant, relentless barrage of insane news, ranging from threats here in Minnesota to our Boundary Waters and ICE ramping up again, to the news that a slush fund has been created and the official record of the crimes committed by the January 6th insurrectionists is being erased and they will be receiving money, to the insanity in Iran and Gaza. There is no letup, and there seems to be no limit to how low the administration can go.

One of our regular protestors now brings a whiteboard to the protest so she can change her sign weekly, because there is always something new.

As I was sitting on my couch staring at the news, I realized that I needed to change my feelings of sadness, fear, and depression into anger.

Sadness, fear, and depression are feelings that immobilize you. They make you freeze and stop you from doing things. Anger, on the other hand, makes you do things.

The majority of people in the USA are vastly underestimating how bad things really are. Many think that if we vote them out during the midterms, things will go back to normal. They won’t. So many things have been set in motion, rules and trust have been broken, and so much damage has been done that it will take decades to heal.

It’s time to get angry. Angry at the small group of powerful people who are dismantling the USA and its Constitution piece by piece. Get angry at the people who are destroying the rights so many have fought so hard for. Get angry that they want to put profit over the health of our people and our environment.

Anger puts us into motion. It requires action.

We have history on our side. What I mean by that is that we know how past dictators did this, and we also know how people resisted. We have the internet at our fingertips to rally all of us, to fight misinformation, and to make sure we are doing this together.

The first thing to get angry about in our local community is that they are planning another data center in Chaska. We now know what this does to our energy bills, our water, and our environment. We can stop this.

Contact Liz Hanson, city planner, at 952-448-9200 or email her at ehanson@chaskamn.gov, and contact all the city council members. Chaska does not want this!

Other things you can do are to find out what your local district is and educate yourself on who is running. Support those who are running by volunteering, putting up yard signs, and yes, donating money.

On Tuesday, Bountiful Baskets is coming to the SW Protectors meeting to explain to us how a food shelf actually works, where they get money from, what they can and can’t provide, and how the landscape is changing for our local families. I hope you can join us.

I am angry that funds are continuing to be cut, including SNAP benefits for children. As groceries continue to get more expensive, more and more people are having to ask for help.

This Saturday promises to be warm, so wear hats, put on sunscreen, and bring a cold drink. Get angry, and take action!

The resistance does not win through sadness or by ignoring what is happening around us. We win by fighting.

Let’s go!

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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On this 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, and our present fight to preserve our nation, Memorial Day takes on an added and more urgent significance.

In addition to our fallen family and friends, we also honor the Revolutionary-heros who gave their lives to win our independence from a monarch.

We also honor our Union Blue soldiers who gave their lives to preserve the great American experiement in representative democracy and to end the fascism of the slave-holding south.

We also honor our GIs who gave their lives to literally defeat fascism and create the rules-based world order.

We also honor those who have given their lives since in the service of preventing World War III and defending the rights and freedoms we all enjoy and face such threat today.

Memorial Day is not an abstraction. It is a name carved into stone. It is a folded flag handed to a mother. It is a uniform hanging in a closet that nobody has worn since.

Tomorrow, our neighbors across the Southwest Metro are gathering to read those names out loud. Here is where you can stand with them.

Bloomington

The Bloomington American Legion Post 550 steps off at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 25, 2026, near Lyndale Avenue and Old Shakopee Road. The route runs south on Lyndale, beginning somewhere around 94th and Bryant, heading toward Bloomington Cemetery.

Map to staging area | Facebook event

Chanhassen

Cemetery honors begin at 7:45 a.m. at three sites: Leach Cemetery, Chanhassen Pioneer Cemetery, and St. Hubert’s Cemetery.

The main ceremony runs from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Al Klingelhutz Memorial Pavilion, Lake Ann Park, 1456 West 78th Street. The keynote this year is Miki Huntington, a retired U.S. Army veteran. The pavilion is covered, with lights, electrical outlets, picnic tables, and portable restrooms. The city moved the ceremony here because construction is still tearing up the usual City Center Park area.

Map | Event page

Chaska

Morning honors start at 7:30 a.m. at the local cemeteries. The parade steps off at 10:00 a.m. from Chaska Boulevard and Pine Street and ends at Veterans Park, 619 Creek Road. The program follows at 10:15 a.m. Hosted by American Legion Post 57 and VFW 1791.

A practical note. Parking near Veterans Park will be tight. The city is asking people who can walk to park at Firemen’s Park and come over on foot. Wear shoes that can do the distance.

If it rains, the program moves to the Chaska VFW.

Map to parade start | Map to Veterans Park | Event details

Eden Prairie

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., The Veterans Memorial at Purgatory Creek Park, 13001 Technology Drive.

The keynote is John Mallo. He is a longtime Eden Prairie resident and a U.S. Army veteran. He is also one of the people who helped bring this memorial into being in the first place.

The Eden Prairie Community Band will play. Local veterans will be recognized by name.

Parking at Purgatory Creek is limited. Restrooms are on site.

Map | City calendar

Excelsior

The South Lake Minnetonka Memorial Day program runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The opening program is at Excelsior Elementary School, 441 Oak Street, at 10:00 a.m. The parade steps off at 11:00 a.m. There is a gravesite ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery, with a flyover tied to the parade and cemetery portion.

Map to the school | Event post | Chamber calendar

The Excelsior Streetcar Line Memorial Day Service runs 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Regular fares for the public. Veterans ride free with their families. The Minnesota Streetcar Museum opens the carbarn, runs the historic cars, and puts the history exhibits out.

The boarding platform is on Water Street next to the Excelsior Public Library, 337 Water Street. Two free parking lots in town, plus limited free on-street parking. One important note for families: the historic streetcars are not wheelchair accessible.

This is not a remembrance ceremony. It is a Memorial Day afternoon with kids on a streetcar and grandparents telling them what they remember. It counts.

Map to boarding | Museum page

Prior Lake

The parade starts at 9:00 a.m. from Twin Oaks Middle School, 15860 Fish Point Road SE, and heads west down 160th Street to Memorial Park / Veterans Memorial Park, 5181 Memorial Trail SE. A special dedication will be part of the program at the park.

The city and the VFW are running this one together. The detail on the program internals is thin in the public listings, so come ready for a ceremony of the customary shape: invocation, names, flag, music.

Map | Event post

Richfield

2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Honoring All Veterans Memorial, 6401 Portland Avenue South. The Richfield Symphonic Band will play. There is a Table of Remembrance, a color guard, an invocation, and a T-6 Thunder flyover. New names, freshly engraved, will be unveiled on the memorial.

Bring your own chair.

Here is the detail that matters and that almost no other city in this list bothered to publish: parking and wheelchair access is at the former American Legion post parking lot at 6429 Portland Avenue. If you or someone in your family needs that access, you know where to go.

Map | Event page

Shakopee

Cemetery honors begin at 7:30 a.m. The ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park starts at 10:00 a.m. The March to the Monument follows at 10:15 a.m. Memorial Park, 1801 County Highway 101 E.

Shakopee VFW Post 4046 and American Legion Post 2 share these duties in a yearly rotation. This year, the VFW is hosting. The post calls it “this solemn morning,” and that is exactly the right phrase for it.

The park has an open-air shelter, electricity, picnic tables, and portable restrooms.

Map | Event post

St. Louis Park

10:45 a.m. at Wolfe Park, at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater. The St. Louis Park Community Band is playing at that exact time and location, and a public Memorial Day ceremony is listed for the same slot, so the program almost certainly braids the two together.

The accessible public documentation on this one is thinner than it should be for a city this size. The time and place are firm. The rest, come and see for yourself.

Map | Event post | Band page

One Last Thing

You do not need to know the right thing to say at a Memorial Day ceremony. Nobody does. You stand. You take your hat off. You listen when the names are read.

Pick the one closest to your house. Bring a kid.

These ceremonies happen because veterans and their families build them, every year, with folding tables and microphones that do not always work. They happen because neighbors show up.

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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I’ve been meaning to share this story about the Ghost Shoes project with you all.

Volunteers have installed 50 pairs of white shoes at locations throughout Minneapolis where ICE abducted people, the Star Tribune’s Alicia Eier reports.

On a fence at Valley View Elementary School in Columbia Heights, four pairs of small white shoes hang in a row. Kid-sized. Painted bone-white. No feet inside them.

One of those pairs belongs to Liam Ramos, the five-year-old boy who was detained alongside his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, by federal agents on January 20 at that approximate spot. You may remember the story. It drew international attention.

The shoes are still there.

They were hung by Anthony Marchetti, 47, of Minneapolis, and his son Luciano, 8. “We don’t want people to forget,” Anthony told the Star Tribune. “We want people to remember and to continue to fight injustice.”

Multiply that fence by fifty.

What the project is

The project is called ICE Ghost Shoes 26: A Remembrance, conceived by Minneapolis artist Laura Migliorino. Fifty pairs of white-painted shoes now mark Twin Cities locations where federal agents detained, shot, killed, or committed violence against someone during Operation Metro Surge. Each pair carries a tag with the date, a short description, and a QR code linking to @ghostshoesice26 on Instagram.

The project draws on a deep tradition: the Shoes on the Danube Bank in Budapest, the Stolpersteine plaques set into European sidewalks for deported Jews, the ghost bikes chained to telephone poles where cyclists were killed.

This is what civic art has always been for.

The next phase: installations across the rest of Minnesota, starting in July.

That includes here.

The Southwest Metro is not exempt

It would be easy, reading the Strib piece, to assume Operation Metro Surge happened somewhere else. Lake Street. North Minneapolis. The cities. Someone else’s neighborhood.

We know otherwise.

Federal agents operated in Eden Prairie. In Chanhassen. In Chaska. In Shakopee. Out at the construction sites and the auto shops and the cleaning company parking lots that keep this metro running. They sat in unmarked vehicles outside apartment complexes off Highway 5. They followed people home from second-shift jobs on Highway 41. Neighbors of yours watched it happen. Some of them stopped going to work. Some stopped going to church. Some are still gone.

If you have neighbors who were detained.

If you drive Highway 7 to work, you have driven past locations that belong on this map.

The shoes haven’t gone up here yet. They could. They should.

How you can help

Here is what we know about getting involved, based on what Migliorino and the organizers have said publicly:

Add a location. The project’s installation map is built from ICEout.org. If you witnessed an enforcement action in the Southwest Metro, or if you know of one that happened to someone in your neighborhood, you can add it to the map. The team is actively looking for sites in the rest of Minnesota for the July expansion.

Donate shoes. The project transforms donated footwear into ghost shoes by painting them white. Adult shoes, kid shoes, work boots. Anything that fits the foot of a real person who walked our streets.

Paint. Volunteers do the painting in groups. It is slow, deliberate work, and it is also community work. You meet people who care about the same things you do.

Install. Ten different groups of volunteers installed the first fifty pairs. When the project reaches the Southwest Metro, those installation teams will need people who know which fence, which signal pole, which stretch of sidewalk matters and why.

Follow and share. The project’s Instagram is @ghostshoesice26. Every QR code on every pair of shoes points back there. The more people who follow, the more the documentation travels.

Why this matters now

The administration would like Operation Metro Surge to fade. They would like the chaotic footage to slip out of the news cycle. They would like the kids who were taken from school pickup lines to become a story other people tell, somewhere else, about another time.

The shoes are how we refuse that.

Every pair on a fence is a small public sentence: Someone stood here. Federal agents came. We saw it. We will not let it disappear into the regular noise of the day.

That sentence belongs in Eden Prairie. It belongs in Chaska. In Shakopee. It belongs at the intersections you turn through on your way to soccer practice, because that is precisely where the people who do the work of this metro were targeted.

We have a chance, between now and July, to make sure the Southwest Metro is on the map when the next wave of installations begins.

If you witnessed an enforcement action in our area, or you know someone who did, report it to ICEout.org so the location gets on the installation map.

A pair of small white shoes on a fence is not much. It is also everything. It is the thing that says, decades from now, when someone walks their kid past that spot: This happened here. We remembered. We did not look away.

That memory is ours to build.

The Symbolic Power of Shoes

If you have seen Jojo Rabbit, you already know why shoes carry this kind of weight. (Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen that superb film, you might want to watch it first before reading the rest of this.)

Taika Waititi’s film follows a ten-year-old Hitler Youth recruit whose mother, Rosie, is secretly a member of the German resistance. We meet her shoes before we meet her face. The camera lingers on them, red and white, as she walks. Rosie ties Jojo’s laces over and over throughout the film. It is her small, stubborn act of love.

And then, late in the film, Jojo turns a corner in the town square and sees a pair of red and white shoes hanging above the cobblestones. The shoes are how he learns his mother has been hanged by the Gestapo. The camera holds on the shoes, not the body.

It is one of the most devastating images in modern cinema, and it works precisely because Waititi understood what every memorial artist understands: a shoe is the last honest record of a person. It holds the shape of who they were. It says they walked here, stood here, lived here.

At the end of the film, Jojo finally manages to tie a pair of shoes himself, the red ones, now on the feet of Elsa, the Jewish girl his mother hid. He has grown up. He has chosen humanity. The shoes carry that, too.

This is what the Ghost Shoes are doing on our fences. They are not abstractions. They are the shape of a neighbor who was here.

See you all tomorrow!

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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I came up with the name “Protectors” because each one of us is trying to protect someone or something by speaking out: The Constitution, bodily autonomy, the environment, our transgender friends and family, and family members, friends, and co-workers who have come from different countries, and so much more. It is all under attack, and it is all happening at once.

Why We Show Up

Our voting rights are being threatened and, with them, our ability to have any say in how we want to be governed. Free press and free speech used to be real things, and it has amazed me how fast that has been eroded. News stations are not airing stories so as not to offend the Trump regime, glossing over the truth instead of digging deep to bring to light what is really happening.

I hope you are reading and listening to news sources that try to give you real news and not infotainment. I hope you are not just listening to quick sound bites, but are trying to understand the history behind the issues being discussed.

The blatant disregard for the Constitution and what the USA stands for is astonishing, but there is good news. People are not happy. I know it seems like our pro-democracy rally has been small every week and that support is waning, but in actuality, more and more people are unhappy about what is happening and, if given the chance, will vote against the regime in the next election. They may not come out on Saturdays, but they will show up at the polls.

Supporting Candidates and Spreading the Word

We need to make sure we are all able to vote safely and fairly, and we need to make sure people know who to vote for. I know in my neighborhood many people do not yet know that Joe Brothers is running for House District 48A or that Doug Chapin wants to unseat Emmer.

We need to spread the word. Some people are doing door knocking, but even putting up a yard sign can make a big difference and help build name recognition down the line.

On Tuesday, Dan and Michelle Kessler will be at The Bellows for the Southwest Protectors meeting to discuss what you and I can do to help.

Help Needed

I am looking for help. I am overwhelmed with all the events and activities happening, and I would love it if someone could help keep track of candidate events, volunteer opportunities, and fundraisers so we can continue making you aware of them. Please let me know if you are able to send me a list of events each week that I can pass along to everyone.

Important Safety Reminder

I also wanted to make you all aware that a well-known agitator has stated he is interested in coming to our area to bully our patriots. He specifically mentioned the Waconia protest, and since we are close by, I am sure we are on his list too.

My first ask is that, if you are able, please come support the Waconia protest from 11:30 to 12:30.

Second, DO NOT engage with him in any way. He wants publicity for his YouTube channel, and if we do not give him reactions, he has nothing to work with.

Remember that we are in a public area and he has every right to be there. If he starts yelling or screaming obscenities, that is his right. Just remember that you cannot reason with him, and if you give him attention, he will profit from it. I know I do not want this person making any money from our reactions.

Our security team has pictures of him and a description so we know who to look out for.

Bring the Patriotism

As we get closer to Memorial Day, many stores are selling items with flags and patriotic themes. I hope you will bring those things to the rally so people can see that we are fighting for the United States. I bought some flag hats and fans myself to help deal with the heat in the upcoming months.

Keep Going

If you are feeling defeated by the amount of absolutely batshit crazy stuff the Trump regime is currently doing, please remember that they are desperate, and the more desperate they become, the more unhinged their actions will be as they try to hold on to power.

We will protect.

See you Saturday.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Sorry for the very short letter today. I am dealing with possible pneumonia and am exhausted from all the coughing.

Last Saturday there were 260 of you, and this weekend the weather will be absolutely amazing. I am hoping you get out, recharge in the sun, and get ready for a long fight.

The Voting Rights Act is no more, and the aggressive way the Trump regime is trying to obtain various voter roll information shows they will stop at nothing to prevent us from having a free and fair election. Why? Because they know we will win.

Check your voter registration at least once a month, as there have been reports all over the U.S. of registrations disappearing. You can do this at mnvotes.sos.mn.gov.

I know that there have been a number of kids on bikes and scooters at the protests. Please be aware of your surroundings, as I do not want anyone to be accidentally hit by them. I also know the things they say and how they behave can be very frustrating.

I know they have been filming us, so please do not give them any reason to complain to authorities about us, because that would be a PR nightmare.

Remember that we are on a public way, and they have as much right to be there as we do. Their behavior is a direct reflection of their parents, and all we can do is deal with it.

I wish you all a great weekend!

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Today’s newsletter will be a short one. I, too, am tired.

The last many months have been difficult on a personal level, from losing my father to ICE activity in Minnesota the week I came back. I have been going non-stop, fighting ICE, volunteering at Latino Voices, and so much more. I try to take a deep breath and not let the news overwhelm me. I look for hope, and I see it every week when we all come together.

But these past months have taken a toll on me, and the barrage of news is affecting me too.

In the next few weeks, you will see less of me, and there will be fewer newsletters. I apologize for that. I need a little time to recharge. I will still have one newsletter per week, and yes, we still have the SW Protectors. You will see me at the protests, just not every time.

We have such amazing volunteers, and I am so thankful to them and to all of you. We are going to keep protecting democracy and standing up for what is right.

Kohl’s has asked that we leave parking by the front of their store for paying customers, so please try to keep the first several rows available.

The amazing Ivy has started a free clothing closet, but she needs your help. She is looking for several shelves for her garage to store all the donations. If you can, please Venmo her at @ivydawnjohnson so she can store and organize them. It would be really helpful, as several organizations have already reached out to her for clothes.

Ivy would also love help sorting and organizing. You can contact her via the Free Clothing Closet Facebook page. Or let me know, and I can put you in touch with her.

She is not accepting new clothes right now, as she needs storage racks first.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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257 people showed up on Saturday. The wind was low, the temperature was wonderful, and we stayed dry, which I call a win.

On Saturday, a black car with blacked-out windows drove by with a loudspeaker, yelling at us. It then turned into the parking lot and slowly made one loop between our cars as people were walking back. Most probably did not notice it or could not make out what was being said. I won’t repeat what they called us.

I am glad no one reacted or engaged. Because of this, they left feeling small and ignored. I thought of them as cowards; anonymous in a blacked-out car, while we stand out there every week, same time and place, with our faces and our voices. What a contradiction.

It takes courage to do what you do every single week.

On Courage, Big and Small

The big protests are wonderful. There are many of us at those, and that makes things easier. But showing up every week, even when the numbers are small, takes real courage.

The Norwood Young America protest is small, held Sunday late morning in a more conservative part of our county. Typically, it has 10–20 people. Waconia is also in a more conservative area, and because there are fewer protesters, there is more of that same cowardly behavior.

A new protest has started in Victoria on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:30 at the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive.

And lastly, the person who, to me, shows the most courage is Ellie Krug, who stands in downtown Chaska on Fridays from 3–4. Usually she is alone, though recently two others have joined her. It takes so much to stand there, holding a sign and remaining open to whatever pushback may come.

Grace Under Pressure

Recently, a group of trolls found her Facebook account, and the things people have said have been horrible. Ellie has kept her grace and invites anyone who wants a civil conversation to meet with her over coffee. No one has taken her up on that offer.

It is easier to yell from a car or type a one-sentence slogan on a Facebook post, something that falls apart if actually examined closely.

Why We Show Up

None of us standing on the side of the road are there because of a sudden decision that the opposition is simply stupid. We came to this after looking at the facts and seeing how things are affecting us, our neighbors, our country, and our world.

It’s not easy to come week after week. We stand there in the rain, the cold, or the hot summer sun, taking time out of our precious weekends because this is too important to ignore. It takes courage to face the facts, rather than look away or ignore the real consequences of what is happening.

Every week, you tell me how overwhelming the constant onslaught of terrible news is. Yes, we are exhausted. I know I am.

But we keep showing up.

That, my friends, is true courage.

For Everyone

To face the problem head-on and try to change it for the better, for everyone. Not just for us, but even for the person who drives by giving us the finger. We are trying to protect them too, from an emerging surveillance and police state, from a country where freedom no longer means what it once did.

We are trying to protect them from higher medical bills, from losing their, and our, right to free speech. We are trying to make sure we all have clean water to drink and science to help us live better lives.

The resistance is for everyone.

Events

Tomorrow on Tuesday, April 28 beginning at 9 am, the Carver County Board of Commissioners will host a working session during which, according to the agenda, there will be an “Elections update”:

Cc Board Of Commissioners Elections Update 04

810KB ∙ PDF file

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On Wednesday, April 29, 6:30 - 8:30 Joe Brothers is hosting his campaign kickoff in Waconia. Joe is running against Representative Jim Nash in House District 48A. [Details]

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Most of us have seen the instruction floating around social media: “Call your reps, don’t just email.” Maybe you’ve rolled your eyes. Maybe you’ve wondered if it actually matters.

I admit, I’m convinced deep in my bones that Tom Emmer doesn’t give a flying bleep about what I think.

But here’s what’s actually happening inside the building when you do call.

What happens when you call

A staff member picks up. Usually someone junior, working the phones. They ask your name and zip code (they verify you’re actually a constituent), and they log your position on the issue: yes or no, for or against. At the end of the day, those tallies go to the legislative director.

Your senator or representative sees a report. Something like: “47 calls today. 39 against the banking order. 8 in support.”

Volume matters. A spike in calls on a specific issue gets flagged as constituent urgency. It’s one of the few direct pressure signals a member of Congress actually feels in real time.

What happens when you email

It goes into a constituent management system. It gets logged, categorized by topic, and usually generates an auto-response. A staffer may read it. Your position gets counted in a report.

It’s not useless. But it moves slower, carries less weight, and is much easier to deprioritize than a phone that won’t stop ringing.

Why calls hit differently

Calls require a human to pick up or listen to a voicemail every single time. They can’t be filtered or batched the way emails can. A hundred calls in one day on one issue feels different inside an office than a hundred emails. It creates visible, immediate pressure that a staffer has to physically report upward.

That’s the difference between urgency and noise.

You don’t need a speech

This is the part people get stuck on. You don’t need talking points. You don’t need to be articulate. You call, give your name and zip code, and say something like:

“I’m calling to express my opposition to any executive order requiring citizenship verification for bank accounts, and I’d like the Senator to oppose it.”

That’s it. Thirty seconds. They log it and move on. You’ve been counted.

What about writing an actual letter?

Here’s something most people don’t know: a physical letter sent through the U.S. Postal Service carries real weight, arguably more than email and sometimes even more than a call.

It’s slow by design, and that’s the point. A handwritten or printed letter requires deliberate effort. It’s not a click. Staffers know that. A constituent who sat down, wrote something out, addressed an envelope, and mailed it to Washington is a constituent who is serious.

Physical mail also gets handled differently. It’s read. It gets passed around. It sometimes lands on a desk. In high-volume offices during a news cycle, a stack of physical letters on an issue stands out in a way that a filtered email folder does not.

The catch is that mail routed to Capitol Hill goes through an irradiation process for security screening, which can add days or even weeks to delivery. If you’re trying to influence a vote happening next week, a letter won’t get there in time. But for sustained pressure on an ongoing issue, a physical letter is a slow-burning signal that says: this constituent isn’t going away.

When calls and letters arrive together

Here’s where it gets interesting. When an office receives calls on an issue and physical letters on the same issue during the same period, the effect is compounding. The calls create urgency now. The letters are a visual signal that the urgency has been building. Together, they tell a different story than either one alone.

A staffer reporting upward can say: “We’ve been getting calls on this all week, and letters have been coming in too.” That’s not just constituent interest. That’s constituent persistence. It demonstrates that the concern isn’t a reaction to a tweet; it’s something people in the district have been sitting with long enough to put on paper and find a stamp.

For issues that move slowly through Congress, this combination is a pressure tool worth understanding. Use calls when a vote is imminent. Use letters when you want your position on record and want to signal that you’re paying attention over the long haul. Do both when an issue matters enough that you want the office to understand you are not going anywhere.

Who represents you and how to reach them

You live here. You vote here. Your zip code is your standing in that conversation, and it’s the first thing they ask for. Here is exactly where to direct your calls and letters.

U.S. Senate

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D)

• Phone: (202) 224-3244

• Address: Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Senator Tina Smith (D)

• Phone: (202) 224-5641 309

• Address: 720 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

U.S. House (Southwest Metro)

Most of the Southwest Metro falls within Minnesota’s 2nd, 3rd and 6th Congressional Districts.

Representative Angie Craig (D - 2nd Congressional District)

• Phone: (202) 225-2271

• Address: 2052 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Representative Kelly Morrison (D - 3rd Congressional District)

• Phone: (202) 225-2871

• Address: 1205 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Not sure which district you’re in? Visit house.gov and enter your address. You can also call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you to any member’s office.

Representative Tom Emmer (F - 6rd Congressional District)

• Phone: (202) 225-2331

• Address: 326 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Make the call. Write the letter. Do both.

The people inside those offices are keeping count. Every tally matters, and right now, the count is the whole point.

See you Saturday!

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Good morning, friends.

It is Sunday afternoon, and I want to thank all of you who showed up yesterday in the cold wind. It was very brisk, and those of you holding signs got quite the arm workout trying to keep them up.

A total of 199 patriots, along with 4 patriots of the four-legged persuasion, showed up, with 45 American flags held aloft.

This past week, the President of the United States posted a picture of himself as Jesus. The Boundary Waters is under attack. More people died in ICE custody. Armed forces are having to ration food on their ships, as the administration once again shows that planning is not their strong suit. We also learned there was a rape-focused website with over 62 million visits in February alone.

The administration is also fighting hard to obtain your banking and voting information and is trying to access all your health data. Not to mention, states are going after transgender people, who are now not able to drive in some states.

Are you exhausted yet? Overwhelmed?

There were four mass shootings by Sunday afternoon this weekend, including one in which eight children were killed. It did not even make the news because there is just so much happening all at once. Some Catholics have now said that Trump has gone too far and will no longer support him. But I ask, why were the Epstein Files not enough?

One of our protesters, Ken, has been telling me about a documentary he recommends. I asked him to write to all of us about it:

Friends,

Most of us have watched in horror as DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth thumps his chest and claims to be a Christian. He talks about this war with Iran as a religious war, akin to the Crusades. He speaks of a “warrior ethos” as though we are fighting against “the evil empire.”

Granted, none of us believes that the regime in Iran are the “good guys.” It is a repressive theocratic regime. That said, Christian Nationalism holds that the USA was founded as a Christian nation, and its goal is to institute “traditional Christian values” on everyone in America. It is, in many ways, a distortion of both American history and Christianity.

The documentary Bad Faith traces the development of this movement from its beginnings through the present day. I believe it is well done and accurate. Whether you are Christian, agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or from another faith tradition, it is worth watching, in my opinion, because it helps explain where people like Hegseth are coming from and how the Religious Right seeks to impose its values on the rest of us.

It is about 1 hour and 20 minutes long on Amazon Prime. Below is the link.

As a final thought, I want you all to know that our Saturday rallies and Tuesdays at the Bellows are inspirational for me. I value getting to visit with many of you up and down the line and hearing why you are there, what concerns you most about the present administration and the direction of our country. I am grateful for you all.

Special thanks to Judith and the team for their encouragement and presence.

Grace and peace to you all,
Ken Ribe

Understanding where things come from is important, and I think this documentary does a good job of exploring that.

I am planning many activities in the coming months, so the newsletter will include more trainings, meetings, and events.

This Tuesday, Ellie Krug will be speaking at the SW Protectors. If you have not heard Ellie speak, you are in for a treat. Last time, we heard how an amazing group of people defeated the ICE warehouse here in Shakopee. The Department of Homeland Security is not giving up, and Indivisible has just sent out the information below.

For next Saturday’s protest:

The Department of Homeland Security has been quietly converting warehouses into industrial detention camps to hold and disappear our immigrant neighbors and community members. The decision to target vulnerable groups and warehouse human beings comes straight out of the authoritarian playbook.

Trump’s mass detention agenda is cruel, inhumane, and a threat to all of our rights -- and Indivisible is fighting back.

On April 25, we’re joining with coalition leaders from the Detention Watch Network and Disappeared in America for a nationwide day of action -- and we need your help to make it as big and successful as possible.

Immigrant-led organizations and local activists have been opposing detention expansion for years -- and there are already significant wins in this fight. By the latest count, local activists have stopped 13 proposed warehouse conversions across the country.

But many more warehouses are being proposed -- and there’s a lot more work to do. Together, we can block more sites from being built. We can hold DHS accountable for what’s happening at existing facilities. We can make Trump’s detention agenda too politically toxic to sustain. But this only works if we all play our part.

If you’re ready to take action, click here to view the Communities Not Cages map and find an event near you. Or read on, to learn more about the day of action, how to host your own event, and other ways to get involved.

Our goals and demands

The Communities Not Cages Day of Action is about building a nationwide, coordinated effort to oppose the Trump regime’s mass detention agenda. Together, we’ll:

• Show visible, public opposition to ICE detention expansion. DHS has been hoping it can quietly expand detention capacity and warehouse human beings without the public hearing about it. It’s up to us to raise the alarm, and mobilize our communities in opposition.

• Demand that our elected officials join the fight. We need our local electeds to use every tool they have to disrupt the conversion and construction of detention camps in our communities. They must reject any public funding, permits, or resources that enable detention expansion.

• Build connections with other activists in your community. There may be groups in your area who are already engaged in this work and can help you plug in. If not, you probably have neighbors who are just as concerned as you and are also looking for ways to take action. April 25 is your chance to find those connections and build the resistance in your community.

How you can join the fight

1) Find an event near you on April 25. There are events spread across the country including rallies and protests outside proposed and existing detention warehouses. Register for an event, and invite your friends and neighbors to join you.

2) Volunteer to host your own event. If there are no events near you, the host toolkit will help you organize one in your own community. Whether or not there’s a proposed warehouse location near you, there’s a role for everyone in this fight and we need as many people taking action on April 25 as possible.

3) Check out our resource page for a full breakdown of the Communities Not Cages Day of Action and the broader campaign to oppose Trump’s detention agenda. This page will have everything you need to get started: event toolkits, FAQs, know your rights resources, recorded trainings, and tools to find existing or proposed detention warehouses near you.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

There are also many groups now preparing to fight hard to keep the Boundary Waters safe, and I will be sharing more information about them in the coming weeks.

Please remember that we are making a difference. The rapid responders in Carver County made the agents’ jobs so difficult that only a few people were taken. We all worked hard to protect our friends and neighbors by providing food, hygiene products, and rent support so they could remain safe.

We also have people running against Tom Emmer and Jim Nash who are dedicated and have shown up. Joe Brothers was on site when ICE threatened me the first time.

This is just here in Carver County. All across the United States, people are coming together and fighting back.

Let’s keep going. Resist.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Hello everyone, it has been another eventful week. I miss the days of boring news. This newsletter is filled with announcements and ways to help, so I will keep this brief.

Showing up matters, calling your representatives matters, and voting matters. You are showing your community that there are people who care and who are standing up for what is right, slowly making a difference.

Minnesota just charged its first ICE agent.

People all over the country are voting out the Republicans who have stood by and let the decimation of the nation happen, including in deep red states. Make no mistake, we are fighting for our lives. I am going to keep going, and I hope you will too.

See you Saturday.

Judith

Events

Wednesday, April 29: Joe Brothers for District 48A campaign kickoff, from 6:30 to 8:30 at El Loro Mexican Restaurant, 520 Cherry Dr, Waconia, MN 55387 [Map]

Tuesday, May 19: 6:30 pm at SW Protectors meeting.

Want to make a real impact this election? Start here.

The Dan Kessler for Senate campaign Field Leadership Training isn’t just about one campaign, it’s about unlocking how any supporter can help win elections at every level.

We break down the three things that decide every race: Message, Mobility, and Money. And, more importantly, how everyday people can take action right now. From simple, high-impact social media habits to meaningful conversations with friends and neighbors to flexible at-home volunteering to door knocking with confidence. This training gives you practical tools you can use immediately.

Because here’s the truth: Elections are often decided by small margins and the people who show up, speak up, and take consistent action are the ones who make the difference.

You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to get involved.

Ready to plug in? Attend this training and discover the role that fits you: Whether it’s two minutes a day or a few hours a week, every action matters. And it starts with you.

Tuesday, June 23: Latino Voices fundraiser.

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of Highway 212 and Faxon.)

Victoria

Every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 pm on the corner of Highway 5 and Victoria Drive/County Rd 11.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Most Minnesotans have never heard of the Political Contribution Refund program.

That’s a shame, because it’s one of the most useful civic tools in the state, and almost nobody talks about it.

Here’s the short version: if you donate to a qualifying Minnesota state candidate or political party, the state will send you your money back. Up to $75 for an individual. Up to $150 for a married couple filing together. Dollar for dollar.

You pay $50 to a state senate candidate you believe in. The state of Minnesota sends you $50.

That’s it. That’s the program.

Now let’s walk through how it actually works, step by step, so you can use it.

Who qualifies to claim the refund?

You need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a Minnesota resident. Specifically, you need to have lived in Minnesota for at least 20 days before any 2026 statewide or local election in which you’d be eligible to vote. You also need to be a registered voter or eligible to register.

If a court has rescinded your right to vote, or you have a felony conviction with civil rights not yet restored, you’re not eligible. Otherwise, if you can vote in Minnesota, you can almost certainly use this program.

Which candidates and parties qualify?

This is the part that trips people up, so pay attention.

The PCR program only applies to contributions made to Minnesota state-level candidates and recognized political parties. Specifically: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and members of the Minnesota State Senate and House of Representatives.

That’s it.

Federal candidates (your U.S. senator, your U.S. representative, anyone running for president) do not qualify. Judges do not qualify. Your city council member, county commissioner, school board candidate; none of them qualify.

Political party units do qualify. The DFL, the Republican Party of Minnesota, and several others are eligible, right down to precinct and legislative district units, as long as they’re properly registered.

PACs and independent political funds do not qualify.

The other critical requirement: the candidate must have signed a Public Subsidy Agreement (PSA) with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board before you donate. This is a voluntary pledge by the candidate to accept spending limits in exchange for participating in the PCR program. Most serious campaigns file this early. If they haven’t filed it yet when you donate, your contribution won’t be refundable, even if they file it later.

Before you give to any state candidate, ask the campaign: “Are you PCR-eligible?” Or check the Campaign Finance Board’s website at cfb.mn.gov. This one step will save you a headache.

Step by step: how to get your money back

Step 1. Donate. Make a cash, check, or credit card contribution of at least $10 to a qualifying candidate or party unit. In-kind donations (your time, your stuff) don’t count. Only money.

Step 2. Get your EP-3 receipt. After you donate, the campaign is legally required to send you a Form EP-3 (Minnesota Political Contribution Receipt). This is the document that proves you gave. It must be signed by the candidate, the campaign treasurer, or an authorized party official. Many campaigns mail these; some email them. If you don’t receive one within a few weeks of donating, contact the campaign and ask for it.

Step 3. Wait until you have all your receipts for the year. Here’s an important rule: you can only file one PCR application per year. If you donate to three different candidates, collect all three EP-3 receipts and file them together in a single application. Filing a second application for the same year will get your second claim denied, regardless of how much you’ve already claimed.

Step 4. Fill out the 2026 Form PCR. This is a short form. You’ll need your name, mailing address, Social Security Number, and date of birth. Attach all your EP-3 receipts. Sign it. (Married couples filing jointly need both signatures.)

The form is available at revenue.state.mn.us/political-contribution-refund.

Step 5. Mail it to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The address is on the form. That’s all. No filing fee. No complex tax math.

Step 6. Get paid. The Department of Revenue typically processes claims in 4 to 6 weeks. If you choose direct deposit on Line 4 of the form (routing number, account number), you’ll get your money faster.

When do you file?

You can file as soon as you have your EP-3 receipt in hand, even in January. You don’t have to wait for tax season.

The final deadline to file for 2026 contributions is April 15, 2027. No extensions. And you can’t amend an application once it’s filed, so get it right the first time.

Pro tip: file in the summer or fall, not in April. The Revenue department processes claims faster when they’re not buried in end-of-season applications.

Common mistakes that get claims denied

Don’t use a nickname on the PCR form if your EP-3 has your legal name. The state’s automated systems flag name mismatches.

Don’t file twice in the same year. One application, with all your receipts attached.

Don’t forget to sign.

Don’t get the Social Security Number wrong.

Don’t donate to a candidate before they’ve signed their PSA.

One more thing: this program may not exist next year

Two bills in the current legislative session (SF3458 and HF3149) would repeal the PCR program entirely, with some versions taking effect as soon as June 30, 2026. Nothing is final as of this writing, but the program is under real political pressure.

If the PCR matters to you, this may be the last year to use it. And if you want to keep it, there are advocacy organizations calling for public support at actionnetwork.org/letters/support-the-minnesota-political-contribution-refund.

Bottom line

Minnesota built a program specifically to make it easier for regular people to participate in state politics. You donate to a candidate you believe in. The state gives you your money back. In a world where billionaires can spend $290 million on a single election cycle, this is how your voice gets to register on equal terms.

Use it.

Get your EP-3. Fill out the form. Mail it in.

And if you’re supporting a state candidate in the Southwest Metro this year, make sure they’re PCR-eligible before you give. The candidates who’ve signed their agreements are ready for your support and the state is ready to pay you back for it.

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of 212 by Reform Street.)

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Weekend Recap

The rain held off until right after the protest on Saturday, and 217 of you showed up with signs and enthusiasm. I decided to take my own advice and took a day to recharge yesterday. I will be back on Saturday and hope for dry weather.

Bring Your American Flags

We got word that the Carver County GOP is going to conduct a car parade on Saturday, where they drive in a convoy of vehicles flying Trump flags. they will be sure to be driving past us, so please bring your American flags.

A Personal Note

Not many of you know that I am a naturalized citizen. I came here in the late 80s with my parents. Minnesota in the late 80s was not accustomed to anyone “foreign,” and trying to integrate was hard.

What we missed most, besides family and friends, was the Dutch and Indonesian food I grew up with. Everything tasted different, even the milk. Back then, there was no importing the food we loved and missed so much.

A wonderful member of our protest family has a daughter who lives in the Netherlands and surprised me with the one ingredient I still cannot import. You have no idea how much that meant to me. The flavors of home help with homesickness, memory, and connecting the past with the present.

How You Can Help

Why am I telling you this story?

The United Way is running a project called Flavors of the Community, where they are collecting food staples from different ethnic communities to help people access familiar foods and flavors as they integrate into Minnesota.

You can help by:

• Buying items from the list and dropping them off with the SW Protectors or bringing donations to the protest

• Or ordering from the Amazon wish list

In two weeks, we will pack everything and deliver it.

I hope you will join me in making immigrants feel welcome in Minnesota.

Upcoming Events

• Tommorow, on April 14th, there is a training session for anyone interested in field leadership.

• On Wednesday, April 15th, there is a virtual training opportunity with States at the Core, focusing on how to stop ICE from building its mass deportation infrastructure. I also highly suggest subscribing to their emails.

Upcoming Speakers

I am lining up speakers for SW Protectors:

• April 21: Ellie Krug, speaking about running for school board and local seats

• May 5: Faraz Currimbhoy from the Quba Islamic Center of Chaska, speaking with us

• June 2: Patti from Bountiful Baskets, explaining how food shelves work, where food comes from, and how the process works

• June 16: Adam Moore, candidate for Carver County Sheriff, answering questions

I am continuing to add to the calendar and will update you when I have more.

Final Thoughts

I do not know what this week’s news will bring. I am sure that every day there will be at least one, if not more, “unprecedented” events. I hate that word now.

I do know that we are going to keep going.

Take a day, or more, to recharge. Turn off your phone or the TV when you feel overwhelmed. Talk to a friend or go scream into your pillow.

Then keep going.

We do not stop.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of 212 by Reform Street.)

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Tuesday was a difficult day. Maybe you felt like I did, that the people around you were just continuing life as if there was nothing wrong, while the President of the United States had threatened to obliterate 90 million people.

News is coming out at an astonishing pace; war, death, ICE. And while we are watching those things, the USDA just passed a rule that gutted environmental reviews on public lands, is dismantling the Forest Service (with fire season upon us), and, if you saw the proposed budget cuts to pay for this war, they include cuts or complete elimination of housing, K–12 programs, food assistance programs, and so much more.

People all over the USA and the world pushed back after the tweet and made calls to their representatives to step in and stop that madman. I am seeing more people who were behind Trump now rethinking that stance.

At every election in the last few weeks, Democrats have won. People want representatives who will speak truth to power.

Things You Can Do

First, let’s take a deep breath and drop your shoulders. What we are all going through is traumatic, and the constant bad news, disbelief, and all the other feelings and emotions are exhausting. We need to remember what we are fighting for.

I am fighting for my children, for affordable healthcare, and for a livable planet. I am fighting for the right to have control over my own body, and for everyone to get a good education. I am fighting for my friends and community. I love what Paul Wellstone used to say: “We all do better when we all do better.”

What are you fighting for? Think about that and hold on to it tightly.

Now for what you can do: Come protest, of course. Join us at the SW Protectors and spread the word.

You can also help Dan Kessler and Lucy Rehm:

• Volunteer for Dan Kessler’s campaign

• Volunteer for Lucy Rehm’s campaign

On April 14th, there is also a training session for anyone interested in field leadership.

On the 15th, there is a virtual training opportunity with States at the Core, focusing on how to stop ICE from building its mass deportation infrastructure. I also highly suggest subscribing to their emails.

Urgent call

United Way is collecting culturally specific food bags, and the deadline is in two weeks. If you would like to help, please buy the items listed here, or you can use my Amazon list and have them sent directly to me.

Drop-off is available at the protest or the SW Protectors meeting. If those options don’t work, I can come pick them up. If you want to help pack in two weeks, let me know.

These bags are very important, as many food shelves do not always have familiar foods available. These food packs will help address that, and I am hoping we can drop off many of them.

There are many people who are not able to stand up and fight. You and I can.

Let’s do this.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of 212 by Reform Street.)

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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Most of us don’t think of ourselves as political donors. That word conjures something we’re not: A wealthy person writing a check at a fundraiser, shaking hands with a senator in a hotel ballroom. Someone with access we’ll never have.

But here’s what’s actually true. A $10 donation to a candidate you believe in does something that money can’t fully explain.

It gets counted.

In 2019 and 2020, the Democratic National Committee required presidential debate candidates to hit specific donor thresholds before they could take the stage.

Not dollar totals. Donor counts.

They started at 65,000 unique donors and scaled up to 225,000. The party made a formal, institutional decision that the number of real people who gave, even small amounts, was a legitimate measure of whether a candidate deserved to be taken seriously.

That policy reflected something researchers have documented for years. Political scientist Danielle Thomsen’s 2025 book The Money Signal found that the top fundraiser wins 92% of the time in congressional primaries and general elections.

Not because money buys votes. But because money is a signal: Journalists cover it, donors follow it, and party leaders use it to decide who gets support. A strong fundraising report generates media attention, which generates more donors, which generates more attention. The cycle runs both directions.

Here’s the thing: Self-funded money doesn’t trigger that cycle the way donor money does. Michael Bloomberg spent $1 billion of his own fortune on his 2020 presidential campaign and won zero primaries. Research confirms what Bloomberg’s campaign made impossible to ignore: Voters interpret donations from real people as evidence of real support in a way that personal wealth simply cannot replicate.

So when you give $10 to your city council candidate or your state legislator, you are not just funding a mailer. You are registering your existence as a constituent. You are adding your name to the count that reporters will look at when they decide whether a race is worth covering. You are one of the signals.

That matters especially in local and state races, where the difference between winning and losing can be a few hundred votes, and where a candidate can hit their fundraising threshold without a single megadonor involved.

The scale of what money buys at the top is genuinely staggering. In the 2024 cycle, one donor, Elon Musk, contributed more than $290 million, roughly equivalent to the combined donations of 3 million small-dollar Americans. The top 100 donors outspent millions of grassroots contributors by 60%. This is the landscape we’re operating in.

We can’t match those dollars. But we can change the signal.

Pew Research Center data shows that among Americans who nearly always vote, 21% also donate. Those who follow government closely donate at a rate of 28%. Donating is what engaged citizens do. It deepens the connection. It makes you more likely to put up a yard sign, knock a door, and show up in November.

70% of donors, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center audit [PDF], describe their contributions as “obligated by civic duty,” not as a transaction.

That’s the right frame.
Not investment.
Duty.

The candidates running for your school board, your state house seat, your county commission, they need small donors. Not just for the money. They need the donor count. They need proof that their neighbors are paying attention and choosing to back them up.

Find someone you believe in. Give what you can. Even $10 counts.

It always gets counted.

To find candidates in the Southwest Metro, check the SD48 DFL endorsements or visit mn.gov/sos for your local races. Your contribution is reported publicly once it crosses $200 in aggregate, so small donors have privacy most large donors do not.

Next week, I’ll publish an article about how you can take advantage of Minnesota’s Political Contribution Refund (PCR) program.

David

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of 212 by Reform Street.)

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

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For the first time since I started coming to the protests a year ago, we had precipitation during the protest itself. There was hail, sleet, and snow, and yet 149 of you still showed up. People driving by were impressed. We heard many honks and saw quite a few people hanging out of their windows cheering.

It is Easter morning as I am writing this, and I just saw the latest post from Trump. It was vile, and a few reporters called it unhinged. Reveling in the death and destruction he is creating is disgusting. Hegseth is also moving through the military, firing anyone he sees as following the Constitution rather than him. The rights of our transgender families and friends are being attacked, along with women’s rights and voting rights. Yes, it is overwhelming. I am overwhelmed, and reporters are saying the same. There is so much to think about and to fight against. There is so much that makes me want to pull my hair out, and not a day goes by when I am not swearing and amazed by the hypocrisy.

And yet, the tide is turning. We are all making a difference.

Chanhassen Protests

Please note that for the next two weeks, the protests in Chanhassen will be at 78th and Kerber, due to construction.

Ways You Can Help

Defeating ICE

On Tuesday, at SW Protectors, David and Monique will talk to us about the framework they used to defeat the proposed contract to rent Carver County jail cells to ICE. (For new subscribers: We host a social meeting every first and third Tuesday at The Bellows in Chaska from 6:30-8 pm. It’s free. Scroll to the bottom for the address.)

Campaign Training

There is a field leadership training on April 14th on how to help win campaigns [REGISTER].

Candidate Meet & Greet

There is a candidate meet and greet at Baylor Park in Norwood Young America on April 18th from 10 a.m. to noon [REGISTER].

Book Club, Anyone?

I have had several people say they would be interested in a book club to talk about the political books they have read and the lessons learned. If you are interested and have books you would like to recommend, please send me a message.

Plus-One Shopping

I would also like to invite you to do a +1 every time you are at the store. When you are shopping, add one thing to donate, whether it is food, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, or simple items like a new pack of socks or underwear. You can drop these off every Saturday at the protest, at SW Protector meetings, or, if none of those work, I can come to you. I will get these items to the groups in Carver County that need them most. We will be doing bigger drives in the near future, but +1 is simple and does not hurt anyone’s budget.

Clothing Closet

Ivy, one of our protesters, has started a free clothing closet and is accepting donations of clean, undamaged, in-trend clothes and shoes for all ages. She has a Facebook page, Carver County Free Clothing Closet, or you can donate at either SW Protectors or the protests. She could also use donations of clear plastic bins or help organizing. Please contact her via Facebook or when you see her at the protest. You cannot miss her, as she has the most amazing colored hair.

Rapid Responders

Shout out to the Rapid Response team here in Chaska and Carver County. They are still patrolling and, this weekend, set up an Easter egg hunt for the kids in vulnerable communities. The Rapid Responders spend many hours each week driving around and dispatching to help protect our community. When a community member is worried about ICE being in a neighborhood, many of us head out immediately. Not once has a call for help gone unanswered.

Welcome, Newcomers!

Shout out also to some first-time protesters who came to No Kings and last week’s protest. The first time is intimidating and sometimes scary, but we welcome you with open arms and hope to continue seeing you.

In the next few weeks and months, things may get worse as Trump tries to hold on. Do not give up. Do not get complacent.

Welcome to the resistance, where we fight every day.

Judith

Chaska Protests

Every Friday from 3:00–4:00 p.m. at the corner of Chaska Blvd. and Chestnut Street (Highway 41) [Map]

Every Saturday from 1-2 pm at the corner of Hazeltine Boulevard and Highway 41 (Chestnut) [Map]

Chanhassen Protests

Every Saturday from 10-11 am at 7700 Market Boulevard [Map] Public parking is available behind City Hall.

Waconia

Every Saturday from 11:30-12:30 pm at Highway 5 and County Road 10 in front of the Starbucks and Jersey Mike’s. [Map]

Norwood Young America

Every Sunday, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. (Line up at the bike path south of 212 by Reform Street.)

SW Protectors

Every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. It’s no cost and come and go as you like.

Please do buy something to eat or drink, though, to support our venue, which is The Bellows restaurant and it’s located at 232 Pioneer Trail in Chaska.

Leave a comment