347 E Calhoun (now Bde Maka Ska) Boulevard is in the heart of Minneapolis's Tenth Ward, where Kate's Aunt Marjie and Uncle Bill lived.
Aunt Marjie was the first woman chemical engineer to work at Honeywell, after first being hired as a secretary for some executive back in the late 1940's. She showed up for work every day despite her lack of clerical skills. Her boss was dissatisfied with her work, finally asked her what she could do, and Aunt Marjie replied that she was an engineer. After much hemming and hawing, her boss moved her 'upstairs' to the lab where she eventually became a supervisor of the whole department. Uncle Bill was a stay-at-home editor and proofreader for graduate papers and publications for the University of Minnesota. A child of Norwegian immigrant farmers living in North Dakota, his quiet, reserved demeanour belied passions that ran deep; he loved learning and music, and especially Aunt Marjie, who referred to him as 'her King'. Their cats, Torvald, Sigurd, and Sophie, were their children. Grandma Warner, Aunt Marjie's mother with a story of her own, lived with them, too. Both were activists dating back to their college days and were staunch DFL supporters. With them, Kate and i learned what it was to go to work for a candidate for elected office. Keith Ford, Kate's brother-in-law, had decided to run for the city council, and that home became a beehive of campaign activity beginning in April of 1970.
Nearly every weekend, Kate and i spent time around Aunt Marjie and Uncle Bill's huge dining room table strategizing, planning, and learning how things worked in politics. We pored over maps and phone lists, figuring out the most effective places to station lawn signs and distribute literature. The established city, county, and even state politicians would occasionally stop by to speak with us about the campaign and sometimes simply to visit. Kate and i were welcomed into all the conversations and eventually got comfortable around those who held the power. When the printed materials arrived, we got busy out in the neighbourhoods, disseminating leaflets and flyers. When Keith's opponent figured out that he was actually running a serious campaign, he decided to tear up the street leading to 'Headquarters' to slow us down, to slow the traffic leading to the house. We found ways around that inconvenience because we believed. Every evening, after walking up too many flights of apartment building stairs and covering so many sidewalks, we'd reconvene at the table with a meal waiting for us. Everyone asked us how it went, where did we go, and how many places did we visit, checking off the list or the place on the map. We'd go home satisfied, looking forward to the next weekend.
Election time rolled around that autumn. The tension was building, and Aunt Marjie's house was a-buzz. When 'The Night' finally came, the 'Whoopee Committee' brought over a van full of food and refreshments for those of us gathered around the TV, some around the radio in the kitchen, waiting for the results. There was a rhythm to the noise level until finally...we lost. Some people began the "autopsy' right away, some looked despondent, some played the 'sour grapes' game. Aunt Marjie presided over the concession speech, but finished the evening with a solid, 'Wait 'til next time!'
There was a 'next time' and we won.
— jester
Upcoming Events ^
Sent to us from across the region
Movie: Bad Faith
A Documentary about Christian Nationalism
Ely
- When:
- April 11, 1:00pm
- Where:
- Vermilion North Theatre
Ely, MN
Duluth
- When:
- April 11, 2:00–4:30pm
- Where:
- Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth
- Cost:
- Free
- For more info contact:
- srgrandmaison@gmail.com
BAD FAITH, an award winning feature-length documentary that explores the dangerous rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States, will be shown followed by a virtual Q & A with one of the filmmakers.
Dr. Wendell Smith, CD8 candidate
hosted by Indivisible—Iron Range
- When:
- April 14, 6:00pm Monthly Meeting
- Where:
- The Hive, Aurora MN
Dr. Wendell Smith is a general surgeon, Air Force veteran and longtime physician serving the Iron Range community for 2 decades. After proudly serving in the USAF, he made his home in northern Minnesota, where he has spent the past two decades caring for patients from all walks of life. Through his work in medicine, Dr. Smith has gained a deep understanding of the real challenges
people face from access to care to the everyday pressures of working families. It is this commitment to patients and community that he plans to bring to Washinton, where he will work to ensure every American has access to affordable healthcare, strengthen rural health systems, and support policies that put patients and providers first. Dr Smith holds a B.S. in Microbiology, and an M.D. He completed his surgical training in Bilox, MS.
He served in South Korea and at the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
Iron Range Earth Fest
Presented by Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability
- When:
- April 18, 9:00am
- Where:
- Iron Trail Motors Event Center
388 Eagle Ave, Mountain Iron, MN
- Theme:
- No Place but Home
Earth Fest is the signature event of the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability. We celebrate Earth Fest with a nod to our organizational values:
Promote Sustainability, Bring People and Communities Together, Raise Awareness, Focus Locally, Engage Multiple Generations, Foster Personal and Planetary Health
May Day!
International Workers Day & National Day of Action
- When:
- May 1, 2026
- Where:
- Nationwide
"We are building a day of power. Because when the billionaires break every rule, it’s going to take more than a rally to stop them...
"On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping."
— May Day Strong
Start planning!
Calls to Action ^
Hearing on Polluter Capture
from the Sierra Club
- When:
- April 07, 3:00–5:00pm
- Where:
- Minnesota Senate Building
95 University Ave W
St Paul, MN
"It’s time to break polluters’ grip over state regulators. Attend this hearing to show Minnesotans want and need our environmental laws enforced.
"We all need clean air and clean water to live healthy lives. Fortunately, there are laws to protect Minnesotans and our environment. But when state officials refuse to enforce existing laws, we all lose..."
Support Warren & Sanders' Wealth Tax Bills
Add your name
Two major proposals have just been introduced in Congress, by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Both would tax the richest of the rich on their wealth (annually at 2% to 5%) and direct trillions toward supporting working Americans.
Two Bold Proposals to Tax Wealth Across the Land
"How can the U.S. reverse democracy-distorting concentrations of wealth and power? A federal annual wealth tax must be part of the equation.
"The richest 0.1 percent — the top one-thousandth of households, who are all worth over $50 million — have seen their wealth surge since the beginning of the 2020 Covid Pandemic. U.S. billionaires have seen their wealth double since 2019, with the top 19 U.S. billionaires adding $1 trillion to their wealth in 2024 alone."
Tell Your Senators to Oppose the Fix Our Forests Act
from Endangered Species Coalition
The so-called Fix Our Forests Act poses grave threats to our environment, wildlife, and the democratic process of public participation in environmental decisions.
Do States Have a Secret Weapon to Counter Trump's Forest Service and Medicaid Cuts Before the Damage Becomes Permanent?
& will the corporate overlords allow it?
"The federal government announced the destruction of the United States Forest Service via the same process of royal decree that this nation was founded on ending. So much for originalism, right? No floor debate, no public hearing, no vote. Just a piece of paper that ended 121 years of institutional history before most people had finished their coffee.
"The forests are one emergency. The health care system is another. The reconciliation bill that Republicans passed last year and that the president signed into law on July 4, 2025 cut more than a trillion dollars from Medicaid and ACA marketplace coverage.
"So here is what governors in blue states can do right now, using authority they already hold..."
Prepare to Defend Science
Union of Concerned Scientists
Tell Congress: Protect Climate Research.
Learn about Voting Rights
Get Prepared to the Elections
Indivisible Calls to Action
Search by issue
5calls
Pick an action & make a call
Inspiration ^
Beyond Resistance
Rural Urban Bridge Initiative — Reclaiming our nation for the workers who build it.
"In addition to resistance today, we need a strategy for winning the future tomorrow.
"This isn’t about softening resistance, it’s about making it durable.
"Movements win when people can imagine a life on the other side, not just an enemy to defeat. Economic justice isn’t a distraction from fighting authoritarianism. It’s how you make sure it doesn’t come back wearing a new name."
Night Into Day
The thing changing the world this year is...batteries
"I’m going to talk about what technology can do when we aim not for destruction but for progress. In particular I’m going to talk about batteries. If the last three years were about solar panels and wind turbines, this year—and the next few years—are going to be just as much about the storage systems for the energy they produce...
"In recent years those gains have been coming fast and furious, but it’s not just lithium. The Chinese (who are the masters of the battery game) have figured out how to do the same tricks with sodium: Marija Maisch was reporting in January that these salt-based batteries are nearing price and performance parity, if not for cars then for utility scale batteries."
— Bill McKibben, the Crucial Years
Pope Leo XIV
Easter message
"From without, death is always lurking. We see it present in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable. We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys."
"Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them,"
Passover 5786/2026: Next Year in Safety & Liberation
from Jewish Voice for Peace
"As you read this, the Pharaohs of our time are carrying out a campaign of mass slaughter and destruction across Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon — claiming to do so in the name of Judaism. In the U.S., the Trump regime exploits Jewish grief to justify crushing anyone who opposes these atrocities.
"The story of Passover teaches us that our history is one of standing up to oppression. Today, we fight for the freedom of Palestinians and all people in a time of genocide and fascism. We fight because opposing Pharaohs is a Jewish tradition. We fight because we know our freedom is intertwined with the freedom of all people, from the U.S. to Palestine to Iran. We fight because we must — and because we know in our bones that liberation will come."
Eid al Fitr and the Moral Work of Peace
from the Universal Peace Federation
"Eid marks the end of Ramadan, a month devoted to reflection, self-discipline, and care for others. In a world marked by war, mistrust, and social fragmentation, these practices carry meaning far beyond one religious community.
"This year, the celebration [came] at a moment of deep sorrow, as conflict continues in the very region where the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were born, traditions that share a common message of peace, dignity, and love for humanity. In such times, the spirit of Eid carries even greater meaning.
"We stand in solidarity with all those affected by violence and hardship, and we reaffirm our hope for a future where understanding triumphs over division, and a renewed commitment to empathy, justice, and coexistence among all people."
News & Information ^
Independent journalists & storytellers lead the way
Every week we highlight work from independent news sources.
Medicaid changes will cost Scenic Rivers patients and revenue
from the Timberjay
"A mix of federal policy changes could significantly reduce the number of insured patients served by Scenic Rivers Health Services in the coming year, creating new financial pressure for the region’s primary care provider as it looks for ways to grow.
"That was the message from Scenic Rivers CEO Keith Harvey during a community forum held March 18 at the Cook Community Center, hosted by the Cook Area Neighbors Network. About a dozen residents attended the session, which focused largely on how recent changes to Medicaid eligibility and Affordable Care Act subsidies could reshape the local health care landscape."
Minnesota Is the Movement We’ve Been Waiting For
from Hammer & Hope
"Civil society formed a front, a rapid-response army on the streets and a supportive underground...
"No movement ever appears from nowhere. It has been seeded by earlier campaigns and by painstaking organizing work. In Minnesota, it was preceded by years of multiracial, interfaith coalition building and was supported by a robust institutional left that had already developed muscles coordinating among one another and with the grassroots. And it was inextricable from the movement for Black lives."
Minnesota Diary
Notes from a Somali Mother During ICE’s Winter Invasion
"Some things feel slow, like under water, and some things feel fast.
...Where there are no protests, it’s eerie. It’s quiet." — Maryan Sheikh Abdinur
Trump’s mass deportation plan has broken the quiet of small US towns
Immigration agents have spread into rural western Wisconsin, taking dozens of people from towns in more politically conservative areas
There has been quite a bit of very local MN/WI coverage recently in the international news outlet, the Guardian
"When federal agents menaced the Minneapolis metropolitan area earlier this year, they also spread into rural western Wisconsin, taking dozens of people from smaller towns in more politically conservative areas.
"Immigration agents aren’t just targeting blue cities; they are coming to small towns, too, where some felt the relative quiet of their lives wouldn’t be impacted by Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations."
Rise & Repair
Understanding the past, healing relationships & building our future together
"Rise & Repair is a diverse, non-partisan alliance of people and organizations advancing Indigenous rights & climate justice in Minnesota."
Waiving the Endangered Species Act is an Abdication of Science and Moral Authority
from SciLight
"On March 31, 2026, just as some were preparing for April Fool’s Day, the administration proved that prediction correct. The Committee met at the Stewart Udall Building in D.C.—the headquarters of the U.S. Department of the Interior, where I worked for years—and, in a matter of 15 minutes, issued a “waiver” for oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico without sidebars, that is, they removed legal limitations to activities even if those activities will threaten a species."
When the World Said Yes to Women’s Rights
from SciLight
A Historic Break from Consensus by the United States
"This historic moment at the United Nations highlights a broader global story: The overwhelming majority of nations continue to reaffirm their commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Sure, things are not perfect. And yes, there’s plenty more to be done.
"The United States’ lone “no” vote is a call to action — not a reason for despair. Here are some things we can do..."
Dead Air: Mainstream News Coverage of No Kings
The Weekly Autopsy of Sunday Morning Television
"DEAD AIR: Nine Million Americans Marched on Saturday. Bruce Springsteen Played St. Paul. Tear Gas Flew in LA. And the Sunday Shows Led With Tom Homan Talking About ICE at Airports.
"This was not a news cycle. This was a national awakening. And the Sunday shows — every single one of them — treated it as a minor subplot. That editorial choice tells you everything you need to know about the state of American media in March 2026."
Gender Justice Newsletter
Gender Justice envisions a world where everyone can thrive regardless of their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
They offer both a newsletter & podcast to keep you up to date.
"This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a dangerous decision weakening protections against conversion therapy. Below, we dig into the impacts for Minnesota and North Dakota, plus events and action opportunities this month."
Other resources
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