Upcoming Events ^
Seven Days in June
Health must be treated as a core governing responsibility, regardless of ideology or party. Working together, we can build a healthier nation.
- When:
- June 4, 4:40–6:00pm
- Where:
- 400 East 23rd Street, Scranton
Hibbing, MN
On behalf of AFSCME Council 65 and 7 Days in June, we invite you to participate in an upcoming community roundtable focused on the mounting challenges facing rural healthcare, to share lived experiences with rural healthcare, and to discuss potential sustainable solutions. We are bringing together labor partners, union siblings, and community members to participate in this roundtable and would love for you to join in this important conversation.
Seven Days in June is a decentralized, nonpartisan, grassroots-driven campaign to focus on how funding cuts will devastate local communities.
The Brave of Us
The Midwest Democracy & Power Summit
- When:
- June 11–12, 8:00am–5:00pm
- Where:
- Minneapolis Convention Center
We are excited to welcome leaders, organizers, advocates, and community members from across the Midwest to The Brave of Us: The Midwest Democracy & Power Summit.
This Summit, hosted by the Immigrant Defense Network, is designed to move us beyond reflection and into coordinated action. Together, we will strengthen relationships and align around a shared vision for advancing immigration reform, human rights, civic participation, and collective power across our communities.
Hands Across the Bong Bridge
A Cross-State, Flag Day Bridge Brigade Joining Duluth & Superior
THE GREATEST BRIDGE BRIGADE EVER!
- When:
- June 14, 2026
- Where:
- Bong Bridge
Expected Flow of the Event:
- 12:30 Start assembling at both entrance ways to the bridge
- 1:00 Participants start marching toward the middle
- When we meet up, Bridge Brigade signs and flags for about one hour
- Safely return off the bridge
- Post-event celebration (details to follow)
- Paddlers welcome in the water, too (stay safe)
On June 14th, Flag Day, join Rise Up Superior, Good Trouble Indivisible, Zenith City Indivisible, Duluth Indivisible, and Duluth 50501 for Hands Across the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge.
We will assemble on either side of the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge between Superior and Duluth (or Duluth and Superior, depending on your perspective) and march with signs and flags across the bridge on the protected pedestrian/bike path. Somewhere near the middle, we will join hands (and hearts and minds) in a demonstration of unity for democracy, for justice and for community. Two States. Two Cities. One Bridge. One Country. Our Country.
The Bong Bridge is 2.2 miles long - we will need about 3,000 people to be able to truly hold hands across the Bong Bridge. This event is set up for the Duluth access to the bike/pedestrian path (W. Michigan and S. 43rd Avenue West). The Superior trailhead is at Susquehanna Avenue, just behind the Quality Inn (46.722970, -92.125832).
Richard I. Bong was a hero (the "Ace of Aces") in World War II and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was born in Superior and raised in Poplar. Learn more about him at the Richard Bong Veterans Memorial Center in Superior.
Minnesota says’ GAAWIIN! ‘NO’ to Big Tech!
- When:
- June 26, 1:00–2:45pm
- Where:
- Minnesota Capitol Front Lawn
St. Paul, MN
Join us June 26th for a rally in front of the Minnesota Capitol, where we will be presenting the Mother Earth Vs Big Tech Petition. This petition advocates for a two-year moratorium on the construction of hyperscaled data centers. Our goal is to deliver this important message directly to the office of the Governor of Minnesota.
Unfinished Freedom: 250 Years On
A Free Community Concert
- When:
- June 28, 1:00–8:00pm
- Where:
- Miner's Pavilion
1401 NW 3rd Ave
Grand Rapids
(Road Trip!!)
Join us for a fun community event full of music, food and drink for purchase, and connection.
Free event & parking, food & drinks for purchase. Bring a lawn chair!
Training Opportunities ^
287(g) Community Education Summit
- When:
- June 9, 6:30–8:00pm
- Where:
- Brainerd, MN
Register to get location
"In Minnesota, sheriffs' departments in 6 counties (Kandiyohi, Crow Wing, Cass, Mille Lacs, Itasca, and Sherburne) have formalized, illegal 287(g) agreements with ICE to carry out “show me your papers” immigration enforcement, detention, and processing. We can organize our communities to end these agreements — that's why we're bringing activists, organizers, and concerned Minnesotans together in Brainerd for a statewide roundtable on 287(g)."
Major Win for Asylum Rights
District Court Strikes Down Restrictions in Biden-Era Rule that Severely Limited Asylum
"'Today’s decision is a critical step in peeling back the illegal asylum restrictions at the border,' said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. 'Unfortunately, as a country we have forgotten the historic commitment we made after World War II to never turn our back on people fleeing persecution.'"
However:
Five takeaways from inside Fort Snelling Immigration Court
It’s one of 70 immigration courts across the U.S. where asylum denials have skyrocketed and secrecy is growing.
"During Operation Metro Surge, many of the people detained ended up in a nondescript government building at Fort Snelling where immigration judges decided their cases.
"At the peak of the surge in January and February, judges inside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building ruled on more than 980 asylum cases. They granted it only two times, according to a data analysis by the Minnesota Star Tribune."
World Refugee Day
June 20
Strategy: Public Assemblies
Strengthen Community Resistance to Rising Authoritarianism
A couple of folks on a recent regional organizing call boosted this strategy &
offered this introduction. It is really good & worth a listen.
Special topics
Democracy Defenders
Our friends at Democracy Defenders Indivisible gather information on a variety of
issues that come across their desk.
You can access these links below.
Recent additions:
Freedom Trainers
Register for free online trainings
Today, Freedom Trainers is a decentralized network of experienced educators and organizers, including leaders from the Horizons Project, Beautiful Trouble, and Free DC. Together, we work to counter democratic backsliding by equipping people with the skills and strategies of strategic noncooperation.
Our trainings are grounded in three core pillars:
- Know the authoritarian playbook — Understanding how authoritarians consolidate power.
- Understand the pillars of support — Develop a sense of how authoritarian power is vulnerable.
- Build noncooperation skills — Developing the noncooperation practices that fracture authoritarian support.
Calls to Action ^
Be a walking voter registration booth
Talk to neighbors, friends, family, co-workers — Make sure everyone has a plan to vote.
We have business-size cards you can print & distribute.
Download & print on your own, send a digital version to your contacts, or arrange for us to get you
already-printed cards.
Once you have a card in hand you can help people you encounter use a handy QR code to get straight
to an online voter registration portal.
We've got this!
Wanted: Stories & Conversations
We are launching a new podcast
Northern Civil Defense Network is introducing a new podcast. Our goals are to reach a wider audience of like-minded people in Northern Minnesota, to offer another way for people to be informed about news that matters, and to serve sight-impaired people and non-readers who prefer audio communications to those that are visual. It is becoming clearer every day that mass media doesn't cut it anymore; many media outlets have been taken over by Big Brother and corporate interests. Many small town and local newspapers have gone out of business, as well.
We aim to present our take on what's happening in our country as well as to offer new ways forward through action and thoughtful insights by people who live, work, and recreate in our Great North Woods.
Because we are a grassroots and amatuer endeavour, we will begin with a lot of experimentation which includes interviews with community members and local newsmakers alike, story telling, events calendars for folks who are looking for ways to be in community and to make some noise, deep dives into topics that affect Northlanders, and things we haven't thought of yet. And, that's where you come in! You will have an opportunity to suggest topics and people you'd like to hear from. We will need your feedback to make each show better than the last one; we welcome your constructive comments, ideas, and questions.
Check out our first episodes!
Help us build content. We want your ideas.
Call for Writing
Activate your voice — storytellers, poets & independent journalists wanted
Panatrope wants you for the launch their new journal!
They are accepting written work of any genre: Poetry: up to 5 pages
Short Fiction or nonfiction: between 400-5000 words.
5calls
Pick an action & make a call
Inspiration ^
This May Well Be the Most Consequential Case in the History of Humanity
from Meditations in an Emergency (Rebecca Solnit)
"How this decision came into being might be one of the all-time great David and Goliath stories. Because this case that ended in the world's highest court began with 27 law students on the small South Pacific Island of Vanuatu who in 2019, asked themselves what they could do about climate--and it's not hard to imagine a 'what can we do, we're only students' or 'what can we do, we're in a tiny remote nation most people have never heard of' attitude, but instead they set out with the audacious ambition to ask the highest court in the world to render a verdict on the obligation of nations to address the crisis.
"Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's special envoy for climate, said of the decision: 'I choose my words carefully when I say that this may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity.' Christiana Figueres, who presided over the negotiations that created that Paris Climate Treaty declared, with jubilation, on her podcast Outrage and Optimism: 'this is without a doubt, the most far-reaching, the most comprehensive and the most consequential legal opinion we've ever had.'"
Minnesota Senate Passes ICE Accountability and Justice Bill
"The Minnesota Senate passed an ICE Accountability and Justice bill responding to the unprecedented violations of civil, human, and constitutional rights endured by Minnesotans during Operation Metro Surge by federal immigration enforcement officials."
"'Minnesotans have endured unprecedented abuse, violence, and chaos from federal agents ignoring state and federal law throughout Operation Metro Surge, and these agents must be held accountable for their conduct,' said Senator Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park), chief author of SF3699. 'This legislation provides critical safeguards and protections for the people of Minnesota, while providing strong accountability measures that will let people get justice for the abuse they endured.'"
Gaelynn Lea
Inspiring book by local musician makes it big!
Gaelynn Lea published an autobiography that is beautiful & full of stories about
the place & people we hold dear up here in the northland.
Not only is she a brilliant, beloved musician & composer but she
is a wonderful writer. This book is hard to put down for sure.
Written under collapsing ceilings, typed on phones
the poetry bringing Palestine to the world
"Poetry may not be the best response to aerial bombardment, but for many Palestinians it has become a line of defence amid the rubble and ongoing killings in Gaza.
"'Poetry keeps hope alive. Even in the darkest moments, Palestinian poetry continues to imagine a future,' Nazmi al-Masri, professor of languages at the Islamic University of Gaza, says at an online poetry event held by his students.
"'Poetry gives people a language to express collective grief,' he says. 'In Gaza, poetry documents what cameras cannot always reach and what numbers can never explain. When destruction erases physical spaces, poetry becomes a witness to history.'"
All Roads Lead to the South
"On March 7th, 1965, a few innocent children of God, some carrying only a bedroll, a few clutching a simple bag, a plain purse or a backpack, were inspired to walk 50 dangerous miles from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state of Alabama.
"
— John Lewis
from a speech he delivered March 7, 2015 to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the Selma March
On May 16, a broad coalition of organizations converged on Selma & Montgomery
for "All Roads Lead to the South: National Day of Action for Voting Rights."
Thousands & thousands of people showed up from all over the country.
Get inspired. Take a look at some news clippings from the day that we posted on our bluesky channel.
We have the power. We have had it all along.
If we want candidates to reject big money, we have to provide a better way for them to get votes. We can do that.
"Demonstrations and strikes and calls to elected officials use our voices to influence the actions of people currently in power. This is about using our voices and skills to determine who gets put into power in the first place. If every volunteer generates (at least) ten votes, we could set as our goal the recruitment of enough volunteers to equal ten percent of our vote goal. Zorhan Mamdani had about 104,000 volunteers and received about 1,036,000 votes. That’s about one in ten.
"We have had somewhere between 8 and 9 million participants in #NoKings rallies. The largest number of votes ever received by a presidential candidate was just over 81 million (Joe Biden in 2020). If every participant in a #NoKings rally generated 10 votes, we could win the biggest election in the country. I know that this doesn’t automatically translate to winning elections in particular states or districts, but it does give you a sense of the scale. We have reached critical mass. Now, we just have to develop our political capacity: the best way for each of us, individually and collectively, to help generate votes for the candidates we support."
