Minnesota

Minnesota Movement For Divestment From Israel Resists Repression

March 6, 2025 Fight Back! News. Resist! BDS Movement, Israel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Repression

Minneapolis, MN — On Saturday, March 1, more than 60 Twin Cities community members gathered to attend a “State Board of Divestment” speak-out event hosted by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee in a Minneapolis community center. Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI), a large public fund managed by state officials Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and Secretary of State Steve Simon. It currently invests approximately $5.4 billion in apartheid Israel, Israeli companies, weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel’s military, and other companies that prop up Israel’s apartheid system.

Forging Alliances Against Imperialism

February 19, 2025 Richie Merino, Workers World. Organize! Anti-Imperialism, Anti-war Movement, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Solidarity, St. Paul

The Anti-War Action Network Founding Conference, held February 15–16, 2025, in St. Paul, Minnesota, brought together hundreds of activists from anti-war student groups, Palestine solidarity networks and seasoned campaigners to unite against U.S. imperialism and militarization. Attendees participated in dynamic panels such as “Palestine: Where Does Our Movement Need to Go?” “The Growing Divestment from Genocide Movement” and “Organizing Against War Profiteers,” where diverse organizations shared practical strategies — from local divestment campaigns and grassroots protest tactics to using research and social media for effective community mobilization.

Rise And Repair Alliance Advocates For Wild Rice Protection Act

February 12, 2025 Akičita Šuŋka-Wakaŋ Ska, Unicorn Riot. Organize! Biodiversity, Food and Agriciulture, Indigenous Rights, Minnesota, Wild Rice

Saint Paul, MN — Urging Minnesota legislators to adopt bills related to environmental conservation at the start of a new legislative session, the Rise and Repair Alliance gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol on January 14, 2025. For many activists present, the main focus was on saving wild rice, which would be a key measure in safeguarding the natural resource as an Indigenous legal right. At the Capitol, singer, artist and organizer Eoin Small hosted activists, providing snacks and coffee while they signed postcards with messages intended for legislators. Unicorn Riot was there to document the family-friendly art-filled action and hear from environmentalists.

Press Conference Announces National Target Boycott

February 1, 2025 Niko Georgiades, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Boycotts, DEI, Minnesota, Target

Minneapolis, MN — Minnesota residents are calling for a nationwide boycott of Target stores in response to the corporation recently cutting its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. An uproar hit social media when the announcement was made and since then, legions of people online have been calling for a Target boycott and to buy from Black businesses. Watch Unicorn Riot’s live stream of the press conference on Thursday, January 30 outside of Target’s downtown Minneapolis offices, where community activists will call for a national Target boycott.

Community Group Provides Education On How To Respond To ICE Raids

January 21, 2025 Alan Mitchell, Fight Back! News. Organize! Education, ICE, Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Minnesota

Grand Rapids, Michigan – On Saturday, January 18, community members took refuge from the freezing weather outside to attend a discussion and group training on how to take action against the threat of heightened ICE activity. The event took place in the crowded social hall in Fountain Street Church, with nearly 100 participants. The organization putting on the event, Grand Rapids Rapid Response to ICE, provided the audience with plenty of context as to the urgency of the action. Kent County is home to a total of three ICE offices and it has been active in the area since the George W. Bush administration.

Amid Layoffs, Cargill’s Owners Given $2B In Stock Buybacks/Dividends

January 19, 2025 Brooks Johnson, Portside. Educate! Cargill, Class Struggle, Minnesota, Worker Rights and Jobs

As Cargill started laying off thousands of employees last month, the company’s owners made $2 billion from stock buybacks and one-time dividends, according to Fitch Ratings. The Minnetonka-based agribusiness announced in December it would lay off 5% of its global workforce, or about 8,000 people, as part of a broader restructuring to counter declining profits. About 475 headquarters jobs were eliminated in Minnesota. At the same time, the private company’s owners — almost entirely members of the billionaire Cargill-MacMillan family — received $500 million from a “special” dividend and a rare $1.5 billion share repurchase completed in December, according to a Fitch Ratings report issued this week.

Essential Health Workers Hold Solidarity Picket On Day 38 Of Strike

January 18, 2025 Fight Back! News. Resist! Health Care, Minnesota, Solidarity, Strikes, Worker Rights and Jobs

Duluth, MN – At 4 p.m. on a blustery January 15 in Duluth, workers from Essentia Health-Deer River pulled up in a bus in front of the Essentia Health-Duluth hospital and began a solidarity picket in front of the main entrance to the hospital. The Deer River Essentia workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa (SEIU HCMNIA). January 15 marked their 38th day of an open-ended strike at their hospital and nursing home. The healthcare workers are striking over pay, saying that cost of living has gone up and they need real raises to keep paying the bills.

Permit for Pipeline Reconstruction Near Sacred Site Rescinded

January 10, 2025 Akičita Šuŋka-Wakaŋ Ska, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Rights, Minnesota, Pipelines, Sacred sites, St. Paul, Victory

St. Paul, MN — Minnesota regulators have rescinded a controversial permit allowing Magellan Pipeline Co. to reconstruct a petroleum pipeline near Pipestone National Monument, following sustained opposition from tribal nations, community groups, and environmental advocates. The decision, made during a recent Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) public hearing, reflects mounting pressure to safeguard the sacred site and its surrounding environment. The PUC unanimously voted to revoke the route permit granted in Oct. 2024 and favored the RA-01 pipeline route (alternative proposed by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe — 13.1 miles long), citing inadequate tribal consultation and incomplete cultural and archaeological surveys.

Protest Of State Board Of Investment Demands Divestment From Israel

December 7, 2024 Meredith Aby, Fight Back! News. Resist! BDS Movement, Divestment, Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, St. Paul

St. Paul, MN – On December 5, 45 people protested outside of the Minnesota Senate Building in 15-degree weather to demand that members of the board vote to divest the state of Minnesota from investments in Israel. The protest, held ahead of the board’s December 10 meeting, was organized by the Free Palestine Coalition. Andrew Josefchak, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, spoke to the crowd, “Minnesota’s State Board of Investment invests $5.4 billion of our money in genocide and apartheid. That’s $5.4 billion of a pension fund that union workers across Minnesota bargained for, fought hard for, waged strikes for.

1934 And Now: History Lives!

November 28, 2024 Peter Rachleff, Portside. Educate! Education, History, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Strikes, Unions

Over the first three decades of the 20th century, Minneapolis was the most notorious “open shop” city in the country. An employers’ organization (the “Citizens’ Alliance”) leveraged the power of banks, manufacturers, and local government to resist workers’ attempts to unionize. In February 1934 the city’s truck drivers and coal yard workers organized and struck their industry, winning union recognition in a week. Their success inspired other truckers and warehouse workers to organize and strike twice, in the spring and summer of 1934, facing down the power of police and private “deputies.”

Protesters Vow To Shut Down The Xcel Monticello Nuclear Reactor

November 26, 2024 Fight Back! News!. Resist! Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday November 21, 50 members of the newly formed Coalition for a Nuclear-free Mississippi River and their supporters rallied in front of Xcel Energy headquarters on Nicollet Mall in the heart of downtown. They demanded the energy company keep to its 2030 shutdown date for the Monticello Nuclear Reactor, because of the serious threats posed to public health, the Mississippi River, and drinking water for millions. As rush hour traffic passed by, motorists and pedestrians saw protesters holding signs reading, “Don’t nuke our river.” Chants like “Xcel let’s be clear, Monticello Reactor’s not wanted here” were loudly amplified by the surrounding buildings.

Public Employees Pass Strong Resolution To Divest From Apartheid Israel

October 29, 2024 Drake Myers, Fight Back News!. Resist! Anti-war Movement, BDS Movement, Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, St. Paul, Unions

St. Paul, MN – MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, is an independent union representing approximately 15,000 employees of the State of Minnesota. At their October 26 delegate assembly, MAPE approved a resolution titled “Supporting a Ceasefire and Divestment in Israel-Palestine.” It included strong steps towards divesting both MAPE and Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI) from apartheid Israel. The MAPE Ceasefire Caucus organizing team had conversations with nearly every delegate over the last six weeks in preparation for the vote, which ended up with 82 for, 49 against, with 17 abstaining.

University Of Minnesota SDS Statement Of Halimy Hall Occupation

October 27, 2024 Fight Back! News. Resist! Campus Movement, Israel, Lebanon, Lebanon Solidarity, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Occupation, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Yemen, Yemen Solidarity

Shortly after President Cunningham started working at our university, she and the Board of Regents held an emergency meeting, a week before students returned to campus, where they passed a policy of neutrality for the UMN endowment. Regent Jamie Meyron introduced the institutional neutrality policy declaring the University’s endowment funds “politically neutral”, effectively making it impossible for students to campaign for the University to divest from certain companies. In this same meeting, they resurrected restrictive protest policies, including banning unpermitted protests of more than 100 people and the use of more than one sound amplification device, and put size limits on signs and banners.

This Land Is Co-Op Land

September 28, 2024 Amie Stager, In These Times. Create! Cooperatives, Farmer Labor Party, History, Minnesota, Worker Rights and Jobs

I’m standing on the dock, watching sunlight reflect off the waves, when the sound of a bell calls my attention to the Finnish dance hall towering over the lakeshore. The mojakka—a Finnish beef soup — is ready. I head to the dining room with the dozens of other people who have gathered here at Mesaba Co-op Park for the annual midsummer festival, a weekend of live music, talent shows, maypole dancing and meals. The park consists of more than 240 acres of land, including a spring-fed lake. Such places are usually owned and administered by a government or kept as private retreats by companies or rich people. Mesaba, in contrast, is neither privately nor government-owned, but collectively owned by members of a cooperative who foster relationships with each other and the land outside of corporate or government structures.

Minnesotans Protest General Dynamics’ Role In Israel’s War Crimes

September 16, 2024 Elizabeth McLister, Fight Back! News. Resist! Israel, Minnesota, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Weapons Maker

Bloomington, MN – On September 14, 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company's role in facilitating Israel's relentless attacks against occupied Palestine. This event, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, began with a rally at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 88th Street at the corner of the Penn Lake Library. Following 45 minutes of lively speeches and chants, demonstrators marched to the front of General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility. Michael Runyon, founder of Students for Palestine Normandale, explained why community members were calling attention to General Dynamics.

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