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Monarca Democracy Defense Network Begins to Protect Voting Rights

Building on the Monarca model — which trained 50,000 Minnesotans as legal observers  — the groundwork has been laid for grassroots election defense networks to protect voting rights, get people to the polls, and be prepared to defend election results.

How Policy Around Data Centers and NDAs Are Moving at the Minnesota Legislature

How the non-disclosure agreement ban related to data center development is progressing at the Minnesota legislature so far. "We’re not asking for secret engineering plans or designs. We’re just asking for information that affects our communities. We want to know how much it's going to pollute and how it will affect our wells."

Voices Gather to Support Local Independent Media

Building narratives that inspire and sustain our communities for generations to come requires investment, Jasmine Russell said. "It's essential for infrastructure, just like education, housing, health care. Without trusted information, communities can't make informed decisions, organize effectively, or participate in democracy."

The Singing Resistance Movement in Minnesota, Nationwide, and Historically

"To see how this movement has drawn thousands into its arms has bolstered my faith in our potential to be the change the world needs."

TALK & DO: Recovering From the Trauma of ICE Operations – What Do We Do Next? (Part 1)

With thousands of masked and armed federal forces now mostly…

Read Brave Talk Brave: A Discussion About the Power of Women, Food, and Reading

A conversation about a book, the culture of food, the values of reading and libraries, and the blend of fiction and reality. From the author: "When your chosen one is a brown girl, who is undocumented, who is ‘born into the wrong body’ because she's a wolf and not a witch? What happens then?"

FUTURE FORWARD: A Solution to Youth Homelessness 

As a member of the youth delegation connecting with legislators this year, we are recommending development of a pilot program to identify, renovate, and repurpose vacant buildings into affordable housing for youth, with dedicated funding allocated in the next state budget cycle.

Minnesotans Testify About the Need for a Large-Scale (Data Center) Water Permit Process

"Two months after the DNR warned the city about the significant water demand of the data center, the city signed a contract that guarantees the developer up to 2.93 million gallons of water a day.”

Supportive Housing, and Other Solutions Proposed in This Legislative Session

One of the Minnesota legislative bills now signed into law helps supportive housing providers stay open in 2026 with an infusion of $9 million, to make up for some of the funds lost from the federal government. We unpack why this is one of several important housing bills being discussed for the state.

COMMENTARY: Building Systems That Can Truly Respond Beyond Silence

"Perhaps what makes this moment so difficult is also what makes it meaningful. It invites us to look more closely at what has been normalized, what has been silenced, and what we are now willing to name. And maybe that is where something begins to shift."

COMMENTARY: Compulsory Safety — What Black Rural Families Need

"The systemic failure at the heart of the issue: The lack of consideration for Black children in Minnesota's education system has produced generations of predictable and preventable harm."

COLUMN: Nancy Lyons on ‘The Convenience of Moral Flexibility’

"We've built an entire economy around the principle that winning is its own justification. That growth forgives everything. A system that suggests that if the stock price is up, the strategy must be sound. But here's the part we don't talk about enough: What do we actually lose when winning becomes the only metric that matters?"