Welcome to our first quarterly state download of 2024! In December, LPMN hosted a Progressive Governance Academy to support and train a cohort of progressive local elected leaders. In February, our state chapter’s leadership body – the LPMN Organizing Committee – came together to ground us in our priorities for the year. Plus, our 2024 National Convening early bird registration is now open! Read on below!
🗳️ Big Local Wins!
January was a historic month for local governance as new progressive leaders took center stage in the Twin Cities metro area. In St. Paul, the new city council dominated national headlines as the first all-woman council – and the first comprised of majority women of color – was inaugurated. All of these councilmembers are also under the age of 40. LP member leader, Mitra Jalai, was elected as the St. Paul City Council President and declared: “This historic council was sent to do historic work.” In St. Louis Park, LP member Nadia Mohamed, became the country’s first Somali-American mayor noting, “This is a milestone — this is not the destination.” And in Minneapolis, LP members Elliott Payne and Aisha Chughtai were elected as the City Council President and Vice President. Their leadership marks an exciting era for the now-majority progressive city council in Minneapolis.
🧰 Progressive Governance Academy
In December, over 25 recently elected and returning progressive local elected leaders from across MN came together for a two-day local governing training – the Progressive Governance Academy. It was a powerful space to share, learn and grow together. The Progressive Governance Academy exists to ensure that state and local elected officials who align with our values have the resources, assets, tools, and skills that are needed to become powerful and effective leaders. The program is jointly hosted by Local Progress, re:power, and State Innovation Exchange.
📣 LPMN OC Meeting
As a member-led network, our state work is led by an incredible state organizing committee – a group of LPMN member leaders who meet regularly to weigh in on policy priorities, propose statewide and local campaigns, and drive the strategic vision for our work. In early February, the Local Progress Minnesota Organizing Committee hosted its annual daylong retreat at SEIU Local 26 to vision and ground our state chapter in its priorities for the year. We were joined by partner organizations, including Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (United Renters for Justice), CTUL (Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha) and SEIU Local 26. We left the day recommitted to our top priorities including: Holistic Public and School Safety, Housing Justice, Worker Power / Economic Justice and more. Interested in stepping up as a Minnesota LP member leader by joining the LPMN Organizing Committee? Reach out to Jillia!
⚡️ Represent MN at #LP2024
In 2023, over 12 LPMN members joined us at our national convening in St. Louis. This year, let’s get even more badass Minnesotans in the room! The Local Progress National Convening is back and we’re heading to OAKLAND, CA!
Registration is now open and early-bird registration ends on Tuesday, March 26. Registration details were sent to your email on February 12; be sure to register before March 26, using the same email address the Feb 12 message was sent to, for a discounted rate and/or apply for financial aid! Questions? Reach out here.
💻 Policy & Strategy Primer Series
Check out LP’s new and improved 2024 Policy & Strategy Primers series that offers you a wide range of workshops across our key issues.
❤️ Upcoming Women’s Caucus Meeting
In honor of Women’s History Month, join LP Women’s Caucus general member meeting on Thursday, March 28 at 2pm CT! Register today and join us for Healing Justice programming. The Local Progress Women’s Caucus is a space for current and former LP members who identify as a woman, who identify with a combination of genders, or who do not subscribe to a gender binary but feel that this space serves them.
🧰 New Resources
- Creating Traffic Safety: A Policy Memo for Local Elected Leaders
- Local Progress School Board Statement of Values
Help us connect with additional local elected leaders across the state who share values around racial, economic and gender justice. The power and beauty of our growing LP network is in being connected and being in community. You can share Local Progress with other local electeds by inviting them to sign up as a member HERE! Membership is free and it only takes about 30 seconds to sign up!
