Welcome back to the LPMN State Download—our quarterly newsletter, one way of many to stay connected to the Local Progress network and the powerful work of members and partners here in Minnesota. By staying connected, we can learn from each other and make our work easier and more powerful.Â
Let’s talk: Local Progress members have access to a slew of policy and strategic resources, but sometimes it can be hard to know where to start, so let’s talk about it. I am based in Saint Paul and I would love to meet with you online or wherever you are. (Schedule a virtual meeting. Schedule an in-person meeting).
Local electeds across Minnesota are pushing back on proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other basic needs programs. Every single one of us deserves to have enough food to eat, quality healthcare, and a safe place to call home. Over 1.4 million Minnesotans count on these programs, and as local electeds who are closest to our communities, we are pushing back.
Sign on to our letter to the Minnesota Congressional delegation here and pass along to your colleagues as well. DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: Friday, May 16 at 12pm CST
đź“Ť Northern MN Meetup and Northern MN Strategy Meeting
Duluth, Minnesota
Friday, July 25th, 6-8pm: Northern MN Meetup
Join Local Progress members, alumni, and partners for community and connection!Â
Specific location TBD
Saturday, July 26th, 9am-1pm: Northern MN Strategy Meeting
Local Progress members and partners will come together to strategize on how we can make a bigger impact together than we can alone. Outcomes from this meeting will include providing input for Statewide priority-setting that will anchor how we use our collective power as a Minnesota Chapter.Â
Specific location TBD
With the leadership of LP members Robin Wonsley, Jeremiah Ellison, and Jason Chavez, Minneapolis recently became the fourth city nationally to ban using algorithmic devices to set rental prices. Minneapolis is a majority-renter city, and approximately one in seven rental units in the Twin Cities is managed using rental algorithms. In these units, renters pay an average of $312 more per year. Buildings that use these algorithms also have eviction rates that are significantly higher than buildings that are managed without them, making this a valuable victory for Minneapolis renters.Â
The safety and stability of our communities are often threatened by corporate landlords, and these algorithmic tools are just one example. And of course, Minneapolis is far from alone on this front. That is why the Biden Department of Justice and more than 10 attorney generals, including AG Ellison, are currently suing one of the companies that provides these algorithms and six of the largest landlords in the country that use the software. It’s imperative that local leaders continue to support renters in proactive ways. You can learn more about algorithmic price fixing and other housing resources here.
Azrin Awal (she/they) is an At-Large City Councilmember in Duluth and a member of our Local Progress Minnesota Organizing Committee*
Azrin was elected to the Duluth City Council in 2021, and as the first immigrant, first Asian-American, and first Muslim to serve on the Council. She came into the council as community leader who worked at the intersection of public health, policy, education, and social justice; and she has continued that leadership on council in support for renters, workers, immigrants, and everyone who calls Duluth home. If you join us in Duluth for the Northern Minnesota Meet-Up and Strategy Meeting, you can meet Azrin and learn from her yourself!
*Organizing Committee members work together to strengthen the Minnesota Chapter of Local Progress through recruitment, campaigning, leadership development and community. If you’re interested in joining the Organizing Committee, schedule time to meet with Sabrina! (Schedule a virtual meeting. Schedule an in-person meeting).
đź“ť Share Your Story: How is the Trump Administration Impacting your Community?
Local Progress is rolling out a new tool to measure how the Trump Administration is impacting our communities. Our new storybank form is collecting on-the-ground accounts from local officials across the country to accurately map the impact of the federal government’s actions on local communities. These stories will help our network illustrate how federal policy actions are shaping people’s day to day lives and strategize how to fight back against the Trump administration’s divisive agenda, as well as assist our press work in telling the story of our collective resistance. We’re interested in everything from how teachers may have been shut out from Head Start programs to proactive actions your legislative body has taken to affirm the rights of immigrants in your community. Check out the form here and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
🧰 Tools to Interrupt Criminalization
The federal administration has escalated its use of criminalization to target immigrant communities and suppress dissent. In the past few weeks alone, over 300 student visas have been revoked on political grounds, and more than 200 immigrants—like Maryland father Abrego Garcia—have been deported to a notorious torture facility in El Salvador in defiance of court orders. These acts are part of a broader strategy: using criminalization to silence opposition and enforce policies that consolidate right-wing power. Local governments have the ability—and responsibility—to push back.
Here’s how we can act:
- Anchor our messaging. Use LP’s updated guides–Protecting Immigrant Rights Under a Hostile Federal Administration and Let’s Talk Real Safety–to align around a strong, consistent narrative. New content includes Best Practices for messaging on immigration and guidance on Responding to a Raid in your Community; and Addressing Public Suffering and Ending Harm and Surveillance, emphasizing the urgent need to move away from carceral solutions and toward real investments that address the root causes of harm.
- Interrupt policies that criminalize residents. Reach out to Interrupting Criminalization’s Help Desk for 1:1 assistance with any organizing, policy, budget, or litigation strategies.
- Strengthen community defense. Invite a local partner organization to sign up for National Immigration Project’s “Removal Defense for Community Defenders” training from May 15 through July 17.
đź“š Calls to Action for Public Education
The federal government is poised to pass a billionaire-backed national voucher program that would defund our public schools and harm our students. It’s key that federal officials hear from folks on the ground about the harmful impact this defunding mechanism would have on students and the public education system. This toolkit from our friends at the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools and NYU Metro Center will help you join the ranks of fellow LP members reaching out to their representatives in Washington — it’s powerful for elected officials in D.C. to hear from local electeds!Â
Do you want to pass a resolution in your district about protecting public education? Do you want to connect with organizers who could work with you to advocate for this? Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch to support with a draft resolution and an organizing toolkit from our partners at Public School Strong.
Our partners at Popular Democracy are convening Hands Off Our Schools organizing calls – the next two are May 14 and June 11. Want to sign up? More here.
🌍 How to Protect Communities Before and After Climate Disasters
Local elected officials need to know how to protect the communities they serve in the lead up to and before a climate disaster. Hurricanes, wildfires, and floods not only destroy people’s physical and emotional well-being but also can cause families to get to the brink of financial crisis. Working with community disaster recovery organizers, insurance consumer protection advocates, disaster response attorneys, and housing counselors, the Equitable and Just Insurance Initiative released a report that details how state and local governments can protect people’s financial well-being before and after climate disasters. The report details policy recommendations state and local governments can implement from protecting renters and homeowners to helping people avoid scams and holding fossil fuel companies accountable. Read the report here!
🏡Apply by June 9: Advance Tenant Screening Protections
Every year, approximately 3.6 million individuals facing eviction assume an additional concern for their future: the challenge of finding a new home with an eviction on their record.
Results for America, in partnership with PolicyLink, National Housing Law Project, National Consumer Law Center, TechEquity and Upturn, invites place-based teams to apply for an 8-week Solutions Sprint, Unlocked: Opening the Door to Housing Access Through Tenant Screening Protections. This free learning series will provide teams with the knowledge, tools and strategies needed to design and implement policies that prevent the harms of eviction records and tenant screening practices—and expand access to affordable housing.
🏡 Stay Connected to our Caucuses
Your one stop shop for caucus resources! Trying to remember when that next Women’s Caucus meeting is? Looking for the link to complete your Pride Caucus Survey? Want to join a caucus signal chat? Look no further! This link will continuously be updated with all upcoming Caucus events and asks so that you can constantly refer to it and make sure you’re up to date on when your next caucus meetings are.
Also, Local Progress is seeking a Healing Justice Consultant (or a team of consultants) to curate and facilitate healing spaces for our members in-person and remote spaces. The consultant will work in collaboration with LP staff and LP members to design and lead grounding and healing experiences rooted in trauma-informed practice, with an emphasis on multiple modalities, such as but not limited to, journaling, somatics, breathwork, verbal processing, sound, and movement. Please share with your network.
⚡️️ 2025 National Convening
We have less than 10 days until registration closes for our 2025 National Convening and we are almost at capacity! In July, we will gather local elected officials, movement partners, and donors who believe in the strength of bringing together people from different backgrounds and communities to build a country – city by city, county by county – where each of us can thrive. Join us in Chicago on July 10-12 to strategize toward this vision with a community of values-aligned peers and partners! Check your email for your invite and register by our May 21 deadline!
