Feeling grateful that spring has sprung, but even more for the unceasing courage of Minnesotans and LP members sharing their stories and supporting one another. As we prepare for the 2026 National Convening in Baltimore, I get more and more excited about feeling the boost from our courageous, caring network, and Iām hoping you all can come to get that boost as well.Ā
šø Bringing Demands to the StateĀ
Throughout the 2025 LPMN Chapter Priority Setting process, we identified that too many entities and associations were speaking for Local Progress Minnesota members at the State Capitol and it was time for us to show up and speak for ourselves, our residents, and for the future we deserve. While this session is marked by gridlock, LP members have shown up to make sure that the stories of crisis facing residents, educators and students are heard:
Right to Renew Eviction Protections
In connection with the LPMN Right to Renew/Just Cause workgroup, LP members were ready to mobilize in support of emergency rental assistance and eviction protections at the State Capitol.Ā Right to Renew/Just Cause SF 1671Ā passed its first committee hearing on April 9, building support for the policies that several LPMN members are hoping to move locally. In the end, lawmakers passed a bipartisan affordable housing package withĀ $40 million in emergency rentalĀ assistance.Ā
Minnesota Families for Public Schools
LPMN School Board members have a critical role to play in advocating at the state level for fully-funded public schools. After absorbing thousands of sanctuary school volunteers during Operation Metro Surge, Minneapolis Families for Public Schools is extending their reach across the state. On May 6, LPMN school board members were proud to join with families across the state in demanding full funding for our public schools. The most urgent of these demands are fundingĀ compensatory aidĀ so that districts donāt lose millions due to the Federal Administrationās new restrictions to Medicaid and SNAP. Lawmakers approved $10 million of compensatory aid for districts before the session wrapped. LPMN School Board members will continue to advocate for fully-funded public schools;Ā check in with SabrinaĀ to be part of the plan!
š£ Sharing Minnesotaās Story
Minneapolis City CouncilmemberĀ Jason ChavezĀ traveled all the way to Texas to share the story of Minnesotaās resistance to authoritarianism at theĀ āDefending Democracyā panel at SXSW.Ā In the midst of sharing stories of residents scaring off ICE with whistles and protecting 2 year olds from detention, Jason made the challenge in front of us clear: āWhen we talk about ICE out, we donāt just mean ICE out of the City or the State, we mean ICE out of this country.āĀ
ā„ļø Power Over Panic: Strategizing Across the Network
On May 19-20, LPMN members and partners joined together in Los Angeles to share lessons from Federal Deployments and other authoritarian escalations. By diving deep into what has worked to protect our communities, we built community and trust to continue fighting back boldly together. Big appreciation to LPMN membersĀ Elliott PayneĀ (Minneapolis),Ā Mai Chong XiongĀ (Ramsey County),Ā Rachel JamesĀ (Columbia Heights),Ā Aurin ChowdhuryĀ (Minneapolis) and partners Sara Lopez (Unidos MN), Briana Kent (CTUL), Elianne Farhat (TakeAction Minnesota), Andrew OāNeill (Indivisible), for making the trek to LA and sharing your stories and learnings. Together, we affirm that there is a unique role for local elected officials in building and wielding power as we seek to reclaim democracy and fight for the communities we deserve.Ā
Ā
šļøĀ Affordable Homes, Stable Communities: Our 2026 Housing Convening in Seattle
At the end of March, we held our first Housing Convening in four years:Ā Affordable Homes, Stable Communities!Ā More than 70 elected officials and staff gathered in Seattle for two days to talk about how to fund and preserve affordable housing, organize alongside tenant unions, and explore publicly-owned options! We also had the chance to explore the city, talking with El Centro de la Raza and Seattle Chinatown Int’l. Dist. Preservation and Development Authority about their efforts to preserve affordable housing for their communities. The strength of Local Progress is when our members can come together to learn from one another and build relationships with each other.Ā
Ā
š£ Comms Cohort 2026
Thatās a wrap on anotherĀ comms cohort! In April, we brought 15 LP members to Washington D.C. as the grand finale to our second-ever communications cohort. Since January of this year, this amazing group of members has come together almost every week on Zoom to learn from LPās comms team how to become better communicators. From learning how to develop better press relationships to best practices for short-form video content, we did a deep dive for our membership on everything they need to know to be successful communicators in 2026. In D.C., we took all the lessons learned virtually and saw real-life professional communicators put them into practice. From visiting with local NPR journalists to meeting communications staffers on the Hill, the threads of our lessons were interwoven into every sit visit and important moment during our time in the nationās capital.Ā
šļø Solidarity in Stereo
On June 14, LPMN is sponsoring the annual TakeAction Minnesota benefit show:Ā Solidarity in Stereo. You can support critical statewide basebuilding work around public education, housing, and worker protections. If youād like to attend with other LP members, pleaseĀ email me.
Ā
š„ 2026 LPMN Statewide Strategy Meeting
This fall, LPMN members from around the state will come together to build relationships, strategize, and learn from one another. These conversations will shape our Chapterās 2027 Legislative Agenda and training/workshop priorities for the coming year. Look out for a date this fall and let me know if you want to host the meeting in your locality!
š NEW RESOURCE:Ā Tax the Rich, Fund Our Communities
With billionaires and corporations getting richer thanks to the Trump administrationās billionaire tax break and working communities struggling because of its cuts to essential public programs, illegal wars, and chaotic tariffs, itās more urgent than ever for local leaders to respond by taxing the rich to fund our communities’ needs.
On Monday, May 18, the Local Progress Impact Lab and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy released a new policy toolkit,Ā Tax the Rich, Fund Our Communities: Local Options For Progressive Revenue. This toolkit surveys progressive local tax options, includes case studies of local successes, and provides advice on policy design and managing common challenges. The taxes outlined in this toolkit would raise funds to support essential public services, including education, affordable housing, parks, transportation and other services for our communities to thrive.Ā
Ā
š» NEW RESOURCE: No Buildout for Billionaires: Understanding the Data Center Expansion
Across the country, the worldās largest corporations are pushing to build massive data centers in our communities. The developers behind these projects promise localities benefits like tax revenue and jobs, but the reality is far more dire. Corporations are padding their own pockets with tax breaks while harming the very neighborhoods they claim to be investing in.
As Local Progress members are facing these proposals, we want to be sure leaders are armed with the knowledge to understand what these projects are and how to cut through corporate misinformation. Check outĀ the first in a series of one-pagers demystifying the billionaire buildoutĀ for local elected officials.
Ā
š£ NEWLY UPDATED: Immigrant Justice Messaging & Narrative GuideĀ
Since taking office, Trump and his billionaire allies have waged war on all of us ā militarizing our cities, abducting our neighbors, and stripping us of our freedoms ā but no one has been more targeted and scapegoated than our immigrant family members and neighbors. To win the narrative, we all need to document the Trump Administrationās horrific actions, counter their lies and misinformation, AND collectively demand our vision for a better future. Check out our newly updatedĀ Immigrant Justice Messaging & Narrative GuideĀ for situational messaging guidance, best practices, tough Q&A, and more!Ā
Ā
š How to Start a Municipal Grocery Store: First Steps Local Leaders Can Take
As grocery prices rise, municipal grocery stores may be one solution to stabilizing the cost of putting food on the table. OurĀ new policy bulletinĀ breaks down the grocery affordability crisis and how localities can explore municipal grocery programs with existing and emerging models, as well as practical steps to begin introducing them in your own neighborhoods.Ā Check outĀ (pun intended) ourĀ new resourceĀ today!
šļø Showing Up for Tenants
Many housing conversations about addressing the housing crisis typically center on the needs of developers and landlords, dismissing the challenges and stories of tenants and the costs of instability for those families. The LPMN Just Cause/Right to Renew work group is a central organizing hub for LPMN members working on tenant-centered policies both in their own localities and advocating at the state level.Ā Interested in joining the work group, sign up here.
Ā
āļø Minnesota Democracy Defense TableĀ
LPMN is part of the Minnesota Democracy Defense Table (MDDT), a broad network of over 100 community, faith, and legal organizations, labor unions, and public officials across the state committed to defending democracy and resisting authoritarianism. If you are not already connected, you can get weekly newsletters and updates through the MDDT Google Group and/or join the networkās Signal group. To sign up, please reach out toĀ Kenza Hadj-Moussa.
Ā
š¤ Get Involved with LPMN
We are activating a bold, action-oriented chapter in Minnesota, and we need your energy, ideas, and leadership! Here’s how you can get involved:
- Recruit a new member today!Ā Do you know a values-aligned local elected? Whether they are newly elected or a seasoned professional, we want to hear from them!
- Email meĀ with any questions or ideas you have to make our Minnesota Chapter stronger, orĀ schedule a meeting today!Ā
š” Your One Stop for Caucuses
Trying to remember when the next Pride Caucus General meeting is? Want to join the Black Caucus signal group chat? Or find your caucus playlist? Look no further! Your one-stop shop for all things caucusĀ is right here!Ā
āØ Columbia Heights City Councilmember Rachel JamesĀ
Rachel JamesĀ of Columbia Heights City Council found Local Progress shortly after being elected to her first term in 2022. After being disappointed by other convenings of local electeds, the Local Progress Minnesota State Strategy meeting felt like a ābreath of fresh airā where local electeds were coming together to do what she ran to do: support affordable housing, build an inclusive community, and represent the values of her diverse community.Ā
Before the end of 2026, Rachel is prioritizing rebuilding a sense of safety with Columbia Heights residents. Following Operation Metro Surge and through ongoing ICE activity, the City has enacted eviction support and a small business fund that has already seen over 30 applicants, with funds going out in May. To invest in the LP community, sheāll be speaking on a panel in Los Angeles with other LP members who are preparing for or have faced federal occupations. She is also hoping to finalize Columbia Heightsā first deeply affordable housing development by mobilizing residents who are so clear on why that is needed for the community, and as well as pass renter protections by working with LPMNās Right to Renew/Just Cause Work Group.Ā
āColumbia Heights is one of the best connected and diverse cultural hot spots.ā Rachel loves her local community for the small-town connectedness, while also enjoying urban connection right on the border of Minneapolis. In a moment where our safety comes from community connection, Columbia Heights and its leaders like Rachel are ones to learn from.Ā