Our Blog + Latest News

Abortion is a human right. Here’s what localities can do right now to protect it.

The Supreme Court’s draft opinion leaked earlier this week is at direct odds with what we know to be true: abortion care is healthcare and a constitutional right.

School Safety & the Senate’s Bipartisan Gun Control Bill

We need meaningful gun control coupled with the things that build truly safe schools – providing physical, psychological, and emotional safety for all students. That means fully funding our public schools to have the teachers, staff, materials and spaces children need.

Milwaukee hosts the Progressive Governance Academy

We’re mourning the children and teachers of Uvalde, TX

We join them in keeping the memories of their children and heroic teachers alive.

Standing in solidarity with Buffalo, NY

A white supremacist invaded our city and killed 10 people in a murderous rampage that was rooted in and emflamed by white supremacy and anti-Blackness.

Our 2022 national convening is in Denver on August 4-6!

With registration now open, we’re also thrilled to share this year’s theme: Resilience. Power. Transformation.

Cities Mobilize for Roe Reversal by Strengthening Abortion Safe Havens

City leaders are mobilizing after a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision was leaked that would overturn U.S. abortion rights.

Investing in real safety: the state of LP’s work on community safety

When we released Reform/Transform: A Policing Policy Toolkit back in 2018, we aimed to create a home base for Local Progress’s policing and public safety work.

Biden’s Proposed 2023 Federal Budget & Community Safety

Earlier this week, President Biden released his FY2023 budget proposal. In response, Local Progress released the following statement.

New York Can Lead in Reimagining Public Safety. Here’s How.

Reimagining public safety means reorienting ourselves to community needs and community-led safety solutions. In short, public safety is a matter of investment.

Minnesota cities have earned sick and safe time: The state can too

The pandemic has made it crystal clear that all our health is connected. Yet, far too many families – particularly families of color – lack the support needed to care for their loved ones or themselves.

LPTX Calls for Action on Anniversary of Winter Storm Uri

This week, more than 30 local leaders signed an open letter calling for a massive overhaul of Texas’ energy infrastructure.

Have a Media Inquiry?

Local Progress is a movement of local elected officials advancing a racial and economic justice agenda through all levels of local government. We are elected leaders who build power with underrepresented communities and fight to reshape what is possible in our localities all across the country. 

Want to get in touch with us for a story? Reach us at press@localprogress.org.

In The News

At Local Progress, we seek to make the aspirational pragmatic by showing how government can be a tool to create just and equitable outcomes and reshaping peoples’ understanding of governing from an institution to a collective responsibility. Here are some highlights of our media coverage:

A graphic shows a large magnet pulling away money from a human's pockets (Getty Images | Retrieved from Minnesota Reformer)

Rigged: Corporate behemoths are using junk fees and technology to keep prices high

Algorithmic price fixing has played a significant role in double-digit rent increases across the country. These inflated rents are exacerbated by consolidation in local housing markets that leads to both higher rates of eviction and higher profits for landlords.
An artist's rendering of the planned residential development at The Heights, a mixed-use development slated to bring 1,000 living wage jobs,1,000 affordable housing units, and strong environmental benefits to Saint Paul's East Side. (Image by LHB Corp)

Minnesota’s New Green Bank Is Powering a Net-Zero, Mixed-Use Development With Affordable Housing

St. Paul is tapping Inflation Reduction Act funds and the state’s new green bank to turn an abandoned golf course into a large-scale mixed-use development. Plus, it all runs on geothermal energy.
A construction worker carrying a large piece of wood in the hot sun with their face and body mostly covered up. (Photo courtesy Ivette Carolina Agudelo-Lopez + Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, Inc)

Cities Want To Give Worker’s Heat Breaks. States Are Stopping Them.

As the climate heats up, LP's LiJia Gong makes the case that abusive state preemption is prohibiting localities addressing climate change.
Small child receiving medical care reaching out from a bed (Photo by Dzulhaidy Abdul Rahim / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I’m the Mayor of St. Paul. Here’s How Our City Is Erasing $100 Million in Medical Debt.

More and more local governments are using federal funds to relieve residents’ medical debt. Mayor of Saint Paul Melvin Carter explains why it's a simple, straightforward way to meet our communities’ needs.

press Releases

After Grants Pass: organizing to house all our neighbors

In response to the Supreme Court's cruel decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, we will continue to organize for housing for all.

Local Progress Condemns Cruel Supreme Court Decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, Local Progress put out the following statement.

180+ State and Local Elected Officials Urge Congress to Reject the EATS Act

LP and the State Innovation Exchange (SiX) released letters calling on Congress to protect local and state governments ability to create policy that is responsive to the issues their own communities face in the agricultural industry. 

Local Leaders Denounce Senate Deal That Would Gut Asylum

In response to the Senate’s proposed border deal that would gut asylum in exchange for foreign military spending, Local Progress released this statement.

📬 LP Network Download | Traffic safety, ceasefire, history in Minnesota, & more! | January 2024

Here’s a look at some of what’s happening across the Local Progress network this month.