LOCAL CHEERS, BIG WINS, and WORK NEEDED
Happenings
New Series of Important Stories
We are starting a new series promoting stories about Good Things, Democratic Wins, and What We Can Protest. Here is our first group of entries. Anyone wishing to help us by contributing ideas for future posts, please enter them in the box below. All submitted entries, if published, will appear as “–submitted by a Reader.” All entries will be verified for accuracy before publication. New entries will appear approximately weekly.
(Continued from p. 1; February 1, 2026)
Write Your Resolution for Caucus Night!
Have you read our latest newsletter? The subject is Resolutions. In 2026, there is no shortage of concerns to express in Resolutions. Yes, you may submit more than one Resolution. Links for forms and instructions are in the newsletter and below.
Proposals will be grouped across the state. Those ideas with the most supporters are the most likely to part of Minnesota’s DFL platform. It is an exciting way to contribute.
So, what matters most to you? Let’s get some ideas started. You have two more days.
- The unlimited detainment of immigrants without concern for their age or disability, lack of criminal record, immigration status, or even legitimate American citizenship.
- The harmful abuse and detainment of nonviolent protesters exercising their legal rights.
- The threats aimed at and arrests of journalists only doing their job.
- The very existence of DHS. Do we need it? Does it have too much power? Other departments used to do this same work. DHS’s creation depended on the shock and panic of 9-11.
- Immigration law. There have been no major changes since the 1990s. Could non-partisan experts rethink and offer major redesigns of our management of immigration? Do ICE and the Border Patrol need to be overhauled?
- The lack of adequate healthcare access for millions of Americans who are too poor to afford it. The closing of rural hospitals and clinics creating healthcare deserts.
- The recent loss of essential social programs across the board: SNAP for food purchase; massive food deserts where populations have little access to nutritional food; loss of supplemented housing for the poor, disabled, and elderly; the general shortage of affordable housing; loss of affordable child care and after-school care programs; loss of higher education loans, loan forgiveness, scholarship and internship programs.
- Women’s reproductive health. Women and children have always been an underserved population with regard to healthcare. Far too many women in America become pregnant and give birth without adequate or any prenatal care. Maternal mortality is significantly rising. Helpful nonprofits and social programs have disappeared. The loss of access to birth control is a crisis for so many families.
- Taxation inequality. How many billionaires do we really need?
- Tariffs!
- Crippling of independent farmers and small businesses.
- Cryptocurrency: lack of regulation.
- AI development and use: lack of regulation.
- Cybersecurity: abysmal government supervision.
- Defunding and untenable staff reduction at the Social Security Administration.
- Defunding and untenable staff reduction at the IRS.
- Censoring of educational institutions (university research) and materials (public school curriculum and library resources).
- The whitewashing of our culture (elimination of Black History month; removal of National Park and Smithsonian exhibits on slavery and native Americans; and so much more).
- Censoring and elimination of critical scientific research at government facilities; termination of NIH, NSF, and Fulbright grants for research.
- Uncontrolled and baseless attacks and threats to foreign countries.
- The sabotage and outright abandonment of our political and economic relations with allies and trade partners.
- Pulling out of defense treaties; pulling out of WHO; sabotaging NATO and the UN.
- The loss of soft diplomacy (USAID), critical health initiatives and guidance from CDC (including shutdown of the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index and Environmental Justice Index); closure of the EPA Office of Research and Development, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; National Weather Service constrictions.
- Crippling of staff and facilities at the Library of Congress and the National Archives.
- Mass expulsions of trained and experienced military personnel due to their sexual orientation or political opinions.
Maybe I got carried away, but I’m sure there is much more.
Submit a Resolution as a Caucus Participant. https://dfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2026-MN-DFL-Resolution-Form.pdf
Submit as Non-Attendee. https://sd46dfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-Precinct-Caucus-Non-Attendee-Form-sd46.pdf
If you are not attending, attach a Resolution Form. (https://dfl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2026-MN-DFL-Resolution-Form.pdf)
A Nod of Appreciation to Our Neighborhood Hilton (1/6/2026). UPDATES on Renee Good Investigation
The Minneapolis Hilton is facing off with DHS over the housing of more than 2,000 ICE agents while they conduct their usual immigrant “review.” The manager of the independently franchised downtown hotel has informed DHS that the agents will not be welcome on the premises for any length of stay. DHS is aghast at the audacity. One wonders how the reservation got made in the first place. It is easy to understand why the hotel might want to keep ICE out on the street. Think of the many hundreds of hard-laboring workers who clean, repair, service and secure the hotel for its clientele. I certainly would not want to be one of them trying to work around more than 2,000 ICE agents on my daily shifts. I’ll bet ICE doesn’t tip, either. All this, and ICE hasn’t even arrived yet.
Update: The ICE Agent’s Cell Phone Video: 5 Key Moments (Washington Post)
Related Story (NPR): Mayor Keith Wilson calls on ICE ‘to halt all operations in Portland’ after federal law enforcement shooting
Update: Agent, Noem should be prosecuted under Minnesota murder laws – Sabrina Haacke, “Weekly columnist, Chicago Tribune METRO, State Affairs, RawStory, Howey Politics, OutSFL. Contributor, Salon, Moot Magazine, South Florida Gay News. 25 year Chicago trial lawyer, heavy on 1st and 14th Amendment defense. Left of center policy wonk.”
Update: ICE shooting live updates: Minnesota investigators say they can’t access evidence | AP News
Update: Minn. officials say FBI is freezing state out of probe into ICE shooting – The Washington Post
Update: Renee Good killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis | MPR News
More to read here:
https://www.rawstory.com/hilton-ice/
Rebranding a Job Benefit (12/27/2025)
You may have heard about the $1,776 “dividend” Trump gifted to active duty military before Christmas. It sounded like extra money, part of the bounty of those wonderful tariffs. But of course, it was nothing of the sort. The money for those checks came from an establish fund allocated by the Pentagon and Congress to supplement the basic housing allowance for servicemembers. In other words, servicemembers were entitled to that money for partial payment of their rent. How bad is this stunt?
1. Now that Trump gave them their own money as “bonuses,” it becomes taxable at the state level.
2. The amount doled out falls short of the original allocation of $2.9 billion. The bonus checks total only $2.6 billion. Where has $300 million gone, and will the troops ever get it?
3. The bonus stunt was a diversion away from another story about $2 billion in funds that were taken from such necessary projects as barracks updates, refurbishment, and amenities on base. Instead, it was spent on border activity. Happy New Year to the troops.
Plenty of news coverage for this topic exists. A selection:
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/trump-rebrands-congressionally-approved-troop-housing-subsidy-warrior-dividend-bonus/410250/
Trump rebrands Congressionally-approved troop housing subsidy as ‘warrior dividend’ bonus
https://govfacts.org/policy-security/military/defense-budget-spending/trump-is-giving-troops-1776-each-heres-where-the-money-comes-from/#
Trump Is Giving Troops $1,776 Each. Here’s Where the Money Comes From.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-military-dividend-housing-5990b3810a704e46e2b93152253f439c
Trump’s new $1,776 ‘Warrior Dividend’ to troops is coming from Pentagon funding, not tariffs
https://www.military.com/feature/2025/12/23/pentagon-uses-military-housing-funds-1776-warrior-dividend.html
Pentagon Uses Military Housing Funds for $1,776 “Warrior Dividend”
Attacks on Science Not Letting Up (12/17/2025)
The National Center for Atmospheric Research Comes Under Threat
Russell Vought, infamous for his Project 2025 leadership, is inspiring Trump to attack the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Said Vought on X, NCAR is “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism.” He recommended that the center’s “vital activities,” such as weather research, should be moved to another entity or location. Obviously, the intent is not to reduce “alarmism,” but to destroy NCAR.
In truth, NCAR is a world leader in climate and weather research. In an effort to salvage the work of NCAR, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced today (12/17/2025) that it will refocus the center’s work efforts on “seasonal weather prediction, severe storms, and space weather.
“Perhaps that prominent nod to the topic of “space” will appeal enough to the president to leave NCAR with some presence intact. However, even NSF found it necessary to recommend the transfer of NCAR’s supercomputer and two aircraft to other agencies. The threat of the Trump administration to essential science research for human survival is far more dangerous than is generally acknowledged.
Read more: “Trump administration moves to break up leading U.S. climate and weather center”
Work Needed – How Long Can the Republican House Speaker Refuse to Swear In the New Democratic Congresswoman?
Meidas+ reports: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. House of Representatives over Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to seat a duly elected member of Congress, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. Although Speaker Johnson has also sent Congress home, in truth Congress should be in session now, and Grijalva has plenty to do for her constituents. She was officially elected a month ago. A.G. Mayes asserts that Speaker Johnson may be trying to set a precedent for indefinitely barring future Democratic representatives from performing their duties. The Constitution does not give the Speaker any say about who gets to work in Congress. A.G. Mayes also notes that any federal judge can swear Grijalva into office. This case needs to be watched closely.
Arizona Loses Patience, Sues Mike Johnson for Stalling on Grijalva
Minnesota Certified Platinum for Evidence-Based Decision Making
Governor Tim Walz today (22 Oct 2025) announced that Minnesota has again been certified platinum – the highest possible recognition – for evidence-based decision making. The certification was awarded by Results for America, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the use of data to drive governmental policies, programs, and budgets.
Minnesota is one of only three states to be certified platinum in 2025 and is the only state to win the highest honor available all eight years since Results for America created a state standard.
“Minnesota invests in what works. And for eight years in a row, we have ranked as a national leader in evidence-based decision making,” said Governor Walz. “We’re using data to reduce child poverty, lower crime rates, and increase graduation rates. We can target our investments to the things that matter most — like school meals, paid leave, and tax cuts for the middle class — to improve outcomes and make Minnesota the best state to live and raise a family.”
Do you have an idea for this section?
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