Northern Progressives
Updates
2025-08-17
Greetings
In this newsletter you will find information about:
Action Items & Events
Next Meeting!
- When:
- Wednesday, August 20, 6:30pm
- Where:
- Herb Lamppa Civic Center
400 Pine Street
Tower, MN
Train Depot parking lot
Area Law Enforcement Overview
St, Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsey and Lt. Deputy Josh Cox from the Bureau of Indian Affairs serving at Bois Forte Reservation will be with us for the evening to discuss their relationship with federal law enforcement agencies, including I.C.E. and the Border Patrol. This will be a structured discussion with an opportunity for all to ask questions. Following the regular meeting, those who want to pursue next steps as part of a Rapid Response team or as Constitutional Observers are invited to convene.
All are welcome to attend.
Fight The Trump Takeover Rally
Hosted by WARR
- When:
- Sunday, August 17, 3:00-4:00pm
- Where:
- U.S. 169 & East 25th Street
Hibbing, MN
Trump is trying to steal the 2026 election by rigging the system and taking over cities. He started in Texas and D.C., but he won’t stop there. We are fighting back. Join a stop the Trump Takeover event near you this weekend.
Signing & Resisting Events
Each Friday at noon at the following locations:
- Cook: Hwy 53 and River Street
- Tower: Mainstreet by the locomotive
Signs should include issues common to everyone like good jobs, enough money for food and healthcare, and a good education.
Action of the Week
Contact Ken Martin!
- Email:
- martink@dnc.org
Tell Ken Martin to stand up, keep pushing, fight back! We need strong action to resist the unprecedented attacks on our country.
One month after deadly flooding in Central Texas, Republicans have shamelessly used the suffering of Texas families as a pretext for redrawing congressional maps, while refusing to use their power to immediately deliver aid.
Texas Dems provide courageous leadership! The DNC should follow their example. We have included a couple of news stories about Ken Martin's response on the issue below.
Building Partnerships and Coalitions, featuring Cristina Jimenez
from Indivisible
- When:
- Monday, August 18, 6:00–7:30pm
- Where:
- Online
"Become equipped with strategies and best practices for forming, managing, and sustaining effective coalitions to amplify social, community support, and advocacy efforts."
How You Can Fight Climate Change
from Red Wine & Blue
- When:
- Tuesday, August 19, 6:30pm CDT
- Where:
- Online
"We are seeing the realities of climate change all around us. Are you wondering what you can do to make a difference? Join us to explore the everyday steps you can take to fight climate change and how to inspire others to join you."
Immigrant Rapid Response Training
from MIRAC
There are 3 choices of trainings coming up on the Iron Range.
Chisholm
- When:
- August 26, 6:00–7:30pm
- Where:
- Jim's Sports Club
108 W Lake St, Chisholm
Cook
- When:
- August 27, 6:00–7:30pm
- Where:
- Cook Community Center
510 Gopher Dr, Cook
Virginia
- When:
- August 28, 6:00–7:30pm
- Where:
- Mesabi Unitarian Universalist
230 7th Street South, Virginia
Organize in Solidarity
a 5-week training series on organizing our communities to resist ICE
from SURJ
- When:
- Tuesdays, Starting August 26, 7:00-8:45pm (CDT)
- Where:
- Online
"The 5-week solidarity organizing training program is focused on getting you the information, skills, and support you need to take action in your community right now to do something about the Trump regime’s terror campaign of brutality. Over the course of five weeks of training and coaching you will learn how to connect to, and speak from the heart about, why it matters to act courageously and stand in solidarity, to make a plan to speak to your peers and recruit them to join you, to run a campaign to make institutions in your life places of solidarity, and to stand up for your immigrant neighbors."
Indivisible Red & Rural Caucus August Call
from Indivisible's Red and Rural Caucus
- When:
- August 27, 7:00–8:00pm CDT
- Where:
- Online
"When we come back together at the end of August, we will be doing a deep dive into understanding how disinformation plays a role in your red and rural organizing! This won't be a call to miss!"
News
Change in Timberjay Email
For those of you who send letters to the editor to the Timberjay, they've changed their email address. Please use: timberjaynews@gmail.com
DNC Chair Ken Martin Rallies With TX and IL Dems in Chicago
To Take on Trump and Republicans’ Corrupt Scheme To Rig the Congressional Maps
from DNC
"Yesterday, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, DNC Chair Ken Martin stood side by side with Texas Democrats and Illinois Democrats, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, to take on Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s corrupt plan to discriminate against Texas voters and rig congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms while exploiting the pain of Texas flood victims. As Texas Republicans ignore the needs of their own constituents to bend the knee to Donald Trump and attempt to rig their congressional maps to cling to their razor-thin majority, Democrats are standing up for Texans and for democracy in America."
Thursday in the park with DNC Chair Ken Martin
from Chop Wood Carry Water
"Thanks to all who joined us 'in the park,' where Ken Martin and I had a frank talk about where the DNC is, what Democrats are doing, and where we need to go next."
Thousands join US ‘Fight the Trump Takeover’ protests against Republican redistricting plans
Protests against redrawing of electoral maps in Texas and other states take place in 34 US states on Saturday
from the Guardian
"'Texas House Democrats are blocking a redistricting vote in the Texas House right now to Stop the Trump Takeover,' a website for the protests says. 'But Trump has made it clear that he’s not stopping at Texas. He’s targeting Missouri, Ohio, Florida and every state he can twist to help him steal Congress.'"
Surveillance Company Flock Now Using AI to Report Us to Police if it Thinks Our Movement Patterns Are 'Suspicious'
from the ACLU
"The police surveillance company Flock has built an enormous nationwide license plate tracking system, which streams records of Americans’ comings and goings into a private national database that it makes available to police officers around the country. The system allows police to search the nationwide movement records of any vehicle that comes to their attention. That’s bad enough on its own, but the company is also now apparently analyzing our driving patterns to determine if we’re “suspicious.” That means if your police start using Flock, they could target you just because some algorithm has decided your movement patterns suggest criminality."
Agencies that use License Plate Readers (LPR)
from Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (MN)
"This page contains information provided by Minnesota law enforcement agencies about their use of License Plate Reader (LPR) technology. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) publishes this information on the BCA website as required by Minnesota law."
Surveillance locations in St. Louis County
Flock Camera Locations
- Co. Rd. 7 S/B @ Co. Rd. 133 (Meadowlands, MN)
- Midway Rd. N/B @ Seville Rd. (Hermantown, MN)
- Lavaque Rd. S/B @ Martin Rd. (Duluth, MN)
- Co. Rd. 7 N/B @ Co. Rd. 101 (Iron, MN)
- Rice Lake Rd N/B @ Martin Rd. (Duluth, MN)
- Co. Rd. 21 S/B @ Wahlsten Rd. (Embarrass, MN)
- Co. Rd. 4 N/B @ Co. Rd. 16 (Aurora, MN)
- US Hwy 53 S/B @ MN 194 (Duluth, MN)
- Co. Rd. 77 N/B @ Lost Lake Rd (Tower, MN)
- US Hwy 5 S/B @ Hobson Lake Rd. (Hibbing, MN)
Minnesota sheriff's departments seek to cooperate with ICE
from Minnesota Post
"While Minnesota has been derided as a ‘sanctuary’ by the Trump administration, seven counties have agreed to help implement federal immigration law."
U.S. profoundly changed by authoritarian leader; 'We're beyond waiting and seeing now'
Thanks to a new contributor!
from Rachel Maddow
"Rachel Maddow points out that the thing most Americans were dreading has come to pass, and the United States has changed profoundly in only six months of authoritarian rule. "We have a consolidating dictatorship in our country." With freedoms likely to continue to be curtailed in deference to Donald Trump's power, that means Americans have the most tools for democratic resistance right now."
Fighting the Firehose (part 2)
How to Counter Right-Wing Disinformation Without Playing Their Game
"The modern right’s media strategy is built on volume, speed, emotion, and repetition.
"It borrows from Russian propaganda playbooks, supercharges them with American capitalism, and distributes it through everything from podcasts to Facebook groups to memes. It's powered by think tanks, billionaire donors, fringe influencers, and culture war entrepreneurs.
"The goal isn’t to persuade people logically — it’s to shape the entire information environment. To confuse, demoralize, distract, and isolate."
So how do we fight back?
"Not by shouting into the void. Not by trying to fact-check every lie. But by using strategic, tested, and community-driven techniques - many drawn from how Eastern European democracies pushed back against Russian disinformation without becoming authoritarian themselves."
Inspirations
A Model for Successful Resistance
Free DC models effective resistance to Trump’s takeover
from Waging Nonviolence
"Washington, D.C. residents’ rapid response to Trump's National Guard deployment is a masterclass in how to prepare for crises and fight authoritarianism...
"On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital — a move Princeton University professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad described as 'a slide towards fascism' and 'textbook' authoritarianism. Claiming emergency powers from the D.C. Home Rule Act, Trump also announced a takeover of the Metropolitan Police.
"As is typical with authoritarians, the pretense for these orders was an invented crime emergency...
"Free DC made clear, “No single event or protest will fix this. What works is disciplined, connected organizing.” And they are already showing the way forward."
New data shows No Kings was one of the largest days of protest in US history
The historic number of No Kings Day protesters and their expansive geographic spread are signs of a growing and durable pro-democracy movement.
from Waging Nonviolence
"No Kings Day on June 14 was one of the largest single days of protest in United States history, and it was probably the second-largest single day demonstration since Donald Trump first took office in January 2017. The number of participants and expansive geographic spread that day are both signs of the persistent popular opposition to the second Trump administration."
ICE Resistance Information Expands
The amount of information and examples of successful resistance has expanded considerable. We have attempted to compile some of the available materials on our website.
Know Your Rights & Rapid Response
Forms of Resistance and Reasons to Believe It's Working
from Heather Cox Richardson
"We are entering a period, I believe, where you are seeing both Trump and the people around him him trying to cement as much power as it is possible to do as quickly as they can because they see that it's crumbling."
Please Share your Sources of Information and Inspiration:
What news sources, reading lists, podcasts, subscriptions and other resources do you rely on for good information? Please respond to hello@northernaction.org with the sources you recommend and a brief reason why they're important to you. We plan to publish a list from sources you submit. We'll keep submissions anonymous.
Northern Progressives Schedule & Structure
NP Group meetings are held:
First & third Wednesdays in Tower or Cook
- 1st & 3rd Wednesdays in Tower or Cook
Breakfast Club:
- Pattenn's Café in Orr at 10 am on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays.
Everyone is welcome to come and discuss current happenings, help shape the direction of NP, and get to know each other.
Northern Progressives Communication Committee
- General email (submit ideas here):
- hello@northernprogressives.org