Welcome!
Northern Progressives will be suspending our regularly scheduled, twice a month meetings in Cook.
Most of the folks that were involved in planning these meetings are
devoting many hours working with the DFL as we move towards the upcoming elections.
Members are welcome to organize a gathering around a topic you feel is important to address &
Northern Progressives will continue to collaborate on rallies & special events around the region.
Keep the communications team posted with anything you would like us to
announce in the weekly newsletter. We also can help you print related announcements / flyers /
informational postcards for distribution to community. You can reach us at:
hello@northernactions.org
It is so good to
build together as we move ahead towards May Day actions,
No Kings 4, the elections, and so much more. Thank you being here.
Highlighted Events ^
May Day Virginia!
People Power
The One Thing Billionaires Can't Buy
- When:
- May 1, 5:00pm
- Where:
- Meet at the Kline Cuppoletti Building
Virginia, MN
Stand with us this May Day as we come together to challenge the outsized influence
billionaires hold over our economy and government.
The administration is pouring resources into wars abroad instead of investing in our schools,
healthcare, housing, and infrastructure here at home.
Because when the billionaires break every rule, it’s going to take more than a rally to stop them.
Our Demands for May 1st
- Tax the rich so our families, not the billionaires' fortunes, come first.
- No ICE. No war. No private army serving unchecked federal power.
- Expand democracy, not corporate power. Hands off our vote.
Together we will flex our collective muscle in a tremendous day of power & show our unity through a day of marches, rallies, and actions.
May 1, 2026
Join us as together we celebrate May 1st through action and community.
- No shopping at big box stores
- SPEND locally & support our small businesses
Then join us in the evening to gather with community.
- 5:00pm — Community Gathering to Display Art And Make a Banner - Kline Cuppoletti Building
- 5:30pm — March to Hwy 53 & 12 Ave
- 6:00pm — Rally and Sign Waiving at Hwy 53 & 12 Ave
- 6:30pm — March to Kline Cuppoletti Building
- 7:00pm — Community Potluck and Music
Please note: A core principle behind all our events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
May Day National!
International Workers Day & National Day of Action
- When:
- May 1, 2026
- Where:
- Nationwide
"We are building a day of power. Because when the billionaires break every rule, it’s going to take more than a rally to stop them...
"On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that puts workers over billionaires, with many refusing business as usual through No School. No Work. No Shopping."
— May Day Strong
Kania for House Meet & Greet
- When:
- May 5, 4:00–6:30pm
- Where:
- Cook Community Center
TOWER, MN - Aaron Kania, a Lake Vermilion resident with a long history of public service, including a career in law enforcement, announced on Tuesday, Jan. 20, that he will seek the DFL endorsement for the hotly contested District 3A House seat.
District 3A is the largest House district in Minnesota, spanning the rugged borderlands from International Falls to Grand Portage. It encompasses Cook, Koochiching, and Northern St. Louis counties, along with parts of Lake County and Itasca County, and the Grand Portage and Bois Forte Reservations. The district is also home to the entirety of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Kania recently retired as the U.S. Forest Service Kawishiwi District Ranger in Ely, where he served for five years. He is a familiar face across the Iron Range and the Arrowhead, known for his leadership during critical regional crises. Kania was instrumental in managing the 2021 Greenwood Fire, the 2025 Brimson Complex, and providing front-line leadership during the 2024 flood events.
“After serving the public for nearly three decades, I’ve realized there is always more to be done,” said Kania. “Our rural communities face unique challenges that require a leader who understands our land, our economy, and our people. My background has prepared me to be the voice we need to tackle these challenges together.”
Beyond crisis management, Kania has been a key figure in the balance of recreation and industry in the Northland. His work has spanned:
Infrastructure & Recreation: Championing the Prospector ATV Trail and the North Country Trail.
Natural Resources: Overseeing active forest management and the preservation of the BWCAW.
Economy: Engaging in the complex dialogues surrounding mineral development and regional growth.
Before his tenure as District Ranger, Kania spent over 20 years as a law enforcement officer in Utah and Wyoming, bringing a deep commitment to public safety and rule of law to his legislative platform.
Kania’s campaign will focus on rural advocacy, sustainable resource use, and ensuring that the residents of District 3A have a seat at the table in St. Paul.
Download poster
Other Opportunities ^
Sent to us from across the region
How deep canvassing can FLIP THE HOUSE
from Seed the Vote
- When:
- April 20, 7:00–8:00pm CT
- Where:
- Online
"We've been doorknocking in Bakersfield since 2025 using a research-proven method called deep canvassing that helps volunteers have more effective and meaningful conversations with voters. We've been tracking the results of our conversations closely and have been excited to learn that they WORK."
Deputized for Disaster
How President Trump’s Supersized 287(g) Deportation Force is a Powder Keg for Law Enforcement, Our Communities, and Our Democracy
- When:
- April 23, 7:00–8:00pm
- Where:
- Online
ACLU's recent report, Deputized for Disaster, details how the Trump administration is drastically expanding the federal 287(g) program to transform state and local law enforcement into a national deportation policing force — fueling racial profiling, civil rights violations, and widespread fear in our communities and in communities across the country. Join Crow Wing County community leaders and ACLU experts for a webinar about our 287(g) report and how 287(g) agreements blur the lines between local policing and immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
Rural Resistance Skills from the Rez to the Range
Sponsored by the Aitkin Good Trouble Club
- When:
- April 25, 9:00am–6:00pm
- Where:
- TBA Grand Rapids, MN
This workshop will bring together organizers and active community members from across Northern Minnesota to strengthen regional connections and to build a shared foundation for long-term social change.
Participants will explore organizing frameworks, strategies for movement building, and practical grassroots resistance skills - with particular attention to rural and Native communities in our region.
Workshop facilitators will create space to strengthen collaboration, to develop our strategic thinking, and to deepen relationships among people already engaged in community work. Attendees will leave with practical skills, stronger connections, and greater awareness of ongoing campaigns and movements across the region.
This workshop is led by a group of grassroots organizers with experience living and working in rural northern Minnesota. More details, including workshop location, agenda, and participating groups will be sent to those who register in the weeks ahead.
This workshop is free to attend and lunch will be provided. Donations will be accepted to support workshop facilitation, meals and other workshop supplies.
Email GoodTroubleAitkinCounty@gmail.com with any questions
Midterm Postcards & New Research
Progressive Turnout Project
- When:
- May 12, 7:00–8:00pm CT
- Where:
- Online
Join us on YouTube Live to learn about our Get Out the Vote postcard program for the 2026 midterms.
We're also excited to share the results of our research measuring the effectiveness of our innovative News Boosting postcards.
Ongoing ^
Signing & Resisting Events
Each Friday at noon at the following locations:
- Cook: Hwy 53 and River Street
- Tower: Mainstreet by the locomotive
- Ely: Sheridan St. & Central Ave
Signs should include issues common to everyone like good jobs, enough money for food and healthcare, and a good education.
Free Community Meal
Strength through Community
- When:
- First & Third Sundays, 12:00–3:00pm
- Where:
- 510 Chestnut Street
Virginia, MN
Join us for:
- Free hot meal
- Food distribution
- Clothing distribution
- Free store table
Note that food, hygiene, clothing donations are needed!
Take Action — Letter Writing Campaigns
from Th!rd Act
"Our National Campaigns are geared towards collective action and moving the needle towards a sustainable, joyous, and equitable future for everyone."
Calls to Action ^
BWCA
Native American Caucus Condemns Senate Vote Overturning Boundary Waters Mining Ban
"Friends of the Boundary Waters says that the Minnesota DNR still has the power to cancel the mineral lease, and they are calling on people to contact the DNR and encourage them to do so."
"Today, the US Senate revoked a 20-year mineral withdrawal protecting 225,378 acres of public lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness watershed from toxic mining on 50-49 vote. The move was led by Minnesota Republican Pete Stauber and paves the way to permanent pollution from a proposed sulfide-ore copper-nickel mine that Chilean mining giant Antofagasta has long sought to develop directly upstream of the Boundary Waters through its subsidiary, Twin Metals."
"Today is a dark day for our people and homelands —
this battle is far from over.
"For thousands of years, our ancestors navigated these interconnected lakes and rivers. Today, millions come to paddle, fish, hunt, hike, dogsled, and pray. This is one of the most visited wilderness areas in the country.
And it belongs to the public — not to foreign mining corporations.
"The science is clear: this watershed is vast, pristine, and interconnected.
Sulfide mining threatens both fish and humans with mercury, endangers manoomin and psin — the good berry — wild rice — and risks drinking water for generations. Furthermore, it threatens our economy and jobs, outdoor stewardship, public health, and will have wide-reaching impacts on cultural, spiritual, and subsistence practices for future generations to come.
Pollution doesn't stay put-it flows, and it bioaccumulates.
It is not a question of if it will pollute irreversibly; it is a question of when.
"Stand with clean water. Stand with workers. Stand with democracy.
Stand with Sovereignty. Stand with Minnesotans. If we protect the water, it will protect us. We remain committed to doing everything in our collective power to protect the Boundary Waters, a sacred place, and we will never stop defending our natural relatives."
— Members of the Native American Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature: Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton), Representative Heather Keeler (DFL-Moorhead), Representative Liish Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth), and Representative Shelley Buck (DFL-Maplewood)
Other coverage
"Imagine if we had a coalition that protected our northern waters / wild rice / Native communities with the same pride of place and love for our neighbors that we saw during the occupation?"
We can make that happen
No War with Iran from MoveOn
Call Congress
All members of Congress on this page have committed to voting against ANY funding for Trump’s war in Iran. Don’t see your senator or representative? That means they have NOT gone on the record to say they will not support funding for this war.
Support Warren & Sanders' Wealth Tax Bills
Add your name
Two major proposals have just been introduced in Congress, by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Both would tax the richest of the rich on their wealth (annually at 2% to 5%) and direct trillions toward supporting working Americans.
Two Bold Proposals to Tax Wealth Across the Land
"How can the U.S. reverse democracy-distorting concentrations of wealth and power? A federal annual wealth tax must be part of the equation.
"The richest 0.1 percent — the top one-thousandth of households, who are all worth over $50 million — have seen their wealth surge since the beginning of the 2020 Covid Pandemic. U.S. billionaires have seen their wealth double since 2019, with the top 19 U.S. billionaires adding $1 trillion to their wealth in 2024 alone."
Protect Wild Rice
Rise & Repair
"I am reaching out as a constituent to request your support for legislation to protect Wild Rice, our state grain, also known as Manoomin to the Anishinaabe and Psíŋ to our Dakota relatives...
"...the need for increased protections remains..."
Do States Have a Secret Weapon to Counter Trump's Forest Service and Medicaid Cuts Before the Damage Becomes Permanent?
& will the corporate overlords allow it?
"The federal government announced the destruction of the United States Forest Service via the same process of royal decree that this nation was founded on ending. So much for originalism, right? No floor debate, no public hearing, no vote. Just a piece of paper that ended 121 years of institutional history before most people had finished their coffee.
"The forests are one emergency. The health care system is another. The reconciliation bill that Republicans passed last year and that the president signed into law on July 4, 2025 cut more than a trillion dollars from Medicaid and ACA marketplace coverage.
"So here is what governors in blue states can do right now, using authority they already hold..."
MN Governor’s Truth Council
Call from Team Monarca and Unidos
Minnesotans lived through Operation Metro Surge and Operation PARRIS. We know what happened in our communities. Now, there’s an opportunity to make sure those experiences are recorded, protected, and heard.
The State is forming the Governor’s Council on Recording the Truth of Operation Metro Surge and Operation PARRIS. This Council will gather testimony, document harm, and help shape recommendations so this never happens again.
Indivisible Calls to Action
Search by issue
5calls
Pick an action & make a call
Training Opportunities ^
Trainings and Briefings, Strategy & Policy Solutions
Rural Urban Bridge Initiative
"To preserve our democracy and rebuild our fractured nation, we need a broader, more united movement—one that lifts up working-class people across race and geography."
Watch Bad Faith
Christian Nationalism In Power
This film has been showing in several local communities.
The 2024 version is available to view online.
BAD FAITH 2026 updates the original and includes the first year of Trump's return to office. This film will only be available through our HOST A SCREENING program.
"BAD FAITH is a feature-length documentary that explores the dangerous rise of Christian Nationalism in the United States. Part archival chronicle, part exposé, the film reveals the secretive political machinery that has relentlessly sought to weaken and destroy American democracy in order to promote its authoritarian vision."
Learn about Voting Rights
Get Prepared to the Elections
Prepare to Defend Science
Union of Concerned Scientists
Tell Congress: Protect Climate Research.
Data Center Information Webinars
from CURE MN
Learn more about Data Centers & how they impact our communities.
Learn more about the SAVE Act
& similar attacks on our voting rights
..."if anything like this ever did become law, the cleanest single document would likely be a valid U.S. passport in your current legal name, because it proves citizenship directly. A REAL ID driver’s license would not, by itself, count as proof of citizenship under this proposal. People with name changes could be forced to assemble a full paper trail connecting birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, or court orders to their current legal identity."
Indivisible Calls & Trainings
"Learn, organize, and take action with Indivisible. Join our calls and training to build power and defend democracy together."
STAC Trainings
States at the Core
"A running list of upcoming trainings from States at the Core" — Ice Watch Related.
