St. Paul, MN – Members of the Minnesota Climate Justice Committee (CJC) held a bannering, December 15, in opposition to Lawton Standard (formerly known as Northern Iron) in Eastside neighborhood of Saint Paul on Sunday.

St. Paul, MN – On the afternoon of Saturday, December 14, Twin Cities community members came together to protest outside the offices of Pro-Life Action Ministries, an anti-abortion Christian organization. The Minnesota Abortion Action Committee held a vigil to remember those who have passed away due to restrictions on abortion care, then transitioned into a rally to show that the community does not welcome Pro-Life Action Ministries and its hateful rhetoric.

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, December 8, the Minnesota Anti War Committee held their annual Human Rights Day action. 200 protesters gathered in Minneapolis’s Washburn Fair Oaks Park and marched down the busy Nicollet Avenue, shouting demands for human rights for all and calling on the Minnesota State Board of Investment to divest from apartheid Israel and weapons manufacturers.

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday November 21, 50 members of the newly formed Coalition for a Nuclear-free Mississippi River and their supporters rallied in front of Xcel Energy headquarters on Nicollet Mall in the heart of downtown. They demanded the energy company keep to its 2030 shutdown date for the Monticello Nuclear Reactor, because of the serious threats posed to public health, the Mississippi River, and drinking water for millions.

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, November 17, around 100 people gathered in Uptown Minneapolis’ Painter Park as Families Against Military Madness (FAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) led a protest focused on bringing families into the climate and anti-war movements. Speakers discussed the post-election struggle and the need for young people to learn and practice organizing skills for the long struggles ahead.

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Climate Justice Committee held signs and banners in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on Saint Paul’s East Side, July 18, calling attention to the pollution from the nearby Northern Iron foundry.

Last week, a Minnesota judge ordered that Northern Iron would be allowed to resume operations as normal, striking down an administrative order from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) which came as a response to findings that the foundry violated its permitted emissions limits as well as the Clean Air Act.

By Charlie Berg and Joe Vital

Minneapolis, MN – Residents of the East Phillips neighborhood and organizers with the Climate Justice Committee rallied outside of Smith Foundry on Tuesday, June 4, after an announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it had reached a settlement with Smith, with the most significant provision requiring that the heavy-polluting foundry shut down its furnace within 12 months.

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, April 21, a march of approximately 300 people from the Twin Cities metro area marched, blocking traffic for Earth Day.

The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) and Anti-War Committee (AWC) led the march. It drew attendees from the nearby Little Earth indigenous-preference housing complex, the surrounding East Phillips neighborhood, and Camp Nenookaasi, an encampment of the unhoused which has been forced by the city of Minneapolis to move many times.

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.

And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.