Saint Paul, MN – Over 50 people attended a press conference here to stand in solidarity with Carlos Montes, July 6, at the weekly Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge Peace Vigil. Marie Braun, organizer of the weekly actions on the bridge that spans the Mississippi River, said, “We are focusing today on opposition to the FBI raids and ongoing investigation of peace activists here and around the country and we stand in solidarity with them and Carlos Montes.”

Picket at MN Governor’s Mansion

St. Paul, MN – Members and supporters of the Welfare Rights Committee held signs outside the Governors’ mansion, June 8, to send the message “No cuts to poor and working people” and “Tax the rich, or shut government down.”

Saint Paul, MN – Three activists and their attorneys won a $50,000 settlement today in a lawsuit that challenged an August 30, 2008 police raid on a Saint Paul home in advance of that year's Republican National Convention (RNC). The plaintiffs in the case – Sarah Coffey, Erin Stalnaker and Kris Hermes – are giving most of the award to the [Committee to Stop FBI Repression](http://www.stopfbi.net), the Institute for Anarchist Studies and the formation of a national legal defense fund for political activists.

St. Paul, MN – Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and straight people besieged the capitol here, raising their voices against a bill that starts the process towards a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, by defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman (HF1615). On May 16, chants of, “Gay, straight, Black, white – civil marriage is a right!” rang through the capitol as over 1000 people gathered in front of the House Representatives chamber doors waiting for the session to begin.

ADAPT members say, “I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home!”

St. Paul, MN – On May 11, members of ADAPT Minnesota and up to 20 of their supporters challenged politicians to not accept any of the Republicans’ health and human services cuts to people with disabilities. While the supporters stood outside the Senate chamber doors with signs, four members from ADAPT MN – Galen Smith, Chris Bell, Nikki Villavicencio-Tollison and Darrell Paulsen – went to the senate gallery intending to send a clear message to the politicians below. As soon as the session’s gavel struck down, the four ADAPT members shouted, “I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home!” The session came to a halt while the four were briefly detained and removed from the gallery.

St Paul, MN – Protesters gathered on the front steps of the Minnesota State Capitol, April 15 with a message for state legislators and Governor Dayton: “Tax the rich. No more attacks on poor and working people.” High winds whipped a giant banner spread out across the capitol steps.

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Twin Cities based Welfare Rights Committee showed up at the Minnesota State Capitol, April 6, picketing the session of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Kim DeFranco of the Welfare Rights Committee said the purpose of the action was to “put poor bashing politicians on notice that low income people will fight them every step of the way.”

St. Paul, MN – More than 3500 trade unionists and their supporters marched here, April 4, to stand up for workers’ rights on the anniversary the Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder. A sea of signs and banners filled John Ireland Boulevard as workers marched to the state capitol building.

Launch more attacks on the poor

St. Paul, MN – Minnesotans packed a hearing room at the Minnesota State Capitol March 23 to speak out against the Republican-sponsored House Health and Human Services Finance bill. The bill, HF 927, cuts many services and programs for low income people, the ill, the elderly and disabled. It also includes provisions that make it so that people on public assistance can only withdraw $20 in cash per month.

St. Paul MN – More than 600 people marched and rallied here, March 19, calling for an end to the U.S. war in Afghanistan and an end to the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq. The Twin Cities protest was one of many that took place across the U.S. to mark the eighth anniversary of the start of the war and occupation of Iraq.

St. Paul, MN – About 500 Muslims, mainly from the Twin Cities Somali community, rallied at the state capitol here, March 18, to protest the anti-Islam congressional hearing presided over by New York Republican Representative Peter King.

St. Paul, MN – Minnesota Republicans are pushing legislation that would make it a crime for people on public assistance to have more $20 in cash in their pockets any given month. This represents a change from their initial proposal, which banned them from having any money at all.

St. Paul, MN – Nearly 2000 people gathered at the state capitol building here, Feb. 26, to support the fight of Wisconsin workers. The noon rally brought out a broad spectrum of trade unions, including the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and Teamsters. Members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other progressive organizations also participated.

St. Paul, MN – Members of the Welfare Rights Committee stood in the hall outside the hearing room of the state House Health and Human Services Finance Committee, Feb. 23, holding signs reading, “No cuts to poor and working people,” and “Tax the rich.” As the representatives walked into the hearing room, the protesters insisted they take fliers with the WRC statement on the Governor Mark Dayton’s budget proposal.

St. Paul, MN – As the 2011 Minnesota state legislative session came to order on Jan. 4, the Welfare Rights Committee and the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout chanted on the front steps of the capitol, “Hey politicians, here's the fix! Tax the rich!” This year, the right-wing Republicans have control of the Minnesota State House and Senate. They have vowed not to raise taxes on the wealthy and will make cuts to balance the budget.

Beat Back the Republican Attacks

St Paul, MN – Protesters will assemble at the Minnesota State Capitol Building, at 12 noon, Jan. 4 to say no to attacks on programs that serve poor and working people. Organized by the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout, the action will coincide with the opening of the Minnesota State legislature.

Saint Paul, MN – “Everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we tell them. We are the union, the mighty mighty union…” Over 50 nurses clad in red sang verse after verse as they marched on the picket line in front of Bethesda Hospital the morning of June 10 in the largest nursing strike in U.S. history. Starting at 7:00 a.m., 12,000 Twin Cities nurses went on strike for patient safety and to retain their pensions. Bethesda Hospital, a small hospital near the State Capitol in Saint Paul, has a nursing staff of about 150 who were taking turns on the picket line during the 24-hour strike.

St. Paul, MN – A packed house listened to labor leaders, religious leaders, politicians and nurses on the night before the largest nursing strike in U.S. history is set to take place on June 10, when 12,000 Twin Cities nurses in the Minnesota Nursing Association (MNA) are prepared to go out on strike starting at 7:00 a.m.

St. Paul, MN – On May 18, as news reports stated that 1000 U.S. military deaths had occurred in Afghanistan, over 70 people joined a Saint Paul protest at the office of U.S. Representative Betty McCollum to demand that she vote against a $33 billion request for additional funding for the war in Afghanistan.

St. Paul, MN – “You need a permit to do that,” the cops told the group of women writing last-minute posters outside Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s office, May 17. The posters were in preparation for the Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout event on the last day of the Minnesota legislative session.