Minneapolis, MN – On August 15, around 20 people gathered on a rainy afternoon in downtown Minneapolis to raise awareness about proposed mining in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by a company called Twin Metals.

Sophie Kampmeyer from the Climate Justice Committee told the crowd, “The proposed mines near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness would be sulfide mines, a byproduct of which is sulfuric acid, AKA battery acid, polluting the lakes and rivers. As the acid makes its way through the environment, it leaches other toxic metals from the ground, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead. These contaminants would pollute crops and wildlife throughout the state,” adding that it would be, “permanent pollution for less copper and nickel than we’d get from recycling e-waste that already exists.”

Activists’ chants of, “When the water we drink is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, toxic mines have got to go!” echoed for blocks, including at the busy downtown farmers market, where activists handed out information to market-goers. Cars honked and people joined in chanting to show their support for protecting the Boundary Waters region.

Emma Scherrer from Minnesota Workers United, stated, “We cannot ignore the climate crisis for short-term profit. If we don't do something now, there won't be anything left to protect. The mining interests are pitting people who want good paying jobs against those of us that want clean water and clean air! Now I don't know about you, but I don't just want clean water and clean air or a good-paying job. I want all three. This is definitely possible.”

Ulysses Dolan from the AWC made the connection to environmental and anti-war fights around the globe. “The State Board of Investment is investing in companies that fuel the genocide in Palestine and Twin Metals. We need to call on our governor to divest!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #BWCA #Mining #CJC

St. Paul, MN – Eastside Neighbors will breathe clean air come January 1. After a years-long struggle, Eastside neighbors are celebrating the closure of industrial polluter Northern Iron Tool and Machine. On Thursday, July 30, the foundry announced that it will close by the end of the year. Northern Iron was a constant source of pollution that harmed the Eastside community.

Just last week, on July 18, Eastside residents with the Minnesota Climate Justice Committee packed a Saint Paul courtroom and held a press conference to demand Northern Iron’s air permit be revoked.

Kalani Matus of the Climate Justice Committee stated, “Don’t get it twisted – community action took down this polluter. Just like with Smith Foundry in Minneapolis, everyday people organized together around their common interests to shut down Northern Iron. Right now, it can feel like the world is attacking regular people left and right. But we have the power to change our circumstances. When we organize, great things can happen.”

Brittney Bruce bought a house directly across the street from Northern Iron. When she moved in, she had no idea her house, her windowsills, and her car would be covered in black dust from Northern Iron. Upon hearing the news of Northern Iron’s closure she said, “My kids can go outside. Kids in the school won’t have to breathe the pollution anymore. By next year our kids will be able to breathe clean air.” Bruce had never organized against an industrial polluter like Northern Iron before. She said, “By yourself your voice is small. But when we get together we are loud. I’m so glad we were able to hold Northern Iron accountable.”

Last year, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) initiated a lawsuit to revoke Northern Iron’s air permit after years of noncompliance, unacceptable pollution, and neighborhood demands for clean air. For decades, Northern Iron shirked accountability. The polluting foundry has air permit violations and other citations dating back to the early 2000s. As recently as 2023, Northern Iron was fined $41,500 by the MPCA for inadequate pollution control equipment and installing new equipment without a permit. These violations led to increased air pollution for Eastside residents.

Neighbors of the foundry continually reported air quality issues to the MPCA and they rallied against the foundry. Eastside residents also sued Northern Iron in a class action lawsuit that demanded the polluter take responsibility for the harm it caused to residents’ health and homes. A judge has yet to rule on either the permit revocation or the class action lawsuit against Northern Iron.

Whitney Wildman of the Minnesota Climate Justice Committee said, “The Climate Justice Committee congratulates the residents of Eastside on their victory against Northern Iron. This victory shows when we fight back we can make huge gains for our communities. We stand in total solidarity with Eastside in their fight for clean air and a safe, healthy community. And we will be watching to ensure no other polluters replace Northern Iron.”

Eastside resident and lawyer Melissa Lorentz said, “The Eastside has worked so hard for this victory. I can't count the number of community members that showed up to meetings, wrote letters, door knocked, and rallied to hold Northern Iron accountable. My neighbors are crying tears of joy right now, not just because we won, but because we did it together.”

Sarah Degner Riveros, who is an Eastside resident, said, “This victory sends a message to all polluters that Minnesotans won't tolerate harm to our environment. This is a win that will have lasting impacts far beyond the East Side of Saint Paul.”

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #CJC

Forest Lake, MN – Nearly 50 community members from the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) and Indivisible members in Forest Lake joined at a rally to target U.S. Representative Pete Stauber, who had recently spearheaded legislation that would again open the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) to copper sulfide mining.

The Boundary Waters is a protected area where motorized vehicles aren’t allowed, and campers are expected to take out everything they bring in. During Biden’s presidency, legislation was passed to impose a mining ban, but Representative Stuber worked to overturn that ban after just three years to allow the Twin Metals mining company to resume operations in this area.

Michael Wood from the CJC spoke at the rally saying, “We are here because Pete Stauber’s vision of the BWCA is to sell every lake every range every river and stream to the highest bidder. Pete Stauber’s vision is selling you clean water at the highest markup. Forget 10,000 lakes, Stauber wants Minnesota to be a land of 10,000 mines.”

Indivisible members have been rallying every Sunday since January to oppose Trump’s attacks, from immigration to environmental rights. The CJC was excited to join Indivisible to target Stauber in front of his listed local Minnesota offices.

Michael Wood continued, “But Minnesotans love the BWCA and we are going to fight with everything we’ve got to defend this precious wilderness. So, we ask you to get more involved. Call your representatives, petition the government, protest climate criminals like Stauber.”

#ForestLakeMN #MN #Environment #CJC #BWCA

Minneapolis, MN – On April 25 Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) hosted a panel on the environmental consequences of U.S. imperialism.

The panel, held on the plaza right outside of May Day Books, took place a week after the People’s Earth Day March, and was an effort to deepen community understanding on the role of U.S. militarism in exacerbating climate change. April 25 was also Independent Bookstore Day so, in addition to the 30 people who attended, there was a steady stream of people who stopped by on their way in and out of the bookstore.

Liz McLister, representing WAMM’s Families Against Military Madness committee, opened the panel, “The United States boasts the largest military in human history, which is also the world’s largest polluter, gobbling up more petroleum than any institution on earth and emitting more greenhouse gases than some countries.”

McLister continued, “According to Brown University's Costs of War, the U.S. military drives the climate crisis in at least four ways. First by burning enormous amounts of fossil fuels. Second, through emissions-intensive military operations and installations. Third, through the destruction of soil, wetlands, forests and other natural areas that would otherwise absorb carbon. And fourth, by decimating civilian infrastructure and thereby leading to carbon-heavy reconstruction.”

Trish Knous, a member of WAMM’s Palestine Solidarity Committee and the CJC, spoke next about how U.S. imperialism has destroyed the environment in Palestine. “Today it [Gaza] is an area of flat, hard packed land and crushed cement. It is one of many villages, towns, and cities that no longer can support people's lives. When buildings are destroyed, wiring, insulation and asbestos release toxins into the air, land and water. Some of the bombs used penetrate the ground before exploding and release heavy metals such as uranium, lead and arsenic. Some of these metals decay slowly and will affect the composition of the soil and water for decades.”

The panel was closed out by Rebecca Scott from the CJC, who spoke about the environmental devastation from the current U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, “There were 14 million tons of carbon dioxide released in just the first 14 days alone.” She addressed “black rain,” the 14,000 buildings that have been demolished, and the impact of the U.S. bombing Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Panelists encouraged the attendees to protest against U.S. wars and to get involved.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Environment #WAMM #CJC

Minneapolis, MN – With wind chills bringing temperatures below zero, 15,000 Minnesotans took to the streets in Minneapolis on Saturday to demand ICE get out. The protest was organized by a large coalition of immigrant rights groups and unions in response to an upsurge in attacks by ICE in the past month in the greater Twin Cities area. Many of these attacks have focused on the Somali community after Trump’s racist call for mass deportations of Somali Minnesotans.

Community members have witnessed ICE agents drag a pregnant woman through the streets, shoot pepper balls and tear gas at responders, smash car windows and kidnap people in broad daylight. During the coldest and darkest time of the year, the people have been chasing these federal agents all over the Twin Cities, militantly fighting back, letting them know they are not welcome here.

The march was organized by a large coalition that included unions and immigrant rights group such as Minneapolis Federation of Educators Local 59, SEIU Local 26, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), UNIDOS, Comunidades Organizando el Poder y La Acción Latina (COPAL), Minnesota 8 (MN8), Immigrant Defense Network (IDN), Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others.

The march included three trucks with multiple speakers from different organizations and unions. The front truck included fiery chants and speakers led by MIRAC members. MIRAC speaker Myrka Zambrano said, “We march here so they know that there is resistance. Here and all across the country, we want ICE out of our cities and we will scream it as loud as we need to!”

Emcees kept the energy high for the nearly one and a half mile march, with chants uniting the crowd against ICE. Protesters marched below a freeway bridge and echoes of “Chinga la Migra” boomed as they neared a Somali mall.

Speakers highlighted support for Somali neighbors amidst racist attacks from the Trump administration. Jaylani Hussein of CAIR-MN addressed protesters, “You showed up today! You came out today knowing it was going to be cold! You showed up for your neighbors, for your friends, for your teachers, for your union brothers and sisters. You came out today to show that Minnesota will not let ICE divide us!”

Tracy Molm of the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) said, “In PACAT we believe our struggles and fights against the reactionary and racist policies of the second Trump administration must be met with action. While we have many different struggles, we are united in our commitment to fight back and shut it down!”

MIRAC emcees concluded the march by inviting protesters to shop at the many immigrant-owned businesses on Lake Street that have been struggling due to the recent attacks on their community. Their call to action invited the crowd to show up and take the streets with MIRAC for their 20th anniversary May 1 march in 2026.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #PACAT #ICE #CAIRMN #MFE9 #SEIU #MN8 #UNIDOS #IDN #COPAL #CJC #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – Climate Justice Committee and community members gathered for a family-friendly walk through Mayor Jacob Frey’s Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood on Saturday, October 4. The walk was called to raise awareness for the Roof Depot fight and urge Mayor Frey to give the East Philips neighborhood a fair deal for the site. Participants put up hundreds of posters, handed out flyers, and had conversations with community members.

The walk was called by the Climate Justice Committee (CJC), a local activist group focused on fighting urban pollution and environmental racism in the Twin Cities. They have been active in the East Phillips neighborhood’s campaign to turn the old Roof Depot into an urban farm and community center.

The East Philips Neighborhood Institute President of the Board Dean Dovolis made the stakes clear: “Right now, we sit at a choice of two futures. A building owned by the community, run by the community, developed by the community's committee, or a future in which the building is demolished and turned into a service yard for diesel trucks and other polluting uses. This is critical, because if we do not prevail, we condemn the neighborhood to these uses for our lifetimes and the lifetimes beyond.”

Dovolis added, “We already have an active agriculture program, so this dream is real. There’s only one thing that’s keeping us from making the dream real: Mayor Jacob Frey. We need your help to tell him that this is the right thing to do, this is the right action, this is the right future for the neighborhood. We, the East Phillips Neighborhood, are driven by this, because while we can’t control the issues in Washington, we can create our own vision of what we want to see in our society, right in East Phillips.”

Kent Mori of the Climate Justice Committee linked this action to the broader fight for indigenous rights: “Mayor Frey embodies environmental racism. The Roof Depot land itself, if it’s sold to EPNI, will be owned by Little Earth, the largest Section 8 native community in the United States. So if you want to talk about ‘land back,’ you gotta talk about Roof Depot being owned by the community! This is about native sovereignty and empowering native folks within their own community.”

Climate Justice Committee and community members will continue to elevate the cause of the Roof Depot in rallies and press conferences around the city.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #CJC #RoofDepot

Minneapolis, MN – Over 20 people came together on a stormy and humid day, August 19. to demand the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, sign over the Roof Depot site to the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) to create a community center in a neighborhood overburdened by pollution.

Over two years ago Mayor Frey had caved to public pressure and had agreed to sell the site to EPNI, but made it dependent on getting $5 million from the state of Minnesota to help move city facilities. At the end of the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers failed to make good on promises for the money for the Roof Depot site.

“Jacob Frey’s career should be destroyed for this situation. This all started because he disregarded a report that repairs on the Marcy Holmes location would be the economical answer to the needs of public works. Instead, he pushed for the city to buy the Roof Depot. Purchasing and then just leaving the site to sit has cost Minneapolis taxpayers money, including residents here. Then when we stood against the demolition that would poison this neighborhood, instead of cutting losses Frey and his allies had security and barbed wire put up. That also was money wasted on this site,” explained Mordecai Mika of the Climate Justice Committee (CJC).

The reality is that it isn't the responsibility of East Phillips to pay for the city’s utilities or facilities. EPNI has offered the City $10.2 million for the site, which is currently appraised at $3.7 million.

But the neighborhood and supporters aren't afraid to fight for the East Phillips community. The CJC has been organizing with the people of East Phillips for years, beginning with the demand that the city of Minneapolis not demolish the Roof Depot site, which would raise arsenic and other contaminants sealed under the complex. The CJC then joined with the neighbors to demand a century-old foundry that had been polluting the neighborhood be shut down. With very little pressure, an asphalt manufacturer across the street from the Roof Depot shut down, bowing to public pressure. And shortly after, the foundry also shut down permanently.

The CJC has vowed to stand up to Mayor Frey and demand he agrees to sell the Roof Depot site to EPNI. Every day delayed is another day stolen from the people of East Phillips in their quest to turn back the environmental racism and injustice piled on this working class community.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #RoofDepot #CJC #EPNI

St Paul, MN – Dozens of people held signs and cheered Saturday morning, June 7, since the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced it would revoke Northern Iron’s permit. 11-year-old Eastside resident Moses Degner Riveros said on the megaphone, “Our voices are being heard! Now we need to take the next step of shutting the foundry down.”

The crowd of Eastside residents and organizers heard from neighbors about living under the toxic haze of Northern Iron’s foundry operations. The foundry has been in operation for over a century in the Eastside neighborhood. It has an extensive record of environmental regulation violations. Eastside residents have long known their neighborhood was polluted by lead and other heavy metals spewed from Northern Iron. After a strong and sustained community campaign, residents are one step closer to shutting Northern Iron down.

Resident and lawyer Melissa Lorentz said, “What we’re seeing right now is something we haven’t seen before. The MPCA is standing up against this aggressive, well-funded company to support the community, and it’s because of people who are willing to speak about the harms of this facility.” Referring to a Thursday, June 5, hearing, Lorentz said, “Last week I saw the attorney for Northern Iron lie in court about their pollution. That is what they’re willing to do for their profits.”

Another resident, Sarah Degner Riveros, spoke about the health impact of heavy metals like lead from Northern Iron. Her five children have experienced anxiety, depression, bleeding disorders, reproductive health issues, insomnia, muscle fatigue and overall weak immune systems since moving to Eastside in 2015.

Riveros stated, “This past January my 17-year-old daughter lost consciousness. She required a blood transfusion that brought her back to life. She missed a month of her senior year of high school.” Degner Riveros paused and took out a bouquet of peonies. “But this week she graduated high school summa cum laude, and I brought her graduation flowers to show you. We deserve clean air! A residential neighborhood is no place for a foundry!”

Residents reported black soot covering their cars, the siding on their homes, and on their windowsills. In April 2024, the MPCA ordered Northern Iron to seal their facility, but to this day one can see holes and gaps in the tattered blue tarps wrapped around the baghouses on the foundry’s roof. Brittney Bruce with her two children by her side said, “Northern Iron can say they’re doing the right thing in court, but every time I drive past I see the blue tarps blowing open, I see the particles in my windowsill, fence and car. If Northern Iron cannot clean up the pollution they’re causing, then they need to shut it down!”

A Climate Justice Committee member closed out the speakers, stating “Companies are terrified of collective action, because when we join together we the people have power. When the Climate Justice Committee, Eastside Environmental Justice and concerned neighbors banded together to demand action – we made change happen. This collective action is more important than ever as the Trump administration tries to roll back environmental protections and deregulate. We must fight back to keep our communities safe. As we have seen with Smith Foundry and now Northern Iron, it can be done. When we come to fight, we let the polluters know we do not come to plead for power – we come to wield it! Because, when we fight, we win!” The crowd enthusiastically joined in the chant “When we fight, we win!”

While the crowd was there to celebrate and let the neighborhood know about the MPCA revoking Northern Iron’s permit to operate, organizers were clear the fight is not over. The notice to revoke the permit allows Northern Iron an opportunity to appeal and the foundry may operate in the interim. The Climate Justice Committee emcee made it clear that we’ll keep coming back and join the neighborhood in fighting to shut Northern Iron down!

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #CJC

St. Paul, MN – On Saturday, April 19, chants from the Minnesota State Capitol grounds were heard throughout downtown Saint Paul as 10,000-plus protesters marched through the streets to meet a crowd of 5000 on the capitol lawn for a People’s Earth Day.

“Like never before, we can see how the destruction of our environment goes hand in hand with resource extraction for power and profit,” Climate Justice Committee member Zhu Gong declared to the crowd of 15,000. “We must stand up and demand that all complacency towards Trump and Musk’s destructive agenda is ended forever. We have seen that when communities stand up and fight, we win!”

Seeking to elevate and broaden the fight for the planet, the group identified Earth Day as an important holiday to put forward as a day of fighting for liberation. A People’s Earth Day, to them, is not just a celebration, but an assertion of the necessity for the people of the world to reclaim their planet from the corporations and governments that seek to destroy it.

This event was organized by an array of local organizations under the collective name of The People’s Earth Day Coalition. Organizing partners included the Climate Justice Committee, Families Against Military Madness, Three Waters Pipeline Resistance, MN 50501, Indivisible Twin Cities, MN Women’s March and Third Act. After the massive turnout of the Hands off rallies on April 5, organizers were excited to follow up on the growing opposition to Trump’s agenda.

“I celebrated the very first Earth Day 55 years ago with great joy, hope and determination,” said Amy Blumenshine of Third Act Minnesota. “Today, under Trump, we are abandoning all our great progress, so I am working to stop the federal retreat from climate and environmental protection in every way possible.”

And it wasn’t just environmental groups that supported these demands. Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, Red Nation, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, the MN Anti-War Committee, and the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council were just a few of the non-climate groups that showed up to speak in support of the people’s movement for the climate.

“It’s no coincidence that the same people and institutions that are profiting from the destruction of our planetary future are also the ones fomenting war, attacking immigrants, rolling back women’s and LGBTQ rights, and more,” said Charlie Berg of the Climate Justice Committee. “‘One struggle, one fight’ is not just a slogan or a metaphor, it’s an accurate description.”

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #Feature #CJC

St Paul, MN – Dozens of residents rallied March 22 alongside the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) in front of Northern Iron, a metal foundry located in the heart of the highly diverse, working-class East Side neighborhood in Saint Paul. The foundry has earned the ire of residents for its failure to contain toxic pollutants from its operations, as well as its refusal to comply with state government efforts to hold them accountable.

Smokestacks located just across the street from residences emit toxic pollutants such as lead and other heavy metals, as well as hazardous fine particulate matter. The foundry, owned and operated by Lawton Standard, continues to subject the residents to toxic pollutants in defiance of standards set by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Particulates from the foundry can be seen collecting on cars and houses, and on windows and windowsills. It collects in the lungs of residents and their pets, which can cause long term health effects. It also collects on the surface of the ground, seeping in with the rainfall, rendering soil toxic.

One neighbor reported, “My children are experiencing health problems, including very low hemoglobin, anemia, behavior problems, trouble concentrating, [and] sleep disturbances.” Another neighbor, a young child, expressed frustration that he could not eat the fruit that grows in his yard: “I live four blocks from Northern Iron, and I have an apple and a raspberry tree and I can’t eat them because of Northern Iron. And I have a few questions: why is Northern Iron polluting our neighborhood with toxic metals like lead?”

There was consensus among the people assembled there that families had a right to a safe environment in which to raise their children, and that Northern Iron was violating that right.

In an apparent effort to feign compliance, Northern Iron hastily wrapped its smokestacks in common tarp. Neighbor of the foundry Brittney Bruce remarked: “For them to say that their emission capture is working is literally a joke – we can all see these stacks are not wrapped properly.”

The MPCA recently issued a warning to the foundry, threatening to possibly revoke Northern Iron’s operating permits if they do not provide overdue paperwork by March 27. It is widely expected, however, that the foundry will do nothing to abate its toxic emissions, continuing a pattern of negligence. Furthermore, residents worry that the MPCA will fail to live up to its ultimatum, as the regulators did not fully commit to action.

Considering the foundry’s history of ignoring deadlines set by the MPCA, and the agency’s history of ignoring pollution from the foundry, East Side residents and the Climate Justice Committee are preparing to continue the fight beyond next week’s deadline.

Local resident Mel Lorentz was clear, “I've talked to so many people who live within a few blocks behind this foundry and everybody says they've gotta clean it up or get out and we're not going away until they do that.”

Organizers with the CJC vowed to continue to spread awareness of the mounting campaign and pursue it to a victorious conclusion as was done against the Smith Foundry in the neighboring city of Minneapolis.

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #CJC

St. Paul, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) and East Side Environmental Justice hosted a community meeting, March 15, in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood of Saint Paul, raising awareness among community members about the growing campaign against the Northern Iron foundry, a major polluter in the area.

Around 50 people were in attendance, including local residents, neighborhood activists, elected officials such as Saint Paul City Council Member Nelsie Yang and state House Representative Peter Fischer, and other concerned community members.

Neighbors near the foundry have been documenting dark soot on their windows, in their homes and on their cars. Testing confirmed the soot contained the same toxic compounds that can be found inside Northern Iron. Northern Iron has also been found in violation of their emissions permits by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), but it has refused to clean up its act, even taking the MPCA to court to avoid compliance with the agency’s enforcement action.

First, Mel Lorentz, an attorney and Payne-Phalen resident, talked through the details of Northern Iron’s operations and known pollution history, stating, “They’re taking in up to 30 tons per day of scrap metal, and up to 100,000 tons per year of silica sand, they pour molten metal into molds to make equipment for oil and gas drilling, agricultural equipment.”

Lorentz then offered a major update on the status of Northern Iron’s court battle with the MPCA, telling audience members that the agency recently sent Northern Iron a letter setting a deadline of March 27 to submit testing data and detailed plans for how they would get in compliance, or else face potentially having their permits revoked. Lorentz pointed out that this is a major escalation from the MPCA, calling out that “many people in this room know that this kind of thing almost never happens,” and that this was clearly the result of the community’s organizing efforts.

Next, a nursing and public health student, Candis Moore, offered a presentation on the adverse health effects that are commonly associated with the pollutants coming from Northern Iron, primarily lead and PM 2.5 (also known as fine particulate matter).

“Blood lead levels are important because it’s a neurotoxin, so when this is introduced to children, when their brains are growing very fast, it can actually impede that process. This can lead to problems in school, behavioral problems, and this is so important because these are foundational building blocks to kids leading fulfilling lives in their futures,” Moore said., She highlighted the fact that lead pollution is a common factor among many working-class cities and neighborhoods around the country that have high rates of school dropouts and crime among youth, such as many parts of Chicago and Detroit. During the Q&A, Moore underlined that “there is no safe level of lead in the body.”

The audience heard from Minneapolis-based community activist Joe Vital, who played an important role in winning the shutdown of Smith Foundry in East Phillips in 2024. Joe recounted the story of fighting for justice alongside the CJC and other allies in his own neighborhood, emphasizing the lesson that these fights require a diversity of tactics, such as call-ins, putting pressure on elected officials, and community rallies and protests. Vital put it succinctly: “It’s only when people get in the streets that things finally start to move.”

Finally, Britney Bruce, who lives right behind the foundry, shared her story of moving into the neighborhood with high hopes, only to have her dreams dashed when she learned her new home was right next to a major polluter.

“I spent many, many years saving up for my first home. I had plans of having a big backyard to host family barbecues, bonfires, have a garden, a place where my kids can run wild – a place that my boys could always call home,” she said. Bruce moved in almost exactly one year ago and quickly noticed that things were not right. “I noticed that no matter how much I cleaned my windowsills and baseboards, they were always covered in black dust. My oldest, who is diabetic, started having breathing problems. My middle child developed eczema all over his body. I went back to using an inhaler that I hadn’t used since high school.”

Bruce called for everyone in the room to stay in communication with one another, to spread awareness, and to continue to fight so that Northern Iron can’t pollute any longer. She concluded, “It’s easy to mute one voice, but it’s hard to mute many.”

The Climate Justice Committee is organizing a rally outside Northern Iron next week on March 22, and continues to build the struggle against urban pollution and environmental racism in the Twin Cities.

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #CJC #TwinCities #ClimateJustice

Minneapolis, MN – In frigid weather, February 20, 50 people rallied with the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) to oppose Trump's attacks on the environment, along with the barrage of other attacks that have happened in the first month of Trump’s presidency. 

Speakers connected Trump's attacks on immigrants, trans rights, workers and Palestine to the rollback of environmental protections that Trump instituted in his first days in office.

Trump has used executive orders to push more fossil fuels and end the U.S. role in the Paris Climate Accords, ensuring that previously agreed upon goals to curb climate change won’t happen. The CJC speaker emphasized how every tenth of a percent of rising temperatures mean more intense weather, food scarcity and increasing energy costs that fall disproportionately on oppressed nationality and working class families and their communities. They also talked about the lack of action by Democrats like Senator Klobuchar, whose office the rally was in front of.

Rally goers chanted, “Stand up fight back” as the emcee rotated the attacks on immigrants, trans rights, Palestine, and workers that are happening from Trump and his cronies. 

Kristen Bledsoe from Minnesota Abortion Action Committee talked about the heart wrenching case of Sam Nordquist, a Minnesota native who had recently been tortured and killed in New York as a logical conclusion of the transphobic rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. 

Bledsoe ended her speech with, “We have to resist the impulse to shut down and hide. We have to recognize that the cruelty and the chaos of the Trump administration is meant to make us lose focus, and we have to counter that by being more strategic, more united, and more organized than ever before.” 

“Trump’s attacks on DEI show the white supremacist mindset, trying to kill anything that would make this country more equal for those who have been left out for centuries,” stated Minnesota Workers United speaker Neil Radford. Radford called on rally goers to focus on solidarity of the working class that needs to stand together and not allow Trump and his ilk to divide us. 

Mira Altobell-Resendez from the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee talked about the important work MIRAC is doing using Know Your Rights trainings with immigrant communities and allies to stand against ICE and governmental agencies. 

Trent Fast from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee made a clear case, “We need to be mad as hell at Donald Trump and his attacks on everyday working people here at home - and those in Palestine. We all have more in common with everyday Palestinians than we ever will with people like Donald Trump. Solidarity across movements is our sharpest weapon against his presidency. Because when we stand together, there's way more of us than there are of them!”

All of the speakers emphasized the importance of getting involved and building solidarity among the people’s movements to stand against the Trump attacks over the next four years and beyond.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCities #CJC #ClimateJustice #MNAWC #AWC #ICE #MIRAC #Immigration #NoDeportations #DEI

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.

Lawton Standard is a foundry that has violated the Clean Air Act according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Members of the CJC bannered to inform and emphasize the harm caused by this foundry in an oppressed nationality, working-class neighborhood.

Kay Lerohl, a member of the Climate Justice Committee, said, “When industrial polluters fight to legally refuse to get up to code because of cost, the message is clear – they value profits over the planet’s health and our health.”

Previously, the MPCA placed restrictions on Lawton Standard’s operations, but a July 12 court order revoked those restrictions. As litigation pends, this court order allows Lawton Standard to resume its normal operations, including melting up to 30 tons of leaded material per day that pollutes the Eastside neighborhood.

The Climate Justice Committee held a banner on Arcade Street that read “Hold polluters accountable! Foundries poison St. Paul!” Members also displayed signs that said, “Northern Iron pollutes!” A year before, Lawton Standard was fined $41,500 after violating its air permit in October 2023. The company has also been cited for failing to notify regulators of updates to its equipment and operations over the past 15 years.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Environment #CJC

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.

The Minnesota Abortion Action Committee hosted the vigil to honor and remember victims of abortion bans by holding a banner bearing the names and ages of those that have passed and commemorating the many others who have gone unnamed. Among those honored were Amber Nicole Thurman, Candi Miller, Nevaeh Crain, Josseli Barnica and Porsha Ngumezi, all women who have died since the overturn of Roe v. Wade after being denied abortion care. Attendees placed flowers and candles around portraits of the deceased to offer a heartfelt tribute to those women.

After an emotional vigil, the action transitioned into a rally against Pro-Life Action Ministries, an organization known for organizing “sidewalk counselors” to harass people seeking care at Planned Parenthood locations. Pro-Life Action Ministries also supports and funds “crisis pregnancy centers.”

June Gromis of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee talked about how pro-life organizations like Pro-Life Action Ministries are using the guise of religion to further their agendas and expressed that her own faith is rooted in love for all. Gromis sang the song Amazing Grace and the crowd joined in, honoring “everyone who has endured suffering as a result of anti-abortion legislation.”

In a similar vein, a member of Women Against Military Madness, spoke of her own story of ending pregnancies in the past and how “she is at peace with this.” She spoke about her mother, a devoted Christian, who taught her to be pro-choice, and affirmed that her dedication to the fight to “respect people’s choice!”

Michael Wood of the Climate Justice Committee connected the struggle to save the climate with the movement for abortion rights and emphasized the fact that pro-life organizations are not for the people. He spoke about his experience of growing up Catholic, but resisting the anti-abortion beliefs of the church. Wood said that instead, he now stands for reproductive justice for all, which includes “fighting for clean water and air for our children to breathe in!”

A member of the Anti-War Committee spoke about how the fight for reproductive freedoms is connected with the liberation of Palestine, touching on the fact that movements need to be connected. “We cannot be pro-choice here at home, while turning a blind eye to the horror the U.S. and Israel impose on Palestinians and their reproductive rights!” she said.

The emcees ended the rally with a reaffirmation of their commitment to the fight against anti-abortion laws and rhetoric, encouraging the community to keep up the struggle for bodily autonomy in memory of the dead and in honor of all of us still living.

#StPaulMN #MN #WomensMovement #ReproductiveRights #Abortion #MNAAC #WAMM #CJC

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.

Every year, Human Rights Day is celebrated internationally to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that protects the inalienable rights of every person. During this Human Rights Day, protesters connected different struggles, including healthcare and abortion access, immigrant rights, police abolition, climate justice, land back, and anti-imperialism, to call for an end to human rights abuses in the U.S. and those sponsored by the U.S. abroad.

Abdullah Muhammad, a member of the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine said, “Our unity today underscores a profound truth, the struggles for justice are interconnected.”

This protest heard speeches from the Anti-War Committee, Health Care Workers 4 Palestine, Climate Justice Committee, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, American Muslims for Palestine, Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, and Minnesota Workers United.

Robyn Harbison, a member of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, stated, “Countries are not playgrounds, nations are not chess pieces, nations are the people.” Connecting abortion access to the broader fight for human rights, Harbison asserted the “commitment in demanding better for the working class, our trans family, undocumented sisters, and victims of police violence.” Harbison is an outspoken Palestine solidarity activist and is fighting felony charges for protesting for Palestine at the University of MN.

Nicholas Tolliver, a member of the Anti-War Committee, stated that imperial powers, “monopolize access to resources and secure global supply chains on a planet that is being suffocated by climate change and ecological collapse caused by capitalist production and resource extraction.”

In order to stop imperial violence and human rights abuses, Tolliver stated, “divestment is one of the most powerful tools that we, living here in the imperial core, have to fight against imperialist human rights violations.”

The Minnesota State Board of Investment, which controls and organizes public workers’ pensions and state investments funded by taxpayers, invests $5.4 billion in public assets belonging to entities complicit or profiting from the Israeli apartheid and genocide. They are holding their quarterly meeting this Tuesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. in the Department of Administration Building, where the Minnesota Free Palestine Coalition is planning to pack the room.

The MN Anti-War Committee Human Rights Day protest was also a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for a week of action.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #MNAWC #AMP #MinneapolisFederationofTeachers #