Pies and Great Discussion at Meet and Greet

Despite some foggy weather and possible slippery roads, LWVPRA had a good turn out of elected officials and community members Thursday night.   Everyone broke into small groups of 5 to 7 people with one or two elected officials. Community members expressed their concerns and asked questions on a variety of topics: nursing home, roads, pipeline, property taxes, recording of commissioners meetings, development vs environment, and many more. Every 15 minutes the groups shifted to speak with another official.  The evening was very informal and many people expressed how pleased they were with the format.  Several people recommended that League should hold more of these sessions maybe even in other parts of the county. Everyone learned a lot and experienced democracy at its very best.

Meet and Greet Your Local Elected Officials

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area is providing citizens an opportunity  to get to know your local elected officials better.  A Meet and Greet with local elected officials will be held Thursday November 29, 6:00 pm at the Northwoods Bank, Park Rapids, meeting room. 

The following officials have responded Yes to participating: Hubbard County Commissioners Charlene Christianson, Dan Stacey, Ted Van Kempen and Dave de la Hunt. Tom Krueger is traveling on our date. County Attorney Jonathon Frieden will also be participating. Also Sheriff Cory Aukes has responded that he will be attending. Park Rapids City Council members participating will be Ryan Leckner, Tom Conway, Erika Randall and Liz Stone. Members of Hubbard Co Boards and City Commissions have also been encouraged to attend. 

Hubbard County had a great turn out of voters but the election is over for 2018. Now citizens have the opportunity to have a conversation  with officials who have been elected to serve us. Come for casual conversation over pie and coffee. All are welcome.

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area  (LWVPRA), a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government and influence public policy through education and advocacy.  All our programs are free and open to the public.  Please direct any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only) by emailing 

lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org

Your Vote Counts...share with your family and friends

During election years, most attention seems focused on national and state elections, but local elections are where change starts. The most visible change might also be seen at the local level since it can take a while for what federal and state governments do to have an effect locally. 


From property taxes to potholes and how schools are run, most of the issues that affect daily life are decided at the local level. Now, more than ever, young people need elected officials who represent their points of view on the city council, county board and school board. These elected officials can make progress happen - or not. 
 
Law enforcement is also local. Your city council and county commissioners play a role in law enforcement and the local criminal justice system. They pass ordinances for city police and the county sheriff and deputies to enforce. Did you know it is against city law to use skateboards on downtown sidewalks or that people who don’t live in the city limits can serve on the library board? The sheriff, county attorney and judges are also elected and are responsible for enforcing local laws. When these people are campaigning, it is good to think of yourself as the boss and of them as people interviewing for a job. That is the way democracy works best. Make sure the people you vote for will work for you.

Community development is local. Day care and affordable housing are issues that our city and county officials can act on or provide support for. 


It is also much easier for those of us in rural areas to have some direct contact and discussion with local candidates as well as office holders and therefore to be an informed voter. The Park Rapids League of Women Voters makes this even easier by hosting candidate forums for local elections. We held six forums in this election cycle. You can watch videos of these forums at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_98.html

Remember that your vote counts. In Breezy Point, MN, it took a coin flip to determine a City Council position due to a tie. 

If you have questions about how to vote, where to vote or where to find information, called the Hubbard County Courthouse, ask your local League of Women Voters or the local parties.  You can vote in person now at the courthouse or show up at your polling place on Nov 6th. 


Last forum of this election cycle: Menahga School Board

LWV Park Rapids Area held it final candidate forum of the year last night.

 

Thank you to the candidates for attending the forum and sharing your thoughtful answers:

• Andrea Haverinen (Incumbent)
• Katie Howard (Incumbent)
• Robert E. Smith 
• Durwin Tomperi (Incumbent) 

See the full video here

Thank you to all the LWV Park Rapids members and friends who put on these forums this year:

This was a group effort and each and everyone of us is needed to make things run smoothly.

• LuAnn Hurd-Lof for all the scheduling, contacting candidates and setting up the venues etc. etc.
• Terry Kalil, Harland Johnson, Sue Tomte, Carolynne White for moderating our forums
• Carolynne White for organizing articles, posters, Facebook, websites and handling the sound system
• Carolynne White, Harlan Johnson, Tom Petschl, Carter Hedeen, Cynthia Jones, Milica Stanfel, Lyn Pinnick for helping to prescreen questions submitted by email. 
• Milica Stanfel, Susan Bearden, LuAnn Hurd-Lof for being timers
• Carol Ashley, Cindy Gunsolus, Barb Wiebesick, for greeting people and handling sign in sheets
• Annamae Holzworth for organizing the hospitality team before she left on her trip.
• Florence and Carter Hedeen, Carol Moen, Hillary Stoltz, Mary Adams, Beth Baker-Knuttila and Susan Bearden for all the set up, treats and doing all the little things that kept us on track.
• A special thank you to all the members who passed along information about the forums, attended the forums, put up posters and flyers etc. etc.  Especially to any member I forgot to thank. 
• Laurie Conzemius: A very special thank you for video taping all the forums and so quickly processing and uploading them to youtube. 

Park Rapids High School votes in mock election

Seniors in Sandy Aldrich's government and law class set up a mock election polling place to help assist the students, teachers and staff of Park Rapids High School in experiencing the voting process. The students had to register, and mark their ballots just as if they went to the polls to vote on November 6th. League member and election judge Florence Hedeen was on hand to answer any questions and was impressed with the process.

• 3 write in votes, 
•  5 votes for Josh Welter the Libertarian,
• 12 votes for Chris Wright of the Grassroots party,
• 33 votes for Tim Walz, of the DFL party
• 91 votes for Jeff Johnson of the Republican party. 
• ( 1 spoiled ballot) 

Experiences like these help students realize the importance of voting and will increase their likely hood of being voters when they turn 18. 

Results:   145 people voted in yesterday's mock election:

Sandy Aldrich

Social Studies Teacher

Park Rapids Area High School

Video of Sheriff''s Forum in Park Rapids

Thank you to the sheriff candidates Cory Aukes and Dion Pederson for answering questions for the voters in the Park Rapids area. There were over 94 people that attended the forum and a total of over 30 questions were submitted. These questions were combined so that we covered as many topics as possible.  We hope that if you still need further clarification that you will seek out the candidates and ask them.  We know by this turnout that the voters feel this is an important campaign for Hubbard County.
   
Thank you to Harlan Johnson for once again doing an excellent of moderating, to Susan B and Milica S. for being timers and to our hostesses and set up, registration team of Mary A, Florence H, Carter H, Hillary S, Barb W, and Carol A.   Great job.

For the full video of the Sheriff's candidate Forum Part II

Video of Park Rapids City Mayor Forum

Thank you to the candidates, Pam Hauber and Ryan Leckner, audience members and the LWV members who helped set up and attended Thursday night's forum.  Each candidate got an opportunity to voice their positions.  Thank you Sue Tomte for moderating the forum.  Also thanks to Laura Conzemius for video taping our forums.

 Watch the full video here

 

Since Pat Mikesh has withdrawn from the mayor's race and there is a declared write in candidate, we have included information on how to vote for a write in candidate:

On your ballot for the mayor's race in this case, if you decide to write in a name not on the printed ballot, fill in the oval by the word "write in"..then print the name of the person you are voting for on the line. The spelling does not have to be exact but the intent must be readable.  

(from the MN Secretary of State website) Candidates for Statutory City 

Write-in votes for candidates for statutory city, township, or school district are counted without the need for a written request.

Video of Hubbard County Commissioners Fourm

 Thank you to the candidates for Hubbard County Commissioners District 1 and 3, audience members and LWV members who attended Thursday evening's forum.  Everyone did a great job.  Each candidate got the opportunity to voice their positions.  Thank you to Sue Tomte for doing an excellent job of moderating this forum. 

full video of Hubbard County Commissioners forum click here

Video of House 2A and House 2B forum in Park Rapids

Thank you to the candidates, audience members and LWV members who attended Tuesday evening's forum. Everyone did a great job so that each candidate could be heard.  Thank you also goes out to Terry Kalil who was our moderator. 

for full video of House candidate forum click here  

(there is a sound problem at 1:03 into the video)

 

Sheriff's Forum held in Guthrie

Thank you all for attending the first League of Women Voters candidate forum at the Guthrie Town-hall.  Over 36 people attended to watch the 2 candidates for Sheriff of Hubbard County: Cory Aukes and Dion Pederson, answer questions that were submitted by email before hand or handed in to the question screeners.  All questions are screened so that they are relevant to the office, avoid personal attacks and are clearly stated.  The questions are also combined so that more topics are covered.  Also thank you to Harlan Johnson for moderating the forum.

Below is the link to watch the video of this forum.  The candidates for Sheriff will meet again on

Thursday, October 18: 
Hubbard County Sheriff
6-7:30 p.m. at the Northwoods Bank Community Room

See the video of the Sheriff's forum in Guthrie here

One more Candidate Forum has been added for 2018

This is an update of the 2018 League of Women Voters 2018 Candidate Forums

We have added one more forum to the schedule.  This one will be for the Menahga School Board.  It will be held on Tuesday October 23 at 7 to 8 pm.  Come to the Menahga School Media Center.

Hear from the candidates themselves.  You can submit questions to be asked of the candidates by sending your questions to lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org.  

All questions will be collated and edited so that as many topics as possible will be covered

We are planning on video taping these forums and posting them on our YouTube channel which will be linked to a blog post about each forum.

Please share this information with your friends and neighbors.

Be an Informed Voter

 
One of the easiest ways to become an informed voter is to go to the Secretary of State's website (https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/whats-on-my-ballot) to see who will be on your ballot. (While you are there, you can also register to vote and find out the many ways Minnesota provides access to voting.) Many of the names of candidates will be highlighted and take you to the candidates' websites where you can see what issues are important to them.

The deluge of TV and radio advertisements that we are beginning to see are not the best sources  to find out information about candidates. Some ads are done by Political Action Committees (PACs) who may have unstated interests. Many ads may have an element of truth but it may be distorted. For example, many ads refer to yes or no votes that incumbent candidates have made on issues. These yes or no votes may refer to the name of a bill but do not give you the reasons a candidate voted or did not vote on an issue.The bill may not do what it says, or may have provisions in it that a candidate opposes.

An even better way to get information is to attend candidate forums or debates that are being put on by many different groups. Rural residents are often at a disadvantage in having access to many of these debates. Watch candidate's websites or Facebook pages for information when they might be in your area. Then often you have a chance to ask your own questions, too.

For local candidates, the Park Rapids League of Women Voters (PRLWV) hosts candidate forums for contested local elections as well as for MN State House and Senate. These forums will be held in September through October. You can find notices for them in the Park Rapids Enterprise, The Chamber calendar, Volunteer Park Rapids Area Calendar  and the PRLWV website. You are encouraged to submit questions. Questions are sorted by PRLWV members for relevance to the position, politeness, addressed to all candidates and then selected according to interest expressed by the most people. Some questions that are on similar topics are combined. It is rare that there is enough time for all questions. If your question isn't answered, stay afterwards to ask your question. Most candidates remain to talk to potential constituents.

Four forums have already been confirmed. The forum for State House Districts 2A and 2B will be on October 2nd at 6 p.m. at Northwoods Bank. On October 4th at 6 p.m., the County Commissioners (Districts 1 and 3) forum will be held at CHI St. Joseph's.Two forums for Hubbard County Sheriff will be on September 27th at 7 p.m. at Guthrie Town Hall and on October 18th at 6 p.m. at Northwoods Bank.  More details on local forums can be found at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_98.html

This is the second in a series of informational articles that League of Women Park Rapids Area is writing to help the voters navigate this election cycle.  I hope your paper can use it within the next couple of weeks. Our intend is to increase the awareness of candidates for all race but especially for local races 

LWVPRA: Announces the first Candidate Forums for 2018

Get Information on Your Local Elections.
Plan to attend League of Women Voters
2018 Candidate Forums.

Save these dates on your calendar and plan to attend: 

Hear from the candidates themselves.  You can submit questions to be asked of the candidates by sending your questions to lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org.  
All questions will be collated and edited so that as many topics as possible will be covered

We are planning on video taping these forums and posting them on our YouTube channel which will be linked to a blog post about each forum.

Please share this information with your friends and neighbors.

Primaries: The Forgotten Elections

from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2010/08/04/primary-turnout

Primaries are the forgotten elections. It’s summer. There are a million things to do in the north county: swimming, fishing, boating, skiing, tubing, gardening, bike rides and seeing our friends/ family.  So why should we take time to vote now?  What does it matter? The REAL election is in November!

But Primaries are so important to all of us.  A primary election determines which candidates will be on the ballot in the November general election. This is the time that people can have a voice in choosing. 

Overall 294,797 Minnesotans cast ballots in the 2016 primary, which featured no statewide races other than a low-profile, nonpartisan judicial election. That’s 9.42 percent of registered voters, but just 7.43 percent of eligible Minnesota voters.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is do we want to have only 7% of eligible voters deciding who will be on the ballot in November?  Or do we take the time to be an informed voter and make our own decisions?  Think of this in terms of the lottery. If you play only for the big jackpot and a million others play also, you have only 1 in a million chance to win.  But if you play when only 70,000 others play, you have a one in 70,000th chance of winning.  For voting that means you have a much stronger voice. 

To be an informed voter during the primary you have to do some work on your own. There are not as many ads or campaign flyers. There are likely many small campaign stops by candidates but you have to take time to go to that location.  So the first step is to go to the Secretary of State’s website. (https://myballotmn.sos.state.mn.us/)  A good place to start your search is to fill in your address to get your sample ballot. This will have live links to the candidates’ websites. Read the issues and background of each candidate. You can go on to search for other sources of information about them.  Ask your friends, or check out Facebook or Twitter.  If you like a candidate, go to one of their events. It is important that you decide based on what you think is best for your family, county, state etc. 

The next step is to vote. In Minnesota you can cast your ballot now until August 13th by going to your county courthouse.  (If you are not registered, you can register at the same time.  If you are new to the county or have moved, bring along an electric bill or similar item with your new address or bring another registered voter to vouch for you) .  Once you are registered you can cast your ballot or get an absentee ballot. When you vote absentee you can vote at home, which means you can research a candidate, decide and mark your ballot. You can vote in one race at a time.   Remember that mailed ballots must be returned by election day: August 14th.  Also remember that you vote only in one party’s primary.  Do not mix parties. On August 14th all the polling places will be open, you can go that day to vote.  Remember that mailed ballots must be returned by election day: August 14th. On Election Day polling places will be open and you can go that day to vote. If you live in a township with mailed ballots, be sure to mail your ballot so it arrives by August 14th. You could deliver it in person by 8 pm on Election Day or ask someone to deliver it for you.

The last step is to spread the word. Remind your friends, family, neighbors and especially people have not voted before.  This is the time to step up.  Expanding the number of people voting expands our democracy as well as civic engagement. This helps our community improve the quality of life here. 

You can find everything you need to know at the link to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office, including where and when you can vote. You can even track your ballot after it is submitted.
https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/other-ways-to-vote/

Remember that Minnesota remains unique when it comes to elections and government. It’s our higher than the National average turn out during elections and the fact that we have so many competitive districts. It makes every everyone's vote count. Do your research, vote in the primaries and in November. Be a Voter.

Carolynne White
President League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area
http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

“An afternoon with Ahmed Ismail Yusuf”

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area and Beagle & Wolf Books are excited to present “An afternoon with Ahmed Ismail Yusuf”.  Mr. Yusuf will discuss his personal immigrant story from Somalia to America and his new book The Lion’s Binding Oath.  Come join us at 3 pm on June 19th at the Northwoods Bank Community Room: 1200 1st St E, Park Rapids, MN 56470.  The program will last about an hour and half including time for questions. All programs are handicapped accessible and refreshments will be served.

Ahmed Ismail Yusuf arrived in America from Somalia as a high-school dropout, unable to speak English, and unsure of his actual age. He has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1997. Today he has two college degrees and is the author of Somalis in Minnesota, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, and Gorgorkii Yimi, a collection of stories in Somali, published by Ponte Invisible.  In February 2018, The History Theatre of St. Paul, Minnesota produced his play, “A Crack in the Sky,” a memoir about how Yusuf found inspiration in Maya Angelou and Malcolm X during his early days as an immigrant to the U.S.

Yusuf’s most recent work, The Lion’s Binding Oath, documents a country coming apart yet reveals its deep pride and a quiet hope despite the instability.  Yusuf hopes that his work shines a light on both the immigrant journey as well as the Somali people and the legacy of his homeland.

 League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area  (LWVPRA), a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government. We influence public policy through education and advocacy which includes supporting activities to preserve the nation’s natural resources. Programs are always free and open to the public.

If you have any questions about the program contact Beagle & Wolf Books.  If you have any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only), email  lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow our activities, events on our website: http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

Civic Engagement: The Key to Improving our democracy?

As this next election cycle approaches, many people are thinking what can we do to improve our democracy?   Some people think that having citizens become more engaged is the answer.

According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project survey of 2012, only half (48%) of  American adults directly took part in a civic group or activity in the 12 months preceding. The survey measured several broad categories of civic activity that Americans might engage in.
 This includes anyone who did one or more of the following six activities:
    •    35% of American adults have recently worked with fellow citizens to solve a problem
          in their community


    •    22% have attended a political meeting on local, town, or school affairs



    •    13% have been an active member of a group that tries to influence  the  public or
           government



    •    10% have attended a political rally or speech



    •    7% have worked or volunteered for a political party or candidate



    •    6% have attended an organized protest

Therefore the next question is what can be done to change these statistics?  One way is to join an organization such as League of Women Voters.. We are non partisan which means we don't support specific candidates or political parties, but we do research issues, help educate the public and lobby for changes especially on issues surrounding our democracy, and our voting systems. 

If you want to make a difference in Hubbard County,  come find out more about League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area and what we do to support our local elections.  Join us for our Annual Meeting: May 10th, 2018.

.
 

Park Rapids: A MN GreenStep City?

To learn more, come to the free program Thursday, April 19, 6 pm at Northwoods Bank in Park Rapids.  Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Park Rapids Area, Mellissa Birch, Central Coordinator for Clean Energy Resource Teams, will be the featured speaker.  Light refreshments will be served.

Starting in 2007 with statewide listening sessions, the idea was raised of creating a free sustainable cities program that would challenge, assist and recognize cities that were "green stars." In 2008 the Minnesota Legislature directed the MPCA and others to recommend actions cities could take on a voluntary basis. Representatives from dozens of cities, non-profit organizations, businesses and state government agencies provided the outline for what has been developed as the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program in 2010.  Over forty percent of Minnesota citizens presently live in a total of 120 GreenStep Cities, mostly in the metro areas but also scattered throughout rural Minnesota.

Simply put, Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a free and voluntary program that provides a simple pathway to help cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementation of best practices focused on cost savings, energy use reduction, and innovation.  The program provides a list of twenty-nine best practices, divided into the categories of Buildings and Lighting, Transportation, Land Use, Environmental Management, and Economic and Community Development.   The twenty-nine best practices are further divided into more than 170 more specific best practices which can be chosen by a city as fits into the particular city’s needs.  But, what’s this “Step” business?
When a city government formally joins the GreenStep program through a city resolution, it is considered a Step One City. Cities that implement a minimum number of best practices of their choice will be recognized as Step Two Cities.  Completion of a few high-priority actions merits Step Three recognition.  Measuring city performance metrics will garner Step Four and Step Five recognition.  Cities will be credited for sustainability actions completed prior to joining the GreenStep program. 

GreenStep Cities receive peer recognition at the League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference.  Accomplishments of member cities will be visible on the GreenStep web site, the most comprehensive web site in Minnesota devoted to city sustainability.  But best of all, citizens of GreenStep Cities know that their city is using best practices to achieve among other things, energy and cost saving strategies, natural resource preservation, efficient city growth, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, well managed urban forests, good water quality, community resiliency, and sustainable economic development. For more information: www.mngreenstep.org. 

If you have any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (not for women only), email  lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow our activities, events on our website: http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/

Concerned about our Election Intregrity?

Join us to hear Steve Simon,  Minnesota Secretary of State, as he explains what is happening with elections in Minnesota..

A citizen’s most powerful tool in civic engagement is the right to vote.

It is important that we all  learn how to protect that right.  Tuesday, March 13 (1 pm at Park Theater), LWV PRA and Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning will present a joint program on Election Integrity with Steve Simon, Minnesota’s Secretary of State. As Minnesota’s chief elections administrator, he has pledged to “work with anyone, of any political affiliation, from any part of our state” to protect, defend and strengthen the right to vote in Minnesota.
    According to Simon, Minnesota has rigorous safety measures in place before, on and after Election Day to ensure elections are fair and secure. Voting integrity is an important cornerstone of democracy.
    Simon will address the questions of: What are the safeguards for our election system? Can we be hacked? What does hacking exactly mean? How do we make sure there is no fraud in our registration and voting system?   What do we need to do to improve our voting system? What are our responsibilities as citizens to maintain the integrity of our elections? Is the legislature putting forth any bills with changes for our election system in 2018?

League of Women Voters Park Rapids Area (LWVPRA) is a non-partisan volunteer organization, whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in the community through education. Please direct any questions about LWVPRA activities, events or on how to join LWVPRA (remember it's not for women only) by emailing lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org. Follow League activities, events at http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com.

Has your interest in government and poltics been recently awaken?

In a COMMENTARY article written by Lee Hamilton, Center on Representative Government, and published by the Enterprise on Feb 10th, he explains,   “Citizens today carry an extra burden – not merely to pick a politician we might favor for some reason, but to make choices that move us away from ideology and our own biases, and toward getting this country running again.”  This is a huge responsibility, and a citizen must have an understanding of how  government is set up, what the responsibilities of a government are, and what  citizens can do to make changes?  These kinds of  questions were answered in our high school civics class, but for some of us, it has been a long time since we were in civics class.

One remedy to this quandary is civic engagement which is vital to keeping our democracy healthy: 

Sign up for the Community Education Class: Becoming an Engaged Citizen (What citizens need to know about their government)

 

Thursdays from March 1 to March 22. Classes will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Frank White Education Center. Carolynne White and Barb Wiebesick of the League of Women Voters Park Rapids will lead the classes. 

There will be 4 sessions: 
Session I: will provide an overview

•  of the Constitution, 
• of voting procedures and safeguards to voting procedures,
• of political parties and campaigns. 

Session II: will cover

•  “fake news/ basic fact” checking 
•  skills for effectively communicating with government officials (petitions, letters, emails, etc).

Session III  will cover the legislative process from the federal to the local level.

Session IV will wrap up with

• explanations of local boards, commissions and councils 
• how a citizen can get involved. 

 Register by calling 218-237-6600 or go to www.parkrapidscomed.com.

BRINGING IT HOME: IMMIGRATION IN OUR AREA

Thursday, February 15, 2018, the Park Rapids Area League of Women Voters (LWV PRA) will present “Bringing it Home: Immigration in our Area.”

The event will combine a dynamic guest speaker and a panel discussion with local persons to give audience members the chance to ask questions and engage in a conversation about this important topic. LWV PRA anticipates this program to be of great interest in light of current events and the controversy surrounding immigration and immigration law.

The program will begin at 6:00 pm at the Northwoods Bank Community Room, 1200 E. 1st. St, in Park Rapids, MN, with refreshments available at 5:30 pm. The League of Women Voters is offering this FREE event to increase understanding and encourage area voters to be better informed on this major public policy issue.

The evening’s guest speaker will be Martha Castañon, of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) in Moorhead, MN, an office that opened in 2016. Martha was born and raised in rural Moorhead, but began school knowing only three words of English; “Hi, Bye, and OK.” Her family worked in the sugar beet fields of Minnesota, picked cucumbers in Wisconsin and worked in the onion and spinach fields of Texas.

Martha brings more than 35 years of experience in immigration law to ILCM. As a life-long member of the Moorhead community, Martha has witnessed the changing demographics of Minnesota as immigrant groups arrived. During the 1970s, the Moorhead area saw the growth of the Latino community, and in the 1980s, increases in Hmong, Vietnamese, and Cambodian populations. Over the years, Bosnian, Somali, and Kurdish populations in Moorhead have also expanded as these groups were granted refugee status and resettled in Minnesota.


The League’s February 15th event is an attempt to focus on immigration and engage in civil discourse about it as a matter of urgent public policy. What is the impact of immigration in our area? What is it like to be an immigrant in Minnesota today? What is it like to be an immigrant in the Park Rapids area? Audience members will hear Martha’s riveting story of her experiences as an immigrant, and working with immigrants in our area, as well as personal stories shared by a panel of people from our area about how immigration law and policy has affected them.

LWV Minnesota supports incorporating immigrants into our communities by providing access to education, endorsing the development of secure identification documents, and respecting the right of law enforcement personnel to perform their duties without the burden of interpreting federal immigration policies. For more information about LWV PRA, please contact Carolynne White, President, 218-732-9819, or see the website: http://lwvparkrapidsarea.blogspot.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeagueOfWomenVotersParkRapidsStateUnit/

You Can Protect Our Democracy? Attend your caucus!

One of the main functions of a local League of Women Voters unit is to educate the public on local issues and ways to participate.  League itself is non partisan; we do not support any political party or candidate. But we encourage all citizens/voters to participate in their precinct caucuses and the election process. Engaged citizens, who follow and try to understand the process, can make informed decisions. In the last election cycle, only about 10 percent of registered voters turned out to help decide who would be their parties’ candidates.

After the last round of elections in 2016, I personally heard many friends state:

• that they chose between the lesser of two evils
• they didn’t like either candidate
• there is no real choice: the candidates are all the same

People who expressed these feelings often decide not to vote. But not participating is not fixing the problem. We allowed 10 percent of the people to do the planning.

On Feb 6, all voters who are eligible to vote in the November elections have an opportunity to change this scenario. Attend your local precinct caucus.  

By law precinct caucuses are meetings run by Minnesota’s major and minor political parties. The caucus is the first in a series of meetings where parties may endorse candidates, select delegates and set goals and values (called party platforms).

You don’t need to already be a member of a particular party. A voter can change which party they identify with. The major political parties do expect that participants pledge to support the party in the upcoming election.

Political parties run their caucus meetings a little differently. So please watch for further information from each party as to place, time and rules for your party’s caucus.

During the caucus, participants will vote on resolutions (value or policy statements) that will be included in the platform, and choose their preference for candidates within the party for each office.  Both parties will have a preference ballot (also called a straw poll) for candidates for governor this year.

Then participants choose delegates who will endorse candidates at future conventions. At the district and state conventions, party delegates will endorse state and federal candidates, including  Governor and Lieutenant Governor, state constitutional offices and Congress.

Know your Rights:

• You have the right to take time off work to be at a precinct caucus or political party convention (if you’re a delegate or alternate). You must give your employer 10 days’ written notice.
• Public universities, community colleges, and public schools cannot hold classes or events after 6 p.m. on the evening of precinct caucuses
  
  Other Links about Caucuses:
  (these are not all from LWV sources but are local information)
  
  Clean Up the River Environment (CURE) Training sessions for Caucuses
• Power Point Presentation on Caucuses 
• Secretary of State's web page on caucuses 
• DFL Caucus information
  
  • DFL Caucuses Times and Places 

•  GOP Caucus information