.png)
Apr. 6---- The Willmar town hall hosted by the Congressional District 7
was standing room only. Attendees packed the cafeteria of Lakeland Elementary on Saturday evening, with many wrapped around corners leaving little view of the stage where invited speakers answered questions.
"The chaos and confusion coming out of Washington really has people concerned, and I think scared. What they are doing is they're finding a space and a place where they can come together and talk to one another about what is going on and how to make sense of it," Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom said in an interview with the West Central Tribune.
The town hall in Willmar, also held in conjunction with one of many Hands Off! demonstrations across the country, was described by organizers as a response to U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach not appearing at in-person town halls in the Minnesota 7th District she represents. According to event organizers, they had personally reached out to Fischbach, a Republican from Regal, to invite her.
"She is making decisions in Washington that are incredibly hurtful to the people of Willmar. She refuses to show up and explain herself when she chooses to vote to support Medicaid cuts," Carlbom said in an interview.
Fischbach in
denied that the House budget resolution cuts any provisions to "Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, or anything else." She called it a "blueprint instructing committees to identify better investments and more savings."
The Republican budget resolution calls for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicaid, to find $880 billion in spending cuts.
Democrats and others say that figure cannot be reached without cutting Medicaid. A
projected the budget outlays for those 10 years, excluding Medicaid, would total $581 billion through 2034.
U.S. Rep. Fischbach has hosted a telephone town hall with 14,000 people tuned in, according to
from her office, saying constituents by and large agree with efforts to "eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse from the federal government and think that this country is headed in the right direction."
The absence of in-person town halls by the congresswoman was not the only grievance discussed at the event Saturday in Willmar. Speakers included Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish and Carlbom. These three took time to talk about the impact of the current administration. In their speeches, they argued that the actions of President Donald Trump have weakened the public services available to citizens.
Calls for continued action went out to the crowd as attendees were asked to contact their elected representatives to tell them their thoughts on what is happening at both the state and federal level.
"No matter what side of the aisle you are on, let them know. That helps them do their job too. Tell them your stories. A lot of times the stories make a difference in getting legislation changed or adopted. That does make a difference," Wertish said in an interview.
Prior to the town hall, many gathered in the parking lot of the school in one of scores of Hands Off! rallies conducted nationwide.
that Hands Off! organizers said more than 1,300 rallies of varying sizes took place on Saturday across the country.
Hands Off! website posts described the events as a protest against "the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies."
Decorated signs at the Willmar rally stood out from the crowd alongside American and Ukrainian flags. Attendees joined in chants like "hands off," which called for an end to federal interference in public funding and services.
"I see a lot of damage being done to some of the programs that have benefited the kinds of farming practices that I want to have and the kind of society that I want to live in and I want my kids to be able to live in," farmer, artist and musician Malena Handeen, of Milan, said.
Rally speakers included Dr. Kathryn Nelson-Hund, a retired doctor who said she had done research at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., and at the EPA Freshwater Lab in Duluth. Nelson-Hund called for maintaining funding for medical research.
"Because of the recent slashing of money and personnel across all institutes, research has been devastated. Scientists are leaving for other countries, graduate programs are being canceled," Nelson-Hund said in her rally speech.
NIH is the largest source of funding for medical research in the world.
The Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division laboratory in Duluth, as it is formally known, is part of the Environmental Protection Agency. It is known for developing scientific protocols used worldwide to measure how toxic chemicals affect the environment, according to
about the lab's uncertain future amid proposed staffing and other cuts.
Other speakers at Saturday's outdoor rally, like Minnesota DFL Senate District 16 Chair Fernando Alvarado and Morris nurse Erik Stoeckeler, called out potential cuts to federal programs like Social Security and Medicare.
"You can't chase the American dream if your retirement is at risk, your health care is uncertain, your rights are under attack, or the sacrifices of our veterans and women are ignored," Alvarado said in his speech.
The Willmar town hall was the third and final event of the day hosted by the 7th District DFL, which had gathered earlier in Detroit Lakes and Alexandria. Across the three events in District 7, more than 1,000 people gathered in protest and to ask questions of people in power, according to event organizers.
As some 700 people like Handeen attended the event in Willmar, the Kandiyohi County DFL estimated, more than 25,000 people gathered around the State Capitol building in St. Paul, according to
that attributed the figure to Minnesota Capitol Security. More protests took place across the state in several cities including St. Cloud, Bemidji and Brainerd.
English (US) ·