ST. PETER — Sophia Artley, a college student in St. Peter, says her generation is one the first to go through elementary, middle and high school doing active shooter drills.

“I had my first lock-down drill in kindergarten. Those drills became normal, but they weren’t normal. Every time I hid behind my desk, I was scared.”

​Artley and others at a March for Our Lives event Saturday afternoon in St. Peter said things can’t continue as they are as the number of mass school shootings and amount of gun violence escalates.

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - A small, activist community came together in St. Peter on Saturday to rally against gun violence, as part of the nationwide “March for our Lives” movement.

“March for our Lives” happened previously in 2018. The movement was brought back this year after recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.

​“I hope that this is the momentum that we need. I feel hopeful that we’ve been called to do this and there’s people who were willing to organize this, people who were willing to show up here today. That does give me some hope that when we get loud enough we can actually make some change,” leadership member of Indivisible and chair of Senate district 18-DFL Leah Hanson said.

ST. PETER — With just a couple of weeks left to go for Minnesota’s regular legislative session, Mary Spear — an organizer for the “We Make MN” rally and leaflet distribution Sunday — wants residents in Senate District 19 to make a final push to press local lawmakers to support Gov. Tim Walz’s $52.4 billion budget proposal.

“Mainly it’s about getting the revenue to fund the programs that we would like to see happen,” Spear said.


Those attending Sunday’s rally at Gorman Park were particularly focused on clean energy, universal child care and paid family leave. That means raising taxes on some of Minnesota’s wealthiest — corporations and individuals who make $1 million a year or more — to fund programs aimed at alleviating some of the social and economic struggles brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

MANKATO — The 400 or so people participating in Sunday’s rally against racism at Minnesota State University had a lot on their minds, from the death of another unarmed Black man at the hands of the police in Brooklyn Center, to racist stickers posted on MSU and Gustavus Adolphus College campuses a couple of weeks ago.

But what particularly irked many, including Henry Morris, vice president of Diversity and Inclusion at MSU, is the complacency and attempts to justify police violence by blaming the victims for their deaths.

“None of those things should be death warrants,” Morris said to the crowd gathered outside of MSU’s Centennial Student Union. “That’s the problem.”

Despite all his accomplishments, from multiple degrees to a well-paying and successful career, Morris, who is Black, still gets nervous when he sees police.

​“When I get in my car, I’m still nervous if I see a police car behind me,” Morris said. “And there’s something wrong with that.”
​

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - Over 350 protestors came together Sunday afternoon to stand against antisemitism and white supremacy in the community.

“We’re protesting to be heard, because no justice, no peace, because no justice, no peace, and the reality is it should not be our reality. It should not be our truth and this nightmare needs to end,” said Kenneth Reid, Director of African American Affairs at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The protest was organized in response to neo-Nazi stickers posted around Mankato and St. Peter earlier this month, but the rally’s call for justice expanded with the recent death of Daunte Wright, who was shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center.

“Unless you receive that call, ‘Mom, I have been stopped. They want my insurance. There’s two cops, one is holding his gun.’ You can never understand unless, as a parent, you receive that call,” added Ayan Musse, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist at Greater Mankato Growth. 

Group of demonstrators met in St. Peter to show that they are against the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline.MANKATO,

Minn. (KEYC) - Demonstrators gathered Saturday in Minnesota Square Park to protest against the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline construction that is set to take place in Northern Minnesota. 

​“Everyone is here to help the environment basically. Without the land, the environment and the plants that are on it there’s nothing for us. Especially the water, the water is what gives us life and without water none of us can live,” Megan Schnitker chair of indigenous peoples day committee said.
Participants argued that the pipeline would not only hurt the environment, but that it’s a break in a treaty made with the indigenous population of that region. 

As the 2020 presidential election drags on, about 40 south-central Minnesota residents gathered in Erlandson Park late Wednesday afternoon in a show of support for ongoing vote-counting measures.

​The Mankato rally, put on by organizers of liberal-leaning Indivisible of St. Peter/Greater Mankato, was part celebration of the election and a call to action in case there are uncounted ballots, according to rally-goers. Organizers held a similar rally in St. Peter earlier in the day.

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - Protesters gathered in St. Peter Tuesday to once again call for an investigation into Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s office after new allegations.

A  story published last week by Politico  alleges Hagedorn’s campaign used a Mankato office without paying rent.
The congressman’s campaign does list a basement suite in The Brett’s Building downtown as his campaign headquarters - according to federal election commission reports.

Hagedorn’s campaign announced that it only leased a post office box in the building and not office space. 

ST. PETER, Minn. (KEYC) - About 70 people gathered in St. Peter at Minnesota Square Park Thursday to protest Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s office.

Protesters called for an investigation into Rep. Jim Hagedorn’s office after it came under scrutinization for heavy spending on constituent mail in August.

Hagedorn’s office spent more of its total budget than other members of Congress earlier this year in March.

In August, Hagedorn’s office announced that he had fired his chief of staff.

“We are just very concerned about some of the things that are going on in Jim Hagedorn’s office, said Indivisible of St. Peter/Greater Mankato ally organizer. "We know that he’s spent an awful lot of his budget on printing. It turns out that this money is going to a couple of his staffers who have printing shops out in Texas.”

​Hagedorn is running against his 2018 opponent Democrat Dan Feehan in this fall’s election.

MANKATO — The first of four virtual events focusing on improving policing in the Greater Mankato area kicks off Thursday.

The event, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will feature community members speaking about their experiences with local law enforcement.

​The forum is a collaboration between Greater Mankato Diversity Council, ACLU Mankato, NAACP Mankato, B.E.A.M., YWCA Mankato and Indivisible St. Peter/Greater Mankato. Organizers say the goal is to give local residents and leaders a chance to think more in-depth about potential policing improvements and how to make them happen.

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) — During his visit to Mankato on Monday, President Donald Trump took several shots at his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.

Like the nation as a whole, southern Minnesota was split on the president’s visit. Some were in support, while others protested.

​A pro-Trump rally started at the Roadhouse 169 Bar and Grill. The rally was for those who didn’t get to see the president in person. 

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Nearly 500 people gathered on the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Mankato to protest the policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration, just hours before Trump’s campaign stop at the Mankato Regional Airport Monday.

The protesters were seen gathering on the bridge waving anti-Trump banners as cars driving by honked. A group of Trump supporters could also be seen passing by the protesters on vehicles.
 
According to MankatoFreePress, protest organizer Yurie Hong, one of the founders of the St. Peter/Mankato Indivisible chapter – a grassroots organization with chapters throughout the country formed in response to President Trump’s 2016 election – said they had briefly considered holding a rally near the airport but decided on the Veterans Bridge for safety reasons in response to threats made on social media against the protesters. 

MANKATO — Nearly 500 people gathered on the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Mankato to protest the policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration, just hours before President Donald Trump’s campaign stop at the Mankato Regional Airport Monday.

It was Jim Houtsama’s first protest in decades.

The Mankato resident last protested former President Richard Nixon’s ongoing campaign to bomb Cambodia in 1973, a neutral country, during the last two years of the Vietnam War.

“With the circumstances we’ve got right now, this makes Nixon look like a child,” Houtsama said. “It’s way worse now.”

​Protest organizer Yuri Hong, one of the founders of the St. Peter/Mankato Indivisible chapter – a grassroots organization with chapters throughout the country formed in response to President Trump’s 2016 election – said they had briefly considered holding a rally near the airport but decided on the Veterans Bridge for safety reasons in response to threats made on social media against the protesters.

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - President Trump’s visit to Mankato spurs plans for protests and rally’s.

The indivisible group of St. Peter and Greater Mankato are to hold a peaceful protest against President Trump’s visit.

That takes place on Veterans Memorial Bridge in Mankato Monday, August 17 at 11:30 a.m. followed by speakers at Veterans Memorial Park.

​“It’s an effort to keep the focus on things we care about. How to keep our teachers, students and staff safe in a time of reopening in the middle of a global pandemic. How to heal the racial divisions that are here in our community and how to get justice and solidarity for all Americans,” said Indivisible Group member and protest organizer Yurie Hong.