Ground truthing
by Erik Osberg on 8/25/25
I attended a Yellow Medicine County Minnesota Farmers Union meeting Sunday evening. It was held at a Century Farm south of Granite Falls. I was there to listen & learn. Once again, it was nice to see some familiar faces. The evening began with a hearty hotdish meal complete with homemade desserts. Minnesota Farmers Union is a nonprofit membership organization that “works to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers and rural communities.” Membership is open to anyone.
MFU Vice President Anne Schwagerl was on hand to give the local unit organization, legislative, and general updates. Anne is a farmer herself and operates in Big Stone County. She talked about the importance of what she called “ground truthing” getting policy makers to visit farms. Put boots on the ground so to speak. We couldn’t agree more. I’ve talked a lot on the campaign trail about staying grounded in truth & creating a shared reality. Once we’ve done that, we can move forward with solutions. Anne said these farm visits show people in power “how decisions being made in St. Paul, Washington D.C., New York City affect us here in rural Minnesota.” Other topics included the negative impact of tariffs & the loss of agricultural institutional knowledge at the federal level. It is hard to make data driven decisions when data is lost. Huge thanks for allowing me to sit in on the meeting & huge thanks to our gracious hosts. They even had an Erik Osberg for Congress sign in their yard.
I spent Saturday morning at the Traverse County Fair in Wheaton, MN. This means we have now visited 37 out of the 38 counties in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District. Norman County is the only county we have yet to visit. A local news reporter stopped by the Traverse County DFL booth while I was there and we had a nice long chat. I even got to play in the mud a little bit. I saw a group trying to push a car out of their parking spot (they've gotten a lot of rain in their neck of the woods) and it looked like they needed 1 more to push. I jumped in and the only spot left was in front of the tire. The good news is we got the car unstuck. The not-so-good news is I got a little mud slung my way. Oh well, I suppose I'd better get used to that. 🙂 We will be back in Traverse County again. Will let you know when as soon as we have more info.
We have another busy week ahead of us. If you are anywhere near Kandiyohi County, you are gonna want to try to make it to Atwater, MN on Thursday, August 28th. The Cactus Blossoms will be performing LIVE at one of our events. As of Sunday evening there were over 70 people registered. Event starts at 5pm. There will be a social hour, guest speakers, I’ll share a few words & then the Cactus Blossoms take the stage at 7pmish. You Can register here.
We also have a special event on Wednesday, August 25th. Another Community Fish Fry. This time in Pelican Rapids, MN in the NW corner of Otter Tail County. We will be at E.L. Peterson Park. This free will donation event runs from 7pm-9pm. It’s gonna be dark when it ends, so bring a flashlight.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Here is a look at more upcoming events.
Aug 27th - Community Fish Fry - Pelican Rapids, MN
Sep 1st - DFL Labor Day Picnic - Hutchinson, MN
Sep 7th - Grant County DFL Steak Fry - Ashby, MN
Sep 13th - Community Fish Fry - Barnesville, MN
Thank you for all the support & keep up the good work!
Thanks to our generous donors, we are closing in on $80,000 raised. Our campaign relies on donations from folks like you. If you have already donated, THANK YOU! If you have set up a recurring donation, even better. If you would like to host a private party fundraiser, click here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/SKQtMANaY0W8nGqHcpukXA2
