Update from Wadena, MN (6/23/25)

turning tragedy & turmoil into triumph

by Erik Osberg on 6/23/25

This is our task at hand. Figuring out a way to navigate tragedies & turmoil while balancing the need to grieve and do the work which must continue. Over the weekend, storms ravaged portions of Minnesota & North Dakota. Lives were lost. Property, businesses & crops were destroyed. Landscapes were changed forever. The community of Bemidji was hit hard. While not in our Congressional District, Bemidji is a regional hub in northern Minnesota. Our hearts go out to them. 

On Saturday evening, the U.S. launched an attack on Iran. Drawing the country deeper into another conflict in the Middle East. The results remain to be seen. Stack these events on top of last week’s political violence and you’ve got plenty of reasons for despair.

We are faced with a choice. Do we curse the darkness? Or light a candle? Do we find reasons for hope and hold onto them? Or throw our hands up? While each of us works at our own pace, this campaign believes we must keep taking actions each & every day to ensure our democracy does not drown in the despair. 

Action can & must be taken now. We are less than 500 days from the midterm elections. We are encouraging folks to keep showing up and keep showing out. “Showing up” could mean many things. Could be as simple as forwarding this email to someone you know and asking them to learn more. You could go to a local DFL unit meeting. You could attend a demonstration. You could reach out to your local elected officials. You could start a committee in your community to search for candidates to run in your local elections. Or you could call a long lost friend to connect. 

Mary, Renea & Jenelle rolled out the red carpet for a private fundraising party in Little Falls, MN.

We showed up at a few places last week. We were in Little Falls, MN on back-to-back evenings. We sat in on the Morrison County DFL Unit meeting Wednesday night & participated in another private party fundraiser Thursday. Super grateful for our hosts at each location and for the robust discussion about the state of affairs and a new path forward. If you would like to host a private party fundraiser, click here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/SKQtMANaY0W8nGqHcpukXA2

We also participated in our 1st two parades. The 1st one was in Willmar, MN as part of their Willmar Fests celebrations. Huge thanks to Al Boyce for coming out to be our driver & huge thanks to the Kandiyohi County DFL for their help too. Thanks to Lauren Tonn for capturing some pics of us in the parade. After the parade we had a great meet-n-greet at Intuition Brewing (they do NOT endorse any political candidate or party). Huge thanks to those who came out for that as well and offered their support. We then headed to Atwater for their parade. Another great experience in a great community. It was a hot day, but we managed to keep our cool. 

We’ve got 2 official stops on this week’s calendar and are working on more. 

Upcoming schedule:

June 25th - Coffee Talk Tour (tentative)- locations & time TBD

June 27th - Hubbard County Walleye & Wild Rice Dinner 4pm-7pm American Legion

June 28th - Meeker/McLeod County Town Hall

Thank you for all the support & keep up the good work! 

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 haven't donated, please share our announcement video.

Help fuel our campaign

Update from Wadena, MN (6/16/25)

never surrender

A sign at a No Kings demonstration in Fergus Falls, MN on Saturday. June 14th

by Erik Osberg on 6/16/25

This weekend our party, our state & our country lost a public servant. We mourn the loss of MN State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. We also hope for a full recovery for MN Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Our hearts go out to their families, friends, colleagues & supporters.  We are all grappling with the tragic events in our home state. The suspect was reportedly apprehended in Sibley County Sunday evening. Sibley County is in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District. Please use a trusted, reliable and free press when getting updates & details about the case. Local media is a great place to start. Subscribe to local newspapers if you can. Pay for their online content if you need to. A press that is free from censorship is important to our democracy. Please support good journalism. 

We weren’t able to be out in force on Saturday for the demonstrations in the area. We were able to make it to the end of the one in Fergus Falls, MN. While there,  I came upon a women holding a sign saying “Honor Rep, Melissa Hortman Sen. John Hoffman.” It stopped me in my tracks. 

We pledge to honor Speaker Emerita Hortman, her husband Mark, Sen. Hoffman and his wife Yvette as we continue our quest to unite those we seek to serve. We must stand together and wholeheartedly denounce political violence, reject the forces of hate & condemn division.

We had another home party fundraiser last week. This time we were on Lake Miltona (shoulda brought the boat). Jay & Debbie hosted 40+ guests in their home. Jay is retired and Debbie works in health care. We mingled, broke bread and had a healthy conversation. I learn so much every time I get to chat with a room(s) full of concerned citizens. We talked about women's rights, immigration, connecting with our neighbors, the economy, our natural resources, our challenges and the need for action. One gentleman summed it up pretty well when he said, "Actions speak louder than words he said." I couldn't agree more. I believe we laid that out as one of our core values when we launched. 

So far the campaign has raised a just under $40,000. Thank you to all who have been showing up and chipping in.

If you would like to host a private party fundraiser, click here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/SKQtMANaY0W8nGqHcpukXA2

Upcoming schedule:

June 19th - Private Party Fundraiser - Little Falls

June 21st - Willmar Fest

June 27th - Hubbard County Fish Fry

Thank you for all the support & keep up the good work! 

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 haven't donated, please share our announcement video.

Help fuel our campaign

Update from Wadena, MN (6/9/25)

backyards to front porches

Lyon County DFL good old fashioned potluck near Marshall, MN

by Erik Osberg on 6/9/25

One of our pledges is to meet you where you are at. Both figuratively & literally. We feel the most productive when we are connecting with voters in Minnesota’s 7th Congrssional District. We were in Marshall, MN last week visiting with Lyon County DFLers at a good old fashioned potluck. Al & Linda Kruse were kind enough to let us visit in their backyard. Once again there were some familiar faces. We’ve only been campaigning for less than 3 months and we are starting to see people for a 2nd, dare I say 3rd time. Of course we are always excited to make new friends. 

This stop marked our 20th county visited since launching our campaign on March 11th. Only 18 more to go before we have visited all 38 in MN-07.  I was allowed to address the crowd. I shared a little bit about myself, touched on our 3 main issues (rural health care, public education and agriculture) and shared the vision for our campaign. I then took questions. I invited others up to speak with the microphone to share what was on their hearts and minds. The food was great and so was the company. Huge thanks to all those who came out.   

Over the weekend, we visited Granite Falls, MN for our first house party fundraiser. Roughly 40 people came out to visit. I like to think i shook each & every hand that was there. I have family ties to Granite. As a child, we would spend Easter there with my aunt, uncle, cousins and other family. When I arrived yesterday afternoon, my aunt showed me these signs she made. She is such a talented lady. There were lots of talented ladies & gentleman on hand. 

I always worry I am talking too long when I speak to a group. But when the audience seems engaged & is asking questions, I want to make sure their voices are heard. I explained why this is a process driven campaign. I shared our game plan to connect the dots in western Minnesota, create community and solidarity. 

My pledge to those in attendance was to not be outworked, to not recruit from a negative place and to not use fear to motivate. 

I know there are reasons for grave concern. There are reasons to fret & worry. I know there is suffering happening as we speak.

I also know there are reasons for hope. There are reasons to be proud of who we are while remaining humble. Every time I've visited a town, I am reminded of those reasons. There are so many kind, passionate, hard working people, I am convinced that brighter days lay ahead. It ain't gonna be easy. And it will feel like work. But if we do it together, it will be worth it. In short, we can do better.

Huge thanks to Mary & Phil for opening up their home. Huge thanks to Kathy & my cousin Laura for helping organize this event & huge thanks to everyone who came out to share what was on their hearts & minds. If you are interested in hosting a "home party" fundraising event, click here: https://secure.ngpvan.com/SKQtMANaY0W8nGqHcpukXA2

Thank you for all the support & keep up the good work! 

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 haven't donated, please share our announcement video.

Help fuel our campaign