The Blue Tsunami event in Fergus Falls, MN, Sat. 9.12.26
finish strong
According to my calendar, we are 50 days away from the midterm elections. After today’s edition, there will only be 7 more “Updates from Wadena, MN.” We are now in the home stretch. When I look back at where we began, I am proud of how far we’ve come. We are still right where we want to be. We are in the best position to flip Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District we’ve been in for a long time. And we are still building momentum.
We’ve gotten here by staying true to our Mission, Vision & Values. I recently read our Vision during a speech & it hit home.
Our Vision:
“To be an organized, connected, process driven & competitive campaign. One that listens to voters & earns their trust.
We show up with purpose, build lasting relationships & bring new energy to rural politics.
By staying disciplined, focused & grounded in community, our campaign will reflect the best of western Minnesota. Setting a new standard for what’s possible here.”
I like to believe we’ve already set a new standard and we intend to keep improving.
Our new mobile billboard coming to a road near you.
One of our big focuses right now & moving forward is our Fish Fry Town Hall Tour. 18 counties down & 20 to go. Be sure to keep an eye out for the “Fish Fry Town Hauler” coming to a community near you. Of course our ground game is super important from now till election day. Door knocking, phone calling, yard signs, postcards, radio ads, newspaper ads, emails, texts, & more. We have a gameplan to build name recognition in all 38 counties. Hope you will join us.
- Be Part of the 38 Doors Club – help us knock 38,000 doors, 1,000 volunteers, 38 doors each.
- Write postcards.
- Talk to your neighbors
- Forward this email to a friend.
- Write a Letter to the Editor (we’ll send you weekly topics) – Check out a recent letter from Alan Grundei in the Alexandria Paper
- Put up a yard sign.
Get Involved – https://www.erikosberg4congress.com/get-involved/
Share Your Story! We want to let our followers know more about the stories behind the campaign from supporters like you. Email your story around why you got involved in this movement along with a photo to christopher@erikosberg4congress.com.
The Road Ahead
Fall is here, and we’re matching our pace for the final stretch of the campaign. The calendar is full of door-knocking and Fish Fry Town Halls. To find out where & when, visit our website events page.
Events with links are to sign up via Mobilize:
- Today! September 14 – MSUM Students Doorknock, Moorhead
- Today! September 14 – Doorknock in Marshall
- Today! September 14 – Doorknock in Minneota
- Tuesday, September 15 – Doorknock in Springfield
- Tuesday, September 15 – Turnout Tuesdays, Phonebanking with Team Erik
- Tuesday, September 15 – Brown County Fish Fry Town Hall, Springfield
- Wednesday, September 16 – Doorknock in Wadena
- Wednesday, September 16 – Swift County Fish Fry Town Hall, Appleton
- Wednesday, September 16 – Doorknock in Clarkfield
- Thursday, September 17 – Doorknock in Clarkfield
- Thursday, September 17 – Doorknock in Alexandria
- Thursday, September 17 – House Party in Underwood
- Friday, September 18 – Doorknock in Marshall
- Saturday, September 19 – Headwaters Days Parade, Breckenridge
- Saturday, September 19 – Manannah Daze Parade, Grove City
- Saturday, September 19 – Doorknock in Fergus Falls
- Saturday, September 19 – Belview Old Sod Days, Belview
- Sunday, September 20 – Doorknock in Pipestone
- Sunday, September 20 – Doorknock in Edgerton
- Sunday, September 20 – Doorknock in Jasper
- Sunday, September 20 – DFL Steak Fry
Endorsement Alert:
Proud to be endorsed by AFSCME—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL–CIO.
This endorsement means workers are backing workers. Public employees who know what it takes to serve their communities believe Erik gets it.
They know he’ll fight for strong unions, fair wages, & workers’ rights. They know he won’t sell out to corporate interests. They know he’s committed to the people who keep our communities running.
Thank you, AFSCME, for believing in this campaign & for the work you do standing up for working people every single day.
We can do better.
Public Investment Leads to Public Good – PBS
Over a year ago, our current Congressperson voted to rescind funding for rural communications systems. More specifically, she voted to claw back federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I recently visited Pioneer PBS in Granite Falls to meet with staff and learn more about the consequences from those cuts. According to their President & General Manager, Shari Lamke, they lost roughly $1 million dollars of funding a month into their fiscal year. That is about 29% of their total budget. They went from 28 employees to 19 employees. Those that remain are working long hours to serve their community.
I believe this goes beyond just defunding NPR. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting made sure rural places had access to information. Local information. CPB supported public broadcasting infrastructure which plays a role in emergency alerting. When describing what PBS can do, Shari said “We bring the world to you and lift your voices to the world.”
On June 10, 2025, Rep. Michelle Fischbach voted Nay on a motion to protect CPB funding on the House Rules Committee (Record Vote No. 115). On June 12, 2025 she voted Yea on the final passage of H.R. 4, Rescissions Act of 2025, canceling previously approved federal funds.
9 people lost their job in a rural community because of those votes.
I grew up on Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood & more. I believe public investment equals public good. Western Minnesota needs a Representative in Washington D.C. who stands up for rural places.
A Look Back
Over 50 people turned out for our Fish Fry Town Hall in Red Lake County — a county with a population under 4,000. That’s a number I’m proud of, & it says something about what happens when you actually show up in rural places instead of working behind closed doors. Huge thanks to the volunteers & local DFL unit for the planning & the frying, & great to have MN Senate candidate Bjorn Solberg (SD1) & MN House candidate Jennifer Compeau (HD1B) with us. From there it was Park Rapids, then a garage party back in Stearns County with our friends in Avon, where roughly 50 folks packed in — & near as I could tell, a third to half of them were first timers. That’s this thing working. Huge thanks to Pia & Jim for hosting yet again. Meanwhile, Flat Erik covered Dragon Fest at MSU Moorhead, since I can’t be everywhere at once. The energy from those students was real enough that ACTUAL Erik is heading back to campus Monday for dorm knocks.
Saturday started in Little Falls at the ribbon cutting for the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum, then it was over to Fergus Falls for the Blue Tsunami. Over 200 people on hand, a stellar slate of candidates from across the region, & a lineup that included Lt. Gov. candidate & Fergus Falls’ own Ben Schierer, Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor candidate Zack Filipovich & DFL Chair Richard Carlbom, plus State Senate & House candidates from four Senate districts. Scheduling shuffled me to last, so I did my best to send everyone home with some hope for a brighter future. That’s 292 events over 548 days now. We’ve still got a long way to go & a short time to get there, but there is LOTS of momentum across western Minnesota right now. We are the change we seek.
Fish Fry Town Hall in Red Lake, 50 people turned out.
Students at MSUM had fun getting selfies with “Flat Erik” at Dragon Fest this past week.
Grateful for this crew who threw a House Party in Avon. Special thanks to Pia and Jim for hosting.
FISH FRY TOWN HALL TOUR
Coming to a community near you!
Meet the Fish Fry Town Hauler, a traveling scoreboard to help us track our 38 county Fish Fry Town Hall Tour. Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District is outlined on both sides of our trailer and after the successful completion of each Fish Fry Town Hall, we will add a fish sticker to the appropriate county. 17 counties down. 21 to go. We will be adding a sticker tonight in Red Lake County, Red Lake Falls, 5pm-7pm. Hope you can join us. All are welcome.
https://erikosberg.com/fishfry
Still time to get your E4C Purple!
All our products are union-made right here in the U.S.A.! Go to store.erikosberg4congress.com to place your order today. You can also find the link on our website erikosberg.com
Orders will ship in 1-2 weeks. You should get a receipt when your order is placed and a tracking number once your order is shipped. Orders are considered a campaign donation, so be mindful of the $3,500 limit per individual. ✌
Actions you can take
We’re committed to investing our campaign dollars into people power. We now have 6 full-time staffers and Erik himself has put on over 37,000 miles in our efforts. Your financial support can help us secure more boots on the ground. Please give what you can today: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/erik-osberg
We have well over 600 volunteers already signed up, and we always have room for more. Join the movement to help us Do Better: https://www.erikosberg4congress.com/get-involved
