DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Beltrami County DFL to hold annual fish fry, auction fundraiser

Pioneer Staff Report — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:48:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor party will host a spring fish fry and auction fundraiser at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 16, at the Bemidji Eagles Club, 1270 Neilson Ave. SE.

A social hour will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a Red Lake walleye dinner served from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The guest speaker will be the new Minnesota DFL Chair, Richard Carlbom. The event will also include speeches from various announced candidates running for DFL endorsement in the 2026 general election, a release said.

The dinner costs $20 per person.

This event is open to the public and all are welcome to attend.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit beltramidfl.org.

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Beltrami County DFL to hold social hour, executive committee meeting

Pioneer Staff Report — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 16:12:41 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a light supper and social hour at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11, at its office, 1510 Bemidji Ave. N.

All interested community members are invited to attend this event and the subsequent regular Beltrami County Executive Committee meeting at 6 p.m., a release said.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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Beltrami County DFL to hold Pizza and Programs May 15

Pioneer Staff Report — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:04:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold its monthly Pizza and Programs event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, at the DFL office, 1510 Bemidji Ave. N.

“Pizza and Programs” sessions are a series of informal discussions and dialogue with invited speakers who are community organizers and leaders.

The May session features Lee Narum, who has an extensive farming background, including a degree in agricultural economics and experience as a farm operation manager for 30 years. His presentation will examine the shift in agricultural practices over time and how common perceptions of the family farm differ from the present reality, a release said.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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Beltrami County DFL to hold social hour, executive committee meeting

Pioneer Staff Report — Fri, 09 May 2025 17:10:14 GMT

REDBY — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a light supper and social hour at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, at the Redby Wellness Center (Oshkiimaajitahdah), 15525 Mendota Avenue.

All interested community members are invited to attend this event and the subsequent regular Beltrami County Executive Committee meeting at 6 p.m., a release said.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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Beltrami County DFL to hold viewing party, Pizza and Programs

Pioneer Staff Report — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:48:13 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a "Reality of Project 2025" viewing party and a Pizza and Programs event at its office, 1510 Bemidji Ave. N.

The viewing party is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, April 14.

Attendees can watch historian Heather Cox Richardson and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett discuss the two-year anniversary of Project 2025's launch, a release said.

"Project 2025 is no longer just a radical plan on paper," the release said. "Its ideas are already surfacing in Trump’s policies and shaping the agenda of extremist lawmakers."

The event will break down how Project 2025 is being implemented and attendees will learn about a new tracking tool to help them keep up with how Project 2025 is impacting their family and community, the release noted.

The DFL's next Pizza and Programs session will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 17.

This program series offers informal discussions and dialogue with invited speakers who are community organizers and leaders.

The session will feature Maggie Morin, outreach and volunteer coordinator for Friends of the Boundary Waters.

Her presentation will address the risks of copper sulfide mining for the Boundary Waters as well the clean waters across the state, the release said.

"All are welcome to come and learn about this organization which has proposed legislation aimed at protecting all Minnesotans," added the release.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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Minnesota DFL elects new party chair

Forum staff — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 18:54:22 GMT

ST. PAUL — Richard Carlbom has been elected as the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Carlbom has served as mayor of St. Joseph, Minn., and currently serves as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Tim Walz.

Calbom was elected during the State Central Committee Business Conference at Edina High �� Saturday, March 29.

“Our DFL coalition is united and ready to fight back and win,” Carlbom said in a statement released Saturday. “Minnesotans are fed up with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and we are going to help them get involved right now, not two years from now. This is our chance to grow our party and help Minnesotans join the fight for a better future. Democrats across the country have looked to the Minnesota DFL as a model for how to win and improve people’s lives, and we are going to build on those successes together.”

The position was previously held by Ken Martin, who was elected the head of the Democratic National Committee in February.

“A heartfelt congratulations to the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, my friend: Richard Carlbom," said Martin via statement. "I’ve known Richard since he was first elected as Mayor of Saint Joseph. He’s fought for Minnesota families his whole career and — with the Trump Administration coming after communities everywhere — he understands exactly what’s at stake right now. Minnesota has one of the strongest state parties in the country and I am confident it will remain in good hands under Richard’s leadership.”

Carlbom got his start in politics as a College Democrat in 2002. He was elected as mayor of Saint Joseph in 2004 just months after graduating from St. John’s University. Soon after, he became a field organizer with the Minnesota DFL during the 2006 election cycle. He went on to work as campaign manager for then-Rep. Tim Walz in 2010, when Walz overcame a national Republican wave and won reelection.

In 2012, Carlbom was the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families -- the Vote No ballot campaign that made Minnesota the first state in the nation to defeat a harmful constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.

Carlbom has served as Walz’s deputy chief of staff since March 2023.

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Richard Carlbom emerges as a top candidate for DFL chair

Mary Murphy — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 12:04:00 GMT

ST. PAUL — Minnesota will elect a new DFL chair at the end of March following DFL Chair Ken Martin’s move to the national stage in February.

Richard Carlbom, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Tim Walz, has emerged as a top candidate for the role, which will be filled in an election on March 29, according to the DFL. During the State Central Committee Business Conference at Edina High ��, members of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer-Labor party are set to elect several internal DFL party positions, including chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer.

Carlbom told Forum News Service on Tuesday, March 11, that after Martin was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee on Feb. 1, people started reaching out to him, encouraging him to step into the state party role.

“I made a commitment to Gov. Walz to serve four years as his deputy chief of staff,” Carlbom said. “And so initially, I just kind of said to folks, ‘Probably not in the cards for me. I made a commitment. I want to follow through on that commitment.’ ”

But Carlbom said after several conversations with family, he realized he could be of service to the party by running. He decided to throw his hat into the ring, with an endorsement from Walz backing his bid.

Carlbom started as a college Democrat at St. John’s University and worked on the 2002 campaign for late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone. In 2004, he was elected mayor of St. Joseph, where he served two terms.

Carlbom began working for Walz’s U.S. House re-election campaign in 2008 before moving on to head the "Minnesota United for All Families" campaign against a 2012 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Minnesota.

Reflecting on November’s general election, when Democrats lost the presidency and three blue seats flipped red in the Minnesota House, Carlbom said Democrats first and foremost need to begin organizing earlier, but also need to be more “curious” rather than telling voters what to think.

“Democrats need to acknowledge that voters have begun to think about us as people who tell them what to think, rather than being curious about what they're facing,” he said. “We have to demonstrate that that curiosity means that we want to understand, ultimately, how we can be partners with voters and improve the lives of Minnesotans.”

Also running for DFL chair is Jack Lindsay, a southern Minnesotan who formerly served as Mankato State College Democrats President and has organized for DFL candidates, according to his campaign website.

Martin currently serves as both the DFL and DNC chair and will hold the DFL position until the next chairman is elected.

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Beltrami County DFL to hold social hour, executive committee meeting

Pioneer Staff Report — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:10:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a light supper and social hour at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, at its office, 1510 Bemidji Ave. N.

All interested community members are invited to attend this event and the subsequent regular Beltrami County Executive Committee meeting at 6 p.m., a release said.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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Minnesota Republicans file recall elections for 8 House Democrats

Mary Murphy — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:10:13 GMT

ST. PAUL — The Republican Party of Minnesota announced Friday that it has filed its first round of petitions for House Democrats to Secretary of State Steve Simon.

In a Friday, Feb. 14, news release, the party said petitions for recall of eight Democrat House members — Reps. Brion Curran, Kristin Bahner, Lucy Rehm, Julie Greene, Matt Norris, Brad Tabke, Dan Wolgamott, Steve Elkins and Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman — have been submitted to Simon’s office for approval.

Signature gathering is underway in 40 other districts, the party said in the release, and recall petitions are anticipated for all 66 Democratic House seats.

After signatures are checked by Simon’s office, petitions would be submitted to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which decides if the grounds for a recall are valid. If the petitions are approved by the court, the Republican Party would have 90 days to gather signatures from 25% of eligible voters in each district.

These signatures would go back to Simon, who would review them for validity and, if they are approved, set a date for a recall election.

“If you rob a bank and then return the money, you still robbed the bank,” Chair of the Republican Party Alex Plechash said in a statement Friday. “That’s exactly what the DFL did to taxpayers — collecting over $300,000 in pay while refusing to show up for work … There must be consequences.”

Jennifer DeJournett, executive director of the Republican Party, said at a Feb. 4 press conference announcing recall efforts Feb. 4 that the party suspects the process may take 10 months, from the time election contest lawsuits were filed in November to when a recall election could hypothetically be over.

When the House came to an agreement Feb. 6, Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said the recall petitions would fail like they have in the past.

“The Republicans have filed frivolous recall petitions, which we've had dismissed before. I remember three to six in 2019, and these will be dismissed as well,” she said.

House Republicans have distanced themselves from the recall efforts. When asked Feb. 6 if the recall effort should be discontinued in light of a successful power-sharing agreement, Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, declined to offer her opinion.

“That’s a great question for the state party,” she said. “I know they are pushing on that recall for nonfeasance, and that would be a great question for them. We’re not involved in that process or the decisions on that.”

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Beltrami County DFL to hold social hour before executive committee meeting

Pioneer Staff Report — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:51:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Beltrami County Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will hold a light supper and social hour at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at its office, 1510 Bemidji Ave. N.

All interested DFLers are invited to attend this event and the subsequent regular Beltrami County Executive Committee meeting at 6 p.m., a release said.

The Beltrami County DFL is an organizing unit staffed by an all-volunteer team. To learn more, visit www.beltramidfl.org.

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