Issue 56— June 6, 2023
founded by Minnesota Women's Press, a media pioneer since 1985

Connections

Media That Makes a Difference


Changemakers Alliance (CALL) is a supporter-driven, action-oriented expansion of Minnesota Women's Press and womenspress.com that brings people together in conversations about values, solutions, and action steps.
Greetings from D.C. Thanks to the Democracy Fund, I am in D.C. for the Collaborative Journalism Summit and to meet cohorts with the Ecosystems Builders — a group of independent publishers I have been connecting with on Zoom for more than a year. One of Democracy Fund's core beliefs: "America’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths. ... To achieve a just and equitable democracy, we must amplify the efforts of unjustly marginalized groups to be heard, stand against those who promote bigotry and hate, and dismantle barriers that prevent equitable representation in our political system."

If you are a member of Changemakers Alliance (CALL), and a reader of Minnesota Women's Press, you know why I am a part of this group.

CALL is poised to take a giant step into its second phase of growth.

1) With our Hometown Values & Vision listening sessions, we have stories and conversations in the works from Lewiston in southern Minnesota about the watershed ... the Hillside neighborhood of Duluth about deep community story sharing ... and will be headed to Hibbing for a Juneteenth celebration, Worthington to connect with people of color, Fergus Falls to meet an artist enclave, and Ortonville near the South Dakota border about sustainable ecosystems ... for starters.

2) We are hosting a public discussion about transforming justice and public safety at the Minneapolis Community Connections conference on Saturday, June 10. It is a free event at the convention center. Find the schedule here. Our session at 10:30am will feature Deneal Trueblood-Lynch about the Survivors Justice Act, Michele Braley of Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice, and Leah Robshaw Robinson of Alternatives to Violence Project. Register here.

3) We are developing an extensive series about housing. With $1.3 billion being invested in Minnesota housing for the upcoming biennium: where is it going, who is it impacting, how is it starting to solve long-term issues, and what can be learned from housing solutions in other struggling areas of the country?

We need to raise $10K to begin this series. Can you help? Share this newsletter with others who might be able to support the work, and use the tax deductible option below.
Thanks to Valvoline's underwriting of our Hometown Values & Vision statewide listening sessions.
Action = Change
Southeastern Minnesota has a drinking water crisis. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy is encouraging people to take action to urge local, state, and federal government officials to ensure that Minnesotans, regardless of zip code, have clean water to drink. 
 
Nitrate levels in the state’s karst region routinely exceed safe drinking water standards, putting more than 380,000 area residents at serious risk. Nitrate-contaminated drinking water can lead to health problems including an increased risk for colorectal cancer, thyroid disease, and birth defects and low birth weight in infants.
 
The leading cause of nitrate contamination is from industrial agriculture. Sign this petition to add your voice. 
Thanks to Seward Co-op for underwriting local economies and ecosystems stories
Thanks to Vote Run Lead's underwriting of our story development on
How Your Donation Supports the Work We Do

Each month it costs us at least $25,000 to produce the Minnesota Women's Press magazine and womenspress.com — for a team of four full-time employees and three-part-time employees, plus rising paper and distribution costs. We have trouble bringing that revenue in each month, which makes it difficult to do what we want to do with ongoing stories about public safety, statewide conversations, and housing solutions.

Can you help by becoming a monthly Changemakers Alliance member?
Please support the conversations

This video by Dragonfly Eye Productions tells the story of Changemakers Alliance.
Signal your interest in statewide action steps we will be writing about alongside gender-based violence advocates. We have more than 500 people signed up to learn more. After our Hometown Values & Vision visits this summer we will begin to connect the networks.
Minnesota Women's Press photography and website have been recognized three years in a row by the Minnesota Newspaper Association.
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