What Minnesota gave me Long days on the lake Catching fireflies at night The northern lights And now, a reason to fight for the place I once knew. Minnesota gave me my roots, my first place I called home and my hometown in which I named my son. It’s been a safe haven to so many people from all walks of life. But the fact that this sense of belonging and security has been ripped from so many is heartbreaking. No one deserves to be taken from their homes or cars by men in masks. No child deserves to come home to an empty house and not know when their parents may or may not be coming back. People don’t deserve to feel like they can’t leave their homes to simply go grocery shopping in fear that they may not return. Individuals shouldn’t be dragged from their immigration hearings trying to do things “the right way” because then what was the right way? Journalists shouldn’t be arrested for reporting on what is happening in our state. Mothers shouldn’t be shot in their car with stuffed animals sticking out of the dash. Nurses shouldn’t be murdered in the street when trying to protect a protester. This isn’t even political anymore, it’s human decency at the basic of levels. Ice is trying to take away what Minnesota is at its core, but it forgets we’re used to de-icing the streets. We will stand by our neighbors, we will protect our communities and we will tirelessly fight for this state. We are Minnesota nice until you fuck with us, and now we’re Minnesota No-Ice.