Indivisible Hubbard County Hosts ‘People Over Power’ Rally in Park Rapids

This past Saturday, Indivisible Hubbard County gathered people in Park Rapids for what they dubbed a “People Over Power” rally. The local chapter of the progressive group held the event to share information and establish a call to action regarding President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill, among other policies from his administration.

“If we can have 300 people hear the same thing rather than just little pieces of rumor that often gets passed around, I think that’s powerful, and it is impactful for our community,” said Indivisible Hubbard County organizer Kathy Carney.

“Right now, people feel a little overwhelmed,” said Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (DFL), who also spoke at the event. “There is a lot of chaos and instability. And so when we can come together directly, talk face to face, really see each other, and look each other in the eye, I think that creates an opportunity for folks to open up, to share, to build that connection.”

Throughout the day, several speakers addressed a variety of topics, but the main theme of the rally was about coming together.

“All of us have some part of the puzzle towards healing our society, that all of us come from the same beautiful creation,” stated speaker and poverty specialist Liz Kuoppala, “So where we disagree, I think is in the how-to-get-there.”

“Here in our own country, left and the right, it’s tearing us apart,” said speaker and mental health advocate Madison Hanson. “Every time we reduce life to a label, we lose sight of our humanity. Every time we choose party over people, we hand violence another victory. We cannot heal if we see each other as enemies.”

Along with the rally being an information session, Indivisible Hubbard County also wanted the event to inspire people to take action.

“You’re yelling at the TV—let’s get out and talk and find out what’s really going on,” added Carney. “The more information people have early on, the better they can plan how it’s going to affect them in the long term.”

“These cuts that are coming to SNAP, there’s a considerable amount of people who live in greater Minnesota and who live in rural communities who rely on SNAP to keep food on the table, right?” Flanagan asked. “These are children, families, elders in our community. Stripping away food stability, that doesn’t feel very Minnesotan.”

In her speech, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan also denounced recent political violence, including the assassinations of state DFL Sen. Melissa Hortman and conservative activist Charlie Kirk.