Community Power

The Long Fight Against Toxins in One Neighborhood After her 16-year-old son Trinidad died in 2013 of dilated cardiomyopathy — a condition associated with exposure to air pollution — Holmes became an activist. Many people in her Indigenous community were dying before the age of 55, and she began to question what had once seemed normal.

Prioritize the health of renters in upcoming utilities decisions Gas alternatives, such as electric or induction cooking methods, should be widely accessible to Minnesota renters.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has made a recent decision to approve a $211 million rate increase for Xcel Energy electric customers that includes higher profits for utility shareholders. The PUC ruling contrasts with actions taken in several other states to rein in utility costs and profits. https://energyandpolicy.org/minnesota-regulators-approve-higher-xcel-profits-at-customers-expense/
Here are some notable takeaways:
• The PUC ruled over the strong objections of consumer advocates and Xcel customers, who filed an unprecedented ~8,600 public comments in the proceeding, almost entirely opposing the rate hike.
• Xcel’s rates have risen 98% since 2005. That is almost twice the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, Xcel reported $2 billion in profits last year. Critics say utilities are gaming the system to benefit their shareholders.
• Though the PUC included some affordability provisions in its decision, the profit boost they authorized could cost customers an extra $35 million per year in perpetuity.
• In other states, governors and regulators are investigating utility profits and even pursuing profit caps to provide relief to ratepayers.

Minnesota regulators approve higher Xcel profits at customers' expense The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved an estimated $211 million rate increase that includes higher profits for Xcel shareholders.

Check out our Henn Co Comm Dist 2 candidate forum!

📅Tues, July 21 at 6-7:30 pm
📍Itasca Event Gallery, 706 N 1st Street, Minneapolis, 55401
This event is free and open to the public.

All candidates for this non-partisan race have been invited. They are, in alphabetical order: Sharon El-Amin, Irene Fernando, Viviana Salazar and Makeda Zulu. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the Primary Election on August 11 will proceed to the General Election on November 3rd.

Please, no candidate buttons or clothing allowed in the forum room.


🎥Livestream is available: https://www.youtube.com/live/TecolliTMws
For more info on our candidate forums: https://lwvmpls.org/2026-candidate-forums/

Thank you to our cosponsonsors: League of Women Voters of Golden Valley Folwell Neighborhood Association North Loop Neighborhood Association Twin Cities Documenters Ayada Leads Waite Park Neighborhood in Northeast Minneapolis Lower Northeast Neighborhoods Association

Come join on Monday to hear some updates about forming a new cooperatively or municipally owned networked geothermal utility in Minneapolis, the latest on funding the Minneapolis Climate Equity Plan and dates of events this fall in support of that as well as opportunities to do outreach to help implement the home energy savings part of the Climate Equity Plan.

The unhealthy air outside is another reminder that climate change is already affecting our health and our communities. Public policy decides whether our neighborhoods receive the funding and protections needed to respond. 💸

Join the Minneapolis Climate Equity Meeting on Monday, July 27 to learn what neighbors are working on and how you can help organize for cleaner air, safer communities, and stronger climate funding here in Minneapolis.

🌱 Register now at unidos-mn.org/events



La mala calidad del aire es otro recordatorio de que el cambio climático ya está afectando nuestra salud y nuestras comunidades. Las decisiones políticas determinan si nuestros vecindarios reciben los fondos y las protecciones necesarias para responder. 💸

Acompáñanos a la Reunión de Equidad Climática de Minneapolis el lunes 27 de julio para conocer el trabajo que están haciendo nuestros vecinos y cómo puedes ayudar a organizarte por un aire más limpio, comunidades más seguras y más fondos para enfrentar el cambio climático.

Juntos podemos proteger nuestro medio ambiente y construir un futuro más saludable.

🌱 Registrate ahora en unidos-mn.org/events

Happening Now ! Looking for unique finds while reducing waste? Join Hennepin County’s Salvage Crawl to explore local home improvement thrift stores, discover reclaimed building materials, and support reuse. Visit participating retailers for a chance to win prizes!

Reuse Minnesota - Hennepin County salvage crawl

Today we are remembering Representative Karen Clark and are truly saddened to hear of her passing on the last day of Pride month. In the pictures, she graciously held a meeting with Community Power back in 2016 as well as sharing a moment with us right before a committee meeting in 2018.
She was nationally renowned for being the longest serving openly le***an member to serve in a state legislature in the United States. In her first year in 1981, she introduced the gay and le***an human rights bill with Allan Spear, which eventually passed as part of the Minnesota Human Rights bill in 1993. We must also let it be known that Karen Clark campaigned upon local renewable power when she was first elected in 1980. In more recent years, she was a champion for environmental justice both in and out of legislature.
One of her signature achievements, the 2008 Clark Berglund law requires the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to analyze and consider the cumulative levels and effects of past and current pollution from all sources before issuing or renewing industrial permits in highly polluted, frontline areas. At Community Events she would display her a flip chart illustrating cumulative pollution and used the law she passed to help defend the Phillips neighborhood from projects that would impose further pollution.
After her retirement from the legislature, Karen Clark continued to show up in dedication for her vision of transforming the Roof Depot, a former warehouse, into an urban farm and community hub. She lived to see the day when the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute acquired the Roof Depot site from the city. That fit a larger template in her work with the Women’s Environmental Institute, where she brought in national leaders such as Will Allen on re-localizing food production to the twin cities.