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My Point of View by Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

Last Thursday evening, a group of citizens in Albert Lea held a town hall at Edgewater Pavilion. Congressman Brad Finstad was invited but did not show up nor send remarks.

That morning at 6 a.m., Finstad had voted in favor of devastating cuts to Medicaid, SNAP benefits and Pell grants in order to secure huge tax breaks for greedy billionaires who don’t need an extra penny.

The town hall featured six speakers on relevant topics. Jake Johnson, a math teacher who is challenging Finstad for the 1st District seat, relayed how Trump’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education have already affected Rochester schools, especially the sudden loss of a $2 million grant for training school social workers. Johnson himself was able to overcome childhood poverty via Pell grants, which put college in his reach and elevated him to the middle class. Johnson wants young people in our district to have the same opportunity, whereas Finstad just voted to slash Pell grant funding.

Beth (Fynbo) Benike, who grew up in Albert Lea, described how Trump’s fluctuating tariffs on Chinese-made products have jeopardized her small Minnesota business, Busy Baby. Benike, who was recently recognized as the Minnesota Small Business Person of the Year, has done numerous high profile interviews on national news programs to fight for the survival of her company. After Trump dropped the tariff on Chinese-made products from 145% to 30%, she was able to pay the reduced tariff (still a hefty $50,000, when it used to be zero) and is hoping to make payroll through the five-week stretch between when she will run out of inventory and when her delayed next shipment will arrive.

Jim Dimock, a Mankato Faculty Association member, spoke about the major economic boon that international students bring to places like Mankato and how Trump’s efforts to muzzle free speech is making it riskier for their parents to send them to the U.S. (Dimock had advocated for the release of MSU student Muhammad Hoque from ICE detention at the Freeborn County jail on May 8.)

Bethany Greiner, a paraprofessional at Albert Lea Area Schools, spoke about the myriad ways that access to Medicaid funding is a transformational social safety net for many people. The deep cuts to Medicaid that Finstad considers “big” and “beautiful” would be devastating to our community.

Erin Haag, director of the local United Way, spoke about food insecurity in Freeborn County and how its Welcome Pantry had to scale back significantly after Trump slashed the USDA’s Emergency Food Aid Program funding in April. The Welcome Pantry serves about 500 households a month; families used to get two visits a month, now they get one. The major cuts to SNAP benefits that Finstad just voted for would further exacerbate food insecurity here.

The most riveting guest speaker, to me, was Deb Goodnature. Her son Corey Goodnature was killed in action in Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago, and she said she is leaving her comfort zone and speaking out because she is appalled by what Trump is doing. She is horrified that Trump called service members who were killed or wounded “suckers” and “losers.” (Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, whose son died in Iraq, confirmed in 2023 that Trump made these comments.)

Goodnature continued, “The evil and arrogance of this man is beyond belief. And then our representative [Finstad] goes along with this. He’s willing to cave, take benefits away from the needy, education, every area. I’m just speechless.”

Goodnature spoke of the importance of electing people who will fight for us. She concluded, “I’m a political person in my own house but I will seldom be vocal otherwise, but I’ve ended that. I’m not going to be quiet anymore. There’s no excuse for this. This is evil, and we have to put a stop to it … I’m happy to see that there’s people here that care and that are going to fight for our country. Let’s go.”

Communities across the U.S. began this week with Memorial Day ceremonies to honor generations of service members who died while serving in uniform. We can reflect a portion of their bravery by answering President Lincoln’s timeless call on the Gettysburg battlefield: “…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

If you, too, are disturbed by Trump’s corrupt abuse of power and Finstad’s passive yielding to him, please consider joining together with other people who feel the same at the Protect Our Constitution Rally outside the county courthouse this week at 5 p.m. Thursday. You are not alone, and you have the power to act.

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.