For the third time in as many weeks, Republican lawn signs along Normandale Ave in Bloomington have been vandalized.

First, they were spray-painted black. After local Republicans replaced them, some were pulled up and left on the ground. Once again, Republican volunteers put them back up. In the latest act of vandalism, more than 20 large signs from Mt Normandale Rd to 105th Street were sliced in half. Despite these repeated acts, we are not aware of any acts of Republican retribution.

That is not who we are. Democrats can cheer when Republican speech is cancelled on the internet and on Facebook. They can smile when letters to the editor in support of Republican candidates are not published in local newspapers. But it is a clear mark of character to “cancel” lawn signs in the middle of the night, when no one is looking.

To her credit, House District 50B candidate Beth Beebe has written,
“I am not discouraged or deterred by these hate crime vandals.  They are showing their true intolerant colors.  It actually fortifies my supporters and stirs up volunteers!  I am grateful for watchful eyes and we will keep bringing out the signs. "

 “We will press on and keep the message going.”  

Pam Tucholke, Chair of the Republican Party organization that includes House District 50B, stated, “It is disappointing to see such senseless acts of vandalism.  While our candidates promote the restoration of law and order, it would appear that supporters of the opposition promote the destruction of private property and intolerance.  My challenge to all of you is to respond with overwhelming support for the candidates that reflect your values.” 

If you are incensed by these acts of vandalism, do not stoop to destroying DFL signs. Instead, contact Beth Beebe and volunteer to drop her literature evenings and/or Saturdays. Door-knock with MN Senate candidate Doug Fulton. At a minimum, contribute financially to the Beebe and Fulton campaigns. Both need more funding for critical advertising between now and Election Day. Beth Beebe’s campaign website is  BethBeebeForStateRep.com, and Doug Fulton’s campaign website is FultonForSenate.com.

DFL supporters have clearly shown they have no tolerance for our values or our views. Demonstrate that you will not let Beth and Doug be silenced. Contribute more of your time and your donations to their campaigns.

The Republican Party of Minnesota and representatives of a growing movement within the Somali American community came together on September 24 to celebrate the values that both groups share:  the importance of faith, family, responsibility, and freedom. 

Significantly, Pastor Corey Brooks was the featured speaker. He spoke powerfully about the failed leadership in many of our major cities and the need for conservative leaders in our urban communities to come together and push for change. Pastor Brooks is the founder and Senior Pastor of New Beginnings church of Chicago and founder and CEO of Project H.O.O.D. Communities Development Cooperation. He is known as the "Rooftop Pastor," and became a leading voice and presence in the fight against the violence that grips Chicago's poorest neighborhoods. 

All of the Republican state-wide candidates, Dr. Scott Jensen, Matt Birk, Jim Schultz, Kim Crockett, and Ryan Wilson, as well as CD5 Congressional Candidate Cicely Davis, spoke to thunderous applause. This was a live-streamed event and as of last Monday, the video had 54,000 views. It was also covered by three major Somali media outlets, including BBC Somali (facebook), VOA Somali, and Somali TV Minnesota (facebook album). 

The event proved to be an exciting welcome of our Somali American neighbors into the Republican Party. Given how close the state-wide races are, the rally proved to be a critically important first step in building a strong conservative coalition.

AlphaNews sampled some of the speeches at the dinner in this video.  Note that three of the speakers are Senate District 50 Republicans.

Doug Fulton, candidate for MN Senate for Edina and west Bloomington, conducted an informal survey in early September.  The results?

50% of the respondents felt that increasing crime is the number one issue, followed by 30% of the people who thought inflation is the biggest issue, and 20% for whom the top issue was school curriculums. 
 
Also, when asked what they attributed the increase of crime to, 30% of the respondents chose "lack of prosecution of criminals" and 30% "home life".

Doug reported, “We had a variety of answers relative to the poor result of the MN School Comprehensive Assessment score but the majority of the people believe that school policies and lower standards were the two biggest factors.” 
 
Doug Fulton concluded, “All of these are issues that threaten family life. No wonder 96% of the respondents felt that families are not well represented in our Senate in St. Paul!  It reaffirmed my commitment to put family first and ask the same question every time a decision comes my way as your Senator and that is: “Will this be good for our families?

...And More

Support your Republican candidates! Signs are available and ready to be installed. We have a selection of candidate signs and the hardware to mount them in Bloomington and Edina. We have both 18” x 24” signs and 2 ft. x 4 ft. signs, and we will try to get 4 ft. x 8 ft. signs if you have a good place for them.

However, demand for the Jensen-Birk signs has been so strong that individuals who want those may need to go online to the “Shop” page on the Republican Party of Minnesota website to order those signs.

To get a lawn sign in Bloomington or Edina, please check the Lawn Sign box on our Volunteer Opportunities page (optionally, add a comment about specific candidates / sign sizes). Or you may leave a message on our SD50 phone voicemail 952-856-3028. Michael Barg will get back to you with more information.

If you’re outside of our area, we encourage you to contact candidates directly via their websites to request a lawn sign.

Updated Oct 3, 2022

Our local media has made a lot of the KSTP/Survey USA poll conducted from August 30 to September 4 of Minnesota voters regarding their preferences for Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Auditor. Typical headlines read, “Walz expands lead over Jensen to double digits."

The first-ever AlphaNews/Trafalgar Group poll paints a much different picture. Just released, the poll was conducted by the organization that correctly predicted President Trump’s victory in 2016.

While this new poll still has Walz leading Jensen by 47.7% to 45%, the results are within the margin of error, nowhere near an 18-point difference.

The poll also shows that Jim Schultz and Ryan Wilson are slightly ahead in their races for Attorney General and Auditor, respectively. Kim Crockett’s Secretary of State race is very close, well within the margin of error.

This is a call to redouble our efforts. These candidates are working very hard. We need to do everything that we can to help them win.

Less than half of Minnesota students know how to read at grade level.

The Pandemic dropped scores by 8%, a huge drop (from 59% reading at grade level in 2019 to 51% in 2022) but Minnesota scores have been declining for longer than that.

Math proficiency at grade level is even worse (54% in 2019 to 44% now).

Think about that: Less than half of our students can read and do simple math at the level required to graduate.

“These statewide assessment results reinforce what we already know – our students, families, school communities and educators need us to continue to meet this moment,” Heather Mueller, state education commissioner, said in a statement.

What “meet this moment” means isn’t clearly explained.

What is clear, to me, is that the same institutional structure – Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), our districts and the teachers’ unions – is the same one that was responsible for our students’ failures during this long period of steady decline in performance. It is a fact that these institutions cannot “continue to meet this moment” because the numbers tell us they have been failing to “meet this moment” for years.

Minnesota’s educational complex created something called COMPASS to correct the problem. According to its website, COMPASS “..will offer support for schools in the areas of Literacy, Math and School Climate and Mental Health…”. It appears that half the help COMPASS offers is for “school climate and mental health”. According to the website, “intentional school climate improvement practices increase students (sic) sense of safety, build pro-social skills, develop a respect for diversity, increase social support, and create positive connections and engagement in school. At its core, school climate is about healthy, positive and connected relationships.”

How diversity, social support and pro-social skills will improve math and reading scores is not explained in the website.