The Minnesota Senate passed a bill this week under the guise of fixing the problem of the Governor's Emergency Powers. But the bill authored by Sen Dave Osmek (SF4) does very little in solving the underlying issues. For the last year, Governor Walz has unilaterally declared an emergency, targeted businesses because his orders are treated as laws and trampled on the rights of Minnesotans.

Osmek's bill only changes the current Chapter 12 Emergency Powers law to allow the legislature, by a simple majority, to extend the Governor's powers beyond 30 days. That's it. The Governor could still issue lockdowns, shut down businesses, close churches and throw violators in jail. 

If they are serious about solving the problem, they need to get on board with Rep Erik Mortensen's Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act (HF2204). Here's why...

1. It Removes the Governor's Ability to Unilaterally Declare an Emergency

2. HF2204 eliminates the part of Chapter 12 that allows the Governor's orders to be treated as law

3. Instead of punishing citizens, violations by the Governor make him legally responsible with potential jail time

4. It contains a Citizen's Bill of Rights to protect running a business, freedom to assemble and the right to practice religion

People are sick of Republicans in this state continuing to cower to the Democrats. These fake bills put Republicans in a weak position and are not going to get the public motivated at election time. It's quite clear, Minnesotans are looking to make sure this NEVER AGAIN happens to us! The Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act would be a monumental victory for Republicans if passed, a great election issue for supporters and starts the Republicans off from a position of strength.

Don't compromise with watered-down, fake reform bills. Let's send a powerful message to the Governor that states: NEVER AGAIN!

Contact your state senator and tell him or her to get on board and sign onto Rep Erik Mortensen's Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act (HF2204) today. 

WHO REPRESENTS ME

We just passed the One Year mark of Governor Walz' Unilateral Declaration of Emergency Powers. Since March 13th of last year, Walz has abused his powers and destroyed businesses, infringed on civil liberties and has interfered in our lives at unprecedented levels. For those reasons, our team has one thing to say to him:

NEVER AGAIN!

Today, Rep Erik Mortensen introduced the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act on the House floor. And Rep Jeremy Munson has already signed on as a co-author! Unlike all the fake bills offered by weak Republicans and Con Artist Democrats like Julie Sandstede, this legislation does exactly what is needed to RESTORE OUR REPUBLIC!

Here's what the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act does:

1. Removes the Governor's Ability to Unilaterally Declare an Emergency

The most concerning thing to us in the last year is that one man was able to unilaterally declare an emergency, create his own orders, extend those powers, and the only way to make them end is to get members of his own party to vote to remove them. This is the most anti-democratic thing I've ever seen. At it's also illegal, according to our Constitution.

So our legislation removes the ability of the Governor to unilaterally declare Emergency Powers, instead requiring a 2/3 majority in both the House and Senate to declare one. We think the large majority is so important because we want to ensure that the emergency goes well beyond politics, and is widely accepted by the legislature as a serious issue. 

The Emergency Powers would only last five days, unless 2/3 of the legislature wants to extend it. In other words, we'll NEVER AGAIN see Emergency Powers lasting a whole year long.

2. The Governors orders will not be treated as law

The purpose of executive orders is for a Governor to direct government agencies and workers, not to order citizens to do or not do something. Unfortunately, Walz has treated executive orders as a power similar to that of a king. He's used them to force us to wear masks, stay in our homes, shut down places of worship, close businesses and a long list of other violations of our civil rights. 

Courts have upheld Walz' ability to do this by how poorly written the Chapter 12 Emergency Powers law is written. So the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act eliminates the portion that treats the Governor's order as law! Which means, you don't have to follow Walz' orders and the courts can't make you!

3. Punishes the Governor with Jail Time for Violations

Chapter 12 law right now states that violators can be punished by $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail. So Governor Walz took that part of the law and applied it to violators of his orders. In other words, if you went over to your friend's home last November against his order, you could've been put in jail for 90 days.

This bill reverses the punishment. Now if the Governor or a government agent violates the law, then they will be punished by a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail; not YOU. This would put Walz behind bars if he did this again!

4. Establishes a Citizens' Bill of Rights for Emergencies

Last, but certainly not least, the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act not only takes away the ability of the Governor to unilaterally declare an emergency, issue orders with the weight of law, and punish people with jail time, it also ensures that people's rights are protected by a Bill of Rights.

Here's what the Citizens' Bill of Rights states:

Want to See This Pass? Here's How to Help

I think it goes without saying, that Governor Walz is not likely to sign the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act. After all, what tyrant would give up his own powers? So the objective of this legislation is to build such a massive block of support in the Legislature to override the Governor's veto OR to settle the score in the 2022 election. 

Can you imagine a more important issue to present to the voters than this?! We are prepared and ready to run the NEVER AGAIN campaign if it comes to it.

But I'd like to think optimistically. We've now hired a whole team of doorknockers and field operators and have the flexibility to move them to targeted districts across the state to put pressure on more legislators. So we're going to start taking this message to voters immediately!

Here's the lit we just delivered to our team for the week. Thank you for supporting our field operations.

We need your help. Please contact your Republican state representative and tell him or her to sign onto HF 2204, the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act, as a co-author. We MUST ENSURE that we have at least 15 authors on this bill so we can get a roll call vote on it when we bring it up for a vote.

WHO REPRESENTS ME

You are likely to be met with resistance, as shocking as that might sound. Our intel at the Capitol is that House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt has instructed members to not sign on to bills that Rep Erik Mortensen authors. I know what you're thinking - how petty can this guy be?

But remember, Daudt isn't their boss. You are, as the constituent. Most of these Republican representatives are in agreement with us on this important issue. Don't let them follow Daudt's orders. Tell them to stand up for principles and sign onto HF 2204, the Unilateral Emergency Powers Repeal Act, today! We have to make sure this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!

Governor Walz refuses to give up his unilateral Emergency Powers despite COVID numbers hitting an all-time low. Even bordering states have removed their restrictions without any spike in COVID cases. But Walz marches on with the ability to infringe on Minnesotans liberties and shutdown businesses again.

The Governor is announcing a shortening of the leash on Minnesota today that includes:

• Expansion of capacity in bars/restaurants to 75%.
• Gyms can expand to 50% capacity
• No limits on religious facilities
• Household gatherings can have up to 50 people outdoors, 15 people indoors. 
• Salons have no limits
• Large indoor venues can have up to 3,000 fans on April 15^th.
• Twins games will be allowed 10,000 fans starting on Opening Day.
• No new eased restrictions for schools

Walz' unpopular mask mandate is still in effect. 

There is absolutely no reason for the Governor to continue to exercise illegal Emergency Powers. Saturday marks the One-Year Anniversary of him unilaterally declaring Emergency Powers that have led to multiple shutdowns and quarantining health people in their homes. Please sign our petition to End Walz' Emergency Powers NOW!

As the vote to End Walz' Emergency Powers was going down at the Capitol and vulnerable Democrats like Julie Sandstede and Dave Lislegard were in the crosshairs, we learned from the Governors office that a "significant dialback of COVID restrictions" are going to be announced tomorrow. 

It's quite clear to me that the pressure from you, and the hundreds of thousands of people who have joined this effort to End Walz' Emergency Powers, is working. Unfortunately, Walz once again wants to play politics over doing what's right. His announcement was made to release tension on his Party's most vulnerable members and provide them political cover.

So Sandstede and gang voted again to protect Walz' Emergency Powers this evening. Here's the vote.

Now I don't know if Governor Walz and his team think that we'll just accept his dialback tomorrow and remove the pressure off of Sandstede, Lislegard, Sundin and the rest. If so, he couldn't possibly be MORE WRONG!

This just shows we are making progress. Our pressure works. We already knew that because I got a call today from the House Sergeant of Arms who said members of the Minnesota House requested us to take down our FB Ads against Sandstede and Lislegard.

I respectfully declined, of course! This is all it said:

We're dead serious about this issue. We can't allow one person to create unilateral orders in this state that infringe on our liberties any longer. We will not quit until Walz' powers are gone and we ensure this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!

I told the individual from the Sergeant of Arms office that we don't have any sympathy for the enablers of Walz' Emergency Powers that have led to our businesses being shut down, harassed by government, and even sued by the Attorney General on behalf of the Walz Administration. 

As long as Governor Walz' powers still exist, our rights can still be trampled on and business owners will still live in fear of future shutdowns. 

So if these Con Artist politicians think that the fight is over, they are wrong. Meanwhile our team is knocking on thousands of doors every week. The leader of my team just asked for 3,000 new pieces of Sandstede literature this morning for the upcoming week. 

I want to thank all of you who took the time to email or call the legislators from our recent email. Reports we got back suggested that their inboxes were overfilled with your messages and voicemail boxes got overwhelmed. The fact that thousands of people contacted them signals they have a real problem on their hands. They know you are willing to donate to our efforts to hold them accountable!

Please do me a favor. A box of lit costs $150. Please help us pay for more literature so we can hand them to thousands of their voters. Deliver a new box of lit to our team with a donation of $150. If that's too much, help us buy a partial box with a donation of $100 or $50. Let's continue forcing this issue by taking the message DIRECTLY TO THEIR VOTERS!

The Ramsey City Council nullified Governor Walz' illegal mask mandate last night. A resolution offered by Councilmembers Chelsee Howell and Ryan Heineman states that city resources cannot be used to enforce executive orders by the Governor, most notably the mask mandate. It reads:

The Ramsey City Council hereby orders that CITY RESOURCES, whether physical, financial or otherwise, including but not limited to law enforcement, city staff and personnel, city contractors and subcontractors or assistance of any kind tied to the city, or any cooperation to any government including federal, state, or county, SHALL NOT be used to enforce any of Governor Walz’s Emergency Executive Orders, including but not limited to, Executive Order 20-81 and any other orders that infringe on people’s constitutionally protected rights, especially as it related to COVID-19.

No surprise, the city attorney advised against the motion stating to the Star Tribune "You can't ignore [the executive order] because you disagree with it," he said before the vote. "It still has the full force of the law." The entire Minnesota legal system appears to believe that our system of government where laws are passed only by the legislature has been suspended until Walz is wiling to give up his self-declared powers.

But that didn't discourage the council which voted 4-3 to pass the measure. Citing protections afforded in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. the authors of the resolution argued that government can't take away people's liberty. The executive orders issued under Governor Walz are in conflict with the Constitutional protections.

We spoke to Councilwoman Howell who stated "that critics often argue that [people supporting loosening COVID restrictions] are selfish, but the greatest gift is to allow each individual to make a decision that they think is best for themselves." Isn't that the American system of government in a nutshell? Our founders did not create a government to tell people how to live their lives; rather, it was designed to protect their life, liberty and property.

Keep this in mind: the courts are not the final arbiters of the Constitution. Elected officials have a duty to interpret the Constitution differently than judges and pass laws or ordinances that protect individuals' rights. 

In an attempt to fool their voters into thinking they are on their side in Ending Governor Walz' Emergency Powers, Rep Julie Sandstede, joined by Dave Lislegard and Rob Ecklund, introduced a Fake End Walz' Powers Bill (HF1514) that would codify things like the mask mandate into law. This bill is falsely entitled "COVID-19; bar and restaurant restrictions eased". It actually allows the governor to do exactly what he has previously done and shut down the economy once again. This time with an actual law behind his orders.

If passed, the bill likely would give law enforcement and prosecutors the ability to go after violators criminally. So far, violators of Governor Walz' orders have only been taken to civil court. Most of Walz' orders carry a penalty of $1,000 or 90 days in jail.

Sandstede's bill states that under the critical and high status categories, employees and customers in bars/restaurants "must wear facial coverings". The bill would give the Department of Health the ability to designate the current risk status and apply it throughout the whole state. It would also force businesses to shutdown by law, instead of just a Governor's order. Penalties for violations of this legislation would be the same as Walz' executive orders - $1,000 or 90 days in jail.

This bill is moving through committees right now and will likely receive a vote on the House floor soon according to a statement made by DFL Majority Leader, Ryan Winkler on Monday. Action 4 Liberty opposes this bill and DEMANDS that Sandstede, Lislegard and Ecklund instead vote to End Walz' Emergency Powers by passing the Rep Mortensen Resolution.

Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan announced via twitter this weekend that she received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine, which came as a surprise to many since 45% of teachers have yet to receive the vaccine and several elderly who want it, still await their dose. Flanagan is actually quoted by WCCO saying “We know our students learn best when they’re in person with their teachers, and in order to keep our educators safe, we have made it a priority to get them the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. “Providing vaccines to nearly 55% of our educators, school staff, and child care providers is an incredible achievement, and we will keep moving forward to reach 100%.”

Some how Flanagan was able to jump in line in front of people prioritized in the Governor's own distribution chart. Minnesota is still working its way though "Phase 1b" of distribution, which prioritizes people age 65 and older, child care works and E-12 educators. 

It's important to note, that Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan is not a medical expert. Please consult with your doctor before choosing to receive the COVID vaccine. Don't rely on advice from politicians.

The news that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lost his emergency powers might be the biggest con of the year. It turns out, all the directives, which include the business restrictions and the mask mandate, remain intact. Even worse, Cuomo can still unilaterally extend those.

After nearly a whole year of exercising unilateral law making, Cuomo's powers were set to expire in April. But the bill now extends the unilateral orders mentioned above, indefinitely. Which is precisely why all Republicans in the legislature voted against the bill. And, although Cuomo is unable to issue new executive orders without legislative approval, he plans to sign the bill since it leaves him in relatively the same position. 

Politicians play these kind of games often. Their objective is to do very little so they don't upset the power structure that puts them in office. So not actually Ending Cuomo's Emergency Powers while passing a bill that presents itself as an End Powers Bill, works to their benefit...as long as there isn't alternative media or groups like Action 4 Liberty exposing the con to their voters.

In Minnesota, we see the same play being made. A group of Republican and Democrat legislators have been drafting a Fake End Walz' Powers bill for months now. There's even a mask mandate bill that will likely be attached to it as an amendment, if and, when it makes it to the House floor.

What's being drafted in the committee right now lacks the key ingredients of a Real End Powers Bill like removing the Governor's ability to unilaterally declare an emergency, disallowing his orders to be treated as law, and a citizens bill of rights for emergencies. The Fake End Walz' Powers Bill is really just a con to give the public the perception that the political class is addressing the issue, when secretly they are doing nothing. It's also providing political cover for politicians like Julie Sandstede and Dave Lislegard who betrayed their voters by voting against Rep Erik Mortensen's End Walz' Emergency Powers Resolution.

If the Fake End Walz' Powers Bill passes the Democrat House and Republican Senate, then it would go to the Governor's desk. You'll know firsthand if its fake, because no governor would sign a real bill. And that's exactly what's happening in New York right now with Andrew Cuomo signing Bill A05967.

Learn what Action 4 Liberty is doing to End Walz' Emergency Powers in Minnesota by increasing pressure on vulnerable rural Democrats who are voting the wrong way.

New York Democrats announced that they have reached a legislative deal to strip Governor Andrew Cuomo of his Emergency Powers in the wake of his nursing home death scandal. Both Cuomo and Minnesota's Governor, Tim Walz, had a policy of sending COVID positive patients into nursing homes which accounted for the majority of COVID related deaths in the last year. However, unlike New York, Democrats in Minnesota are still voting to allow Walz to keep his powers.

Rural Democrats like Julie Sandstede and Dave Lislegard are proving to their voters that they are more radical than a New York Democrat. Democrats in New York have a 62 person majority in their State Assembly; whereas, Minnesota House Democrats only have a 6 person majority, but are creating a major roadblock to Ending Walz' Emergency Powers. Even worse, 6 House Democrats voted to End Walz' Emergency Powers last year during the election season. But reneged on that vote in January and February, voting in locked step with the metro Democrats. 

One of the arguments by the rural Democrats like Sandstede and Lislegard against Ending Walz' Emergency Powers, is that it would limit the ability for federal funds to flow into the state. But New York is clearly showing that is not the case. 

Insiders believe the New York Legislature could take the vote as early as Friday, which would give local governments control over lockdowns and mask wearing, stripping Cuomo of his emergency powers for good.

Learn more about what Action 4 Liberty is doing to End Walz' Emergency Powers.

Do you remember "Give us 15 days to slow the spread"?!  We are approaching the one-year anniversary of that lie. We are approaching one whole year of Governor Walz' unilateral declaration of Emergency Powers.

These lies have led to businesses being closed down, healthy people ordered to stay in their homes, youth athletes to wear masks while playing sports, AND Covid positive patients admitted back to long term care facilities.

Our team is working around the clock to try and stop the one-year anniversary from happening. It's absolutely amazing that we are here right now! Almost makes one think there is something bigger, and more nefarious at play.

The only way to stop politicians from taking our liberties is to hit them where it hurts - putting our message right in front of their voters. Which is why we just hired two more doorknockers and moved them up into Con Artist Dave Lislegard's district. And that pressure is putting him and Julie Sandstede on the Defense!

Did you see that both legislators wrote guests columns in the Hibbing paper trying to save face with their voters. From Dave Lislegard:

You’ve likely seen literature or heard radio advertising from Action 4 Liberty, a group based in the Twin Cities working day and night – during a time when our nation is already deeply divided – to agitate people, including those on the Iron Range.

This means one thing. OUR PRESSURE IS WORKING!

We now have two different homes up north and I just hired another couple doorknockers. Our team is signing up new petition signers, talking to thousands of voters and distributing lit in all the neighborhoods. Even Dave Lislegard admits we are working around the clock to get our message out to voters.

Did you know that Julie Sandstede won her election by only 30 votes last November and President Trump won Dave Lislegard's district? By the time we're done with this, we'll have easily identified enough voters to flip those districts red!

Speaking of flipping districts, the Democrat machine is getting really worried that the legislature finally has a liberty champion who is willing to take the fight to them. They HATE our guy, Rep Erik Mortensen.

Just last Thursday, Walz' rubber stamp and mask mandate cheerleader, Brad Tabke, announced he is running against Mort. Who announces a campaign this early? Looks like they have set our guy in the crosshairs.

This battle is far too important to lose to the Democrat machine. We now know that Emergency Powers will be used and abused by tyrants. That's why we are working day and night to End Walz' Emergency Powers. And with Mort in office, we'll lead the fight to make sure it NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!

There are still more volunteer opportunities up in the Iron Range if you are looking to get more involved. Please reach out if you would like to join our field team to door knock. 

If you don't have the time, your support means a lot to our team. We want to keep the momentum and continue holding these politicians accountable. We're quickly approaching the One-Year Anniversary of Walz' Emergency Powers. Let's STOP him from making them permanent. Support our field operations today.