FAIRMONT – A Martin County chapter of the Indivisible organization is being established.

Spearheaded by Amy Long and Tanya Pomerenke, Long said they had several conversations before deciding to lead this effort.

“We ultimately sought out an existing bipartisan movement,” she said. “We were looking at what was happening across the state of Minnesota and saw the youth movements.”

As a whole, Long said there are three goals for Martin County Indivisible.

“Promote bipartisan efforts, organize grassroots efforts to influence public policy and empower people to have a voice in our democratic process,” she said.

By having a chapter in Martin County, Long said they get the best of both national and local involvement.

“We want to strengthen democracy,” she said. “The national organization has the tools needed, but the locals have the strength to promote change. A local group is a chance to connect with others and bring people together in a way different from a purely online movement.”

Since being registered March 8, Long said they have tried to hit the ground running to get everything together.

“We’ve been focusing on organization,” she said. “We connected with the national group, had initial calls and orientations. Getting acclimated to the resources. Making sure people know there is a local chapter that exists. We’ve had people from Martin County engaging in St. Peter and New Ulm, letting them know we’re here. Getting the leadership team together.”

In the next few months, Long said they will look to continue solidifying.

“We’d like to have 7 to 10 people in our guiding committee,” she said. “First we want to finalize that leadership. We want to plan community groups so people have the opportunity to come face to face for dialog. Develop an action plan. It’s more than online conversation. To create change we have to influence, and that means action.”

While they haven’t been around long enough to organize their protest, Long said Martin County Indivisible is in support of the Hands Off chain of protests happening April 5.

She said peaceful protests will be in St. Peter, New Ulm, the State Capitol and other locations across Minnesota. The St. Peter and New Ulm rallies will run from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Minnesota Square Park and Center and Broadway respectively.

“The Hands Off protest is focused on expressing concern for the actions of Trump and Musk over dismantling and cutting funding for programs,” Long said.

With the current tensions surrounding politics, Long said she understands if there’s initial misconceptions or confusion surrounding the group.

“There’s going to be people who react to Indivisible,” she said. “We want to commit to kindness, respect, understanding and cooperation across the board. We want people to recognize we are standing for bipartisan support.”

Even so, Long said they have received positive feedback thus far.

“People are looking for ways to get involved. We’ve had conversations with people from both parties who want to uphold democratic processes.”

In the future, Long said they will want to hold meetings and begin organizing further locally. For more information or to contact organizers, email indivisiblemc9@gmail.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573910192489.