BRAINERD — Thousands of Northern Minnesotans took part in local rallies as part of a nationwide day of protests known as No Kings Day of Action on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Organizers with local Indivisible groups across several communities in the region estimated a total of at least 15,000 people participated in events across Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, including in Bemidji, Brainerd, Cambridge, Cloquet, Moose Lake, Duluth, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Chisholm, Lindstrom, Park Rapids, Pine City and Mora. KAXE also gathered photos at a Saturday afternoon event in Crosby.
Signs at the anti-Trump administration protests raised concerns with a multitude of issues: immigration policies, cuts to health care, restrictions to women's rights, calls to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and generalized messages against hate or fascism.
1 of 10
— 04 Protesters at a 'No Kings' hold signs along Washington St. in Brainerd on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a 'No Kings' rally hold signs along Washington Street in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
2 of 10
— 05 Protesters at a 'No Kings' hold signs along Washington St. in Brainerd on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Washington Street in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
3 of 10
— 03 Protesters at a 'No Kings' hold signs along Washington St. in Brainerd on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Washington Street in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
4 of 10
— 02 Protesters at a 'No Kings' hold signs along Washington St. in Brainerd on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Washington Street in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. The black smoke is intentionally emitted exhaust from a pickup truck as a form of protest against the rally.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
5 of 10
— Christine Jackson and her dog Talli attend the 'No Kings' rally in Brainerd on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Christine Jackson and her dog Talli attend the "No Kings" rally along Washington Street in Brainerd on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
6 of 10
— NoKings-Brainerd-1.JPG
People hold signs Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at the "No Kings" protest rally in Brainerd, organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible.
Chelsey Perkins / KAXE
7 of 10
— Brainerd-NoKings-101825
A woman holds a sign with the saying "Fight Truth Decay" Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at the "No Kings" protest rally in Brainerd, organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible.
Chelsey Perkins / KAXE
8 of 10
— Brainerd-NoKings2-101825
A group of friends who attended together pose for a photo Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at the "No Kings" protest rally in Brainerd, organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible. Third from right is Atlas Ross.
Chelsey Perkins / KAXE
9 of 10
— Brainerd-NoKings3-101825
People hold signs Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at the "No Kings" protest rally in Brainerd, organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible.
Chelsey Perkins / KAXE
10 of 10
— NoKings-Brainerd4-101825.JPG
A woman holds a "No King" sign Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at the "No Kings" protest rally in Brainerd, organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible.
Chelsey Perkins / KAXE
Shari Olson is an organizer with Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible. On Saturday, she said various volunteers were scattered throughout the protests along Washington Street in Brainerd to count the attendees, and a drone flew overhead to assist with numbers. Later in the day, the group issued a news release estimating 2,500 people spanned approximately seven to eight city blocks. They described it as "one of the largest political gatherings in the region in recent memory."
"Serving underserved populations has always been my ethos in life," Olson said, "so as things started to change in the current policy in the administration that we're in, my heart just felt like we needed to stand up as a community, get to know each other as neighbors so we can quit having so much division, and learn how to work together for a better world."
1 of 9
— Protesters at a 'No Kings' rally hold signs along Great River Road in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Great River Road in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
2 of 9
— Protesters stand along Great River Road at a 'No Kings' rally in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Great River Road in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
3 of 9
— A protester at a 'No Kings' rally in Crosby stands with people holding Trump Vance signs on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
A protester at a "No Kings" rally in Crosby stands with people holding Trump/Vance signs along Great River Road on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
4 of 9
— 01 Protesters at a 'No Kings' rally hold signs and stand along W Main Street in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along West Main Street in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
5 of 9
— 02 Protesters at a 'No Kings' rally stand along West Main Street in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along West Main Street in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
6 of 9
— 02 Protesters at a 'No Kings' rally held stand along Great River Road in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters at a "No Kings" rally hold signs along Great River Road in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
7 of 9
— DFL District 6 candidate, Denise Slipy joins protesters at a 'No Kings' rally along Great River Road in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
DFL Senate District 6 candidate Denise Slipy joins protesters at a "No Kings" rally along Great River Road in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
8 of 9
— A protester holds up a We need to care for each other sign at the 'No Kings' rally in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
A protester holds up a "We need to care for each other" sign at the "No Kings" rally in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
9 of 9
— 02 Protesters stand along Great River Road at a 'No Kings' rally in Crosby on Sat., Oct. 18, 2025.jpg
Protesters hold signs along Great River Road at a "No Kings" rally in Crosby on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
Brainerd resident Atlas Ross, 20, said attending the protest was important to him to share his voice. He said he was concerned for young people, especially those like this sister, who he said is Native American and vulnerable as a person of color.
"There's no point in just sitting back and waiting for something to happen," Ross said. "It's not going to happen if you don't go out and do it yourself, you know? ... There's so many different angles they are trying to play right now, and we don't even know half of them."
About 1,500 attended in Bemidji and 1,300 in Grand Rapids, organizers said.
-
Fraudsters have gamed state government — and federal programs administered by MN — out of hundreds of millions, including the Feeding Our Future scandal, the autism program and Medicaid schemes.
-
The cities are among 10 in Northern Minnesota selected by the state for grants funding housing and public infrastructure. Others include Sebeka, Winger, Erskine and Hendrum.
-
As part of its approval of Minnesota Power's sale, the Public Utilities Commission said the utility must come up with an alternative resource plan with less natural gas.
-
The idea has its roots in the union expansion of the 1940s and the ‘fight for 15’ of more recent vintage.
-
State and federal regulators say they lack the resources to investigate a widespread practice of dubious accounting.
-
Turnover rates may be high due to the nature of the job. But some providers think workers need to toughen up.
-
Minnesota’s end-of-life care economy is in many ways healthy, but retaining nursing home workers is a persistent and growing challenge, particularly in rural communities.
-
A Duluth man rear-ended a Hermantown school bus Oct. 21, 2025, as the vehicles approached a red light.
-
Public officials in Hermantown and St. Louis County have recently been scrutinized for signing non-disclosure agreements for the development of a data center.
-
Plus: Ten Northern Minnesota communities selected for DEED grants; and MN boasts 64,000 clean energy jobs despite an uncertain future.