NSS Weekly: One of the Midwest’s Largest Trans Pride Celebrations Is Here in Minnesota

Transcript

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INTRO: You are listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota, produced by AMPERS, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota.

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HOST: This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live. I'm Chantel SinGs.

This week, residents in Northern Minnesota find a space to celebrate gender equality. Then, how a group of Minnesota athletes is preparing to be the center of a national sports competition. And, Minnesota has a new claim to babyface fame. But first, here are some of the stories that made headlines this week.

A long-shuttered private prison in western Minnesota could soon reopen as a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention center. The Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton closed down in 2010, but a new federal document says the owner, CoreCivic, could reopen within three months as the Prairie Detention Facility. In its proposal to the Department of Justice, which runs ICE, CoreCivic says the facility would house up to 1,600 men and women in ICE custody, starting with 150 people in its first week, then 250 more detainees each week after that until it reaches capacity. CoreCivic operates multiple ICE detention centers across the U. S. Before the Prairie Correctional Facility closed, it was Appleton's largest employer, with about 400 employees.

After community pushback, Columbia Heights, a northern suburb of Minneapolis, is removing its Flock license plate reader cameras. The city council voted to cancel its contract with Flock Safety and remove 12 city-owned Flock cameras. At the meeting, council member Rachel James mentioned the community participation in the decision.

COUNCIL MEMBER RACHEL JAMES: Thank you to the residents who came and packed the chambers, packed our inboxes, and connected with us the last month and a half as we have been working through automatic license plate readers here in our city.

HOST: The cameras are used by more than five thousand law enforcement agencies and six thousand communities around the country. Police use them to scan plates and flag vehicles connected to crimes, but residents raised concerns about what other agencies or government branches could then access the information and travel habits collected. The move comes as more cities around the country are reconsidering Flock cameras over surveillance and civil liberties concerns.

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HOST: The 5th annual Trans Joy Fest took place earlier this month in Duluth, at a time when the federal government sued Minnesota for its inclusion of trans youth in high school sports. For queer residents of Northern Minnesota, parents of trans children, and community members at large, the event offered a space for safety, joy, and escape from the headlines. Reporter Emily Krumberger has the story.

THATQUEERISA: Oh, yeah, I definitely have had a handful of people come up to me, like in moments, like where it's a Pride festival or Trans Joy Fest, where some are, come up to me in tears, they're just like, your message, your energy was just absolutely so beautiful. Thank you for like being here in that moment. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm not Beyonce, but thank you.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Isa Cassadine is a drag artist who goes by the name ThatQueerIsa.

THATQUEERISA: My pronouns are she, her, and you know I'm a trans drag artist from the Iron Range. Okay, I like to add that because she's a Ranger.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: For Isa, who said she always stood out growing up, whether on her high school volleyball team or as the marching band rifle captain, community events like this year's Trans Joy Fest in Duluth aren't just about entertainment.

THATQUEERISA: That's one thing I learned. Anyone could be watching you, anyone could be absolutely moved in what you do. You could literally save someone's life by just showing that you're not scared to, you know, be who you are.

HEATHER THONVOLD: The biggest thing that I got out of Trans Joy Fest was the deep need for meaningful connection between people, whether you're trans or not, whether you're a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or not.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Heather Thonvold is a healthcare professional and board member of Trans Northland, the organization that runs Trans Joy Fest and provides support services to trans and queer residents. Heather says that last year's event provided a—

HEATHER THONVOLD: Collective sigh and deep breath. I think that people got to take knowing that they were safe, and that whatever expression of their authentic personhood they brought to that space was seen, number one, but also welcomed.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Events like Trans Joy Fest can also attract newer Minnesota residents who've moved to the state for gender-affirming health care or LGBTQIA2S+ legal protections.

SEAN HAYES: We're seeing a lot of folks from states where these trans bans are being enacted coming potentially to Minnesota, you know, potentially to Duluth specifically.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Sean Hayes is Trans Northland's executive director. According to data recently collected by the Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans, 65% of new residents indicated that they moved to the state to seek legal protections for LGBTQIA2S+ people.

SEAN HAYES: We're navigating a lot of just new folks who are trying to find a safe place for themselves or for their families or their kids.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: In 2026 alone, 44 anti-trans bills have been introduced in the Minnesota legislature. While none passed, 55 similar bills passed in other states among almost 800 bills introduced across the country. Even amidst this anti-trans climate, Isa is booked and busy in the Northland.

THATQUEERISA: The Duluth Superior Pride this year starts on September 3, like this September weekend long of this community queerness, gayness. I believe, we have a parade happening on that Sunday, as I'll be coordinating the drag section at Bay Friends again. There's a lot of different Minnesota Northland prides. Two Harbors Pride in July, Iron Range, our Range Iron Pride is happening like the first or second weekend in August. Itasca Pride happening like on the third weekend of June in Grand Rapids. Lots of Pride happening in the Northland.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: But she says that, unlike in larger cities, where artists often experience more restricted access to participating in performances, the Northland's queer community is accessible and growing.

THATQUEERISA: The Twin Ports drag scene, specifically in queer scene, is honestly, it is an open runway for anyone to come on out, do your drag, express yourself. There's a lot of different, like, drag groups and drag houses. Now that we have been, you know, evolving more.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Xavier Doane, who works in Duluth and consults businesses on the side on how to make workplaces LGBTQIA2S+ friendly, shares Isa's sentiment about the inclusivity of the Northland.

XAVIER DOANE: There are so many of us in the community. There's so many people that love and adore us. So having these events where we talk about this trans joy, showing those moments of happiness, especially in a time where people don't want us to have that happiness, is vital.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Xavier says that part of this has been the tone set by small businesses.

XAVIER DOANE: And it's been a lot of like small individual owners. They own their own store. As an owner, when you do that, it brings so much support from the rest of the community, because not only do people in the community understand, okay, that's a place that I can go to and hang out, I don't got to worry about weird questions, weird looks, and then you also bring in the people that are normal about it, or it's like, yeah, I just want people to relax.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: Since starting her career four years ago, drag artists ThatQueerIsa has embarked on another journey, motherhood.

THATQUEERISA: I feel like a mother for my first drag child. There was this girl. Her name is Jaslyn, but I saw her performing, and I just had a different feeling that I knew that she was from the area, she was very new at drag, and I just immediately felt the need to mentor her.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: In the absence of biological family acceptance or support, queer communities have historically created and continue to form their own families in the queer performance worlds of drag and voguing. A mother trains others in the art form, and often provides housing, economic opportunities, and overall support.

THATQUEERISA: And I also wanted to be a mentor, you know, for all my drag children, just to have someone that you can go to literally for anything, support, like if you're having a rough day, call me.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: In this role, Isa leads The Haus of Queer, a Black Indigenous and People of Color drag group.

THATQUEERISA: We represent because we do not have enough representation of our BIPOC performers, BIPOC people in general, especially in the Minnesota Northland.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: In front of the crowd gathered at Duluth Park Point, Isa shares the importance of support from those in and outside the community.

THATQUEERISA: I literally started tearing up, I was like, this is my family, and it is true. The Twin Ports drag scene, the Minnesota drag, queer scene, like they are all my family. They all make me feel safe.

EMILY KRUMBERGER: For North Star Stories, I'm Emily Krumberger.

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HOST: In Minnesota, discrimination against transgender people is prohibited, most health insurance plans are required by law to cover medically necessary gender affirming care, and since 2023, the state has had the Trans Refuge Law, preventing other states from interfering with gender-affirming care provided in Minnesota.

To learn more about how families with transgender children navigate the system, we are joined by Hannah Edwards, the executive director of Transforming Families, a peer-led nonprofit dedicated to supporting transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and questioning youth, alongside their families and support networks. Her organization focuses on community-building, education, legislative advocacy, and confidential peer support. Thank you for joining us.

HANNAH EDWARDS: Thank you so much for having me.

HOST: So, help us, Hannah, understand what the process is for family when a child is questioning their gender.

HANNAH EDWARDS: A lot of times, parents know that supporting your kid is the best thing you can do, but they don't know what that means or how to do that, and so they're looking for the same community that their child might be looking for. The family is going through a transition as well, and so they're looking for others who have gone on this journey, people who are currently still navigating those same things to help answer questions and to help find those resources, whether it be health care or best practices in school. It's hard because there's a lot of misinformation out there.

HOST: What's the difference between transgender, for people that don't understand, also non-binary, gender non-conforming, and this is something I've hadn't heard of until now, Is questioning youth. What's the difference between all of those?

HANNAH EDWARDS: Questioning youth is just anybody who's in that process of thinking about their gender. Sometimes this really refers to some of our younger members at Transforming Families. I've seen children who come to transforming families and say, I know that I am not a cisgender girl, right? So, someone whose gender identity aligns with that sex they were assigned at birth. I know that's not me, but I'm not sure if I'm non-binary or if I'm a trans boy, or maybe I'm even something called gender fluid, right, where I'm part of that non-binary umbrella, but kind of more fluid in those spaces. And so transgender is that term that's opposite of cisgender, right? So transgender would be someone whose gender identity is not the same as that sex that they were assigned at birth, and so I always use myself and my daughter is an example. I have a trans daughter. She was assigned male at birth, but she's always known herself to be the girl and the young woman that she's becoming, right? So she's a transgender woman. I was assigned female at birth. I've always known myself to be the girl then the woman I am now. I am cisgender. Non-binary is a term that is kind of an umbrella that sometimes non-binary people will identify as trans because nobody's being assigned non-binary at birth, but a lot of people, that's their own term, right? And there's a whole host of terms that go underneath it that can mean someone who is maybe a mix of both or neither, something that's kind of entirely outside of the gender identity binary that we know, so that would be non-binary.

HOST: So, what resources, Hannah, are there for families outside the Twin Cities metro area?

HANNAH EDWARDS: I feel really proud of Transforming Families. I've been the executive director for four years now, and in that four years, we've expanded outside of the metro. And so we've got a parent caregiver only in Afton, we've got a Mankato meeting where we have all three of those groups I mentioned previously, of parent, caregiver, and then our littles and our teens and tweens. We have a Rochester and a Duluth meeting, and so we're hoping to really keep expanding into other locations as well.

HOST: So, what do you say, Hannah, to Minnesotans who question the fact that teens can't quite get a tattoo under the age of 18, even with parental consent, but they can get puberty blockers and hormone therapy, which they would say is even more life-changing than a tattoo?

HANNAH EDWARDS: I would say, first of all, get to know a trans kid. After a decade of advocacy and work, the trans kids who I see that are healthy and happiest, their parents are following the best practice medical advice, which is actually to support your child through their transition, whether that be social or medical. Your child is going to go through puberty, that is a given, no matter what happens, whether your kid is cisgender or trans or non-binary, they have to go through puberty. That's part of human life. But we know that the best mental health and life expectancy outcomes for trans and non-binary youth is for them to go through the puberty that aligns correctly with their gender identity. So rather than having your child go through these permanent altercations of puberty, giving them a puberty blocker to decide what puberty is going to be best for them, and then helping support them through the correct puberty once they do decide whether that's taking the blocker out and going through the puberty they were assigned at birth or exploring the other direction, right? And doing hormones and affirming their gender that way, rather than having to have surgeries later or having higher suicide ideation and depression tendencies, the best way to have a happy, healthy trans kid is to support them.

Chantel SinGs: For sure. Hannah, thank you so much for all the work that you're doing with the young people, and just helping them through their process, and we appreciate your time today.

HANNAH EDWARDS: Thank you. I was glad to be here.

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HOST: After the break, how the state is getting ready to light the torch for a very special sports competition for the first time. This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, produced by AMPERS with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. We'll be right back.

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HOST: You are listening to North Star Stories. I'm Chantel SinGs.

In other news from around the state, Rochester students will start getting the day off from school for one of Islam's biggest holidays. The school board approved closing the school for Eid al-Adha in 2028, a major Muslim holiday marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. It's a time of prayer, family gatherings, and giving. Eid is a lunar holiday, meaning it falls on different days every year, sometimes interfering with student attendance. Rochester Superintendent Dr. Kent Pakel says the district has a trend of high absenteeism among Muslim students on the holiday.

DR. KENT PAKEL: We know from multiple years of evidence we'll be likely otherwise engaged.

HOST: District leaders say the calendar change better reflects the students they serve. Rochester is home to one of Minnesota's larger Somali communities.

Just south of the Twin Cities, Dakota County officials are warning of a sharp spike in overdoses and say fentanyl may be to blame. The Dakota County Drug Force says there were 23 suspected overdoses and two suspected fatal overdoses at the start of the month. Officials say the overdoses may be tied to fentanyl in the local drug supply and warn that any street drug could contain it. The county is urging people to carry Narcan, which can reverse an overdose, and says free fentanyl test strips are available anonymously at county locations.

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HOST: Thousands of athletes living with disabilities from across the country are preparing to gather in the Twin Cities for this year's Special Olympics. Reporter Katharine DeCelle talks with organizers and athletes about what's bringing the games to Minnesota for the first time and how we're preparing to welcome the Olympic flame.

MIKE LEE: The National Special Olympics are coming to Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota. Over 8,000 athletes and 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers, and 75,000 fans are going to be here.

KATHARINE DECELLE: That's Mike Lee. He has been an athlete with the Special Olympics for more than 20 years.

MIKE LEE: I like about Special Olympics the friends that I met throughout the years.

KATHARINE DECELLE: For more than 50 years, Special Olympics has used sports to create opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities, building confidence, friendships, and inclusion. This summer, Mike and his friends will experience a once in a lifetime event. For the first time in history, the games are coming to Minnesota. Thousands of athletes from all 50 states will come to compete in 16 different sports. But before athletes can take the court, jump in the pool, or step onto the lanes, Minnesota had to win the chance to host the games. Kelly Manicardi is the head of delegation for Special Olympics Team Minnesota. She says Minnesota put in a bid five years ago to host the games.

KELLY MANICARDI: It's a very big bid process, similar to when other big events come to a city or a state. Special Events Minnesota partnered with some of the same folks that brought the Super Bowl to Minnesota and submitted a bid.

KATHARINE DECELLE: After a competitive bidding process, Minnesota was selected to host the games and began preparing venues and getting ready to welcome the country.

KELLY MANICARDI: Once the bid was awarded, Special Olympics recruited a CEO for the games. They have a board of directors, they have staff, and so working on all aspects of the games started right away, especially nailing down the venues that would be used.

KATHARINE DECELLE: During the week of competitions, athletes, coaches, and support staff from all 50 states will live together on the U of M Minneapolis campus in the dorms with meals, snacks, and essentials like bedding, towels, and toiletries provided. Team Minnesota is being represented by 258 athletes from communities across the state.

KELLY MANICARDI: We do have the biggest program going to these games, given that we are the host program. There are states that are represented by as little as 10 or 15. That comes down to the way each state wants to contribute until we get to the total of around 3,000 athletes that will be at the game.

KATHARINE DECELLE: One of those athletes representing Minnesota is Kayla.

KAYLA: For Special Olympics, I do basketball.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Heading into her first USA Games, Kayla says she's feeling a little bit of everything.

KAYLA: Excited, nervous.

KATHARINE DECELLE: When asked what she's nervous about, she says—

KAYLA: Maybe like staying in a dorm by myself for a week. I have epilepsy. Julie will hang on to my emergency med in case anything happens. If I have a seizure in the middle of a game.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Julie is Julie Gartner, one of Kayla's basketball coaches. She says getting to play in the USA Games takes years of preparation and involves a thorough selection process.

JULIE GAERTNER: Players go through an interview process where someone from our state office comes in and interviews all the players to make sure you are committed that you are going to stay on the campus from June 19 until June 2.

KATHARINE DECELLE: All Minnesota athletes will get a chance to meet each other before the games at the kickoff event.

JULIE GAERTNER: The kickoff is in June 19 in Brooklyn Park, where we're all having a big breakfast, and then everybody puts their stuff on the bus, and then as Team Minnesota, we go to the university as the team.

KATHARINE DECELLE: For Julie's athletes, this competition will be different from anything they've done before.

JULIE GAERTNER: We have not played any of these other individuals from any other state in basketball. We've only played basketball against other teams in Minnesota. I would expect very high-level competition.

KATHARINE DECELLE: The excitement is already building.

JULIE GAERTNER: I'm really excited, because this is a once in a lifetime deal for me. The experience of watching these athletes achieve and accomplish and celebrate all their hard work, I think that's really rewarding to me.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Before competitions can begin, Minnesota waits to receive a powerful Olympic symbol.

KELLY MANICARDI: We have a torch.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Here's Kelly again from Special Olympics.

KELLY MANICARDI: It started its journey. Special Olympics staff and athletes taking the torch from Chicago, which is where the official permanent cauldron is, to the west coast, to the east coast, and back to Minnesota. It will travel around the state to various communities, including a segment on the river in canoes.

KATHARINE DECELLE: The torch will arrive June 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for opening ceremonies.

KELLY MANICARDI: Opening ceremonies is the grand event you have in your head when you think about the Five Ring Olympics.

KATHARINE DECELLE: Athletes from every state will march into the stadium wearing their team uniforms.

KELLY MANICARDI: There is a parade of athletes. They're all announced in. Then they sit on the infield of Huntington Bank Stadium, while the stands are full of friends and family and spectators.

KATHARINE DECELLE: You don't have to be an athlete to be a part of the USA games. Everyone is invited to come cheer, celebrate, and watch the sports. For athletes like Mike, it's about more than sports.

MIKE LEE: Special Olympics is fun playing sports and getting out there, showing us inclusions and being healthy and fit.

KATHARINE DECELLE: After years of preparation, it's finally game time. Thousands of athletes from all 50 states are coming together in Minnesota for a week of competition, connection, and celebration.

MIKE LEE: For more information, visit 2026 Special Olympics USA games.org

KATHARINE DECELLE: For North Star Stories, I'm Katharine DeCelle.

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HOST: The Special Olympics mission goes beyond competition. Each event is designed to promote inclusion, break down stigma, and create opportunities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

To learn more about the history of the event, we're joined now by Marcus Onsum, the executive secretary for the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association. This program gives high school students with physical and cognitive disabilities the opportunity to compete in interscholastic sports. He has been involved in adapted athletics for more than 20 years and is a two-time Coach of the Year for the Minnesota Adapted Coach Association. Thank you for joining us.

It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

MARCUS ONSUM: It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

HOST: How did you get involved in working with athletes with disabilities?

MARCUS ONSUM: I grew up with two siblings that muscular dystrophy, and they participated in the Adaptive Athletics program in the school district where we lived. And after I graduated from high school and had the opportunity to be involved in watching and supporting their Adaptive Athletics program, I was presented with an opportunity to coach that same program. Started out as an assistant coach, and progressed my way to the head coach, and things just kind of took off from there. I ended up spending more than 30 years involved with our adapted athletics program, and now I've taken on more administrative roles with the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association.

HOST: As a coach, how is it working with athletes living with different disabilities?

MARCUS ONSUM: It's challenging, but you know that challenge really leaves the tremendous rewards as a coach. It really puts you in a position where you have to look at each individual athlete, you know, on a one-to-one basis and become very familiar with their needs and with their abilities, and figure out ways that you can work with them to help them find. And individual success within the team concept.

HOST: Have any of your athletes competed in an event like this?

MARCUS ONSUM: I've had a few athletes over the years that have gone on and had some participation and being competitive once they graduated from high school, and our Minnesota State High School League sanctioned sports were no longer available to them. So many of them sought out the opportunity to be involved in Special Olympics, you know, things like track and field and basketball, and, and softball, and things like that.

HOST: Has the games legacy helped change how people view athletes with disabilities?

MARCUS ONSUM: Absolutely, even in today's day and age, there are people, you know, out there within our communities that haven't been exposed to athletes with disabilities or different sports competition geared towards those athletes. And the more that we can put these athletes in the forefront and show that they're really just competitors, they want, they want to be involved in sports, they want that sense of community that comes along with being in a team sport, or with that desire to set personal goals and work towards those goals, you know. Maybe if they're competing in an individual event, the more we put those things in front of the general community, the more opportunities we have for those athletes and those athletic opportunities to become more widely accepted and just become a part of our communities in general. You know, hopefully breaking down some of those barriers that these are different or that these activities are less competitive, and it's just really genuinely human beings competing and participating in things that they enjoy.

HOST: Anything else you want to add to the conversation, Marcus?

MARCUS ONSUM: And I just think that, you know, continuing to promote adaptive athletics, whether it's through Special Olympics or it's through, you know, a wheelchair basketball organization, or the Minnesota State High School League, the Minnesota Adapted Athletics Association. I think that's just crucial. These opportunities exist for a reason. These athletes want to compete, they, they need to have the resources available to them, and they need to have access to the programs that are going to keep them physically active and engaged with their community and socializing with their peers and such. So it's important that we just all continue to work together to present these opportunities to people as often as we can, and to support them and make them become more mainstream. So we're not looking at adapted athletic opportunities as something that's different in the realm of sports, it's just a different form of sports.

HOST: Well, that's all the time we have. Thank you so much for joining us.

MARCUS ONSUM: You're very welcome. I appreciate it.

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HOST: And finally, Twin Cities baby Cameron Chung has been named the 2026 Gerber baby after winning the company's national photo search. Gerber says it chose Cameron for his contagious smile and his family's story. The winning photo captured one of baby Cameron's first big smiles after a cold Minnesota walk. His parents will receive $50,000, a Gerber wardrobe, and a chance to see Cameron in Gerber campaigns over the next year.

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HOST: This is it for today's program. If you missed any part of today's newscast, you can find this and past episodes at AMPERS.org or listen to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. You can also get North Star Stories daily on our website or check your favorite station's schedule. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week with more stories and voices from the North Star State.

OUTRO: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at AMPERS.org.