Power People Can Afford: Town Hall on the Rising Cost of Energy & What We Can Do

November 13, 2026 • 6pm
UUCD Social Hall-Duluth

Join CURE, Twin Ports DSA, Duluth Indivisible, MN Interfaith Power & Light, Stop the Hermantown Data Center, Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate, Sierra Club North Star Chapter, Duluth Tenants, elected officials, and your friends and neighbors as we come to together to talk about the growing crisis of energy affordability, how it affects our lives, and what we can do about it. There are solutions to the problem of rising energy bills that also put us on the pathway towards a people-powered energy future. But it will take neighbors coming together with neighbors across the Northland to rein in the corporate powers driving up rates and demand an energy system that is affordable, reliable, clean, healthy, and fair. 

Background

On October 13, 2025, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved the acquisition of Minnesota Power by private equity interests including BlackRock, ignoring the opposition from a broad set of Northlanders, including ratepayers, residents, small businesses, and the region’s largest industrial employers. 

On November 1, the one-year rate freeze that was imposed on Minnesota Power will come to an end meaning the utility and its private equity owners will be coming to the PUC to ask for rate hikes that many northern Minnesotans can’t afford.

In the one year since the deal was approved, the public has learned even more about how Minnesota Power was in active conversations with Google about the development of the Hermantown Data Center, a fact that didn’t come to light during the acquisition proceedings. And across the country, ratepayers are seeing their energy bills skyrocket as utilities look to cater to the energy demands of AI hyperscalers while reaping windfall profits.

But the story isn’t over. Across the country, communities are coming together to resist the consolidation of Big Tech, Big Power, and Wall Street that want to subsidize the data center buildout and pad their bottom lines off the backs of ratepayers. Come learn what we can do—on the ground and through policy— to keep our energy bills down and hold Minnesota Power, its Private Equity backers, and Big Tech collaborators to account and make sure we don’t pay the price for their profits.

Come to tell your own story and to hear from community members, local activists, experts, and policy makers about:

  • Why affordable, reliable energy matters for Minnesota families and communities 
  • Who pays when utility costs rise and who benefits from major energy infrastructure decisions 
  • Minnesota Power’s proposed rate case and how it relates to the acquisition by private equity
  • Connecting the dots between the Hermantown data center proposal, the acquisition and rising rates
  • How you can get involved in the upcoming rate case and the 2027 legislative session to help shape utility decisions and advocate for affordable energy
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Kelsey Olson

Kelsey Olson

Director of Environmental Stewardship

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Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.

Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the American Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, canning local produce, and making kombucha.