On February 8, faith and indigenous leaders gathered a beautiful spirit-led action at the office of Governor Walz. Together we delivered a clear moral message that Line 3 poses an unacceptable risk to water, climate, indigenous communities, and Indigenous elder Sharon Day presented a basket of hand-harvested wild rice to Walz staffers. The following Tuesday, after a groundswell of opposition from across the state, the Walz Administration refiled the Department of Commerce appeal of Enbridge’s Line 3, a huge first step and a definitive win for the grassroots movement to Stop Line 3! Deep gratitude to everyone who called, organized, prayed, and spoke out for this outcome. Read the MPR story here.

The DOC appeal was the first test for the Walz administration to show where they stood on the issue of Line 3. Republican lawmakers were pushing strongly for him to drop the appeal, which would clear an open path for Enbridge to have their way with the new pipeline. 

We were hearing left and right that Walz was likely to drop it, but thanks to you all, who flooded the governor’s office with calls, emails, prayers, and your own physical presence last Friday for a beautiful sacred circle (videos,media, photos), Governor Walz changed course. He listened to the power of the people, and you all made that happen.  

In early March, Enbridge announced a year-long delay in its expected completion date, in response to new permitting timelines released by the Walz administration. While the delay is positive news, Enbridge remains committed to building and completing the pipeline, and bold leadership to halt the project in order to protect our climate and indigenous rights is important as ever.