Braver Angels 2025 tour
Brainerd

Reduce the Rancor Minnesota Bus Tour

(Worthington, Willmar, Kerkoven, Fergus Falls, Moorhead, Bemidji and Brainerd)

April 24-May 3, 2025

Three Events for Brainerd/Baxter and Surrounding Areas
Friday, May 2, 2025

Local citizens in Brainerd and surrounding areas are working with Braver Angels Minnesota to offer several events in your area. Begun in 2016, Braver Angels is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit with a particularly strong base in Minnesota dedicated to reducing unhealthy polarization without either side compromising its values. BA offers proven methods and strategies that people can use immediately to forge better relationships. By using these tools and supporting efforts to reduce the rancor, we can strengthen our communities and our democratic republic.   

Questions? Barb Cromwell, cromwell.eb@protonmail.com or Melinda Voss, Minnesota Braver Angels mvoss@braverangels.org.

Managing Difficult Conversations with Constituents and Colleagues Workshop
Only for elected officials and administrators who deal with the public (lunch is provided)

10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 2
Central Lakes Community College 501 W College Dr, Brainerd, MN 56401
Room E203      (Park in the North Lot and enter Door #6)  See map

Register (includes luncheon registration)

In a time when norms of civility and compromise have broken down, this lively and interactive 90-minute workshop offers elected officials and public administrators a way to build additional skills for managing conversations when constituents or colleagues are frustrated, angry, or locked in their viewpoints. Led by a national Minnesota-based Braver Angels leader, the workshop includes four specific skills and guided practice around common scenarios that elected officials encounter every day. The focus is on one-to-one conversations rather than large public meetings. The goals are for you to be able to:

• Show people who disagree with you that they have been heard.

• Find areas of commonality or agreement when those are present.

• Share your view in a way that is likely to be heard by the other person. 

There is no charge for this workshop, which has been conducted around the state for the last several years after being endorsed and supported by the Minnesota School Boards Association, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Association of Minnesota Counties and the Minnesota Association of Townships.  

Leadership Luncheon on Bridging Divides in Today's World                 
For elected officials/administrators and community Leaders (Lunch is provided. Registration is limited)
11:45 – 1:15 p.m. Friday, May 2
Central Lakes Community College, 501 W College Dr, Brainerd, MN 56401
Room E203 (Park in the North Lot and enter Door #6) [Updated 4/17] See map
Community Leaders Registration

Nearly all Americans agree that we are too divided. Polarization started at the national level and has spread to local communities and even families. Join us for lunch with community leaders for a guided conversation led by a national Braver Angels leader about how we can head off the forces that divide and instead focus on bridge building in the years ahead. 

A Braver Angels Open House: Bridging Divides, Building Community
For members of the public and  especially Braver Angels members and supporters

2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Friday, May 2
Brainerd Public Library, 416 S 5th St, Brainerd, MN 56401
Registration requested; walk-ins welcome

Tired of toxic polarization and strained relationships? Join us for a Braver Angels Open House—a welcoming space for anyone who wants to bring friends, families, and communities together despite political and cultural differences. Since 2016, Braver Angels has worked to reduce unhealthy divisions without asking anyone to compromise their values. With a strong Minnesota presence, Braver Angels focuses on changing not what people believe, but how they see each other—through respectful disagreement and civic friendship. Come learn how you can be part of the movement to heal our democratic republic, one conversation at a time. Let’s turn discord into dialogue!

Parenting in a Time of Polarization - cancelled

Had been scheduled for 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 2