State of the Rainbow

Who we asked

In June 2026, Lavender Magazine—the Twin Cities’ LGBTQ+ magazine of record for thirty-one years—published its farewell issue. In it, the outgoing owner suggested that when Lavender launched in 1995, Minnesota’s queer community had “virtually no rights,” and that the fight since then had been largely, quietly, won. A coalition of Minnesota LGBTQ+ organizations and state legislators disagreed, publicly and immediately. In an open letter published through Racket, they wrote: “We have not yet arrived. In fact, for many LGBTQ+ Americans, the struggle for equal citizenship is not simply unfinished—it has entered a dangerous new chapter.”

Seven organizations signed that letter: OutFront Minnesota, Transforming Families, Gender Justice, QUEERSPACE Collective, Twin Cities Pride, PFund Foundation, and RARE Productions/Our Space/The Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition. A dozen state legislators signed alongside them: Senators Scott Dibble, Erin Maye Quade, and Clare Oumou Verbeten, and Representatives Sydney Jordan, Athena Hollins, Heather Keeler, Brion Curran, María Isa Pérez-Vega, Liish Kozlowski, Leigh Finke, Liz Reyer, and Jess Hanson.

All seven organizations work on behalf of Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ community— running Pride festivities, advocating and litigating for legal protections, funding grants and scholarships, supporting trans youth and their families, and building spaces where queer and trans Minnesotans, including BIPOC communities long underserved by the broader movement, can find belonging and care.

Q Minnesota exists in the space Lavender’s closure left behind. We went back to the letter’s signers—but we wanted this piece anchored in the organizations doing the work day to day, not the legislators who’d signed alongside them—so we asked all seven a longer set of questions: what, specifically, hasn’t arrived? What has changed inside their organizations since the 2024 election? What do they need right now that they don’t have? If the attacks on trans people and immigrants really are, as the letter argued, “the starting point” rather than the end goal, what do they think comes next? Is there anything about this moment that’s better than people assume? And what should Minnesotans understand before they vote this November? All seven organizations answered.

Andi Otto
he/him · Executive Director, Twin Cities Pride

I have been asked many times how we create and schedule programming, and prior to 2024 with very little variation I could walk through what the year was going to look like, but when the administration changed, we found ourselves needing to be fluid. We were suddenly met with very targeted attacks on everything from trans rights, marriage rights, family rights, and so much more—everything suddenly seemed very uncertain, and the needs of the community were changing so quickly.

In fact, our very first event after the election was the You Belong Community Gathering, a space for community to come together and share our worries and fears and connect with community, including having therapists on site to help facilitate these conversations. Since the new administration has come into power and fully displayed its aggression toward our community, it’s a consistent point to ensure we are listening to the community and providing what they need.

Kat Rohn
they/she · Executive Director, OutFront Minnesota

The federal policy landscape is dire, and Minnesota has been at the forefront of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, threats to essential funding, and outright violence toward our state and its communities. All of these things have had direct impacts on our work, on our employees, and on the communities we serve. There’s a lot that hasn’t changed—which might surprise some people—but ultimately our work is a long game and the work of cultural and systematic change doesn’t rest on one set of political realities.

But there are a couple things that have really changed in terms of the shape of what we are doing to respond to this landscape. We’re spending a lot more time putting out information and messaging to help give our communities and partners what they need to understand the shifts we are seeing and what they mean for Minnesota. We are taking on a lot of work to navigate uncertainties and increased risks of harm to our work and communities—we have more than doubled our spending on physical and digital safety around our work and events. And we’re really doubling down on work to care for our communities: everything from supporting community care spaces in moments of collective grief to pushing out direct support to people in need—like we did this June to support those impacted by the federal occupation, or as we did in partnership with PFund and the Volunteer Lawyers Network to help people who needed to make changes to identity documents.

Megan Peterson
she/her · Executive Director, Gender Justice

The landscape is even more polarized and the volume of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the trans community, is the highest we have ever seen. But one of the things I really want people to understand is that these attacks don’t stay in the headlines or in the legislature. Even here, in a state with strong protections written into law, fearmongering shapes public opinion and people’s everyday experiences. It shows up in how people are treated at work, in school, at the pharmacy counter, in public bathrooms, and in line at the grocery store. That has changed the work.

Some of our work has shifted from advancing new protections to defending the ones we already have. We are spending more time responding to attacks, helping people understand what the law actually says, supporting communities experiencing discrimination, and making sure people know they are not alone. At the same time, we are trying to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. Attacks on trans rights, abortion rights, maternal health care, or protections against workplace discrimination are not separate fights. They are connected by a common thread: gender inequality and the systems that determine whose lives, bodies, families, and choices are valued.

We know political power can change, and courts can be remade. That means our work can’t simply be about winning the next policy fight. We have to build something durable. We need legal protections, political power, and a culture that makes equality harder to take away.

“Everything has changed in the last two years. One of this administration’s biggest targets is trans youth and their families. Trump vows to ‘end transgender’ every chance he can.”

Hannah Edwards, Executive Director, Transforming Families MN

Aaron Zimmerman
he/him · Executive Director, PFund Foundation

Since the 2024 election, our day-to-day work has increased in scope thanks to federal actions that have narrowed recognition, weakened protections, and placed essential services under new pressure. The accompanying rhetoric degrades queer and transgender people, portraying us as threats rather than neighbors entitled to dignity and safety. While much of that rhetoric travels from Washington into the Upper Midwest, we must remain vigilant in our fight on the ground in our own statehouses, school board meetings, clinics, workplaces, shelters, and encounters with law enforcement and immigration authorities.

We are forced to combat hate from so many vantage points. Our grantees report greater fear, heavier demand for legal and mental health support, rising security concerns, and disrupted access to care. We remain prepared to meet our grantees with resources, capacity boosters, and community. Our staff now spends more time monitoring policy, assessing threats, coordinating with legal and advocacy partners, checking on grantee safety, and moving resources in days (or sometimes hours). Need is rising as the funding base becomes less reliable. Some corporate partners that once publicly supported LGBTQ+ communities are now quieter, narrowing commitments or stepping away from work they consider politically risky. Their caution shifts the burden to community foundations, individual donors, and a smaller group of steadfast institutions.

Nicki Hangsleben
they/she · Founder and CEO, QUEERSPACE Collective

Our work has become more urgent, and in some ways, more complicated. We spend more time helping young people, caregivers, mentors, and community partners understand what is actually happening, separate fact from fear, and figure out what it means for them. We’ve had more conversations about legal rights, gender-affirming care, trans youth mental health, and how to navigate systems that can feel increasingly uncertain. At the same time, funding has become scarcer and more unpredictable.

There is a lot of urgency around this moment, but that hasn’t always translated into the sustained resources organizations need to respond well. We’re being asked to do more at exactly the moment when the resources to do it are harder to secure. But I think it’s really important that we don’t let fear become the center of our work. Our young people still need places to laugh, make friends, find mentors, be creative, and just be young. So we’re holding both things at once: responding honestly to the threats while continuing to build spaces rooted in connection, celebration, and joy.

“Since the new administration has come into power and fully displayed its aggression toward our community, it’s a consistent point to ensure we are listening to the community and providing what they need.”

Andi Otto, Executive Director, Twin Cities Pride

Hannah Edwards
she/her · Executive Director, Transforming Families MN

Everything has changed in the last two years. One of this administration’s biggest targets is trans youth and their families. Trump vows to “end transgender” every chance he can. It seemed for a while that the executive orders and attacks were coming two or three per week. Many families have fled the country for safety.

Thankfully, in Minnesota we are still protected by our laws and those who hold public office. Because we’ve had such staunch allies in both the governor’s and attorney general’s offices, we’ve been able to remain safe here in our state. With this promise of safety for trans youth, we’ve seen many families uproot their lives and move to Minnesota.

We’ve seen our meetings double in size in the metro area since the change in administration. We see fifty-plus families consistently at our Minneapolis meeting and thirty-plus at our St. Paul monthly meeting, and many are new to our state. I would say, prior to the election, we spent time spreading awareness and fighting for rights and now, postelection, we are surviving as we fight to maintain the equal rights and safety we’ve secured for our children.

Andi Otto
he/him · Executive Director, Twin Cities Pride

Know your ballot because every position matters. Do your research and look at who they are from a reliable source, so that when you walk into those polls you know how it will affect your life.

Kat Rohn
they/she · Executive Director, OutFront Minnesota

The 2026 elections here in Minnesota are going to shape a lot of how our state responds, both to the remaining years of this administration and how we build back through whatever comes next. For LGBTQ+ Minnesotans I think the most important vote we’ll take will be for attorney general. That role shapes so much of the work our state can do to hold back the harms. But beyond that, Minnesotans will have a new governor come January and the chance to shake up a closely divided legislature that will be tasked with passing a budget in a challenging environment. Minnesotans should ask themselves what values and choices they want to make around how we navigate the work ahead—do we cut back on critical programs and services, or find ways to make up for revenue lost to federal cuts and the economic headwinds of tariffs and global conflict pressures? Even in a high-turnout state like ours, people stay home in higher numbers during midterm elections; please show up, remind your friends, and, if you can, go out and help out a campaign or candidate that matters to you.

“Even in a high-turnout state like ours, people stay home in higher numbers during midterm elections; please show up, remind your friends, and, if you can, go out and help out a campaign or candidate that matters to you.”

Kat Rohn, Executive Director, OutFront Minnesota

Megan Peterson
she/her · Executive Director, Gender Justice

Minnesotans vote in high numbers, and we should be proud of that. But voting is only one part of what it means to participate in our democracy.

As you make your plan to vote, make sure the people in your life vote, too. Help your neighbors get to the polls. The margin in elections is often thin enough that the friend or family member you get to the polls can genuinely change outcomes. And pay close attention to the conversations happening around the election—you have power to help shape them within your communities.

When candidates or public figures use people’s lives as political weapons, speak out. No one should be dehumanizing trans people for political gain or using immigrants as political scapegoats. We must not accept cruelty as the price of winning an election. Use your voice to encourage candidates to be bold in standing up for trans justice, immigrant rights, economic justice, and the dignity and freedom of all Minnesotans.

Because elections are not just about what happens on Election Day. They are an opportunity to decide what we expect from the people who want to represent us and what kind of political culture we are willing to create. Our work doesn’t end when the votes are counted. We build relationships with candidates and elected officials. We help elect champions who share our vision for a more just Minnesota. And then we organize alongside them to advance a bold agenda that improves people’s lives.

So yes, vote. Vote in every election. Bring someone with you. Have conversations. Challenge the cruelty. Ask candidates to be courageous. And then keep showing up after Election Day. That is how we build political power not just for one election, but for the long term.

Aaron Zimmerman
he/him · Executive Director, PFund Foundation

It’s important to understand that the ballot directly affects the conditions our community has to show up in. Minnesotans know what it means to care for our neighbors, but the 2024 election tied rocks and boulders of varying sizes to our ankles. This additional weight is caused by our government trying (and at times, succeeding) to take away our health care, our employment, our educational pursuits, our lives. PFund operates under the presumption that everyone in our community has a role in advancing our liberation; the same is true for our democracy. We all owe it to our community to get involved, advocate, vote, and protest.

Nicki Hangsleben
they/she · Founder and CEO, QUEERSPACE Collective

Rights don’t disappear only through dramatic legislation. They can be weakened through budgets, agency rules, judicial appointments, school board decisions, health-care coverage, book removals, and the failure to enforce protections that already exist. So I would encourage Minnesotans to look beyond what a candidate says about supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Look at what they have actually done. What have they funded? How have they voted? Whose expertise do they listen to? What happens to the people who are most vulnerable under their policies? And pay attention to local elections. The decisions made by school boards, city councils, county leaders, and state legislators can have an enormous impact on what a young person experiences every day in their school, their library, their health-care system, and their community.

“What we need to do in Minnesota is keep the people in office who are doing work on behalf of our community, and move out the people who are actively working against us. We do have one of the best states to live in as a queer person, but we still have to protect the seats we have and win the seats we need.”

Roxanne Anderson, Executive Director, RARE Productions/Our Space/The Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition

Hannah Edwards
she/her · Executive Director, Transforming Families MN

There are people who want to end safety for trans youth in Minnesota and in this country. It is vital and essential that we elect leaders who support trans youth. We have about 1,500 group members from all across the state of Minnesota. That is a lot of trans kids and their families, and the safety of these group members hinges on the right people being in charge here in Minnesota. Our ability to remain in Minnesota and this country depends on having people in office who aren’t afraid to unequivocally support trans kids from a place of authentic love and protection. We can elect those leaders in November.

Roxanne Anderson
they/them · Executive Director, RARE Productions/Our Space/The Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition

Other than everything? This election is kind of everything—we’ve probably all heard that before, that this moment, this issue, is everything. But really, what we need to do in Minnesota is keep the people in office who are doing work on behalf of our community, and move out the people who are actively working against us. We do have one of the best states to live in as a queer person, but we still have to protect the seats we have and win the seats we need. We are, after all, a very purple state—the blue is in Minneapolis and St. Paul, in Duluth, a little in Rochester, but the rest of the state is pretty red. We have a lot of work to do this election to keep the seats we have and get the seats we need.

03

We Are Not Going Back

What all seven answers add up to.

Seven organizations, seven sets of priorities, one throughline: not one of them describes a community that has arrived, and not one of them describes a community that is sitting still. The farewell that started all of this read the last thirty years as a finished story. The people still doing the work read it as a chapter—and they can all tell you exactly which pages are being torn out right now.

Between now and Election Day, the version of this story that matters isn’t the one coming out of Washington. It’s the one on the ballot Minnesotans will fill out for attorney general, for governor, for the legislature, and for the school boards and city councils that decide, far more quietly, whether what this state built stays standing.

And those votes will say it: We are not going back.

“I think it’s really important that we don’t let fear become the center of our work. Our young people still need places to laugh, make friends, find mentors, be creative, and just be young. So we’re holding both things at once: responding honestly to the threats while continuing to build spaces rooted in connection, celebration, and joy.”

Nicki Hangsleben (they/she), Founder and CEO, QUEERSPACE Collective

Editor’s note. This is the first annual State of the Rainbow feature. Each year, we’ll ask Minnesota’s LGBTQ+ organizations what’s changed since the last election and what they want voters to know before they head to the polls in November.

From the shoot

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