Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace (BACP) held our monthly meeting on Monday, October 3, 2022, at 7 p.m. The meeting took place in the Brainerd United Church of Christ (UCC) upstairs library. Richard Schiller, Larry Mjolsness, Donna Bowen, and Doug Olson joined the BACP meeting. Meeting participants discussed the Fall BACP Adopt a Highway cleanup scheduled for Saturday, October 15. Cleanup volunteers will meet in the parking lot of Knottys on 371 restaurant (the former Cabin Fever) at 11 a.m. to plan the cleanup. Knottys on 371 is located off Highway 76, north of Little Falls. The cleanups usually take a few hours. If bad weather forces the cleanup to be cancelled, the cleanup will be held on Saturday, October 22. [The Fall BACP Adopt a Highway cleanup took place on Saturday, October 15. Judi and Richard Schiller, Doug Olson, Doug's dad Joe Olson, and Brainerd Lakers United for the Environment (BLUE) chair Dean Borgeson joined the cleanup. Cleanup volunteers used 12 bags for litter.] Meeting participants agreed BACP should hold a peace vigil later in October. The Fall BACP peace vigil will be held on Saturday, October 29. The vigil will be held at the intersection of Sixth and Washington Streets, Brainerd, across from the historic Brainerd water tower. The vigil will begin at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to last an hour. The vigil will support an armistice ending the fighting in Ukraine and a peace settlement ending the Ukraine War. The vigil will oppose the U.S. providing weapons and training to the Ukrainian military because this prolongs the war and risks a war between the U.S. and Russia. The vigil will call upon the U.S. to support every diplomatic effort to peacefully end the Ukraine War. The vigil will demand the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East, an end to drone assassinations, and the termination of U.S. support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate's brutal war on Yemen. The vigil will demand an end to the U.S. sanctions regime and regime change operations. The vigil calls upon the U.S. to peacefully resolve disputes with other nations by using diplomacy which respects international law, national sovereignty, and the right to self-determination. The vigil will support cutting the extravagant U.S. military budget and using the funds for human needs and environmental protection. The vigil is in solidarity with the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) call for peace vigils and marches. UNAC's Week of Action takes place from Saturday, October 15 through Saturday, October 22 but peace groups can hold events anytime. For more information about UNAC, please visit unacpeace.org [The Fall BACP peace vigil went very well. Larry Fisk, Gayle Nielsen, Mary Benson, Doug Olson, Larry Mjolsness, and Isaiah Oleson joined the peace vigil. The vigil received an overwhelmingly positive response from passing motorists. Because of the good weather, the vigil lasted longer than scheduled, continuing until 2:45 p.m.] Doug shared information he received from Brainerd Lakes Area Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) co-chair Julius Kapushinski about a possible strike by the Pequot Lakes schools support staff. Represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Pequot Lakes schools support staff (i.e. paraprofessionals, secretaries, school nurses, custodians, cafeteria workers) are demanding pay and benefits comparable to what support staff in the Brainerd, Crosby-Ironton, and Pine River-Backus school districts receive. The support staff overwhelmingly rejected an inadequate contract offer from the Pequot Lakes School District. They voted to go on strike, barring a settlement, on Tuesday, October 11. Julius asked if BACP members would support a strike by the Pequot Lakes schools support staff. Meeting participants supported the Pequot Lakes schools support staff's goals of better pay and benefits. They would support a strike if it happens. [A strike was averted by a tentative contract agreement reached late in the evening on Monday, October 3 between the SEIU and the Pequot Lakes School District. The tentative contract provided substantial pay increases and significantly improved benefits for support staff. According to a Wednesday, October 5 Brainerd Dispatch article on the tentative contract agreement, the Pequot Lakes schools support staff strongly supported the agreement and will probably ratify the contract in November.] Doug provided an update on fellow BACP member Bruce Sundberg. Bruce lives in the Rivers Edge assisted living facility in Aitkin. Doug visited Bruce on Wednesday, September 28. Bruce and Doug enjoyed a good conversation. Bruce was in good spirits. Bruce may move to the Woodland Good Samaritan assisted living facility in Brainerd in late 2022/early 2023. This move would make it much easier for many of Bruce's friends to visit him. Bruce greatly appreciates every letter and card he receives. He misses going to BACP meetings, vigils, and events. If you would like to write to Bruce, his address is: Bruce Sundberg Rivers Edge 11 Minnesota Ave. S Apartment # 210 Aitkin, MN 56431 If you would like to visit Bruce, please call the staff at Rivers Edge at (218) 429-5785 to arrange a visit. The next monthly BACP meeting will be held on Monday, November 7 at 7 p.m. The BACP meeting will be held online via the Zoom website. The meeting will last 40 minutes, the maximum amount of time Zoom allots for free meetings. BACP will meet online through at least April. A link to the online November BACP meeting will be sent out with the meeting notice. The BACP meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. BACP Meeting Notes Submitted by Doug Olson