02-05-2025
About 90 people gather for May Day march in Jamestown
May 2—JAMESTOWN — About 90 people showed up on Main Street in Jamestown on Thursday, May 1, for a peaceful May Day march to support working families and protest cuts to federal programs and workers.
Individuals gathered with signs opposing the Trump administration's actions in front of St. John's Lutheran Church before marching north on First Avenue. They stopped in front of the mural at Hugo's Family Marketplace where they were met with some honks in support and others in opposition.
Protesters gathered on streets nationwide on Thursday to recognize May Day, which is celebrated by workers across the globe as International Labor Day on May 1 each year.
"Well, we have just an interest in being proactive against the things that the Trump administration is doing and this seemed like a good opportunity to show that disagreement," said Don Caine, a Jamestown resident. "So we're just trying to be proactive in all of those things and this is one way to do it."
He said all workers have rights.
"We want equality for everyone," Caine said.
He said everyone should be benefiting from the federal government, not just the rich.
"We see that eroding under Trump, and so that's why we protest and do what we can," he said.
Barb Lang, a League of Women Voters member and organizer of the event, said there are concerns with what will happen to federal workers who work in Jamestown.
"We think we've got at least 100 families in Jamestown that are working for the federal government," she said.
She said those families have people who work at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Postal Service and the Pipestem Dam safety modification project.
"There's lots of federal workers here," she said. " ... We want to support them."
Jamestown resident Marty Toepke-Floyd said the No. 1 reason he joined the gathering is because the federal government's environmental policy has been thrown into chaos.
"We've got to get our act together and stop climate change," he said. "The current administration is going the opposite direction. It's opposite to the teachings of the church that I belong to, and it's violating solid science."
Toepke-Floyd said he's disappointed with the policies that are coming from Washington, D.C.
"They claim to be saving money and building efficiency, but so much of what they're doing is counterproductive," he said. "It's wasting money. It's ruining people's lives. Civil servants have moved and taken jobs and then had the rug pulled out from underneath them."
He also said the Trump administration is getting rid of federal workers, including those with the National Labor Relations Board and judges.
"They're just doing things that are just counter to labor and unions," he said. "They're trying to stop a lot of things. So it's just plain wrong, and it's violating people's civil and human rights."
Toepke-Floyd said it isn't right for Elon Musk, the world's richest man, to make decisions about people's lives without any kind of study or authorization from Congress.
"I don't understand why our Congress delegation from North Dakota isn't screaming bloody murder," he said. "If this had happened under (Joe) Biden or (Barack) Obama, they'd be screaming and people are just afraid of the man in the Oval Office, who is bullying the country."
Vicki Voldal Rosenau, of Valley City, North Dakota, said democracy is in peril.
'It looks as if it's up to the people to stop it," she said. "Congress is inert and the administration is locked by fear. I'm just afraid for the future."
She said she's upset about Donald Trump undermining and threatening judges and people getting deported.
"You can't say deporting, because nobody's getting deported," she said. "They're extraditing people without due process, which we know is completely illegal and yet they keep doing it."
Jamestown resident Brenda Jensen said she doesn't have a problem with downsizing federal government programs and getting rid of wasteful spending.
"The problem is that they're doing it really quickly and not systematic," she said.
Madison Lyonhart, a Jamestown resident who moved here last year, said Medicaid and education are in danger.
"I have two children that are in the public school system with special needs, and all of those things have come under attack during this present administration, and I'm fearful for the future of my family in this country," she said. "My husband's an immigrant. I'm fearful for his future."
Lyonhart said labor unions and federal workers are under attack.
"We see job loss all across the country, thousands of workers, and today we need to recognize that protections for all of us need to be in place so that we have safety in our job place, reliability for our families, and we don't have to end up asking for extra help," she said. "We should be able to work and provide for our family with our job and not need to work multiple jobs or ask for government assistance. We should just be able to get a living wage and have reliable employment."
Lyonhart also said tariffs and other legislative actions impact local farmers.
"We want our farmers to be able to do their job, to have predictability, so that they know what to plant, when to plant it," she said.
