At the recent DFL Working Families Picnic, attendees were given three blue stickers and shown a large board that featured a list of current issues.  People were asked to place stickers by the issues they were most concerned about.  After the picnic the stickers were tallied by the Winona County DFL to give a snapshot of what people were thinking on that day. ( Readers may remember that the  WCDFL had done a similar project at the county fair this past summer, when passers-by were encouraged to put kernels of seed corn into jars labeled with a similar list of concerns: (https://winonadfl.org/2025/07/28/county-fair-corn-poll-the-results-are-in/).)

Results from the Working Families Picnic showed that people’s top concern was “Budget Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and Other Programs” (66 votes).  Other concerns on people’s minds included “Climate Change” (64 votes).  The third most important concern, with 59 votes, was “Due Process Rights for Everyone.”  “Tax Cuts for the Wealthy and Big Business” got 49 votes, “Cost of Living & Affordable Housing” got 32 votes, and “Gun Control” ran a distant sixth place with 15 votes. 

The issues board had space for people to write in their own concerns—and people did. A number were concerned with support for education, the situation in Gaza, and rising authoritarianism.  Immigration reform, women’s health and freedom, and voting rights were listed by several people.   One person wanted to share concerns about cuts to the Wildlife Refuge.

As always, a survey like this only tells us how a particular group of DFLers is feeling on a particular day.  But the County Fair corn poll also put “Budget Cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Other Programs” near the top (second place). This tells us that, despite the many things people are currently worried about, Winona DFLers are united in believing that their neighbors should be able to afford medical care and groceries.   

We should contrast that belief with the GOP’s current willingness, at the national level, to keep the government shut down rather than meet with Democrats to discuss preventing devastating health insurance premium hikes (a callous strategy supported by our own U.S. Representative, Brad Finstad).  As for SNAP cuts, the GOP attitude has been “let them eat cake.”  On the local level, native Winonan Steve Drazkowski, currently GOP State Senator for District 20, is famously on record as saying he has “yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry.”  DFLers apparently know better, as shown by their recent response to the picnic poll.  (Winona Volunteer Services Food Shelf statistics show a 25% increase in visits in 2024).  

All of the concerns on the board at the Working Families Picnic represent issues that our society must solve if our communities are going to survive and prosper..  Democrats have a track record of trying to solve them.  The Republicans have a track record of denial, obstruction, and opposition.