Legal Aid - Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid

06/17/2026

Recently aired, WCCO-TV revisited clients represented by Melissa Hortman back in 1997. The "local legal aid office" where Melissa Hortman began her legal career, is Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. In short order, she clerked with us, became an attorney with our partners at Central MN Legal Services and scored the largest payout for a housing discrimination case in MN! https://cbsn.ws/4a4fooZ

Before Melissa Hortman was elected to the Legislature and later became speaker of the Minnesota House, she began her career fresh out of law school at a local legal aid office. In her short time doing that work, one family said she made a generational impact on them.

06/17/2026

Celebrating Freedom Day, Legal Aid offices will be closed this Friday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” - Alice Walker

06/15/2026

Ensure the right to vote! Register for an online training, happening Thursday, June 18, to help our Minnesota Disability Law Center this election season. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ae2mne7JTs6zQncrM7VkRw #/registration

Learn what the law requires when it comes to accessibility at polling sites.

Presenters:
Attorney Chad Wilson supervises the MN Disability Law Center's voting rights, outreach and community services integration teams.

Attorney Cynthia Haskin, Pro Bono and Training Coordinator for Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, has 28 years of expertise in the Public Benefits and Family Law.

The Voting Rights Access Project (VRAP) is a program created by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid's Minnesota Disability Law Center to support the broader government initiative known as the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program.

06/11/2026

Welcome ! Mid-MN Legal Aid is pleased to welcome this impressive cohort of summer law clerks and interns. They'll be learning alongside our attorneys, furthering justice for clients of our Community Clinics, Consumer, Disability, Housing, Immigration, Senior, Tax, and Youth law practices. Thank you, Julia, Ignacio, William, Ceciliana, Henrique, Oscar, Patrick, Freyja, Agnes, Gonzalo, Maria and Erika for summering with !

05/27/2026

Thanks for joining us at the Law Day Dinner last month! This night of justice was made extra special by our speakers — from Honoree Rick Hagstrom to surprise guest Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Keynote speaker Neal Katyal rounded out the night with his thoughtful remarks, reigniting our shared commitment to justice.

Mark your calendars for our 46th annual Law Day Dinner on May 6, 2027!

05/21/2026

Our offices and intake lines will be closed Monday, May 25, in honor of all who made the ultimate sacrifice for justice. Reminder, we close at noon every Friday.

05/20/2026

Calling attorneys who want to do more! Join Alison Griffith and fellow attorneys from Legal Aid - Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, The Advocates for Human Rights and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for a special training to help clients in bond/custody redetermination hearings. Sign up now and get CLE credit. Training set for June 4, Noon-1:30 pm
https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Events/A/Index?id=207

05/17/2026

Give this a listen! Legal Aid is grateful to legislative leaders who will work with us to do what's best for kids, even when we intensely disagree about the approach. In this committee hearing, you are witnessing a collegial, respectful exchange, as Legal Aid Attorney Jessica Webster rejects the idea that kindergarteners should be suspended. As she says, "There is no crisis of kindergarteners assaulting teachers..." But there is a crisis of Indigenous kids being suspended at 10 times the rate of white kids, while Black kids are suspended at 8 times the rate."

As the legislative session comes to a close, don't miss your chance to connect with your representatives on this important issue that could forever impact the way children see, accept or reject school.

05/14/2026

Legal Aid is racing the legislative clock, making sure votes concering seclusion are votes that favor the wellbeing of children. If you're a podcast listener, play this! Attorney Jessica Webster explains what it means to isolate kids with disabilities. Time code: 4:23

NSS: Jessica Webster describes the impact that seclusion rooms have on Minnesota children who have experienced the practice. "There's no getting around what this practice is. It is a scary and terrifying experience for the kids who are put in these rooms. They are a traumatic practice."

Thank you to North Star Stories and Producer Jose Ozoria.



https://apple.co/49ll1Pp

Podcast Episode · North Star Stories · May 7 · 29m