By Jerry Burnes/Iron Range Today
VIRGINIA — When Talus Bandelow, 19, was younger and living in a smaller rural community in northeastern Minnesota, things weren’t easy being a queer student. The gay-straight alliance at their school consisted of two people because it didn’t feel like the community was safe enough to have one in the first place.
“There were a lot of horrible people there,” Bandelow said.
On a recent August morning, pride flags waved in the breeze at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia during the 3rd annual Range Iron Pride Festival. A few hundred people at a time milled around the vendors and food trucks. Many were draped in various pride shirts and rainbow colors, while a cover band glided through “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters in the background.
The event offered a snapshot into the depth of Greater Minnesota, that when panned out broadly to rural America, is rarely — if ever — spotlighted on the campaign trail or in larger conversations that go beyond the structure of small communities and the working class.
For Bandelow, it illustrated the growth they’ve seen in communities across the region as LGBTQ+ people on the Range have found more acceptance, safety and resources over the years.
“I think there’s a lot more diversity than you can really see from an outside point of view,” Bandelow said. “There’s a lot of queer people all over northern Minnesota and this really shows just how many people there are.”
Organizers of Itasca Pride held their inaugural pride event in June, with music, vendors and a drag show on the Old Central School lawn along Highway 2 in Grand Rapids. In Itasca County, a more staunchly conservative region of northeastern Minnesota, the event drew pushback and a countering “straight pride” rally.
Despite the protest, Itasca Pride Treasurer Karter Starling, 25, said the response was overwhelmingly positive, with about 2,000 people attending throughout the day and more than 50 vendors.
“It kind of felt like we were on a pirate ship right before a big storm — it was batten down the main sails and get ready,” he said. “And the day of, it was like a fever dream.”
Starling and his spouse, Zel Starling, 25, moved to Minnesota a few years ago in part because of legislation protecting transgender people passed by the state under Gov. Tim Walz, who is now running for vice president on the Democratic ticket in November.
Still, there’s more work to be done toward acceptance for transgender people, the Starlings said, and Itasca Pride has engaged the region through speaking events and outreach to local churches, with the goal of reducing transgender suicide rates and connecting them with a broader community.
“I think there’s this view among certain people within the Iron Range that that’s just the Twin Cities,” Zel Starling said of the transgender population. “I think part of our mission is helping them realize that, no, they do have a community up here and they are safe to be who they are.”
Janet Miller, 43, moved to northeastern Minnesota when she was 8 years old and her children now identify within the LGBTQ+ community. Queer people were part of a deep subculture then, who largely hid who they were. Over the years, the tenor of the region has changed — depending on where you live — some areas are very accepting and welcoming, while others “don’t care about who you are as a person.”
The differing personalities of cities and townships throughout the area is one of region’s hallmarks, but also a hurdle for unifying support and education for LGBTQ+ students.
“It’s really a different ballgame in a rural area,” said Marlise Riffel, who has helped startup the Youth Empowerment for Support & Safety (YESS) group.
Rose Adams has continued her youth advocacy work through YESS, going into schools to talk to students and teachers, and setting up a weekly online support group for those who can’t “hop on a bus” to access one, Riffel said.
Among the barriers rural LGBTQ+ students face are lack of transportation options and being unsupported by adults in their lives. YESS is also exploring a program that would allow students to access books on being gay or transgender, that ship them in unmarked packaging, so they can learn more about themselves without the pressures of walking into a public library.
Zel Starling said the work Itasca Pride does with students is aimed at building a foundation for a more diverse region in the future. They see it as an opportunity for rural communities to build and diversify through young residents whom already have experience and connections to the area.
“If us creating this space make it so that this is a good place to come back to — going off to college and thinking that Grand Rapids is worthwhile to come back to — you don’t have to run away,” Starling said. “It’s all worth it. All the work that we’ve done is worth it.”
Mental health resources for LGBTQ+
NAMI Minnesota: Many in the LGBTQ+ community experience bullying, violence, discrimination and rejection due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Furthermore, many can endure discriminatory or ignorant attitudes from doctors or counselors when trying to seek help.
Youth Empowerment Safety & Support: Contact Rose Adams at 218-780-4837 or yessforyouth@gmail.com.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: We can all help prevent suicide. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States. Call or text 988.
