On April 21, Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District played host to two US Representatives.

It’s own Representative Pete Stauber, met with the Carlton County Republicans in a meeting at the Cloquet Public Library. While not an open meeting, it did draw a large crowd, once the United We Stand – Cloquet Indivisible found out about Stauber’s visit.

Demonstrators worked their way up and down the sidewalk for several blocks in front of the library, in relative quiet. Apart from usual horns from passing cars, there was little to no chanting or yelling that are typical of protests. As the protest was held in a residential area, organizers requested this unusual quiet from the crowd. Most let their signs speak for them, calling on Stauber to hold an in-person town hall. While the Congressman has hosted “call-in” telephone townhalls, Cloquet Indivisible says they’re not satisfied.

“He talks and hardly anybody gets to ask questions and doesn’t really answer the questions.” said Joan Peterson, an organizer with Cloquet Indivisible. “I’ve been on them before. You can’t ask a question if you don’t agree with him” She added.

WDIO did inquire about attending the meeting to speak with the Representative regarding the protest, but were told the event was not open to the press.

Representative Angie Craig meanwhile, held a town hall style meeting on the range, despite representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District, which comprises much of the southern Twin Cities metro area.

Hosted at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids, the meeting was the first of four stops for Craig throughout the week. The congresswoman is holding one in each of the four districts held by GOP representatives.

“I made a comment that if my Republican colleagues weren’t going to do in person town halls themselves to come and listen to their constituents, that I would come and do it. And I also said if they’ll come do it in person, I’ll stay home in Minnesota’s second district.” Representative Craig told WDIO in an interview.

While Craig did answer questions during her meeting, they were not asked directly by audience members.

When asked to comment on Craig’s visit, Representative Stauber issued the following Statement:

“By holding DFL rallies in Congressional Districts she does not represent, Representative Craig has made her dream of replacing Tina Smith in the Senate abundantly clear. However, if Representative Craig wants Minnesotans to trust her with taxpayer money in the Senate, she should stop using U.S. House taxpayer resources to advertise and host campaign events.”

At the time of writing, Craig has not declared her candidacy for Senate.