About 160 protesters lined a paved pedestrian path in Ottertail early on Thursday evening. The path led to Thumper Pond Resort, where U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, a Republican representing Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, was a guest speaker at a $10 ticketed event hosted by American Experiment.
American Experiment is a nonprofit organization that lobbies for “free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility and government accountability,” according to its website.
Protesters from District 7 share their concerns
Of the seven protesters randomly chosen for an interview, all stated they were constituents of Fischbach.
Jenn Johnson, of Detroit Lakes, joined the protest to express her concerns about upholding constitutional rights and attacks on democracy by an oligarchy.
When Johnson was asked what she thought Fischbach should do that she is not doing, she said, “I think Fischbach should be listening to her constituents, and coming out and talking to them.”
Claudia Loll, of Battle Lake, said the protest in Ottertail was a first for her. She joined because she was upset about actions taking place in Washington, D.C. She said she was delighted to see so many people with “very valid” complaints and concerns.
Loll said the message she hopes Fischbach hears from the protest is to not always vote along party lines, and for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. She believed doing so would help prevent cuts to important government services, such as Medicaid and Social Security.
Marsha Odom, of Crookston, said she hopes her representative sees that those protesting are not paid.
In recent weeks, protests have been staged outside Fischbach’s offices in Moorhead and Willmar. Fischbach called the Moorhead protests “garbage” and said she thinks the protesters likely live outside of her district and were possibly being paid to protest, according to reporting from The Forum.
Odom said she had visited Fischbach’s Moorhead office in the past, but it was closed. She added that she had tried calling her representative, but was only allowed to talk to her staff.
“We never get to talk with her,” she said. “The message I want to get to her is, come and listen to us.”
Several protesters in Ottertail on Thursday, March 20, 2025, were interviewed and stated they were constituents of U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach. (Barbie Porter / Perham Focus)
The retired teacher also expressed deep concern about dismantling the Department of Education and the impacts that would have on Title I schools (such as Crookston and Perham), as well as special education services and Title IX, should federal funding go away.
“Why are we doing this?” Loll asked.
Questions unanswered
In the conference room where the gathering was held, the crowd was a mix of constituents who were there to listen, and who had feedback or questions for Fischbach.
Matthew Dean, who served as the majority leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and worked with Fischbach during that time, was the moderator.
Questions came from the moderator, and from index cards that were placed on the tables for attendees.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach remained poised and respectful despite several interruptions from those attending the ticketed event hosted by American Experiment. Fischbach was invited to be a speaker at the event and it was stated she was not paid. (Barbie Porter / Perham Focus)
“It’s always awesome to be in a room full of folks wanting to hear about what’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” Fischbach said in her opening remarks. “So thank you for being here.”
Fischbach is in her third term, serves on the Ways and Means Committee and Rules Committee, and recently announced that she will be seeking a fourth term.
Fischbach said President Donald Trump’s tax policy that was implemented in his first term is set to expire at the end of the year, and that it “had a great impact on the state.”
Before Fischbach could explain, a woman in the crowd stood up and asked what she was doing to help farmers who lost subsidies.
Fischbach replied to the woman, “Ma’am, I’m talking right now, and everybody was listening.”
When the woman persisted, Fischbach said she would continue when the woman sat down and reminded her that other people were there to listen.
The woman noted Fischbach was her representative, and she, too, would like to listen to how she plans to help farmers.
After a few more attempts to get the woman to take a seat, staff asked the woman to leave. The woman complied, one of several asked to leave the event under similar circumstances.
The moderator Dean once again asked Fischbach to explain the state and local impact if the Trump tax cuts were to go away. She cited a tax deduction for small businesses and a child tax credit deduction.
Dean brought the discussion to inflation, asking what Fishbach was doing to reduce the impact on farmers and small business owners.
Fischbach said tax credits and tax provisions are being considered.
The moderator then brought up the Department of Government Efficiency, which is led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Dean suggested DOGE had already found “hundreds of billions of dollars” in savings, which brought forth a lot of laughter from attendees.
“I don’t find anything funny about finding hundreds of billions of dollars in savings,” Dean said.
A woman yelled, “Prove it.”
Dean brought the conversation back to the need to reduce the federal deficit, which is stated to be a goal of DOGE. Several people suggested taxing the rich.
Fischbach also talked about cuts to Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that works with the Children’s Health Insurance Program to provide health coverage to more than 77.9 million U.S. citizens, including children, pregnant women, parents, seniors and individuals with disabilities, according to its website.
Fischbach explained a directive to make cuts to the program, reducing staffing requirements at nursing homes and telehealth to help reduce the Medicaid budget.
A man in the audience asked for more information on how that would translate to savings, and he was asked not to interrupt.
“Why not?” he replied. “We want to get more specific about this. You can’t just say you’re going to cut telehealth and (requirements for nursing home) staffing and save $880 billion. It’s a lie! It’s a lie.”
No further explanation was given by Fischbach.
However, she did talk about the Department of Education being dismantled. Fischbach said Trump did not cut education, but rather the department, and some of the crowd laughed. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the department. Only Congress has the authority to completely shutter the Department of Education.
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The congresswoman went on to say she doesn’t believe federal funding to education would be cut.
Fischbach also spoke on tariffs and stated she agreed with Trump’s policy of charging countries the same tariffs they charge the U.S.
When Fischbach said the country was $38 trillion in debt, several attendees again suggested “taxing the rich.”
Fischbach brought the discussion back to Medicaid, noting for several years utilization of tax funds had not been examined, which resulted in fraud, waste and abuse.
When two different people asked why the inspector general was fired, the moderator decided to conclude the meeting. The inspector general conducts independent and objective audits and investigations to reduce fraud.
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