06/04/2026
An article titled “Rural Minnesota bakery promotes ‘Nuclear Family Month’ as a counter to Pride month” was recently published in the Star Tribune, in which The YES! House provided a statement. We do not appreciate the unbalanced representation of rural values in this article. At DoPT, we advocate for the media to focus less on sensationalizing the pitting of community members against each other and more on including nuanced viewpoints from rural people and places.
To be clear, we at DoPT and The YES! House are committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming, and affirming environment for LGBTQ2IA+ artists, audiences, and community members. For us, Pride is not about exclusion or opposition—it is about intentionally welcoming, acknowledging, and celebrating q***r community members who have not always been represented, supported, or included in public spaces.
There are many Pride events across rural Southwest Minnesota and many residents of the region who support Pride and the q***r community. The statement we provided to the Star Tribune was cut short, so we wanted to include our full statement below, which aims to draw attention to efforts that support Pride in rural Minnesota.
"Carl’s Bakery is our neighbor, and like in many rural places, neighbors don’t always agree on everything. The YES! House is excited to host the second annual Granite Falls Pride celebration. Last year’s celebration drew community-wide support, and it was a very positive and supportive environment. We welcome everyone to join us, including advocates and allies, as we continue cultivating a community of care and celebration for all our neighbors."
If you have questions about Pride or want to get involved, please reach out to The YES! House team. We invite you to support Granite Falls Pride here: link.publictransformation.org/pride26
– The YES! House and Department of Public Transformation
