LWV MN Receives the "Pass the Torch" award

On August 27, 2025, First in the Nation Suffrage Celebration awarded the 2025 "Pass the Torch" award to the League of Women Voters of Minnesota in the Nation Suffrage Celebration at the Capitol. This award recognizes an individual or organization for their efforts to relay the accomplishments of women in history to future generations.  Colleen Feige, LWV MN Vice President, accepted the award from Madeline Hansen of First in the Nation Suffrage Celebration.  

The award, shown at the right, recognizes the League for 105 years of citizen education, voter service and nourishment of our democracy.   The celebration also memorialized the fifth anniversary of the planting of the "Century Tree" at the Women's Suffrage Memorial and the formation of the League of Women Voters, the 80 women from South St Paul who were the first in the nation to vote after ratification of the 19th amendment and Dr. Barbara Stuhler.  For more about this celebration, visit the First in the Nation Suffrage Celebration website at this link.

Photo: Cindy DeReuter

In accepting the award, Vice President Feige said: "Thank you to First in the Nation Suffrage Celebration and Madeline Hansen for this award. I learned more today than I ever knew about suffrage and I appreciate your knowledge. 

The League of Women Voters works to support democracy and the rule of law. Voting is very important to our democracy and we work hard to register and educate voters. We are nonpartisan, never endorsing nor opposing any candidate or party, but we are not neutral. We have well researched positions which we support. In light of the tragedy at Assumption Catholic Church and School this morning, I want to say LWV has a position on firearms and gun safety. Obviously with threats to voting and gun safety we have lots of work to do. "​

Group assembled at Dr. Barbara Steuhler's bench at the Women's Suffrage Memorial

This ceremony marked the 25th anniversary of Lt Governor Mae Shunk's dedication of the Women's Suffrage Memorial in 2000.   To learn more about the Memorial, Wikipedia has an excellent entry on the Memorial and the Minnesota Historical Society has additional information at this link.  

Theresa Dodor, Capitol Groundskeeper, planted the hyssop

The ceremony also included a tribute to Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman and her husband.  A hyssop was planted in the Memorial gardens in her memory and three yellow roses were laid, including one for the Hortman's dog, Gilbert.  

Cindy DeReuter of LWV ABC laid three memorial roses by the memorial plant