By a Macalester student and ESFL intern who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons.
Written August 2025
Every other week, the East Side Environmental Justice group (ESEJ) gathers in the East Side Freedom Library. Around the tables, neighbours come together; motivated, energetic, and above all determined. They strategize how to defend their community against Northern Iron, a metal foundry off Phalen Boulevard that has been polluting their neighbourhood for years.
Residents have long reported soot lining their windowsills and furniture, and children experiencing unexplained respiratory problems. Payne-Phalen now has the highest rate of childhood lead levels in the entire state. For families raising kids here, this is not an abstract policy issue, its daily life. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the agency tasked with protecting Minnesotans from industrial pollution, fined Northern Iron in 2023 for failing to follow state law and required them to renew their permit. Since then, however, the company has repeatedly failed to provide information needed to issue a new permit that protects health and the environment. In a recent statement, the MPCA announced it has started the process of stripping Northern Iron of its operating permit altogether.
But neighbours know that legal battles and fines won’t be enough without public pressure. That’s where ESEJ comes in. ESEJ members have been knocking on doors, talking to families, and holding protests to raise awareness of the danger Northern Iron poses. On the East Side, where many residents are immigrants facing language barriers, these conversations are especially important. One ESEJ member described the shock of parents who suddenly realized that their children’s chronic coughs and breathing difficulties were not random but linked to the foundry nearby.
The group itself came together in different ways. Some members first heard about the issue from flyers mailed by Northern Iron. Others learned about ESEJ through conversations with neighbours or meetings at the East Side Freedom Library. Some were co-founders who recognized the urgent need for a grassroots, community-based group not tied to outside interests. What unites them all is a deep care for the East Side: they want their neighbours and families to live in safe, healthy conditions, and they want immigrant communities to have more power in decisions that affect their lives.
ESEJ is not just about opposing a polluter. It’s about building a stronger, more connected community. Members describe the group as a place where they can connect with neighbours, share stories, and take action together. They see it as a space for solidarity across diverse communities, where voices that are often ignored (especially those of marginalized residents) are centered and heard. Beyond fighting Northern Iron, ESEJ is working toward a future where environmental justice means everyone has the right to breathe clean air and live free from toxic harm. The group’s vision is bold: to create tangible change through direct action, provide mutual aid to families in immediate need, and build long-term solidarity. It is not always easy. ESEJ is entirely volunteer-run, and members are still figuring out the best ways to bring new people in. But what keeps them going is a shared commitment to each other and to their neighbourhood.
Their message to new members is simple: you don’t need to be an expert to join. Bring your whole self, your hopes, fears, ideas, and voice. Listen to others, but also speak up. Every voice matters. The fight against Northern Iron is not just about one foundry, it’s about who gets to live safely, who has power in decision-making, and what kind of future the East Side will have. If you care about clean air, healthy families, and the right of communities to decide their own future, join the East Side Environmental Justice group. Speak up. Show up. Together, neighbours can hold polluters accountable and build the safe, just community they deserve.