American Atheists National Convention, Easter Weekend, Cincinnati, Ohio. Three days of speakers, social events, comedy, music, workshops, and community events.

American Atheists is proud to present one of the most diverse and compelling line-ups of speakers, activists, community leaders, academics, musicians, and artists that you’ll see at any atheist event in America. As always, they’re committed to bringing brand new stories you’ve never heard to the stage, including international activists, poets, politicians, and much more.

Thanksgiving Morning, Minnesota Atheists participated in the Walk to End Hunger 5K at the Mall of America. Our team raised $815 for The Food Group, surpassing our goal of $500. That’s over 2,400 meals!

Special congratulations to member Les Stordalen, he individually ranked 3rd for the most funds raised for The Food Group. And thank you to Caroline Brunner for organizing our team.

Join us for a magical night! This year's Winter Solstice Banquet will be on December 15th at the Embassy Suites in Brooklyn Center. Our theme highlights the performing art of magicians. The featured entertainment will be mentalist David Gamut.

Schedule

5:00 p.m. - Social hour with a cash bar & magic tricks
6:00 p.m. - Dinner & Awards Program
7:00 p.m. - Mentalist David Gamut Performs

Minnesota Atheists is bringing back the summer regional conference!

Our last conference was the first Secular Women Work conference in 2015. We teamed up with Secular Woman and Campus Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists to provide a weekend of activist training and inspiration at the University of Minnesota. It was a great success, so we're bringing Secular Women Work back to Minnesota this year.

August 24-26, we'll return to the University of Minnesota's West Bank for more talks, panels, and workshops. All our speakers are women or genderqueer, but the conference is open to everyone who wants to become a more effective activist. Last time, we covered fundraising, lobbying, getting your message out despite a hostile press, as well as basic skills like avoiding burnout and assertive communication.

Greta Christina, Mandisa Thomas, and Jessica Xiao will headline the conference. We'll add more speakers and workshop presenters based on the topics our attendees are interested in. Secular Woman is once again working with us, and Black Nonbelievers, Inc. joins us this year as an organizing sponsor.

President’s Column: Iconic Resolution
By Alyssa Ehni

Happy New Year to my fellow heathens! I hope the holiday season treated you well and that you had a very merry whatever it is that you and yours celebrate.

Cliché, I know, but the new year makes room for fresh beginnings and change. One thing the board would like to change is the logo that Minnesota Atheists uses. While we are all fond of the logo we have, the lettering does not always print nicely when the logo must be small. Before we get to how we would like to redesign the logo, let’s talk about the logo that we presently use.

The logo  comprises multiple symbols. It references science, with a shooting star crossing in front of a crescent moon, which forms a rounded version of the capital letter A, for atheism. The star also represents Minnesota, as the North Star State and the star in motion represents that we are an action oriented organization. I like it. It is thoughtful and was designed years ago by one of our members, Pierre Tardif, who was vice president of Lavender magazine.

So why am I talking about the fact that we would like to change the logo instead of introducing something new? Well, that’s because we would like to have a design contest for the new logo! That’s right, you can submit your idea for a shiny brand new Minnesota Atheists’ logo.