Edina Votes to Recite Pledge of Allegiance at City Council Meetings

“In all the years I have been on the council, I don’t know why we’ve never said it” Jim Hovland, Mayor of Edina said during the meeting.

Edina City Council

Edina was one of the few cities in the state of Minnesota to not recite the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings until they voted to change that on Jul. 16, 2019. The city of Minneapolis is one of the few cities that does not include a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings while all schools in the state of Minnesota are required by law to recite the Pledge of Allegiance unless a school district goes through the necessary process to change that.

“In all the years I have been on the council, I don’t know why we’ve never said it” Jim Hovland, Mayor of Edina said during the meeting. The initial debate over the Pledge of Allegiance in the city of Edina took place in 2011 but it was a conversation and never came up again until now, Mayor Hovland cites.

Edina city council member, Ron Anderson, noted at the meeting that his niece was recently naturalized as a U.S. Citizen. “She said, given all her considerations, it was the proudest moment of her life,” Anderson stated

Edina’s decision to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings come shortly after wide controversy in the City of St. Louis Park over their decision to stop reciting the Pledge before meetings. St. Louis Park’s decision gained attention from President Donald Trump and the city reversed their decision shortly after. 

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Megan Olson

Megan Olson is a 2020 graduate of the University of Minnesota with degrees in political science and history. She works in public affairs in addition to serving on the Legislative Advisory Council for School District 196. She is also on the school board for FIT academy, a charter school in Apple Valley.