Hundreds rally in Moses Lake to protest Trump admin.
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 months AGO
Left: Patriot Church Pastor Aaron Noble, left, speaks into a microphone at the church's counterprotest to the No Kings rally Saturday. The rally drew about 25 people, mostly members of the church, to voice their dissent. Right: Kelly O'Kell waves a flag and hands out candy at the No Kings rally in downtown Moses Lake Saturday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Protesters wave at passing drivers during the No Kings rally in downtown Moses Lake Saturday. The rally drew about 300 people.
Small flags were provided, but many protesters at the No Kings rally made their own signs.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | October 20, 2025 3:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — Almost 300 people turned out Saturday for the “No Kings 2.0” rally in Moses Lake, according to Grant County Democrats Vice Chair Jill Springer Forrest, considerably more than the rally held in June.
“We knew it was going to be a lot bigger one,” Springer Forrest said. “It was nationally advertised. I had this event on the (national website), and lot of people registered that had never done it before. So, we have a lot of new first-timers here today.”
Protesters covered all four corners at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Alder Street downtown, waving flags that said, “No Kings in America since 1776.” Many had also made their own signs – a table was set up with poster board and markers for the purpose – with slogans like “Workers over billionaires,” “Impeach, convict, remove” and “Not voting is the #1 cause of unwanted presidencies.” Passing motorists honked so much that at times it was hard to hear one another speak.
“People are happy to be out here and feel like they’re doing something,” said an attendee whose sign read “Honk if you’re not in the Epstein files,” who gave her name only as Diane. “It’s not like everybody has the same philosophy. But everybody’s getting along.”
Kelly O'Kell didn’t have a sign, but she was carrying a box of candies to hand out.
“I love doing this,” O'Kell said. “I absolutely believe in our country, and I believe in our Constitution, and I think it's vital that everybody come out, because we're going to lose these rights soon if people don't stand up.”
The signs spoke to a number of controversial political issues, but the biggest was impending Medicaid cuts, Springer Forrest said.
“The insurance rates are going to go up exponentially now because (Republicans) won't negotiate with the Democrats to save the health care,” she said. “That's where people are waking up and going, ‘Wait a minute, I'm paying $300 a month for insurance (and) now I'm going to pay either $600 or $900 … Most people here are on Medicare, and quite a few on Medicaid. We're getting baby boomers out here. The majority of them, they've been through this before, and they're ready to do it again to save democracy.”
The federal government is shut down, with one of the primary disagreements between Democrats and Republicans being the renewal or expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits that help millions of Americans afford health insurance. Both sides are pointing blame at the other party.
The last rally the Democrats had held drew almost no opposition, Okell said, but this protest, about 25 people from Patriot Church came to give their response. Pastor Aaron Noble led prayers and spoke through a PA system while church members held signs that read “Jesus is King.”
“The Bible tells us that Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,” Noble said. “So, we want to make sure that when people are saying ‘no kings,’ that they're not leaving Jesus out of that scenario. In addition, we're out here to stand up for our right to stand up for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all people … Trump was a duly-elected president, both by the Electoral (College) and the mass popular vote. He won every swing state. And so, we stand up for the rule of law.”
Holding the rally in a county where two-thirds of voters went for Trump might have been brave, Springer Forrest said, but she felt the issues went beyond party lines.
“We’re in a ruby-red town, but we’re finding that we’re getting all kinds of people from all walks of life,” she said. “We've got Republicans. We've got Democrats. We've got progressives, and we've got everybody in between, or who don't know what their party affiliation is, yet they know that they're really upset about what's going on in this administration and how (the country’s) being torn apart bit by bit. We are hoping to show that the people are what powers the government.”
Protesters wave at passing drivers during the No Kings rally in downtown Moses Lake Saturday. The rally drew about 300 people.
Small flags were provided, but many protesters at the No Kings rally made their own signs.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”