The move is part of a national push to rename the holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer whose expeditions to the Americas ushered in an era of European colonization. Proponents of changing the day's name to honor Indigenous people argue Columbus' brutality toward America's original inhabitants should not be celebrated.
The Dec. 15 weather event that included tornadoes and damaging winds resulted in significant property damage in Freeborn, Dodge, Mower and Steele counties.