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Four Republican state lawmakers have formed an informal caucus to discuss rural issues, but the name and logo they’re using have seriously irked the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party, more commonly known as the DFL.

The GOP lawmakers call their project the Republican Farmer Labor Caucus, or RFL. Their logo is strikingly similar to the DFL logo.

Rep. Jeremy Munson, R-Lake Crystal, is one of the RFL instigators.

“It was intended to highlight how the Republicans are out there fighting for farmers, and that Democrats, even though they have ‘farmer’ in their party name, actually aren’t out there supporting farmers,” Munson said.

Munson, along with House colleagues Rep Jeff Backer, Rep. Jason Rarick and Rep. Tim Miller, received a cease and desist letter Monday from Charles Nauen, a lawyer representing the Minnesota DFL, who demanded they stop using the logo.

Nauen said the name and the logo are confusing to the public.

“If you continue such use despite this notification, we will consider all available legal means to protect the marks and goodwill of the Minnesota DFL Party,” Nauen wrote.

Munson said he might be willing to change the group’s logo but not its name.

“We are Republicans and we are talking about issues that are important to farming and labor,” he said.

Thanks for all the comments. I had some technical problems getting the original logo onto the blog, but here it is.

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Tim Pugmire

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The Minnesota DFL party has sent a cease and desist letter to four Republican lawmakers who are using a similar logo for the caucus they call the RFL.

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Pugmire, Tim

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DFL demands GOP lawmakers stop copying logo

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