Wisconsin Kickstarter Promising A Progressive Shopping Experience Raises $200,000

_{Kirk Bangstad, owner of the Minocqua Marketplace, sits down for an interview at the Minocqua Brewing Company (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

By Sean Beckner-Carmitchel

MINOCQUA, WI — A Wisconsin brewery owner has raised more than $200,000 in several weeks in an attempt to expand an online marketplace designed to avoid companies that financially support Republican politicians. Minocqua Marketplace, founded by Kirk Bangstad, is billed as a “pro-democracy e-commerce platform.” The money was raised through a national Kickstarter campaign that has raised nearly $100,000 more than its $150,000 goal.

Bangstad is the also the owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, which he describes as “probably the most progressive brewery in America.” The company has built its brand around political messaging, with beer labels often featuring progressive slogans and commentary. Beers on offer include “Resistance Pilsner,” and “Antifa OktoberFist.”

A portion of the company’s revenue supports political action efforts in Wisconsin; Bangstad has set up a super PAC which funds litigation, advertising and advocacy related to progressive causes. The brewery also publishes daily political analysis through the Minocqua Brewing Company Times.

Bangstad himself is brash and energetic; there is a noticeable difference in his taproom when he is present. When he speaks, he has a habit of leaning in. Conversations go quickly towards local and state politics. They often lean into concerns about the future of the state, and occasionally lean into stories about hassling Bangstad’s political enemies. Something of a middle aged and midwestern Abbie Hoffman, Bangstad takes delight in the occasional politically charged absurdity. 

A t-shirt at the Minocqua Brewing Company taproom in Madison sitting on a clearance rack states “I survived the Minocqua Riot July 4, 2025.” In June of 2025, a number of guests at the taproom, including Bangstad, were arrested after yelling at a local newspaper publisher. Bangstad threatened to disrupt the July 4 parade. Local newspapers and television news outlets ran stories saying that Bangstad would. 

Local law enforcement told Ten Four that after nearly 100 law enforcement officers were assigned to the parade, the cost was upwards of $60,000 after paying for transportation and lodging. A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department told a local news station that, “the sheriff statutorily is obligated to quell any uprisings in the state of Wisconsin. The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office is not going to tolerate any uprisings.” The spokesman threatened to arrest Bangstad for the social media post which called for a protest.

A Facebook post from Minocqua Brewing Company after the fact reads in part “I couldn’t organize a safe protest in two days given that Sheriff Grady Hartman has hyper-militarized the police in Oneida County. Instead of putting anyone in harms way, I decided instead to troll Minocqua by amping up my rhetoric with details on how we were going to peacefully disrupt the parade–knowing that the town’s officials would over-react and show voters their true tyrannical colors.”

The “Minocqua Riot,” was yet another development in a long string of clashes with local newspaper Gregg Walker. Walker and Bangstad have been in a politically charged feud for several years now. In 2023, Walker sued Bangstad for defamation; Walker won. Bangstad was ordered by the court to pay $750,000. Then about a year later, Bangstad was arrested for criminal defamation after continuing to post online about Walker.

Bangstad said the idea for the marketplace began taking shape after former President Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024. He noticed major corporations had contributed millions of dollars to Republican causes and events. 

Around the same time, he said, his brewery faced boycotts from some distributors because of its liberal branding. Beer, wine and spirits distributors have an inordinate amount of power in a “three-tier system,” where the makers of alcoholic products must by law sell their product first to a middle man before it ends up on shelves. And one of Wisconsin’s top political donors is an heir to the fortunes of Milwaukee-based Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. 

In response, Bangstad expanded into other products like coffee and soda. “We try to argue our political message on grocery store shelves,” Bangstad said in an interview. “Every little beer is a billboard.”

Bangstad says he began building a network of “like-minded businesses.” The result was Minocqua Marketplace, which currently features about 80 to 90 independent companies selling primarily political merchandise.

“We just made the plumbing,” Bangstad said. “What’s next is how to actually make it functional.”

Bangstad said he initially sought venture capital funding, and sought assistance from contacts from his time at Harvard University but was unable to secure backing. “I realized I didn’t have a network of progressive rich people who were willing to invest in this,” he said. “So that’s why I’m doing a grassroots effort.”