Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce officials have apologized for the way the organization handled the removal of Team USA’s snow sculpture from the World Snow Sculpting Championship display. Chamber officials removed the sculpture, “A Call to Arms,” because they said it included anti-Immig ration and Customs Enforcement symbols that violated competition rules. The sculpture, which was a sphere of outstretched hands, included peace signs and hand gestures using American Sign Language. Among the messages spelled out in ASL: “ICE out,” “love,” “unity” and “resist.” “We want to acknowledge this clearly and collectively: in a fast-moving and emotionally charged moment, our response did not fully reflect our shared values,” Chamber officials wrote in a statement shared on social media. “Leadership is not about perfection. It is about the humility to pause, reflect, and adjust when something does not land as intended.” The removal of the sculpture made national news. The original design submitted for competition did not include hand gestures of symbols. The decision to change the sculpture was made on Jan. 14, the first day of the competition — just one week after Renee Macklin Good, 37, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, according to St. Paul artist and Team USA member Dusty Thune. “Upon digging into the snow block, we found the snow pack to be so poorly packed and full of debris that the outstretched arms we were carving kept crumbling and falling off,” Thune told the Pioneer Press. “We made the choice to focus on bigger hands and shorter arms to try and salvage our piece. Sometimes the medium (snow) decides the way a piece is going to be created. Sometimes external events also have a hand in shaping what a piece will become.” Officials discovered the modifications to Team USA’s sculpture after they had completed the judging process of the competition, which consisted of 16 teams from around the world. Team Canada won the event; Team USA did not place. The World Snow Sculpting Championship rules state that “teams must adhere to their original submitted sketch” and “sculptures must respect cultural and social values, and avoid offensive, controversial, political, or inappropriate themes,” Robin Anthony-Evenson, president of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce Foundation, told the Pioneer Press. The hand gestures in the sculpture “did not align with these pre-established rules and policy,” she said. ‘Emotionally heavy’ In the statement posted over the weekend, Chamber officials said the past several weeks have been “emotionally heavy for many people in Minnesota and across the country.” “In moments like these, fear, grief, anger, and uncertainty rise quickly to the surface,” according to the statement. “As leaders and as neighbors, we feel that weight too.” Art “has always reflected the times we live in,” Chamber officials wrote. “It gives shape to emotion and creates space for connection. That role deserves respect. At the same time, shared community spaces depend on shared understanding. Events like the World Snow Celebration are built on shared expectations that enable people from diverse backgrounds, including our international friends, our community, including families and children, to gather in a spirit of welcome. Maintaining that balance between empathy and responsibility is not easy and requires ongoing care and communication.” Chamber officials said they are “committed to learning from this moment and turning reflection into action.” “The Chamber will be engaging more intentionally with artists and community members, inviting their voices into ongoing conversations about how we host, communicate, and steward the World Snow Celebration,” according to the statement. “We strongly believe that collaboration strengthens trust, and that trust strengthens the future of this event. … Stillwater has always been at its strongest when we choose steadiness over defensiveness and humanity over haste. That spirit is shared by the many partners who care deeply about this community. Moments like this do not define Stillwater. How we respond, learn, and lead together does. We hope you will join us as we all learn and grow together.” Permanent sculpture? Thune said he learned about the removal of “A Call to Arms” from someone who went to Lowell Park to view it. Related Articles Woman treated for smoke inhalation after Hugo fire Minnesota’s 2025 domestic abuse homicide victims honored Woodbury man with rare skin condition ‘scared to go out’ after ICE detention Duck, Duck, what? Washington County ‘Name a Snowplow’ contest winners announced Team USA snow sculpture in Stillwater removed over ‘ICE out’ messaging Thune spent this weekend working on a snow sculpture called “Ice Out 4 Good,” a memorial for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, at the Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot and killed on Jan. 24 by federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis. Thune said he also hopes to make a permanent “A Call to Arms.” A GoFundMe online fundraiser to help with that effort (gofund.me/69441a094) had raised $6,700 as of Monday morning. “I think it is time to make this sculpture live forever,” he told the Pioneer Press last week. “We’d like to recreate it in iron, the lifeblood of Minnesota, and have it on permanent display in Minneapolis as a memorial to those who can no longer speak up.” ...read more read less