Category: The Upper-Midwest

Socialist Group Backing Minnesota Dems Condemned for Comments after Hamas Attack on Israel

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Democratic Socialists of America, a political organization with a growing influence in Minnesota politics, was widely condemned over the weekend when it blamed “Israel’s apartheid regime” for Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas’ attack on the Jewish state.

The Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) New York City chapter promoted an “All Out for Palestine” protest that took place in Times Square Sunday, just a day after Hamas invaded Israel, targeting civilians, taking women and children hostage, and killing hundreds at a music festival.

Read More

Medical School in Minnesota Objects to ‘Very Existence’ of Catholic Group on Campus

Minnesota Sun Staff

A chapter of the Catholic Medical Association at the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Duluth campus is facing criticism because of its support of traditional Catholic beliefs.

The Star Tribune recently published a story on the “divisive” and “controversial” group that is “fracturing” the Duluth medical program. The article quoted two students and noted that Interim Regional Campus Dean Kevin Diebel wasn’t aware of any complaints made about the group.

Read More

Former Republican Legislator Enters Race for Vacated Hennepin County Board Seat

Minnesota Sun Staff

Dario Anselmo made it official on Thursday when he announced he’s running for what’s expected to be a closely watched special election this spring for a recently vacated Hennepin County commissioner seat.

The business leader and former legislator represented Edina in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2017 and 2018 after he ran and won as a moderate Republican against long-time incumbent Ron Erhardt.

Read More

Controversial Minnesota Social Studies Standards Set for Final Round of Public Comments

Minnesota Sun Staff

A years-long, convoluted battle over new standards for social studies education in Minnesota’s public schools is nearing its end.

The public will have one last opportunity to weigh in on the standards before final adoption, the Center of the American Experiment explained, providing a link to where public comments can be submitted as well as instructions on what those comments can address.

Read More

Police Leaders Say ‘Legislative Fix’ Only Way to Resolve SRO Issue after Moriarty letter

Minnesota Sun Staff

The state’s largest police association sent a letter to its members last week saying a “legislative fix” is the only way to address concerns with a new law impacting school resource officers (SROs).

This comes after Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty sent a letter Wednesday to the police chiefs in her county that reignited confusion with the new law.

Read More

Minnesota’s Largest County Dedicates October to ‘Diversity’ with Lessons on ‘Dismantling Whiteness,’ ‘Respecting Pronouns’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Hennepin County holds an annual “Celebrating Diversity Month” for employees, which features “learning opportunities” on “dismantling whiteness” and “respecting pronouns.”

Some of the training sessions are hosted by explicitly left-wing organizations, such as OutFront Minnesota, whose training manager Hannah Edwards will be leading two sessions called “2SLGBTQIA+ 101.” Employees will learn “general terms relating to gender and sexuality, respecting pronouns, and how to be an ally to gender non-conforming people.”

Read More

Minnesota County Commissioner Candidate Downplays Concerns That Relationship with Moriarty May Pose Conflict of Interest

Minnesota Sun Staff

Jen Westmoreland, the partner of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and newly announced candidate for county commissioner, pledged on Wednesday she would recuse herself from voting on any county board actions that would “personally benefit Mary.”

“My personal relationship does not diminish my dedication to the responsibilities of being your next commissioner,” Westmoreland said. “There are well-established protocols for mitigating conflicts of interest in Hennepin County, and we have already been taking these precautions.”

Read More

Minnesota Freedom Fund Chair Charged with Fentanyl Possession

Minnesota Sun Staff

The chair of the Minnesota Freedom Fund board was charged Thursday with felony fifth-degree drug possession and a misdemeanor cannabis violation.

Alpha News was the first to report earlier this month that Valentina McKenzie was arrested Aug. 31 by Bloomington police.

Read More

Target Closes Nine Stores, Citing ‘Theft and Organized Retail Crime’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation announced Tuesday that it is closing nine stores in four different states, citing “theft and organized retail crime.”

The closures include locations in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, according to a press release.

Read More

Minnesota Freedom Fund Bails Out Myon Burrell on New Gun and Drug Charges

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Minnesota Freedom Fund supplied $100,000 bail for the release of Myon Demarlo Burrell earlier this month after he was charged with illegally possessing a firearm and narcotics.

Hennepin County Jail records show Burrell was released from custody on Sept. 2 after supplying bail. However, a document posted by Crime Watch showing that the controversial bail fund supplied the bail wasn’t uploaded into the online court record until Monday of this week.

Read More

Trump Plans to Skip Debate and Visit UAW Members in Detroit, Michigan Dems Freak Out

Minnesota Sun Staff

Say what you will about former President Donald Trump, but he has a knack for ruffling the feathers of the elite while hob-knobbing with the regular folk and making connections.

While the Democrat Party likes to tout itself as the sole savior of the blue-collar worker, it’s the former president who is planning to speak to the rank-and-file in Detroit at an event next week. In fact, Trump plans to skip the second GOP presidential debate on September 27 to do so.

Read More

Minnesota Rep. Introduces Legislation to Prevent Fed from Issuing Central Bank Digital Currency

Minnesota Sun Staff

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer has reintroduced legislation that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which the majority whip described as a potential threat to the “American way of life.”

As the Biden administration explores the possibility of developing a digital dollar, Emmer said the idea could dismantle “Americans’ right to financial privacy.”

Read More

Three More Minnesota Agencies Suspend School Resource Officer Programs

Minnesota Sun Staff

At least three more police agencies have announced within the last week that they are suspending their school resource officer (SRO) programs in response to a new state law.

The new law, passed during the 2023 legislative session, prohibits SROs in cases where there is no threat of bodily harm or death from using the prone restraint or any force that “places pressure or weight on a pupil’s head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen.”

Read More

Dumping Professor for Showing Class Muhammad Art May Be ‘Religious Discrimination,’ Court Rules

Just the News

A federal judge refused to dismiss religious discrimination claims against a private university that dumped an art history professor after she showed her class “Islamophobic” depictions of the Prophet Muhammad commissioned by Muslims, saying the “novelty” of Erika Lopez Prater’s argument didn’t make it implausible.

The order Friday by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez means ongoing scrutiny of Hamline University, whose President Fayneese Miller announced her scheduled retirement two months after an overwhelming vote of no-confidence from faculty in the wake of Prater’s non-renewal.

Read More

Police Chiefs, Lawmakers Explain Issues with New SRO Law

Minnesota Sun Staff

Center of the American Experiment hosted a panel discussion with police chiefs and state representatives last week to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding a new law impacting school resource officers (SROs).

The law prohibits SROs in cases where there is no threat of bodily harm or death from using the prone restraint or any force that “places pressure or weight on a pupil’s head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen.”

Read More

Minnesota Sheriff Announces New Initiative amid 378 Percent Increase in Opioid Deaths

Minnesota Sun Staff

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt announced a new “Focus on Fentanyl” initiative Thursday aimed at increasing the public’s awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and connecting them with resources.

Witt, who said her own family has been impacted by the fentanyl crisis, plans to release a series of videos profiling Minnesotans who were killed by the highly potent synthetic opioid. The first video chronicles the life of Seth Carlson, a 17-year-old athlete from Bloomington who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022.

Read More

Political Consultants with Minnesota DFL Ties Form New Organization to Support School Board Candidates

Minnesota Sun Staff

A new organization fronted by two Democrat-allied political consultants has entered the battleground for political control of school boards holding elections this fall.

The Minneapolis-based School Board Integrity Project was officially formed in May. Its mission, according to its website, is to help “guide potential and registered candidates and incumbents who align with our principles and equip them with the tools they need in their ‘campaign toolboxes’ in order to run successful school board campaigns.”

Read More

Minnesota DFL Leader Who Wanted to ‘Dismantle’ Police Now Benefiting from Extra Patrols

Minnesota Sun Staff

A Minnesota DFL leader who once expressed support for “dismantling” the police is now benefiting from a heightened police presence in her neighborhood after she was allegedly carjacked.

Sources told Alpha News that Minneapolis police were “instructed to do extra patrols in her neighborhood,” saying the request “came from downtown.”

Read More

University of Minnesota Spent over $200,000 On ‘Diversity’ Platform Teaching Physicians That Healthcare Is Racist

Minnesota Sun Staff

The University of Minnesota (UMN) paid over $200,000 to develop a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training program that teaches medical professionals that healthcare is fundamentally racist, according to documents received by the medical watchdog Do No Harm and shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The training, developed by Diversity Science, is intended to educate healthcare professionals on obstetric care for black and indigenous women, which the training dubs “birthing people,” and highlights perceived “structural racism” in healthcare practices. Moreover, UMN’s DEI office blames “white supremacy” for certain disparities in perinatal care, and trains providers to view the development of medicine and the healthcare system as tainted with racism, documents obtained by Do Not Harm reveal.

Read More

Minnesota’s Average Gas Prices Jump by 30 Cents, Nearing $4

Minnesota Sun Staff

Average gas prices in Minnesota have jumped by more than 30 cents in a week, according to AAA data.

The current average price is $3.98 per gallon, up 36 cents from a week ago, the AAA data says. Average prices in the seven-county metro are over $4.

Read More

Minnesota Teacher Asks Students If Preferred Name and Pronouns Should Be Used When Contacting Home

Minnesota Sun Staff

A teacher in the Osseo school district asked students to share their preferred name and pronouns on the first day of class and state whether they should be used when contacting home.

“Please circle your answer choice for the following in regards to your pronoun/preferred name use,” a handout reads. It then asks if the teacher should use the student’s preferred name and pronouns when calling home.

Read More

Minnesota Sheriff Says He’ll Lean on Federal Law When Issuing Gun Permits to Those with Marijuana Convictions

Minnesota Sun Staff

While recreational cannabis use has been legal in Minnesota for just more than one month, elected officials in local governments across the state are still sorting out just what that means for their communities.

Under the new law, you can’t yet buy or sell the product. You can grow it at your home in limited quantities and give some of that away to others. But many local government officials are having public conversations about where you can smoke it and how many businesses should eventually be allowed to sell it within a jurisdiction. At times, these conversations involve interpretation of potential conflicts between the new state law and federal regulations that still define marijuana as a controlled substance.

Read More

Minnesota Democrats Will Push for Assisted Suicide Bill During 2024 Session

Minnesota Sun Staff

Minnesota Democrats plan to use their governing trifecta to bring assisted suicide to the state next year.

Sen. Kelly Morrison, DFL-Deephaven, who carried an assisted suicide bill in the legislature this past session, said in a press release this week that “advocates are now ramping up their push to pass the bill during the 2024 legislative session that convenes in February.”

Read More

Minnesota Gov. Walz Open to Special Session to Fix New Law Impacting School Resource Officers

Just the News

While students across the state are now back in class, the list of secondary schools that will begin the year without a school resource officer continues to grow.

On Monday the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office announced it will pull its officers it has contracted as SROs from six schools in the east metro. Well more than a dozen law enforcement agencies across the state have now pulled their SROs from school campuses in the wake of a new law they say the legislature needs to fix so their officers can safely do their jobs.

Read More

Police Investigate Gunfire Incidents near Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Fairgoer Struck by Errant Bullet

Minnesota Sun Staff

St. Paul police responded to separate incidents of gunfire both Saturday and Sunday nights just outside the Minnesota State Fair grounds. In one incident, a fairgoer was reportedly struck by an errant bullet. In another incident, a University of Minnesota bus was struck by gunfire that shattered a window.

About 10:13 p.m. Saturday, a person inside the fairgrounds called 911 to report that they had been shot at, according to dispatch audio at the time. The person who was reported to be at Chambers Street and Carnes Avenue said the bullet struck him, but the bullet did not make penetration.

Read More

Number of Americans Who View Minneapolis as Safe Place Declines

Minnesota Sun Staff

The number of Americans who view Minneapolis as a safe city has declined by 15%, according to a new Gallup poll.

A majority of Americans (58%) still view Minneapolis as a safe place to “live in or visit,” but this is down from the 73% who said the same in 2006, the last time the poll was conducted.

Read More

Minneapolis Residents Feel ‘Helpless’ as Street Becomes ‘Destination’ for Drug Deals

Minnesota Sun Staff

A north Minneapolis resident whose street has become “an established destination” for drug dealing said he wants elected leaders to “understand how abandoned and helpless we feel.”

“We are an established destination now for drug purchases. Cars stop by 24/7 and within moments they have a carhop with their face in the passenger window, ready to serve,” said Jay Dorsey, who owns a home across the street from an Aldi store that closed earlier this year to much disappointment from local residents.

Read More

Most Minneapolis Students Don’t Consistently Attend School

Minnesota Sun Staff

The number of Minnesota students who consistently attend school has dropped by 15% since 2019, according to state Department of Education data released last week.

The annual North Star Accountability Report tracks “consistent attendance,” which is defined as the number of students who attend school at least 90% of the time and are not chronically absent.

Read More

Left-Leaning Groups Seek to Intervene in Challenge to New Minnesota Law That Restricts Corporate Speech

Minnesota Sun Staff

A left-leaning elections reform organization is representing a local group hoping to intervene in a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce lawsuit that’s challenging a new state law it says unconstitutionally restricts political speech of businesses.

On Friday, the Massachusetts-based advocacy group Free Speech For People, on behalf of Clean Elections Minnesota, filed a motion requesting to intervene in the Chamber’s federal lawsuit that contends a new law governing corporate speech unconstitutionally restricts the political speech of its members’ businesses who have minimal investment from foreign-based individuals and entities.

Read More

Newest Minnesota Supreme Court Appointee Was Walz’s Chief Legal Counsel During Pandemic, Riots

Minnesota Sun Staff

Gov. Tim Walz announced the appointment of one of his administration’s top attorneys to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Karl Procaccini, 40, has spent the last 4.5 years as general counsel and deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office. Depending on who you ask, the Connecticut native and Harvard Law grad has been regarded as either a prudent or overreaching legal advisor to Walz during the Covid-19 pandemic and riots in 2020 and 2021.

Read More

Osseo Schools Plan to Fly LGBT Pride Flags ‘Indefinitely’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Osseo Area Schools appears to have approved a proposal to fly an LGBT “pride” flag at all district buildings “indefinitely,” according to an audio recording of a recent school board work session.

Under the district’s existing “LGBTQIA+ History and Culture Resolution,” the school board “invites the community to join in the celebration by raising the LGBTQIA+ Progress Pride flag on June 1st at all district buildings and in the school board room as a symbol of support.”

Read More

Don Jr. Says Christie’s Expected Attacks on Trump at Debate Will Do Him Little Good in Republican Presidential Race

M.D. Kittle

As expected, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took some big swings at GOP presidential front-runner and former president Donald Trump Wednesday night at the first debate of the 2024 primary season.

Read More

Uber: Minneapolis Drivers Get Minimum Wage, $5 Minimum After Frey Veto

The Center Square

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed an ordinance passed by the city council to enact a minimum compensation of $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute while transporting a rider, subject to annual adjustment.

Instead, Frey struck a deal to boost Uber driver pay to the city minimum wage and guarantee at least $5 per ride.

Read More

Despite Trump’s Absence, Plenty of Fireworks at First Republican Presidential Debate of the 2024 Season

M.D. Kittle

For those who thought a Trump-less GOP presidential primary debate was doomed to be a snooze fest, the two-hour political bar brawl disabused them of that notion.

Read More

The Field Is Set for November School Board Races in Minnesota

Minnesota Sun Staff

The field of candidates is now set for the 28 school districts across Minnesota that will hold “off-year” elections this November, where there are no legislative seats or congressional or statewide offices on the ballot.

While most of the nearly 300 other school districts across the state hold their elections during more visible campaign cycles (such as 2024), the school district communities with races this fall represent about 1.7 million residents across the state. Combined, those districts with seats up for election steward well over $4 billion in tax dollars.

Read More

Minneapolis City Council Passes Rule, Uber ‘Determining’ Future in City

The Center Square

The Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance starting Jan. 1, 2024, that ride-share companies say will force them out of the city because of increased costs and regulations. 

The vote passed 7-5-1 to enact a minimum compensation of $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute while transporting a rider, subject to annual adjustment.

Read More

Former DFL Legislator Who Helped Flip State Senate Hired as Chief Capitol Lobbyist at University of Minnesota

Minnesota Sun Staff

A former DFL legislator credited with leading a campaign to help Democrats recapture the state Senate in 2022 has landed a new job as a top lobbyist for the University of Minnesota.

Melisa Lopez Franzen, who served in the Minnesota Senate for a decade before choosing not to seek re-election last year, was announced as the U of M’s new executive director of government and community relations on Wednesday.

Read More

Minnesota Restaurant Owner Says New State Mandates Will Be a ‘Nightmare’ for Small Businesses

Minnesota Sun Staff

A lifelong dream to have his own place hasn’t exactly gone as planned for Kent Bergmann behind Campanelle in Lino Lakes.

“The name of the restaurant is nothing more than a noodle. We make those noodles fresh every single morning. It’s a Campanelle noodle is what it’s called. It’s like baked mac and cheese on steroids,” Bergmann explained.

Read More

Minnesota Town Police Force Has ‘Zero Applicants’ After Everyone Quits

Just the News

The entire police force of Goodhue, Minn., has resigned and the town has no applicants to fill the vacancies, leaving the future of law enforcement in the community uncertain.

Police Chief Josh Smith will remain in the post until Aug. 24, but has told the city he could not find anyone willing to join the force, Fox News reported.

Read More

Minnesota Commission Charged with Redesigning State Flag, Seal Set to Begin Work This Month

Minnesota Sun Staff

Membership of a new commission tasked with redesigning the Minnesota state flag and seal was supposed to be finalized earlier this month. But it appears it’s not quite ready to begin its work, which is to be completed and sent to the legislature by Jan. 1, 2024.

While Gov. Tim Walz appointed three members of the public to the 17-member State Emblems Redesign Commission earlier this month, a handful of appointees from state councils and agencies had not yet been listed as filled on the webpage for the body as of Monday. The commission was supposed to be finalized by Aug. 1, according to statute.

Read More

Minnesota Catholic Colleges Announce ‘Non-Binary Admissions Policy’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Two affiliated Catholic colleges in Minnesota adopted a policy for the new academic year allowing “non-binary, gender-fluid, and gender-nonconforming individuals” to enroll in a men’s or women’s college based on the sex with which they identify.

The colleges’ previous policy only explicitly referred to “transgender” students, except in a “frequently asked question” that noted non-binary students must “consistently live and identify” as either a man or a woman.

Read More

Minnesota Gas Prices Move Closer to National Average

The Center Square

Minnesota gas prices keep creeping closer to the national average after jumping nearly 40 cents in the past month.

Minnesotans are paying an average of $3.81 a gallon as of Friday, according to the most recent figures provided by the American Automobile Association. The national average hit $3.84.

Read More

Minnesota’s Fastest-Growing City Bans Smoking Weed in Public Places

Minnesota Sun Staff

The fastest growing city in Minnesota, and one of the fastest growing suburban communities in America, has banned the use of smokeable marijuana in its public spaces. And they’re doing it for the kids, according to city leaders.

The Lakeville City Council voted this week to create a new ordinance that prohibits the smoking of cannabis and hemp in public places — including parks, streets, sidewalks and other outdoor spaces where people can gather. Violation of the new ordinance, which takes effect immediately, is a petty misdemeanor, punishable by a $300 ticket, according to a city report on the measure.

Read More

Minnesota GOP Donor Anton Lazzaro Sentenced to 21 Years for Sex Trafficking Minor Girls

Minnesota Sun Staff

Former Republican donor Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison Wednesday for sex trafficking multiple minor girls.

“Anton Lazzaro was a predator who hid in plain sight. He was a sex trafficker who camouflaged his true nature with his wealth and privilege. Today, his crimes were laid bare, and justice was served,” prosecutors said in a statement following Lazzaro’s sentencing.

Read More