Category: The Upper-Midwest

Twin Cities Legislators Introduce Bill to Block Mining Facility in Northeast Minnesota

Admin

More than two dozen DFL legislators — nearly all from the suburbs — have signed onto a bill that would attempt to put permanent brakes on a highly contentious, planned copper-nickel mining facility near Ely that could bring upwards of 2,000 new jobs to northeast Minnesota. Critics of what would be Minnesota’s first copper-nickel facility, proposed by Twin Metals, argue that copper-nickel mining in the area would irreversibly pollute the environment in the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Supporters have said that Twin Metals has demonstrated its plant will use the best available technology to mitigate and prevent such pollution. The project remains up in the air as Twin Metals has sued the Biden administration over lease rights to the project.

Read More

Minnesota State Agency Wants to Create Database to Track ‘Hateful’ Speech

Admin

One Minnesota lawmaker is voicing his concerns about a proposed bill he says would allow the state government to keep track of “bias” incidents and “hate speech” in which no crime may have been committed.

On Tuesday the Minnesota House of Representatives’ Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee held a hearing on HF 181, a bill introduced Jan. 9 that proposes an expansion of reporting “crimes motivated by bias,” an update in peace officer training standards, and the appropriate funding thereto.

Read More

Minnesota House Passes ‘Most Extreme’ Abortion Law in Nation

Admin

The Minnesota House passed the DFL’s keystone “Protect Reproductive Options Act” in a 69-65 vote after four hours of emotional debate Thursday night.

The bill will grant Minnesotans a “fundamental right” to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, via any method and for any reason, with no age restrictions.

Read More

Curriculum Used in Minneapolis Schools Teaches Kindergarteners About ‘Gender Identity’

Admin

A handful of Minneapolis schools use a curriculum that exposes kids as young as five to the concepts of “gender identity and expression” and teaches that kids “begin to develop and express gender identity” at age three. AmazeWorks is one of the most controversial curriculums for elementary and middle-school students because it uses content on gender identity from an early age, according to Cristine Trooien, executive director of Minnesota Parents Alliance.

Read More

DACA Recipient to Minnesota Lawmakers: ‘We Are Voting’

Admin

A DACA recipient had this to say to Minnesota lawmakers last week: “We are voting.”

“We are voting. Our people are voting. If you don’t pass this bill, people are going to vote you all out,” Angelico Bello, who said she is a DACA recipient, told the House Transportation Committee Jan. 10.

Read More

Minnesota Department of Corrections Expands Abortion Coverage for Inmates

Admin

The Minnesota Department of Corrections will now pay for any inmate’s abortion, regardless of the reasons for seeking the procedure, according to a new policy.

The new policy, adopted January 10, replaces a 2018 policy that limited the department’s coverage of abortion to cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or if the life of the mother was at risk.

Read More

Hennepin County DA Moriarty Faces Criticism for Dismissing Rape Case During First Week in Office

Admin

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is facing criticism after she dropped a rape charge involving a 14-year-old victim during her first week in office.

Moriarty was sworn in Jan. 3, replacing longtime county attorney Mike Freeman. She ran on a progressive platform of “restorative justice programs” and “alternatives to incarceration.”

Read More

Minnesota State Senator Declines to State When an Unborn Baby Becomes a Person

Admin

The author of a bill that would create a “fundamental right” to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy refused to state when she thinks an unborn baby becomes a human person.

Minnesota Democrats are expediting their Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act through the Minnesota Legislature, emboldened by an election victory that saw them recapture the Senate and take full control of state government.

Read More

Minnesota Licensure Board to Require All Teachers to Personally Affirm Critical Race Theory and Gender Ideology

Susan Berry, PhD

Minnesota’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) has set new rules for aspiring teachers that require them to personally avow the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology in order to be permitted to teach in government schools.

Governor Tim Walz’s (D) PELSB’s Adopted Permanent Rules Relating to Licensing and Academic Standards have been updated to require, as of 2024, that Minnesota teachers are committed to personally affirm what the licensure board considers the proper “diverse perspectives on race, culture, language, sexual identity, ability,” etc. with their students in order to maintain a license.

Read More

Despite Projected $17 Billion Surplus, Minnesota DFL Pitches Payroll Tax Hike

The Center Square

Despite a projected $17.6 billion surplus, Gov. Tim Walz pitched a future payroll tax hike to fund paid family and medical leave in his soon-to-be released budget plan.

Walz said $1.7 billion of surplus seed money would start the program, funded in the future by a payroll tax.

Read More

Minnesota Legislature Considers Bill to Give Driver’s Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

Minnesota Sun Staff

Minnesota Democrats are moving forward with a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, lead author of the bill in the Senate, said illegal immigrants were eligible for driver’s licenses in Minnesota until 2003, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty “unilaterally” established a requirement that applicants demonstrate proof of legal residence.

Read More

Minnesota’s Secretary of State’s Election Reform ‘Wish List’ Includes Automatic Voter Registration

Minnesota Sun Staff

Those applying for driver’s licenses — or utilizing a plethora of other state agency services — could also automatically be registering to vote at the same time, if newly re-elected Secretary of State Steve Simon’s legislative priority wish list comes to fruition in the coming months at the Capitol.

Simon, a DFLer elected to his third term in November, held a press conference Monday announcing his support for automatic voter registration contained in HF3/SF3 along with a handful of other election-related “Legislative Priorities to Strengthen Our Democracy” that he said would continue to build on “Minnesota’s success story and reputation as a leader in elections and voting” and further expand access to voting.

Read More

Minnesota Representative Wants to Make January 6 ‘Democracy Day’

Admin

Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is one of three congressmen who intend to spearhead a bill enacting the observance of “Democracy Day” every Jan. 6.

According to a news release last Friday, Phillips will join Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado and Dan Goldman of New York in introducing a resolution to “permanently designate January 6th as ‘Democracy Day.’”

Read More

State Rep: Kids Are ‘Demanding’ Comprehensive Sex Ed

Admin

A Minnesota state representative is renewing her push to require schools to teach students about “diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.”

State Rep. Sydney Jordan, a Democrat from Minneapolis, said Friday she has introduced a bill to bring comprehensive sex education, or CSE, to all Minnesota schools.

“Students are demanding access to information about their bodies, consent, and contraception and it’s time the [Minnesota Legislature] listens,” she said.

Read More

Minneapolis-Area Suburb Officials Ponder Replacing the Term ‘Manhole’ over Gender Neutrality Concerns

Admin

The St. Louis Park city government acknowledged in a recent newsletter that the term “manhole” could be offensive because it’s not “gender-neutral.”

“The city acknowledges that ‘manhole’ is not a gender-neutral term. It’s used in this publication as a commonly understood term and as the current industry standard to describe these structures,” says a footnote in a December newsletter on city infrastructure.

Read More

Minnesota Moms Say Lack of Abortion Restrictions Will Lead to Abuse, Loss of Parental Rights

Admin

A group of mothers defending “common-sense” and “bipartisan” abortion restrictions in Minnesota have made clear their belief that the state’s objections are legally flawed.

On Thursday a court hearing was held about the dispute between the attorney general’s office and the advocacy group Mothers Offering Maternal Support (MOMS). Judge Thomas Gilligan of the Ramsey County District Court presided over the hearing, the same judge who had struck down multiple abortion restrictions as “unconstitutional” in July.

Read More

Minnesota DFL Announces Session Priorities Including Paid Family Leave, Clean Energy

The Center Square

With more than a $17 billion projected surplus, the Democrats released their priorities at a capitol news conference Wednesday.

“We are moving swiftly because that’s what Minnesotans expect and deserve,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said. “Although there were bipartisan wins over the last four years, many of Minnesotans’ priorities were blocked by the Republican Senate majority. With unified DFL control of state government, we now have an opportunity to work quickly to improve people’s lives. The DFL-led House and Senate are going to work hard and work together to meet the needs of Minnesotans and build a state that works better for everyone.”

Read More

Minnesota College Stands by Removal of Art Instructor

Admin

Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., is standing by its decision to punish an art instructor who shared two Renaissance depictions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in class.

Reports of the instructor’s removal generated outrage among free-speech advocates, who called the school’s actions “one of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory.”

Read More

General Motors Funds Transgender Programs in Elementary Schools

Admin

General Motors (GM) gave a grant to an organization that supplies elementary schools with books promoting the transgender ideology.

The automotive manufacturing company donated money to the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) “Rainbow Library Program,” according to a 2021 Social Impact Report published by GM.

Read More

American Catholic Leaders Celebrate Life of Pope Benedict, ‘Defender of Truth’ Who Taught Above All Else ‘God Is Love’

Susan Berry, PhD

American Catholic leaders are acclaiming the life and work of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose scholarly writings emphasized the unity of faith and reason and, most fundamentally, the primary truth of the Catholic faith, which teaches God is Love.

Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger, died Saturday at the age of 95. He became pope in April 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II, and served until his resignation in February 2013.

Read More

Minnesota’s ‘Let Them Play’ Founder and Mother of Five Heads to Legislature

Admin

On the latest episode of “Liz Collin Reports,” Liz sat down with incoming Minnesota state representative Dawn Gillman to discuss Republican priorities for the new legislative session, advice for Minnesota parents trying to navigate left-wing ideology in their children’s schools, and more.

Gillman was the founder of Let Them Play Minnesota, a grassroots movement that successfully pressured Gov. Tim Walz into reopening schools and their athletic programs in the fall of 2020. She said the movement grew to a whopping 25,000 members and raised over $500,000 in under a year.

Read More

Explosion of Mental Health, Academic Problems Among Minnesota Students

Admin

Results of the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey have revealed that increasing numbers of middle and high school students are struggling with depression, anxiety, and poor “educational engagement.”

Conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) every three years, the anonymous survey asks fifth-, eighth-, ninth-, and 11th-grade students various questions about their physical and mental health, bullying, school environment, and alcohol and drug use.

Read More

Report: University in Minnesota Removes Art Instructor for Sharing Depictions of Muhammad

Admin

A Hamline University art instructor was removed from her position after sharing two Renaissance depictions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in class, according to reports.

The professor has not been named in any reports on the incident but was identified as a female in the Pioneer Press.

Read More

Minnesota Pastor Accused of Sexual Relationship with Underage Intern

Minnesota Sun Staff

A former pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sleepy Eye, Minn., is facing charges of criminal sexual conduct after he allegedly had sex with an underage intern on multiple occasions.

Witnesses first reported Pastor Nathan Van Alfred Luong to Sleepy Eye police in May of this year, according to a criminal complaint. Around that same time, Faith Lutheran Church in Dodge Center announced Luong as their new pastor, the Christian Post first reported.

Read More

Minnesota High School Scraps Race-Based Entry for ‘Police Encounters’ Training

Minnesota Sun Staff

Following a civil rights complaint, Roseville Area High School scrapped “priority” entry for non-white students and members of its Black Student Union (BSU) to a “know your rights” training event.

The high school’s media center initially sent an email Dec. 16 informing parents about a Dec. 20 student training event that discussed “navigating police encounters involving yourself — or others, in a way that protects your rights and helps keeps you safe.”

Read More

Minnesota Economist: Broadband Grants Ought to Generate a Return on Investment

The Center Square

Minnesota will award $27 million in state funding and $42.6 million in federal funding to broadband expansion projects across the state.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development on Monday launched a request for proposals for the funding. The funding supports the state’s goal that all homes and businesses have access `to broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second by 2026, the news release said.

Read More

Sen. Ron Johnson Argues to Eliminate $9.8 Billion in Earmarks From $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill

Susan Berry, PhD

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson (R) joined with his colleagues Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Rand Paul (R-KY) to oppose the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill and argue for an amendment that would eliminate all earmarks.

“Thousands of individual projects here, both Democrat and Republican,” Johnson said Tuesday during a press conference

Read More

Black Militia Members Claim Minneapolis Police Unlawfully Arrested Them at Protest

Minnesota Sun Staff

Several members of an armed black militia known for their ad hoc security at Minneapolis protests are accusing city police officers of violating their constitutional rights by arresting them without probable cause.

According to a complaint filed two months ago in U.S. District Court, eight members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters are suing 10 officers from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), claiming they engaged in “unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution at a protest last year.

Read More

Minneapolis Doctors Defend Gender Transitions for Kids

Admin

Earlier this month Minneapolis doctors defended what they perceive as the moral and scientific legitimacy of child gender transitions, which typically involve puberty blockers, “hormone therapy,” and even surgical intervention.

Their remarks came at a Dec. 2 press conference where Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive order that protects access to “services, supplies, drug therapies, and other care that an individual may receive to support and affirm their gender identity,” including minors who do not live with their parents.

Read More

Report Exposes Shocking Details on DFL Sheriff’s Behavior During and After Drunk-Driving Crash

Admin

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted to censure Democratic Sheriff Dave Hutchinson Thursday and made public the results of a human resources investigation into his behavior.

Hutchinson’s career imploded in December 2021 when he was involved in a drunk-driving accident in his county-issued vehicle.

Read More

Minneapolis Mayor Convenes Workgroup After String of Downtown Closures

Admin

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey convened a “Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup” this week following a string of recent high-profile closures.

“Cities that see the most success post-pandemic won’t cling to the old ways that are now changed forever,” Frey said in a press release. “Here in Minneapolis, we will step boldly into the future, guided by the top experts in our region, prepared to innovate and adapt. Minneapolis has always been a hub of commerce and innovation, and I am confident that this workgroup will help ensure we continue carrying that legacy forward.”

Read More

Minnesota Department of Health Pushes COVID-19 Vaccine for Infants but Parents Are Resisting

Admin

The Minnesota Department of Health is once again urging parents to get children as young as six-months old vaccinated against COVID-19, citing low vaccination rates among kids.

According to MDH, fewer than 17% of children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years have received at least one dose and fewer than 5% of kids in this age group are up to date on their vaccines.

Read More

Zuckerbucks-Backed Group Back in Wisconsin

Minnesota Sun Staff

The liberal voting activist group that dumped $350 million of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s money on local election offices during the 2020 presidential election is back again with another $80 million to give over the next five years.

And Wisconsin once again will be front and center in the Center for Tech and Civic Life’s “generosity.”

Read More

Incoming Minnesota Republican Says Vaccine Mandates Are ‘Like’ Slavery

Admin

Rep.-elect Walter Hudson is doubling down on comments he made comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to slavery at a Mask Off Minnesota event in Bloomington earlier this week.

“I’m not saying that vaccine mandates are like slavery. I’m saying they are slavery because it is a claim of ownership over the life and body of another human being,” Hudson told Alpha News over the phone this week.

Read More

Minneapolis Police Ask Kia, Hyundai Owners to Take Precautions amid 900 Percent Increase in Thefts

Minnesota Sun Staff

Minneapolis police are urging the owners of Kias and Hyundais to protect their vehicles after reporting a nearly 900% spike in thefts of those makes from last year.

In a Monday press release, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) reported that 2,166 thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have taken place in 2022, up from 218 at this time last year.

Read More

Minnesota Student Made ‘Murder List’ of Classmates, Suspended for One Day, Police Report Says

Admin

A fifth-grade girl who allegedly wrote the names of several of her classmates on a whiteboard and called it her “murder list” was suspended for just one day and has been back in the classroom since Nov. 11, according to a police report obtained by Alpha News.

According to the report, Isanti Intermediate School Principal Mark Ziebarth confirmed a 10-year-old student had written the names of several children she said she was going to kill on a Chromebook whiteboard.

Read More

Teachers Union Wants $5 Billion from Minnesota’s Budget Surplus

Admin

The state’s teachers union, a top ally of and donor to Minnesota Democrats, who now control the whole of state government, said it wants a $5 billion chunk of the budget surplus.

Minnesota Management and Budget announced in an economic forecast this week that state lawmakers will have a projected $17.6 billion surplus to work with when crafting a budget for the 2024-2025 biennium next session. That’s up from an estimated $9.2 billion surplus projected in February.

Read More

Minnesota Ranks in the Top Five States for Cigarette Smuggling

The Center Square

A new study released by The Tax Foundation this week reports high tax rates on cigarettes induce smuggling of tobacco products from low-tax states or foreign sources into high-tax states.

“States and municipalities have spent millions to combat cigarette smuggling. Recent policy responses include greater law enforcement activity on interstate roads, differential tax rates near low-tax jurisdictions, banning common carrier delivery of cigarettes, and cracking down on tribal reservations that sell tax-free cigarettes,” the “Cigarette Taxes and Cigarette Smuggling by State, 2020” report said. “However, the underlying problem persists. High cigarette taxes act similarly to a ‘price prohibition’ on the legal product in many U.S. states, incentivizing smuggling and illicit activity.”

Read More

Minnesota Regulators Sue Companies Selling THC-Laced ‘Death by Gummy Bears’

Admin

The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy is accusing three companies of selling THC-saturated edibles in violation of state law.

In a Monday news release, the state pharmaceutical regulators announced a civil lawsuit against Northland Vapor Moorhead, Northland Vapor Bemidji, and Wonky Confections. The pharmacy board claims the companies are producing and selling edibles with levels of THC “far in excess” of state law, which limits THC levels to five milligrams per serving and 50 milligrams per package.

Read More

Civil Rights Complaint Filed Against Minnesota School District over Grant Excluding White Students

Admin

Faribault’s public school district is facing a federal civil rights complaint over a drug abuse prevention grant that appears to exclude white students.

Alpha News has learned that a Title VI complaint was filed against Faribault Public Schools less than 48 hours after the school board approved a $1.1 million grant to fund anti-drug abuse programs specifically aimed at “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” (BIPOC).

Read More

Doctors Allege Corruption and Mismanagement of COVID Pandemic Leaving Americans at High Risk for Vaccine Injury and Death

Susan Berry, PhD

Doctors and scientists who participated in Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson’s (R) COVID-19 roundtable Wednesday shared their personal experiences of the federal government’s alleged corruption and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic that they say have likely caused many more examples of serious vaccine injury for which Americans have no recourse.

Read More

Minnesota Projects $17.6 Billion Surplus

The Center Square

Minnesota’s Management and Budget estimate a general fund budget surplus of $17.6 billion for the fiscal year 2024-25 biennium.

“Strong collections and lower-than-projected spending add to the FY22-23 surplus,” the agency said. “Economic headwinds lower expected growth but large leftover surplus and healthy net revenues in FY24-25 create estimated $17.6B available for budget.”

Read More