St. Paul Primary Winner John Thompson Leads BLM Protest to Police Union Leader’s Neighborhood, Calls for Violence

Over the weekend, Democratic candidate John Thompson spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest by the home of police union leader Lt. Bob Kroll. Thompson recently won the Democratic primary for District 62A in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Multiple video coverages of Thompson’s seven-minute speech show him calling for violence against the “racists” of Hugo, Minnesota.

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President Trump to Speak in Minnesota on Monday

President Trump is scheduled to visit Minnesota on Monday, the first stop in a three-part campaigning tour including Wisconsin and Arizona. Each speech will address “Joe Biden’s failures on jobs and the economy.”

Ken Farnaso,  the deputy press secretary for the Trump campaign, confirmed Trump’s visits in a tweet Friday morning.

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Minnesota Senate Rejects Gov Walz’s Commissioner Appointee Nancy Leppink

The Minnesota Senate rejected Governor Walz’s appointee for the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) Commissioner Nancy Leppink in a close vote 34 to 32.

Following the four hour session on Wednesday, the governor’s office issued a news release sharing Leppink’s lengthy career and its successes, as well as statements from various councils and organizations who support her.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar Wins Democratic Primary, Shares Reelection Promises

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) has won the 2020 Democratic primary, beating her foremost challenger Antone Melton-Meaux. Omar will now face off with Republican candidate Lacy Johnson on Election Day.

Although the votes are still trickling in, Omar has secured the win with 58 percent of the vote compared to Melton-Meaux’s 40 percent.

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Minnesota Department of Health to Allow Visitors into Nursing Homes at the End of August

People wanting to visit their loved ones residing in nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be able to starting August 29, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Monday.

This will be the first time visitors have been allowed into long-term care facilities since March 31.

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Minnesota Nonprofit Used Donations Intended for Jailed Protesters to Bail Violent Offenders

The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), a bail-issuing nonprofit trending since George Floyd’s death, recently used donations intended for protestors to bail violent offenders. 
Donors intended for their MFF contributions to bail out jailed Black Lives Matter protestors. Instead, Fox News shared that MFF recently paid near half a million in cash to bail out two individuals whose charges are entirely unrelated to Floyd protests.

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Governor Walz Will Extend COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency Again

Governor Walz announced in a press release Friday that he will extend Minnesota’s COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency again by 30 days. The state’s peacetime emergency first went into effect March 13 – this is the fifth extension to date.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and rapidly evolving, and we can’t let our guard down,” stated Walz.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Hometown Newspaper Endorses Primary Rival Melton-Meaux

The editorial board of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN-05) hometown newspaper, The Star Tribune, endorsed her primary rival Antone Melton-Meaux Wednesday.

The board explained that they came to support Melton-Meaux after reviewing and interviewing both candidates extensively, stating that the candidate has “strong progressive values that align well with the district.”

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500 Twin Cities Healthcare Workers Test Negative for COVID-19

The University of Minnesota released a report Thursday in which all 500 Twin Cities healthcare workers tested in their study were negative for COVID-19. Their test subjects were the healthcare workers who have been tending to patients for months.

Considering the recent surge of cases, this is good news for the frontlines.

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DFL Files Campaign Finance Complaint Against Ilhan Omar’s Challenger Melton-Meaux

Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) filed a complaint against Democratic challenger Antone Melton-Meaux, claiming that his campaign created LLCs to shield the identity of several consultants and donors. The DFL filed the complaint exactly one week before the upcoming primary on August 11.

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Candidate Kendall Qualls Outraises Incumbent Dean Phillips, Again

Republican candidate for MN’s 3rd Congressional District Kendall Qualls has outraised incumbent Dean Phillips (DFL-MN-03) once again. According to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) July pre-primary reports released last Thursday, Qualls accumulated significantly more campaign contributions and cash-on-hand than Phillips.

In total, Qualls raised over $106,000 more than Phillips, and has about $68,000 more cash-on-hand. Representative Phillips’s $250,000 debt from his previous campaign was also listed on the report.

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Minneapolis City Planning Commission Votes to Add Commemorative Sign for George Floyd

The Minneapolis City Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday evening to add a commemorative sign reading “George Perry Floyd Jr. Place”, dedicating two blocks of Chicago Avenue to memorialize the May 25th killing. If fully approved by the city council, the sign will be placed between 37th Street East and 39th Street East. Along with the recent grant to preserve current George Floyd memorials throughout metro, many other memorial measures are occurring throughout the nation.
Guest speaker Matt Hanan with Minneapolis Public Works Transportation Engineering and Design introduced the proposal, along with its original applicant: Public Works’ Director Robin Hutcheson. Despite some news coverage that the two blocks along Chicago Avenue would be renamed “George Perry Floyd Jr. Place”, the application only proposes to add a secondary, distinctive sign for Floyd alongside the current street signage.

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Forensic Genetic Genealogy Cracks 30 Year Old Minnesota Cold Case

Michael Allen Carbo, Jr., of Chisholm, is the latest suspect to be identified using forensic genetic genealogy, a method in which law enforcement works with genetic genealogists to link crime scene DNA to commercial genealogy databases. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Nancy Daugherty over thirty years ago.

Although investigators went on to collect DNA samples from over 100 people, and the Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was able to create a full DNA suspect profile from evidence at the scene, the case went cold. The problem was, Carbo never committed any high-level crimes that warranted his DNA making it into a state database.

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Governor Walz’s Plan Defers to Schools for Campus Openings

Governor Tim Walz announced Thursday that Minnesota schools will have the majority of authority on if or how they open campuses, based on discretionary assessment of their district’s localized data.

According to Walz’s Emergency Executive Order 20-82 and the accompanying “Safe Learning Plan,” schools must watch the spread of COVID-19 in their communities to determine the learning model that will suit their needs. These models are also subject to change throughout the school year, a protocol that Walz refers to as “dialing back [or] forward” in his executive order.

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Governor Frey Orders Minneapolis Bar and Dancing Areas to Close

Minneapolis business owners are reeling after Governor Mayor Jacob Frey’s latest order closing “bar areas” indefinitely starting Saturday.

According to the Minnesota Emergency Regulation 2020-17, counter service at bar areas will be prohibited. The regulation extends to dance floor areas, stages, game rooms, or “any space that is undefined or does not provide for seated food and/or beverage service.” The city estimates that this will impact more than 640 businesses.

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Kodak Company Flips to Pharma

A Kodak moment for the books: the former film giant flipped to pharma in a move aimed to rejuvenate the company after nearly two decades of hardship. Several reports state that Kodak branched out to offset the large-scale loss of its film business – punctuated by a bankruptcy in 2012 after the concept of the digital camera that it invented rendered many of its product offerings obsolete.

Initial talks of Kodak’s new active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) division, branded “Kodak Pharmaceuticals,” began as early as a few months ago according to Kodak CEO Jim Continenza. He says the move shouldn’t be all that surprising.

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Minnesotans Divided Over ‘Safe Return’ to Schools

This week, educators and parents wait with bated breath on Governor Tim Walz’s upcoming decision on a safe return to schools.
On the Facebook page, “Minnesota for a Safe Return to Campus”, the greatest concerns were mainly posted by educators. Death, unrealistic demands, a future lack of interest in teaching as a profession, and the inability to be with elderly loved ones were all consistent issues listed throughout the page.

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Gov Walz to Review Extensive Police Reform Bill

Minnesota’s House and Senate approved the SSHF1 amendment last Monday, a big bill positioned to issue widespread police reform throughout the state. Since its passage 102-29 in the House and 60-7 in the Senate, the bill now rests in the hands of Governor Tim Walz. 

SSHF1 is as long as it is weighty in its impact, with around 15 action items up for approval. Not only does it endeavor to further define legal use of force, but it creates and funds an administrative host of units, councils, and boards.

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Representative Ilhan Omar Names Opponent’s Donors in Mailer

The latest mailer from Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Mn-05) named the donors of her Democratic primary opponent, Antone Melton-Meaux. Three of the named donors are Jewish, with the fourth from a Jewish community. District voters began receiving the mailer last week. Since then, both supporters and critics of Omar are divided amongst themselves over its meaning.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Bernie Sanders Push Bill Taxing Billionaires 60 Percent to Fund One Year of Healthcare for All

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced a bill Friday to tax billionaires sixty percent of their pandemic-earned assets. The proposed bill, “Make Billionaires Pay Act,” would use the tax money to cover individual healthcare expenses for one year.

In a tweeted video, Sanders argued billionaires have profited off the coronavirus pandemic while the rest of the country has suffered.

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