Author: Alpha News

Minnesota Parents, Private Colleges Suing Walz over PSEO Law Appear in Federal Court

Alpha News
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

A group of parents suing Gov. Tim Walz over a new law that would prohibit certain private colleges from participating in the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program appeared in federal court last week.

Melinda and Mark Loe and Dawn Erickson are co-plaintiffs in the petition they filed last year against Walz and his Minnesota Department of Education commissioner, Willie Jett, which alleges that a new law the Democratic governor signed to prohibit colleges that have a statement of faith requirement for students from participating in PSEO programs is unconstitutional.

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Minnesota Attorney General Sues Glock over Criminals Illegally Modifying Guns

Alpha News
Keith Ellison

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Thursday that he’s suing Glock, Inc., an Austrian firearms manufacturer, for “knowingly manufacturing and selling handguns that can easily be converted into machine guns,” he said in a livestream press conference and subsequent press release.

Although Glock does not manufacture the aftermarket add-on devices called auto sears or “switches,” which can convert Glock handguns to fire automatically and are generally illegal to possess in the United States, the attorney general accused Glock of “refus[ing] to make design changes to discourage this conversion and promotes ‘fun’ of machine guns.”

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Report: Minnesota DHS Has Not Tried to Recover More than $40 Million in Overpayments

Alpha News
Minnesota Money

A new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has not tried to recover over $40 million in overpayments that went to healthcare providers under the state’s Medical Assistance program.

In Minnesota, DHS is responsible for administering several healthcare programs including Medical Assistance (MA), the state’s Medicaid program.

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Derek Chauvin Hires New Attorney, Plans to Ask for Convictions to Be Overturned

Alpha News

Derek Chauvin’s new attorney indicated in court documents filed late last month that the former Minneapolis police officer plans to ask for his convictions to be overturned or, in the alternative, request a new trial.

Chauvin was found guilty in April 2021 of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree murder, and third-degree murder in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case in November 2023, ending his direct appeal.

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University of Minnesota Hit with Federal Civil Rights Complaint for ‘Segregated, Racially Discriminatory Program’

Alpha News
Liz Collin

The University of Minnesota has been hit with a federal civil rights complaint regarding a race-based program—and it isn’t the first time the feds have been called in to investigate.

Bill Jacobson, president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation and its Equal Protection Project, joined Liz Collin Reports to speak about the latest complaint his group has lodged against the U of M Twin Cities.

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Minnesota Republican Lawsuit Seeks New Election in House Seat That Could Decide Majority

Alpha News

Minnesota House of Representatives candidate Aaron Paul, a Republican, filed an election contest lawsuit on Friday that seeks to bring a new election in House District 54A.

The election in District 54A proved to be one of the closest elections in Minnesota this year. After a recount was conducted last week, State Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, led Paul by just 14 votes in the race for the Scott County legislative seat.

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Minneapolis Subsidizes Rent for Artists to Turn Vacant Storefronts into ‘Vibrant Cultural Hubs’

Alpha News
Blackbird Revolt

The City of Minneapolis has announced the first recipients of its Arts & Culture Vibrant Storefronts initiative, a pilot program providing over $224,000 to help local arts organizations turn empty storefronts into “vibrant cultural hubs.”

In a press release, Mayor Jacob Frey praised the initiative as a “game-changer,” adding, “This is just the beginning,” while pointing to plans to expand the program into Uptown with even more taxpayer dollars.

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Report: Minnesota Criminal Justice System ‘More Favorable’ to Black Criminals than White Criminals

Alpha News
Person Arrested

A newly released report from the Center of the American Experiment (CAE) challenges the narrative that Minnesota’s criminal justice system is racially biased against black offenders.

According to the report, titled “Case Closed: Minnesota’s Offender Outcomes Devoid of Racial Bias,” black offenders reportedly face more favorable outcomes in the system compared to white offenders across various stages, including incarceration.

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Oregon to Force Health Insurers to Cover Trans Surgeries for Minors

Alpha News
Surgeons

The state of Oregon is proposing a rule that will force all health insurers in the state, public and private alike, to cover genital mutilation surgery for minors who believe they are “transgender,” threatening the loss of state licenses for insurers who refuse.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the proposal from Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) follows the guidelines set by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which declares that the removal of children’s genitals are “medically necessary.” Following a law passed in 2023 making Oregon a so-called “trans sanctuary state,” the state has largely followed the orders of WPATH and other medically dubious organizations that support the false and scientifically-debunked idea of “transgenderism.”

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Starting in 2025, Illegal Immigrants Will Have Access to Minnesota’s Publicly-Funded Healthcare Program

Alpha News
Doctor and Patient

Illegal immigrants in Minnesota will be able to use a state-run healthcare program starting in Jan. of 2025, a bulletin from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) says.

Last year, Democrats in control of state government passed a law which expanded MinnesotaCare eligibility to illegal immigrants. A publicly-funded healthcare program that has existed since 1992, MinnesotaCare provides health insurance to low-income individuals.

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Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Grapples with ‘Destabilizing’ Turnover ‘Crisis’

Alpha News
Lawyers

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is in crisis, hemorrhaging attorneys at a rate that would make even a fast-food chain flinch.

That’s according to AFSCME Local 2938, a labor union that represents Hennepin County attorneys and legal support staff. In contract negotiation documents from August, the union warned that even with immediate pay adjustments, it could take years—if not decades—for some divisions within the office to regain “their pre-2023 levels of proficiency, professionalism, and recognized statewide leadership among fellow county attorneys’ offices.”

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Somali Pirate from Minneapolis Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Kidnapping

Alpha News
Abdi Yusuf Hassan

A Minneapolis man is one of two Somali pirates convicted of kidnapping this week and sentenced to federal prison for 30 years.

Abdi Yusuf Hassan, now 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen and prior resident of Minneapolis, along with Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, now 43, of Mogadishu, Somalia, held American journalist Michael Scott Moore hostage for nearly three years in Somalia after kidnapping him in 2012.

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Minnesota Public School Teacher Tells Students to ‘Take Today to Mourn’ Following ‘Heartbreaking’ Election

Alpha News
Brian Isles

A teacher at Minnesota Connections Academy, an online public school, sent an email to eighth grade Language Arts students saying he wondered how he “could possibly come to school” following last week’s election of President Donald Trump.

“It’s the fact that it’s pushing an agenda. The Democrats are saying that it’s not happening, but it very clearly is,” Antonio Pici, a law enforcement officer and veteran, shared with Alpha News.

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‘Difficult Day’: Workplaces, Schools React to Trump Election with ‘Aromatherapy’ and ‘Angry’ All-Staff Emails

Alpha News
Donald Trump

As local Republicans celebrate President Donald Trump’s historic reelection to the White House on Nov. 5, Minnesota workplaces, schools, and local leaders have responded by creating safe spaces and mourning.

“We have been through a Trump presidency before and we made it through,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a somber video posted to X. “We will make it through again.”

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GOP, DFL State House Leaders Prepare to Negotiate ‘Power-Sharing Agreement’

Alpha News
Hortman and Demuth

With almost all the dust settled the day after the election in Minnesota, caucus leaders in the Minnesota House faced the media for the first time since they learned that Republicans and DFLers are likely to be deadlocked in a 67-67 tie when the 2025 legislative session starts on Monday, Jan. 13

Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth both acknowledged that their caucuses will have just a few weeks to structure the organization of their chamber in a challenging, but not unprecedented, “power-sharing agreement.”

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U.S. House Report Says Walz ‘Colludes with the Climate Cartel’ in Managing Public Pension Fund

Alpha News
Tim Walz

A new report from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee claims that Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of Minnesota’s $140 billion public pension fund is driving up energy bills for consumers in Minnesota and other states.

Titled “How Governor Tim Walz’s State Public Pension Fund Colludes with the Climate Cartel to Raise Energy Costs for American Consumers,” the report accuses Walz of using the Minnesota State Board of Investment (MSBI) to push overly ambitious climate goals that are being felt in consumers’ wallets.

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Minnesota Teachers Union Conference to Feature Sessions on ‘Pronoun Usage,’ ‘2SLGBTQIA+’ Ideology

Alpha News
Education Minnesota

Public school teachers from across Minnesota will meet in St. Paul Oct. 17 to participate in a conference put on by Education Minnesota, the state’s teachers union.

At Education Minnesota’s 2024 MEA Conference, educators will learn about, and discuss, various public education topics in conference sessions throughout the day. While some of those sessions appear to cover noncontroversial topics, others are steeped in what Center of the American Experiment policy fellow Catrin Wigfall described as “ideological agendas.”

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As Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz Signed Legislation to Bypass Electoral College

Alpha News
Tim Walz

Over the span of 48 hours, national news outlets have reported that Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz went from declaring he’d like to see the Electoral College abolished in favor of a national popular vote to seemingly walking back that statement in a sit-down interview on ABC News.

But those who pay attention to not just what the Minnesota governor says on the national campaign trail, but what he has done in his capacity as governor, know better.

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Minnesota Housing Development Company with Plans to Build ‘Valuable Asset to the East African Community’ Sued for Fraud

Alpha News
Nolosha Development

In a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, an Eden Prairie business is accused of engaging in deceptive trade practices and defrauding Somali families.

Founded two years ago by “passionate Somali-American public health professionals,” Nolosha Development, LLC says it seeks to “address the housing disparity affecting East African households in the Twin Cities.” As such, the company allegedly has been working on the construction of a housing development in Lakeville called “Nolosha-Lakeville.”

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Minnesota Teacher Fired over Vax Mandate Warns: Gov. Tim Walz Is a ‘Petty Tyrant’ and ‘Not a Man of Reason’

Alpha News
Russ Stewart, Gov, Tim Walz

A college instructor who taught for nearly 30 years was fired due to the strict COVID protocols in Minnesota — just weeks before they were rescinded.

Russ Stewart was an instructor at Lake Superior College in Duluth where he taught ethics, logic and philosophy. The school is part of the Minnesota State System of Colleges and Universities and, as such, Stewart was a state employee.

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Angie Craig Voted Against Bill to Establish Protections for Babies Who Survive Attempted Abortions

Alpha News
Angie Craig

Republicans in Congress are working to add new protections in federal law for babies who are born during attempted abortions.

In January of 2023, the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. According to the bill’s chief author, Congresswoman Ann Wagner, the bill “will provide commonsense protections for innocent children and their mothers and will ensure all babies receive the essential care they need at an incredibly vulnerable moment.”

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Minnesota Man Believes He Was Recruited to Run a ‘Spoiler’ Campaign to Help Democrat Angie Craig

Alpha News
Angie Craig

A Brooklyn Center man who will appear on ballots this fall as the “Constitutional Conservative” Party candidate in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District has told a national media outlet he believes he was recruited to run as a third-party “spoiler” candidate for Democrats in one of the nation’s most closely watched U.S. House elections.

The Republican challenger in that race, Joe Teirab, is calling the act “blatant election interference” orchestrated by political allies of Democratic incumbent Angie Craig.

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Minnesota Department of Corrections Employee Quits After Men Inmates Are Allowed in Women’s Prison

Alpha News
Alicia Beckmann

After working for more than a decade as a GED instructor, Alicia Beckmann recently left her job because of a new transgender policy. According to Beckmann, the policy puts both corrections staff and inmates at risk.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections first transferred biological males Christina Lusk and Bradley Sirvio to Shakopee after Lusk successfully sued the state in 2023. A New York Post report last week revealed Gov. Tim Walz’s administration paid nearly $449,000 to a left-wing legal nonprofit as part of the resolution of Lusk’s case.

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Former Minnesota School Board Member Sues over Explicit Snapchat, Seeks Board Return

Alpha News

A former West Central Area School District board member is suing multiple individuals after resigning last year over a sexually explicit video he posted on Snapchat.

According to the lawsuit, Jared Olson, who recently filed to return to the school board, claims the video was intended for his wife, but was instead shared to his Snapchat “stories” by accident.

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Poll: Harris’ Lead Cut in Half in Minnesota After Adding Walz to the Ticket

Alpha News
Kamala Harris

Is it possible that a two-time elected Democratic governor of Minnesota is a drag on his presidential running mate in his own state?

That’s one takeaway from a poll conducted late last month on the race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in Minnesota, which shows Trump cutting Harris’ lead in half since she tapped Tim Walz to join her ticket as her vice presidential nominee.

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‘Never Walz’ Booth Draws Crowds as State Fair Political Scene Turns Attention to Minnesota’s Governor

Alpha News
Minnesota State Fair "Never Walz" Booth

The sound of a gameshow-like spinning wheel was almost as constant as the smell of fried foods on a stick along a stretch of Underwood Street on a mostly sunny Wednesday afternoon. A line of about five dozen people snaked its way down the boulevard stretching southward to Ye Old Mill at Carnes Avenue.

“You landed on Covid snitch line!” a volunteer from behind the “NEVER WALZ” booth shouted to a throng of onlookers who either cheered, jeered or were indifferent.

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Minnesota School Board Member Questions If People Will Survive Climate Change, White Supremacy

Alpha News
Jen Westmoreland

At a recent school board workshop meeting, Hopkins School Board member Jen Westmoreland questioned whether people will survive climate change and white supremacy.

“If we look at climate grief, if we look at the impacts of white supremacy, if we look at all of these systems of oppression that are bearing down—I mean, there’s like a survival element that we’re talking about, right?” Westmoreland said. “So it’s not like, are you going to go out and get [inaudible] job? It’s like, are you going to survive?”

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Illegal Immigrants, ‘Justice Impacted’ Individuals Among Groups Who Could Receive New Protections in Minneapolis

Alpha News

A series of potential additions to the Minneapolis Civil Rights Ordinance are under consideration in Minnesota’s largest city. Should these additions be authorized, illegal immigrants, the homeless, and so-called “justice impacted” persons could receive new protections.

Last week, the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission held a meeting to discuss potential changes to the Minneapolis Civil Rights Ordinance. At that meeting, Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez outlined what he referred to as “our plan” to add “homeless status, immigration status, and justice impacted status as protected classes” in the city’s civil rights ordinance.

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Walz Was Corrected in 2006 Campaign After Claiming Award from Nebraska Chamber of Commerce

Alpha News
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz

Gov. Tim Walz’s pattern of misrepresenting his record continues to come under scrutiny as he steps onto the national stage as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.

In early 2006, when Walz ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, his campaign website stated that he had received an award from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce for his contributions to the business community. This claim was refuted by Barry L. Kennedy, then-president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, who confirmed in a letter that Walz had never been the recipient of any such award.

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