Tag: Bloomington

Arizona Police Arrest Man for Alleged Terrorist Threats Against School Buses, Hospitals

Tom Pappert

Local and federal police announced the arrest of Amir Safavi Farokhi in Tucson on Monday, and revealed Farokhi allegedly made violent threats against two Tucson hospitals, school buses in Arizona and Indiana, and a female employee of the Bloomington, Indiana Police Department.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed Farokhi made phone calls from Tucson threatening to place pipe bombs on school buses in Indiana, and apparently while speaking to the Bloomington Police Department, threatened to “rape and murder a female employee,” specifically claiming he planned to “wait outside for her at the end of her shift.”

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DFL Raises White Flag on Statewide Ranked Choice Voting Push this Session

Admin

A well-funded push to make Minnesota a ranked choice voting state appears to have run out of steam — at least this session at the Minnesota Legislature.

On Monday, State Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, told his colleagues in the Senate Elections Committee that a bill introduced last month that would implement ranked choice voting for statewide and legislative races by 2026 “is much more complicated than we originally thought.”

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Minneapolis-Area Pride Celebration Billed as ‘Family-Friendly’ Featured Drag Queens Accepting Cash Tips, Condom Giveaways

Admin

The city of Bloomington’s second annual “Pride Celebration” — billed as a family-friendly event — saw drag queens receiving cash tips from young children and a giveaway of condoms and “Plan B” pills.

Minnesota photojournalist Rebecca Brannon posted to Twitter several pictures from the Saturday event, including three pictures showing kids tipping drag performers with cash.

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Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association Calls for Response From City of Bloomington for Commissioner’s ‘Divisive’ Comments

Hayley Feland

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) called for a “response” and “potentially further action” from the City of Bloomington following comments made by Bloomington Human Rights Commissioner Anita Smithson. In a letter, the MPPOA called Smithson’s comments “grossly inappropriate” at best and “appalling, divisive, and bring suspicion to the Human Rights Department” at worst.

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Minnesota Town Hosts Pride Event with Drag Performances for All Ages

Hayley Feland
Pride flag (rainbow) waving in the air

The city of Bloomington is hosting a pride event with drag performances, saying that the event is for all ages. A local group has called out the city for spending taxpayer money on drag performances, saying that is not an appropriate use of money. The Bloomington Patriots Facebook page has questioned the city for participating in “sexually grooming little children.” Human Rights Commissioner Anita Smithson called its concerns about the event “homophobic.”

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Bloomington Human Rights Commissioner in Minnesota Calls Back the Blue Event ‘Fascist Radicalization’

Hayley Feland
Anita Smithson

The City of Bloomington’s Human Rights Commissioner Anita Smithson called a Bloomington Back the Blue Rally “fascist radicalization.” While Smithson’s Twitter account is private, a member of the Bloomington Patriots Facebook group was able to provide screenshots of the tweets she sent regarding the event. Smithson tweeted out that “these people stuck in a cycle of fear and division don’t define us and don’t speak for us.”

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Mother of Minneapolis Man Who Threw Boy from Mall of America Balcony Says Her Son Doesn’t Belong in Jail

Anthony Gockowski

  Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, the 24-year-old man who was “looking for someone to kill” when he threw a five-year-old boy from a balcony at the Mall of America, entered a guilty plea Tuesday that will send him to prison for 19 years. Aranda’s mother, Becky Aranda, however, told reporters outside the courtroom that her son doesn’t belong in jail and that he “needs mental help.” “He don’t belong in jail. He needs mental help. That’s what he needs. He don’t need to be in jail. He’s really sick,” she said. Aranda’s mom Becky Aranda said her son has mental health issues and should not be in jail, but he refused to see family to challenge case pic.twitter.com/klKpgHZ57i — Chao Xiong (@ChaoStrib) May 14, 2019 Mrs. Aranda also revealed that her son showed up at his sister’s house three nights before the incident and shoved her. “When she called me after midnight, she told me that he had shoved her, which is something he had never done before. She immediately called the police and explained to the police about his mental situation and that they needed to locate him immediately before he did something else drastic to somebody else,” she said…

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