Category: The Upper-Midwest

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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Wisconsin GOP’s Eric Hovde Concedes Senate Race to Tammy Baldwin

Just the News
Wisconsin Senate Race

Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde conceded his race to Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Monday, saying he did not want to “add to political strife through a contentious recount.”

Hovde was down about about 29,000 votes from Baldwin, putting the margin at less than a percentage point, The Associated Press reported. The vote margin allowed him to request a recount that he would have had to pay for himself. Baldwin declared victory in the Senate race two days after Election Day.

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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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Critics Blast Michigan Bail Reform Bills as ‘Clear Threat to Public Safety’

The Center Square
Graham Filler

Six bills under consideration in the Michigan’s House Criminal Justice Committee would reform state law to limit judges from requiring bail as a condition of release for some accused criminals awaiting trial.

Among other changes, House Bills 4655-4656 and 4658-4661 would stiffen the criteria for imposing detention conditions on a person accused of a low-level crime awaiting trial, denying judges the ability to factor in a defendant’s criminal history, prior failures to appear in court, or potential danger to the community.

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Michigan Election Legislation Would Clarify Early, Absentee Voting Procedures

The Center Square
Penelope Tsernoglou

State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, introduced four House bills that would expand the allowable uses for on-demand ballot printing and clarify statutory language that was missed when implementing Michigan’s Proposal 2 of 2022.

HB 6052 would allow clerks to use on-demand ballot printing for same-day registration voters in a clerk’s office or in election day voting centers. It would also allow on-demand ballot printing for ballots printed in a language other than English so that clerks could avoid having to pre-print large numbers of non-English ballots.

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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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Underly Proposes $4 Billion in New Wisconsin K-12 Education Spending for Next Biennial Budget

The Center Square
Jill Underly

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly said she plans to ask for more than $4 billion in new state spending on the state’s schools, which was termed an “additional $3 billion” in the upcoming 2025-27 biennial budget.

The figures are just a request at this point before Gov. Tony Evers offers his proposal and then legislative budget writers in the Republican-led legislature begin their process.

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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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Michigan House Flips Republican, Ending Trifecta of Democratic Control

The Center Square
Michigan Capitol

Republicans have taken back control of the Michigan House, flipping the chamber they lost in 2022 and ending Democrats’ governing trifecta.

Republicans will likely work to change the series of Democrat pieces of legislation implemented over the past two years, such as repealing Michigan’s Right To Work law, passing gun safety restrictions, handing out corporate subsidies in efforts to boost electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption in the state, and allowing state regulators to override local zoning laws and public choice to expand green energy projects across the state.

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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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Michigan Supreme Court Expands Democratic Majority as GOP-Backed Judges Fail to Pick Up Seats

Daily Caller News Foundation
Michigan Supreme Court

Democrats expanded their majority on the Michigan Supreme Court, picking up an additional seat, multiple outlets reported.

Both of the Democrat-backed candidates defeated their Republican-backed opponents, shifting the Democratic majority to 5-2, according to multiple reports. Nominees for the state supreme court are chosen during party conventions, although the race is listed as nonpartisan on the ballot.

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Michigan Is a Road to the White House, Rep. Huizenga Says

The Daily Signal
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said he has seen a political shift in the swing state of Michigan.

“It’s interesting to see how Michigan has just grown in importance, and as a crossroads,” Huizenga told The Daily Signal, “quite literally the road to the White House, the road to the Senate [Republican] majority, and the road to our own majority in the House of Representatives, I think runs right through Michigan.”

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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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Wisconsin DMV Provides Free State ID Cards for Voting Purposes

The Center Square
People Voting

 U.S. citizens residing in Wisconsin who do not already have an approved photo ID or the necessary identification documents to obtain one can still apply for a temporary identification card for voting purposes, free of charge.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation requests all Wisconsinites applying for the temporary free ID used for voting – this is not a Wisconsin Voter ID, which does not exist – bring proof of name and date of birth, proof of identity, proof of state residency and proof of U.S. citizenship.

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Non-Citizen Allegedly Cast Ballot in Michigan, Faces Criminal Charges

Just the News
Voting Stickers

A non-citizen allegedly cast a ballot in Michigan and is facing criminal charges, according to the Michigan secretary of state’s office.

The non-citizen allegedly registered to vote and cast a ballot at an Ann Arbor early voting site on Sunday, per a joint statement from the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office and the Michigan secretary of state’s office. The alleged non-citizen voter faces charges of Unauthorized Elector Attempting To Vote and Perjury – Making a False Affidavit for Purpose of Securing Voter Registration.

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Michigan Bill Would Increase Voter ID Requirements

The Center Square
Michigan Voter ID Bill

Michigan voters would need to provide extensive documentation when showing up to the polls in order for their vote to be immediately counted if a newly introduced state senate bill becomes law.

Senate Bill 1034, sponsored by state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Allen, would require Michiganders to present both proof of identity and proof of residency when signing an affidavit to receive a ballot at polling locations.

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Wisconsin Early Voting Delayed by Label Printing Issues

Just the News
Voting Booth

Early voting in Wisconsin has been delayed due to label printing problems, causing voters to wait hours in line to vote in some cases.

The state began early voting on Tuesday, with voters waiting up to three hours to cast ballots in West Bend, a city 40 miles northwest of Milwaukee with a population of about 32,000, The Washington Post reported. After state election officials said late Tuesday that the computer issues causing the label printing problems were resolved, they acknowledged on Wednesday that they had occurred again. Voters waited about 90 minutes to vote on Wednesday.

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Michigan to Use Millions of Taxpayer Dollars for Free Birth Control

Daily Caller News Foundation
Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer launched a new multimillion-dollar program in her state Wednesday offering free birth control to all residents.

The “Take Control of your Birth Control” program will provide Michiganders with condoms, over-the-counter oral contraceptives and emergency contraception starting in November until supplies run out, according to a press release. The program is being administered by Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services, which was awarded $5.6 million in taxpayer funds to expand family planning services, according to the state’s budget.

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Detroit Muslim Leader Removed from Harris Campaign Rally Says Muslims Feel ‘Unwelcome in This Party’

Just the News
Ahmed Ghanim

A Detroit Muslim leader was removed from a Kamala Harris rally and says a campaign organizer told him to leave without providing a reason.

“She took me to the door, and she closed it, and I found two police officers waiting there, and she said, ‘You have to leave right now,’” Ghanim told the Metro Times on Tuesday. “I asked why she was kicking me out. She wouldn’t answer. I was very calmly asking why I was being kicked out.”

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Voter Registration Data Shows Pennsylvania Shifting Towards Trump

American Greatness
Voter Registration

With just 13 days left until the 2024 election, Democrats have lost significant ground to Republicans in voter registration in one crucial battleground state.

As reported by Fox News, the state of Pennsylvania currently has 9,088,583 registered voters as of the end of the registration period on Monday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Of that total, 3,971,607 are Democrats while 3,673,783 are Republicans. Another 1.4 million are registered as independent or with a third party.

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Minnesota County Fires Election Worker After Republican Spots Ballot Security Lapse in Realtime

Daily Caller News Foundation
Election Ballots

Hennepin County, Minnesota, fired an election worker who left several boxes of mail-in ballots unattended after a local GOP group exposed the alleged negligence, according to a statement from county officials released Friday.

Minnesota Senate District 50 Republicans — the Republican Party’s official political unit for portions of Minnesota cities Edina and Bloomington — snapped a photo outside of Edina City Hall Friday showing a courier vehicle’s “rear door ajar with ballot transfer cases inside.” A review of parking lot surveillance footage found the ballots were not tampered with, and a comparison of the votes with the statewide voter registration system for absentee ballots found a perfect match.

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Michigan Judge Blocks Republican Effort to Limit Votes of Children and Spouses of Americans Overseas

Just the News

A federal judge in Michigan on Monday blocked a Republican-led effort to limit the votes of certain adult children and spouses of military servicemembers and other personnel who are stationed overseas.

The Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson earlier this month, questioning the constitutionality of allowing voters who were born to military service members or diplomatic staff stationed overseas to vote in the state if they never actually resided there.

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Groups Split over Wisconsin Ballot Measure Preventing Non-Citizens from Voting

The Center Square
Voting Line

Opponents of Wisconsin’s November ballot proposal are intensifying efforts to dissuade voters from approving the measure meant to prevent non-citizens from voting.

Currently, the Wisconsin constitution states that “Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district” is a qualified voter; the ballot proposal would replace the phrase “every United States citizen” with “only a United States citizen.”

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Complaint Alleges Michigan’s Top Election Official Misrepresented Facts to Keep RFK Jr. on Ballot

The Daily Signal
Jocelyn Benson

Michigan’s top election official, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, is the subject of a bar complaint over her department’s actions to keep independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name on the ballot.

State Sen. Ruth Johnson, a Republican who immediately preceded Benson as secretary of state, filed the bar complaint alleging that Benson manipulated procedures to undermine the Nov. 5 election.

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‘Women’s Sports Are Legal’: Female Athletes Challenge Trans Activists at Minnesota Supreme Court

Daily Caller News Foundation
San Jose State Volleyball

In the absence of NCAA rules limiting eligibility for women’s college volleyball to females, several teams forfeited games against San Jose State University this season without explicitly citing a player on SJSU’s team who allegedly is a transgender athlete.

The University of Nevada overruled its team this week when players voted to forfeit its Oct. 26 match against SJSU, claiming a forfeit would violate state and federal law and NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules, but promised not to punish individuals for sitting out.

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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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Michigan Catholic Bishops Slam Whitmer over Viral Skit Accused of Mocking Communion

Just the News
Gretchen Whitmer

The Michigan Catholic bishops conference on Friday slammed the state’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over a skit that appeared to mock people receiving Communion. 

The video, which was posted on social media by podcast host Liz Plank, showed Whitmer placing a Dorito onto the kneeling Plank’s tongue in the same manner that priests place a wafer on the recipient’s tongue in the Holy Eucharist.

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‘Frankly Disturbing’: Cheryl Fritze Unravels Michigan Governor’s Viral Doritos Video

Kaitlin Housler
Gretchen Whitmer

Cheryl Fritze, director of News Operations for Michigan News Source, said the viral video posted on Thursday showing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer feeding a Doritos chip to left-wing podcaster Liz Plank is “frankly disturbing” and “very offensive to an awful lot of people.”

The video shows Whitmer, wearing a Harris-Walz camo ball cap, hand-feeding a chip to Plank, kneeling in front of the governor.

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GOP County Clerks Assure Michigan Voters of Election Integrity, Safeguards

The Center Square

Republican local election officials and clerks from across Michigan reassured voters that the electoral process in Michigan is safe, secure, and transparent on a virtual press call Tuesday.

In the briefing hosted by the nonpartisan coalition Michigan Partnership for Secure Elections, county clerks outlined the extensive steps taken to secure local elections, including poll worker training, public inspections of voting machines, public audits and election day oversight.

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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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Wisconsin School District Asks Taxpayers for Additional $124.4 Million in Referendums

The Center Square
Teaching Students

The Wauwatosa School District is asking voters to approve a pair of referendums worth $124.4 million on the Nov. 5 ballot.

But a taxpayer advocacy group believes the district, with declining enrollment, should “right-size” its current budget rather than using a referendum to spend more taxpayer money. The group pointed toward a second planned referendum in 2026 as part of a cycle of tax increases that it believes needs to end.

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