Legal

Auditor: DHS wrongly ignored autism kickback complaints, misread its own authority

12m TC 3

An audit by the Office of the Legislative Auditor found Minnesota DHS’s Office of Inspector General repeatedly declined to investigate kickback‑only complaints in the EIDBI autism program because staff mistakenly believed state law didn’t cover those allegations — a confusion traced to a decades‑old DHS administrative rule that cited the wrong federal fraud statute. The report documents uninvestigated complaints and internal decision‑making, flags broader fraud‑screening and case‑selection weaknesses, and urges rewriting rules, retraining OIG staff and creating explicit procedures after lawmakers made the authority clear in a 2025 statute.

Health Legal Local Government

Bill would tightly limit Minnesota license‑plate reader data

4h Breaking TC 1

Rep. Brad Tabke has introduced HF 4205, a statewide bill to sharply restrict how automatic license plate reader (ALPR) data is collected, stored and shared by Minnesota law enforcement and private vendors, a move aimed squarely at practices exposed during Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. Announced at a St. Paul press conference with the ACLU of Minnesota, the proposal would centralize ALPR data at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, require that any data not tied to an active criminal investigation be deleted within 48 hours, and mandate warrants before out‑of‑state agencies can access Minnesota plate records. ACLU attorney John Boehler said public records show some agencies have essentially opened their LPR systems to federal and out‑of‑state users, resulting in more than 15,000 searches per day in January and February and over 425,000 searches at a single metro agency in six weeks, often without warrants or clear case ties. Residents who monitored ICE during Metro Surge told reporters they believe agents used license‑plate hits to track them to their homes, describing vehicles slowing down to photograph their houses as acts of intimidation. The bill would also impose new transparency and consent rules on private ALPR companies, banning sale or sharing of personal data without consent, a warrant or a court order, and is set for its first hearing in the House Judiciary Finance and Policy Committee.

Local Government Legal Technology

Funeral plans set for Sgt. Nicole Amor, White Bear Lake soldier killed in Iran conflict

8h Breaking TC 6

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor of White Bear Lake was one of six Army Reserve soldiers killed March 1 when an Iranian drone struck a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, and was honored in a dignified transfer at Dover attended by President Trump, Vice President Vance and Minnesota senators. Visitation is set for Thursday, March 19, from 2–6 p.m. at Mueller Memorial in White Bear Lake, with a public funeral at noon Friday at Eagle Brook Church followed by a private interment at Fort Snelling, and Gov. Tim Walz has ordered U.S. and Minnesota flags at half‑staff statewide until sunset on the day of her interment.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Ramsey County attorney seeks funding to tackle statewide fraud

18h TC 1

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi says his office is willing to become a main prosecutorial hub for complex statewide fraud cases — including schemes tied to state government in St. Paul — but only if lawmakers cough up more money for investigators and attorneys. In an interview with FOX 9, Choi pointed to his office’s past work on a $4 million daycare fraud ring and said they currently handle about 50 fraud cases a year, arguing they could take on more statewide cases because the State Capitol sits in Ramsey County and gives his office jurisdiction over many state‑level crimes that don’t involve federal dollars. A recent state fraud report explicitly recommended boosting the “prosecutorial capacity” of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, effectively inviting Choi to step into a bigger role as Minnesota scrambles to respond to mounting fraud scandals in human services and beyond. Choi admits he hasn’t yet had serious funding talks with legislators, calling the idea ‘early stages’ and stressing that any expansion would require a ‘robust’ team of investigators, not just lawyers. For Twin Cities residents watching DHS, Medicaid and childcare fraud stack up while cases bog down, the signal here is clear: Ramsey County is offering to swing harder — but only if the state stops pretending you can do big‑league fraud enforcement on a small‑ball budget.

Legal Local Government Business & Economy

Judge frees Metro Surge detainee DHS called 'Worst of Worst'

21h TC 1

Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson has ordered the immediate release of Carlos Flores‑Miguel, an El Salvadoran man DHS publicly branded one of the “Worst of the Worst,” after finding his detention was unlawfully prolonged by a series of government missteps during Operation Metro Surge. Flores‑Miguel was grabbed by federal agents outside his workplace in the Twin Cities metro on Jan. 20, accused of being an MS‑13 member and registered sex offender, and briefly faced sealed criminal charges before DOJ quietly dropped the case. In a written habeas ruling, Nelson detailed a bureaucratic mess in which ICE and DOJ bounced him between Minnesota and Texas, could not even say who had him in custody at points, and then slapped an immigration hold on him after telling the court he would be released, concluding that only outright release could remedy the violations. Flores‑Miguel, who has prior illegal‑reentry convictions and was accused of violently resisting arrest, is now living in Newport under strict supervision conditions that bar him from associating with known gang members and require regular ICE check‑ins. He cannot be sent back to El Salvador because an immigration judge previously found he would likely face torture there, and DHS is now floating Mexico as a possible 'third‑country' deportation — a legally shaky plan given ongoing court fights and no clear indication Mexico will take him. For metro residents, the case is another concrete example of federal agencies overselling Metro Surge arrests in press materials while federal judges here keep finding the underlying detentions unconstitutional or incompetent.

Legal Public Safety

Minnesota lawmakers revive ghost gun ban after court ruling

22h Developing TC 1

Minnesota Democrats are pushing a new ban on untraceable "ghost guns" after the state Supreme Court effectively gutted the previous law, ruling last year that serial‑number requirements only applied where federal law also required them. The proposed legislation, which has cleared a Senate committee, would close that gap by explicitly outlawing unserialized, home‑built firearms that can be 3D‑printed or assembled from kits bought online and that bypass background checks, a growing concern for metro police trying to trace shootings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Gun‑rights groups, including the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, are fighting the measure, arguing that the state already has extensive laws against violent crime and illegal possession and that expanding criminal liability will hit "law‑abiding" hobbyists more than criminals. Passage in the narrowly divided full House and Senate is uncertain, so for Twin Cities residents this is an early test of how far lawmakers are willing to go this session to rein in a class of weapons that investigators say increasingly show up at crime scenes with no paper trail. Behind the scenes, law enforcement has been complaining for years that ghost guns are a major blind spot in firearms tracing, but the court’s ruling forced legislators either to fix the statute or live with essentially legal, untraceable guns on city streets.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

144 pounds of meth seized in St. Louis Park raid

1d Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors have charged 22‑year‑old Jose Manuel Jimenez‑Zamorano with first‑degree drug sale after investigators say they found roughly 144.3 pounds of methamphetamine in a St. Louis Park apartment last October. The search warrant was executed Oct. 1, 2025, at an apartment on the 2500 block of Nevada Avenue South, where deputies report they discovered the drugs in a tote containing mail addressed to Jimenez‑Zamorano and in two suitcases in a bedroom closet, along with packaging materials associated with distribution. An adult woman in the unit told officers he lived there and used the bedroom where the stash was found, according to the complaint. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office publicly touted the bust at the time as a major milestone in a multi‑agency effort to disrupt meth trafficking into the county, but said details were limited because the probe was ongoing. Jimenez‑Zamorano has now been charged via warrant, his whereabouts are unknown, and a nationwide warrant has been issued, meaning a key alleged player in a large‑scale Twin Cities meth pipeline is currently on the run.

Public Safety Legal

Ex‑ICE attorney Julie Le to challenge Omar in MN‑05

3d Breaking TC 1

Former ICE attorney Julie Le, who went viral in February for telling a federal judge "this system sucks, this job sucks" amid a crush of Operation Metro Surge cases, formally launched a Democratic primary campaign Saturday in Brooklyn Park for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Ilhan Omar. Le told supporters she is "overwhelmed" by their backing and said her run is driven by the fallout of the Twin Cities ICE crackdown, citing families torn apart, allegedly unlawful detentions, and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti as proof the system is broken. She previously represented ICE in immigration court and then volunteered to help the U.S. Attorney’s Office handle a flood of habeas petitions from immigrants claiming wrongful detention, with court dockets showing she was assigned to more than 85 such cases before the Trump administration pulled her off them hours after her outburst. Le is making comprehensive immigration reform the centerpiece of her platform, arguing that Metro Surge has shuttered family businesses and killed innocent U.S. citizens for exercising constitutional rights. Her entry sets up a high‑profile Democratic fight in the Minneapolis‑anchored district that has become ground zero for national battles over immigration enforcement and federal overreach.

Elections Legal Public Safety

Man fatally shot in Uptown Minneapolis parking lot

3d Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a man was fatally shot around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 2026, while standing with a group of people in a parking lot near Hennepin Avenue and West 24th Street. Responding officers found him with a gunshot wound and he later died at the hospital; his name has not yet been released. Investigators say the gunfire came from outside the group he was standing with, and no arrests have been made as detectives work to determine what led up to the shooting. Police Chief Brian O’Hara issued a statement calling the killing "senseless" and pledging to do everything possible to identify those responsible. Anyone with information is urged to contact MPD via email at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or by leaving a voicemail at 612‑673‑5845, as residents again confront late‑night gun violence along a major commercial corridor.

Public Safety Legal

Minnesota Senate panel advances assault‑weapons ban, local gun‑law powers

3d Developing TC 1

Minnesota senators spent Friday in a marathon Judiciary Committee hearing on 17 gun‑related bills, headlined by a proposed statewide assault‑weapons ban prompted in part by the recent mass shooting at Annunciation Church and School in Minneapolis. Survivors and families, including the father of slain student Harper Moyski, urged lawmakers to restrict rifles designed for rapid fire and catastrophic wounds, while Republicans pointed to the 2016 Crossroads Mall knife attack in St. Cloud to argue that civilians may need similar firepower for self‑defense. The package also includes bills that would let cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul enact stricter local gun ordinances, create a state Office of Gun Prevention, and reinstate a 2024 ban on binary triggers that effectively turn semiautomatics into near‑automatics. Most of the measures cleared the DFL‑controlled committee, but their future is murky in Minnesota’s tied House, where several are already stalled. For Twin Cities residents who live with routine gunfire and are watching school, church and nightlife shootings stack up, this is the latest front in a fight that will decide whether the state tightens access to certain weapons and lets the core cities go further than the statewide floor.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Ex‑military lawyers challenge JAG prosecutors in MN ICE cases

3d TC 1

A group of 11 former military attorneys, including ex‑Marine JAG and former Minnesota federal prosecutor John Marti, has filed a motion to remove an active‑duty Army JAG Corps lawyer from prosecuting a felony assault case in Minnesota federal court tied to Operation Metro Surge. They argue that using active‑duty military attorneys as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in civilian criminal cases erodes the long‑standing separation between the armed forces and domestic law enforcement, calling it a 'dangerous risk to the Republic' rooted in the very concerns the Founders tried to head off. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, bleeding staff and already under fire for surge‑related habeas defeats and contempt findings, has been importing JAGs to handle both civil and criminal dockets; at least one has already been held in contempt, underscoring how far out of their lane some of these lawyers may be. DOJ counters with a legal memo from Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser claiming the Posse Comitatus Act allows these deployments so long as the JAGs work full‑time under civilian supervision, but that’s exactly the interpretation Marti’s group wants a federal judge here to test. With a hearing set for early next month in the Paul Johnson assault‑on‑agents case, the fight will put on the record whether Trump’s Justice Department can plug its Minnesota staffing crisis by effectively militarizing parts of the prosecution function in Metro Surge cases that directly touch Twin Cities communities.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

State clears Savage daycare where infant died to reopen under monitoring

4d Developing TC 2

The state has formally cleared Rocking Horse Ranch in Savage to reopen after its suspension following the death of 11‑month‑old Harvey Muklebust, and the 18‑year‑old worker in the case has been charged and is no longer on staff. State regulators said their maltreatment investigation found no longer an “imminent risk of harm” at the facility and that there was “no apparent reason” the center would have known the worker posed a threat.

Public Safety Legal Health

Federal judges’ written orders slam ICE Metro Surge as unconstitutional, 'Orwellian'

5d Breaking TC 16

Federal judges across the District of Minnesota have issued written orders blasting ICE’s Operation Metro Surge as unconstitutional and “Orwellian,” finding multiple Fourth Amendment violations — including warrantless battering‑ram home entries and workplace arrests — and ordering immediate releases, a 72‑hour limit on out‑of‑state transfers and expanded attorney access. Courts say ICE and DOJ have repeatedly flouted hundreds of these orders amid a surge of habeas petitions in the high hundreds to over 1,000, prompting contempt findings and threats of fines or criminal sanctions while the U.S. Attorney’s Office, depleted by resignations and overwhelmed by the caseload, struggles to comply as ICE at times re‑arrested released individuals and seeks to restart deportations.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Judges threaten contempt as Rosen again defends ICE surge order violations

5d Developing TC 3

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen was summoned back to court for another contempt‑focused hearing after judges found ongoing violations of an ICE surge order and missed court‑ordered deadlines, indicating compliance remains incomplete. In more than two dozen rulings — including at least some civil‑contempt findings — judges have sharply criticized the government as "craven," "disturbing" and "Orwellian," pointing to concrete cases such as the detention of a Somali Amazon worker and the transfer of a 12‑year‑old taken without warrants.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Staffing exodus jeopardizes next Feeding Our Future trial

5d Developing TC 1

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to delay the June 8 trial of Feeding Our Future defendant Abdiraham Ahmed, admitting in a new court filing that "significant staffing changes" at the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office and a separate, lengthy April trial in the same fraud saga mean they can’t be ready on time. Ahmed, charged in 2022 with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, is out on his own recognizance and opposes any postponement, but a ruling on the government’s motion is still pending. The filing confirms that the office has suffered double‑digit departures, including lead Feeding Our Future prosecutor Joe Thompson, just weeks after U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen publicly insisted his office had "all of this bandwidth and more" and warned criminals not to assume a shortage of lawyers. The motion explicitly blames those departures and the upcoming seven‑defendant Feeding Our Future trial for the crunch, undercutting Rosen’s spin and raising hard questions about how fast the government can move the rest of the massive Minneapolis‑centered nutrition‑fraud cases. For Twin Cities residents whose tax dollars were looted and who’ve already watched DHS and DOJ stumble through Metro Surge, this is another sign that Washington overreached on immigration crackdowns while hollowing out the very office that’s supposed to clean up Minnesota’s fraud mess.

Legal Business & Economy Local Government

BCA exposes 595 non‑public criminal records online

5d Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says a computer error in its Minnesota Criminal History System (CHS) caused non‑public criminal history records for 595 people to be posted on the state’s public criminal‑history website for varying lengths of time. According to a BCA notice, the glitch occurred when CHS failed to recognize recent activity on certain records that contained non‑public items, allowing them to be copied to the public site; some third‑party vendors also obtained the data through records requests. The issue lasted roughly a month before being corrected on Feb. 25, 2026, but officials have not disclosed whose records were exposed or exactly what information was revealed. The BCA says it will produce a formal report on the incident and is directing anyone who wants a copy to email BCA.DataResponse@state.mn.us with their contact information. For Twin Cities residents whose employment, housing and licensing often hinge on background checks that rely on this system, the episode raises serious questions about data integrity and what remedies, if any, will be offered to people whose supposedly non‑public records were briefly made public.

Public Safety Legal Technology

Eagan hit-and-run suspect with 3 prior DWIs claimed victim ‘jumped’ in front of SUV

6d Breaking TC 3

Police arrested Rolando Miranda Martinez in connection with a fatal hit-and-run Saturday in Eagan that killed 40-year-old Leslie Youngberg; Martinez, who has three prior DWI convictions (2012–2023), is charged in Dakota County with leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and faces related counts prosecutors say include criminal vehicular homicide. Investigators say he fled after the crash despite heavy front-end and windshield damage to his white Honda CR‑V, attempted to leave his home in an Uber before being taken into custody, and allegedly told officers that "a thing" jumped out in front of him, that it was drunk or homeless, and that he was returning from a Minneapolis bar but denied drinking; police obtained warrants for his phone and a blood sample and toxicology results are pending.

Public Safety Legal

Judge details ‘compelling and troubling’ evidence of racial profiling by ICE in Minnesota

6d TC 2

Judge Eric Tostrud found "compelling and troubling" evidence that ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents in Minnesota likely engaged in racial profiling and unconstitutional immigration enforcement after parsing specific stop-and-arrest scenarios and internal agency guidance. He nonetheless declined to issue an injunction, saying plaintiffs had not shown the required future harm and noting the government’s claim it was winding down certain operations, while distinguishing constitutional defects in agency policies from misconduct by individual officers.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Lyft settles state suit over rides denied to blind rider

6d Breaking TC 1

Lyft has reached a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in a lawsuit alleging that its drivers repeatedly refused rides to a blind woman because of her service dog, a clear violation of disability-rights law if proven. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and the Minnesota Disability Law Center brought the case in 2021 on behalf of client Tori Andres, documenting at least six instances where she and her service dog, Alfred, were stranded by Lyft drivers while heading to medical appointments. The settlement terms have not yet been released; MDHR says it will outline details at an 11:30 a.m. news conference in St. Paul that FOX 9 plans to stream live. For Twin Cities residents who rely on ride-hailing to reach work, school, or the doctor — especially blind and low-vision riders — this deal will signal how aggressively the state is willing to police discrimination by gig platforms and what concrete protections and enforcement mechanisms will exist going forward.

Legal Health Technology

Expired BAC solution at regional lab raises DWI case doubts

6d TC 1

A Roseville-based defense attorney is challenging blood‑alcohol test results from the Midwest Regional Forensic Laboratory, which serves Anoka, Wright and Sherburne counties, after the lab admitted it used an expired testing solution on blood samples in July 2023. According to a letter cited by attorney Chuck Ramsay, the lab says nine cases were affected but insists the results remain reliable, a stance he attacks as 'trust me' science given the high stakes of DWI prosecutions. Ramsay argues the expired solution could be skewing BAC readings in ways that cost people their driver’s licenses and saddle them with criminal records, and says his client’s DWI trial has already been delayed while the issue is litigated. The lab, which previously acknowledged in 2010 that its urine alcohol tests were about one‑third too high, did not respond to FOX 9’s latest questions about the expired reagent or how it validated its continued use. For metro residents — especially those picked up in Anoka County — the fight goes to the heart of whether local crime labs are following rigorous, auditable science or cutting corners that could taint drunk‑driving enforcement.

Legal Public Safety

Bloomington au pair charged with abusing infant on camera

6d Breaking TC 1

Bloomington police arrested 29‑year‑old au pair Belky Lilibeth Acosta‑Olmedo after surveillance video in a family’s home allegedly showed her roughly handling and striking a 5‑month‑old child over two days in early March. According to Hennepin County charges, the child’s father reviewed in‑home cameras after noticing unusual behavior from his 2‑year‑old and then saw Acosta‑Olmedo dropping the infant onto a mat, forcefully holding a pacifier in the baby’s mouth, covering and pushing the child’s face, and repeatedly smacking the infant’s back when it cried. Police say three separate incidents from March 4–5, 2026 were documented, and photos of marks on the child’s face, combined with the video, led investigators to arrest and charge her with two counts of malicious punishment of a child. The case underscores the risks families take when leaving infants with caregivers behind closed doors and is likely to fuel renewed debate in the metro over surveillance cameras, au pair vetting, and how quickly agencies respond when abuse is caught on tape. Social media discussion is already centering on whether licensing and placement agencies bear any responsibility when caregivers in private homes end up in criminal court.

Public Safety Legal

DOJ pushes back on Minnesota suit over $243M Medicaid deferral, downplays JD Vance role

7d Breaking TC 11

The Justice Department told a federal court it opposes Minnesota’s request for an emergency order blocking roughly $243 million in CMS Medicaid deferrals tied to alleged fraud in 14 “high‑risk” programs, arguing the hold is temporary, the state hasn’t exhausted administrative remedies, and the funds can be restored through established processes. DOJ lawyers also said Vice President J.D. Vance’s public comments carry “no weight” because he has no delegated Medicaid authority, even as the Trump administration — citing an Optum audit and broader fraud estimates — has paused larger payments (CMS has cited figures from about $259.5 million up to $2 billion) and Minnesota has appealed while ordering state audits and other oversight measures amid warnings the action could harm vulnerable residents.

Local Government Health Business & Economy

Moriarty threatens suit over federal 'obstruction' as Pretti, Good charging decisions near

7d Developing TC 4

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has sent formal Touhy letters to DOJ and DHS demanding the full evidentiary record in the ICE killing of Renee Good (including weapons and casings, all video and photos, medical and autopsy records, policies/training materials, and identities/statements of federal officers), set a mid‑February deadline for Good and a March 3 deadline for Pretti, and says federal agencies are already “obstructing” the investigations and she is prepared to sue if requests are ignored. Moriarty says she expects to have enough non‑federal evidence to make charging decisions in both the Good and Alex Pretti shootings despite Supremacy Clause hurdles, has launched a public “Transparency and Accountability Project” portal to solicit evidence, and notes that practical limits make state trials of federal officers unlikely so federal prosecutors would likely have to bring charges. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was criticized over limited MPD intervention during Operation Metro Surge, and MPD has referred two possible misdemeanor assault cases involving federal agents to an Inspector General’s Office but has received no response.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

No charges for officers in 2025 St. Paul Cub standoff

Mar 09 TC 1

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has ruled that three St. Paul officers who exchanged gunfire with 32‑year‑old Tevin Marcel Bellaphant before he died by suicide inside a Cub Foods on July 11, 2025 will not face criminal charges. A 15‑page memo, based on a Minnesota BCA investigation, concludes Sgt. Megan Kosloske and Officers Melissa Leistikow and Christopher Leon were legally justified in using force after Bellaphant allegedly fled a violent domestic assault and kidnapping, fired multiple shots at them inside an Aldi, then shot and wounded a mother and her son outside Destiny Café. Prosecutors say Bellaphant, armed with a black, unserialized 9mm pistol, fired a total of 20 rounds during the rampage before a 27‑minute standoff in the Cub where SWAT later found him dead of a self‑inflicted gunshot wound. The decision closes the criminal review of police conduct in a case that rattled shoppers and workers at two East Side grocery chains in the middle of the day and adds another data point in the ongoing debate over when Twin Cities prosecutors will charge officers in deadly encounters.

Public Safety Legal

Man charged in 2020 killing of south Minneapolis teen

Mar 08 Breaking TC 1

Nearly six years after 18-year-old mother Arionna Buckanaga was shot in the head while driving near 39th Street East and Cedar Avenue South, Hennepin County prosecutors have charged 33-year-old Minneapolis man Malcom Chan Johnson with murder. According to the criminal complaint, police tied an abandoned Chevy Suburban found a mile and a half from the scene — with bullet holes in the hood consistent with someone firing over it — and two Glock 9mm handguns recovered in a nearby compost bin to 32 shell casings at the shooting scene. DNA from the Suburban and firearms matched Johnson and another man, Namiri Tanner; in 2025 a witness told investigators Johnson had confessed and described a "gang feud" with Buckanaga’s boyfriend, who survived as a passenger in the Mustang. Tanner, interviewed in federal prison, admitted firing from the passenger seat while Johnson shot from the driver’s side, and Johnson told detectives on March 4, 2026 that he drove the Suburban and fired, claiming he meant to target the boyfriend and did not know Buckanaga was in the car. The late charges highlight how long some Minneapolis families wait for movement in homicide cases, even when forensics and witness accounts eventually converge.

Public Safety Legal

Parents sue Plymouth Lil’ Explorers, ex‑teacher over abuse

Mar 07 Breaking TC 1

Twenty-one parents whose children attended Lil’ Explorers Childcare Center in Plymouth have filed a civil lawsuit in Hennepin County against the center’s parent company, Cadence Education LLC, and former teacher Katie Ann Voigt, alleging their 21 minor children were subjected to recurring physical, mental and emotional abuse. Filed March 4, 2026, the complaint says kids were "daily exposed to abusive behavior" from staff, including Voigt, and that many now suffer toileting regressions, night terrors, heightened fear responses, aggression and anxiety. The suit follows Voigt’s 2025 guilty plea to two counts of malicious punishment of a child, after another staffer secretly recorded videos of her screaming at toddlers, pushing one into a table and yanking a child up by the arm, and after DHS cited the Plymouth site three times in 2024, twice over discipline. Parents are seeking at least $50,000 per plaintiff couple in damages and argue Cadence failed to provide the "safe, appropriate, kind, empathetic and respectful care" it advertised. For metro families already anxious about staffing and oversight in big-chain daycares, the case spotlights how much harm can happen inside a licensed center before regulators and parents catch it, and whether firing a bad teacher after the videos surface is anywhere near enough accountability.

Legal Public Safety Education

Operation Metro Surge cost Minneapolis at least $203M, but true damage is higher and hard to tally

Mar 06 TC 5

Minneapolis now says Operation Metro Surge cost the city at least $203.1 million — a conservative floor that includes roughly $47 million in lost wages, about $81 million in small‑business and restaurant revenue losses, $4.7 million in hotel cancellations, $15.7 million in emergency rent aid, millions more in city payroll and police overtime, and large weekly food‑support expenses — while MPD reports tens of thousands of surge‑related calls, cancelled days off, extended shifts and officer injuries/PTSD. Reporters and city officials warn the tally is incomplete because of blind spots (undocumented and cash‑paid workers, suburban impacts, long‑term closures, legal costs and more than 1,000 habeas petitions), the continued federal presence in the metro, and the shifting of fiscal burdens to local governments and nonprofits, so the true damage is likely far higher; state auditors are preparing a statewide estimate.

Business & Economy Local Government Public Safety

Man pleads guilty in 900‑pound Minneapolis meth bust

Mar 05 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors say Guillermo Mercado‑Chaparro has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after a sting in south Minneapolis led agents to nearly 900 pounds of meth split between a Jeep and his Toyota Tacoma. Investigators say he first sold a pound of meth to an undercover officer, then was surveilled making additional apparent sales from his truck before officers intercepted a Jeep Wrangler carrying Mercado‑Chaparro and co‑defendant Joel Casas‑Santiago, seizing about 250 pounds of meth from garbage bags and a cooler. A search warrant on Mercado‑Chaparro’s pickup turned up another roughly 630 pounds, bringing the haul to nearly 900 pounds with an estimated street value of $1.7 million, which Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty called a 'staggering' amount that nearly reached Twin Cities residents struggling with addiction. Authorities say the two men are believed tied to a larger Mexico‑based trafficking organization; court records show Casas‑Santiago has a change‑of‑plea hearing set for later this month. For metro readers, this is another reminder that the pipeline flooding local users isn’t small‑time dealers — it’s industrial‑scale dope driven straight into Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Public Safety Legal

Hennepin detention deputy charged after Maple Grove hospital lockdown

Mar 05 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County detention deputy Dillon Matthew Field, 30, of Isanti, has been charged in Hennepin County with misdemeanor fifth‑degree assault and domestic assault after a Feb. 5 incident at Maple Grove Hospital that forced the facility into lockdown. According to the criminal complaint, Field’s wife was in labor in a bathtub in her delivery room when witnesses say he began yelling at her, tried to lock himself in the bathroom with her, and shoved a witness who attempted to intervene, prompting staff to secure the hospital. The complaint says Field’s wife had been living with her mother due to a year of alleged physical and emotional abuse, including a January 2026 incident where he allegedly tackled her while she was nine months pregnant and put his full body weight on her. Bail was set at $10,000 with conditions including no contact with the victim, and Hennepin County has placed Field on leave from his detention deputy job pending the case’s outcome. For metro residents, the case goes beyond a domestic dispute: it raises fresh questions about how rigorously the county screens, monitors and disciplines people it trusts to guard and control others inside its own detention facilities.

Public Safety Legal

DHS Tesla‑keying worker was 'on break' or 'out sick' during some vandalism incidents, records show

Mar 05 TC 2

A Minnesota Department of Human Services employee who keyed multiple Teslas, causing about $20,000 in damage, was given a one‑day suspension. Time‑and‑attendance records show the worker was recorded as “on a break” or “out sick” during some of the vandalism incidents, and the Hennepin County Attorney placed him in diversion rather than filing felony charges.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Trump ousts DHS chief Noem; Minnesota leaders blast Metro Surge legacy

Mar 05 Breaking TC 1

President Donald Trump announced Thursday on Truth Social that he is removing Kristi Noem as secretary of Homeland Security and plans to nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her, a major shake‑up atop the agency that ran Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis–St. Paul. In rapid‑fire statements, Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey all welcomed Noem’s exit but said it does nothing to repair what they describe as lawless, deadly conduct by DHS, ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota. Walz and Smith explicitly called for sweeping overhauls, independent investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and full accounting for children taken in the surge, while Flanagan said "it’s time to rip ICE apart" and warned that Trump’s "mass deportation agenda" continues regardless of who runs DHS. Klobuchar framed Noem’s firing as vindication for Minnesotans who fought Metro Surge abuses and pointed back to her own Senate questioning where she pressed Noem on why hundreds of federal agents remain in the state. The reactions make clear that, from the Twin Cities’ vantage point, swapping out the secretary is being read less as reform and more as political damage control unless it’s followed by concrete restraints on ICE and accountability for the surge’s fallout here.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Hennepin deputy charged in off‑duty sexual assault

Mar 05 Breaking TC 1

Wright County prosecutors have charged Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy Jared Sprunk, 33, with third‑ and fifth‑degree criminal sexual conduct over an alleged off‑duty assault on a woman at a home in Albertville on March 1. According to the criminal complaint, the woman and friends helped an allegedly "highly intoxicated" Sprunk to a downstairs bedroom so he could sleep, after which he is accused of assaulting her in the dark, prompting her to scream and pound on the door until friends intervened. Deputies arriving at the scene reportedly found Sprunk outside bleeding from his nose and the back of his head after a confrontation with another man in the house; Sprunk later told investigators he was so drunk he did not remember the night, then denied the allegations after they were explained. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office says Sprunk has been placed on administrative leave and that it supports a "full and transparent" external investigation. For Twin Cities residents who rely on Hennepin deputies for patrol, jail and court security, the case goes straight to the question of whether the people carrying a badge can be trusted when they’re off the clock, and how aggressively the sheriff’s office handles serious criminal allegations in its own ranks.

Public Safety Legal

Optum audit and DHS probe put $1.7B in Minnesota Medicaid claims and 200+ providers under scrutiny

Mar 05 Developing TC 13

A state‑commissioned Optum audit ordered by Gov. Tim Walz found about $52 million in clear Medicaid billing violations and flagged roughly $1.7 billion in claims across 14 "high‑risk" services as vulnerable due to vague DHS policies, prompting the Department of Human Services to open probes into more than 200 providers and roll out Optum‑driven analytics, prepayment reviews and up to 90‑day holds on flagged claims. The abrupt initial rollout — which briefly delayed all payments for the programs before narrowing to only Optum‑flagged claims — sparked provider backlash and legislative scrutiny while revalidation, enrollment freezes, licensing pauses and the threat of federal recoupment or CMS deferral (potentially near $2 billion) have produced legal and political fights and raised concerns about destabilizing care for vulnerable clients.

Local Government Health Business & Economy

CMS threatens $2B cut; Minnesota massively expands unannounced Medicaid site checks under 'Minnesota Revalidate'

Mar 05 Breaking TC 11

Federal regulators threatened in December to withhold as much as $2 billion over Medicaid fraud concerns and have since deferred $259.5 million, prompting Minnesota to sue to recover more than $243 million it says CMS unlawfully withheld. In response, Minnesota launched "Minnesota Revalidate" — a statewide surge of unannounced site checks targeting 5,813 providers across 87 counties in 13 high‑risk Medicaid programs, reassigning 168 state employees, freezing new provider enrollments, opening investigations into at least 200 providers, and terminating its fraud‑plagued Housing Stabilization Services amid payment stops that critics say are destabilizing housing and disability supports.

Health Housing Local Government

House report undercuts Walz timeline on Feeding Our Future payments

Mar 04 TC 1

A new U.S. House Oversight Committee report released during a contentious hearing with Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison says Minnesota education officials voluntarily resumed Feeding Our Future payments in April 2021 before any court order — contradicting Walz’s public claim that a Ramsey County judge forced the state’s hand. The report cites Minnesota Department of Education Assistant Commissioner Daron Korte and nutrition director Emily Honer, who told congressional investigators the judge never issued a final ruling on the payment stoppage and that the court lacked jurisdiction to order MDE to keep paying; Judge John Guthmann had already issued a rare public rebuke in 2022, writing that MDE "voluntarily resumed payments" and that no order compelled reimbursements. According to the report, MDE flagged Feeding Our Future concerns to the governor’s office by April 2020, stopped processing applications in November 2020, halted payments in March 2021 for "serious deficiency," then restarted payments a month later and continued until January 2022, while Walz later told reporters he was "speechless" at a supposed ruling and suggested the judge should be investigated. The GOP-led committee is using the internal testimony to argue the Walz administration misled Minnesotans about its role, even as state officials point to USDA rules that make cutting off a sponsor extraordinarily difficult. For Twin Cities residents, this isn’t academic: those 2021 payments are the pot of public money that ultimately financed a giant share of the Minneapolis‑centered fraud spree and are now being used in Washington as political ammunition to justify deeper federal intrusion into Minnesota’s human‑services programs.

Legal Local Government Business & Economy

Walz, Ellison grilled in U.S. House fraud hearing

Mar 04 Developing TC 2

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, where they were questioned about alleged welfare fraud in the state. They told the panel a federal immigration crackdown — including Operation Metro Surge — has diverted resources, politicized oversight and hindered fraud investigations, with Walz calling Minnesota a “scapegoat,” disputing the Justice Department’s $9 billion fraud figure as far exceeding what has been charged or documented, and warning that threatened funding cuts are undercutting program‑integrity work.

Legal Local Government Health

Walz tells Congress ICE surge hampered Minnesota fraud fight

Mar 04 Developing TC 4

Gov. Tim Walz told a House Oversight Committee that the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge and broader immigration crackdown undermined Minnesota’s fraud investigations by diverting federal resources, politicizing oversight, and threatening to freeze Medicaid and child‑care funds, calling the state a “scapegoat” and disputing DOJ’s multibillion‑dollar fraud figures compared with actual indictments. His testimony came as federal tensions escalated — with President Trump threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, directing that federal agents won’t intervene in protests unless cities ask (and must say “please”), and ordering ICE and Border Patrol to be “very forceful” in protecting federal property — developments that have fueled protests after the Minneapolis ICE crackdown and complicated state‑local legal fights over the surge.

Local Government Public Safety Education

Ramsey County squad crash in St. Paul kills driver

Mar 04 Breaking TC 1

A Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy responding to a stolen‑vehicle call Tuesday night crashed into another car at Robert Street and 12th Street East in St. Paul, killing that vehicle’s driver and injuring two passengers. The deputy, who had lights and siren activated, was headed to assist after St. Paul police chased a stolen car from Seventh Street East and Maria Avenue onto I‑94, where a State Patrol trooper disabled it with a PIT maneuver and arrested the 27‑year‑old driver. The deputy and three occupants of the struck vehicle were taken to a hospital; the driver later died, one passenger remains in serious condition and the other has non‑life‑threatening injuries, while the deputy was reported unhurt. The Minnesota State Patrol has taken over the investigation into the crash and the events leading up to it, including how the emergency response was conducted through downtown streets. The case is likely to renew scrutiny of high‑speed responses and pursuits in dense St. Paul neighborhoods, where residents have already voiced concerns about officers and deputies racing through intersections.

Public Safety Legal

Cody Fohrenkam to be sentenced March 2 after guilty plea in Deshaun Hill murder

Mar 02 Developing TC 4

After the Minnesota Court of Appeals threw out his 2023 second‑degree murder conviction and 38.5‑year sentence — finding he was illegally detained and citing prosecutorial misconduct and improperly obtained interrogation statements — Cody Fohrenkam pleaded guilty Feb. 3, one day into his retrial, to the 2022 murder of 15‑year‑old Deshaun Hill Jr. Under a plea agreement that waives his right to appeal, Fohrenkam faces a 340‑month (just over 28‑year) prison term and is scheduled to be sentenced at 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 2, 2026.

Legal Public Safety

Man killed in Stevens Square apartment shooting; suspect on bond now charged with murder and robbery

Mar 01 Breaking TC 2

A man was killed Feb. 24 in a shooting inside the Abbott Apartments in the Stevens Square neighborhood during an alleged armed robbery over a Louis Vuitton bag involving three men armed with Glock handguns and an AR‑style rifle. Police say 20‑year‑old Abdirahman Khayre Khayre, who was on conditional release for an alleged carjacking, has been charged with second‑degree murder and first‑degree robbery after a witness and building surveillance allegedly tied him to the incident and the complaint says he was handed a stolen gun, racked it and fired.

Public Safety Legal

Minnesota clergy say ICE blocks spiritual care at Whipple detention center

Mar 01 Breaking TC 2

Minnesota clergy have sued the Trump administration alleging that ICE and Whipple detention officials are blocking their ability to minister to detainees by repeatedly delaying or denying pastoral visits. Clergy and detainees report logistical and administrative barriers to scheduling visits and providing prayers or sacraments, and say Operation Metro Surge’s increased detainee volume has worsened spiritual‑care access compared with pre‑surge norms.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Clergy describe barriers to spiritual care in ICE’s Whipple lockup

Mar 01 TC 1

Twin Cities clergy say providing spiritual care to immigrants detained at ICE’s Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building has become increasingly difficult during Operation Metro Surge, with tight access rules, limited visiting windows and rapid detainee transfers making it hard even to pray with people who ask for help. In interviews, pastors and chaplains describe detainees asking for confession, communion or simple pastoral counseling and then disappearing to Texas before a visit can be cleared, and note that what used to be routine pastoral access now often requires multiple layers of ICE approval. The article situates those accounts within an ongoing federal lawsuit Minnesota clergy have filed against DHS and ICE, alleging that restrictions at Whipple violate the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and within recent court‑ordered inspections that already documented overcrowded, unsanitary holding rooms and poor access to attorneys. Faith leaders argue that if ICE can’t reliably allow clergy in, local congregations are effectively cut off from members and families in crisis, deepening the human toll of the surge on immigrant neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Their stories are circulating widely in religious and immigrant‑rights networks as fresh evidence that Whipple is being run as a closed, high‑throughput jail rather than a facility accountable to basic community and constitutional norms.

Legal Public Safety Health

Two women wounded in Cedar Avenue parking-lot shooting

Mar 01 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say two women were injured when a fight in a parking lot on the 300 block of Cedar Avenue South escalated into gunfire just before 1:20 a.m. Sunday, March 1. Officers found an 18-year-old woman at the scene with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and brought her to the hospital. A 23-year-old woman arrived at a different hospital about 30 minutes later with a similar non-life-threatening gunshot wound, and the vehicle she came in showed "evidence of gunfire" and was towed as part of the investigation. Detectives believe the shooting followed an altercation in the lot, but no arrests or suspect details have been released. The incident adds to ongoing concerns about late-night violence in busy Cedar-Riverside corridors, where residents and business owners have been using social media to call for more visible, accountable policing.

Public Safety Legal

Lawyer outlines possible penalties in Cities Church anti‑ICE protest case

Feb 28 Developing TC 14

Federal prosecutors have charged 39 people, including former CNN host Don Lemon, under the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act for disrupting a Jan. 18 service at Cities Church where the pastor is an acting ICE field director, with DOJ vowing criminal prosecutions, making multiple arrests and holding arraignments. Defense lawyer Melvin Welch says many first‑time defendants could face misdemeanor‑level exposure (potentially zero to six months) but that prosecutors must prove specific intent to intimidate or forcibly disrupt worship; defendants have been released on bond with no‑go conditions and several have retained high‑profile counsel.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Judge blocks DHS refugee sweeps in Minnesota

Feb 28 TC 1

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim has issued a 66‑page opinion upholding his January preliminary injunction that barred DHS from arresting and detaining thousands of newly arrived refugees in Minnesota under Operation PARRIS, and ordered the release of dozens already taken into custody. Tunheim found that the refugees targeted have already undergone 'thorough' federal vetting, were lawfully admitted, and are living and working in Minnesota while awaiting green cards, making the warrantless sweeps unlawful. In unusually sharp language, he questioned the government’s motives, asking why it would 'terrorize refugees' who were brought here under a promise of safety and noting there is 'not a shred of evidence' they pose serious security risks. DHS had argued Minnesota is a focal point for immigration fraud and claimed it needed to rescreen roughly 5,600 recent arrivals, but the court rejected the administration’s new statutory interpretation as erroneous. The ruling immediately protects refugee families in Minneapolis–St. Paul from being grabbed at homes and jobs during the current immigration crackdown, and gives legal ammunition to Twin Cities advocates already fighting the broader Metro Surge in federal court.

Legal Public Safety Immigration & Civil Rights

Minneapolis man Robert Warren charged in Loring Park double homicide

Feb 28 Breaking TC 3

Minneapolis man Robert Warren, 51, has been charged in the Loring Park double homicide with two counts of second-degree murder with intent and two counts of possessing a firearm after a violent-crime conviction, and was arrested at the scene; his first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2025. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Warren ambushing the victims as they exited an elevator, and authorities recovered a shotgun and shells; records indicate he has prior felony convictions for domestic assault and third-degree assault.

Courts/Legal Legal Public Safety

Minneapolis man gets 40 years for Mahtomedi sex trafficking, assaults

Feb 28 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison in Washington County District Court for trafficking and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a 20‑year‑old woman at a Mahtomedi apartment, where he recruited vulnerable victims and forced them into commercial sex. Prosecutors said he used violence, threats and drugs to control the victims, repeatedly raped them and advertised them online for buyers in the Twin Cities metro. Jurors previously convicted him on sex‑trafficking and criminal sexual conduct counts, and the judge imposed consecutive sentences reflecting the separate harm to each victim; the defendant represented himself at trial, forcing the teen to endure cross‑examination. Advocates say the case illustrates how traffickers use ordinary suburban apartments to exploit teens and young women, and they point to it as evidence that tougher oversight and support services are needed in east‑metro communities as well as Minneapolis proper.

Public Safety Legal

Volunteers aid ICE detainees released from Whipple

Feb 27 Breaking TC 2

Volunteer group Haven Watch continues to meet released ICE detainees at the Whipple facility in Minnesota, helping them find rides, phones and winter clothing and offering emotional support. The group says it has seen no meaningful evidence of a DHS/ICE drawdown — people are often held longer before release and routinely let out with no ride, no phone and inadequate clothing, leaving them stranded at the gate and increasing the human toll of the surge.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

FBI searching for 'Family Mob' fugitive Kiron Williams after Twin Cities fentanyl raids

Feb 27 Breaking TC 3

The FBI executed warrants across the Twin Cities in a probe of a violent drug‑trafficking organization, saying there is no known threat to the public and that further operational details will be released later. Agents say 11 alleged "Family Mob" members are in custody and one fugitive, 43‑year‑old Kiron Jamoll Williams (aka "Killer"), is being sought — authorities provided his description and asked anyone with information to contact the FBI, and local reporting tied the investigation to two mass shootings along the East Lake Street corridor.

Public Safety Legal

North Minneapolis double homicide: Cousin killed two relatives hours after bail release; later shot by Brooklyn Center police

Feb 27 Breaking TC 5

Twenty‑three‑year‑old Eddie Duncan was released from the Hennepin County Jail after posting $35,000 of a $70,000 bail on charges tied to a May police pursuit and a recovered firearm, and within roughly three hours is accused of fatally shooting two of his cousins — 14‑year‑old Xavier Barnett and 23‑year‑old Akwame Stewart — at a north Minneapolis home. Duncan later went to an IHOP in Brooklyn Center where an exchange of gunfire with officers left him dead; the Minnesota BCA identified Duncan and the three officers who fired, recovered a handgun and spent casings, and said body‑worn and squad‑car video and evidence will be submitted to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for review. Family members and community supporters are grieving and say Duncan may have believed the cousins were responsible for his arrest, though police say there is no proof of that motive.

Public Safety Legal

Walz to unveil Medicaid anti‑fraud package

Feb 26 Developing TC 1

Gov. Tim Walz is set to announce a 'comprehensive anti‑fraud legislative package' Thursday at 10:45 a.m. in St. Paul aimed at tightening oversight of Minnesota’s Medicaid system, a move with major implications for Twin Cities providers and beneficiaries. He will be joined by DHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi, DHS Inspector General James Clark and BCA Superintendent Drew Evans, but not Program Integrity Director Tim O’Malley, whose blistering report this week traced fraud‑control failures back to the 1970s and described a "compassion over compliance" culture at DHS. Walz’s plan lands on top of a 13‑bill DFL package and AG Keith Ellison’s revised MAP Act, which would add 18 fraud prosecutors and investigators and expand subpoena powers, and a rival GOP 'Fraud Isn’t Free Act' that would punish agencies and commissioners for slow responses and missed controls. The competing proposals will shape how aggressively the state goes after suspected Medicaid and human‑services fraud tied to high‑risk programs that disproportionately operate in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and how much collateral damage falls on legitimate providers and vulnerable clients. Lawmakers and lobbyists are already signaling a bruising fight over whether fraud is primarily a prosecutorial problem, an agency‑culture problem, or both — and who should pay when systems fail.

Local Government Legal Health

U.S. House and BWCA advocates clash as Senate weighs mining-ban repeal

Feb 26 Breaking TC 2

The U.S. House voted to revoke a mining ban in the Superior National Forest, sending H.J. Res. 140 to the Senate and prompting hundreds of protesters at the Minnesota Capitol who oppose lifting federal protections upstream of the Boundary Waters. Friends of the Boundary Waters executive director Chris Knopf warned water from the affected lands flows directly into the BWCA and could be fouled by mining, while outfitter Ginny Nelson and Mining Minnesota executive director Julie Lucas acknowledged local economic stakes and said any mine must first prove it will not harm the wilderness.

Environment Government & Politics Legal

DFL, GOP feud over rival anti‑fraud plans and inspector general push as 2026 session opens

Feb 26 TC 3

As the 2026 session opens, Minnesota DFL lawmakers have rolled out a 13‑bill anti‑fraud package — proposing more site visits, provider background checks, electronic visit verification, modernized IT, a consumer‑protection fraud bureau and beefed‑up Medicaid Fraud Control — while House Republicans counter with their "Fraud Isn’t Free Act," pressing for statutory rules for high‑risk programs (citing Feeding Our Future, Housing Stabilization, Medicaid and Somali‑run day‑care centers), an independent Office of Inspector General and an unredacted Optum audit. The standoff centers on whether agencies that oversaw past fraud can police themselves, with Republicans tying the issue to Gov. Tim Walz’s decision not to seek reelection and DFL leaders urging bipartisan agreement on measures like EVV as Walz prepares to announce his own anti‑fraud priorities.

Local Government Business & Economy Legal

Video repeatedly undercuts DHS accounts as ICE and Border Patrol operate without body cams in Minneapolis

Feb 25 Developing TC 8

Surveillance and bystander video from multiple Minnesota incidents — including the downtown Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti — have repeatedly contradicted DHS/ICE and Border Patrol accounts, highlighting a broader credibility problem while most agents still lack body cameras (about 3,000 of 13,000 ICE agents were issued cameras). Footage and sworn eyewitness declarations say Pretti was pepper‑sprayed, thrown to the ground and engaged while holding a phone rather than a gun, prompting federal lawsuits, calls for an independent investigation, community protests and additional criminal and DOJ inquiries tied to clashes at the scene.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

CMS orders states to verify Medicaid immigration status

Feb 25 Developing TC 2

Federal CMS/HHS has ordered states to verify Medicaid enrollees’ immigration status, prompting Minnesota to ramp up scrutiny and open investigations into at least 200 providers across 14 high‑risk programs as part of a fraud response aimed at averting deeper federal sanctions. State officials say their internal estimates and probes are far smaller than the multi‑billion‑dollar fraud figures cited by the administration, but providers warn the combined federal and state actions are already destabilizing parts of the Medicaid care network and could worsen if CMS follows through with broader deferrals.

Health Government/Regulatory Legal

Minnesota high court upholds Nicholas Firkus murder conviction

Feb 25 Breaking TC 2

The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld Nicholas Firkus’s murder conviction, rejecting his arguments that the state’s circumstantial case failed to exclude a reasonable-intruder theory and that the trial judge used the wrong legal standard. The court pointed to circumstantial evidence — including no unidentified DNA on the shotgun, no sign of forced entry or struggle on 911 calls, and a fully furnished house on the eve of foreclosure with investigators finding no evidence the victim, Heidi, knew of the foreclosure — and several justices wrote separate opinions signaling the decision will guide how Minnesota applies the circumstantial‑evidence standard.

Legal Public Safety

Ellison pitches tougher Medicaid fraud powers, bigger unit

Feb 25 TC 1

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Matt Norris are rolling out a revised Medical Assistance Protection (MAP) Act that would expand the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from 32 to 50 staff and broaden what state law defines as Medicaid fraud, directly affecting how fraud cases are built against Twin Cities providers and middlemen. The 18 new positions would be 75% federally funded under a 3‑to‑1 match from HHS, leaving Minnesota on the hook for roughly four FTEs at a cost of about $1.2 million per biennium, a staffing boost Ellison says federal officials themselves have recommended. Beyond claiming "false" reimbursement with intent to defraud, the bill would explicitly criminalize lying to defraud, falsifying service records, and destroying records after a state records request, raise Medicaid‑fraud penalties to match private‑sector fraud, lengthen the statute of limitations, and give the AG broader subpoena powers for financial records so longer, more complex schemes can be prosecuted. The proposal lands two days after Gov. Walz’s new Program Integrity Director, Tim O’Malley, issued a scathing report that said Minnesota’s oversight failures date back to the 1970s and that some DHS leaders prioritized "compassion over compliance," and as Republicans push a competing Fraud Isn’t Free Act that targets agencies and commissioners. In the background, federal prosecutors have floated a $9 billion since‑2018 Medicaid‑fraud figure that state officials dispute, viral right‑wing videos and Trump’s attacks have turned Minnesota into a national punching bag, and Metro Surge ICE raids were explicitly justified in part on "fraud tourist" narratives, giving this bill high political heat as well as real prosecutorial consequences for Minneapolis–St. Paul hospitals, clinics, disability providers and day‑care operators.

Legal Local Government Health

FBI raids Bloomington ICS provider; prosecutors allege $1M billed for 13 clients

Feb 25 Breaking TC 4

Federal agents raided Bloomington-based Ultimate Home Health Services after prosecutors allege the company billed Medicaid for more than $1 million for 13 clients between June 2024 and August 2025, including a claim of 12 hours per day of services for a client who was later found dead. The action is part of a broader crackdown on Minnesota’s rapidly expanding Integrated Community Supports program — which grew from $4.6 million in 2021 to nearly $180 million by late 2025 and has paid out over $400 million since launch — where payment suspensions to multiple providers over fraud allegations have left some disabled recipients facing sudden housing loss.

Public Safety Legal Health

Court affidavits show 4,000 federal agents cycled through Minnesota; about 400 ICE/HSI to remain after Metro Surge

Feb 25 Developing TC 4

Court affidavits filed at U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud’s request say more than 4,000 federal agents — including roughly 3,000 ICE personnel (with about 270 ERO officers and 700 HSI agents detailed to the St. Paul field office) and additional CBP officers — cycled through Operation Metro Surge, with CBP beginning demobilization around Feb. 4 by moving about 680 personnel and leaving roughly 67 CBP staff to be reassigned. ICE’s filings say staffing will stabilize at about 107 ERO officers and 300 HSI agents in Minnesota, and while officials including White House border official Tom Homan have publicly declared the Metro Surge over, enforcement data and maps show post‑announcement arrests and operations remained elevated above pre‑surge baselines; the drawdown coincided with a sharp drop in immigration habeas filings and the lifting of a prior contempt order after ICE complied.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

DHS vows arrests after Cities Church anti‑ICE protest; parishioner now files civil suit

Feb 25 Developing TC 2

Federal authorities vowed arrests after the Jan. 18 anti‑ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, and parishioner Ann Doucette has filed a pro se civil lawsuit alleging the disruption interfered with her free exercise of religion and caused "severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma." The complaint names protesters and journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort — who already face federal FACE Act and KKK Act charges for entering the church — and says Lemon and Fort are being sued personally.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Parishioner sues over Cities Church anti‑ICE protest

Feb 25 Developing TC 1

A St. Paul parishioner, Ann Doucette, has filed a pro se civil lawsuit in Minnesota District Court against protesters and journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort over a Jan. 18 anti‑ICE protest that shut down a worship service at Cities Church. Doucette alleges the activists stormed the sanctuary to demand Pastor David Easterwood resign over his role as acting ICE field office director, interfering with her free exercise of religion and causing 'severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma.' The civil filing comes on top of federal FACE Act and KKK Act charges already brought against seven protesters, including Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen, and against Lemon and Fort for entering the church during the action. The case will test how far Minnesota courts are willing to let individual worshippers seek damages from protesters and media figures when political demonstrations deliberately interrupt religious services. It also adds another legal front to the growing fallout from Operation Metro Surge–related protests in the Twin Cities.

Legal Public Safety

Three juveniles now in custody after Maplewood Mall shooting

Feb 25 Breaking TC 3

The shooting occurred around 2 p.m. Sunday in the lower concourse of Maplewood Mall after a physical fight; an adult man was struck in the hip and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say three juveniles are now in custody — two were initially arrested and booked on third-degree riot — and investigators say one of the later arrestees is believed to be the shooter; a firearm believed to have been used was recovered and charging decisions are pending with the Ramsey County Attorney.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul hit-and-run: Michael Kentrell Smith charged with vehicular homicide in death of Amber Deneen

Feb 24 Breaking TC 6

Thirty-year-old Amber O. Deneen of St. Paul was killed in a hit-and-run after being struck while walking with her two dogs; police arrested 39-year-old Michael Kentrell Smith and charged him with vehicular homicide in Ramsey County. The complaint says Smith slowed but did not stop at a stop sign before striking Deneen, witnesses followed and honked as he fled, surveillance showed the SUV at a nearby Speedway inspecting a front passenger tire, and Smith told officers he thought he hit bike-lane cones and said, "I’m sorry man... I don’t remember hitting nobody"; neighbors have planned a memorial and are calling for increased traffic enforcement.

Legal Public Safety Transit & Infrastructure

St. Paul woman left brain-dead in hit-and-run; deputies seek Honda Odyssey

Feb 24 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County authorities say 58-year-old Lisa Giguere has been pronounced brain-dead after a driver hit her as she crossed Pennsylvania Avenue near Rice Street in St. Paul last Monday and then sped away. Her family, now preparing to donate her organs, is publicly pleading for help identifying the driver and the vehicle, described as a blue or gray 2005–2007 Honda Odyssey minivan. Investigators say the van fled east on Pennsylvania after the collision and are asking anyone who recognizes a similar Odyssey with new damage or who has camera footage from the area to contact the sheriff’s office. The case adds to a string of serious pedestrian crashes in St. Paul and has residents venting online about drivers who leave victims dying in the street while families are left begging for basic information. Deputies are clear: without tips from the public — neighbors, shop owners, or body shops who see a freshly damaged Odyssey — this killer driver walks.

Public Safety Legal

Officer-involved shooting shuts busy Brooklyn Center hub

Feb 24 Breaking TC 1

Brooklyn Center police and multiple agencies are investigating an officer-involved shooting Monday afternoon near Xerxes Avenue North and 56th Avenue North, a commercial cluster that includes IHOP, Wendy’s, Wells Fargo, Taco Bell and Cub Foods. FOX 9 reporters at the scene counted at least six shell casings, and the intersection has been closed for what police say will be an extended period while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and ATF process the scene, a standard step when law enforcement fires shots. City officials have released almost no details on who was shot or their condition, but community members told FOX 9 they believe the incident is linked to a separate double homicide in north Minneapolis earlier in the day, though that has not been officially confirmed. Brooklyn Center Mayor April Groves issued a statement calling the shooting "deeply concerning," promising a thorough, independent, fact‑driven investigation and acknowledging the emotional weight of another police shooting in a city still marked by Daunte Wright’s 2021 killing and weeks of protests. Social media posts from the scene show heavy squad presence and residents urging each other to avoid the area as traffic and bus routes are disrupted.

Public Safety Legal

Full timeline maps ICE’s Operation Metro Surge in Twin Cities

Feb 23 TC 3

Minnesota Reformer’s timeline and follow‑up data aggregate arrests, offense categories and case outcomes from ICE’s Operation Metro Surge, showing many arrestees fell outside DHS’s violent‑offender classifications and documenting how enforcement volumes and court workloads spiked during the surge compared with pre‑ and post‑periods. A FOX 9 review found roughly 1,000 immigration habeas petitions filed in Minnesota federal court since Dec. 1, 2025 — weekly filings peaked at 198 the week of Jan. 26–Feb. 1 and fell to 46 the week of Feb. 16–22 — a decline tied to the administration’s announced drawdown or faster transfers of detainees out of state after a surge that overwhelmed prosecutors, produced court‑order violations and prompted judges to frequently order releases or bond hearings.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Minnesota delegation’s SOTU guests spotlight ICE surge, Hortman killing

Feb 23 TC 1

Minnesota’s members of Congress are using President Trump’s State of the Union as a national stage to highlight two of the Twin Cities’ most explosive crises: the ICE 'Metro Surge' crackdown and the political assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman. Reps. Betty McCollum and Kelly Morrison are bringing Hortman’s son, Colin, and his wife as guests, with Colin issuing a pointed statement about political violence and calling on leaders to reject dehumanizing language. Rep. Ilhan Omar is bringing four Minnesotans directly entangled in the ICE surge, including disability advocate Aliya Rahman, Columbia Heights school board chair Mary Granlund (who helped respond after 5‑year‑old Liam Ramos was detained), U.S. citizen Mubashir Hussen, and Gerardo Orozco Guzman, whose father was seized at a Minneapolis job site. The invited guests put real names and faces to local lawsuits, school walkouts and street protests, and ensure that when Trump delivers his immigration talking points, the human cost in Minneapolis–St. Paul will be sitting directly in front of him. On social media, immigrant‑rights groups are urging Minnesotans to watch for these guests during the broadcast as a counter‑narrative to the administration’s claims about targeting only the 'worst of the worst.'

Elections Public Safety Legal

St. Paul pedestrian dies days after hit-and-run

Feb 23 Developing TC 1

St. Paul police say a pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run crash last week has died from her injuries, marking a fatal escalation of a case that was already under investigation. The victim, identified as Lisa Giguere, was hit while walking in St. Paul; the driver fled the scene and has not yet been publicly identified or charged. Investigators are now treating the incident as a fatal crash and are asking anyone with information or video from the area at the time to contact police. The death adds to growing concern over serious pedestrian crashes on St. Paul streets and could lead to upgraded criminal charges once a suspect is identified. Social media reaction from residents reflects anger at hit-and-run drivers and calls for stronger enforcement and safer street design, especially in corridors where people regularly walk.

Public Safety Legal

Data show true scope and impact of ICE Metro Surge

Feb 23 TC 1

The Reformer analysis uses ICE, DHS, court and state records to quantify for the first time how Operation Metro Surge actually played out in Minnesota — from how many people were arrested and what they were arrested for, to how many agents came and went, to the crush of habeas petitions and lawsuits it generated. It finds that only a small fraction of arrestees fit the administration’s 'worst of the worst' label, while many were picked up on civil immigration grounds or lower‑level matters, matching what families and public defenders have described since December. The piece also sets those enforcement numbers against Minneapolis’ updated estimate that the surge cost the city at least $203 million in business losses, wages, hotel cancellations and emergency rent and food support, and notes state and county officials now peg the legal workload at over 1,000 habeas and related cases. Maps and timelines show enforcement moving from Minneapolis’ core into suburbs even after federal officials declared the surge over, undercutting claims that the crackdown has truly ended and raising fresh questions about who will be held accountable and how long the metro will be living with the aftershocks.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

Local communities have limited power to block ICE detention centers

Feb 21 TC 1

This piece examines how cities and counties around the U.S., including Minnesota, are trying to resist new or expanding ICE detention centers — and how few legal tools they actually have. It explains that most detention facilities are controlled by federal contracts with counties or private prison firms, and local zoning boards can usually only influence where, not whether, a jail or detention site operates. The article walks through concrete examples of communities that passed moratoriums, tried to cancel contracts, or used building and health codes, only to find that federal supremacy, long‑term agreements, and the threat of litigation sharply limit their leverage. It also notes that where residents have been most successful is in sustained political pressure that convinces counties not to renew ICE contracts or deters private operators from building in the first place — a point directly relevant to Twin Cities suburbs now worried that, after Metro Surge, ICE may look to expand brick‑and‑mortar capacity here. Advocates and local officials quoted in the story say any real change will require state‑level laws or federal policy shifts, not just ad‑hoc local fights at planning commissions.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

2026 Minnesota session quickly bogs down in partisan fight over fraud and ICE-death investigations

Feb 21 TC 2

The 2026 Minnesota legislative session quickly bogged down in partisan fights as House Republicans tried to fast‑track a Senate bill creating a new inspector general to investigate fraud—overruling suggested changes from the bill’s DFL author—while House Democrats pushed to fast‑track a bill giving the BCA authority to investigate deaths of Minnesotans caused by federal agents, citing the FBI’s refusal to turn over evidence in cases like Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Both fast‑track efforts failed on tied votes, leaving the proposals stalled in the first week; GOP Rep. Harry Niska blamed House DFL for blocking the fraud bill, and DFL Leader Zack Stephenson defended the BCA bill, saying the BCA told them the FBI would not cooperate.

Local Government Business & Economy Public Safety

Federal officials say fewer than 500 ICE agents remain in Minnesota after Metro Surge

Feb 20 Developing TC 5

Federal officials say fewer than 500 ICE agents now remain in Minnesota, down sharply from roughly 3,000 at the height of Operation Metro Surge and following a series of announced drawdowns that officials say have reduced the force by about 1,000 since Tom Homan’s initial pullback; the White House has presented the named "Metro Surge" as concluded. Gov. Tim Walz, who has pressed for an immediate end and called the presence an "occupation," expects the drawdown to happen in days and is preparing emergency grants, tax deferrals and licensing relief for Twin Cities businesses hurt by the surge, even as local leaders note that fewer than 500 agents still exceeds the pre‑surge federal immigration footprint.

Business & Economy Local Government Public Safety

Trump tells governors he won’t force future ICE surges on states

Feb 20 Developing TC 9

President Trump privately told governors he will not force large-scale ICE enforcement surges on states that oppose them, but that pledge is political — not backed by any written order — and has been met with skepticism from immigrant communities and civil-rights lawyers. In Minnesota, Border Czar Tom Homan has declared Operation Metro Surge over and called it a success even as roughly 700 agents were pulled and about 2,000 ICE officers remain, prompting protests, legal challenges, local leaders’ concern, and disruptions that have turned some business corridors into ad hoc shelters and triage sites.

Public Safety Local Government Business & Economy

Minnesota mosque arsonist Jackie Rahm Little sentenced to 70 months in federal prison

Feb 20 Developing TC 2

Jackie Rahm Little, 38, who pleaded guilty to setting fires at two Twin Cities mosques in April 2023, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. The federal conviction covers the April 23 fire at Masjid Omar in Minneapolis and the April 24 blaze at Masjid Al‑Rahma in Bloomington—which caused more than $378,000 in damage and forced evacuations—after an FBI‑led arson and civil‑rights investigation; U.S. prosecutors said the sentence should deter attacks on houses of worship.

Legal Public Safety

Supreme Court strikes down Trump emergency tariffs; Twin Cities businesses eye relief

Feb 20 TC 5

The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 ruled that President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping emergency tariffs — including February duties on imports from Canada, China and Mexico and broader April “reciprocal” tariffs that had ranged from 10–50% and were projected to raise roughly $3 trillion over a decade — was unlawful, removing that mechanism for future tariff actions. The decision, following lower‑court setbacks for the administration and nearly three hours of oral argument, is expected to bring “much needed relief” to import‑reliant Twin Cities manufacturers, retailers and builders, which are being advised to review contracts, pricing and supply chains now that the emergency duties are invalidated.

Legal Business & Economy

ICE pursuit that killed Georgia teacher on Twin Cities freeway leaves school, family grieving

Feb 20 Breaking TC 2

A high-speed ICE pursuit on a busy Twin Cities freeway ended when the fleeing driver crashed, killing a Georgia teacher who was visiting Minnesota; colleagues, students and family described her as a cherished educator and shared tributes. Those close to her and local educators said their grief was compounded by anger at ICE’s decision to pursue on the crowded roadway.

Public Safety Legal Metro Surge / ICE

ICE presence shifts to suburbs as Dakota County reports increased coordination

Feb 20 TC 2

Community reporting and the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office say ICE activity and arrests are increasingly concentrated in Twin Cities suburbs, with a "noticeable increase" in ICE communication over the past two weeks and some—but not consistent—advance notice of enforcement actions, prompting heightened vigilance among residents. This shift follows federal officials' announcement that Operation Metro Surge concluded on Feb. 12 and that roughly 1,000 of about 3,000 agents had left Minnesota; DHS has not provided updated agent counts, and Gov. Tim Walz says there are about 150 federal immigration agents in the state under normal circumstances.

Public Safety Legal Housing

Vance Boelter back in federal court in lawmaker shootings

Feb 20 Developing TC 1

Fox 9 reports that Vance Boelter, accused of killing House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman at her Brooklyn Park home and shooting Sen. John Hoffman nine times at his Champlin home on June 14, 2025, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Friday for the first time since November. A federal grand jury indicted Boelter in July 2025 on first-degree murder and related counts, and prosecutors have said they may seek the death penalty, which would make this one of the most consequential criminal cases in modern Minnesota history. Investigators allege Boelter disguised himself as a police officer and arrived armed with multiple weapons in what authorities have called a politically motivated attack, triggering the largest manhunt in state history before his arrest near Green Isle about 40 hours later. The article ties the new hearing to the start of the 2026 legislative session, which opened this week with a formal remembrance of Hortman and a return to the Senate floor by Hoffman, who was greeted with a standing ovation. The case remains a focal point of public concern over political violence and security for elected officials across the Twin Cities metro.

Legal Public Safety Elections

Amended lawsuit lays out broader ICE abuses in Metro Surge

Feb 20 TC 1

An amended federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota adds a sweeping set of new allegations against DHS, ICE and Border Patrol over Operation Metro Surge, accusing agents of unconstitutional home raids, traffic stops, use of force and interference with state and local authority across the Twin Cities. The filing details specific incidents: battering‑ram entries into homes with defective or no warrants; agents allegedly lying in affidavits; detaining U.S. citizens, asylum seekers and long‑settled residents; and blocking or gassing peaceful observers and legal monitors outside Whipple and at street protests. It also adds fresh plaintiffs, including people whose skulls were fractured or who were dragged half‑naked from homes, and attacks DHS’s use of mass data tools and license‑plate readers to target neighborhoods. The suit, which previously focused more narrowly on legal‑access and facial‑recognition issues, now explicitly asks the court to rein in Metro Surge tactics as systemic Fourth and First Amendment violations and as an unconstitutional attempt to commandeer Minnesota’s justice system. Social‑media reaction in the metro has quickly seized on the new complaint as a consolidated record of what residents have been posting in scattered videos and threads for weeks, and advocates are framing it as the main legal vehicle to force changes if the political fight stalls.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Medical examiner rules Alex Pretti killing a homicide; DOJ resists sharing evidence with Minnesota investigators

Feb 19 Breaking TC 4

The Minneapolis medical examiner has ruled that Alex Pretti, who suffered a head injury in March, died as a homicide. Minnesota’s BCA says the FBI and DOJ have refused to share case materials or physical evidence with state investigators, prompting Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to urge U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to cooperate and to criticize administration officials for labeling Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” a dispute that feeds broader calls for stricter oversight of federal agents’ use of force in Minneapolis.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Senate DFL unveils multi‑bill 'ICE Accountability' package on masks, aid, protected spaces and state lawsuits

Feb 19 Developing TC 2

Senate DFL unveiled a multi‑bill "ICE Accountability Agenda" to be heard first in the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning Friday, Feb. 20, including SF3688 (duty to render aid, Sen. Erin Murphy), SF3590 (a ban on masks for law enforcement, Sen. Lindsey Port), a package to create protected "essential spaces" like schools and hospitals (carried by Sen. Alice Moon), SF3628 — the Minnesota Constitutional Remedies Act (Sens. Bobby Joe Champion and Omar Fateh) — and a bill by Sen. Ron Latz requiring the BCA to lead investigations when federal agents kill Minnesota residents. Sponsors say the remedies bill aims to constrain or drive out Metro Surge‑style ICE operations — "our desire is for ICE to leave and to never return," Champion said — while Port says ICE is "destroying the trust" rebuilt by local law enforcement and that agents should "take off their masks," and Latz expects at least some bipartisan support for the BCA provision.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

Over 1,000 habeas cases challenge Metro Surge detentions; judges grant relief in most ICE cases

Feb 19 TC 2

Lawyers have filed over 1,000 habeas and related lawsuits in Minnesota federal court challenging detentions during Operation Metro Surge, a volume that eclipsed prior annual totals in a matter of weeks. Judges have granted relief in a very high percentage of ICE cases — ordering releases, new bond hearings and finding Fourth and Fifth Amendment problems — and the surge has forced the U.S. Attorney’s Office to reassign AUSAs and delay other enforcement work, with petitioners including asylum seekers, long‑time residents and applicants that undercut DHS’s "worst of the worst" characterization.

Legal Public Safety Immigration & Civil Rights

Minneapolis renews liquor licenses for ICE‑lodging hotels after legal review

Feb 19 Developing TC 2

The Minneapolis City Council renewed liquor licenses for the Canopy and The Depot hotels despite earlier threats to deny them over allegations they housed ICE agents, after Regulatory Services’ Jan. 28, 2026 review of security plans, code and labor‑standards history and 911/311 calls (Dec. 2025–Feb. 2026) found no ordinance "strikes" and only a corrected 2025 underage‑alcohol violation; public comments were evenly split 10‑10. Staff warned that alleged weapons in rooms and ICE presence fall outside liquor‑license criteria and that tying renewals to immigration policy would be legally vulnerable, while some council members signaled they might use other measures (such as blocking a hotel GM’s advisory‑board appointment) to register disapproval.

Local Government Business & Economy Legal

Shooter gets 86½ years for triple murder at Minneapolis encampment

Feb 19 Breaking TC 1

A Hennepin County judge has sentenced Earl Bennett to 86½ years in prison for a 'brazen' triple murder at a Minneapolis homeless encampment, closing one of the most disturbing encampment‑violence cases to hit the city in recent years. Bennett was convicted of killing three people at a south Minneapolis camp in 2022, in an attack prosecutors said terrorized an already vulnerable community and underscored how dangerous some of these sites have become. He was later shot and wounded by St. Paul police in a separate encounter, but survived to stand trial. At sentencing, the court imposed consecutive terms that will effectively keep him locked up for life, with credit only for time served. The case is being watched closely by advocates and neighbors who say encampment residents rarely see this level of accountability when they’re the ones being killed.

Public Safety Legal

Sinaloa‑linked meth ring leader convicted in Minnesota

Feb 18 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors say 47‑year‑old Eric Anthony Rodriguez has been convicted in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute for his role in the Diaz‑Aguilar Drug Trafficking Organization, a Sinaloa Cartel–linked ring that moved large quantities of meth, cocaine and fentanyl into the Twin Cities and across Minnesota from April 2024 to March 2025. A coordinated November 2025 traffic stop netted three pounds of meth from Rodriguez, and follow‑up search warrants in Columbia Heights, Hastings and Rochester helped agents seize about 60 pounds of meth, 1,500 fentanyl pills and more than $20,000 in cash in the wider case. Rodriguez is the fifth defendant convicted in the DTO led by Erick Emilio Diaz‑Aguilar, which authorities allege supplied major quantities of cartel product to local distributors. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled; given federal guidelines and the scale of the operation, Rodriguez is staring at a long prison term. For metro residents already seeing meth and fentanyl poisonings in every weekly blotter, this case underlines that some of that dope is still being fed by Mexican cartel pipelines, not just backyard cooks or street‑level hustlers.

Public Safety Legal

FBI, St. Paul police probe ICE arrest causing skull fractures

Feb 18 Developing TC 1

The FBI and St. Paul Police Department have opened a joint investigation into an immigration arrest in St. Paul that left a man with multiple skull fractures, according to newly reported medical and law‑enforcement records. The man, taken into custody by federal agents, alleges he was beaten without provocation and required emergency surgery for extensive cranial injuries; witnesses quoted in prior coverage say they did not see him attack officers before he was taken down. Local and federal investigators are now examining whether excessive force or civil‑rights violations occurred, adding yet another serious case to the stack of Metro Surge incidents already under court scrutiny. The inquiry comes as Twin Cities courts are flooded with habeas petitions challenging ICE conduct and as public anger over federal tactics, including two recent deadly shootings, continues to build. On social media, many St. Paul residents are sharing the injury photos as evidence that the official narrative of 'targeting the worst of the worst' doesn’t match what they’re seeing on their own streets.

Public Safety Legal

Bloomington sting nets 30 men; ICE vetter charged with prostitution

Feb 17 Breaking TC 2

A Bloomington prostitution sting that netted about 30 men led to the arrest and Hennepin County charging of 36‑year‑old Brashad Antwann Johnson of St. Michael, who faces a gross‑misdemeanor prostitution charge for allegedly responding to a police decoy ad, agreeing to pay $100 for a "quick visit," and being arrested at a hotel with $100 in cash and a phone. The Pentagon confirmed Johnson is a contract investigator for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency via Peraton who performs background checks and security‑clearance vetting for DHS/ICE, HSI, the FBI and other federal employees, and officials are reviewing whether further action is warranted; Peraton has not responded about his employment status.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

Hoffman returns as 2026 Legislature opens, honors slain Rep. Hortman

Feb 17 Breaking TC 2

As the Minnesota Legislature gavels in for 2026 and lawmakers prepare to honor slain Rep. Hortman, Sen. John Hoffman made an emotional return to the Capitol — walking up the steps to a standing ovation and escorted by the same state troopers who guarded him — after months of hospitalization and recovery from the June 14, 2025 attack in which he and his wife were shot multiple times. Hoffman called the incident an "attempted assassination," praised Mercy Hospital staff, first responders and colleagues, credited his daughter Yvette with calling 911 after a gun was pointed at her, and urged politics to "fade" so lawmakers can "rise above the noise" and show that democracy is stronger than fear.

Local Government Politics Public Safety

ICE lures Brooklyn Park man from home, arrests him

Feb 17 Breaking TC 1

A neighbor’s security video shows ICE agents in Brooklyn Park using a ruse on Feb. 12 to arrest undocumented mechanic Jesus Flores outside his home: two women pulled up, lifted their car hood and knocked on his door asking for help, then three SUVs rushed in and agents took him into custody within minutes. Flores, who had been deported once more than 15 years ago and returned, was already in a Texas detention facility by Friday and faces rapid deportation, with immigration attorneys telling his family that a legal challenge is a long shot given his prior removal. His U.S.-born son Miguel says the family is "shocked" that agents lied about car trouble to target someone with no criminal record beyond parking violations and who supports several children with autism and other special medical needs; the family has launched a GoFundMe as local churches bring food and supplies. The operation took place the same day federal officials publicly announced the drawdown of Operation Metro Surge, undercutting claims the surge is truly over and reinforcing fears in Twin Cities immigrant neighborhoods that lures and doorstep arrests will continue. DHS has not responded to FOX 9’s questions about why Flores was singled out or whether other factors besides his past deportation made him a target.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

GOP bill would criminalize protests outside Minnesota homes

Feb 16 Breaking TC 1

A bloc of more than two dozen Minnesota House Republicans is backing HF 2809, a bill by Rep. Walter Hudson that would make 'residential protesting' a crime for demonstrators who gather on or directly in front of someone’s home, with penalties escalating from a misdemeanor up to a gross misdemeanor and allowing courts to issue restraining orders. The proposal carves out narrow exceptions for peaceful protests in common areas where meetings are held and for homes that also function as the target’s place of business, but otherwise would let police charge people simply for demonstrating at a residence. It’s headed first to the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 18 and is being rolled out as Republicans tout a broader 2026 agenda built around a "Fraud Isn’t Free Act" and crackdowns tied to DHS program scandals. The timing here isn’t subtle: since Operation Metro Surge began Dec. 1, residents have taken their anger over ICE raids and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to officials’ doorsteps, and this bill is an obvious attempt to shove that dissent off the block and back into "approved" public spaces. If it passes, Twin Cities residents who try to bring their protest to a lawmaker’s or agency head’s house could suddenly find themselves facing criminal charges and a court order to stay away.

Local Government Legal Public Safety

Medical examiner rules Woodbury toddler’s death a homicide

Feb 16 Breaking TC 1

The Ramsey/Washington County medical examiner has ruled the September 2025 death of a 20‑month‑old Woodbury boy a homicide, formally confirming that the child died from inflicted injuries rather than an accident or natural causes. The boy was found unresponsive at a Woodbury residence in September and later died at a Twin Cities hospital; police had been investigating the case for months while awaiting final autopsy results. With the homicide classification now in hand, Woodbury police and Washington County prosecutors will review the findings to determine whether criminal charges are warranted against any caregivers or others present at the time. The ruling also triggers state child‑protection reviews and adds another suspected abuse‑related child killing to the metro’s ongoing concerns over daycare and in‑home safety. Authorities have not yet announced any arrests or suspects and are asking anyone with information about the circumstances leading up to the boy’s collapse to contact Woodbury police.

Public Safety Legal

FBI refuses to share Alex Pretti shooting evidence with Minnesota BCA, also withholds records in Renee Good and north Minneapolis ICE cases

Feb 16 Developing TC 2

On Feb. 13 the FBI informed the Minnesota BCA it will not share any evidence in the Alex Pretti killing—even after a state judge ordered preservation—and has similarly declined BCA requests for cooperation and records in the Renee Good ICE killing and the Jan. 14 north Minneapolis shooting of Julio Sosa‑Celis. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says she still expects enough non‑federal evidence to make charging decisions but warned federal noncooperation complicates state prosecutions, while DOJ civil‑rights and DHS reviews continue without agreeing to joint investigations or reciprocal evidence sharing, a stance local officials call unprecedented.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

St. Paul woman indicted for biting off HSI agent’s fingertip at Pretti protest

Feb 14 Breaking TC 1

A federal grand jury in Minnesota has indicted 27‑year‑old Claire Louise Feng of St. Paul on a charge of inflicting bodily injury on a federal law enforcement officer, after Homeland Security says she bit off the tip of an agent’s finger during a Jan. 24 protest at the scene of the fatal Alex Pretti shooting in Minneapolis. According to charging documents, Homeland Security Investigations agents were trying to secure a perimeter after Pretti was killed when one agent moved to arrest a person who had thrown a tear‑gas canister back at officers; prosecutors allege Feng then tackled that agent, and when another agent took her to the ground she bit his right ring finger, severing the tip and leaving the bone exposed. The case, investigated by DHS, ICE and HSI, now heads into federal court and adds to the criminal fallout around Operation Metro Surge and the protests that have followed the Border Patrol killing. The indictment will likely become part of the broader political and legal fight over how far both federal agents and protesters have gone in Minneapolis‑area clashes since January.

Legal Public Safety

Evidence undercuts DHS narratives in Twin Cities ICE shootings; DOJ drops north Minneapolis assault case

Feb 14 TC 7

Surveillance and bystander videos, document analyses and medical records from multiple Twin Cities incidents have undercut DHS/ICE accounts — showing men running or falling rather than attacking in at least one Minneapolis shooting, revealing a defective St. Paul warrant that led a judge to free six detainees, and documenting a detainee’s skull fractures that contradict ICE’s claim he violently resisted. Separately, DOJ moved to dismiss with prejudice federal assault charges against two Venezuelan men in a Jan. 14 north Minneapolis shooting, citing newly discovered evidence materially inconsistent with the ICE affidavit, a development defense attorneys and rights groups say bolsters calls for independent investigation.

Public Safety Business & Economy Immigration & Legal

UCare collapse deepens: $500M owed to Mayo, Allina, Fairview, Hennepin Healthcare; hospitals fear shortfall

Feb 14 Breaking TC 5

UCare is winding down and Medica will acquire roughly 300,000 UCare members — including all of UCare’s 2026 Medicaid and individual/family plans — in a deal expected to close in Q1 2026 pending approvals, with officials saying coverage should continue without interruption. Hospitals say UCare owes nearly $500 million to Mayo Clinic, Allina ($70M), Fairview ($100M) and Hennepin ($115M), that payments stopped after state control in December, and Minnesota’s rehabilitation plan currently reserves only $200 million for providers, prompting legal challenges and demands for greater transparency.

Health Business & Economy Legal

Feds probe whether two immigration officers lied about north Minneapolis shooting, place them on leave

Feb 13 Developing TC 3

Federal investigators are probing whether two ICE agents lied about a Jan. 14 north Minneapolis shooting after an internal review determined the agents’ sworn accounts “appear” to contain untruthful statements, and both have been placed on administrative leave, ICE Director Todd Lyons said. The inquiry — led by ICE and DOJ as a potential criminal false‑statement matter and distinct from an FBI probe offering up to $100,000 for stolen federal property — centers on video that contradicts the officers’ affidavit about who initiated force and prompted DOJ to dismiss assault charges against Julio Sosa‑Celis and Alfredo Aljorna.

Public Safety Legal Immigration & Federal Enforcement

DOJ drops charges against two men in Renee Good ICE shooting; ICE still holds them

Feb 13 Developing TC 3

The Department of Justice moved to dismiss—and a judge granted dismissal of—all federal assault charges against Alejandro Velasco‑Gonzalez and Kevin Garcia stemming from the Jan. 7 south Minneapolis ICE shooting, with prosecutors saying newly obtained video and witness statements materially undermined claims that either man attacked ICE Officer Jonathan Ross. The dismissal did not free them: they were released by a judge and immediately re‑detained by ICE in civil immigration custody, and their lawyers say they will use the dropped charges to bolster habeas challenges and argue the criminal narrative around the shooting was false.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Six children hurt when flash bang hits van in north Minneapolis ICE protest

Feb 13 Developing TC 3

Six children were hospitalized after a flash‑bang device detonated near a van during an ICE protest in north Minneapolis, parents Shawn and Destiny Jackson said. They said ICE agents initially blocked their vehicle and rolled a tear‑gas canister under the van as they tried to leave, causing airbags to deploy and the van to fill with gas; the mother performed CPR on a 6‑month‑old who stopped breathing, and three children, including the infant, were taken to the hospital. The Jacksons say they had not been protesting but were simply trying to go home.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

PITSTOP‑66 defendant admits role in 'phantom' Medicaid rides to Twin Cities

Feb 13 Developing TC 2

A PITSTOP‑66 defendant has pleaded guilty after admitting involvement in a scheme that billed Medicaid for "phantom" medical rides to the Twin Cities. Federal prosecutors are seeking to seize alleged proceeds of the fraud, including cash, a luxury car and designer jewelry.

Legal Health Business & Economy

Judge moves to seize assets of FOF fraudster Salim Said

Feb 13 Developing TC 1

A federal judge has issued a preliminary forfeiture order clearing the way for the government to seize more than half a million dollars in bank funds, three properties (including one on Park Avenue South in Minneapolis and another in Plymouth), two 2021 vehicles, electronics, and a cache of luxury clothing, jewelry and accessories from Salim Said, the Safari Restaurant co‑owner convicted in the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme. The order, signed by Judge Nancy Brasel, itemizes roughly $514,000 in Bell Bank and Wells Fargo accounts, real estate in Minneapolis, Plymouth and Columbus, Ohio, a Chevrolet Silverado, a Mercedes‑Benz GLA, multiple MacBooks and a PlayStation, along with high‑end goods from brands like Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga, Burberry, Prada, Versace and Rolex. Brasel also imposed a $7.84 million money‑judgment forfeiture; Said will get credit against that total for the net value of what’s actually seized, but the preliminary order is not final until sentencing. Said was found guilty in March 2025 on 21 counts — including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering — for claiming Safari’s Lake Street site was feeding 5,000 children a day and siphoning pandemic child‑nutrition dollars, and prosecutors used his pre‑COVID tax returns (showing $30,000 in income and $624,000 in gross restaurant revenue) to dismantle his claim that he’d simply scaled up a legitimate business. The forfeiture details put hard numbers on how much federal investigators say was converted into personal wealth, adding another layer of accountability in a scandal that has already fueled statewide Medicaid and grant crackdowns and intense public anger in the Twin Cities over pandemic profiteering.

Legal Business & Economy

Members of Congress renew challenge to Noem’s limits on ICE facility visits

Feb 13 Developing TC 8

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has imposed new limits on congressional visits to immigration detention and processing facilities—curbing unannounced “walk‑throughs,” requiring more advance notice and tighter conditions—which House Democrats and members of Minnesota’s delegation say unlawfully obstruct traditional oversight and have formally challenged, using the Whipple Building encounter as a local test case. A federal judge declined to enjoin the policy, leaving the rules in place while the lawsuit proceeds and additional briefing is sought, even as related appeals have paused some protester protections and other litigation over the federal Operation Metro Surge continues.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Amazon drops surveillance‑data partner after Ring AI Super Bowl backlash

Feb 13 TC 2

Amazon has formally terminated a partnership with a surveillance/data‑broker company after backlash to a Ring AI feature showcased in its Super Bowl ad, saying it "listened to customer feedback" and will not move forward with the specific cross‑camera search capability. Privacy and civil‑liberties groups — including Minnesota advocates who criticized the ad — have claimed credit online and called the reversal a precedent against privatized mass surveillance.

Technology Legal Local Government

Judge Brasel blasts Whipple ICE conditions, orders fixes on attorney access and detainee treatment

Feb 13 Developing TC 2

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sharply rebuked the Trump administration over conditions at the Whipple Building, calling reports that detainees slept on bare floors in filthy, overcrowded holding rooms with trash, spoiled food and no bedding “deeply troubling” and inconsistent with constitutional and statutory obligations—findings she credited to attorneys who inspected the facility. She ordered DHS and plaintiffs to meet concrete deadlines to agree on improved attorney access and basic detainee conditions (narrowing DHS limits on phones, cameras and attorney contact during inspections), warned she will impose her own requirements if they fail, and linked the problems to the scale of Operation Metro Surge overwhelming Minnesota’s due‑process infrastructure.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Task force seizes 11 pounds of meth in Inver Grove Heights raid

Feb 13 Breaking TC 1

The Washington County Drug Task Force says a Feb. 3 search warrant at a home in Inver Grove Heights led to the arrest of 62‑year‑old Danny Gene Zaccardi and the seizure of nearly 11 pounds of methamphetamine along with two handguns. Zaccardi is charged in Washington County with first‑degree sale and possession of a controlled substance after investigators found meth stashed throughout a downstairs bedroom and more drugs and both guns hidden behind a basement couch. The seized firearms are identified as a Sig Sauer P365 9mm and a Sig Sauer P232 .380, and the task force notes its work is supported by the North Central High‑Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. Authorities say the bust is part of an ongoing effort to disrupt meth trafficking networks feeding communities in the south and east metro.

Public Safety Legal

Medical examiner rules Alex Pretti’s death a homicide in Minneapolis Border Patrol shooting

Feb 12 Breaking TC 14

Hennepin County Medical Examiner has ruled 37‑year‑old Alex Pretti’s death a homicide, listing the cause as "multiple gunshot wounds" and noting he was shot by law‑enforcement officers after Border Patrol/CBP agents fired near 26th & Nicollet in south Minneapolis. The killing — disputed by family and bystander videos, now the subject of a DOJ civil‑rights probe and a state review, a federal‑evidence preservation lawsuit, and public protests met with chemical crowd control — has intensified clashes between local officials and federal agencies over Operation Metro Surge and use of force.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

U.S. senators blast ICE, Border Patrol over deadly Minneapolis shootings

Feb 12 TC 1

A Minnesota Reformer report says U.S. senators are now openly denouncing the way immigration agents used force in the Minneapolis shootings that killed Renee Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti, calling the incidents unacceptable and demanding tighter limits on ICE and Border Patrol tactics under Operation Metro Surge. In hearings and public statements, senators are questioning DHS accounts that framed both killings as self‑defense, citing bystander videos and court affidavits that suggest agents escalated encounters and fired into crowded city streets. They are pressing for independent investigations separate from DHS internal reviews and warning that leaving lethal‑force standards to agency discretion has put Twin Cities residents at risk. The article notes that this high‑level pushback comes as federal judges in Minnesota repeatedly fault ICE for due‑process violations and as local protests, school walkouts and business boycotts continue over the surge. On social media, Minneapolis nurses and immigrant advocates are hailing the senators’ comments as overdue accountability, while pro‑enforcement voices accuse them of undermining frontline officers.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Family mourns 14-year-old St. Paul boy killed in Burnsville apartment shooting

Feb 12 Breaking TC 2

Fourteen-year-old Demetrius, a St. Paul resident, was shot and killed Monday inside a unit at the Burnsville Glen Apartments while visiting, authorities said. His family — including an adult sister who said he "grew up fast" and needed more time — is mourning and calling for answers as the community posts social-media memorials and demands accountability in the ongoing investigation.

Public Safety Legal

Senate to grill Minnesota, DHS leaders on Metro Surge

Feb 12 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, will hold a high‑profile oversight hearing Thursday at 8 a.m. CT focused on immigration and law‑enforcement operations in Minnesota, including the controversial Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. The first panel will feature Minnesota officials — U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, state House GOP leader Harry Niska, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell — who are expected to be questioned on state responses to ICE and Border Patrol tactics, habeas rulings, fraud probes and detainer practices. A second panel will bring in federal brass: USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and ICE Director Todd Lyons, putting the national architects of the surge on the record about shootings, raids and due‑process violations playing out in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The hearing follows weeks of federal court rebukes, mass habeas filings, state‑federal lawsuits and calls for investigations into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and other disputed operations on city streets. For Twin Cities residents, this will be the first time top Minnesota officials and the key DHS leaders behind Metro Surge are questioned together under oath about what they’ve done — and failed to do — as thousands of federal agents have flooded the metro.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Border czar Tom Homan to brief on ICE Metro Surge in Minneapolis Thursday morning

Feb 12 Breaking TC 4

Border czar Tom Homan will hold an 8 a.m. Thursday news conference in Minneapolis to update ICE operations tied to Operation Metro Surge; at 9 a.m. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations leader Marcos Charles will give an official update, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections will hold a separate 10:30 a.m. briefing on ICE detainers. The Homan briefing — framed against Gov. Tim Walz’s comment that the federal crackdown could end "days, not weeks" and following Homan’s prior note that roughly 700 federal agents would leave Minnesota — coincides with Vice President JD Vance’s Minneapolis stop on a multi‑state trip tied to the immigration crackdown and has drawn warnings from Sen. Ron Latz that federal agents must respect constitutional rights.

Public Safety Elections Local Government

Congress moves to kill Trump’s Canada tariffs; House joins Senate in bipartisan rebuke

Feb 12 Developing TC 2

Both chambers of Congress have moved to block President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports, with the Senate voting earlier and the House now passing a bipartisan resolution to end the tariffs. The House measure directly targets the emergency declarations Trump used to justify the duties and sets up a likely veto fight and subsequent court challenges.

Business & Economy Government & Politics Legal

St. Paul expands ICE limits with ID, uniform and staging ordinances

Feb 12 Developing TC 3

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her signed an ordinance banning ICE "staging" and other operational activity on all city-owned property — including limits on access to non-public "cry spaces" — codifying a prior cease-and-desist and framed as a response to masked agents during Operation Metro Surge and concerns about harms to small businesses. The City Council also unanimously approved a rule requiring officers performing law-enforcement duties to visibly display identification on the outermost layer of their uniform and is weighing a companion ban on masks or facial coverings (with narrow exceptions) as part of a phased, legally resilient approach.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

ICE pursuit ends in Selby–Western crash, crowd gathers

Feb 11 Breaking TC 1

St. Paul police say a red sedan being pursued by federal immigration agents under Operation Metro Surge crashed late Wednesday morning at Western and Selby Avenues, sending the person ICE was chasing to the hospital with non‑life‑threatening injuries and damaging several bystanders’ cars. A large crowd quickly formed, with people blowing whistles and filming the scene — a now‑common response in Twin Cities neighborhoods trying to document federal operations after previous ICE shootings and disputed raids. Newly elected Mayor Kaohly Her blasted the pursuit as another example of "reckless" ICE tactics that are "causing chaos and putting residents at risk," and renewed her call for Metro Surge to end immediately, while thanking neighbors and St. Paul officers who stayed to help. DHS did not respond to FOX 9’s questions, leaving key details — including why the target was being pursued and what led up to the chase — unanswered. On social media, residents are highlighting the crash as proof that even routine St. Paul intersections have become dangerous ground when federal agents are in the mix.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

AP finds pattern of ICE agent crimes, including Minnesota case

Feb 11 TC 1

An Associated Press records review, summarized here by FOX 9, found at least 17 ICE employees and contractors convicted and six more awaiting trial in recent years for crimes ranging from domestic abuse and drunk driving to child‑sex stings and corruption, even as Congress handed the agency $75 billion in 2025 to expand arrests and detention. The Minnesota‑specific case involves ICE employment‑eligibility auditor Alexander Back, 41, who’s on administrative leave after pleading not guilty to attempted enticement of a minor; Bloomington police say he showed up to a sting thinking he was meeting a 17‑year‑old prostitute and told officers, "I’m ICE, boys" when they closed in. Other cases include Cincinnati field‑office supervisor Samuel Saxon, jailed on charges he strangled and brutally abused his girlfriend; Chicago officer Guillermo Diaz‑Torres, accused of crashing his car and passing out drunk with a government gun inside; officer Scott Deiseroth, caught driving drunk with his kids and trying to lean on his badge; and supervisor Koby Williams, now imprisoned after arriving at a Washington hotel in a government SUV packed with cash, booze, pills and Viagra to meet what he thought was a 13‑year‑old girl. The AP also documents a broader pattern of ICE workers at contract facilities abusing detainees and vulnerable people in their custody, raising sharp questions about how thoroughly the agency is vetting and policing its own ranks at the same time it is running a massive, error‑ridden surge across Minneapolis–St. Paul. For Twin Cities residents watching a few thousand federal agents swarm their streets, this isn’t an abstract national scandal — it goes straight to whether they can trust the people who now have the power to batter down doors, haul off kids, or shoot someone and write it up as "self‑defense."

Public Safety Legal Technology

Philadelphia 'fraud tourists' plead guilty in $3.5M Minnesota Housing Stabilization scheme

Feb 11 Breaking TC 7

Two Philadelphia men, Anthony Jefferson (37) and Lester Brown (53), pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud each for their roles in a $3.5 million scheme that exploited Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program; they rented Minneapolis office space for Chozen Runner LLC and Retsel Real Estate LLC, billed themselves as “The Housing Guys,” enrolled about 230 beneficiaries by targeting shelters and Section 8 housing, and admitted using ChatGPT to fabricate service notes and reports — Jefferson’s plea contemplates 5–6.5 years and Brown’s 3.5–4.5 years, with both free pending sentencing. Their pleas come amid a broader federal probe that has charged eight people in related HSS frauds allegedly involving millions, prompted FBI raids, and led the state to end the HSS program after sharply rising Medicaid spending and apparent widespread abuse.

Housing Legal Health

ICE tackles, arrests 18-year-old in Minneapolis courthouse lobby

Feb 11 Breaking TC 1

ICE agents tackled and arrested 18-year-old Junior De Jesus Herrera Berrios in the lobby of the Hennepin County Government Center Tuesday morning immediately after a court hearing in his Minnesota felony meth case, drawing whistles, cellphone cameras and a crowd that followed agents out of the building. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty warned that immigration arrests in and around courthouses can blow up pending prosecutions by removing defendants mid‑case and scaring witnesses and victims — particularly people of color — away from testifying, saying this could make it "doubtful" her office can ever hold Herrera Berrios accountable. DHS fired back in a nighttime statement calling him a "criminal illegal alien," accusing "agitators" of tipping him off and claiming he tried to run before agents "successfully" took him into ICE custody, but did not address the local prosecution concerns. The incident adds a new flashpoint to Operation Metro Surge inside the state’s busiest courthouse, and defense and victims’ advocates on social media are already arguing that ICE’s tactics are undermining the state’s own justice system as much as they target individual non‑citizens. For Twin Cities residents who need the Government Center to function as neutral ground, it reinforces fears that simply walking into court — as a defendant, witness, or family member — now carries immigration risk.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

Attorneys detail grim conditions at Whipple ICE lockup

Feb 11 TC 1

Court filings from immigration attorneys Kim Boche and Hanne Sandison describe roughly 40 detainees held in seven small rooms at the Whipple Federal Building on Feb. 9, many sleeping on bare floors without blankets, pillows, pads or cots and surrounded by piles of trash and rotten food with no visible garbage cans. The filings say detainees reported having no clear information on how to reach lawyers; one man who has lived in the U.S. for 10 years told Boche he didn’t know who to call, and a phone labeled for legal calls rang to a Kentucky detention center rather than a local number. Instructions posted above phones were described as confusing, and the attorneys say DHS staff cut their visit short, limiting interviews. The inspection was ordered by U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel in a lawsuit alleging Operation Metro Surge has unlawfully restricted detainees’ access to counsel at Whipple, which doubles as ICE’s Twin Cities field office and short‑term jail. These sworn observations add concrete, first‑hand detail to claims from families, advocates and habeas petitions that people arrested in the metro are being held in substandard conditions with little meaningful chance to contact an attorney before they are moved or pressured into decisions.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

Native-led prayer camp forms outside Whipple ICE lockup

Feb 11 Developing TC 1

Native activists and allies have set up an Indigenous-led prayer camp outside the Whipple Federal Building ICE detention center at Fort Snelling, turning the lawn into a round‑the‑clock site of ceremony and protest against Operation Metro Surge. Organizers describe the camp as a spiritual response to the federal surge and the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, saying they intend to remain, pray, and monitor who is taken into and released from the facility. The camp adds a visible, sustained presence at the metro’s main ICE lockup at the same time lawsuits, habeas petitions and school walkouts challenge federal tactics across Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Social media posts from the site show drums, banners and elders leading prayers, and emphasize the parallel between historic military occupation at Fort Snelling and today’s heavy federal enforcement presence. For Twin Cities residents, the camp signals that opposition to the surge is not just in courtrooms and at one‑off marches, but is now physically rooted at the place where detainees are cycled in and out of the system.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Top fraud prosecutor Joe Thompson quits Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office over ICE‑widow probe; now joins Don Lemon investigation

Feb 10 Developing TC 5

Joe Thompson, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office’s top fraud prosecutor and First Assistant U.S. Attorney, resigned — one of at least six prosecutors to leave — after internal pressure from Washington to open a criminal probe into the widow of an ICE shooting victim, a dispute officials say has raised concerns about politicization and could disrupt high‑profile fraud dockets such as Feeding Our Future and Medicaid/Housing fraud cases. Thompson has since been hired by journalist Don Lemon as the lead outside investigator for Lemon’s deep‑dive reporting on the ICE killing of Renee Good and the broader Operation Metro Surge crackdown in Minneapolis.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Dylan Tobler charged with murder in St. Cloud stabbing of Jeff Johnson’s daughter

Feb 10 Breaking TC 2

Dylan Michael Tobler, 23, has been charged with second-degree murder in the Feb. 7 stabbing death of the daughter of former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Dr. Jeff Johnson in St. Cloud. A witness who went to the home after not hearing from the victim since Feb. 3 found the victim’s body in a bathroom with multiple knives (one with dried blood) and Tobler — who told police he had been alone with the victim, said he thought it was his fault she was dead and tapped his chest saying “jail” — and the medical examiner preliminarily reported multiple stab wounds to the chest, upper back, head and neck and ruled the manner of death a homicide; the Minnesota GOP said Johnson has suspended his 2026 campaign to focus on his family.

Public Safety Legal Elections

VA chaplains told not to name slain Minneapolis nurse

Feb 10 TC 1

The article reports that chaplains at a VA hospital system in Massachusetts were instructed by their supervisor not to mention Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by name in public prayers or services, even as Pretti’s killing by Border Patrol agents in south Minneapolis has become a focal point of protests and legal fights over Operation Metro Surge. Internal communications obtained by the Reformer show the directive came after clinicians and chaplains wanted to acknowledge Pretti’s death, and that some staff objected, saying it conflicted with chaplaincy’s pastoral mission and veterans’ interest in speaking openly about the incident. VA officials offered shifting explanations when asked, at times framing the order as an attempt to avoid “politicizing” worship, while not denying that a ban on naming Pretti was imposed. The piece underscores how deeply the Minneapolis shooting is reverberating inside federal institutions nationwide, and how leadership is trying to control internal speech about a case that Twin Cities families, nurses and city officials insist must be confronted head‑on. On social media, veterans and health‑care workers are sharply split between those who see the order as censorship and those who say VA spaces should stay apolitical, mirroring the broader divide over federal enforcement tactics in Minneapolis.

Health Legal Public Safety

Homeland Security funding fight intensifies as Democrats reject White House ICE offer

Feb 10 Developing TC 2

Democrats have rejected a White House offer on ICE provisions as “insufficient,” saying the dispute is not over DHS topline funding but over the absence of meaningful, written constraints on ICE and Border Patrol operations in the appropriations language. With Homeland Security funding set to expire imminently and Democrats moving to block the spending bill after the latest Minneapolis shooting, the standoff raises the risk of a lapse or another stopgap that would leave Operation Metro Surge unchanged.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

ICE director to face D.C. grilling over Minnesota surge

Feb 10 Developing TC 1

ICE Director Todd Lyons will testify Tuesday at a 9 a.m. CT U.S. House Homeland Security Committee oversight hearing alongside CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, with the Minnesota‑centered ICE surge squarely on the agenda. The panel is chaired by Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who says he wants answers on officer training and claims he hopes the session will "calm down the rhetoric" even as Twin Cities footage shows agents battering down doors, shooting residents, and dragging people from cars and bus stops. Lyons will also face hostile questioning from Democrats such as Rep. Shri Thanedar, who has a bill to abolish ICE, and Rep. LaMonica McIver, herself charged with impeding federal officers during a detention‑center incident, underscoring just how polarized this circus will be. For Minneapolis–St. Paul, this is the first time the top ICE brass will be on the record in a formal hearing since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the wave of habeas petitions, and federal judges’ orders freeing detainees and rebuking ICE tactics here. Expect members to wave around the same cooked-up "worst of the worst" numbers local reporting has already gutted, even as Minnesota officials and residents keep pushing for hard answers on how many of these raids are actually legal and how many are political theater.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Prior Lake man charged in $350M phony IRS refund scheme, advised 'sovereign citizens'

Feb 10 Breaking TC 2

A Prior Lake man has been charged in a $350 million fake IRS refund scheme that prosecutors say he built around "sovereign citizen" pseudo‑legal theories and used to advise others in that movement on filing sham tax returns. Authorities allege he siphoned about $19 million of the fraudulently obtained refunds to buy a Prior Lake lakefront home and to fund significant cryptocurrency investments.

Legal Business & Economy

Judge orders attorney inspection of Whipple ICE lockup

Feb 09 Developing TC 1

Immigration-rights attorneys will enter ICE’s Whipple Building detention area Monday morning under a court order from Judge Nancy Brasel, but they’ve returned to court saying DHS is trying to block them from bringing phones or cameras and from speaking with detainees. The inspection stems from a lawsuit by The Advocates for Human Rights and a St. Paul asylum seeker alleging Operation Metro Surge has sharply limited detainees’ access to lawyers at Whipple, despite ICE having attorney-visit rooms that were used in years past. Government lawyers argue detainees can make free legal calls and that the law doesn’t guarantee 'unfettered' in-person access, noting most people are moved out of Whipple within 24 hours. The dispute comes after weeks of congressional clashes over access to the same facility, with Minnesota’s delegation initially turned away and later allowed in only under tight conditions, and after Rep. Kelly Morrison likened conditions there to a 'third-world prison.' For Twin Cities residents, this inspection fight is a direct test of whether anyone outside ICE will be allowed to independently document what’s happening inside the metro’s central immigration jail during the federal surge.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Cottage Grove man charged after waving butcher knife at elementary school

Feb 08 Breaking TC 1

Washington County prosecutors have charged 46‑year‑old Touyer Yang of Cottage Grove after police say he drove erratically in the Cottage Grove Elementary School parking lot on Feb. 3, then walked into the school’s vestibule waving a large butcher knife and yelling while children watched from a nearby common area. Court documents say at least three staff members saw Yang with the knife, one reported him photographing her from his black pickup as he circled the lot, and another saw him banging on the vestibule doors with the blade in hand; staff moved several frightened children into a classroom for safety while officers responded. Police found multiple knives in his truck, a traffic cone jammed under the vehicle, and noted signs of intoxication; Yang is accused of refusing a breath test after being warned refusal is a crime and later admitting he had been drinking before going to the school. He now faces felony counts including possessing a dangerous weapon on school property, threats of violence, property damage over $1,000, and driving under the influence. The case will be closely watched by east‑metro parents already on edge about school security and by districts reviewing how quickly staff can lock down or isolate vestibules when an armed stranger appears at the door.

Public Safety Legal Education

Man found shot to death in crashed car at 33rd and Chicago

Feb 07 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a man was found fatally shot inside a vehicle that had crashed into a building on the 3300 block of Chicago Avenue around 8:25 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6. Officers initially responded to a reported crash near East 33rd Street and Chicago and discovered the driver with multiple gunshot wounds; despite life‑saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was in the vehicle, no arrests have been announced, and investigators have released no suspect information. Chief Brian O’Hara called the gun violence "unacceptable" and said detectives will "work tirelessly to follow all leads," as the area — already under strain from federal ICE activity and past high‑profile incidents — faces another unsolved homicide.

Public Safety Legal

Six charged as Minnesota Medicaid probes expand

Feb 07 Developing TC 4

Six people have been charged as Minnesota’s Medicaid fraud probe expands, and Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed the DOJ to send additional federal prosecutors to bolster the relatively small U.S. Attorney’s Office — a move framed as a response to “widespread fraud” and linked to a broader federal posture that has included large immigration/fraud operations. One defendant, Nasro Takhal, pleaded guilty in a PITSTOP‑66 “phantom rides” scheme that used fabricated names to bus Somali Americans to unnecessary clinic visits and inflate UCare non‑emergency medical transportation reimbursements from 2019–2021 (she faces over $300,000 in restitution), while officials warn fraud across 14 flagged Medicaid services could exceed $9 billion and say new $50 million schemes are being uncovered regularly.

Legal Health Local Government

Minneapolis ICE arrest leaves immigrant’s skull shattered

Feb 07 Developing TC 1

A south Minneapolis immigrant says ICE/HSI agents beat him so severely during a recent arrest that his skull was fractured in eight places, requiring emergency surgery and a lengthy hospital stay, and he insists the violence was unprovoked and not in response to any resistance. In an interview with the Pioneer Press, he recounts complying with commands, being slammed to the ground and then struck in the head multiple times while already down; medical records reviewed by the paper confirm extensive cranial fractures. Witnesses quoted in the story say they did not see him attack officers before the takedown, directly contradicting the usual DHS script that Metro Surge targets were 'fighting' agents. His attorney is now preparing an excessive‑force lawsuit and has alerted federal judges who are already inundated with habeas petitions challenging ICE conduct in the Twin Cities. The case adds a grim new data point to a surge already marred by two fatal federal shootings, dozens of contested raids, and a widening gap between what ICE puts in its press releases and what’s actually happening on Minneapolis streets.

Public Safety Legal

Only one Minnesota lawmaker allowed into Whipple ICE lockup

Feb 07 Developing TC 1

U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison was allowed into the Whipple Federal Building’s ICE detention area in Minneapolis under a recent court order, but fellow Minnesota Democrats Angie Craig and Betty McCollum were stopped at a waiting room door and denied entry during an unannounced oversight visit. Morrison, a physician, says agents initially ignored the judge’s order and stalled her for nearly 30 minutes, and once inside she found detainees held in what she called a cramped, “very dehumanizing” space with no protocol to prevent measles spread between Texas and Minnesota facilities. The visit is Morrison’s first since joining a lawsuit that temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s 7‑day notice rule for congressional visits; Craig and McCollum, not plaintiffs in that case, remained barred despite the court’s broader stay of the policy. Morrison blasted the operation as lawless and unprepared for the scale of "Operation Metro Surge," warning that gaps in infection‑control and basic transparency at Whipple endanger detainees, staff and Minnesotans generally. On social media, Twin Cities advocates are seizing on the measles detail and the access denials as fresh evidence that federal agencies are stonewalling oversight while running a chaotic crackdown in the middle of the metro.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Man charged in fatal St. Paul marijuana‑deal shooting

Feb 06 Breaking TC 1

Prosecutors have charged a St. Paul man in the fatal shooting of another man during what police say was a marijuana deal that turned into a robbery on the city’s East Side. According to the criminal complaint, the suspect arranged the buy, pulled a gun during the transaction, and the victim was shot and later died despite emergency response at the scene. Investigators say video, phone records and witness statements tied the defendant to the meetup and the gunfire, and he is now jailed on a pending second‑degree murder count. The case highlights how street‑level cannabis deals remain a flashpoint for violence in the Twin Cities even after legalization and will feed into ongoing debates over illegal markets, guns and neighborhood safety in St. Paul.

Public Safety Legal

Jan. 6 figure Jake Lang charged with felony for smashing 'Prosecute ICE' Capitol sculpture

Feb 06 Breaking TC 4

Jake Lang, a 30-year‑old far‑right influencer pardoned for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was charged by Ramsey County prosecutors with one felony count of first‑degree criminal damage to property after State Patrol troopers say he kicked and broke a "Prosecute ICE" ice sculpture outside the Minnesota Capitol — an act he recorded and posted — with the damage valued at more than $1,000 (Common Defense paid $6,250 for the piece). Identified via his own social‑media video, Lang was arrested nearby, booked into Ramsey County Jail, made an initial court appearance and was released under conditions; he has defended the act as "First Amendment" and "artistic expression," a claim the charging complaint rejects, and the felony carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Minneapolis man charged with online threats against ICE

Feb 06 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors have charged 37‑year‑old Minneapolis resident Kyle Wagner with conspiring and threatening to assault federal law‑enforcement officers in connection with ICE’s ongoing operations in Minnesota. A DOJ criminal complaint alleges Wagner, who identified himself as Antifa, posted Jan. 8 and Jan. 24 social‑media videos telling followers "ICE we’re f‑‑‑ing coming for you" and urging people to "get your f‑‑‑ing guns and stop these f‑‑‑ing people," and encouraged others to hunt, confront and assault ICE agents in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say he also doxxed a pro‑ICE supporter by posting that person’s name, phone number and home address on Instagram, effectively pointing an online mob at a private individual. The case drops into an already volatile landscape where ICE and Border Patrol have shot and killed Twin Cities residents and a wave of habeas cases is challenging federal conduct, and it shows DOJ is now moving on people who cross the line from protest into explicit calls for violence or targeting named individuals. Civil‑liberties advocates online are already debating where protected speech ends and criminal incitement begins, but the charging documents make clear the feds are watching social feeds as closely as they are watching the streets.

Legal Public Safety

New Epstein files reveal Minnesota victim and flights

Feb 06 TC 1

Newly released Epstein case documents show Jeffrey Epstein regularly paid for flights to move women to and from Minnesota over several years, including at least one woman from Duluth whom he flew out for weekend trips around her class schedule. FOX 9 identified at least four women tied to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse who traveled on his dime between Minnesota, New York, his New Mexico ranch and even Paris, with internal emails showing staff tightly tracking and limiting their travel, including Christmas visits back home. One 2012 email shows a victim asking Epstein to travel to Minnesota for the holidays with another woman’s family, underscoring how he used financial control and travel to manage victims’ lives. The cache also includes a 2015 itinerary suggesting Epstein planned a visit to Mayo Clinic in Rochester—complete with meetings with executives and campus tours—though FOX 9 found no flight logs confirming he actually came. The reporting comes as national outlets highlight how often Dr. Peter Attia’s name appears in the new files, raising fresh questions about high‑profile professionals’ proximity to Epstein’s orbit.

Public Safety Legal Health

Judge blocks deportation of witness in Minneapolis ICE shooting

Feb 06 Developing TC 1

A federal judge has ordered the government not to deport Venezuelan immigrant Valentina Moreno, a key eyewitness in the Jan. 14 north Minneapolis ICE operation where an agent shot and wounded a man during a chaotic street confrontation with protesters. Court records show Moreno, now detained in New Mexico after transfers from Minnesota and Texas, is the girlfriend of defendant Alfredo Aljorna, one of three men charged federally after DHS claimed they attacked an ICE agent with a broom and a shovel. Aljorna asserts that Moreno and other witnesses can testify he never struck the agent, and the judge warned there would be consequences if she were removed before she can testify, especially after the government abruptly fast‑tracked her immigration hearing by six months to this Friday. The halt comes amid widespread skepticism of DHS narratives about Metro Surge incidents, with local reporting and habeas rulings already undercutting federal claims in several Twin Cities raids and shootings. Homeland Security officials have not responded to questions about why Moreno was moved out of state or why her case was suddenly accelerated.

Legal Public Safety

BCA warns missing Coon Rapids teen is public‑safety risk

Feb 06 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota BCA is searching for 14‑year‑old Olavion Milek Washington, missing from his guardian’s Coon Rapids home for more than a month and now believed to be traveling in stolen vehicles around the metro. Investigators say Washington has a history of stealing cars, fleeing law enforcement and being involved in police pursuits, and that "recent credible information indicates imminent risk to life and public safety." The BCA’s bulletin notes he was reportedly shot at within the past weekend and is suspected of crashing a stolen vehicle in an incident that caused serious injuries to another person, after which he allegedly posted related content on social media. Authorities have also seen him in videos with people displaying firearms, though they don’t know if he currently has a gun, and they’ve released his photo while withholding any guess at his present location. Metro residents are being asked to contact law enforcement rather than approach if they spot either Washington or vehicles he may be using, as officers weigh a juvenile’s welfare against the real risk to bystanders from another high‑speed run.

Public Safety Legal

FOX 9 finds DHS ICE detainer numbers wildly inflated

Feb 06 TC 1

FOX 9’s review of jail and prison data blows a hole in the Trump administration’s line that Minnesota is sitting on 1,360 'deportable criminals' with ICE detainers, a number DHS has been waving around to justify keeping a federal army on the ground here. Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell says DOC has been honoring detainers and estimates there are only about 100 people with ICE holds across all 87 counties, while FOX 9’s check of the five biggest counties turned up just 36 detainers and roughly 300 non‑citizens in custody total — nowhere near 1,360. Ramsey County didn’t cough up numbers, but nothing in the local data comes close to backing the federal claim, and DHS has refused to produce any evidence for its figure even after repeated requests. Border czar Tom Homan is still insisting that building a 'reliable pipeline' from county jails to ICE is key to pulling agents out of Minnesota, but this investigation shows the pipeline he’s describing is mostly smoke. For Twin Cities residents watching ICE batter down doors and shoot people on our streets, this isn’t a minor accounting error — it’s one more sign the surge is being sold with cooked numbers, not facts.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Columbia Heights 4th grader Elizabeth Zuna freed from Texas ICE detention; MN schools sue to block raids near campuses

Feb 04 Developing TC 3

Columbia Heights fourth‑grader Elizabeth Zuna, who had been held at ICE’s Dilley detention center in Texas, has been released, a case that, officials say, has taken an emotional toll on her family and drawn attention to wider child‑detention practices. At the same time, Education Minnesota and the Duluth and Fridley school districts have sued to bar federal immigration enforcement near school campuses, and litigation in related cases has already yielded a federal temporary order protecting a detained 5‑year‑old and his father from removal.

Education Public Safety Legal

How ICE and HSI track Minnesotans’ phones, cars and data under Metro Surge

Feb 03 TC 4

Federal immigration and HSI agents operating under the Metro Surge are using systems like HSI’s FALCON and commercial data streams—app‑location feeds, ad‑tech identifiers, cell‑tower pings, automated license‑plate readers and brokered records—to map devices, vehicles and “patterns of life” across Minneapolis–Saint Paul, including targeted searches in neighborhoods with Somali and Latino residents. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has issued a consumer alert advising technical precautions and invoking the new Consumer Data Privacy Act to seek disclosure or deletion of some brokered data, while officials and experts warn there are major information gaps about what DHS is accessing and limits to how much deletion or privacy measures can blunt surveillance once data are ingested.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Man killed in West 7th St. Paul shooting

Feb 03 Breaking TC 2

A man was found fatally shot in a vehicle on the 100 block of Oneida Street in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood and was pronounced dead at the scene despite life‑saving efforts. No arrests have been made, and investigators say it is St. Paul’s second homicide of 2026.

Public Safety Legal

DHS to equip ICE and Border Patrol with body cameras, starting in Minneapolis

Feb 03 TC 5

DHS announced that every field officer in Minneapolis — including ICE and Border Patrol agents — will now wear body cameras, a rollout Secretary Kristi Noem framed as a response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and as a way to rebut what officials call “selectively edited” bystander videos. The move comes amid the controversial Operation Metro Surge — roughly 3,000 federal officers deployed in Minnesota versus about 80 under normal conditions, with no clear end date as a drawdown plan is drafted — and follows reporting that revealed 911 call audio about an ICE detainee’s death and questions over DHS’s characterization of recent arrests.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Fridley substitute teacher charged over Snapchat sexual messages to students

Feb 03 Breaking TC 1

Anoka County prosecutors have charged 42-year-old Rey Dela Gente Jagolina of Fridley with nine felonies for allegedly sending nude photos and videos of himself and engaging in sexual conversations with current and former Fridley Middle School students over Snapchat. According to the criminal complaint, Fridley Police were alerted Nov. 6, 2025, after staff learned a 14-year-old student had received sexual images, and an investigation by the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office uncovered at least 10 student victims and 483 messages with one victim between Oct. 27 and Nov. 6 alone. Investigators say Jagolina admitted being “inappropriate with students,” used multiple Snapchat accounts to contact minors, sent at least one explicit image at 1:10 a.m., and asked one student, “Can I sleep over there?”. He is charged with three counts each of solicitation of a minor via electronic communication, engaging in sexual communication with a minor, and distributing sexual material to a minor; state officials are seeking a warrant and say he may already be in Thailand, calling him a significant flight and public safety risk. The case heightens concerns about background checks, social‑media boundaries, and monitoring of substitute teachers in metro schools, and parents are likely to press Fridley and other districts for clearer safeguards and reporting protocols.

Public Safety Legal Education

Army stands down units eyed for possible Minnesota deployment

Feb 03 Developing TC 1

U.S. Northern Command has told Army units in North Carolina and Alaska to stand down from the short‑fuse 'prepare to deploy' orders that had put them on 48–72‑hour notice for a possible mission in Minnesota, according to the Twincities.com report. Those orders were part of Pentagon contingency planning as President Trump repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to Minneapolis‑centered ICE protests and unrest. The stand‑down means there is no active move right now to send additional active‑duty troops into the Twin Cities, even as hundreds of ICE and Border Patrol agents remain on the ground under Operation Metro Surge. The article notes the change follows intense political blowback, ongoing habeas wins for detainees in Minnesota federal court, and visible fears locally of a repeat of 2020‑style militarization. Social media reaction has been split: immigrant and civil‑rights groups are calling the stand‑down a partial victory of public pressure, while hard‑line commentators frame it as a missed opportunity to 'restore order' in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Flanagan denies role in alleged anti‑ICE Signal chat

Feb 02 Developing TC 1

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, now a leading DFL candidate for the U.S. Senate seat Tina Smith is vacating, told FOX 9 it is “ridiculous” to suggest she was part of a Signal group under the alias “Flan Southside” that purportedly tracked ICE agents and coordinated protests and donations during Operation Metro Surge. The claim came from conservative influencer Cam Higby, who posted screenshots he says came from an infiltrated Signal chat that shared ICE vehicle locations, solicited agitators, and directed money to a group called Stand with Minnesota; none of that has yet been independently verified. Flanagan flatly denied being in the chat, said her own work has focused on mutual aid and groceries for families, and argued the story is a distraction from “what is happening in our streets in real time,” pointing to the detainment of U.S. citizens and the killings of Renee Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents. She repeated her view that ICE is operating as a “reckless paramilitary force” and called again for the federal government to pull ICE out of Minnesota, even as she leans into Smith’s endorsement as she seeks a promotion to the Senate. On social media, the Signal allegation is circulating heavily in right‑wing circles, while many Twin Cities progressives are treating it as an obvious smear but amplifying Flanagan’s harder‑line anti‑ICE rhetoric as the political temperature around the surge keeps rising.

Elections Public Safety Legal

Zimmerman Amber Alert suspect previously worked as nanny, raising wider safety concerns

Feb 02 Breaking TC 2

Joseph Andrew Bragg, charged in the Zimmerman Amber Alert case with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 7‑year‑old Sherburne County girl, is reported to have previously worked as a nanny for at least one Minnesota family. Authorities say they have contacted or are contacting families who employed him and are urging any past employers or parents who used him as a nanny or sitter to come forward as they investigate whether the alleged conduct reflects a broader pattern.

Public Safety Legal

North St. Paul group home worker charged after resident freezes to death

Feb 02 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County prosecutors have charged a worker at a North St. Paul group home after a vulnerable resident was found dead in the street during below‑zero weather, allegedly after the staffer fell asleep on an overnight shift and failed to notice the resident had left. Charging documents say the resident, who had disabilities and required supervision, was discovered outdoors in life‑threatening cold a short distance from the home and died of exposure, turning what should have been a preventable incident into a criminal case. North St. Paul police and county investigators say facility checks and worker statements contradict the level of monitoring that was supposed to occur, and the case will likely trigger state regulatory scrutiny of the home’s license and policies. For Twin Cities families with relatives in group homes, this is another warning that staffing, training and overnight supervision are weak points in the system, and that only a catastrophic failure seems to prompt real accountability.

Public Safety Legal Health

St. Paul IDs first 2026 homicide victim in Payne-Phalen

Feb 02 Breaking TC 1

St. Paul police have identified the man shot and killed Sunday afternoon on the 900 block of York Avenue in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood as a 25-year-old city resident, marking the capital city’s first homicide of 2026. Officers responding around 2:25 p.m. found him with multiple gunshot wounds; he died at the scene despite emergency efforts, and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner has now formally released his name. No arrests have been announced, and investigators in the homicide unit are still working to determine a motive and identify suspects while canvassing the area for witnesses and surveillance video. The killing has heightened concern in the East Side neighborhood, where residents are already dealing with fallout from the federal ICE surge and other recent shootings, and police are asking anyone with information to contact them or leave an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers.

Public Safety Legal

Woodbury asylum seeker with rare skin disease details six‑day ICE detention and ongoing fear

Feb 01 Breaking TC 3

A Woodbury man and Libyan asylum seeker with a rare genetic skin disorder says he was held six days by ICE at the Whipple Federal Building — released on a $1,500 bond — and alleges he was denied soft food needed for a life‑threatening esophageal condition and was cuffed to a hospital bed in ways that worsened painful blisters. He says agents told him he was not in the U.S. legally despite a 12‑year‑pending asylum case and no criminal record; now back home and physically recovering, he and his attorney say he remains afraid to go out and fear ICE could detain him again before next month’s asylum hearing.

Public Safety Legal Health

St. Paul police probe first homicide of 2026

Feb 01 Breaking TC 1

St. Paul police are investigating a fatal shooting on the city’s East Side after officers responded around 2:25 p.m. to the 900 block of York Avenue and found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to confirm his identity and official cause of death. Detectives in the homicide unit are working to piece together what led up to the gunfire and to identify any suspects, but no arrests or motive have been reported. This marks St. Paul’s first homicide of 2026, a metric residents and officials track closely after several years of volatile violent‑crime trends.

Public Safety Legal

Texas judge slams ICE quotas, orders release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father seized in Columbia Heights

Jan 31 Developing TC 2

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas ordered that 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, be released from ICE detention by Tuesday, Feb. 3, and stayed any removal or transfer while the case is pending. In a written ruling Biery blasted the government's "ill‑conceived and incompetently‑implemented" daily deportation quotas and said administrative warrants do not constitute probable cause, while the family disputes DHS’s claim the father abandoned the child and says ICE used the boy as bait during the Columbia Heights seizure.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

Judge frees Venezuelan family after invalid St. Paul ICE raid; U.S. Attorney apologizes

Jan 31 Developing TC 3

A federal judge ordered the release of a Venezuelan family detained in a St. Paul ICE raid after finding the operation relied on an invalid warrant, and U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen formally apologized in a court filing for the way the matter and information were handled. All six family members were returned to their St. Paul home after being flown to two Texas immigration facilities where they allege mistreatment, and the case echoes a separate Minnesota habeas ruling that freed a 5‑year‑old and limited ICE’s ability to move child detainees, though that order did not resolve the underlying legality of that arrest.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Judge orders 2‑year‑old released from ICE custody

Jan 31 Breaking TC 3

A federal judge ordered a 2‑year‑old released from ICE custody, part of a series of Minnesota rulings during Operation Metro Surge that have blocked or limited rapid deportations of children seized in the raids. Similar emergency habeas orders — including one requiring ICE to release 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father and barring their removal by a court‑set deadline — have targeted individual cases and whole family units, providing case‑specific relief rather than a broad injunction against the operation.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

Judge orders release of 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and father after Minnesota ICE arrest

Jan 31 Developing TC 3

A federal judge has ordered ICE to affirmatively release 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from custody by Tuesday and barred their removal while their immigration case proceeds; the pair are currently held in Texas after being arrested in a Minnesota ICE operation. The decision is a case‑specific habeas win and does not impose a broad injunction against the administration’s ongoing Metro Surge in Minnesota, which the court indicated will be addressed on a case‑by‑case basis.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

Judge refuses to pause Operation Metro Surge; ICE crackdown continues in Minnesota during lawsuit

Jan 31 Developing TC 2

A federal judge declined Minnesota’s request to halt Operation Metro Surge — the Trump-era ICE enforcement effort — finding the state had not met the standard for a preliminary injunction and allowing ICE and Border Patrol to continue operations in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. The broader lawsuit will proceed while individual habeas petitions and any narrower court orders continue to be adjudicated in parallel.

Legal Public Safety Immigration & Civil Rights

26 arrested at Maple Grove ICE hotel protest; 13 charged with riot

Jan 28 Breaking TC 2

Twenty-six people were arrested outside the SpringHill Suites in Maple Grove during a protest targeting a hotel where ICE agents were believed to be staying. Maple Grove police said they allowed the demonstration to proceed until property damage and violence prompted an unlawful-assembly declaration; 13 are being referred for gross-misdemeanor riot charges and 13 for misdemeanor unlawful assembly, with two of those also facing obstruction charges.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

DHS memo confirms two federal shooters, probes errant shot in Alex Pretti killing

Jan 28 TC 5

A DHS memo to Congress confirms two federal officers — one Border Patrol agent and one Customs and Border Protection officer — each fired Glock pistols during the Nicollet Avenue killing of 37‑year‑old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, and DHS says it is leading the probe with Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI while CBP conducts an internal review; at least four Border Patrol officers on scene were wearing body cameras and involved agents have been placed on administrative leave. Plaintiffs’ newly filed declaration and bystander video and testimony allege agents used pepper spray and force on observers and saw no gun in Pretti’s hands, investigators are examining whether an agent accidentally discharged Pretti’s Sig Sauer P320 after disarming him, a court has ordered evidence preserved amid initial state‑federal access disputes, President Trump has called for an “honest investigation,” and DOJ has not opened a separate civil‑rights probe.

Public Safety Legal Immigration & Federal Enforcement

Ilhan Omar sprayed with unknown liquid at Minneapolis town hall; assault suspect arrested

Jan 28 Breaking TC 5

At a north Minneapolis town hall on ICE operations, Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with an unknown liquid delivered via a syringe; police arrested a man on suspicion of assault and a forensic team is testing the substance. Omar appeared unhurt, resumed speaking after being checked, and the spraying was a separate incident from an earlier man who rushed the stage but was stopped by security.

Public Safety Elections Legal

Ecuador consulate blocks ICE agent from entering Minneapolis office

Jan 28 Breaking TC 1

The Ecuadorian consulate on Central Avenue NE in Minneapolis says an ICE officer tried to enter its premises around 11 a.m. Tuesday and was stopped at the door by consular staff, who later called the visit an "attempted incursion" and said they acted to protect Ecuadorians inside. Under international law, consulates are treated as protected diplomatic facilities, and Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry has now filed a formal note of protest with the U.S. Embassy in Quito, asking that similar actions not be repeated at any of its offices. The incident unfolded against the backdrop of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s deployment of thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents to the Twin Cities that has already produced multiple disputed shootings, mass habeas challenges, and visible fear in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. On social media, immigrant advocates are pointing to the consulate’s stand as one of the first foreign-government pushbacks on Metro Surge tactics in Minneapolis, while legal observers note that trying to walk into a consulate without a clear diplomatic purpose shows how aggressive some field agents have become. For Ecuadorian nationals in the metro, the episode is being read as both a warning about the reach of ICE and a sign that their own government is willing to push back when that reach crosses legal lines.

Public Safety Legal Immigration & Federal Government

Calls escalate to oust DHS chief Noem over Minneapolis ICE surge

Jan 28 TC 1

The article reports that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing intensifying calls for her firing or impeachment from Democratic members of Congress, civil‑rights groups and Minnesota officials over her handling of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s massive ICE and Border Patrol crackdown centered on Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Critics cite the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti and another north‑side wounding by federal agents, along with battering‑ram raids, child detentions and bystander injuries, as evidence of systemic abuses under Noem’s watch. The piece notes that impeachment articles in the U.S. House accuse her of violating civil rights, obstructing oversight and green‑lighting unconstitutional tactics, and that local leaders like Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison argue the surge has turned Twin Cities neighborhoods into a federal militarized zone. It also underscores that the White House is standing by Noem so far, framing the surge as necessary law‑enforcement, and that any impeachment would be an uphill climb in a Republican‑run House and closely divided Senate. On social media, Twin Cities residents are amplifying video of federal shootings and raids while business owners and school communities describe Noem as personally responsible for the fear and economic damage rippling through immigrant corridors.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Ramsey County attorney urges residents to report alleged felonies by federal agents

Jan 27 Breaking TC 2

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi urged residents to report alleged felonies by federal agents, telling anyone who believes a federal officer committed a felony in the county to call 911 or the local police non‑emergency line so a standard criminal report and local investigation can begin. Local police or sheriff’s deputies will investigate like any other felony and refer cases to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for charging decisions, guidance Choi said is in response to Operation Metro Surge and recent ICE/Border Patrol incidents in St. Paul.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Walz, Democratic AGs say citizen video is key weapon against ICE abuses

Jan 27 TC 2

Gov. Tim Walz and a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general are urging residents to record interactions with ICE and Border Patrol agents, encouraging citizen video as a tool for future prosecutions and challenges. They say courts are increasingly treating phone videos and other citizen‑generated records as critical evidence in habeas and civil‑rights cases and that documenting warrantless entries, use of force and who agents target helps build pattern‑of‑practice claims against ICE and DHS, not just individual complaints.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Detainee with first‑aid training saves seizing ICE agent

Jan 27 Breaking TC 1

A Brooklyn Park woman, Tippy Amundson, says she and a friend were detained by ICE near an apartment complex while honking to warn children about an agent hiding behind a trash can, and that an agent transporting them to the Whipple Federal Building then suffered multiple seizures in the vehicle. Amundson, a former teacher with basic medical training, alerted other agents, was uncuffed, and rendered aid until paramedics arrived, telling FOX 9 she was stunned they "had no idea" how to perform even simple first aid. After the medical emergency, she and her friend were still taken to Whipple and held about an hour before being released with citations for impeding federal officers. The episode both humanizes individual agents and adds to a growing pattern of ICE encounters on Twin Cities streets that leave residents questioning federal tactics and training as Operation Metro Surge continues.

Public Safety Legal

8th Circuit lifts injunction that curbed ICE use of force on Minnesota protesters

Jan 27 Developing TC 4

An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay/partial stay of U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez’s injunction that barred ICE and DHS from detaining, tear‑gassing, or otherwise using force on peaceful protesters and legal observers around Operation Metro Surge, effectively restoring broader authority for ICE and Border Patrol to use crowd‑control tactics while the government’s appeal proceeds. Civil‑rights lawyers and the ACLU warn the ruling raises the risk of arrest or force against activists, and confrontations — including deployments of tear gas and pepper spray — have continued and intensified in the Twin Cities.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Federal judge orders ICE director to Minneapolis court over Metro Surge due‑process violations

Jan 27 Developing TC 2

Federal Judge Patrick Schiltz has ordered Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear at a 1 p.m. Friday hearing in Minneapolis federal court to explain why detainees were denied due process during the Metro Surge. Schiltz’s order says the Trump administration sent “thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision” for the resulting habeas cases and that violations continue despite assurances — noting a petitioner granted relief on Jan. 14 remained in custody as of Jan. 23, prompting a show‑cause order and possible contempt; ICE and DHS had not yet responded on the docket, and the order comes as the administration reshuffled Metro Surge leadership, naming Tom Homan and pulling some agents, including Commander Greg Bovino.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino pulled from Metro Surge, reassigned to El Centro sector

Jan 27 Developing TC 2

Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who had been serving as the national "Commander of Operation At Large," has been pulled from the Metro Surge and reassigned back to the El Centro, California CBP sector — a move described by The Atlantic and the Washington Examiner as a demotion, and reports say he may retire soon. The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he was not "relieved" and would "continue to lead" broadly while border czar Tom Homan will run point on Minnesota ICE raids, after Bovino drew controversy for publicly backing the Border Patrol agent who shot Alex Pretti and declining to identify the shooter.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Courts, AGs and DOJ clash over evidence in Renee Good, Alex Pretti ICE shootings

Jan 27 Developing TC 10

The fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good and a subsequent Border Patrol shooting that killed Alex Pretti have set off protests, an "ICE Out" strike, federal grand‑jury subpoenas to state offices, the staging and limited activation of the Minnesota National Guard, and the resignation of several federal prosecutors amid sharply escalated tensions over a large federal agent surge in Minneapolis. At the same time Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and local officials have sued for court‑ordered preservation, independent custody and disclosure of video and other evidence while DOJ warns such broad orders would impede criminal probes and is resisting, setting up a likely appellate fight over who controls and must produce the evidentiary record.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

DHS theory that guns at protests are 'unlawful' blasted as absurd in Minneapolis shooting case

Jan 25 TC 2

In the Minneapolis shooting case, critics have blasted the Department of Homeland Security’s theory that merely being armed at a protest — even with a legal permit — makes someone unlawful, pointing to an eyewitness account filed in court describing an ICE operation in which Pretti, who was filming with his hands raised, was repeatedly pepper‑sprayed, tackled and shot. The account also alleges agents surrounded cars, threatened observers and used spray pre‑emptively, linking the shooting to crowd‑control behavior rather than solely to the presence of a firearm.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Columbia Heights 5‑year‑old held in Texas as immigrant families protest outside ICE facility

Jan 25 Developing TC 2

Immigrant families and supporters traveled to a Texas family detention facility where 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father are being held after a Minnesota immigration enforcement operation, protesting outside the center and coordinating with Minnesota‑based advocates and legal teams to demand their immediate release back to Minnesota. Organizers say Liam’s case — tied by protesters to Minnesota’s Operation Metro Surge — highlights the cruelty of detaining children with pending asylum claims, while the family says they entered the U.S. the “right” way.

Public Safety Legal Education

Report: Second federal shooting in Minneapolis

Jan 24 Breaking TC 1

TwinCities.com reports that federal officers have been involved in yet another shooting in Minneapolis, separate from the killing of Renee Good and the later north‑side ICE shooting already under investigation. Details are still emerging — including which federal agency fired, how the encounter began, and the condition and identity of the person who was shot — but the incident adds to escalating tensions as hundreds of ICE and Border Patrol agents operate under Operation Metro Surge. Previous shootings have already prompted lawsuits, mass habeas petitions, and calls for independent probes, and social media is full of residents questioning whether the federal narrative will again match what’s on bystander video. As with the earlier cases, this will likely trigger parallel federal and local investigations and intensify political pressure on both DHS and state leaders over the surge’s conduct on Minneapolis streets.

Public Safety Legal

Walz blasts Metro Surge, invites Trump to Minnesota

Jan 24 Developing TC 1

FOX 9’s live updates center on Gov. Tim Walz’s new statement inviting President Trump to Minnesota "to see our values in action" while condemning Operation Metro Surge as political theater that is scaring families, hurting small businesses, and trampling constitutional limits. Walz directly links ICE operations in Minneapolis to the killing of Renee Good, allegations that agents are busting down doors without warrants, traffic stops of off‑duty cops "based on the color of their skin," and children being detained and shipped to Texas, and says the Justice Department’s investigation into Minnesota officials is a partisan distraction from federal misconduct. The piece also previews a Saturday morning news conference where ICE and Border Patrol leaders will publicly brief on Metro Surge, setting up a sharp on‑camera contrast between federal talking points and the governor’s accusations. On social media, immigrant communities, civil‑rights groups and many local officials are amplifying Walz’s framing, while pro‑enforcement voices repeat DHS claims that the surge targets the "worst of the worst" even as local reporting and court rulings keep undercutting that narrative.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Records show many ICE 'worst of worst' in MN haven’t been in jail for years

Jan 24 TC 3

A FOX 9 review of court records for nearly three dozen people ICE labeled as the “worst of the worst” found one‑third have no Minnesota criminal record, only four had been in a Minnesota jail in the past year, and many hadn’t been jailed in Minnesota for years — with evidence DHS sometimes mixed up or misattributed records. The reporting also notes Minnesota’s DOC says it routinely notifies and transfers non‑citizen inmates to ICE, and highlights specific misrepresentations (e.g., the Cottonwood County case and the St. Paul raid) that undercut federal claims and the department’s larger counts of recent local releases.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Man charged after Amber Alert abduction of 7-year-old

Jan 24 Breaking TC 1

Sherburne County authorities say a 7-year-old Zimmerman girl reported missing Wednesday evening was found alive after a statewide Amber Alert, and 29-year-old International Falls resident Joseph Andrew Bragg now faces felony kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Investigators allege Bragg abducted the child after she got off her school bus, then used a Lyft ride from a Hamel/Corcoran-area residence to a Ramada Inn in Plymouth before driving south in a rented white Dodge Ram; hotel video shows him entering alone and booking a room. After an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) alert in Sherburne County and cell-phone location tracking pointed to his truck heading toward Iowa, Albert Lea police spotted the vehicle near two truck stops around 12:34 a.m. and, during a traffic stop, found the girl in a back seat packed with belongings. The charging complaint also details a prior December Facebook contact in which Bragg allegedly befriended the child’s mother online, asked about her kids and expressed interest in working with children, prompting investigators to warn parents to tightly monitor kids’ social media and messaging app activity. Roughly 200 law enforcement personnel and more than 700 community members joined the search, which officials say was crucial to bringing the girl home quickly and keeping this from becoming another unsolved child-abduction horror story.

Public Safety Legal Education

Judge blocks ICE from moving detained Hopkins family

Jan 24 Developing TC 1

A Hopkins family from Ecuador — parents with pending asylum applications and their two children — was detained Thursday after ICE agents first pulled over mother Maria Hurtado on her way to work, then went to the family’s home and used her detention to coax her husband, Luis Chiluisa, and the children outside, where they were also taken into custody, according to their attorney. Minneapolis lawyer Brian Clark says he has been unable to learn where they are being held and feared they could be transferred to Texas, prompting an emergency filing in which he argued the family is here legally, has no known criminal history beyond Chiluisa’s 2024 misdemeanor DWI, and is well‑known in Hopkins. A federal judge has now ordered the government not to move the family out of Minnesota and to return them if ICE has already relocated them, effectively freezing any out‑of‑state transfer while the court reviews the case. Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon publicly vouched for Chiluisa as a "model citizen" who works in snow removal and said the city wants its community member back and a "normal working relationship" with federal partners, while Hopkins Public Schools’ superintendent told parents the detention was a "horrific experience" and warned the district may never learn the outcome unless the family later shares it. The case adds to a growing pattern of Metro‑area families with pending asylum or legal status being swept up in Operation Metro Surge, heightening fear in schools and neighborhoods that even long‑settled, working residents are now at risk in routine traffic stops and at their own front doors.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

911 audio details ICE detainee death in Minnesota facility

Jan 24 Developing TC 1

Newly released 911 audio captures a private security guard at a Minnesota immigration detention facility reporting that an ICE detainee had just attempted suicide and then "kept going" before being killed in custody, adding hard detail to what was previously just a vague federal death notice. The call describes staff intervening when the man tried to harm himself, then a confrontation that ended with the detainee down and unresponsive, while the guard pleads for medical help. This happened inside Minnesota’s contracted immigration detention system at the same time Operation Metro Surge has flooded the Twin Cities with federal agents and driven a spike in habeas petitions and civil‑rights challenges over federal conduct. The recording will be Exhibit A in whatever comes next — a state or federal investigation, a wrongful‑death suit, or both — because it’s a contemporaneous account that can be checked against later ICE reports, autopsy findings and any surveillance or body‑camera footage. For metro residents already watching federal officers shoot people on Minneapolis streets, it’s another reminder that the human toll of this surge doesn’t stop at the jail door.

Public Safety Legal Immigration & Federal Enforcement

First autism‑fraud defendant Asha Hassan pleads guilty; DHS moves to revoke Smart Therapy license

Jan 23 Breaking TC 5

Asha Hassan pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in Minnesota’s autism‑services and Feeding Our Future investigations, admitting to a roughly $14 million Medicaid billing scheme and theft of hundreds of thousands tied to Feeding Our Future; her plea calls for nearly $16 million in restitution and contemplates a 70–87 month sentence while she remains free pending sentencing. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has moved to revoke Smart Therapy Center LLC’s HCBS license—after a temporary suspension on Oct. 10, 2025 and with formal revocation set for Jan. 7, 2026—citing the criminal charges and allegations of recruiting Somali families, paying kickbacks and fabricating or overbilling autism services as part of a broader Medicaid program‑integrity crackdown that investigators say is pushing about $300 million in fraud.

Health Legal Public Safety

DHS suspends St. Cloud autism center after fraud charges

Jan 23 Developing TC 1

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has immediately suspended the license of a St. Cloud autism center after the center’s owner was criminally charged with fraud tied to Medicaid‑funded autism services. Prosecutors allege the owner systematically overbilled and/or billed for services not provided, adding a new defendant to the widening autism‑fraud probe that has already produced Twin Cities cases and program shutdowns. DHS says the summary suspension is intended to protect vulnerable children while its inspector‑general office coordinates with law enforcement, and families are being contacted about transition options. The action underscores that autism‑service fraud is now a statewide enforcement priority, bolstering the Walz administration’s argument for moratoria and tighter controls that also affect Minneapolis–Saint Paul providers.

Health Legal

DOJ narrative on St. Paul ICE raid unravels: one ‘co‑resident’ sex offender has been in prison for months

Jan 23 Breaking TC 2

Federal prosecutors said Hmong U.S. citizen ChongLy Scott Thao lived with two convicted sex offenders to justify a forceful ICE raid that left him dragged from his St. Paul home wearing only shorts and Crocs; Thao was later confirmed to be a U.S. citizen. Minnesota Department of Corrections records show one of the alleged co‑residents has been in state prison for months and therefore could not have been living at Thao’s address, a discrepancy that further undermines the Justice Department’s account of the raid.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

House Democrats move to impeach DHS Sec. Kristi Noem over immigration crackdowns including Minneapolis ICE killing

Jan 22 Developing TC 5

Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) has led nearly 70 House Democrats in filing articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, charging her with obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust — citing warrantless arrests, use of tear gas and due‑process abuses tied to the fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good — and self‑dealing over alleged steering of a federal contract and a $200 million ICE recruitment/PR campaign. Democrats say the move is an oversight and political escalation amid broader controversy (including reporting that arrests in Chicago’s Operation Midway Blitz did not include murder or rape charges), but removal is unlikely given a GOP House majority and the two‑thirds Senate conviction requirement, and DHS/ICE have staged Minnesota briefings to defend the Metro Surge.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

DOC to hold detainer briefing as it disputes ICE 'criminal alien' claims

Jan 22 TC 3

Minnesota’s Department of Corrections will hold a 10:30 a.m. news conference to rebut federal claims that 1,360 “criminal illegal aliens” are in state custody, releasing updated, precise counts of non‑citizen inmates, how many have ICE detainers, and how often inmates are turned over to ICE at sentence end. State officials and county sheriffs say they notify ICE and DOC routinely transfers eligible people, while local jails won’t hold inmates past release on civil detainers and have reported ICE declined some pick‑ups due to Metro Surge operations — a dispute unfolding amid a larger federal‑state fight over the surge and related political rhetoric.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

VP Vance visit coincides with ICE, Border Patrol and DOC surge briefings

Jan 22 Developing TC 2

Vice President J.D. Vance will be in Minneapolis Thursday to speak about ICE operations, hold a roundtable and join a joint ICE/Border Patrol press briefing on Operation Metro Surge, with FOX 9 carrying his remarks and the federal briefings live. His visit coincides with a Minnesota Department of Corrections public response on ICE detainers, setting up a clash between the administration’s assertion that the state is obstructing enforcement and state officials’ contention that DOC already coordinates on releases.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Judge orders release of ICE detainee once held in Minnesota jail

Jan 22 Breaking TC 2

A judge ordered the release of an ICE detainee in Iowa who had previously been held in a Minnesota jail. The case comes after a St. Paul raid in which authorities found a warrant left outside the targeted residence, raising questions about how the operation was carried out.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

Army puts MP units on Minneapolis standby as Pentagon readies possible deployment

Jan 22 Developing TC 3

The Pentagon has issued prepare‑to‑deploy orders affecting roughly 1,500 troops — including two Alaska‑based infantry battalions and specific Army military police units — placing commanders into 48–72‑hour readiness windows focused on a possible Minneapolis mission. The moves are contingency planning tied to the potential invocation of the Insurrection Act amid tensions over an ICE surge and related litigation (DOJ’s response to Minnesota’s suit is due Jan. 19, with plaintiffs’ rebuttal due Jan. 22); no deployment has been ordered.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Renee Good family hires Floyd firm, moves to preserve evidence in ICE killing

Jan 22 Developing TC 51

Renee Good’s family has retained Romanucci & Blandin—the civil‑rights firm that represented George Floyd’s family—to conduct an independent investigation, pursue civil litigation if warranted, and has sent a formal Preservation of Evidence Letter demanding that federal authorities preserve all physical and electronic evidence while urging the public to share video and information. The family also commissioned an independent autopsy that found Good was shot in the left temple, a result they say is inconsistent with DHS/ICE’s claim that her vehicle was “weaponized” and has bolstered the firm’s pledge of transparency and accountability.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Judge lifts key protest limits on ICE tactics in Minnesota surge case

Jan 21 Developing TC 16

A federal judge has lifted or significantly narrowed a prior order that had barred ICE, CBP and other DHS officers from retaliating against, arresting, detaining or using force or chemical agents on people peacefully protesting, recording, observing or safely following Operation Metro Surge—restoring broader authority for immigration agents to use certain crowd‑control tactics and arrests while the litigation continues. The suit, brought by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul (and joined by Illinois), alleges the surge unlawfully targets Minnesota for its diversity and politics, violates the 10th Amendment and involves excessive, sometimes deadly, force in incidents that have sparked protests, school walkouts and business closures.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

Rural Minnesota sheriff says ICE ‘too busy’ in Twin Cities to pick up charged child-sex suspect

Jan 21 TC 1

Cottonwood County Sheriff Jason Purrington is publicly disputing an ICE tweet that accused his jail of 'refusing' to honor a detainer and 'letting go' 20‑year‑old Guatemalan national Samuel Arevalo Hernandez, who is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct for an alleged relationship with a girl that began when she was 15. Purrington says ICE did in fact lodge a detainer, his staff called ICE immediately on Jan. 13 when someone posted Hernandez’s bail, and the ICE agent they regularly work with told them agents were tied up with operations in the Twin Cities metro and 'unable to respond' but would pick Hernandez up later, asking only for his address. Despite that, ICE pushed out a video of Hernandez’s later arrest and blasted Cottonwood County online for not honoring the detainer, fitting a broader DHS talking point that Minnesota and metro 'sanctuary' officials won’t cooperate. This case lands right in the middle of the Metro Surge spin war: state and county officials have been saying most jails and DOC do follow the law and notify ICE, while the feds keep throwing out big numbers and cherry‑picked cases; here, the sheriff is on record saying ICE had its chance, claimed it was too busy in the Twin Cities, and is now lying about it on social media. For Twin Cities readers, it’s one more example that the enforcement surge chewing through our neighborhoods isn’t even catching its own supposed 'worst of the worst' when the phones ring in outstate jails.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Chanhassen council debates ICE raid; member plans local cooperation rules

Jan 21 Developing TC 4

Chanhassen’s city council will address a weekend ICE operation and protest after Council Member Mark Von Oven criticized the lack of coordination with local law enforcement, called for process, transparency and constitutional protections, and said he will draft locally focused rules for how the city should cooperate with federal immigration agents. DHS identified the targets as Marco and Edgar Chicaiza Dutan; ICE tried to arrest two construction workers on Avienda Parkway, one man was taken by ambulance for cold exposure and later released to ICE custody while the other stayed on a roof to evade arrest and Edgar’s attorneys are challenging his detention, and workers’ group CTUL — citing multiple recent actions at a D.R. Horton site — plans to press the builder to bar ICE from worksites unless agents present a judicial warrant.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

U.S. freezes immigrant visas from 75 countries, citing 'public charge' risk

Jan 21 Breaking TC 2

The U.S. State Department will suspend processing of immigrant visas from 75 countries beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, saying the move is intended to prevent entry of people who would “take welfare and public benefits” and to end “abuse of America’s immigration system.” The freeze applies only to immigrant visas (non‑immigrant tourist and business visas are exempt and expected to surge ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics) and affects countries including Somalia, Iran, Russia, Nigeria and Brazil, with Somalia’s inclusion explicitly linked in administration messaging to Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future–related benefit fraud scandals.

Immigration & Legal Local Government Business & Economy

FBI offers $100K reward after protesters rip safe box from ICE vehicle in north Minneapolis

Jan 20 Developing TC 12

Following a Wednesday evening ICE‑involved shooting in north Minneapolis’ Hawthorne neighborhood, protesters used ratchet straps to pull a locked storage/cabinet box from the trunk of a federal vehicle, dragging it down the street as several federal vehicles were vandalized and government property reportedly stolen; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the cars likely belonged to the FBI and that documents were reportedly taken. The FBI has opened an investigation, released photos of a suspect (a Black male in a tan Carhartt jacket, tan pants, black hoodie, orange latex gloves and black boots) and is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to recovery of the stolen property or arrests, with tips to 1‑800‑CALL‑FBI, local offices or tips.fbi.gov.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

AG Keith Ellison rules out governor bid, will seek third term

Jan 20 Breaking TC 3

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced he will not run for governor in 2026 following Gov. Tim Walz’s decision not to seek re‑election and instead will seek a third term as attorney general. Ellison cited a federal ICE surge and what he called a “war on Minnesota” as reasons he’s best equipped to remain in the AG’s office, a move that ends DFL speculation about him as a potential top‑ticket replacement while the GOP governor’s field expands.

Elections Legal Local Government

DOJ subpoenas Walz, Ellison, Frey, Her and Moriarty in Metro Surge probe

Jan 20 Developing TC 3

The Department of Justice delivered federal grand‑jury subpoenas on or about Jan. 20, 2026 to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz, AG Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty as part of a probe into alleged efforts to coerce or obstruct federal law enforcement during DHS’s Operation Metro Surge. Walz’s office confirmed receipt of a subpoena while Ellison’s office declined to confirm, and the use of grand‑jury subpoenas indicates a criminal investigative posture.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Ellison rules out governor bid, stays in AG race

Jan 20 Breaking TC 1

Attorney General Keith Ellison says he will not run for Minnesota governor in 2026 despite Gov. Tim Walz abandoning his re‑election bid, and will instead stick with his campaign for a third term as AG. In a statement reported Tuesday, Ellison says that as the "federal government declares war on Minnesota" through the ICE surge, he is "best equipped to defend Minnesotans" from the Attorney General’s Office, explicitly tying his decision to the ongoing federal crackdown centered on the Twin Cities. His exit from the governor chatter narrows the DFL’s options at the top of the ticket — names still in the mill include Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Secretary of State Steve Simon — while leaving a packed GOP field already featuring Lisa Demuth, Mike Lindell, Chris Madel, Kristin Robbins and Scott Jensen. For metro residents, it means the same AG who’s been suing and getting hauled into court over SNAP, Medicaid fraud, ICE tactics and HUD’s homelessness cuts will remain on that front line instead of jumping into a new statewide race.

Elections Legal

Twin Cities child‑care centers say ICE raids traumatize kids

Jan 20 TC 2

Child‑care providers across the Twin Cities say recent ICE enforcement actions are traumatizing the children in their care. In response, community leaders have used social‑media mobilization — including a coordinated "Taco Tuesday" campaign urging residents to eat at immigrant‑owned restaurants — to shore up businesses hit by the raids.

Education Public Safety Legal

ACLU Minnesota sues Trump administration over Metro Surge arrests

Jan 20 Breaking TC 2

ACLU Minnesota has sued the Trump administration, alleging constitutional violations related to arrests carried out during the Operation Metro Surge. In a related case, the DOJ filed a formal response opposing Minnesota and local governments’ bid to halt the surge, calling the motion "legally frivolous" and signaling the administration will vigorously contest claims about warrantless arrests and profiling in federal court.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Judge orders ICE to free Venezuelan family after St. Paul raid without warrant

Jan 20 Developing TC 2

A judge ordered DHS and ICE to release a Venezuelan family of six detained after a St. Paul raid, ruling the agencies failed to produce a valid warrant; the court-ordered release took place on Monday. The decision was reported amid a broader surge of ICE activity in the Twin Cities and has been highlighted in live updates as part of local leaders' responses to the enforcement actions.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Twin Cities leaders stage coordinated pushback to ICE surge

Jan 20 Developing TC 1

FOX 9’s live‑updates piece pulls together the next phase of the ICE story: on Tuesday, Jan. 20, multiple Twin Cities constituencies — Dakota County commissioners, students and families, physicians, MSP airport workers and clergy — are holding staggered press conferences to denounce the ongoing ICE surge that began before Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis. The coverage notes that the U.S. Department of Justice has now filed its formal answer in Minnesota’s case seeking to halt Operation Metro Surge, dismissing the state’s motion as 'legally frivolous,' even as a federal judge just ordered DHS to free six Venezuelan family members snatched in a St. Paul raid where agents had no warrant. At the same time, social media is driving a 'Taco Tuesday' campaign urging residents to eat at immigrant‑owned restaurants that have seen business collapse while people hide from raids. Trump is pouring gasoline on the fire from Washington, calling church‑service protesters 'agitators and insurrectionists' and demanding Walz and Ilhan Omar be 'thrown in jail, or thrown out of the country,' rhetoric that only hardens the lines as local officials, unions and clergy line up in opposition to the surge.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Man shot in head on Nicollet Avenue; woman arrested

Jan 20 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a man suffered a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound to the head Monday afternoon after an argument near Nicollet Avenue and West 15th Street escalated into gunfire. Officers from the First Precinct responded around 2:18 p.m. and found the victim on the ground; they provided immediate aid before he was taken by ambulance to Hennepin Healthcare. Investigators say the man had met with another man and a woman on the 1500 block of Nicollet when the dispute broke out and shots were fired. Officers quickly located and arrested the woman near the scene, and she has been booked into the Hennepin County Jail pending charges, while the other man fled before police arrived. The shooting adds to ongoing concern about street violence along key south Minneapolis corridors as detectives work to determine what triggered the confrontation.

Public Safety Legal

Hennepin sheriff blasts ICE tactics, urges lawful conduct

Jan 19 TC 1

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt used a FOX 9 interview to sharply criticize some ICE officers deployed in Minnesota, saying she has "seen and heard" instances of excessive force, racial profiling and stereotyping during the current federal immigration surge. Witt warned those tactics are undermining years of work to rebuild community trust in law enforcement and said "nobody hates a bad cop more than a good cop," calling on federal agents to be professional, "follow the law" and treat people with dignity and respect. She framed the issue as bigger than partisan politics, urging leaders who took an oath of office to remember they represent everyone, including people who don’t share their views, and to stop treating politics like a zero‑sum game. Her comments add a top local cop’s voice to growing criticism of Operation Metro Surge, where videos and lawsuits already allege racial targeting and heavy‑handed force by ICE and Border Patrol on Twin Cities streets, and they signal that even within law enforcement, some are worried ICE is poisoning the well for everyone in a badge.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

St. Paul snowplow driver detained by ICE now faces deportation; coworkers launch fundraiser

Jan 19 Breaking TC 2

St. Paul Public Works says one of its snowplow drivers was detained by ICE and is now facing deportation proceedings despite the city previously verifying his legal authorization to work. Colleagues and community members have organized a fundraiser to support his family while he's in custody; the driver is described as a long‑serving member of the snowplow crew with family and health concerns, and organizers say his detention has strained winter operations and morale.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Minneapolis woman describes spiriting wounded Jake Lang from crowd

Jan 18 TC 1

FOX 9 reports that Minneapolis resident Daye Gottsche and a friend inadvertently became central to a downtown confrontation when far‑right influencer Jake Lang — recently pardoned by President Trump for allegedly assaulting officers on Jan. 6 — jumped, bleeding, into their car at a red light as counterprotesters chased and struck him. Gottsche says protesters surrounded the vehicle, opened the rear doors, kicked Lang and damaged the taillight before some in the crowd ultimately cleared a path so they could drive away; she confronted Lang, who offered little beyond praising Trump and calling himself “a bad boy,” and the women dropped him a couple blocks away, where he got into another vehicle. Gottsche told FOX 9 she opposes Lang’s politics but believes the street attack was wrong and played into a narrative the federal government could use to justify invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota. The piece folds this incident into a larger backdrop: Trump has publicly threatened to deploy the military here if state leaders don’t “crack down” on anti‑ICE protests, and the Pentagon has put cold‑weather troops on prepare‑to‑deploy orders for Minnesota. The story underscores how out‑of‑town extremists and local counterprotesters are colliding on Minneapolis streets, dragging ordinary residents into volatile, politically charged confrontations just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Public Safety Legal Politics

ICE storms East Side St. Paul home, detains six including 12‑year‑old; warrant’s validity questioned

Jan 17 Breaking TC 1

Surveillance footage from a home on Nevada Avenue East in St. Paul shows heavily armed federal agents battering down a door and sweeping room to room Thursday, detaining six occupants—including a 12‑year‑old boy later reported by a family friend to have been transferred to an immigration facility in San Antonio. Neighbors who spoke with someone inside say agents claimed to have a search warrant but refused to show it during the raid; a day later, a purported warrant from a Ramsey County judge appeared on the doorstep, lacking a case number, file stamp and standard formatting that a state court spokesperson provided for comparison, and with no record yet of filing. Residents, a Venezuelan family who arrived in 2023, reportedly all had state IDs and work permits, and neighbors say agents told them the operation was part of a narcotics investigation, though outdoor video captured a package delivery minutes before the raid and agents allegedly threatened to arrest everyone if no one claimed the package. DHS did not respond to FOX 9’s questions, leaving basic issues unanswered: whether this was an immigration or drug case, why a child with no apparent charges is now in Texas, and why the paperwork doesn’t look like a standard state warrant. The raid adds another layer to growing fear on the East Side as Operation Metro Surge floods the metro with federal agents, and raises serious questions about warrant practices and whether federal officers are using state‑court processes—or something made to look like them—to punch into Twin Cities homes.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

Savage daycare worker charged with murder after admitting to choking infant at Rocking Horse Ranch

Jan 16 Developing TC 6

Savage police arrested 18‑year‑old daycare worker Theah Russell and charged her with second‑degree murder in the September death of 11‑month‑old Harvey Muklebust after investigators say she admitted to choking him and have also charged her with attempted murder in two earlier incidents involving an infant girl. State inspection records show Rocking Horse Ranch had prior safety violations, regulators suspended its license citing an imminent risk of harm, and investigators said a child‑abuse pediatric specialist flagged the pattern linking all three medical events to Russell.

Legal Public Safety Health

Oglala Sioux leaders press ICE in Minneapolis over four detained tribal members; three still unaccounted for

Jan 16 Breaking TC 2

Oglala Sioux leaders say four unhoused tribal members living near the Little Earth housing project in Minneapolis were detained by ICE — one has been released and three remain unaccounted for — and while a tribal witness confirmed all four are enrolled members the tribe still lacks names and confirmed detention locations. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out and leaders have traveled to and entered the Whipple Federal Building offering to provide enrollment documents, tribal attorneys are seeking help from Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and activist Chase Iron Eyes vowed they will remain until the missing members are found.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

House Republican formally files impeachment articles against Gov. Walz over fraud oversight

Jan 16 Breaking TC 2

A Minnesota House Republican has formally filed articles of impeachment accusing Gov. Tim Walz of failing to stop and fully disclose widespread fraud in state programs, breaching his oath and mishandling audits and oversight tied to Operation Metro Surge. The sponsor says the resolution will be introduced when the Legislature convenes Feb. 17, with a House majority required to impeach and a two‑thirds Senate vote needed to convict and remove, and both the lawmaker and DFL leaders have offered on‑record statements framing the partisan and constitutional stakes.

Local Government Legal Elections

DHS audits Hennepin Healthcare for undocumented workers

Jan 15 Breaking TC 1

Homeland Security Investigations has launched a worksite audit of Hennepin Healthcare’s employment records, scrutinizing whether the county‑run hospital system employs undocumented workers and whether its I‑9 paperwork complies with federal law. The audit, confirmed in internal communications obtained by the Minnesota Reformer, comes in the middle of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities that has already swept up airport workers, day‑care staff and other vetted employees. Hennepin Healthcare, which runs HCMC and a large clinic network serving tens of thousands of Minneapolis and Hennepin County residents, says it is cooperating but has declined to discuss specifics about affected workers or units. Labor and immigrant‑rights advocates warn on social media that targeting the region’s main safety‑net hospital is less about "fraud" and more about political theater, and raises the risk of staff shortages in critical frontline and support roles if long‑time employees are pushed out.

Health Public Safety Legal

ICE detains parent at Robbinsdale school bus stop

Jan 15 Breaking TC 1

Robbinsdale Area Schools says a parent was detained by ICE agents at a district bus stop on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 14, while children — including the detained parent’s child — were waiting to board. The district reports all students got on the bus and arrived at school safely, and says drivers are trained not to allow unauthorized adults onto buses. In a message to families, Robbinsdale emphasized that it does not collect or share immigration‑status information, reminded staff that ICE needs a judge‑signed warrant to enter school property, and instructed employees to call 911 if someone comes onto campus without a legitimate purpose. The district also pointed families to immigration‑resource links and said remote/online learning options are available for students who need to be absent for extended periods during the current federal enforcement surge. FOX 9 has asked DHS/ICE for details on why the parent was detained and whether they remain in custody, but the agency has not yet responded.

Education Public Safety Legal

Trump threatens Insurrection Act, military deployment in Minnesota amid Minneapolis ICE unrest

Jan 15 Developing TC 3

President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy federal troops to Minnesota amid protests in Minneapolis against ICE and the federal "Operation Metro Surge" following two recent federal shootings, including the killing of Renee Nicole Good. He characterized protesters as "insurrectionists" and said state and local leaders had "lost control," framing that claim and Minnesota leaders' resistance to the surge as justification for possible military intervention.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

North St. Paul man charged in teen’s fatal shooting

Jan 15 Breaking TC 1

A 24‑year‑old man has been charged in Ramsey County with fatally shooting a teenager inside a North St. Paul apartment after an argument over a sweatshirt, according to a newly filed criminal complaint. Prosecutors say the dispute escalated in the unit before the man allegedly pulled a gun and shot the victim, who died despite emergency response. The complaint details witness accounts from inside the apartment, cites the recovery of a firearm, and lays out the suspect’s statements to police. The killing adds to this year’s violent‑crime toll in Ramsey County and again raises questions about how quickly minor disputes in cramped metro housing situations are turning lethal when guns are present.

Public Safety Legal

Attorney: Minneapolis Liberian man hit in ICE battering‑ram raid had checked in for 15 years

Jan 15 Developing TC 2

A Liberian national in Minneapolis who had been regularly checking in with immigration authorities for 15 years was arrested during an ICE raid in which federal agents used a battering ram to force entry, and family members — including a child — witnessed the forced entry. His lawyer says there was no indication of non‑compliance that would justify such a violent home entry, and the family is demanding to see a judicial warrant.

Public Safety Legal Immigration

Three arrested in fatal Brooklyn Park Park Haven Apartments shooting

Jan 14 Breaking TC 2

Brooklyn Park police say a man was fatally shot at the Park Haven Apartments on the 6900 block of 76th Avenue N at about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, and authorities arrested three suspects — two adult men and one juvenile male — around 7 p.m. the same day. Police have not released the victim’s identity or details about the circumstances of the shooting.

Public Safety Legal

Operation Metro Surge: DHS data show only ~5% of 2,000 Minnesota ICE arrestees are violent offenders

Jan 14 Breaking TC 12

DHS data show that of more than 2,000 arrests tied to Operation Metro Surge, 212 people are on DHS’s “worst of the worst” list and 103 of those are classified as violent — roughly 5% of all arrestees. The surge, which officials say includes about 1,500 ICE officers and 600 HSI agents and brought Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the Twin Cities, has sparked large protests, security barriers and school disruptions, expanded community “constitutional observer” trainings, and figures in a proposed impeachment effort against Noem.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

St. Paul council weighs tougher limits on ICE cooperation

Jan 14 Developing TC 1

The St. Paul City Council is considering changes to its immigration separation ordinance that would more clearly restrict when and how city staff can assist federal immigration enforcement, including explicit limits on letting ICE stage operations on city‑owned property and tighter rules for information‑sharing. The move comes amid Operation Metro Surge, heavy federal presence in the Twin Cities, and growing community and business backlash over raids and visible ICE activity near homes, schools and workplaces. City attorneys and staff briefed council members on options to codify and possibly strengthen current policy so it has the force of ordinance rather than relying solely on internal guidance. The debate mirrors Minneapolis’ own recent steps to hard‑code its ICE staging ban, and council members are weighing how far they can go under state and federal law while avoiding unintended legal or funding consequences.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Woodbury realtor says ICE held him 9 hours after he filmed agents across Twin Cities

Jan 14 Developing TC 3

A Woodbury realtor says he followed and filmed ICE agents in public — including a grocery‑store parking lot and his cul‑de‑sac — and was detained by ICE for more than nine hours, alleging agents pulled him from his car, put him in a headlock, threw him to the ground and left him with a black eye and facial abrasions though he was never formally arrested or charged. ICE declined to explain the legal basis for the detention, First Amendment experts say recording law enforcement in public is protected, and the account comes amid DHS’s Operation Metro Surge — a deployment of roughly 2,000 ICE officers (with plans for 1,000 more) that has sparked lawsuits, protests and business community concerns in the Twin Cities.

Public Safety Legal Civil Rights

DHS to revoke licenses of two metro care centers tied to Medicaid fraud

Jan 14 Developing TC 2

The Minnesota Department of Human Services plans to revoke licenses of two Twin Cities-area care centers following separate Medicaid fraud investigations that previously prompted license suspensions. Separately, the Oglala Sioux Tribe says three of its members arrested in Minneapolis remain in ICE custody.

Health Legal Public Safety

ICE surge after Renee Good killing triggers Twin Cities walkouts, new warrantless raid lawsuits, and impeachment push against Noem

Jan 14 Developing TC 29

After the fatal shooting of Renee Good, ICE intensified "Operation Metro Surge" across the Twin Cities—carrying out neighborhood raids and arrests that protesters say have disproportionately targeted Somali residents and that sparked large marches, school and business walkouts, reports of U.S. citizens detained, and pepper‑spray confrontations. Multiple immigrants have filed federal lawsuits challenging detentions and at least one habeas petition alleges a warrantless battering‑ram home entry, while Minnesota lawmakers and other members of Congress have backed an effort to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her of constitutional violations and misconduct tied to the surge.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Trump administration ends Somali TPS, putting 500–600 Minnesotans at risk by March 17

Jan 13 Breaking TC 6

The Trump administration will not renew Temporary Protected Status for Somalia, formally set to expire March 17, putting roughly 500–600 Somali TPS holders in Minnesota — out of about 37,000 Somali‑born residents and roughly 700 Somalis nationwide covered by TPS — at risk of losing work authorization and facing detention or deportation. Local leaders and immigration attorneys say the move will strain social‑service and legal‑aid networks and threaten mixed‑status families, while DHS officials note any TPS decision must follow legal procedures and would apply nationwide rather than only to Minnesota.

Elections Legal Local Government

Target silent after ICE detains two U.S. citizen employees

Jan 13 Developing TC 1

A Minneapolis-area Target store became the scene of another controversial ICE operation when federal agents detained and dragged away two Target employees who are both U.S. citizens, according to a Business Journal report. The retail giant has not issued any public statement or internal explanation about the detentions, even as business groups and local officials warn that visible immigration raids at stores, gas stations and malls are chilling consumer traffic and destabilizing workplaces across the Twin Cities. The incident adds a new flashpoint to Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s deployment of hundreds of federal immigration agents to the metro, and deepens questions about how accurately ICE is identifying its targets and what responsibilities large employers like Target have to protect or at least inform their workers. The case is already being cited by legal-technology startup TurnSignl, which reports a spike in sign‑ups from people worried about encounters with law enforcement and ICE, and by business advocates who say this kind of enforcement inside or just outside major retailers is bad for both worker safety and the regional economy.

Business & Economy Public Safety Legal

Minneapolis shares residents’ rights as ICE surge escalates

Jan 12 TC 2

Minneapolis officials have circulated guidance on residents’ rights and what to do if ICE or immigration agents appear at their door, including how to respond to requests for entry and when to ask to see a warrant. The outreach comes amid an enforcement surge that has included street‑level operations — most recently a reported incident in which U.S. Border Patrol agents swarmed and pinned a man and one agent kneed him in the face — underscoring that arrests are occurring in ordinary city settings, not only through criminal-warrant cases.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Border Patrol agent caught on video kneeing man in face in Minneapolis arrest

Jan 12 Developing TC 1

Bystander video published by the Minnesota Reformer shows a U.S. Border Patrol agent driving his knee into a man’s face while several other armed agents hold him prone on a Minneapolis street during the current federal immigration surge. The clip, shot in a residential area of the city, captures agents swarming the man, forcing him to the ground and, even after he appears pinned and not actively resisting, one officer repeatedly striking his head/face area with a knee. The article situates the incident within Operation Metro Surge and the broader deployment of hundreds of ICE and Border Patrol personnel to the Twin Cities, noting that DHS has framed the effort as targeting 'worst of the worst' offenders while local residents and advocates say the tactics are indiscriminate and brutal. It also reports on DHS/Border Patrol’s response or non‑response to questions about the use of force and includes reaction from community members who view the video as evidence that things are spiraling beyond control. The incident adds another on‑camera example of aggressive federal tactics in Minneapolis just weeks after the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good, increasing pressure on city officials and in pending lawsuits over the surge.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Minneapolis man gets 4 years for St. Paul road‑rage shootings

Jan 12 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to four years in prison for firing a gun at other vehicles in two separate road‑rage incidents in St. Paul, according to Ramsey County court records reported Monday. Prosecutors said he repeatedly shot at occupied vehicles during confrontations on St. Paul streets, but no deaths were reported; the case underscores how quickly traffic disputes in the metro have been turning violent. The judge imposed a 48‑month term under Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, meaning the defendant will likely serve about two‑thirds in prison and the rest on supervised release if he stays out of trouble. The sentence comes as St. Paul and Minneapolis police have both been warning about an uptick in armed confrontations tied to aggressive driving, and residents have been using social media to vent about feeling less safe on major arterials. Court records also show mandatory probation conditions and a ban on possessing firearms after release.

Public Safety Legal

Ellison vows lawsuit over Minnesota‑only SNAP cut

Jan 12 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he will sue the Trump administration over what he describes as an unlawful, Minnesota‑specific cut to SNAP funding that would reduce or jeopardize benefits for low‑income residents here while other states continue to receive full payments. Ellison argues the administration is targeting Minnesota punitively, not based on neutral eligibility rules, and says his office is preparing a federal complaint to block the reduction before it hits families’ February and March benefits. The threatened cut comes on top of shutdown‑related delays and earlier USDA fights over work rules and data‑sharing, and food‑shelf operators in the Twin Cities are already warning they cannot absorb another wave of displaced demand. The lawsuit, once filed, would join a growing list of legal clashes between Minnesota and federal agencies over SNAP and child‑nutrition funding and could determine whether roughly 450,000 Minnesota recipients — many in Minneapolis and St. Paul — see their grocery money slashed in the middle of winter.

Legal Health Business & Economy

St. Anthony man charged in fatal apartment stabbing

Jan 12 Breaking TC 1

Prosecutors have charged a St. Anthony man with fatally stabbing an apartment maintenance worker and severely injuring a teenager during an attack inside a St. Anthony apartment building, according to a newly filed criminal complaint. Police say the worker was killed on scene and the teen suffered life‑threatening wounds in the same assault before officers arrived and apprehended the suspect. The building sits in a dense residential area, meaning dozens of tenants effectively lived inside an active crime scene while investigators processed the hallway and units. The case will now move into Anoka County District Court, adding another 2026 homicide prosecution to the metro docket and feeding ongoing resident anxiety about random‑seeming violence in otherwise quiet suburban complexes.

Public Safety Legal

ICE takedown at St. Paul gas station sparks protest fury; DHS issues defense

Jan 12 Developing TC 2

Video footage shows federal agents detaining a man at a St. Paul gas station; DHS says the man was from Honduras with a final order of removal issued in 2020 and that Border Patrol broke the vehicle window and arrested him only after “multiple warnings and several minutes” as a crowd formed. The takedown sparked protests and a Maple Grove High School walkout, and DHS says a U.S. citizen in the crowd refused lawful orders, hit an officer and was arrested — a claim that contradicts protesters’ accounts circulating online.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Anti‑ICE protester arrested after Lake Street vandalism spree

Jan 11 Breaking TC 2

Minneapolis police arrested a 24‑year‑old man after a vandalism spree along Lake Street during an anti‑ICE march, alleging he spray‑painted a Metro Transit bus and then tagged a church, theater, school building, health‑care facility and a Target. Officers caught him following a brief foot chase and booked him on probable‑cause damage‑to‑property charges.

Public Safety Legal

Man killed, teen hurt in St. Anthony stabbing; suspect caught in Duluth

Jan 11 Breaking TC 1

Police say a stabbing in a hallway at the Equinox Apartments in St. Anthony just after 5 a.m. Saturday left one man dead and a teenager seriously injured before the suspect fled the metro in a stolen vehicle. Witnesses initially believed the attacker was still inside an apartment, but St. Anthony police later learned he had already taken off and alerted agencies along the North Shore. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says around 8:30 a.m. they were told the suspect might be driving to a home on Lake Superior’s North Shore; deputies spotted the vehicle in Duluth about 9 a.m., tried to stop it, and chased it until it crashed. The suspect then tried to run but was arrested after a brief foot pursuit. Authorities have not released the motive or the identities of the victim, wounded teen, or suspect as the investigation continues.

Public Safety Legal

Judge blocks Trump child‑care funding freeze for Minnesota

Jan 10 Breaking TC 1

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from freezing child‑care and other federal program funds for five states, including Minnesota, at least for now. The order means key federal dollars that support child‑care and related services may continue flowing to Minnesota pending further litigation, easing some pressure on state agencies and providers in the Twin Cities that had been bracing for a cutoff tied to fraud disputes.

Legal Local Government Health

ACLU sought to curb ICE crowd‑control tactics weeks before fatal Renee Good shooting; hearing canceled day of killing

Jan 09 Breaking TC 2

Three weeks before Renee Good was fatally shot, the ACLU sued ICE and DHS alleging constitutional violations and asked a federal judge to bar Minnesota ICE agents from using crowd‑control weapons such as chemical irritants and flash‑bangs; a scheduled hearing in ACLU v. DHS/ICE was canceled without explanation hours after the killing. The ACLU cited a Chicago finding that ICE lacks regular crowd‑control training and pointed to Minnesota video it says shows excessive force, while ACLU‑MN warned the response to protests has grown more violent and the White House blamed Democrats for creating heightened, dangerous circumstances.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Lakeville Hampton Inn stripped of Hilton branding; exterior signage removed after ICE booking refusals

Jan 09 Breaking TC 7

Hilton has removed its branding from the Hampton Inn in Lakeville and the property's exterior Hampton signage was taken down after ICE and DHS said the hotel refused to book immigration‑enforcement agents. DHS provided emails showing reservations were canceled because of "immigration work," and after Hilton apologized and initially pledged corrective action, the company cut ties and began removing the property from its system following undercover video showing staff still denying ICE/DHS bookings; the hotel will continue operating under its current ownership without Hilton/Hampton branding while the situation is reviewed.

Public Safety Business & Economy Legal

AG Pam Bondi sends more DOJ prosecutors to Minnesota fraud cases, vows severe consequences

Jan 08 Developing TC 2

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Department of Justice is sending additional prosecutors to Minnesota to temporarily augment the U.S. Attorney’s Office and help handle a surge of fraud cases, with staff pulled from other DOJ components. Bondi described the deployment as a major escalation in enforcement and warned those convicted in the Minnesota fraud prosecutions should expect "severe consequences."

Legal Local Government Business & Economy

Audit finds 12 compliance issues at MN Governor’s Office

Jan 07 Breaking TC 3

A legislative audit of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office identified 12 compliance issues — including failure to recover costs for private events at the Governor’s Residence, missing or late retroactive pay, an incomplete electronics inventory, inaccurate reimbursements and late vendor payments — while finding no problems with the governor’s or lieutenant governor’s salaries or staff who worked on the 2024 presidential campaign. Republican leaders criticized the administration’s financial controls, and separately the Legislative Auditor released a different report documenting systemic oversight failures in DHS behavioral‑health grants, with missing documentation and questionable payments prompting reforms.

Legal Local Government Health

Legislative auditor finds major gaps in DHS behavioral‑health grants

Jan 07 TC 1

Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor released a report finding the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health division failed to properly oversee tens of millions of dollars in drug‑treatment and mental‑health grants between July 2022 and December 2024, with 63 of 71 grants showing compliance problems and at least one $672,647 payment unsupported by invoices or service records. The audit details lax monitoring, steep mid‑stream grant increases—including one boost from $600,000 to $5.6 million—and a grant manager who soon left DHS to consult for the same grantee, prompting DHS to concede the findings, create a Central Grants Office, and promise tighter controls on providers that include many serving Minneapolis–St. Paul.

Local Government Health Legal

Forest Lake man indicted for child porn, cyberstalking North Branch students

Jan 07 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors have indicted 34-year-old Damien William Quinn of Forest Lake, also known as Ryan William Shattuck, on four counts of production of child pornography and related charges after he allegedly used fake Snapchat and Instagram profiles while posing as a teenager to solicit explicit images from minors and adults connected to North Branch High School. Investigators say Quinn targeted victims using multiple online aliases, and the FBI is asking anyone from North Branch High School who experienced suspicious solicitations for explicit images to contact its tip line as they believe more victims may be unidentified.

Public Safety Legal

Hopkins man charged with murder and manslaughter in girlfriend’s fatal shooting

Jan 06 Breaking TC 2

Hopkins man Krystofer Patrick Brooks, 20, has been charged in Hennepin County with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter after his girlfriend was fatally shot in the eye. Brooks told investigators he twice pulled the trigger while handling a 9mm handgun he believed was unloaded — saying the incident occurred after returning from errands, playing video games and preparing for work when he tried to clear the firearm in a dark bedroom — and officers found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic at the scene; Brooks has a permit to carry.

Public Safety Legal

Feds freeze Minnesota child-care funds; state launches added on‑site checks at 55 providers

Jan 06 Developing TC 2

Federal officials have frozen Minnesota’s child-care funds amid allegations from senior HHS leaders — echoed by increased congressional scrutiny — that scammers and fake daycares siphoned millions over the past decade. In response, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth and Families says its Office of Inspector General, working with BCA agents, will begin immediate on‑site compliance visits at 55 providers now under investigation (including four featured in a viral video), and that DCYF and providers learned of the HHS freeze at the same time as the public while the state has until Jan. 9 to provide additional information.

Legal Local Government Business & Economy

Gov. Tim Walz won’t seek third term; fraud fallout and Trump attacks shape 2026 field

Jan 05 Breaking TC 7

Gov. Tim Walz announced he will not seek a third term in 2026, reversing earlier intentions and saying 2025 has become "an extraordinarily difficult year" — citing a statewide fraud crisis and sustained political attacks from President Donald Trump and allies that he says have left him unable to mount a full campaign; Walz defended his administration’s fraud response, including seeking new legislative tools, firing staff, prosecuting offenders, cutting funding streams tied to criminal activity and hiring a statewide head of program integrity. His exit reshapes the 2026 race: Democrats have no clear frontrunner though Sen. Amy Klobuchar is reportedly considering a run (with Secretary of State Steve Simon also floated and Rep. Dean Phillips saying he won’t run), while a crowded GOP field — including House Speaker Lisa Demuth, Mike Lindell, Rep. Kristin Robbins, Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel, former Sen. Scott Jensen, Brad Kohler, Kendall Qualls, Jeff Johnson and Phillip Parrish — has already formed amid sharp reactions from DFL leaders blaming Trump-era attacks.

Elections Local Government Business & Economy

Minnesota appeals judge Renee Worke pleads guilty, sentenced for November DWI

Jan 05 Breaking TC 2

Minnesota Court of Appeals judge Renee Lee Worke pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DWI in connection with a November 2025 Black Friday crash in which her vehicle was found in a snowbank along Highway 14 near I‑35 in Owatonna. She formally entered the plea in court, acknowledged the offense and accepted responsibility, and has been sentenced.

Legal Public Safety

U.S. House Oversight Committee calls on Walz to testify in Minnesota fraud probe

Jan 05 Developing TC 12

House Oversight Chair James Comer has asked Gov. Tim Walz to testify at a Feb. 10, 2026 hearing (with an initial session Jan. 7) into alleged large‑scale fraud in Minnesota social‑services programs, accusing state leaders of being “asleep at the wheel or complicit.” Federal prosecutors and the FBI say fraud in 14 high‑risk Medicaid programs — roughly $18 billion in spending since 2018 — could be in the multi‑billion‑dollar range, while the Walz administration and state auditors say they’ve only documented tens of millions to date and are coordinating cross‑agency audits and investigations amid mounting political pressure.

Legal Local Government Business & Economy

Hortman children urge Trump to pull assassination conspiracy video

Jan 05 Developing TC 1

The children of slain Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman are publicly asking President Donald Trump to remove and apologize for a video he shared that falsely suggests Gov. Tim Walz orchestrated their parents’ killing as retaliation for her vote on MNsure coverage for undocumented immigrants. The FOX 9 report details how the video repackages long‑running conspiracy theories about accused gunman Vance Boelter’s prior board appointment and Hortman’s reluctant vote, while federal prosecutors have explicitly called Boelter’s letter alleging Walz ordered other killings 'fantasy and delusion' and say he acted alone. Colin and Sophie Hortman recount their mother’s anguish over the vote and warn that the killer himself was driven by conspiracy theories, underscoring the danger of misinformation.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

SBA suspends 6,900 Minnesota PPP/EIDL borrowers, flags $400M for fraud review

Jan 02 Breaking TC 2

The SBA’s internal review flagged roughly 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans in Minnesota totaling about $400 million as suspected fraud and has suspended 6,900 borrowers from all SBA programs. Under current SBA policy those suspensions amount to permanent bars to future SBA participation, and the agency said it will refer the cases to federal law enforcement for potential prosecution and recovery, coordinating with a broader federal fraud probe of Minnesota-administered programs.

Business & Economy Legal Local Government

Somali-run Nokomis Daycare vandalized and burglarized as Trump administration freezes Minnesota child-care funds

Jan 01 Breaking TC 2

Somali-run Nokomis Daycare in Minneapolis was reportedly broken into and vandalized in a burglary. The incident occurred as the Trump administration has frozen Minnesota’s child‑care payments and stepped up federal fraud scrutiny, and operators say they feel singled out, deny wrongdoing and point to their inspection history.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

Ex‑treasurer charged with $110K theft from Plymouth–Wayzata youth softball group

Jan 01 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors have charged Kristin Allyenne Williams, 52, of Maple Grove with felony theft by swindle, alleging she stole more than $110,000 from the Plymouth Wayzata Youth Softball Association between August 2020 and February 2025. According to the criminal complaint, Williams was the only person with online access and a debit card for the nonprofit’s U.S. Bank account and is accused of making unauthorized ATM withdrawals at Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos and falsifying financial reports to the volunteer board, which later learned the IRS had revoked the group’s tax‑exempt status after three years of unfiled returns and vendors and coaches went unpaid.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

St. Paul releases dashcam/bodycam of I-94 police shooting of Elliot Vaughn

Dec 31 Breaking TC 2

St. Paul Police released edited dashcam and body‑camera video of the Dec. 21 I‑94 shooting involving officers Matthew Foy and Byron Treangen III that shows Elliot Vaughn running up the I‑94 ramp, drawing a handgun, extending his left arm and pointing the weapon at the trailing squad before the officers fire and strike him in the leg. Police say General Motors remotely disabled the stolen Buick Envista on the ramp immediately before Vaughn and a passenger fled on foot, Vaughn faces multiple felony charges, and the gun recovered near him was a Smith & Wesson with a round in the chamber and a full magazine; SPPD and FOX 9 provided links to the edited clip and full video package.

Public Safety Legal

DHS sends fraud agents door-to-door in Burnsville

Dec 31 Breaking TC 2

The Department of Homeland Security sent agents door-to-door in Burnsville to visit suspected fraud sites. Reporting links the visits to political and media fallout from a viral child-care fraud video promoted by Minnesota Republicans, which reportedly spurred FBI Director Kash Patel to intensify the fraud investigation.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

GOP collaboration with YouTuber heightens fallout from viral Minnesota day-care fraud video

Dec 31 Developing TC 4

House Republicans acknowledged working with YouTuber Nick Shirley on a viral video alleging roughly $110 million in Minnesota day‑care fraud — a piece that drew federal attention (DHS/HSI) and comes amid an HHS freeze on about $185 million in child‑care payments and door‑to‑door state investigations; GOP staff said they provided some information while DFL leaders called the effort a political stunt. State child‑care officials say the 10 centers named have been inspected at least once in the past six months and are being re‑reviewed, reporting children present and headcounts matching licenses with no findings of fraud so far, while some centers are closed and providers have publicly denied wrongdoing.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Chisago City standoff ends safely; barricaded man arrested after fire threat and evacuations

Dec 31 Developing TC 2

A man barricaded inside a business in primarily manufacturing/industrial Chisago City prompted evacuations and warnings to avoid the area after he threatened to set a fire. Multiple agencies, including the Chisago County SWAT Team, communicated with the 39-year-old and took him into custody without injury around 8:15 p.m., and evacuations were lifted once the scene was cleared.

Public Safety Legal

Castle Rock Christmas Eve shooting now charged as second-degree murder

Dec 30 Breaking TC 3

A Castle Rock Township couple’s home in rural Dakota County was the scene of a Christmas Eve shooting that left 26-year-old Tatianna Marie Ehnes-Giles dead and led to 29-year-old Demarco Marquie Jones of Farmington being charged with one count of second-degree murder. Deputies say five other family members, including the couple’s two children, were inside the 250th Street West house, a child reported Jones saying both “I’ve been shot, she shot me, call 911” and then “I shot her,” and investigators found Ehnes-Giles deceased on an upstairs bed with a handgun and two spent casings recovered as the sheriff characterized the incident as a homicide and attempted suicide tied to a single domestic episode and said there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul bans cryptocurrency kiosks; Bitcoin Depot sues to overturn ordinance

Dec 30 Developing TC 3

On Nov. 19 the St. Paul City Council adopted a 6–1 ordinance, led by Council President Rebecca Noecker, banning cryptocurrency kiosks citywide — a move Council Members Saura Jost and Cheniqua Johnson said was prompted by presentations on scams, with the city home to at least 32 kiosks and Minnesota reporting 51 kiosk-related scams totaling about $700,000; Council Member Anika Bowie cast the lone dissenting vote, saying a ban would simply shift the problem to neighboring cities. Bitcoin Depot, which had spoken at the St. Paul hearing and previously sued over Stillwater’s similar ban, has now filed suit seeking to block enforcement of St. Paul’s ordinance, arguing it is preempted by state or federal law and unlawfully interferes with its business.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

Plymouth man now charged with murder in 2022 shooting

Dec 30 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors have charged Austin Robert LeClaire, 30, with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Daisy Olga Melia Colonnese, who died in August 2025 from complications of a 2022 gunshot wound she suffered at their Plymouth home. LeClaire had already pleaded guilty in 2023 to first-degree attempted murder for the same shooting and is serving an 18‑year sentence, but the medical examiner’s ruling on her death allowed prosecutors to pursue a new murder count, which they say is not barred by double‑jeopardy because the victim was still alive when he was originally sentenced. The new complaint cites surveillance showing LeClaire arguing with and threatening to shoot Colonnese before firing, and describes her nearly three years of intensive medical care that prosecutors call "truly hellacious."

Public Safety Legal

St. Croix Falls man charged with second-degree murder in Wyoming ER security guard death

Dec 30 Breaking TC 5

Jonathan Chet Winch, 25, of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Andrea Merrell, a security guard who died from injuries sustained during a Christmas Day assault in the emergency department at M Health Fairview Lakes in Wyoming, Minn. Authorities say Winch forced his way past magnetic doors after leaving against a medical hold, tried to steal a hospital emergency vehicle and jumped onto a responding officer’s squad car windshield, triggering a roughly five‑minute struggle during which a Taser was used; he is in custody and was quoted saying, "I didn't mean to hurt her," while the hospital called Merrell a valued team member.

Public Safety Health Legal

Teen killed in drive-by-style shooting into Minneapolis home

Dec 29 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot Sunday evening while inside a house on Ilion Avenue North in the Jordan neighborhood, after someone fired multiple rounds into the home from outside. Officers responded around 6:30 p.m., found the teen with a life-threatening gunshot wound, provided aid and had him transported to a hospital where he died; no arrests or motive have been announced as investigators canvass for evidence and witnesses and Chief Brian O’Hara pledges to devote all available resources to the case.

Public Safety Legal

West St. Paul man charged for pulling gun on ICE agents

Dec 27 Breaking TC 2

A West St. Paul man has been arrested and charged after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say he followed them and pulled a gun. Authorities report the suspect admitted to pulling the weapon on the agents.

Public Safety Legal

Brooklyn Park man charged in Maple Grove Benihana shooting

Dec 25 Breaking TC 2

Deontae Creshaun Allen Coney, 31, of Brooklyn Park, has been charged in Hennepin County with one count of second-degree assault for a Nov. 14 shooting at the Benihana on Fountains Drive in Maple Grove that injured a man. Court documents and witnesses say video shows Coney retrieve a distinctive crossbody "man purse," return and fire one shot that struck the victim through the left groin and exited the right buttock, shout "And that’s why you don’t mess around!" as he fled in a white Jeep, and later search social media for the victim and relatives; he was arrested in Inver Grove Heights and is being held on $250,000 bail with an omnibus hearing set for next month.

Public Safety Legal

Enbridge to pay $2.8M under Moose Lake aquifer breach settlement

Dec 24 Breaking TC 2

Enbridge will pay $2.8 million to resolve a breach of the Moose Lake aquifer that occurred during pipeline construction, a finalized settlement that includes the Minnesota DNR enforcement package of environmental projects, a civil penalty, contingency funds and monitoring. Earlier reports had highlighted a $1.6 million component, but the total financial obligation is $2.8 million.

Environment Legal Energy

Man killed, teen arrested in north Minneapolis shooting

Dec 24 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a man was fatally shot inside a home on the 1600 block of Thomas Avenue North around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday after an argument, and a 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the killing. The victim, found with multiple gunshot wounds, died at the hospital, and investigators are examining whether the teen may be tied to other violent crimes in Minneapolis this year as Chief Brian O’Hara urges full use of juvenile-justice tools for dangerous youth offenders.

Public Safety Legal

Minneapolis man convicted in triple encampment murder

Dec 23 Breaking TC 1

A Hennepin County jury convicted a Minneapolis man of murdering three people in a shooting at a homeless encampment in Minneapolis, bringing to a close a high‑profile triple‑homicide case that rattled nearby neighborhoods and intensified debate over encampment safety. The verdict, delivered this week in Hennepin County District Court, finds the defendant guilty on all murder counts tied to the encampment shooting, which left three victims dead and drew a large investigative response from Minneapolis police.

Public Safety Legal

Federal judge rebukes DHS mandatory detention in Minneapolis case

Dec 23 TC 1

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Provinzino has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s use of a 'mandatory-detention' policy in immigration cases, ruling it unlawful and ordering DHS to give Minneapolis resident Roberto Mata Fuentes a bond hearing or release after he was held 50 days in Sherburne County Jail without bond eligibility. Mata Fuentes, a Mexican national who has lived in Minnesota for more than 20 years, has no criminal record, holds a work permit and is pursuing a U visa; an immigration judge has since granted him $3,500 bond, allowing him to reunite with his wife and three U.S.-born children in time for Christmas while his deportation case continues. The ruling notes that federal judges nationwide have told the government nearly 300 times that this detention scheme is unlawful, yet DHS continues to apply it amid an intensified raid campaign in Minnesota.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association issues no‑confidence vote in DOC chief Schnell, urges Walz to remove him

Dec 23 Breaking TC 2

The Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association at its winter conference issued a formal vote of no confidence in Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell and urged Gov. Tim Walz to remove him or for Schnell to resign. Sheriffs said Schnell’s leadership has produced inconsistent enforcement of DOC rules, burdensome and uneven jail inspections, poor communication and cooperation, and increased costs and operational burdens on county jails — with MSA President Lon Thiele calling his leadership "detrimental to public safety."

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Nowthen standoff suspect Clinten Larson charged with arson and assault after 17‑hour barricade

Dec 22 Developing TC 2

Anoka County resident 39-year-old Clinten Michael Larson was arrested at about 1 p.m. on Dec. 19 after a roughly 17-hour standoff in which he was reported to be armed and barricaded in his Nowthen home, prompting shelter-in-place orders. Larson faces five felony charges — including first-degree arson, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and threats of violence — and investigators say he allegedly fired at law-enforcement drones and that multiple points of origin and a propane torch were found, with fire damage rendering the home unsafe for a full search.

Public Safety Legal

Lyndon Wiggins gets life without parole in Monique Baugh murder after third trial bid denied

Dec 22 Developing TC 6

Lyndon Akeem Wiggins was sentenced on Nov. 13, 2025 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a Hennepin County jury reconvicted him on multiple counts — including aiding and abetting first‑degree premeditated murder, first‑degree murder during a kidnapping, attempted first‑degree murder and kidnapping to cause great bodily harm — in the 2019 killing of Minneapolis real estate agent Monique Baugh. The verdict in the retrial followed a Minnesota Supreme Court-ordered new trial, and a last‑minute 13‑page bid by Wiggins’ defense for a third retrial was rejected at sentencing; Judge Mark Kappelhoff called Wiggins the “criminal architect” of a cold, calculated scheme, while other co‑defendants have received life terms and accomplice Elsa Segura pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years.

Legal Public Safety

Federal agent fires after vehicle strikes in St. Paul

Dec 21 Breaking TC 1

St. Paul police say a federal agent fired their service weapon after being struck by a vehicle on the 1300 block of Westminster Street just after 8:20 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 21. The agent sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the suspect was uninjured and taken into custody by federal authorities, and SPPD says no city officers were involved in the use of force.

Public Safety Legal

Driver hits State Patrol car on I‑94, arrested

Dec 21 Breaking TC 1

Just before 10 p.m. Friday, a 24-year-old Toyota Camry driver struck an unoccupied Minnesota State Patrol squad car with emergency lights activated on I‑94 near Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, where a trooper was responding to a prior crash. The impact pushed the squad into a tow truck; a Camry passenger suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries and the driver was arrested on suspicion of DWI. MnDOT traffic cameras recorded the collision and the State Patrol says the crash remains under investigation.

Public Safety Legal Transit & Infrastructure

Ramsey County jury awards $65.5M to Anna Jean Houghton Carley in J&J talc case

Dec 21 Breaking TC 2

A Ramsey County jury awarded $65.5 million to 37-year-old Anna Jean Houghton Carley, who developed mesothelioma she says resulted from childhood use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder; the verdict was returned Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, after a 13-day trial. Johnson & Johnson said it will appeal and maintains its talc is asbestos-free and does not cause cancer, noting it removed talc-based baby powder from U.S. shelves in 2020 and ended global sales in 2023 amid a wave of other large talc verdicts, including $40 million in Los Angeles and a separate $966 million California mesothelioma award.

Legal Health

Menards pays $632K in Minnesota settlement

Dec 20 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota reached a $632,000 settlement with Menards resolving state allegations tied to the company’s rebate program and pandemic‑era pricing practices. The agreement, announced Dec. 19, 2025, applies statewide — including Twin Cities stores — and concludes the state’s consumer‑protection investigation into the retailer.

Legal Business & Economy

Trump suspends federal Diversity Visa lottery

Dec 19 Breaking TC 1

President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of the Diversity Visa (green card lottery) program, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem directed USCIS to pause processing, after authorities said the suspected Brown University/MIT shooter entered the U.S. via the program in 2017. The move, announced Thursday, halts new DV processing nationwide and is likely to face legal challenges because the lottery was created by Congress, affecting prospective immigrants and families in the Twin Cities.

Legal Public Safety Immigration

HHS proposes limits on youth gender‑affirming care

Dec 19 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration proposed new federal rules on Dec. 18, 2025 to limit gender‑affirming medical care for minors. Because the rules would apply nationwide, they would directly affect Twin Cities providers and families if finalized after the rulemaking process.

Health Legal

Brooklyn Park man charged in St. Paul’s 13th homicide; drug robbery alleged

Dec 19 Breaking TC 5

St. Paul police say 49-year-old Michael Tucker was fatally shot Dec. 4 on the 900 block of Edgerton Street in the Payne‑Phalen neighborhood, the city’s 13th homicide of 2025. Authorities charged Ryshaun Ca'mia Rhodes of Brooklyn Park with second‑degree murder, alleging the shooting stemmed from an attempted drug robbery after an SUV delivered a package believed to contain drugs; investigators say witnesses, license‑plate reader data, phone/social‑media and cell‑site records tied Rhodes to the scene, a 9mm casing was recovered, and he was arrested Dec. 16 following a Brooklyn Park search warrant.

Public Safety Legal

Eagan teen charged with four felonies in ISD 196 threats; admits creating Snapchat account

Dec 18 Breaking TC 5

A 16-year-old Eagan boy has been charged with four felony counts of threats of violence after a Snapchat account posted a video threatening District 196 high schools, prompting Apple Valley, Rosemount, Eagan, Eastview and the School of Environmental Studies to close and dismiss students while police investigated. Investigators say they linked the account to the teen via a phone number and he admitted creating it; no weapons were found during searches, he is being held in juvenile detention and is due in court Dec. 23, and prosecutors and law enforcement warned such threats cause real fear, disrupt learning and will be prosecuted.

Education Legal Public Safety

FTC settles with Instacart; pricing probe continues

Dec 18 Developing TC 1

The FTC reached a settlement with Instacart over alleged deceptive practices, and the company is also facing a separate investigation into its pricing. Announced Dec. 18, 2025, the actions apply nationwide and could affect Instacart users in the Twin Cities through potential policy changes, refunds, or pricing adjustments.

Legal Business & Economy Technology

Trump orders marijuana reclassification to Schedule III

Dec 18 Breaking TC 2

President Trump signed an executive order to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Experts say Schedule III status would formally recognize accepted medical use and expand federal research, allow cannabis businesses to claim standard federal tax deductions (mitigating IRS 280E impacts), and could reduce certain criminal penalties, though political opposition remains.

Business & Economy Health Legal

Defense seeks to suppress evidence in UHC CEO killing

Dec 18 Developing TC 7

Luigi Mangione has been fighting to exclude contested evidence in the New York murder case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, with a multiweek evidentiary/suppression hearing that included a Dec. 2 proceeding and a Day 4 postponement after Mangione fell ill. Police reported finding bullets in his bag and prosecutors disclosed handwritten “notes to self,” and the judge — who said he hopes to finish the hearing this week — has indicated he will rule on the exclusion motion in May; no immediate ruling has been issued.

Legal Public Safety

ICE pepper-sprays crowd in Minneapolis Cedar-Riverside

Dec 17 Developing TC 2

During an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood this week, ICE agents pepper-sprayed protesters who were blocking their vehicles while agents checked residents’ IDs, according to AP video and local reporting. Council Member Jamal Osman says agents detained a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, transported him to a Bloomington detention center, and released him without transportation during a winter storm.

Public Safety Legal

Deputies free ICE agents amid Karmel Mall protest

Dec 17 Breaking TC 2

ICE agents were swarmed during a chaotic protest outside Karmel Mall in Minneapolis, and DHS says protesters hurled chunks of ice and rocks, shouted death threats, deployed pepper spray, and two U.S. citizens arrested for assaulting agents remain in custody. DHS also says a woman seen being dragged was initially targeted for allegedly trying to vandalize a squad car but was released for safety reasons, a claim eyewitness Taneka Dortch disputes, calling the agents "forceful and brutal."

Public Safety Legal

Walz signs two gun‑violence executive orders, establishes Statewide Safety Council

Dec 16 Breaking TC 15

Facing a stalemated Legislature, Gov. Tim Walz on Dec. 16 signed two executive orders that immediately establish a Statewide Safety Council and direct the state to expand education on safe firearm storage and Minnesota’s red‑flag law while collecting more data on the societal costs of gun violence. Walz framed the orders as bypassing a special session and said they could face legal challenges; critics including the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus called them “low‑impact” political cover and GOP leaders disputed his account of negotiations.

Legal Elections Public Safety

DHS disputes Omar claim ICE stopped her son

Dec 16 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it has 'zero record' of ICE agents pulling over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s son after a Target trip, contradicting Omar’s Sunday WCCO interview in which she said he was released after showing a passport. The DHS statement, which also criticized the accusation as demonizing ICE, comes amid expanded immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities targeting the Somali community.

Public Safety Legal

Probation in White Bear Lake church threats case

Dec 16 Breaking TC 1

A Minnesota man was sentenced to probation on Tuesday, Dec. 16, for making threats tied to political banter during a concert at a White Bear Lake church. The case was adjudicated in the Twin Cities metro and stems from an incident at a church event where the man’s threatening conduct prompted criminal charges.

Legal Public Safety

Eden Prairie police chaplain charged in hit-and-run

Dec 16 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors charged Eden Prairie Police Department chaplain John Charles Brecount, 61, with multiple counts of criminal vehicular operation and leaving the scene after an Aug. 21, 2025 hit-and-run at Mitchell Rd. and Chestnut Dr. that critically injured a 2-year-old and hurt her mother. Brecount told police he was distracted by a text from his wife, initially thought he struck a crosswalk sign, later contacted authorities saying, "I think it was me," and forensic evidence linked his white sedan to the crash.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul Broadway Street apartment homicide victim identified as Shaniya Thompson

Dec 16 Breaking TC 4

Ramsey County Medical Examiner identified the woman found dead inside an apartment on the 500 block of Broadway Street in St. Paul as 23-year-old Shaniya Thompson; officers dispatched around 4:15 p.m. found her with a gunshot wound to the head, with evidence suggesting she had been shot the day before and a firearm recovered at the scene. Authorities say the killing — St. Paul’s 14th homicide of 2025 — is linked to suspect Wesley Koboi, who was arrested at a Toronto airport, charged in Thompson’s death and is expected to be extradited to Minnesota.

Legal Public Safety

Kia, Hyundai AG settlement: free ignition protectors, immobilizers going forward, up to $4,500 for MN theft victims

Dec 16 Breaking TC 2

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a settlement with Kia and Hyundai requiring the automakers to repair millions of vehicles to fix anti-theft technology, include industry-standard engine immobilizers on all future vehicles, and offer eligible owners a free zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protector installed at authorized dealers; the companies will also pay up to $4.5 million in consumer restitution and $4.5 million to states to offset investigation costs. Victims of qualifying thefts occurring after April 29, 2025 (or before protector installation but by March 31, 2027) can seek up to $4,500 if the car had received the software upgrade or had a scheduled appointment, a settlement announced amid a surge in Twin Cities Kia/Hyundai thefts — 3,293 in 2022 with Minneapolis and St. Paul seeing 836% and 611% year-over-year increases.

Business & Economy Public Safety Legal

Third defendant convicted in 2024 Coon Rapids triple murder

Dec 16 Breaking TC 2

On Dec. 16, 2025, prosecutors reported that a Minneapolis man became the third defendant convicted in the Jan. 26, 2024 Coon Rapids home‑invasion triple murder. The latest verdict follows earlier prosecutions in the case, including a prior jury conviction of a second defendant.

Public Safety Legal

Feds to review Minnesota benefits programs over fraud

Dec 16 Developing TC 2

Federal officials have announced a targeted review of Minnesota benefits programs amid concerns about fraud in unemployment and nutrition assistance. As part of that review, the U.S. Department of Labor is sending an on‑site team to investigate potential unemployment insurance fraud.

Business & Economy Local Government Legal

Rosemount woman detained at Minneapolis green card interview

Dec 16 Breaking TC 1

Attorney says Concepcion Macias-Pulido, 49, of Rosemount, was taken into ICE custody on Wednesday during a green card interview in Minneapolis because a 1998 false claim to U.S. citizenship makes her ineligible for permanent residency and subject to deportation. Family and counsel say she had a work permit and Social Security number but the prior misrepresentation and an alias bar adjustment; ICE did not comment.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul council delays vote on police force review tied to ICE operation

Dec 16 Developing TC 9

On Dec. 3 the St. Paul City Council postponed a planned vote to review SPPD’s use of force during the Nov. 25 ICE operation on Rose Avenue, delaying action to a later meeting while council members had called for an audit of public costs, a review of compliance with the city’s separation ordinance and scrutiny of pepper balls, less‑lethal munitions and other chemical irritants. Community groups and leaders say police violated department policy and demand video release and discipline, and the council now plans to ask the Minnesota POST Board for a thorough state‑level investigation as Chief Axel Henry — who described SPPD’s role as a “rope in a tug of war” — urged better communication with ICE to prevent future clashes.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Corcoran man Steven Endsley charged with second-degree murder in roommate’s shooting

Dec 15 Breaking TC 2

Corcoran man Steven Fredrick Endsley, 54, has been charged in Hennepin County with second-degree murder after his roommate was found dead from three gunshot wounds to the head — the body’s head was wrapped in plastic — during a welfare check Dec. 10 at a trailer on the 7800 block of Maple Hill Road. Officers found Endsley in the bathroom wearing only underwear and holding a loaded rifle; autopsy and ballistics tied the bullets to that rifle, and Endsley told police he hadn’t left the trailer except to get alcohol, admitted wrapping and moving the body, said he didn’t remember the shooting but that "it couldn't have been anyone else."

Legal Public Safety

ICE makes two arrests in Maplewood

Dec 15 Breaking TC 1

Maplewood Public Safety reported that ICE agents arrested two people in separate incidents on Sunday—around 9:30 a.m. in the former Macy’s lot at Maplewood Mall and around 11:30 a.m. in the Hy-Vee lot off White Bear Avenue. Maplewood police said they were not involved in either arrest and no information has been released about who was detained or why; the arrests follow heightened ICE activity elsewhere in the metro.

Public Safety Legal

Dealer tied to two overdose deaths gets 17 years

Dec 14 Breaking TC 1

A federal judge sentenced Patrick Carl Timberlake Jr., 29, of Columbia Heights to 204 months in prison and three years of supervised release for distributing heroin and fentanyl linked to two fatal overdoses. Investigators said Timberlake sold from apartments in St. Paul, Plymouth and Columbia Heights, continued dealing after being told a customer died, and possessed a Glock 23 with a 30‑round magazine despite prior convictions.

Legal Public Safety

AG: Only county boards (not sheriffs) can sign ICE 287(g); detainers alone not lawful basis to hold

Dec 14 Breaking TC 2

Minnesota Attorney General’s legal opinion says only county boards of commissioners—not sheriffs—may enter into ICE 287(g) agreements, noting that sheriffs may contract for police services with towns and cities but Minnesota law intentionally omits authority to contract with the federal government. The opinion, requested by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and building on a February 2025 ruling that barred detainer-only holds when state law requires release, also makes clear 287(g) agreements do not authorize officers to detain people solely on ICE detainers and that state arrest laws govern custody.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

ICE arrests worker at Brooklyn Park business

Dec 14 Breaking TC 1

ICE arrested a single employee at a business on the 8500 block of Zane Avenue North in Brooklyn Park on Friday morning after an initial report claimed all workers had been detained. Brooklyn Park police said only one arrest occurred, did not identify the business, and noted details of the federal action remain unclear as DHS has been asked for more information.

Public Safety Legal

Richfield woman fatally shot; man arrested

Dec 13 Breaking TC 1

Richfield police say a man was arrested at an Edina hospital after a brief pursuit that began around 3:12 a.m. Friday when officers received reports of a man dragging a body from an apartment on the 7600 block of Knox Ave. S. A 23-year-old woman with a gunshot wound was found unconscious in the vehicle’s back seat and later died; the investigation is ongoing.

Public Safety Legal

Joseph Wiggins charged with murdering Amy Doverspike at Maplewood apartment; suspect shot himself, police say

Dec 13 Breaking TC 3

Ramsey County prosecutors charged 57‑year‑old Joseph Raymond Wiggins with killing 55‑year‑old Amy Alberta Doverspike outside apartment 109 at 2565 Ivy Avenue East in Maplewood, where officers found Doverspike with two gunshot wounds and spent casings and a bullet fragment in the hallway. Police say Wiggins shot himself and was found critically injured by a SWAT team with a Smith & Wesson nearby; charging documents allege he live‑streamed an apology and sent messages after the shooting, and describe an on‑again, off‑again relationship amid reported drug use and family turmoil.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul man gets 17 years for two rapes

Dec 13 Breaking TC 1

A St. Paul man was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Dec. 12, 2025, for committing two rapes that occurred 12 years apart. The sentencing, reported by TwinCities.com, concludes a Twin Cities sexual-assault case with a substantial prison term.

Legal Public Safety

Pair charged after fleeing with HSI agent

Dec 12 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors charged Oluwadamilola Ogooluwa Bamigboye and Rekeya Lionesha Lee Frazier after an incident Dec. 10 at a Plymouth apartment complex where Frazier allegedly drove off with an HSI agent inside their SUV as agents tried to detain Bamigboye for overstaying a student visa. The pursuit ended outside the New Hope Police Department, where agents pinned the SUV, the agent was unharmed, and both suspects were arrested for interfering with an HSI agent with intent to commit another felony.

Public Safety Legal

Minneapolis passes stronger ICE noncooperation ordinance, codifying staging ban and adding MPD reporting

Dec 12 Developing TC 4

The Minneapolis City Council voted to strengthen the city’s 2003 separation ordinance, formally codifying Mayor Frey’s executive order banning ICE from staging on city-owned lots, ramps and garages and adding requirements that the MPD publicly report to the mayor, council and public any collaboration with federal authorities (with stated exemptions), while saying working alongside masked or unidentified agents without clear agency identification is contrary to city values and public safety. The measure — passed as ICE activity and arrests in Minnesota have increased (the Trump administration sent about 100 federal agents) — also included a $40,000 boost for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and comes amid suburban clarifications that local police do not enforce federal immigration law.

Local Government Legal Public Safety

Walz appoints statewide fraud‑prevention director and launches program‑integrity push

Dec 12 Breaking TC 2

Gov. Tim Walz on Dec. 12, 2025, formally appointed a statewide fraud‑prevention director and announced a program‑integrity initiative. The effort is intended to strengthen anti‑fraud oversight and coordination across state agencies.

Legal Business & Economy Local Government

Judge OKs asset pursuit in Normandale debt case

Dec 12 Breaking TC 1

A judge ruled MidWestOne Bank can pursue the personal assets of a New York real‑estate executive who guaranteed $36 million in loans tied to a Normandale Lake office tower in Bloomington. The decision advances the bank’s recovery efforts in the high‑stakes commercial real‑estate dispute involving a prominent Twin Cities property.

Legal Business & Economy

Trump order seeks to preempt state AI rules

Dec 12 Breaking TC 1

On Dec. 11, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to block states from regulating artificial intelligence, centralizing oversight at the federal level. The move would constrain Minnesota and Twin Cities authorities from enacting or enforcing local AI rules affecting public agencies, schools and major employers, and could shift compliance requirements for metro businesses and governments.

Technology Local Government Legal

Morrison bill targets foreign robocalls with task force

Dec 12 Breaking TC 1

U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison introduced a bipartisan federal bill to create an interagency task force, including the FCC, FTC and DOJ with private‑sector experts, to curb domestic and foreign robocalls that have plagued Minnesotans. If enacted, the task force would identify source countries of unlawful calls, explore international collaboration, and deliver recommendations to Congress within a year; Morrison hopes the House will take up the bill in January.

Technology Legal

House votes to void Trump federal union order

Dec 11 Developing TC 1

The U.S. House on Dec. 11 voted to nullify a Trump executive order that curtailed collective‑bargaining rights for federal employees, a step that would restore bargaining rights if enacted. The measure now heads to the Senate and, if it becomes law, would directly affect thousands of federal workers in the Twin Cities at agencies operating in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro.

Legal Business & Economy

Ex‑Oakdale officer convicted of misconduct

Dec 11 Breaking TC 1

A former Oakdale police officer was found guilty of misconduct but acquitted of harassment for making phone calls to a person under surveillance, according to a verdict reported Dec. 11, 2025. The case, adjudicated in Washington County in the east‑metro, centers on the officer’s conduct during a surveillance operation and results in a split verdict: guilty on misconduct, not guilty on harassment.

Legal Public Safety

Court backs Wayzata in TCF site dispute

Dec 11 Developing TC 1

A court ruled in favor of the City of Wayzata in its years‑long dispute with Lake West Development over redevelopment of the former TCF Bank site, the latest turn in a saga that has seen six developer proposals since 2020 and prior litigation over rejected plans. The decision, reported Dec. 11, 2025, keeps the city’s position intact for now as the parties continue a protracted fight over the high‑profile property.

Legal Local Government

St. Paul driver charged in fatal Arlington–Prosperity crash; charging document cites fast‑food distraction

Dec 11 Breaking TC 4

Prosecutors have filed criminal charges in the fiery single-vehicle crash around 3:25 a.m. at Arlington and Prosperity that killed 26-year-old Qiara “Keke” Gleason, a mother of four who was trapped in the vehicle; her family has launched a GoFundMe and is calling for accountability. Court records identify the driver as Ralohn L. Hare of St. Paul, say she told investigators she was distracted by a fast-food bag, note a court-ordered blood draw is pending, and show prior convictions for driving after revocation.

Public Safety Legal

Savage man Joshua Rocha charged with attempted murder after Bloomington police shootout near Killebrew Dr.

Dec 11 Developing TC 3

On Dec. 4 around 10:30 p.m., Bloomington officers engaged in a gunbattle with 21-year-old Joshua Rocha of Savage after stopping a suspected wrong-way driver near Old Shakopee Road and Killebrew Drive; police say they disabled his vehicle with PIT maneuvers, deployed PepperBall rounds and an armored vehicle when commands were ignored, and Rocha allegedly fired numerous rounds from an assault-style rifle that struck a squad car while officers returned fire, injuring Rocha’s hands. The BCA identified the five officers who shot — Sgt. Jeremy Pilcher and Officers David Rodriguez, Carson Sanchez, Taylor Huss and John Bunnell — recovered a rifle, a handgun and ammunition from Rocha’s vehicle, placed the officers on critical-incident leave, and Rocha is charged in Hennepin County with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of first-degree assault, with a first court appearance set for Dec. 12 as the BCA investigates.

Legal Public Safety

Minneapolis ordinance to codify Frey’s ICE staging ban and add MPD reporting requirements

Dec 11 Breaking TC 2

Minneapolis City Council is set to introduce an ordinance that explicitly codifies Mayor Jacob Frey’s executive order restricting ICE from staging on city-owned property. The proposal also requires the Minneapolis Police Department to file public reports after any exempted collaboration with federal authorities and includes language discouraging cooperation with masked or unidentified agents.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Minneapolis officer fires at armed suspect; no injuries

Dec 11 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis police officer fired two shots at an armed suspect around 12:30 a.m. Thursday near Lake Street East and 5th Avenue South after a 911 report that a neighbor pointed a gun at a woman in the Central neighborhood. Police say the suspect appeared intoxicated and ignored commands to drop the weapon; no one was hurt, the suspect was arrested on assault, the officer was placed on leave, and the Minnesota BCA is investigating.

Public Safety Legal

Edina man charged after runway DWI at Flying Cloud

Dec 10 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors charged Joshua Dayn Hoekstra, 52, after Eden Prairie police say he drove a silver Jeep onto active runways at Flying Cloud Airport on Nov. 23, 2025. Officers boxed in the vehicle; Hoekstra showed signs of impairment, blew about 0.13 on a breath test, and was cited for DWI, careless driving, and not having a driver’s license in possession after telling police he’d flown back on a private jet from the Vikings–Packers game.

Public Safety Legal

Feds sue MPS over teacher layoff protections

Dec 10 Breaking TC 1

The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 10 against Minneapolis Public Schools, challenging contract provisions that protect teachers of color in layoffs and recalls. The complaint alleges the layoff protections constitute unlawful race‑based discrimination under federal law and asks a judge to block enforcement and declare the provisions illegal.

Legal Education

Supreme Court hears bid to lift party spending caps

Dec 09 Developing TC 1

The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 heard arguments in a Republican challenge seeking to end federal limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates, a decision that could reshape 2026 campaign spending in Minnesota, including Minneapolis–Saint Paul races. The Federal Election Commission defended the current caps during the hearing; a ruling later this term could change how parties fund and coordinate electoral efforts.

Elections Legal

3,500+ cannabis-in-vehicle charges since legalization

Dec 09 TC 1

Minnesota prosecutors have filed more than 3,500 charges for marijuana possession in motor vehicles since legalization, according to a Minnesota Reformer analysis of court/prosecution data published Dec. 9, 2025. The figures reflect enforcement of Minnesota’s law that continues to prohibit cannabis in the passenger area or in open packaging inside vehicles, impacting drivers statewide, including the Twin Cities.

Legal Public Safety

Four ICE arrestees in Minneapolis sue over detention

Dec 09 Developing TC 1

Four immigrants arrested since Minneapolis’ Operation Metro Surge began Dec. 1 have filed federal lawsuits challenging their detention, part of at least 11 immigration suits lodged in Minnesota in December. Plaintiffs include Abdul Dahir Ibrahim of Shakopee, arrested Nov. 29 and long under a removal order, and Mahamed Cabdilaahi Awaale, an asylum seeker; filings argue asylum eligibility, pending visas, or naturalization eligibility while at least three face deportation.

Legal Public Safety

Arden Hills DUI crash: driver sentenced

Dec 09 Breaking TC 1

A judge on Dec. 8, 2025, sentenced the driver in a drunken‑driving crash in Arden Hills that killed a New Brighton couple, with the couple’s daughter delivering a victim‑impact statement in court. The case, handled in Ramsey County, concludes the criminal proceedings stemming from the fatal collision.

Legal Public Safety

Augsburg says masked ICE agents targeted student

Dec 09 Developing TC 2

Augsburg University says masked ICE agents targeted a student on campus. DHS/ICE disputes that account, saying an Augsburg administrator and campus security tried to obstruct officers who identified themselves and had a warrant, that agents used “minimum” force to clear vehicles, and that the person arrested is unlawfully in the U.S., a registered sex offender with a prior DWI (not independently confirmed), Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, also citing a reported 1,050% increase in assaults on officers during such arrests.

Education Legal Public Safety

Video shows ICE raid at Burnsville home

Dec 08 Developing TC 1

Home surveillance video obtained by FOX 9 shows more than a dozen armed federal agents conduct an apparent ICE raid at a Burnsville residence on Dec. 6, with a resident saying four Latino tenants were arrested and later held out of state, including parents of a 7‑year‑old. The City of Burnsville said its police do not engage in immigration enforcement and are not typically notified of federal operations; ICE/DHS have not yet commented.

Public Safety Legal

Refunds open after Woodbury Dental Arts settlement

Dec 06 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison announced Dec. 6 a settlement with the Woodbury Dental Arts bankruptcy trustee that lets former patients seek refunds from the Consumer Protection Restitution Account for prepaid services never received after the clinic’s abrupt closure. Claims must be filed within 60 days of notice with proof of payment; owner Dr. Marko Kamel has surrendered his dental license and cannot reapply for 10 years following Board of Dentistry actions.

Legal Local Government

Supreme Court takes Trump birthright case

Dec 05 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Dec. 5, 2025, to hear a challenge to President Donald Trump’s order seeking to limit birthright citizenship, setting up a constitutional ruling this term. The outcome could directly affect families in the Twin Cities whose children were born in Minnesota to non‑citizen parents, as well as access to documents and services dependent on citizenship status.

Legal Immigration

Feds charge Minneapolis man in Bloomington kidnapping-rape; AG, U.S. attorney cite serial assaults

Dec 05 Breaking TC 2

Federal authorities have charged Abdimahat Bille Mohamed in a Bloomington kidnapping-rape, alleging probable cause that he committed multiple sexual assaults — including gang rapes — involving at least five victims from 2017 to 2025. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen vowed to "aggressively prosecute this serial rapist," and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized prior local release decisions that left Mohamed, who was on probation from two earlier Minneapolis sex‑assault convictions (one involving a 15‑year‑old), free when the September incident occurred.

Public Safety Legal

US cuts immigrant work permits to 18 months

Dec 05 Breaking TC 1

USCIS announced on Dec. 5, 2025, that Employment Authorization Documents for many legal immigrants will shift from up to five years of validity to 18 months, requiring more frequent renewals. The federal change applies nationwide, directly affecting Twin Cities immigrants who work under EADs and the employers who depend on them.

Legal Immigration

DHS: Half of probed MN immigration cases fraudulent

Dec 05 Developing TC 1

DHS says a targeted fraud‑detection operation in Minneapolis–Saint Paul found about half of the investigated immigration cases were fraudulent, spanning naturalization, H‑1B, marriage and Ukrainian humanitarian parole applications. The agency also cited more than 95,000 pending Minnesota immigration applications (about 6,500 tied to Somalia) but did not release underlying totals or any charging data; FOX 9 has requested records.

Public Safety Legal

Judge denies new trial in Minneapolis girl’s killing

Dec 04 Developing TC 1

A Hennepin County judge denied Dpree Shareef Robinson’s postconviction bid to withdraw his 2023 guilty plea and vacate his 37.5‑year sentence for the 2021 drive‑by shooting that killed 9‑year‑old Trinity Ottoson‑Smith in Minneapolis. The court found no evidence Robinson was impaired by oxycodone at his plea hearing and rejected his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, keeping his second‑degree murder conviction and sentence in place.

Legal Public Safety

Chauvin files postconviction petition in Hennepin

Dec 04 Breaking TC 2

Derek Chauvin filed a postconviction petition seeking a new trial, arguing jury instructions misstated the law and requesting an evidentiary hearing into alleged trial misconduct and due‑process violations; the defense retained physicians from The Forensic Panel and a Critical Incident Review analyst and submitted sworn statements from 34 current and former MPD officers saying the knee‑to‑neck tactic was part of MPD training and policy. The filing highlights autopsy details — Dr. Andrew Baker cited cardiopulmonary arrest complicating restraint and did not find injuries consistent with asphyxia, conflicting with state experts who said Floyd died from low oxygen — and notes Chauvin is housed at FCI Big Spring (projected federal release Nov. 2037); MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said there is no credible information that former President Trump will pardon him.

Public Safety Legal

Ex-Washington Co. deputy sentenced in DUI crash

Dec 04 Breaking TC 1

A former Washington County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced in Washington County on Dec. 3, 2025, for driving drunk while off duty and crashing into a family’s SUV, according to TwinCities.com. The case stems from an earlier east‑metro crash; the sentencing concludes a criminal proceeding involving a local law‑enforcement officer.

Legal Public Safety

Man indicted for ramming ICE vehicle in St. Paul

Dec 03 Developing TC 1

A federal grand jury indicted Jeffrey Josuee Lopez‑Suazo on charges of assaulting and impeding a federal officer and improper entry after ICE says he intentionally rammed an agent’s unmarked squad with a blue Toyota Corolla during a Nov. 25 operation on Rose Avenue East near Payne Avenue in St. Paul. The incident triggered a standoff and large protest where tear gas and pepper spray were used; a second man, Victor Molina Rodriguez, was also arrested that day.

Legal Public Safety

Four men wounded in Dayton’s Bluff shooting now charged in gunfight

Dec 03 Breaking TC 3

Four men were wounded in a shooting shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, near 4th St. E. and Earl St. in St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff; police say all four injuries are non-life-threatening, K9 and drone teams searched the scene, and there is no ongoing public threat. Ramsey County prosecutors have charged all four men — charging documents describe a “wild gunfight” with multiple participants exchanging fire — and the case has moved to Ramsey County District Court.

Public Safety Legal

HUD pulls funds from Twin Cities housing projects

Dec 03 Breaking TC 6

HUD’s new Continuum of Care rules have canceled or sharply cut funding for Twin Cities permanent supportive housing, threatening roughly 3,600 Minnesotans and about $48 million in CoC funds in Minnesota by reducing renewals and capping supportive‑services spending. The changes — which repudiate “Housing First,” impose eligibility conditions (eg. bans on public camping, cooperation with ICE, limits on harm‑reduction and certain gender‑identity protections) — have prompted a coalition of 185+ organizations, faith‑leader vigils, bipartisan congressional pleas and legal action by Minnesota’s attorney general as local providers scramble and warn the cuts could more than double chronic homelessness.

Housing Local Government Legal

Minnesota sues HUD over homelessness funding shift

Dec 03 Breaking TC 2

Minnesota has joined 20 other states in suing HUD over a shift in homeless housing funding. The federal changes have left local housing and homelessness programs scrambling, and Twin Cities service providers are preparing for disruptions while the litigation proceeds.

Housing Legal

Plymouth officer shoots armed man after disturbance

Dec 03 Breaking TC 2

A Plymouth police officer shot a man following a reported domestic disturbance; the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officer as Jacob Coopet, a 23‑year law enforcement veteran, and the man as 44‑year‑old Atanas Hristev of Champlin. BCA says Hristev pointed a handgun at Officer Coopet before the officer fired, investigators recovered a handgun, spent shell casings and squad‑car video, Hristev is hospitalized in stable condition, and the BCA will present its findings to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office without making charging recommendations.

Public Safety Legal

South St. Paul teen charged after woman dragged

Dec 03 Breaking TC 1

A teenager has been criminally charged in South St. Paul after allegedly dragging a woman with a vehicle during a dispute over a vape cartridge, according to a Dec. 2 report. The incident occurred in South St. Paul (Dakota County) and led to charges tied to the alleged assault; further details on the charging documents and injuries were not immediately available.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul shooter Dejaun Hemphill gets 12 years

Dec 03 Breaking TC 1

Dejaun Hemphill was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting a St. Paul man, in a case described as the masked assailant “hunting” the victim. The sentence, reported Dec. 2, 2025, closes a Twin Cities murder case and follows a court hearing in the metro.

Legal Public Safety

Treasury orders probe of MN fraud–terror ties

Dec 02 Breaking TC 3

The Treasury Department has opened a federal probe to trace alleged money‑laundering routes from recent Minnesota human‑services fraud to the Somali militant group Al‑Shabab, though investigators say they have not found direct evidence that fraud proceeds reached the group. Gov. Tim Walz said he welcomes federal help but questioned the timing and motives after President Trump’s posts, Republican state senators backed the inquiry, reporting noted an anonymous X account claiming to represent about 480 DHS employees was suspended and later returned, and prior probes linked some fraud proceeds to real‑estate transactions in Kenya with separate prosecutions alleging Al‑Shabab ties.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Wren Clair, KSTP seek dismissal of lawsuit

Dec 02 Developing TC 1

Meteorologist Wren Clair and KSTP-TV jointly asked a judge on Dec. 2, 2025 to dismiss her lawsuit against the station, according to a TwinCities.com report. The filing signals a potential end to the legal dispute pending the court’s decision; details of the request were not immediately disclosed.

Legal Business & Economy

Costco sues to block emergency tariffs

Dec 02 Developing TC 1

Costco Wholesale Corporation filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking to invalidate President Trump’s emergency tariff orders, block U.S. Customs and Border Protection from collecting such duties going forward, and recover tariffs already paid. The filing cites an imminent Dec. 15 deadline to “liquidate” import entries, after which duties become final, and argues the emergency‑powers statute used does not authorize creating or raising tariffs on goods from China, Mexico, Canada and other countries.

Legal Business & Economy

MN GOP urges federal probe of alleged terror financing

Dec 02 Breaking TC 3

Minnesota Senate and House Republican caucuses sent letters Monday to U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen — joining earlier requests from four GOP U.S. House members — urging a federal probe into reports that Minnesota-linked fraud and remittances may have funded terrorism. A City Journal/Manhattan Institute report, based on unnamed sources and a former detective, alleges hawala transfers gave a cut to al‑Shabaab, but a 2019 Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor found no substantiated proof that money reached terrorist groups; the U.S. Treasury has now opened an investigation.

Public Safety Local Government Legal

Ex-Mpls Chamber CEO Jonathan Weinhagen pleads guilty to mail fraud; faces nearly 3 years, >$200K restitution

Dec 02 Breaking TC 7

Jonathan Weinhagen, the former CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber who had been a Mounds View school board member (he has resigned), pleaded guilty to mail fraud and could face nearly three years in prison and more than $200,000 in restitution. Prosecutors allege he diverted Chamber funds — including about $30,000 earmarked as Crime Stoppers rewards for unsolved 2021 Minneapolis child shootings — through a sham consulting firm called Synergy Partners and an alias “James Sullivan,” opened a Chamber line of credit and drew over $125,000, signed sham contracts generating more than $100,000 for himself, and attempted a fraudulent SoFi loan in a scheme said to have run from December 2019 to June 2024.

Local Government Education Legal

Rosemount man charged in St. Paul Victoria St. homicide; victim ID’d as Tarik Hazem Hassan

Dec 02 Breaking TC 3

Spencer Curtis McAloney, 27, of Rosemount, was charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder and illegal firearm possession after a shooting about 1:38 a.m. Sunday at an apartment on the 700 block of North Victoria Street that killed 32-year-old Tarik Hazem Hassan of St. Paul; the charging narrative describes the men as friends and neighbors/records say the apartment had drawn prior drug-related complaints, with witnesses calling McAloney paranoid and "tweaking." McAloney was arrested after a brief police pursuit and crash, officers recovered a handgun and suspected drugs, bail was set at $1.5 million, and the complaint notes prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery and illegal ammunition possession.

Public Safety Legal

Pedestrian struck Nov. 24 at Summit & Dale dies; case now a fatal crash

Dec 01 Breaking TC 2

A driver struck a 75-year-old woman and her husband in a crosswalk at Summit Avenue and Dale Street on Nov. 24; the woman died about a week later. St. Paul police have reclassified the incident as a fatal crash and the investigation is ongoing.

Public Safety Legal

Edina Facebook Marketplace robbery: 2 teens arrested; ghost gun seized; 18-year-old wounded

Dec 01 Breaking TC 2

Edina police warned neighbors after reports of shots fired during what investigators say was a Facebook Marketplace deal gone wrong in an apartment parking lot on Gallagher Drive. An 18‑year‑old man was shot in the left arm and suffered non‑life‑threatening injuries, and investigators found footprints, tire tracks and a discharged .40‑caliber casing at the scene. Two teenagers, ages 16 and 17, were arrested within 12 hours and are being held at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center after a search recovered a .40‑caliber ghost gun; charges are pending.

Public Safety Legal

Trump Thanksgiving post targets Minnesota Somalis

Nov 29 Breaking TC 1

Late Thanksgiving night, President Donald Trump posted a message disparaging Somali refugees in Minnesota and using a slur to describe Gov. Tim Walz, while vowing sweeping immigration restrictions; the next day, his administration announced it is halting all asylum decisions. Walz replied on social media, “Release the MRI results,” as the rhetoric and policy move raised immediate concerns for Twin Cities immigrant communities.

Legal Local Government

Shutdown ends: Feds back Thursday; back pay by Nov. 19 as LIHEAP restarts

Nov 28 Developing TC 25

President Trump signed a stopgap funding bill ending the 43‑day shutdown, OPM directed federal employees to return Thursday and agencies will issue back pay in four tranches beginning by Nov. 19 while the measure reverses shutdown‑era firings and bars new layoffs through January. The package restarts programs including SNAP, releases $3.6 billion in LIHEAP heating aid to states and tribes, and extends funding through Jan. 30, though SNAP and other benefits may take days or longer to reach recipients and a separate vote on ACA premium subsidies is expected in December.

Government/Regulatory Elections Government

Washington County dad pleads in UTV crash case

Nov 27 Breaking TC 1

A Washington County father pleaded guilty to child endangerment in Washington County District Court in a case stemming from a UTV crash involving a child. The plea resolves the criminal charge tied to the incident; further court proceedings, including sentencing, were not immediately detailed.

Legal Public Safety

Daycare abuse, neglect cases surge in Minnesota

Nov 27 TC 1

State oversight records compiled by FOX 9 show abuse and neglect reports at Minnesota day cares nearly doubled from 57 in 2022 to 100 in 2023 and reached 105 in 2024, with several severe metro incidents resulting in child injuries requiring surgery. Cited cases include a Rochester pizza‑slicer attack on a 14‑month‑old, a Brooklyn Park Goddard School employee punching a 3‑year‑old, a St. Paul KinderCare staffer striking a child with an iPad, and arrests tied to alleged infant abuse at Blaine’s Small World Learning Center; DCYF Inspector General Randy Keys said the system is generally safe but could not explain the recent uptick.

Public Safety Health Legal

ICE says 14 arrested in St. Paul Bro‑Tex raid; city leaders decry chemical spray as fundraiser tops $25K

Nov 27 Developing TC 10

Federal authorities say 14 people were arrested for immigration violations during an ICE worksite enforcement action at Bro‑Tex in St. Paul — an operation ICE says was assisted by FBI and DEA and in which DHS noted one arrestee had past domestic‑abuse charges and another is suspected of illegal reentry; families have publicly identified several detainees and a fundraiser for one worker topped $25,000. The raid drew roughly 200 protesters, videos and officials report federal personnel used a chemical irritant (described by the mayor as tear gas) and at least one person reported being struck by rubber bullets, photographers say they were targeted, and St. Paul leaders and the city council have called for investigations into use of force and adherence to the city’s separation ordinance.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

AG Ellison joins SNAP eligibility lawsuit

Nov 26 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined a multistate lawsuit challenging federal rules on SNAP eligibility, arguing the policy unlawfully restricts access to food assistance and harms Minnesota families. Filed against the USDA, the case seeks to block the changes while litigation proceeds and protect continued benefits for eligible residents in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro and statewide.

Legal Health

Cooper High custodian charged in restroom peeping

Nov 26 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors charged John Ezekiel Brown, 51, of Brooklyn Center with felony interference with the privacy of a minor after a 15-year-old reported he looked over a bathroom stall at Cooper High School in New Hope on Oct. 28. Surveillance video reviewed by New Hope police shows Brown entering the restroom before the student and remaining inside for nearly three minutes; the student ran out after seeing him, and the principal notified families, noting he was a temp-service custodian, not a district employee.

Public Safety Education Legal

DHS to end TPS for some Myanmar nationals

Nov 25 Breaking TC 3

The Department of Homeland Security announced it will end Temporary Protected Status for some Myanmar nationals, citing planned December “free and fair” elections and “successful ceasefire agreements”; rights groups and Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government sharply criticized the move, saying Myanmar remains in a brutal civil war with forced conscription and daily attacks on civilians. Advocates warned of harms to Burmese communities in the Twin Cities, and observers note that ICC prosecutors previously sought an arrest warrant for junta leader Min Aung Hlaing over alleged crimes against humanity related to the Rohingya.

Legal Immigration Government

20-year-old charged in fatal Shakopee DWI crash

Nov 25 Breaking TC 1

Goay Jikany, 20, was charged with criminal vehicular homicide after troopers say he rear‑ended a Chevy Cobalt at high speed on Hwy. 169 near Marystown Road late Nov. 23, pushing it off the road and killing 46-year-old Kala Henry of Chaska. A criminal complaint says Jikany’s BAC tested 0.144, he showed signs of impairment, admitted drinking, and his account conflicted with evidence; he was arrested about four weeks after a separate Shakopee DWI case.

Public Safety Legal

FOF defendant Abdimajid Nur sentenced to 10 years, ~$48M restitution

Nov 25 Developing TC 2

Abdimajid Nur, convicted in the Feeding Our Future fraud, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay roughly $48 million in restitution after evidence showed he created and submitted most of the fake meal counts, rosters and invoices for Empire Cuisine & Market sites — at some locations no food was served and at others meals were provided by Shakopee Public Schools. Judge Nancy Brasel said, “It is so disappointing and so disheartening that where others saw a crisis and rushed to help, you saw money and rushed to steal,” and prosecutors detailed Nur’s spending of proceeds on vehicles (including a $64,000 Dodge Ram and $35,000 Hyundai Santa Fe), a Maldives honeymoon, jewelry in Dubai and about $12,000 paid to complete online coursework; he faces a separate sentencing for attempting to bribe a juror.

Legal Public Safety

Minnesota ERPO gun cases set to double in 2025

Nov 25 TC 2

Minnesota's extreme risk protection order (ERPO) petitions are on pace to double in 2025, with several agencies increasingly using the state's "red flag" law. The Mankato Department of Public Safety has filed the most ERPOs (25) and says it has confiscated more than 60 firearms over the past two years—crediting a coordinated approach and line‑level training—while other city totals include Minneapolis (19), St. Paul (14), Duluth (6) and Bloomington (5).

Public Safety Legal

Ex-Twin Cities teacher gets life for child abuse

Nov 25 Breaking TC 1

Former Twin Cities teacher and coach Aaron Hjermstad was sentenced Monday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years for sexually abusing 12 additional boys, adding to a prior 12-year sentence tied to four victims. Prosecutors say the abuse occurred while he worked at Excell Academy in Brooklyn Park and Mastery School/Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis; a search warrant cited a catalog of videos labeled with 127 sets of initials, and Hjermstad pled guilty to the new counts in September 2025.

Legal Public Safety Education

USCIS to re-interview Biden-era refugees

Nov 25 Breaking TC 1

A memo obtained by the AP shows USCIS will conduct a comprehensive review and re-interview of all refugees admitted from Jan. 20, 2021 to Feb. 20, 2025, and has immediately suspended green card approvals for those refugees. The nationwide action, signed Nov. 21 by USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, cites concerns that 'expediency' was prioritized over vetting under Biden; advocates warn the move will traumatize refugees, including many living in the Twin Cities.

Legal Local Government

DOJ proposes RealPage settlement on rent algorithm

Nov 25 Developing TC 1

The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a settlement with RealPage, the rent‑pricing software firm at the center of an antitrust case, that would bar the company from using real‑time, nonpublic data, training models on leases less than 12 months old, or surveying landlords for private pricing information. RealPage would also cooperate in DOJ’s ongoing lawsuit against major landlords — including four that operate in the Twin Cities — accused of using the software and shared data to inflate rents; Minneapolis previously passed an ordinance banning algorithmic rent price‑fixing.

Legal Housing

78th defendant charged in Feeding Our Future case

Nov 24 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors charged Abdirashid Bixi Dool, 36, with seven counts including wire fraud and money laundering, alleging he used two nonprofits sponsored by Feeding Our Future to claim tens of thousands of children’s meals per week at sites in Moorhead and Pelican Rapids from March 2021 to February 2022. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the entities received more than $1.1 million based on falsified invoices and meal counts, with funds allegedly diverted to Dool, a co‑conspirator, and their families for real estate and travel; the indictment references an unnamed 'Conspirator A,' suggesting additional charges may follow.

Legal Public Safety

Bloomington sting nets 16 in minor-solicitation arrests

Nov 24 Developing TC 3

A Bloomington police sting dubbed "Operation Creep" netted 16 arrests on minor-solicitation allegations, with at least four people formally charged so far. Among those arrested on Nov. 13 was 41-year-old Alexander Steven Back of Robbinsdale, a civilian ICE auditor who has been federally indicted for attempted enticement of a minor and faces a Hennepin County charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution after allegedly continuing explicit texts after being told the purported victim was 17, arriving to meet her, surrendering two phones and his ICE ID, and acknowledging the incriminating messages.

Legal Public Safety

Margot Lewis sentenced to 40 years for Minneapolis murder of Liara Tsai

Nov 24 Developing TC 2

Margot Gerald Lewis was sentenced to 40 years in prison by Judge Paul Scoggin for the June 2024 murder of her partner, Liara Tsai, after being convicted of killing Tsai in a Minneapolis apartment and hiding her body in a car. Lewis received 517 days credit for time served and, under Minnesota’s two‑thirds rule, is projected to be eligible for release in 2051; Scoggin rebuked the "callous handling" of Tsai’s body, said a subsequent I‑90 crash appeared intended to cover tracks, and Lewis is being held at MCF–St. Cloud.

Legal Public Safety

Edina unveils draft ban on assault‑style weapons, >20‑round mags and ghost guns; delays action, will hold town hall

Nov 24 Developing TC 3

Edina unveiled a draft ordinance, modeled on St. Paul’s, that would ban possession, manufacture and transfer of “assault weapons,” magazines holding more than 20 rounds, ghost guns and binary triggers and would impose a firearms storage mandate, but states it would take effect only when the council passes a resolution affirming it is not preempted by state law. Council leaders put a vote on hold and will hold a public hearing/town hall after the city manager said he could not support the currently unenforceable draft and the city attorney said it cannot be enforced until state law changes, while the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has threatened legal action if the ban is enacted.

Local Government Public Safety Legal

Four finalists named for Minnesota appeals court

Nov 24 Breaking TC 1

Gov. Tim Walz’s judicial selection panel recommended Stephanie Beckman, Lisa Beane, Liz Kramer and Anne Rasmusson for two upcoming Minnesota Court of Appeals vacancies, per a Nov. 24 release. The seats open upon the retirements of Judges Louise Dovre Bjorkman and Randall J. Slieter; one is an at‑large position and the other is designated for the 7th Congressional District.

Legal Local Government

Greystar settles rent‑fixing suit; Minnesota gets $483K

Nov 24 Developing TC 1

Minnesota’s Attorney General and eight other states filed a proposed $7 million settlement with Greystar Management Services over alleged rent‑fixing tied to RealPage’s pricing software. Greystar, which manages 31 Twin Cities apartment properties, would pay roughly $483,000 to Minnesota and accept limits on algorithmic rent‑setting, stop sharing competitively sensitive information, avoid RealPage events, and cooperate in ongoing litigation against RealPage.

Legal Housing

Palace Theatre sues Wrecktangle for $1.6M

Nov 22 Breaking TC 1

The Palace Theatre’s operators have sued Wrecktangle Pizza in Hennepin County District Court, alleging the company owes more than $1.6 million on a loan tied to their short‑lived joint venture, Wrestaurant at the Palace, which opened in 2023 and closed a year later amid water damage. Wrecktangle’s response admits no payments were made but counters that the Palace failed to dissolve the joint LLC, is using joint‑owned equipment for the new Palace Pub without crediting Wrecktangle, and disputes the claims; both sides tentatively agreed to a November 2026 trial if no settlement is reached.

Legal Business & Economy

Maplewood drive-by shooter gets 6-year sentence

Nov 21 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County District Court sentenced Muhnee Jaleel Bailey, 24, to six years and three months after he pleaded guilty to drive-by shooting for firing a fully automatic handgun at a car in a Maplewood apartment lot on April 16, wounding a 22-year-old passenger as two nearby juveniles cowered. Prosecutors dismissed attempted murder and four firearm-possession counts under a plea agreement; surveillance video showed three rapid volleys and police recovered 18 casings, while Bailey received 175 days’ credit for time served.

Legal Public Safety

Education Dept finalizes PSLF employer ban rule; takes effect July 1, 2026

Nov 21 Breaking TC 3

The Education Department finalized a rule, taking effect July 1, 2026, that bars employers from qualifying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness if the department finds they are substantially involved in certain alleged illegal activities—ranging from aiding or abetting illegal immigration, supporting terrorism or violence, trafficking children across state lines, or illegal discrimination, to providing gender‑affirming care (the rule defines “chemical castration” to include puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth)—with the education secretary having final authority under a preponderance‑of‑the‑evidence standard; PSLF credit earned before the effective date is preserved and disqualified employers may reapply after 10 years or sooner via an approved corrective action plan. The rule, which stems from a March executive order, has prompted multiple legal challenges from more than 20 Democratic‑led states (led by New York, Massachusetts, California and Colorado), several cities and nonprofit and advocacy groups that say the standard is vague and exceeds the department’s authority.

Legal Education

Woodbury man gets 30 years for sextorting minors

Nov 21 Breaking TC 2

A Woodbury man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after prosecutors said he posed as a teenager using 66 different Snapchat aliases to coerce sexually explicit videos from minors, at times sending gruesome violent videos and hateful threats to force compliance. U.S. District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell called it a “deliberate, persistent sextortion scheme,” and authorities including the FBI, Woodbury Police and Indiana State Police investigated; under federal rules the inmate is expected to serve at least 85% of the sentence.

Legal Public Safety

77th defendant in Feeding Our Future: Minneapolis grocer Ousman Camara pleads not guilty

Nov 21 Breaking TC 2

Ousman Camara, a Minneapolis grocer, was charged as the 77th defendant in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme and entered a not guilty plea at his first court appearance Thursday. Prosecutors allege he used scheme proceeds to buy a north Minneapolis building and sent more than $100,000 abroad; the broader investigation has resulted in 56 guilty pleas and seven convictions so far, including Aimee Bock’s conviction on all counts.

Public Safety Legal

Judge hears closing arguments on Google ad-tech remedies

Nov 21 Breaking TC 2

After an April ruling that parts of Google's ad‑tech business constitute an illegal monopoly, Judge Leonie Brinkema held an 11‑day remedies trial this fall and heard closing arguments Friday in Alexandria, Virginia, with a ruling expected early next year. The DOJ urged structural divestitures, calling Google a "recidivist monopolist," while Google called such remedies legally unprecedented and risky for a system that handles roughly 55 million ad requests per second, citing AI‑driven market changes as a reason for caution and DOJ witnesses warning about subtle algorithm manipulation; for context, a separate search case saw Judge Amit Mehta reject a proposed Chrome divestiture and order reforms seen as relatively lenient.

Business & Economy Legal Technology

Judge orders USCIS to restore SIJS protections

Nov 21 Breaking TC 1

A federal judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, to resume considering deferred action (deportation protection) and work permits for youths with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, after the Trump administration rescinded the 2022 program in June. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee requires USCIS to accept applications from new and existing SIJS designees while the lawsuit proceeds, affecting eligible immigrant youth nationwide, including in the Twin Cities.

Legal Health & Human Services

Ramsey County drops final case against ex‑Bethel player

Nov 20 Breaking TC 1

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office on Monday dismissed its last remaining criminal sexual conduct case against former Bethel University football player Gideon Osamwonyi Erhabor, saying it could not prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The dismissed case alleged a 2018 assault at a Roseville house party; Erhabor had already been acquitted in two separate 2018 incidents after an October 2022 jury trial and a June 2025 bench trial.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul seeks 120-day pause in $22M permit-fee suit

Nov 20 Developing TC 1

St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson asked Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro on Nov. 10 for another 120-day stay in a class-action lawsuit alleging the city overcharged building-permit fees by more than $22 million from 2018–2023, citing records still not migrated to the new PAULIE system after a cyberattack. Plaintiff Patrick Bollom’s attorney, Shawn Raiter, said they would accept a partial stay while allowing other case work to proceed; a prior 120-day pause was granted in August, and a new continuance could push the case into February under the incoming mayoral administration.

Legal Local Government

THC drink startup cofounder charged with theft

Nov 20 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota-based Crooked Beverage Company co-founder Richard Schenk has been charged with two felony theft counts, accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars from the THC beverage startup. Court documents and co-founder Ryan Winkler say Schenk spent company funds on personal expenses (including mortgage and luxury items), allegedly faked an email to dodge a $300,000 debt to his ex-wife, resigned when confronted, and then allegedly withdrew another $48,000; the company says it remains in operation with products in hundreds of Minnesota locations and 10 states.

Legal Business & Economy Cannabis

Starbucks Red Cup Day strike includes Minneapolis

Nov 19 Developing TC 3

A nationwide Starbucks strike that has indefinitely shuttered more than 65 stores in about 40 cities coincided with the company’s busy Red Cup Day after bargaining broke down in April. Two Twin Cities locations — the unionized St. Anthony store at 3704 Silverlake Rd (unionized 2022) and the unionized Chanhassen store at 190 Lake Dr (unionized 2024) — remained closed after Thursday’s walkout, and there are currently no remaining unionized St. Paul locations while employees at Seventh & Davern have petitioned the NLRB. At the St. Anthony site police arrested a man and woman after super glue and expanding foam were found in the locks and demonstrators later blocked the drive‑through; Starbucks said it was on track to meet or exceed same‑day sales, touts its wages and benefits, and accused the union of walking away from talks.

Public Safety Business & Economy Legal

Two arrested after St. Anthony Starbucks vandalism

Nov 19 Breaking TC 1

St. Anthony police arrested a man and a woman Wednesday morning after workers found the Silver Lake Road Starbucks’ door locks filled with super glue and expanding foam, preventing opening amid an ongoing strike. The pair allegedly fled in a vehicle, were stopped and booked into the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center on suspicion of felony property damage, and police later returned when demonstrators blocked the drive‑through.

Public Safety Legal

FOF juror‑bribe defendant Ladan Ali jailed for probation violation

Nov 19 Developing TC 1

Court records indicate Ladan Mohamed Ali was arrested Nov. 9 and is being held in the Scott County jail after failing to appear for a probation‑violation hearing; she was ordered last week to serve 30 days in county jail after admitting to a violation. Ali previously pleaded guilty in Sept. 2024 to attempting to bribe a juror in the Feeding Our Future case and earlier received probation in a Scott County check‑forgery case.

Legal Public Safety

Capitol security officer pleads guilty to DWI

Nov 19 Developing TC 1

Cristian Orea, a Minnesota State Capitol security officer, pleaded guilty Monday in Hennepin County District Court to fourth-degree DWI tied to a July 14 incident at a Minneapolis Lake Street bar where he allegedly posed as an undercover officer. He’ll serve just under a month on house arrest and two years’ probation; the impersonating-a-peace-officer charge will be dismissed upon successful completion, prosecutors dropped third-degree DWI and carrying a pistol under the influence, and the State Patrol says he remains on paid investigatory leave.

Legal Public Safety

Mifepristone lawsuits update; new FOIA case

Nov 19 TC 2

Amid ongoing litigation over mifepristone, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered a new FDA safety review citing a self‑published white paper funded and publicized by anti‑abortion groups, including Americans United for Life, which criticized the FDA’s approval of a new generic. Alliance Defending Freedom says it represents a Louisiana plaintiff in related litigation and expects an appeal of a recent court order, while the ACLU’s Nov. 13 FOIA suit seeks the parameters of the FDA review and the agency’s communications with outside groups.

Legal Health

St. Paul man admits 2022 fatal stabbing

Nov 19 Breaking TC 1

Maurice Angelo McClinton Smith, 42, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court to second-degree intentional murder for fatally stabbing 47-year-old Tina M. McCombs in her North End St. Paul apartment on Jan. 9, 2022. Appearing via Zoom from St. Peter Regional Treatment Center, Smith acknowledged drug and alcohol use before the attack and told his attorney he wrongly believed McCombs was his mother; sentencing is set for Feb. 13.

Legal Public Safety

Mpls man charged in New Hope burglaries

Nov 18 Breaking TC 1

Jonte Jamel Yates, 36, of Minneapolis, is charged in Hennepin County with one count of first‑degree burglary and four counts of second‑degree burglary tied to a string of New Hope break‑ins between Nov. 1 and 12. A court complaint says surveillance video led the Hennepin County Intelligence Unit to identify Yates; he was arrested after a pursuit, and a search recovered items resembling those seen in the footage, with phone data placing him near the scenes. The complaint notes Yates previously admitted in an earlier case to targeting Hispanic residents, believing they were less likely to report crimes.

Public Safety Legal

DOJ sues Minnesota for full voter rolls

Nov 18 Breaking TC 3

The Department of Justice has sued Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, demanding the state's voter registration records as part of a coordinated set of lawsuits against six states within a broader push that included data requests to about 40 states. Ten Democratic secretaries of state, including Simon, have asked DOJ and DHS for details and security assurances after learning DOJ shared state rolls with DHS to run citizenship checks through the SAVE system despite earlier assurances the data would be used only to assess HAVA/NVRA compliance and amid contradictory statements from federal officials.

Legal Elections

Mohamud Bulle sentenced to 19.5 years for 2013 Minneapolis park rape after DNA backlog testing

Nov 18 Breaking TC 4

Mohamud Bulle, 36, was sentenced to 235 months (19.5 years) — 187 months for first‑degree criminal sexual conduct and 48 months for kidnapping, to run consecutively — after a jury convicted him in the Oct. 13, 2013 rape of Melissa Zimmerman in a Minneapolis park. The case was solved after the BCA tested a 2013 sexual‑assault kit in 2020 under the federal SAKI backlog program, producing a DNA profile that linked to another case in May 2024 and to Bulle in October 2024 when his DNA was obtained in an unrelated matter; Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty apologized for earlier delays, and Bulle, who received a separate 36‑month sentence in 2025, is incarcerated at MCF–Rush City with a projected release in March 2038 (248 days credit).

Legal Public Safety

Judge OKs Purdue deal; Sacklers to pay $7B

Nov 18 Developing TC 1

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge said he will issue his reasoning Tuesday for approving Purdue Pharma’s nationwide opioid settlement, which includes up to $7 billion from the Sackler family over 15 years and creates a successor company, Knoa Pharma, overseen by a state‑appointed board. The plan directs most funds to governments for opioid abatement and reserves about $850 million for individual victims, with eligible OxyContin patients and survivors slated to receive payments as soon as next year; those who opt out may still sue Sackler family members.

Legal Health

White Bear Lake father gets 128 months for infant’s death

Nov 18 Breaking TC 1

Mark Russell Forster, 40, of White Bear Lake, was sentenced Monday to 128 months in prison in Ramsey County District Court after entering a Norgaard plea to second‑degree unintentional murder in the March 2024 death of his 8‑week‑old son, Jackson Dallas Forster. Prosecutors said medical findings showed injuries consistent with abusive head trauma; Forster received 460 days’ credit for time served and the negotiated term falls at the low end of state guidelines.

Legal Public Safety

Metro Transit settles bus–skateboarder suit for $500K

Nov 17 Breaking TC 1

Metro Transit agreed to pay $500,000 — the maximum allowed under Minnesota’s liability cap for government entities — to Bradley Legrid, who was run over by a bus while riding a motorized skateboard in the crosswalk at Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. Legrid suffered severe injuries, and his attorney criticized the state cap as incentivizing agencies to delay settlements; Metro Transit declined to comment on the case’s details.

Legal Transit & Infrastructure

U-Haul chase ends in St. Paul arrest

Nov 17 Breaking TC 1

The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office says a U-Haul van fled a traffic stop near Stacy on Sunday night for lane violations and no plates, leading to a multi-agency pursuit that ended in St. Paul when the driver ran and was arrested. Authorities attempted stop sticks multiple times; the driver, who had an outstanding warrant, was booked into the Chisago County Jail for fleeing, warrants, and traffic violations, with additional charges under review.

Public Safety Legal

South St. Paul woman critically hurt in hit-and-run

Nov 17 Breaking TC 1

South St. Paul police say a woman was found early Monday with life-threatening injuries consistent with being struck and/or dragged by a vehicle. Chief Brian Wicke said police believe the driver and victim knew each other; the driver fled before officers arrived, the vehicle was later found, and no arrests had been made as of Monday morning. Investigators are canvassing the area and ask anyone with information to call 651-413-8300.

Public Safety Legal

Couple pleads guilty in Twin Cities Lululemon thefts

Nov 15 Developing TC 1

A Connecticut couple, Jadion Anthony Richards, 45, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes‑Richards, 46, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court on Nov. 14 to one felony count each of organized retail theft in a global deal covering Ramsey and Hennepin charges tied to Lululemon thefts in Roseville, Edina, Minneapolis and Minnetonka. The case marks Ramsey County’s first convictions under Minnesota’s 2023 organized retail theft law; police previously recovered over $50,000 in stolen merchandise from a JW Marriott Mall of America hotel room after a Nov. 14, 2024 Roseville theft, and sentencing with restitution is set for Jan. 30, with stayed prison terms and probation expected.

Legal Public Safety

DNA IDs mother in 1983 Blaine infant case

Nov 15 Breaking TC 2

Forensic DNA analysis by Othram has identified the mother of the newborn found in 1983 on Main Street between MN 65 and Radisson Road in Blaine, confirming the infant as "Rachel Marie Doe." The mother told investigators she gave birth alone at home, found the baby unresponsive and believed it was stillborn before leaving the infant roadside; a community funeral was held in 1983 and the child was buried in a local church cemetery, authorities say the Midwest Medical Examiner’s re-examination could not determine live birth and relatives, including the father, were reportedly unaware of the pregnancy.

Legal Public Safety

Fridley man charged with criminal vehicular homicide in I-94 Dale St. crash that killed St. Paul driver

Nov 14 Breaking TC 3

Musab Ibrahim Kosar, 22, of Fridley, has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide after his Tesla sped off I‑94, exited at Dale Street with its headlights reportedly turned off, and struck a Toyota RAV4 at Dale and Rondo Avenue in St. Paul, killing 31‑year‑old St. Paul baker Benjamin Michael Villano. A state trooper who followed the Tesla clocked it at 84 mph and later over 100 mph but did not activate lights or sirens before the crash; Kosar and a 19‑year‑old passenger were hospitalized with serious injuries. The passenger, who suffered fractures and a dislocated hip, told investigators she had asked Kosar to stop speeding and that they had broken up earlier that day, and the criminal complaint alleges Kosar’s operation was “grossly negligent.”

Transit & Infrastructure Legal Public Safety

Court blocks federal immigrant CDL restrictions

Nov 14 Breaking TC 1

The D.C. Circuit on Thursday stayed U.S. DOT’s new rule that would have limited commercial driver’s licenses for noncitizens to holders of H‑2A, H‑2B or E‑2 visas, finding the agency skipped proper procedure and failed to justify safety benefits. The rule—spurred by several fatal crashes—would have required immigration‑status checks and cut eligibility to roughly 10,000 of 200,000 noncitizen CDL holders; California this week revoked 17,000 CDLs amid audits tied to the issue. The stay halts enforcement nationwide, preserving current licensing standards while litigation proceeds.

Legal Transit & Infrastructure

Mounds View High teacher Ted Bennett resigns; judge sets $75K bail in sex‑crimes case

Nov 14 Breaking TC 6

Ted Bennett, a 58-year-old longtime English teacher at Mounds View High School, resigned this week after being arrested and charged with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor student; the school board accepted his resignation. Authorities allege he provided the student alcohol and Adderall, exchanged explicit messages, and had sexual contact on multiple occasions — including in vehicles and a school theater storage area — and he was arrested at his home, held in Ramsey County Jail with bail set at $75,000 and ordered to stay away from the victim; investigators say there may be additional victims and have opened a tip line.

Public Safety Education Legal

Woodbury son charged in father's neglect death

Nov 13 Breaking TC 1

Washington County has charged Michael Cornelius Dailey, 51, of Woodbury with criminal neglect after charging documents allege he mismanaged the care of his 80-year-old father, a vulnerable adult, who died April 28, 2025 following hypoglycemia from a severe insulin overdose. The complaint cites multiple recent hospitalizations tied to uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes, malnutrition concerns, a recommended facility placement Dailey allegedly refused, and an October 2024 incident where home health services were rejected.

Legal Public Safety

AT&T $177M breach settlement sets Dec. 18 deadline

Nov 13 Breaking TC 1

AT&T agreed to a $177 million settlement over two data breaches disclosed in 2024, and impacted customers — including those in the Twin Cities — have until Dec. 18, 2025 to file claims. The deal, reached in U.S. District Court in Texas, covers a dark‑web leak of data from 2019 or earlier affecting about 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders, and a separate breach of 2022 call/text records; payments of up to $5,000 or $2,500 are available depending on documented losses, with final court approval set for Jan. 15, 2026.

Legal Technology

St. Paul passes contingent assault‑weapons ban; gun‑rights group files lawsuit

Nov 13 Breaking TC 7

St. Paul’s City Council unanimously approved a contingent ordinance (7–0) that would ban public possession of assault‑style firearms, magazines holding more than 20 rounds and binary triggers, require serial numbers to curb ghost guns, and bar guns in most city‑owned spaces — but the law is written to take effect only if state firearm preemption is repealed, amended or judicially invalidated. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus immediately sued in Ramsey County, calling the measure unlawful, while the city attorney says St. Paul is prepared to defend the contingent approach amid the broader push by about 17 Minnesota cities and significant public comment (including over 700 “vote no” emails).

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Judge grants TRO barring encampments on Sabri Minneapolis properties

Nov 13 Developing TC 8

A Hennepin County judge on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order barring homeless encampments on any Minneapolis properties owned by Hamoudi Sabri after negotiations between Sabri and the city broke down and following a Sept. 16 mass shooting near E. Lake St. that injured seven people. Mayor Jacob Frey said the TRO lets the city close encampments once services and shelter are offered; city crews cleared the site, estimate the cleanup cost about $50,000 and may seek reimbursement, and police have increased patrols and placed fencing around the area. Sabri says he plans to convert the cleared lot into a "hygiene and outreach hub," has not obtained required permits, faces possible citations if he violates the order, and is weighing further legal action while criticizing the city's homelessness response.

Housing Public Safety Legal

Hospitals join suit alleging insurer price fixing

Nov 13 Breaking TC 1

A coalition of hospitals and health systems has joined or expanded a federal lawsuit alleging a cartel-like scheme to depress out‑of‑network reimbursements, describing a third‑party repricing firm as a 'mafia enforcer' working for major insurers including Minnetonka‑based UnitedHealth Group. The case accuses the parties of antitrust violations that harmed providers and patients by fixing prices below competitive levels; Twin Cities impact stems from UHG’s role and potential effects on local health systems and consumers.

Legal Health Business & Economy

Parents plan suit in Stillwater AI child-porn case

Nov 13 Breaking TC 2

Parents are threatening to sue the Stillwater School District after former employee William Haslach was accused of producing AI child pornography, and the district now acknowledges some victims are Stillwater students. Facing scrutiny, the district has implemented new rules—no personal cell phones around students, photos only pre‑approved and taken on district devices, and mandatory sexual‑exploitation training—while attorney Imran Ali has launched a civil investigation citing outdated policies, training gaps and poor communication.

Education Public Safety Legal

Fridley teen sentenced to life with parole eligibility in 15 years for ex’s murder

Nov 12 Developing TC 2

A jury convicted 19-year-old Fenan Abdurezak Uso of Fridley of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend Jayden Kline, and Judge Jenny Walker Jasper imposed a mandatory life sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years under a 2023 law for juveniles certified as adults. Prosecutors say Uso bought a stolen handgun the night before and planned the Dec. 21, 2023 shooting outside Kline’s Fridley home (captured in neighbor doorbell video showing a gold minivan); Kline died at North Memorial Hospital, Uso was initially charged by juvenile petition and later indicted for first-degree murder in July 2024, and Kline’s mother and brothers delivered victim impact statements at sentencing.

Legal Public Safety

Prosecutors turn over 130,000 pages in Boelter case; next hearing Feb. 12

Nov 12 Developing TC 3

Prosecutors have provided substantially all discovery in the case against Vance Boelter — more than 130,000 PDF pages as part of roughly 9 terabytes of material that the defense says includes about 800–825 hours of audio/video, roughly 2,000 photos and thousands of documents, though some lab reports remain pending. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster set the next status conference for Feb. 12 and requested updates on the DOJ’s undecided death‑penalty decision (which federal prosecutor Harry Jacobs said rests with AG Pam Bondi), while defense counsel Manny Atwal said downloading and reviewing the evidence — slowed by a federal shutdown and some 110 hours of work already — could push trial scheduling out at least six months.

Legal Public Safety

Police unions condemn $10K bail in deputy assault

Nov 12 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota’s two largest police organizations criticized a judge’s decision to allow a $10,000 conditional bail for Robert J. Kozicky, 41, charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree assault, and fourth-degree assault of a peace officer after a Nov. 6 incident in Ham Lake where a deputy was violently attacked. Prosecutors sought $150,000 unconditional or $75,000 conditional bail, but Judge Jennifer Peterson set $75,000 unconditional or $10,000 with conditions; Kozicky was arrested Nov. 7 and released Nov. 9, and unions MPPOA and LELS are calling for a review citing the deputy’s concussion and head laceration.

Public Safety Legal

Visa, Mastercard propose card-acceptance changes

Nov 12 Breaking TC 1

Visa and Mastercard proposed a national class‑action settlement that would let merchants refuse higher‑tier rewards cards or add surcharges to cover their higher fees, a shift from the networks’ long‑standing “honor all cards” rule. The deal also includes a temporary 10‑basis‑point cut to swipe fees for five years and sets standard transactions at 1.25% for eight years; major retail groups oppose the proposal, which still requires court approval, meaning Twin Cities shoppers with premium rewards cards could eventually see declines or surcharges at checkout if it’s finalized.

Business & Economy Legal

Judge weighs Planned Parenthood Medicaid cutoff

Nov 12 Developing TC 1

A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday on whether a July federal law ending Medicaid reimbursements to providers that both offer abortions and receive over $800,000 in Medicaid funds should remain in effect during ongoing lawsuits. Planned Parenthood says an appeals court allowed the law to take effect in September, costing the organization $45 million that month as clinics covered Medicaid care out of pocket, and warns of closures and reduced access; seven states have temporarily backfilled some funding, but Minnesota is not among them. The case was brought by Planned Parenthood and affiliates in Massachusetts and Utah and a Maine provider against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Health Legal

IACP to review 43-hour response to June 14 lawmaker shootings; $429.5K cost

Nov 12 Developing TC 3

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Brooklyn Park, Champlin and New Hope police departments and Hennepin County have hired the International Association of Chiefs of Police to conduct an independent after-action review of the 43-hour law enforcement response to the June 14 lawmaker shootings — from the first 911 call just after 2:30 a.m. to the arrest of Vance Boelter — a manhunt DPS calls the largest in state history. The six-month review, announced in a DPS Veterans Day release, will cost $429,500 (the state covering $210,000 and Hennepin County $165,000), will be released publicly, and has drawn support and questions from officials including Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher about early communication to legislators.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

Five charged in Twin Cities odometer fraud

Nov 11 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors charged five relatives — Ilie Tudor, 27; Ionut Todur, 29; Florin Tudor, 31; Vasile Tudor, 26; and David Tudor, 22 — with odometer tampering, theft by swindle and concealing criminal proceeds after a scheme to buy vehicles cheaply, roll back miles and resell them on Facebook Marketplace. Investigators recovered a Toyota Tundra in north Minneapolis showing more than 110,000 fewer miles than previously recorded and say all five suspects have left Minnesota, with warrants issued and at least two believed to have fled the country.

Legal Public Safety

Judge denies stay on binary trigger ban ruling

Nov 11 Developing TC 1

Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro on Nov. 5 denied the State of Minnesota’s request to stay his Aug. 18 ruling that struck down the 2024 omnibus bill’s "binary trigger" ban under the state constitution’s Single Subject Clause. The decision leaves the ban unenforceable and, in the order, the judge wrote that the public interest favors not enforcing unconstitutional laws and cited due-process concerns with arresting people under an invalid statute.

Legal Local Government

Appeals court orders full SNAP funding; Supreme Court to decide whether 65% cap remains

Nov 11 Developing TC 71

After the federal shutdown prompted USDA to pause SNAP disbursements and initially push a roughly 65% partial‑payment plan, a coalition of states sued and district judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ordered USDA to use contingency and other funds to provide full November benefits. The 1st Circuit upheld the lower‑court order requiring full funding (after a brief Supreme Court stay), leaving some states that already issued full payments in limbo as the Supreme Court prepares to decide whether the administration may enforce the 65% cap.

Legal Government/Regulatory Politics

AG’s conviction review of 2002 Dakota murder nears

Nov 11 TC 1

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison’s Conviction Review Unit says its report on Philip Vance’s 2002 South St. Paul murder conviction is in final review after four years of investigation, even as Vance’s separate court bid based on witness recantations remains paused pending the CRU outcome. The case highlights growing scrutiny of the three‑person unit’s pace—five completed reviews since 2021—with the defense warning delays risk witness availability and prosecutors notified of an anticipated report as far back as February.

Legal Local Government

Ex-Hennepin sheriff’s captain charged with stealing lab generator for ice fishing

Nov 10 Breaking TC 2

A former Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office captain, Labatt, has been charged with felony theft after a complaint says he took a department-owned generator from the HCSO forensic lab, used it while ice fishing Feb. 1–28 and left it on the lake. The complaint and records say lab staff sent multiple unanswered emails about the missing unit, Labatt did not offer to replace it until after a new generator ($1,209), a gas can and two gallons of gas ($26.97) and $80 for AirTags were purchased, and that Labatt — who joined HCSO in 1989 and became forensic lab director in January 2021 — was separated from employment on April 30, 2025; the HCSO crime lab serves 35 local agencies plus state and federal partners.

Legal Public Safety

Judges in Minnesota rebuff ICE bond denials

Nov 09 TC 1

Federal judges in Minnesota and nationwide are rejecting ICE’s bid to hold immigrants without bond hearings under a Trump‑era DHS policy expanding detention, with 177 recent rulings favoring immigrants versus nine for the government as of Oct. 31. In Minneapolis, a federal judge ordered a bond hearing Oct. 27 for Jose Andres Robles—detained a month at Freeborn County Jail without a hearing—after which his family posted $10,000 to secure his release; more than 1,000 immigrants have been detained in Minnesota since January.

Legal Local Government

Columbia Heights home invasion injures man

Nov 09 Breaking TC 1

Columbia Heights Police and the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office say two men followed a resident into his home on the 1400 block of 47th Avenue NE around 10:20 p.m. Friday and tried to rob him, leading to a struggle that left the victim injured. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition; other occupants were unharmed. The suspects fled and remain at large as the investigation continues.

Public Safety Legal

Man found shot dead in Columbia Heights car

Nov 08 Breaking TC 1

Anoka County authorities are investigating a homicide after a man was found with apparent gunshot wounds inside a vehicle around 6:31 a.m. Friday on the 500 block of 38th Avenue NE in Columbia Heights. No arrests have been made; anyone with information is asked to call Anoka County’s non‑emergency line at 763-427-1212.

Public Safety Legal

Marshals arrest Minnesotan in deadly Dallas RV arson

Nov 08 Breaking TC 1

U.S. Marshals arrested Lamont Curtis Richardson, 30, of St. Cloud, on I-94 near Sauk Centre Friday on a Texas arson charge tied to an Oct. 19 Dallas RV fire that killed 68-year-old Leslie Denise McBride. Apple Valley police executed search warrants at a Fjord Avenue address, seizing documents bearing Richardson’s name and seeking a woman’s DNA and cellphone data after investigators traced a Hertz rental from MSP and GPS logs to Texas and back. Surveillance captured a hooded, masked man igniting the RV before fleeing; motive has not been disclosed.

Public Safety Legal

3 charged in $564K immigration-services fraud targeting Spanish-language churches; 25 victims, ICE threats alleged

Nov 07 Breaking TC 4

Three people — Kira Romero Pinto, Denis Aquino Martinez and Luis Leiva Aquino — have been charged in a scheme that allegedly swindled about $563,700 from at least 25 victims, primarily Spanish-speaking churchgoers in the Twin Cities, by promising expedited citizenship through a fictitious attorney named “Isabella Jason” and threatening to call ICE on anyone who reported the scheme. Authorities say personal documents were seized, one defendant faces a racketeering charge, known Washington County losses exceed $118,000, the case is being prosecuted jointly by Washington and Dakota counties, and all three remain jailed with bail set at $500,000, $100,000 and $75,000 respectively.

Public Safety Legal

Ex-wife of DOC chief gets 3-year sentence

Nov 07 Breaking TC 3

A Scott County judge, Joy Bartscher, sentenced Paul Schnell’s ex‑wife, Myhre‑Schnell, to three years in prison after she admitted on Dec. 3, 2023, to putting lorazepam and water into her disabled son’s feeding bag — filings quote her saying she hoped he would "go to sleep forever" and later telling investigators she intended to kill him, while the victim, who requires round‑the‑clock ventilator care for spina bifida, told investigators "I made it, I’m still here." The three‑year term was a downward durational departure from guidelines that drew criticism from prosecutors who had sought about 18 years; court records show she received 22 days credit for time served and is expected under Minnesota’s two‑thirds rule to serve roughly two years in custody with the remainder on supervised release, and Commissioner Schnell filed a memo abstaining from any DOC involvement in the case.

Public Safety Legal

Two charged in Bar Zia killing; prosecutors cite security lapses, city shutters bar

Nov 07 Developing TC 2

Prosecutors say a July shooting at downtown Minneapolis’ Bar Zia left 21-year-old Damarco Fletcher Jr. dead and three others wounded (women, 35 and 22, and a 24-year-old man) and led to charges against Arlonzo Williams Jr., 26, for second‑degree murder, illegal gun possession and three counts of attempted murder, and Dantrell DaJuan Clark, 24, as an accomplice on murder and attempted murder counts. Charging documents allege coordinated, gang-related conduct and security lapses — including patrons being allowed to re‑enter without screening after suspects briefly exited to retrieve a gun — and the city closed Bar Zia three days later for a licensing violation tied to lack of insurance.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Supreme Court allows Trump passport sex‑marker policy to take effect during lawsuit

Nov 07 Breaking TC 3

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to let its passport sex‑marker policy take effect while litigation continues, staying a June injunction by U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick that had blocked the policy. The unsigned order—reasoning that listing sex at birth is a historical fact akin to country of birth and implicates foreign‑affairs authority, and echoing Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s argument that the president has passport authority (citing a recent ruling on transgender care)—drew dissents from the Court’s three liberal justices, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warning it will harm transgender Americans barred from selecting markers such as “X.”

Government/Regulatory Legal Government

DHS cites Care Crossings for 27 violations

Nov 07 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota’s Department of Human Services issued an Oct. 24 correction order to Care Crossings in Oak Park Heights, finding 27 violations and more than 100 breaches of laws or rules after late-July site visits. The report cites billing for services not provided, falsified documentation, illegal group sizes, excessive caseloads and unlicensed staff leading sessions; DHS previously fined the owner $200 in August for using a disqualified staffer and warned that failure to correct could result in additional fines or license sanctions.

Health Legal

CFPB says FCRA preempts state medical‑debt credit-report bans; Minnesota law at risk

Nov 07 Breaking TC 2

The CFPB has issued guidance interpreting the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act as preempting state bans on reporting medical debt to credit reports, putting Minnesota’s law — one of 14 states that bar such reporting (and five that restrict it) — at risk. Credit bureaus and credit unions sued to block a January CFPB rule advancing that view, the incoming administration declined to defend it and a federal judge blocked the rule, leaving uncertainty for states even as Americans carry at least $220 billion in medical debt and roughly 6% of adults owe more than $1,000.

Legal Health Business & Economy

Four arrested after stolen Jeep chase in Minneapolis

Nov 07 Breaking TC 1

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Violent Offender Task Force arrested four people Thursday after pursuing a white Jeep stolen in Maple Grove that was linked to auto-theft tampering, dangerous driving, and a report of a suspect pointing a gun. The pursuit ended near W. 28th St. and Aldrich Ave. S. in south Minneapolis after stop sticks were used; the driver fled on foot, the passenger moved to the driver’s seat and struck the original driver before the vehicle stopped. All occupants were arrested, two were hospitalized, and six guns were recovered, according to HCSO.

Public Safety Legal

Minnesota Rusco bankruptcy spurs at least 10 lawsuits; recovery fund capped at $550K per contractor

Nov 07 Breaking TC 6

Minnesota Rusco, a 70-year-old New Hope home‑improvement company, abruptly ceased operations after parent Renovo Home Partners filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy for itself and 19 subsidiaries, leaving employees — who received only three days of health insurance — and customers with unfinished work and large prepaid sums; court filings list $100–$500 million in liabilities against $1–$10 million in assets, and at least 10 lawsuits have been filed. Because Rusco was DLI‑licensed, affected homeowners must first sue and obtain a court judgment to seek reimbursement from Minnesota’s Contractor Recovery Fund, but recoveries are constrained by limits of up to $550,000 per licensed contractor (and $100,000 per consumer), and state officials are urging consumers to file complaints and dispute charges.

Consumer Business & Economy Housing

Ramsey judge tosses 2021 St. Paul arson case

Nov 07 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro dismissed the first-degree arson case against Matthew Ryan Gieske on Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence after prosecutors said their key eyewitness who could identify the arsonist left Minnesota and could not be located. The case stemmed from a Sept. 7, 2021 fire that severely damaged a North End apartment building on the 1600 block of Marion St.; the judge excluded body-cam clothing IDs as hearsay and found no remaining evidence tying Gieske to starting the blaze.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul renews call in 1990 cold-case killing

Nov 07 Developing TC 1

St. Paul police marked the 35th anniversary of the unsolved Nov. 6, 1990 homicide of Robert Spann, a 27-year-old William Mitchell law school graduate, with a renewed public appeal for tips. Spann was found shot and stabbed in the basement of his Marshall Avenue home between Milton and Victoria; robbery was a possible motive, and investigators ask anyone with information to call 651-266-5650.

Public Safety Legal

Burnsville police seek more victims in sex case

Nov 06 Developing TC 1

Burnsville police are asking additional victims or witnesses to come forward after charging 19-year-old Teodros Raymond Pluntz with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct tied to two younger teens. A Sept. 13 incident allegedly occurred at his parents’ home on Sibley Court in Burnsville, with prosecutors citing video evidence and documented injuries; a second case involves a 15-year-old who says videos were posted online. Pluntz was charged in September by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office and remains jailed as the investigations continue.

Public Safety Legal

Judge admonishes Lazzaro over juror contact scheme

Nov 06 Developing TC 1

Minnesota’s chief federal judge Patrick Schiltz issued a sharply worded order Thursday admonishing convicted GOP operative Anton “Tony” Lazzaro over an alleged effort to “deceive and bribe” a former juror via a fake survey offering gift cards, and barred Lazzaro or anyone on his behalf from contacting jurors without court permission. The survey, titled “Gopher Women’s Institute 2025 Study,” asked sensitive questions about sexual abuse and was used to support Lazzaro’s bid for a new trial; prosecutors argue a juror’s answers could have changed over time, while defense claims the responses show dishonesty on the original juror questionnaire.

Legal Public Safety

DHS speeds up protest‑charge rules near federal sites

Nov 06 Breaking TC 1

The Trump administration put into effect on Nov. 5 new DHS regulations expanding Federal Protective Service authority to arrest and charge a broader array of offenses on and off federal property, citing a surge in violence. The rules apply to federal facilities nationwide, including those in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and newly address conduct such as obstructing access, wearing a mask while committing a crime, drone use, and tampering with government IT systems; critics warn the changes could be used to target protesters.

Legal Public Safety

Ex-Minneapolis teacher pleads in child-porn case

Nov 06 Developing TC 2

A former Minneapolis substitute teacher, identified as Palmer, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and solicitation of a minor after an anti-child-porn vigilante’s sting that lured him to a park, where a child reportedly said, "That's my teacher." Palmer — who originally faced 14 counts — is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3, 2025, and Minneapolis Public Schools issued a statement emphasizing student safety and reporting channels.

Education Legal

16-year-old charged in north Minneapolis birthday-party killing of Aundre Loyd

Nov 06 Breaking TC 4

Sixteen-year-old Raymond Valentino Bowser was arrested inside a north Minneapolis home and charged with second-degree murder after 15-year-old Aundre Loyd was fatally shot in the basement during a birthday party shortly after 10:45 p.m. on the 2900 block of Russell Ave. N. Charging documents say the shooting followed an “interaction” after Loyd complimented Bowser’s shoes, a semiautomatic handgun and a bullet hole were found at the scene, witnesses said they fled in fear, Bowser admitted touching the gun, and Hennepin County intends to prosecute him as an adult; the killing was one of three deadly shootings in Minneapolis over a four-day span.

Public Safety Legal

Lakeville man gets probation in FOF case

Nov 06 Developing TC 1

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Lakeville resident Khadar Adan to one year of probation and $1,000 restitution on Nov. 5 after he pled guilty to misdemeanor theft of government property for allowing a sham meal site to operate out of his Minneapolis JigJiga business center and accepting $1,000 in proceeds. Prosecutors said Adan and co-defendants falsely claimed 70,000 meals via the Lake Street Kitchen site from Dec. 2020 to Apr. 2021; Adan is the third and final co-defendant from that site to plead guilty in the broader Feeding Our Future fraud probe.

Legal Public Safety

Lakeville booster treasurer charged in $80K theft

Nov 05 Breaking TC 2

A former treasurer of two Lakeville gymnastics booster clubs was charged by summons with two felony theft counts after police allege she stole more than $80,000 — nearly $51,000 from one club between March 2021 and 2024 and just over $32,000 from the other between August 2022 and June 2024. Court papers say casino records show an estimated $41,000 in losses in 2022–2023, the defendant repaid about $30,300 (mostly by cashier’s check) after resigning, admitted taking the funds due to personal financial problems and gambling, and is set for a first court appearance Dec. 9, 2025.

Public Safety Education Legal

States sue DHS over FEMA grant restrictions

Nov 05 Breaking TC 1

Eleven states and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sued DHS and FEMA in federal court in Eugene, Oregon, challenging new conditions on core emergency-preparedness grants, including cutting the spend period from three years to one and requiring states to certify populations excluding people removed under immigration law. The suit targets the $320M Emergency Management Performance Grant and $1B Homeland Security Grant Program after FEMA issued an Oct. 1 funding hold pending states’ methodology submissions; DHS says the changes ensure effective use aligned with current threats.

Legal Local Government

Minneapolis man Billy Ray Wiley convicted of sex trafficking, assaults at Mahtomedi apartment; sentencing Jan. 7

Nov 05 Breaking TC 2

Minneapolis man Billy Ray Wiley was convicted of sex trafficking and sexually assaulting a 14‑year‑old and a 20‑year‑old at a Mahtomedi apartment and is set to be sentenced Jan. 7. Prosecutors say Wiley recruited women and girls near Twin Cities streets and stores by offering rides, drugs or money; jurors answered yes to four special‑verdict questions allowing an upward departure, County Attorney Kevin Magnuson praised the victims and noted Wiley self‑represented and cross‑examined them, and investigators tied a June 13 assault video to the apartment, found a 14‑year‑old at Piccadilly Square Apartments on June 30 with condoms and drug paraphernalia, and arrested Wiley July 8 after a tracking warrant when a 17‑year‑old was in his car and drug paraphernalia was seized.

Public Safety Legal

FDA warns 18 websites over unapproved Botox

Nov 05 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to 18 websites for selling counterfeit or unapproved versions of Botox and similar injectables, citing reported injuries and toxic side effects. Announced Wednesday, the FDA urged patients to receive injections only from licensed, trained health professionals and warned that botulism-like symptoms after treatment require immediate medical care.

Health Legal

Epic, Google settle Android app-store case

Nov 05 Breaking TC 1

Epic Games and Google told a federal judge in San Francisco they’ve reached a comprehensive settlement resolving Epic’s antitrust case over the Google Play Store, proposing terms that align with Judge James Donato’s prior order to open Android to competing app stores and lower fees. The sealed deal, which requires court approval, includes reducing in‑app payment commissions to 9%–20% and obligates distribution of rival third‑party app stores, following a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a jury verdict against Google and the Supreme Court’s refusal to block remedies.

Technology Legal

Brooklyn Park clears officers in Hortman response

Nov 05 Developing TC 1

Brooklyn Park Police’s preliminary internal investigation cleared Officers Zachary Baumtrog and Jay Bloyer in their response to the June 14 slaying of Rep. Melissa Hortman, finding their actions and Baumtrog’s use of force consistent with policy and training. The review says officers attempted to aid Mark Hortman, were unaware of other victims, and waited to enter the home until 4:38 a.m. after deploying a drone; the department has requested a broader third‑party review of the response and communications. Suspect Vance Boelter is charged in the attacks on the Hortmans and an earlier shooting at Sen. John Hoffman’s Champlin home.

Public Safety Legal

Judge caps Metro Transit bus injury award at $500K under state law

Nov 04 Breaking TC 2

Hennepin County Judge Laura Thomas reduced a jury’s roughly $4.26 million award in favor of Christopher Lee Swickard to $500,000, citing Minnesota’s statutory damages cap on claims against public entities. A jury had found Metro Transit 80% at fault (Swickard 20%) after Swickard, 52, had his left leg amputated below the knee following a February 2023 incident on E. Lake St.; the probationary driver, Said Muse, resigned and argued Swickard caused his own injuries by chasing the bus, and Metro Transit notes warnings against running after buses.

Transit & Infrastructure Legal

Austin man gets workhouse for MSP DUI crash

Nov 04 Breaking TC 1

Michael John Tindal, 33, of Austin, was sentenced Nov. 3 in Hennepin County District Court to six months in the county workhouse and five years’ probation after pleading guilty to four counts of criminal vehicular operation for a Jan. 30 head-on crash on 34th Ave. S. near I-494 in Bloomington that injured six, including two young children in his pickup. Judge Sarah West stayed a 15-month prison term; police said Tindal’s BAC was 0.281 and he was driving after his license was revoked from an earlier DWI.

Legal Public Safety

Arrest, charges in Nicollet Ave music‑video robbery

Nov 04 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a 20-year-old St. Paul man has been arrested and charged with two felonies after allegedly robbing two men at gunpoint while they filmed a music video on Oct. 18 near the 1800 block of Nicollet Ave. S. The robbery was captured on the victims’ video; hours later the suspect was seen on city cameras in the same clothing and arrested after a short foot chase, with a Glock handgun and 31‑round magazine recovered along with some stolen cash and jewelry. Due to a prior felony, the suspect is barred from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Public Safety Legal

Lake St. Croix Beach fires administrator; suit planned

Nov 04 Breaking TC 1

Lake St. Croix Beach’s council voted 3–2 on Oct. 20 to terminate City Clerk/Administrator Dave Engstrom, 71, after a 90‑day performance plan; Engstrom says he will sue for age discrimination and has retained Minneapolis‑based Halunen Law Firm. During an open review, officials cited attendance, communication and meeting‑minutes oversight issues, while Engstrom disputed the findings and alleged a council member previously called for “new blood.”

Local Government Legal

Tou Thao released from federal prison; now under Anoka County supervision

Nov 03 Developing TC 3

Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the murder of George Floyd, was released Monday from a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky. He is now under post-release supervision through Anoka County Corrections.

Public Safety Legal

Eagan HSI agent pleads to child-sex videos

Nov 03 Breaking TC 2

An Eagan Homeland Security Investigations agent, Gregg, pleaded guilty after admitting he recorded sex acts with a 17‑year‑old and sent the videos to her; he met the victim on Tinder (where she was listed as 19), checked a law‑enforcement database after their fourth meeting and learned she was 17 but continued to see her. Court documents say they met at least nine times from early March to May, mostly at a local hotel, and the case began when the victim’s father found explicit images on her phone; Gregg pleaded to transportation of child pornography—avoiding a production charge with a 15‑year mandatory minimum—and faces a statutory range of 5–20 years (prosecutors suggest 14–17.5 years), with no sentencing date set.

Public Safety Legal

BCA says recalculations confirm DWI breath tests accurate; amended reports forthcoming

Nov 03 Breaking TC 6

The Minnesota BCA found operator data‑entry errors tied to dry‑gas cylinder changes that led to a temporary suspension and an initial estimate of at least 146 (later up to 276) potentially affected DWI breath tests in counties including Hennepin, Olmsted, Aitkin, Winona and Chippewa and ordered inspections and verification of DataMaster instruments. After mathematical recalculations, the BCA says the flagged results are accurate and within established margins, has secured more than half the instruments with full verification expected in weeks, will issue amended reports to law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and will restrict future cylinder changes to BCA personnel while defense attorneys press for transparency on the recalculations.

Public Safety Legal

Ex-Lakeville dance teacher sentenced for assault

Nov 03 Breaking TC 2

A former Lakeville dance instructor, Olson, was sentenced to two months in jail after being accused and later admitting to sexually assaulting a former teen student. Probation bars him from holding positions of authority over minors or vulnerable people and includes monitoring of his internet use; the complaint says he began messaging the student on Instagram when she was in ninth grade, later gave private lessons in 11th grade, allegedly threatened suicide to coerce contact, and had five to eight sexual encounters with her at his home before she turned 18.

Public Safety Legal

Isanti man gets 4 years in Forest Lake teen kidnapping

Nov 02 Breaking TC 1

Shawn Patrick Bellach, 39, of Dalbo was sentenced Friday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and second-degree criminal sexual conduct in a case involving a Forest Lake teen who was found living with him in a tent near Grasston in July 2023. The Tenth Judicial District Court imposed four years on each count to run concurrently, credited 25 days served, dismissed three other charges under an August plea deal, and ordered lifetime predatory‑offender registration.

Legal Public Safety

White Bear Lake stabbing nets 7½-year sentence

Nov 01 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County District Court on Oct. 31, 2025 sentenced 20-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Rice to 90 months in prison for repeatedly stabbing 22-year-old Mason Fike during a July 27, 2024 confrontation on Southwood Drive in White Bear Lake, after Rice pled guilty to first-degree assault. An attempted murder charge was dismissed under the August plea agreement; Fike’s victim-impact statement detailed life-threatening injuries as police records describe Rice fleeing before being stopped and a pocketknife recovered nearby.

Legal Public Safety

FDA limits fluoride supplements for children

Oct 31 Breaking TC 1

The FDA on Oct. 31 restricted pediatric fluoride supplements nationwide, saying they are no longer recommended for children under 3 and for older children unless they face serious tooth‑decay risk, and warned four companies not to market outside these limits. The agency released a new analysis finding limited dental benefits and potential risks such as gut microbiome effects, weight gain, and cognition, and sent a provider advisory; toothpaste, mouthwash, and in‑office treatments are unaffected. The policy applies to Twin Cities families and clinicians, especially in areas without fluoridated water.

Health Legal

Tristen Leritz charged in Vadnais Heights sexual assault; DNA match, confession cited

Oct 31 Breaking TC 4

Tristen Alan Leritz, 21, of White Bear Township was arrested Oct. 30 on the 5100 block of Mead Road and charged Oct. 31 in Ramsey County with one count of criminal sexual conduct after a woman was tackled and assaulted near Centerville Road and Pond View Court in Vadnais Heights. Authorities say a hospital sexual-assault exam produced DNA matching Leritz, he confessed when confronted and admitted ambushing the victim after riding ahead on a bicycle, and investigators credited the victim’s actions (knocking off his glasses, biting his hand), community tips and BCA crime-lab processing for the arrest; he faces up to 30 years and has a prior 2024 motor-vehicle theft conviction and a pending 2025 burglary case.

Legal Public Safety

Judge blocks citizenship proof on federal voter form

Oct 31 Breaking TC 1

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled Oct. 31 that President Trump cannot require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form, finding the directive unconstitutional and outside presidential authority. The decision grants partial summary judgment to the DNC and civil-rights groups and permanently bars the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from adding the requirement, while other challenges to Trump’s elections order — including a mailed-ballot receipt-by-Election-Day mandate — continue.

Elections Legal

Judge dismisses complaint over St. Paul ‘Vote Yes’ mailer

Oct 31 Breaking TC 1

An administrative law judge with the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings rejected an Oct. 27 complaint by Peter Butler against Rick Varco, treasurer of the 'Vote Yes for a Fairer St. Paul' campaign, alleging a false claim of St. Paul DFL support on a charter‑amendment mailer. Judge James LaFave found no prima facie evidence that Varco made or disseminated the allegedly false statement, and noted the complaint did not tie him to creating the mailer’s content; a separate Sept. 28 meeting convened by the Ramsey County DFL backed both the school levy and administrative‑citations charter question.

Legal Elections

Ex-Minneapolis council member Espejel charged with 3rd-degree DWI refusal; $6K bond, Nov. 13 hearing

Oct 31 Breaking TC 3

Former Minneapolis City Council member Espejel was charged with third-degree DWI for refusing a breath test (and a related fourth-degree DWI for driving under the influence) after a crash just before 11:15 p.m. on the 300 block of 4th Street South near City Hall, during which police say she recorded officers, refused to provide license/insurance, put her Honda CR‑V in drive and attempted to leave before officers stopped the vehicle. Officers reported slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and inability to complete sobriety tests; Espejel refused a breath test at the station, was released on $6,000 bond and is due in court Nov. 13, 2025.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul charges Eh Doe Soe; off-duty officer halted assault on 13-year-old

Oct 31 Breaking TC 2

St. Paul police arrested Eh Doe Soe on Oct. 3 and charged him after an off-duty officer intervened Sept. 30 to stop an attempted sexual assault of a 13-year-old on the Earl St. and York Ave. overpass above Phalen Boulevard. Authorities say a second related encounter occurred Oct. 2 near Phalen Boulevard and Johnson Parkway when the suspect approached the girl on a bicycle, ditched the bike and fled into nearby woods; bail was set at $70,000, his first court date is Nov. 12, and records show a Dec. 2023 fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction for lewd conduct before children.

Legal Public Safety

Judge dismisses Macalester animal-testing lawsuit by alum

Oct 31 Developing TC 2

A judge dismissed an alum’s animal‑welfare lawsuit against Macalester College, throwing out two of three counts without prejudice and prompting plaintiff Dr. Neal Barnard to say he plans to refile; Judge Karen Janisch found Barnard had conducted an independent investigation and could not reasonably rely on alleged misrepresentations, and noted the college had made no promise to change its practices. Macalester says its psychology program still uses operant‑conditioning "Skinner box" experiments and about 100 rats a year (many used in multiple activities and living 2–3 years) that are euthanized by an experienced technician with carbon dioxide, and President Suzanne Rivera said the ruling affirms academic freedom and prevents outside groups from dictating curriculum.

Legal Education

MPD orders review and retraining after Willard-Hay domestic-violence killing

Oct 31 Breaking TC 6

After Mariah Samuels was fatally shot in her Willard‑Hay home on Sept. 14 — allegedly by ex‑boyfriend David Wright, who has been arrested and charged with second‑degree murder and was under a court order to stay away — reviews found MPD failed to assign an investigator after an August assault despite a risk assessment, witness statement and surveillance video, and body‑camera footage contradicted an officer’s report. Chief Brian O’Hara has ordered a thorough review and department‑wide retraining on domestic‑violence protocols to be completed by the end of 2025 amid criticism over understaffing in the domestic assault unit, numerous unassigned “gone on arrival” cases, City Council demands and public rallies by the victim’s family.

Public Safety Legal Local Government

Judge: FDA mifepristone limits unlawful; no change yet

Oct 30 Breaking TC 1

U.S. District Judge Jill Otake in Hawaii ruled Oct. 30 that the FDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to adequately justify its 2023 decision to keep special REMS restrictions on mifepristone, used for abortion and miscarriage care. The court ordered FDA to reconsider evidence it allegedly disregarded, but left current restrictions in place for now; the ACLU brought the case and says the limits burden access, while DOJ did not immediately comment.

Legal Health

Alleged mass shooter charged in Hennepin jail escape bid

Oct 30 Breaking TC 2

Around 4:17 p.m. at the Hennepin County jail, alleged mass shooter Ortley pushed past a professional visitor in the visiting area, grabbed a wall-mounted fire extinguisher, used its base to break an exit door near public elevators and sprayed deputies with its contents. Five deputies were evaluated at HCMC for chemical exposure to swollen, burning eyes, and Ortley is charged with five counts of assault, one count of property damage and one count of attempting to flee custody after he reportedly lay down and shouted, "I'm done! I'm done! Lock me up!"

Legal Public Safety

After Trump–Xi meeting, China says it will work with U.S. on TikTok; no ownership deal yet

Oct 30 Breaking TC 5

After the Trump–Xi meeting, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would work with the U.S. to resolve TikTok-related issues but provided no details and said no ownership agreement was reached. That statement contrasts with U.S. reports — including Trump saying Xi approved a proposed U.S. ownership deal, the White House suggesting the transaction could be finalized in South Korea, and earlier plans for Oracle to manage TikTok’s U.S. algorithm — as negotiations continue under U.S. divestiture requirements.

Business & Economy Technology Legal

Osseo schools settle $61.5K MDHR harassment case

Oct 30 TC 1

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced Oct. 28, 2025 a settlement with a former Osseo Area Schools student who, at age 9, was sexually harassed by an assistant principal; documents say the district knew of the conduct and did not act until after the family withdrew the student in March 2022. The district issued a written reprimand in June 2022 and the administrator resigned that August; the student’s parents filed an MDHR complaint in September 2022, and the district agreed in July 2025 to pay $61,500 while denying wrongdoing and citing increased staff training.

Education Legal

St. Paul probes suspected carport arson

Oct 30 Developing TC 1

St. Paul police are investigating a suspected arson that ignited around 5:50 a.m. Oct. 29 at a carport, destroying at least three vehicles; surveillance video shows people near the structure moments before the fire. A property manager said the group appeared to have a lookout, and police are examining possible links to a similar early‑morning garage fire last week on Birmingham Street; no arrests have been made and investigators are seeking tips.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul man charged in Pride, anti‑Trump vandalism; phone evidence shows address list, rally link

Oct 29 Breaking TC 2

A St. Paul man was charged after authorities allege he vandalized LGBT Pride flags and anti‑Trump signs in a spree that also included broken windows at two businesses and a school. Police say a seized cellphone contained GPS‑tagged photos tying him to vandalism sites and a June 4 note listing 69 addresses (some later damaged), and that he described himself in texts as a “right‑wing libertarian,” attended the June 14 “No Kings” Capitol rally with a Trump sign, installed the Neighbors app and shared a Ring video link before a July 2 traffic stop and search recovered clothing matching surveillance; charges were issued by summons and his first court date is Nov. 13.

Legal Public Safety

Man admits killing mother in Minneapolis Uptown

Oct 29 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis man admitted to killing his mother in the city’s Uptown neighborhood, according to court records cited by the Star Tribune. The victim had twice sought court protection from him before the homicide; authorities are proceeding with the case as investigators and prosecutors continue their work.

Public Safety Legal

39 AGs urge Congress to ban intoxicating hemp

Oct 29 Breaking TC 1

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined 38 other state attorneys general in a letter asking Congress to ban intoxicating hemp products such as delta‑8 and delta‑10 THC by closing federal loopholes. The AGs cite consumer‑safety concerns and urge changes to federal law that allowed psychoactive products to proliferate since the 2018 Farm Bill. Any ban would immediately affect Twin Cities retailers and consumers who buy hemp‑derived THC products.

Legal Health Business & Economy

Wayzata realtor charged in $397K tax case

Oct 29 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Department of Revenue says Wayzata real estate owner Kevin Patrick Mullen, 42, has been charged in Hennepin County with five felony counts of failing to file individual tax returns and five felony counts of willfully failing to pay income tax for 2019–2023, alleging about $397,000 is owed. Court documents say Mullen acknowledged missing returns in Dec. 2024, filed some in Feb. 2025, and has a first court appearance set for Nov. 12; his income came through Ideal Properties and Investments LLC, and investigators cite prior contacts about tax debts and additional unfiled years back to 2008.

Legal Business & Economy

Crystal daycare teacher charged in child slap

Oct 29 Breaking TC 1

Javell Lena Cooper, 24, of Coon Rapids, has been charged in Hennepin County with two counts of malicious punishment of a child after surveillance video allegedly showed her slapping a 3-year-old’s ear at a church-based daycare in Crystal. The incident occurred July 25, 2025, at a facility on the 5000 block of West Broadway; the child’s parent reported finding their child crying, and later the family and church provided video to police. The complaint also notes the child previously came home with ear bruising about a year earlier.

Public Safety Legal

Judge blocks federal-worker layoffs during shutdown, citing political retribution

Oct 29 Developing TC 2

A judge has extended an order barring the Trump administration from carrying out shutdown-related federal-worker layoffs, finding the planned firings amounted to political retribution. The ruling reinforces protections for federal employees while the government funding lapse continues.

Government Legal Local Government

St. Paul man sentenced in neighbor’s fatal stabbing

Oct 28 Breaking TC 1

A 65-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced for fatally stabbing his 70-year-old apartment neighbor during a dispute over money, according to a report on Oct. 28, 2025. The case stems from a confrontation inside a St. Paul apartment building that ended in the neighbor’s death; sentencing concludes the criminal proceedings against the defendant.

Legal Public Safety

Judge blocks funding cuts over gender‑diversity sex ed

Oct 28 Breaking TC 1

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration from pulling federal funding from sex‑education programs that include instruction on gender diversity. Announced Oct. 28, 2025, the ruling preserves funding while litigation proceeds and could affect Twin Cities school districts and nonprofits that rely on federal grants for sex‑education programming.

Legal Education

Court narrows Minneapolis duty to defend officers

Oct 28 Breaking TC 1

A Minnesota court ruled Tuesday that the City of Minneapolis is not obligated to provide a legal defense to some police officers being sued over their conduct during the 2020 George Floyd protests. The decision clarifies when the city’s duty to defend applies, indicating certain alleged actions fall outside what Minneapolis must cover and potentially reducing taxpayer exposure in ongoing civil cases.

Legal Local Government

Judge lets Kirk murder suspect wear street clothes

Oct 27 Developing TC 1

A Twin Cities district court judge granted a defense request allowing the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk to appear in street clothes and without visible restraints during court proceedings, citing the case’s 'extraordinary' public attention. The order, issued Oct. 27, aims to mitigate potential juror prejudice and security concerns as the high‑profile case proceeds.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul man charged over TikTok bounty on AG

Oct 27 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors charged St. Paul resident Tyler Maxon Avalos in October 2025 with making an online threat after a TikTok post offered a $45,000 'dead or alive (preferably dead)' bounty on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Investigators say they traced the 'Wacko' account to Avalos via a Samsung phone and IP address at his Hyacinth Avenue West apartment; he was arrested and released on recognizance, and the complaint includes screenshots of the post.

Legal Public Safety

USCIS details $100K H‑1B fee: applies to overseas applicants; renewals exempt

Oct 25 Breaking TC 3

USCIS says a $100,000 fee will apply to H‑1B petitions filed on or after Sept. 21, 2025 for beneficiaries outside the U.S. who do not already hold a valid H‑1B visa, while exemptions include amendments, changes of status, extensions of stay and petitions tied to existing valid H‑1Bs submitted before Sept. 21, 2025; F‑1 graduates changing status inside the U.S. and current H‑1B holders traveling abroad are likewise not subject to the fee. The agency has set up an online portal for paying the fee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a major legal challenge, and employers—particularly Minnesota schools, retail and health‑care providers—warn of higher costs, potential hiring delays and adjusted recruiting plans.

Business & Economy Legal Government/Regulatory

Fridley man charged with two counts in Fletcher’s firebombings; community rallies

Oct 24 Breaking TC 4

Prosecutors have charged a Fridley man with two counts of first‑degree arson after two Molotov cocktail attacks on Fletcher’s Ice Cream in Minneapolis — one Sunday night that broke a window but was extinguished and a second in daylight Monday that failed to ignite when the wick fell out. A witness photo of a suspect in a minivan helped police make an arrest about a half‑mile away, and the community, joined by Mayor Jacob Frey and others, rallied at the shop Thursday while officials say motive — including whether it was related to the shop’s pride flag — remains undetermined.

Public Safety Legal Business & Economy

St. Paul family seeks DOC accountability after prison death

Oct 24 Developing TC 1

The family of Stephen Williams, a St. Paul man who died while incarcerated at the state’s Rush City prison, is calling for accountability from the Minnesota Department of Corrections. In reporting published Oct. 23, 2025, relatives urged transparency and action regarding the circumstances of his death at MCF–Rush City.

Public Safety Legal

Eagan man pleads guilty in apartment rape

Oct 23 Breaking TC 1

An Eagan man pleaded guilty on Oct. 23, 2025, to raping a woman after sneaking into her first‑floor apartment in Eagan. The plea resolves a violent sexual assault case in the Twin Cities suburb and advances the case toward sentencing in Dakota County.

Legal Public Safety

Evergreen Recovery leaders plead guilty in Medicaid fraud, kickback scheme

Oct 23 Breaking TC 2

Two leaders of Evergreen Recovery, Shantel Magadanz and Heather Heim, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme prosecutors say involved illegal kickbacks with Sber Chances Sober Living—offering housing in exchange for attendance at Evergreen programming that was often not provided, with falsified records and coercion that allegedly cost taxpayers millions. A third Evergreen leader, Shawn Grygo, was indicted in December 2024 and has not pleaded guilty, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison condemned the theft of Medicaid funds and vowed continued enforcement.

Legal Health

Brooklyn Park police search for missing boy

Oct 23 Breaking TC 1

Brooklyn Park police issued a public alert Wednesday night for a missing 10-year-old boy last seen near Single Creek Drive and Hampshire Avenue. He was wearing green pants, a green sweater, a blue Ralph Lauren jacket with patches, an army backpack, and tan shoes. Police ask anyone who sees the child or knows his whereabouts to call 911.

Public Safety Legal

MPD seeks two cyclists in Temple Israel bias‑graffiti case; asks public for video

Oct 22 Breaking TC 2

Minneapolis police are treating anti‑Semitic graffiti at Temple Israel as a bias crime and are seeking two cyclists seen leaving the scene — both wearing dark hoodies, masks and blue surgical gloves — and have issued a public appeal for tips and surveillance footage. The pair were observed arriving and leaving via 24th St W to Fremont Ave S, seen near 25th St W & Humboldt Ave S and last seen southbound at 26th St W & Irving Ave S; residents with video from Oct. 8 between 2–3 a.m. are asked to contact policetips@minneapolismn.gov, 612‑673‑5845 or CrimeStoppersMN.org/1‑800‑TIPS.

Legal Local Government Public Safety

MN Supreme Court: USAPL discriminated against trans athlete; remands ‘business purpose’ defense

Oct 22 Breaking TC 2

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that USA Powerlifting discriminated against transgender weightlifter JayCee Cooper under the Minnesota Human Rights Act’s public‑accommodations provision, affirming partial summary judgment that USAPL’s policy constituted sexual‑orientation discrimination. The court remanded a separate business‑statute claim to district court so USAPL can pursue a “legitimate business purposes” defense; Cooper, who sued in 2021 after being denied entry to women’s events in 2018, and her advocates say the public‑accommodations ruling would still leave USAPL liable even if it prevailed on the remanded claim.

Legal

Hennepin County releases 911 call transcript

Oct 21 Developing TC 1

Hennepin County has released the 911 transcript from an attempted political assassination in Minnesota after a legal fight, making the emergency call record public. The newly released transcript pertains to a case involving Vance Boelter and follows a dispute over access to the document.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul joins lawsuit over $100M emergency grants

Oct 21 Developing TC 1

The City of St. Paul said Tuesday it has joined a coalition of cities suing the federal government over a policy that threatens more than $100 million in emergency grants. City officials argue the federal conditions unlawfully put critical emergency funding at risk for municipalities, and the suit seeks to block the changes while the case proceeds.

Local Government Legal

St. Paul man charged in teen sex assault

Oct 21 Breaking TC 1

A St. Paul man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl he allegedly met through a dating app, according to a Tuesday report. The case, filed in Ramsey County, involves an alleged assault of a minor and remains under investigation by authorities.

Public Safety Legal

Supreme Court to review federal gun ban for marijuana users (922(g)(3))

Oct 21 Breaking TC 2

The Supreme Court will decide whether the federal ban on firearm possession by "unlawful users" of controlled substances (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3)) applies to people who regularly use marijuana, a question arising after a Texas man's gun conviction was overturned post‑Bruen because he wasn’t found actively using while armed. The Biden administration argues the prohibition is justified for "regular drug users" on public‑safety grounds, while challengers point to historical laws that punished carrying while intoxicated rather than mere use; the case also underscores ATF and DOJ reminders that combining guns and marijuana remains illegal under federal law despite state legalization, with arguments likely early next year.

Public Safety Legal

MPS denies race-only classes, updates course guides

Oct 21 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis Public Schools said it does not restrict class enrollment by race or gender after course guides at South and Roosevelt high schools listed Black culture courses as open only to Black boys or Black girls. The district said the posted language is not reflective of actual practice and will be updated, while an attorney interviewed by FOX 9 argued race-based restrictions would violate Title VI and risk federal funding.

Education Legal

Ramsey County settles foster parents data case

Oct 21 Breaking TC 1

Ramsey County will pay $875,000 to foster parents from Little Canada to resolve a data practices dispute, according to a report published Oct. 20, 2025. The settlement closes a legal conflict over the county’s handling of data, ending the case without further litigation and carrying financial implications for the county.

Legal Local Government

Wayzata sued over short-term rental ban

Oct 20 Breaking TC 1

Five Wayzata rental owners have filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s September ordinance that bans short‑term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo, which is set to take effect next April. The suit argues the city failed to follow required procedures such as holding a public hearing and that the ordinance conflicts with city and state laws; plaintiffs are asking a judge to block enforcement so they can continue operating. The ordinance allows rentals only if they are 30 days or longer.

Legal Local Government Housing

Maple Grove woman takes lesser plea after appeal

Oct 20 Developing TC 1

A Maple Grove woman who fatally shot her boyfriend pleaded to a lesser charge in Hennepin County District Court after the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned her murder conviction. The plea, reported Oct. 20, 2025, resolves a high‑profile domestic violence case rooted in allegations of abuse and shifts the outcome from a prior murder verdict to a reduced offense.

Legal Public Safety

Bouncer charged in Rick's Cabaret shooting that critically injured man

Oct 20 Breaking TC 3

Andrew Jordan Thompson, 30, a bouncer at Rick’s Cabaret, has been charged with second-degree assault in the Oct. 5 shooting outside the downtown Minneapolis strip club that left a man hospitalized with potentially life‑threatening injuries; police have released the victim’s identity and said the incident occurred near 300 3rd St. S. Witness video and accounts show a fight in which Thompson was knocked down before he allegedly followed the pair clutching his waistband and fired a shot, then three more; officers recovered multiple shell casings and a live round, found handgun ammunition in Thompson’s apartment, and booked him into Hennepin County Jail where he is also being held on a 2023 Hopkins weapons case.

Public Safety Legal Crime

Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year Abdul Wright sentenced to 14 years

Oct 20 Developing TC 3

Abdul Wright, a former Minnesota Teacher of the Year, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Oct. 17, 2025, in Hennepin County District Court after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student. During the sex-crimes trial the judge found that Wright lied while testifying.

Public Safety Education Legal

Minneapolis raid seizes nearly 10 pounds fentanyl

Oct 19 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies executing a search warrant Oct. 16 at a home on Fremont Ave. N near Lowry Ave. in Minneapolis’ Folwell neighborhood recovered about 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) of suspected fentanyl, 726 g of meth, 13 lb of cannabis, three firearms and $46,000 in cash. Kiron Jamoll Williams, 43, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged with first-degree drug and weapons offenses after allegedly trying to dump a bag of white powder into a toilet as officers entered; deputies initiated exposure protocols due to airborne powder. Investigators also found a kilo press, blender with residue, ammunition and packing materials; a neighbor reported another man jumped from a window and has not been identified.

Public Safety Legal

Body found in Richfield’s Wood Lake Saturday

Oct 19 Breaking TC 1

A pedestrian reported a body floating in Wood Lake in Richfield just after 10 a.m. Saturday, and responders recovered an unidentified adult male. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation while the Medical Examiner works to determine the man’s identity and cause of death; police have not said whether the death appears suspicious.

Public Safety Legal

Prior Lake medspa owner Nancy Anderberg charged over 'black market' Botox, fake RN license

Oct 18 Breaking TC 2

Prior Lake medspa owner Nancy Anderberg, who operates Regen Life Antiaging Medspa, has been charged with unlawfully practicing medicine after allegedly buying "black market" Botox and administering injections — including Botox and semaglutide/Ozempic — without proper licensure or prescriptions, allegedly faking a registered nurse license and listing a medical director who was unaware of the listing. The investigation, which began in May 2024, includes witness texts saying she sourced products and learned injection techniques from YouTube, and a collaborating physician told investigators she lacked qualifications; the unlawful-practice charge carries up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

Legal Health

Minnesota federal courts limit operations amid shutdown

Oct 17 Developing TC 1

The U.S. District Court for Minnesota announced it is shifting to limited operations due to the federal funding lapse tied to the government shutdown, affecting the Minneapolis and St. Paul courthouses. Essential criminal proceedings will continue while some civil matters and court services are curtailed until funding is restored.

Legal Local Government

Burned body found at Lake Minnetonka dock

Oct 16 Breaking TC 1

South Lake Minnetonka police launched a death investigation after a badly burned body was found in Lake Minnetonka beside a smoldering dock on the 4500 block of Enchanted Point in Shorewood just before 2 p.m. on Oct. 14. A Hennepin County search warrant cites signs of accelerants near the body, notes a possible fractured leg and burned dock canopy, and lists seized items including laptops, phones, paperwork that may include a note or will, and a can; court records show one person tied to the property was under an Extreme Risk Protection Order earlier this year and was civilly committed.

Public Safety Legal

Lakeville I-35W stop nets 200-pound meth haul

Oct 16 Breaking TC 1

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper conducting a Sept. 26 traffic stop on I-35W in Lakeville found about 200 pounds of methamphetamine in a commercial truck after a K9 alert, according to Dakota County charges. Driver Jonathan Israel Tirado-Juarez, 43, who lacked required commercial paperwork and produced only a photo of a Mexican CDL, was charged with possession and intent to sell and is detained pending further proceedings.

Public Safety Legal

St. Paul teen admits fatal University Ave. shooting

Oct 15 Breaking TC 1

A St. Paul teenager has admitted to killing a man with a shot to the head along University Avenue in St. Paul, according to the Star Tribune. The admission marks a major development in the homicide case tied to the University Avenue shooting; further court proceedings, including sentencing, are expected to follow.

Public Safety Legal

Commerce Dept. bans unlicensed insurer in Minnesota

Oct 14 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Department of Commerce announced on Oct. 14, 2025, that it has barred an unlicensed insurance seller from operating in the state. The regulatory action applies statewide, protecting consumers in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro and across Minnesota from unlawful insurance sales.

Legal Business & Economy

AG: Two contractors accused in $1.5M fraud

Oct 14 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office alleges contractors Ryan Pietron and Earl Bode took more than $1.5 million from families for home projects they abandoned or never started, with victims in Maplewood and Apple Valley among those affected. The state has already imposed a lifetime contractor ban on Bode and barred Pietron from applying for a license until at least 2030, and lawsuits are seeking further penalties and restitution.

Legal Local Government

Judge: DHS can’t tie FEMA aid to immigration cooperation, calls tactic ‘bullying’

Oct 14 Breaking TC 2

A federal judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security cannot condition FEMA disaster aid on state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, issuing an injunction barring the DHS-imposed eligibility requirement. In his opinion the judge said DHS was "bullying" states into accepting those immigration-enforcement conditions, a prohibition that affects states and localities including Minnesota.

Legal Local Government

Ex-St. Paul police employee Jamond Glass charged after 11-lb meth, fentanyl seizure at Woodbury home

Oct 14 Breaking TC 2

Ex-St. Paul police employee Jamond Leroy Glass, 34, a former civilian worker in the SPPD non-fatal shooting unit who has been fired, was charged after detectives seized about 9.8 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.68 pounds of fentanyl, 10.5 grams of cocaine and several firearms from a Woodbury home. The package was intercepted by Minneapolis Airport Police and a controlled delivery was made to a Woodbury address listed to “Kay Wilson”; Glass was formally charged Oct. 13 in Washington County with first-degree possession, posted a $50,000 bond and is next due in court Dec. 1.

Legal Public Safety

Search warrant: 22-year-old who posed as White Bear Lake student allegedly received nude images from a student

Oct 14 Breaking TC 10

Authorities say 22-year-old Kelvin Luebke (aka "KJ Perry") enrolled at White Bear Lake High School Sept. 3–29, 2025 using fraudulent documents — including a Liberian birth certificate listing a 2007 birth year — and registered for football practices while the district, citing McKinney‑Vento rules, says it followed enrollment procedures and has launched a review; FOX 9 reported he has a prior conviction for sending explicit images to a 15‑year‑old and was previously enrolled at Forest Lake Area High School. A Ramsey County search warrant alleges Luebke received nude photos from a student, investigators have sought his phone and other records and say multiple parents came forward, and authorities are probing possible fraud, forgery and criminal sexual conduct while no school‑related charges had been filed as of mid‑October.

Public Safety Education Government/Regulatory

Supreme Court to hear Voting Rights Act challenge

Oct 13 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-backed challenge to the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 involving Black representation, a case that could alter how states draw districts and how voters enforce voting-rights protections. A ruling would apply nationwide, directly affecting Minnesota redistricting practices and Twin Cities voters’ ability to challenge maps and election rules.

Legal Elections

FOF defendant accused of tampering pleads guilty

Oct 10 Developing TC 1

A defendant in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future fraud case who had been accused of witness tampering pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court ahead of trial. The plea is the latest development in the wide‑ranging prosecution over alleged misuse of federal child‑nutrition funds tied to operations in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota.

Legal Public Safety

Judge blocks conditions on domestic-violence grants

Oct 10 Breaking TC 1

A federal judge ruled on Oct. 10, 2025, that the Trump administration cannot impose additional conditions on federal domestic‑violence grants, limiting the administration’s ability to tie funding to new requirements. The decision has direct implications for Twin Cities governments and victim‑service providers that depend on these grants to fund domestic‑violence programs.

Legal Local Government

Family sues Eagan, Dakota County over jail death

Oct 10 Breaking TC 1

The family of Kingsley Bimpong, 50, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging Eagan police and Dakota County jail staff ignored signs he was suffering a massive stroke after a Nov. 16, 2024 traffic stop, delaying medical care for more than three hours before he was taken to a hospital where he died three days later. Court filings cite surveillance video of his collapse and body‑camera audio suggesting an officer suspected a stroke; Eagan’s attorney called the death tragic but said he did not exhibit an obvious emergent condition, while Dakota County declined comment.

Legal Public Safety

State settles sex-discrimination cases with two businesses

Oct 09 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced Oct. 2025 settlements with Lakes Concrete Plus of Bemidji and Key Lime Air of Thief River Falls after finding both violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act through gender stereotyping. Each company will pay $45,000 to an aggrieved job applicant or former employee and must revise workplace policies to prevent future sex discrimination.

Legal Business & Economy

Jerrod Rentist Johnson charged with attempted murder after St. Paul Green Line table-leg attack

Oct 09 Breaking TC 2

Jerrod Rentist Johnson, 20, of Minneapolis, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly using a large wooden table leg to repeatedly beat a woman at the Fairview and University Avenue Green Line platform in St. Paul about 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2025; surveillance footage reportedly shows initial swings, 21 additional strikes and about 17 seconds of continued blows after the victim lost consciousness. The victim suffered a fractured skull, multiple fractures in her right arm, a swollen‑shut eye, a concussion and head wounds closed with staples; officers found a bloodied table leg on the platform and arrested Johnson with blood on his hands, and he faces a separate pending assault charge in Hennepin County.

Legal Public Safety Transit & Infrastructure

Walz Threatens Lawsuit if Federal Troops Are Sent to Minnesota

Oct 09 Developing TC 2

Gov. Tim Walz warned he would sue the Trump administration if it sent federal troops to Minnesota, directly tying the threat of legal action to suggestions President Trump might deploy National Guard forces to the state. His statement follows reporting that the administration could consider such deployments.

Government/Regulatory Legal Public Safety

Hao Nguyen enters Hennepin County Attorney race

Oct 09 Breaking TC 2

Senior prosecutor Hao Nguyen has declared his candidacy for Hennepin County Attorney, becoming the second person to announce a run and one of four publicly declared contenders. Nguyen has 15 years of experience as a prosecutor and previously served as a corrections officer, police officer and sheriff’s deputy.

Legal Elections

Matt Pelikan launches Hennepin County attorney bid

Oct 09 Breaking TC 2

Matt Pelikan has officially launched a campaign for Hennepin County Attorney, declaring his candidacy in the emerging 2026 contest. FOX 9 lists him among four declared contenders, noting his entry follows incumbent Mary Moriarty’s decision not to seek re-election.

Legal Elections Local Government

Four candidates now running for Hennepin County Attorney

Oct 09 Developing TC 1

Four candidates have publicly announced runs for Hennepin County Attorney ahead of the November 2026 election: Anders Folk (former acting U.S. attorney and DOJ official), state Rep. Cedrick Frazier, Hao Nguyen (former assistant Ramsey County attorney), and Matt Pelikan (Minneapolis attorney). The Fox9 roundup summarizes each campaign announcement, cites endorsements (Andy Luger for Folk, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flangan and several mayors for Frazier), and notes the race is open after incumbent Mary Moriarty said she will not seek reelection.

Elections Legal Local Government

Isanti sheriff’s foundation treasurer charged in $100K swindle

Oct 09 Breaking TC 1

Isanti County Sheriff's Foundation treasurer Kim Nordenstrom has been charged with two counts of theft by swindle after a criminal complaint alleges she diverted nearly $100,000 in grant money that was to be stewarded for Project 612, a Minneapolis nonprofit serving at-risk youth. Investigators from the Chisago County Sheriff's Office say Nordenstrom used funds for personal debt and farm equipment; the case is filed in Isanti County District Court and could carry up to 20 years on the theft count.

Legal Public Safety

Shipt driver accused of stealing $16K from Target orders

Oct 08 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis man, Khang Huu Hoang, 25, was charged in Hennepin County with theft by swindle after court documents say he marked Target deliveries as delivered then took the merchandise himself. Investigators found empty Target boxes in an apartment building tied to Hoang and recovered more than $6,000 during a search; total undelivered items linked to him are valued at about $16,541.69. Hoang is in custody and has a first court appearance set for Oct. 27, 2025.

Public Safety Legal

Robbinsdale agrees $3.2M police-shooting settlement

Oct 08 Developing TC 1

The City of Robbinsdale has agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve a civil lawsuit arising from a police shooting, the Star Tribune reports. The settlement covers claims tied to the incident in Robbinsdale and represents a significant municipal liability with implications for the city's budget and police oversight.

Legal Public Safety

Ron Schutz launches Minnesota attorney general campaign

Oct 08 Breaking TC 1

Republican Ron Schutz has announced he is entering the race for Minnesota attorney general, according to a Star Tribune report. The campaign entry makes Schutz a declared candidate in the statewide contest that will shape legal priorities affecting Minneapolis–Saint Paul residents and local governments.

Elections Legal

Daniel Rosen confirmed as U.S. Attorney for Minnesota

Oct 08 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Senate confirmed Minneapolis attorney Daniel Rosen as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota by a 51-47 vote. Rosen, principal of Rosen LLC with about 30 years of federal and state litigation experience and a University of Minnesota graduate, was nominated by President Trump in May after recommendations from Minnesota's Republican congressional delegation; he will take over federal prosecutorial leadership previously handled by acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson following Andy Luger's resignation.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul bar customer dies after security guard’s punch; charges filed

Oct 07 Breaking TC 3

A St. Paul bar customer, 33-year-old Melvin A. Martinez Altamirano of Madison, Wisconsin, has died after suffering a devastating brain bleed following a punch by 28-year-old security guard Jose Eucario Conejo Marquez of North St. Paul, with surveillance video showing Marquez step between the couple and strike Altamirano in the parking lot as pepper spray was deployed. Marquez was arrested Sunday night, remains in custody at the Ramsey County Jail, and has been formally charged with one count of first-degree manslaughter.

Public Safety Legal Courts/Legal

Minnesota school board members urge ban on trans girls' sports

Oct 07 Developing TC 1

A coalition of school board members from 40 Minnesota districts sent a letter this week to the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota State High School League, the attorney general and the governor, asking state leaders to bar transgender athletes assigned male at birth from competing in girls' sports. The move follows a recent U.S. Department of Education finding that Minnesota is in violation of Title IX and comes amid a separate lawsuit by an advocacy group challenging current participation policies; the case has seen a denied emergency injunction and an appeal to the Court of Appeals.

Education Legal Local Government

Andrew Nietz charged with murder, arson in NE Minneapolis duplex fire that killed Housten Housley

Oct 04 Breaking TC 3

Around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, a fire on the 900 block of 22nd Avenue NE gutted a northeast Minneapolis duplex, killing 39-year-old Housten Housley — firefighters found him on the first floor, three other residents were displaced and aided by the Red Cross, and the unit where Housley was found sustained extensive damage and heavy flames. Authorities have charged longtime friend Andrew Nietz with second-degree murder and arson, saying surveillance showed him returning to the scene while crews were present, police recovered Housley’s car being driven by Nietz and observed scratches on his hands, arm and face, and court records list prior arson convictions in 2012 and 2023.

Legal Public Safety

Driver sentenced for deadly Lyndale Avenue crash

Oct 03 Developing TC 1

Talon Covie-Cadrell Walker, 30, was sentenced Oct. 2, 2025 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and related counts for an October 2024 DWI crash on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis that killed 26-year-old Natalie Gubbay and injured 10 others. Authorities say Walker was driving over 100 mph, over the legal alcohol limit, and an open bottle of liquor was found in his Chevy Avalanche; the collision involved seven vehicles and produced significant force that spun two cars 180 degrees.

Public Safety Legal

Fridley man indicted in thallium poisoning death

Oct 03 Developing TC 1

Stuart Hanmer, 35, a Fridley resident, was indicted by a grand jury on a count of premeditated first-degree murder and faces an existing second-degree murder charge after his roommate Cody Ernst, 33, died of thallium poisoning. Court records say Ernst fell ill May 15, was hospitalized and died June 22; prosecutors cite internet searches and three purchases of thallium found in connection with Hanmer, and bail was raised to $5 million without conditions ($2.5 million with conditions). Hanmer remains in custody at the Stearns County Jail pending further court proceedings.

Public Safety Legal

ICE detains roofing crew in St. Paul

Oct 02 Breaking TC 1

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained an entire roofing crew working in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood on Thursday morning, witnesses and immigrant-advocacy groups said. Advocacy organizations and state Rep. Athena Hollins condemned the action and organized a 5:30 p.m. vigil at Marydale Park while FOX 9 has sought confirmation from DHS/ICE.

Public Safety Legal

Best man arrested after Maplewood wedding shooting; stolen gun recovered

Oct 02 Breaking TC 2

Authorities say a 36-year-old wedding guest was shot in both legs during an argument at a Sept. 27 wedding in Maplewood. Ramsey County deputies arrested a 34-year-old South St. Paul man identified as the wedding's best man on Oct. 1 in St. Paul and recovered two guns — including one reportedly stolen — and he has been arrested but not yet formally charged.

Public Safety Legal

Plymouth daycare teacher sentenced for abuse

Oct 02 Developing TC 1

Katie Voigt, a former teacher at Lil' Explorers Child Care Center in Plymouth, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of malicious punishment of a child after videos showed her yelling at and pushing toddlers. Hennepin County court documents filed Sept. 30, 2025 say she received stayed sentences (no jail if no further violations), must complete 10 days of community service within six months, undergo anger-awareness training and therapy, and is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults; 16 families have since hired a law firm to investigate.

Legal Education

Omar Jamal released after settlement following ICE arrest

Oct 01 Breaking TC 2

Omar Jamal, a Somali community advocate who has served as a civilian Community Service Officer and liaison to the Somali community with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office since 2020, was arrested by ICE in Minneapolis on Aug. 29 and later released after a mutually agreed-upon settlement that resulted in a court order directing his release, prompting a lawsuit over his detention. DHS said Jamal had a final order of removal issued in 2011 and publicly listed alleged prior offenses, while Jamal’s attorney thanked the local U.S. Attorney’s Office and ICE personnel for their cooperation.

Local Government Legal Public Safety

Nonprofits convert former Havenbrook rentals to single-family homes

Sep 30 Developing TC 1

Nonprofits have acquired and are renovating hundreds of former Havenbrook rental properties in north Minneapolis after an Attorney General investigation and settlement over poor conditions. About 345 homes went to local nonprofits, roughly 110 have been renovated and sold to single-family buyers, and the AG secured roughly $2 million in payments plus about $2 million in rent forgiveness for affected tenants.

Housing Legal

Feds uncover immigration‑fraud ring in Twin Cities

Sep 30 Breaking TC 1

Federal authorities — USCIS, ICE and the FBI — said Operation Twin Shields, conducted in the Twin Cities Sept. 19–28, flagged roughly 1,000 suspect cases involving about 900 people for sham marriages, forged documents and fake death certificates. Officials reported four arrests, 42 notices to appear in immigration court, and highlighted abuses tied to Uniting for Ukraine sponsorships and a fake Kenyan death certificate used to allege a spouse was deceased.

Legal Public Safety

New Brighton man charged in Frogtown fatal shooting

Sep 30 Breaking TC 1

TwinCities.com reports that a man from New Brighton was arrested and charged in connection with a fatal shooting in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul. The arrest and charges were reported Sept. 30, 2025; police say the incident involved a deadly shooting in the neighborhood and authorities have moved to file criminal charges against the suspect.

Public Safety Legal

DOJ sues Minnesota, Minneapolis over 'sanctuary' policies

Sep 30 Breaking TC 1

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Sept. 29, 2025, against Minnesota, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Hennepin County, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Sheriff Dawanna S. Witt, alleging policies that obstruct federal immigration enforcement. DOJ, citing a DHS directive, claims local noncooperation results in the release of removable offenders; Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey vowed to fight the lawsuit, calling it politically motivated.

Legal Local Government

Driver charged in Maplewood fatal hit-and-run; intoxication alleged

Sep 29 Breaking TC 3

Ramsey County prosecutors have charged a driver in a Maplewood fatal hit-and-run that killed a 31-year-old man around 4:30 a.m. on the 2300 block of Maryland Avenue East; the complaint alleges the driver was intoxicated, fled the scene, and then drove roughly two hours to work. Police say a witness saw a large conversion van with a ladder rack near the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators obtained suspected vehicle information and surveillance video, with the Minnesota State Patrol assisting.

Legal Public Safety

Minneapolis man admits twice trying to join ISIS

Sep 29 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis resident pleaded guilty in Minnesota court to twice trying to join the Islamic State group, concluding the guilt phase of a terrorism-related case tied to the Twin Cities. The plea was entered in Minneapolis, with sentencing to follow.

Legal Public Safety

Woman dies after Lake Street encampment shooting; victim identified

Sep 26 Developing TC 7

A woman shot during a Sept. 15 mass shooting at a homeless encampment near E. Lake St. and 28th Ave. S. in Minneapolis died Sept. 18; police identified her as 30-year-old Jacinda Oakgrove, while several others were wounded and tents caught fire during the gunfight. Investigators say the violence stemmed from a drug-territory dispute; Hennepin County prosecutors have charged Trivon D. Leonard Jr., 31, of Illinois, with first-degree riot resulting in death and illegal gun possession after he admitted firing before his gun jammed. The city has increased patrols and erected fencing along the corridor, and MPD is examining whether this shooting is connected to another Lake Street shooting earlier that day.

Legal Local Government Housing

Minnetonka ex-CBP agent pleads to child porn

Sep 26 Developing TC 1

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent from Minnetonka admitted in court to possessing child pornography, according to the Star Tribune. The plea resolves the guilt phase of the case, with sentencing to be scheduled by the court.

Legal Public Safety

Man arrested in Missouri after Waite Park Elementary threat; MPD used license plate reader

Sep 26 Breaking TC 2

A man who allegedly called in a threat to “shoot anything that moves” with an AR-15 at Minneapolis’ Waite Park Elementary just before 11 a.m. on Sept. 25—prompting a lockdown—was tracked using a license plate reader and arrested in Missouri with assistance from the ATF and local police. Investigators say he lived about two miles from the school and had ties to two people there; he was booked into the Jackson County Jail and could face a terroristic threats charge as the investigation continues.

Legal Public Safety Education

Minneapolis gang member pleads to federal fraud

Sep 26 Breaking TC 1

A member of the Minneapolis 'Lows' gang pleaded guilty in federal court to a fraud scheme that used money mules to steal about $220,000, according to federal prosecutors and court filings. The plea resolves part of a case tied to organized criminal activity in Minneapolis and details how proceeds were moved through recruited intermediaries.

Legal Public Safety

Inver Grove Heights man sentenced to 20 years

Sep 26 Breaking TC 1

An Inver Grove Heights man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for coercing and manipulating girls to send nude photos, the Pioneer Press reported Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. The case stems from conduct involving minors and concludes with a lengthy prison term for the Twin Cities resident.

Legal Public Safety

Judge rules DJ stalker not guilty by mental illness

Sep 25 Breaking TC 1

A Twin Cities judge found that a person who stalked a DJ at The Current violated a restraining order but entered a verdict of not guilty due to mental illness on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. The ruling acknowledges the conduct occurred while concluding the defendant is not criminally responsible because of mental illness.

Legal Public Safety

Texas brothers hit with federal kidnapping charges in Grant crypto case; feds value theft at $8M

Sep 25 Breaking TC 3

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed federal kidnapping charges against Texas brothers Raymond Christian Garcia, 23, and Isiah Angelo Garcia, 24, in a Sept. 19 Grant, Minnesota, home invasion, valuing the stolen cryptocurrency at $8 million—far above the $72,000 cited in county filings. Authorities say the men bound a family with zip ties, used an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun, and forced transfers at the Grant home and a Jacobson cabin before their arrests in Texas; they face the federal counts in addition to state charges of kidnapping, first-degree burglary, and first-degree aggravated robbery, with a first federal court appearance set for Thursday.

Legal Public Safety

Amazon settles FTC Prime case for $2.5B, averting jury trial

Sep 25 Developing TC 2

Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit alleging it used deceptive tactics to enroll customers in Prime and made cancellation onerous. The deal resolves a case that a judge had ruled would go before a jury, averting a federal jury trial.

Legal Business & Economy Technology

Xcel settles Marshall Fire suits for $640M

Sep 25 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy agreed to a $640 million settlement on Sept. 25, 2025, resolving litigation alleging the utility sparked the Denver-area’s devastating Marshall Fire, reached on the eve of a jury trial. The settlement is a significant financial development for the primary electric utility serving the Twin Cities and could influence regulatory and rate considerations.

Utilities Legal

Minnesota Supreme Court expands eviction protections

Sep 25 Breaking TC 1

On Sept. 24, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a ruling that expands eviction protections for renters who use housing vouchers or other rental subsidies, setting binding precedent for courts statewide, including Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The decision clarifies how judges must treat third‑party rental assistance in nonpayment and related eviction proceedings, directly affecting landlords and tenants across the Twin Cities.

Housing Legal

Legislative auditor urges stronger anti-fraud controls

Sep 25 TC 1

Minnesota Legislative Auditor Judy Randall said her office is coordinating with the BCA’s new financial crimes unit and stressed the state must tighten and enforce existing internal controls to stop fraud, in an interview following new federal charges in state-funded programs. DHS said it designated the autism program “high risk” in May, enhanced provider screening, imposed stricter billing, and is moving faster to halt payments when fraud is suspected, with expanded data analytics outlined to lawmakers this month.

Local Government Legal Health

Edina’s Mark Erjavec indicted in $975K COVID-relief fraud

Sep 25 Breaking TC 2

Mark Erjavec, 49, of Edina, has been indicted in Minnesota on five counts of wire fraud for an alleged $975,000 scheme targeting COVID-19 relief programs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors say he reactivated dormant business entities dissolved between 2008 and 2013, opened new bank accounts, and submitted false EIDL and PPP applications with nonexistent employees and inflated revenues; he has appeared in federal court.

Business & Economy Legal

Lake Street restaurant owner gets 8-month sentence

Sep 24 Breaking TC 1

The owner of a Lake Street restaurant in Minneapolis was sentenced to eight months in an immigration-related case, following an earlier federal raid at the business. The federal sentencing closes a local investigation tied to immigration violations at the establishment, according to the Star Tribune.

Legal Public Safety

Charges filed in U of M Rapson Hall gunfire

Sep 24 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County prosecutors charged 18-year-old Anas Mursal Mohamed after two shots were fired outside the University of Minnesota’s Rapson Hall around 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 18, causing panic and the evacuation of hundreds with no injuries. A criminal complaint cites surveillance video showing Mohamed firing twice, 10mm casings at the scene, recovery of a discarded hoodie and a 10mm Glock near the area, and his arrest the next day during a traffic stop where a loaded 9mm was found under the driver’s seat.

Public Safety Legal

Minnesota Supreme Court censures, suspends Anoka County judge for misconduct

Sep 24 Breaking TC 2

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Sept. 23, 2025, publicly censured and suspended an Anoka County District Court judge for nine months following a misconduct case brought by the Board on Judicial Standards. The high court’s order cites key findings from the board’s investigation, according to the Star Tribune.

Local Government Legal

Arrest made in Aug. 26 Minneapolis mass shooting

Sep 24 Developing TC 1

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Tuesday that officers arrested 24-year-old Trayveion Alvin Green on a murder warrant in the Aug. 26 mass shooting near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and a nearby encampment. Green is the third suspect charged, following Ryan Timothy Quinn and Tiffany Lynn Marie Martindale; the shooting involved a .223 rifle and left seven people shot, including one man who died.

Public Safety Legal

Nicole Mitchell sentencing set Tuesday; defense seeks misdemeanor downgrade and Ramsey County confinement

Sep 23 Developing TC 2

Sentencing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Becker County (Detroit Lakes) for Nicole Mitchell, a Minnesota state senator representing Woodbury, following her July 2025 jury convictions for first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. Her defense is asking the court to reduce the felony convictions to misdemeanors, to allow any sentence—minimum six months in jail or workhouse—to be served in Ramsey County rather than Becker County, and is disputing $23,585 in restitution sought by prosecutors.

Elections Local Government Legal

St. Paul driver gets workhouse in fatal crash

Sep 22 Breaking TC 1

A driver who was traveling 77 mph on a St. Paul city street when he fatally struck a pedestrian was sentenced to serve time in a workhouse on Sept. 22, 2025. The case concludes with a non‑prison sentence following the deadly collision on a St. Paul roadway.

Legal Public Safety

St. Paul man sentenced in White Bear shootout

Sep 22 Developing TC 1

A St. Paul man was sentenced on Sept. 22, 2025, for his role in a 2023 shootout at Doc's Landing bar in White Bear Lake. The case stems from gunfire inside or near the bar that year and concludes with a district court sentence handed down in the Twin Cities metro.

Legal Public Safety

Court: Bus stop arms must be fully extended

Sep 22 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned a driver’s school‑bus stop‑arm conviction and ruled that motorists are required to stop only when the bus’s stop sign/arm is fully extended. Issued this week, the decision clarifies statewide enforcement and applies to drivers, police, and school transportation across the Twin Cities metro.

Legal Public Safety

Maplewood rollover kills baby; driver arrested

Sep 21 Breaking TC 1

A black Chevy Tahoe rolled off the eastbound Hwy 36 to southbound Hwy 61 exit ramp in Maplewood around 6:25 p.m., landing upside down in 1–2 feet of water, the Minnesota State Patrol said. One-year-old Revon Melvin Anthony Todd was extricated and later died; two boys, ages 5 and 6, and a 32-year-old man were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Driver Rachale Francine Peloquin, 28, of St. Paul, was arrested after medical clearance, suspected of alcohol use, and booked into Ramsey County Jail on criminal vehicular homicide.

Public Safety Legal

Hennepin County halts charges from minor stops

Sep 19 Breaking TC 2

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced her office will no longer charge cases arising from low-level traffic stops — such as equipment or registration violations — across Minneapolis and its suburbs. The policy, which effectively limits felony prosecutions stemming from these stops, drew swift criticism from multiple police officials, who warned it could hinder prosecutions and harm public safety.

Legal Public Safety Local Government

Trump seeks Supreme Court rollback of Venezuelan protections

Sep 19 Developing TC 1

The Trump administration on Sept. 19, 2025, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to remove legal protections from Venezuelan migrants, a nationwide change that would affect those living and working in the Twin Cities. The filing seeks high‑court intervention to alter current immigration protections for Venezuelan nationals.

Legal Government

Hennepin County charges Mora man for email threats

Sep 19 Breaking TC 1

Hennepin County charged John Allen Sandeen Jr., 64, of Mora with four counts of terroristic threats for emails sent Sept. 13–16 that threatened a Maple Grove church music director and another person, referencing retaliation for the killing of Charlie Kirk. Maple Grove police took the report on Sept. 15; Sandeen is in Ramsey County custody on a related matter, and a Hennepin County arrest warrant is active. County Attorney Mary Moriarty called the threats “chilling” and vowed to pursue accountability.

Public Safety Legal

Columbia Heights man Abdullahe Nur Jesow pleads guilty in Feeding Our Future scheme tied to S&S Catering

Sep 19 Developing TC 2

Abdullahe Nur Jesow, 65, of Columbia Heights, pleaded guilty in federal court in Minnesota to money laundering in the Feeding Our Future fraud case, becoming the 56th defendant to do so. Prosecutors say he was linked to the S&S Catering group that stole and laundered $17.4 million, operating the Academy For Youth Excellence site that claimed more than 1.7 million meals from Dec. 2020 to Sept. 2021, resulting in $4,286,088 in inflated reimbursements, of which he kept about 5% and returned most via cash or checks to launder proceeds. He had been set for trial Oct. 14; sentencing will be scheduled later.

Legal Public Safety

Second defendant gets 12½ years in South St. Paul killing

Sep 19 Breaking TC 2

On Sept. 18, 2025, a second defendant was sentenced to 12½ years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting of a South St. Paul father during a marijuana robbery. The accomplice received nearly the same prison term as the shooter, indicating little disparity between the codefendants.

Legal Public Safety

FTC sues Ticketmaster over pricing practices

Sep 18 Breaking TC 1

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit on Sept. 18, 2025, against Ticketmaster/Live Nation, alleging practices that force fans to pay more for concerts and events. The case seeks to curb alleged anticompetitive or unfair methods that raise ticket costs nationwide, which could affect Twin Cities consumers who buy tickets for metro venues.

Legal Business & Economy

Duluth man charged in Mariucci upskirt case; 144 victims, CSAM alleged

Sep 18 Breaking TC 2

A Duluth man, Benjamin Thomas Goldsmith, 32, has been charged in Hennepin County via warrant with three counts of possessing pornographic work and three counts of interfering with privacy after prosecutors say he filmed under the skirts of high school graduates at Minneapolis’ Mariucci Arena on June 1–2, 2024. Authorities say there are 144 alleged victims; witnesses reported Goldsmith for avoiding metal detectors, leading to his arrest and the discovery of a concealed camera, and a vehicle search turned up a hard drive with 151 child sexual abuse material images and videos. Investigators also found programs from other graduations and are examining whether additional victims or locations are involved; the criminal complaint was filed Sept. 16, 2025.

Legal Education Public Safety

Carver man indicted on 16 animal-crushing counts

Sep 18 Breaking TC 1

Federal prosecutors charged Bryan Wesley Edison, 32, of Carver, with 16 counts of animal crushing for allegedly creating nearly 350 pay-per-view YouTube videos showing animals being tortured and killed since 2022. The DOJ says YouTube has removed the accounts; Edison made his initial appearance Wednesday and remains jailed in Sherburne County. Prosecutors cited the 2019 federal PACT Act expansion in announcing the case.

Legal Public Safety

Mahtomedi crash driver sentenced for killing two classmates

Sep 18 Breaking TC 1

A driver who killed two Mahtomedi classmates in a crash was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in the Twin Cities metro. Families addressed the court during sentencing and expressed grace toward the driver, according to the report.

Legal Public Safety

First metro recreational cannabis shops open

Sep 16 Breaking TC 1

Recreational cannabis sales began Tuesday at Green Goods locations statewide, including five shops in the Twin Cities, while RISE is opening five recreational dispensaries with 8 a.m. ribbon cuttings, three of them in the metro. Legacy Cannabis in Duluth is set to open at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday with flower grown by the White Earth Nation, after a tribal compact and new state licenses eased supply constraints that had delayed non-tribal openings.

Business & Economy Legal

Minneapolis man sues Met Council over LRT access

Sep 16 Breaking TC 1

A Minneapolis resident filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Metropolitan Council, alleging Metro Transit light-rail stations have accessibility barriers that impede access for people with disabilities. The case targets station conditions on the Twin Cities LRT system; details on the specific stations and court venue were not immediately available.

Legal Transit & Infrastructure

Appeals court lets dentist’s defamation suit proceed

Sep 15 Breaking TC 1

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that a Twin Cities dentist’s defamation lawsuit over a negative Google review may move forward, allowing the case to continue in district court. The decision clarifies that claims tied to allegedly false online statements can proceed past initial challenges in Minnesota.

Legal Technology

Shakopee crash kills 83; driver suspected drunk

Sep 15 Breaking TC 1

Shakopee police say an 83-year-old motorist died after a suspected drunk driver caused a collision at a city intersection in the Twin Cities metro. Police reported the fatality and indicated alcohol was a factor as they investigate; additional details on any arrest or charges were not immediately released.

Public Safety Legal

Blaine child-solicitation sting nets 22 arrests

Sep 15 Breaking TC 1

The Blaine Police Department led a child-solicitation operation in Blaine, resulting in 22 arrests, according to police and local reporting. The enforcement action targeted adults attempting to solicit minors in the north metro suburb; authorities said the investigation continues and announced the results publicly.

Public Safety Legal

Man killed, another hurt in Lake Street shooting

Sep 15 Breaking TC 1

Minneapolis police say a shooting on the 1500 block of East Lake Street just before 1:50 a.m. Sunday left one man dead and another with non-life-threatening injuries. Officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation; the fatally wounded man died at the hospital, and a second victim arrived separately. No arrests have been announced, and Chief Brian O’Hara urged anyone with information to come forward.

Public Safety Legal