Tag Archives: Minnesota

Buzzfeed News reports: A reporter for an NBC affiliate in Minnesota was fired Friday, one day after he was spotted wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat while covering a Trump rally for the local TV station. Jim Bunner, a multimedia journalist with KTTC, was covering the political rally Thursday in Rochester, Minnesota, where he was spotted outside the Mayo …

The Twin Cities Pioneer-Press reports: For the first time, Minnesotans have the option to choose a gender other than male or female on their driver’s license. Along with “M” for male and “F” for female, there will be “X” for non-binary when choosing a gender on a license application. The new option to identify as non-binary, a term used by …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has questioned why his opponents are often referred to as “the elite,” saying he is richer than they are and has a nicer apartment. Speaking at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, the president took a break from espousing his “tough” immigration policies to outline his power and wealth in comparison to “the elite.” “Do you …

The Associated Press reports: The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to a $210 million settlement with 450 victims of clergy sexual abuse as part of its plan for bankruptcy reorganization, an attorney said Thursday, making it the second-largest U.S. payout in the priest abuse scandal. Victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson said the settlement was reached with the survivors …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: A former Republican White House lawyer and prominent critic of President Donald Trump is running for former Sen. Al Franken’s seat. And he’s running as a Democrat. Richard Painter filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission late last week to run for the seat after exploring a bid for more than a month. Painter served as …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports: Carver County Attorney Mark Metz announced Thursday that he was closing the investigation into the death of musician Prince Rogers Nelson without issuing any criminal charges. Metz said county, state and federal investigators undertook an “extensive, painstaking and thorough” investigation but were unable to determine who provided Prince the fentanyl painkillers, disguised as counterfeit Percocet tablets, …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Richard Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor and prolific TV and Twitter critic of President Donald Trump, said Wednesday that he is forming an exploratory committee that could lead to a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Al Franken and now occupied by Democrat Tina Smith. Painter said at a State Capitol news …

Politico reports: Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) said Friday he won’t seek reelection this year, a blow to Democrats’ chances at holding his battleground seat in November. Nolan, 74, was first elected to Congress in the Watergate midterm election of 1974. After serving three terms in the House, he retired ahead of the 1980 elections. Nolan surprised many when he announced …

Cyd Zeigler reports at Outsports: In cities around the world, bars bearing the name “Eagle” are gay — and usually gay leather — bars. New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Dallas, and many other cities have local dives bearing the name “Eagle.” One city that doesn’t have one? Philadelphia. There, The Bike Stop has been the big gay leather bar …

Minnesota Public Radio reports: Former Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has ruled out a run for U.S. Senate seat next fall, MPR News has confirmed. Bachmann’s reasoning: She didn’t have any “sense from the lord” that she should try for the seat, which was left vacant after Al Franken resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct. “It became very clear to …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., plans to resign from Congress on Jan. 2, a spokesman said Wednesday. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, who Gov. Mark Dayton appointed to replace Franken, will be sworn in the next day. Franken announced his resignation earlier in December after several women made allegations of unwanted sexual advances or touching and …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: State Sen. Karin Housley announced in an e-mail to supporters and YouTube video that she is running in the 2018 special election to replace the departing U.S. Sen. Al Franken. “I’ll work, hard, play fair, do the right thing and get things done,” said the St. Marys Point Republican, who was first elected to the state …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports: Gov. Mark Dayton will appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to replace Sen. Al Franken as Minnesota’s next U.S. senator, according to two high-level Democratic sources with knowledge of the decision. Dayton will name Smith as his choice at a Wednesday morning news conference, and she plans to run for the seat in a 2018 special election, …

UPDATE: Multiple outlets are reporting that Franken will resign. Minnesota Public Radio reports: Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, facing fresh allegations of sexual misconduct and vanishing support from fellow Democrats, appears to be on the brink of resigning from the Senate. A Democratic official who spoke to Franken and key aides told MPR News Franken will resign Thursday. He’s expected to …

The Associated Press reports: Garrison Keillor, the former host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” says he’s been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior. Keillor told The Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a follow-up statement, he says he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: A St. Cloud couple will not be able to refuse wedding videography services for same-sex couples after a federal judge on Wednesday dismissed their lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s human rights laws. In a 63-page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim wrote that a provision of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) prohibiting discrimination by businesses was …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: At the request of the mayor, Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau announced her resignation Friday afternoon in the aftermath of the officer-involved fatal shooting of Justine Damond, a 40-year-old Australian woman. Last Saturday, Damond called 911 around 11:30 p.m. to report a possible sexual assault near her home in south Minneapolis, and one of the responding …

The Associated Press reports: Minneapolis’ first openly gay police chief responded sharply Thursday to a decision by organizers of the Twin Cities Pride Parade to ask her department to minimize its participation in Sunday’s annual event due to tensions over the police shooting of Philando Castile. They said in a statement that they’re trying to respect the pain that many …

Via press release from the ACLU: An organization that filed a federal lawsuit last year to bar transgender students from using locker rooms consistent with their gender identity today announced that they have voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Minnesota had intervened in the case on behalf of a transgender girl, identified as …

NBC News reports: A clinic that was accused of pushing bogus “pray away the gay” therapy — and is owned by former Rep. Michele Bachmann’s husband — was cited by Minnesota health inspectors for failing to properly keep patient records. Inspectors going through the paperwork at the Counseling Care clinic in Lake Elmo found last month that “developmental condition” and …