MPR News Sam Stroozas reports “At last week’s campaign event, Scott Jensen, Republican gubernatorial hopeful, was recorded saying that some school districts have litter bins for students to urinate, as reported first by CNN. “Why are we telling elementary children that they can choose their gender this week?” Why are litter boxes placed in schools so that children can use them as toilets? It’s because the furry kids identify with them,’ he stated. The unfounded rumor that litter boxes are found in classrooms is not new to Minnesota or the nation. The Minnesota Reformer reported in April that Reps. Steve Drazkowski (Republican from Mazeppa) and Tim Miller (Republican from Prinsburg) shared the rumor during House debates on an education budget bill. It has been reported that the rumor was also spread in Nebraska, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Texas.
Mara Gottfried is the Pioneer Press’ chief of St. Paul. The finalists include four internal candidates and an external candidate from Philadelphia. Interviews with Mayor Melvin Carter will be held on Oct. 11th and 12. According to his spokesperson, he expects to make a nomination by November at the latest.
A Strib story written by Liz Navratil says, “A two-year long battle over Minneapolis’ police staffing levels ended Monday after a Judge dismissed the case at the request the city and eight North Side residents that sued. Doug Seaton, president and chief executive officer of the Upper Midwest Law Center said, “We consider this victory.” He was referring to the case that brought suit against Mayor Jacob Frey, the City Council, and eight North Side residents in June 2020 alleging that they allowed police staffing levels to drop too low. Seaton stated that residents requested the dismissal partly because of recent court rulings in their favor, and partly because they were inspired by Frey’s budget proposal this summer.
Coral Murphy Marcus wrote in The Guardian that the defamation case against voting machine company Dominion against MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell is now open after the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by a prominent Donald Trump supporter. In the ruling, Carl Nichols, a federal court judge, wrote that Dominion had’sufficiently alleged that Lindell made their claims knowing they were false or with reckless disregard of the truth’ and that therefore it was entitled to file a lawsuit for defamation. Dominion also claims that Lindell participated a defamatory advertising campaign against the company to sell more pillows after he made his claims of election fraud, and provided promotional codes to support those theories.
Another Strib story is this by Patrick Kennedy. “The S&P 500 Index was down 25% through third quarter, soured due to the worst inflation for decades. These and other market trends were also played out through Minnesota’s publicly-traded companies. The third quarter ended Friday with a positive total returns for the year. The Piper Sandler Minnesota Index fell 17.6% over the first three quarters. There were 68 declines among Minnesota’s public companies (including members of the S&P 500 Index and smaller companies) in the first three quarters 2022.
Jon Collins, MPR News, says that “Facing shrinking police forces, a committee from the Minneapolis City Council voted Monday in favor of a proposal to increase the number of employees who are eligible for $7,000 retention bonus within the department. The Monday proposal from the Policy and Government Oversight Committee included funding for retention bonuses for 25 sworn workers who are not part of the union. This includes commanders and inspectors as well as police chiefs and chiefs. According to the city, the fiscal cost would be approximately $150,000.
Axios’ Mike Allen reports that Eric Herschmann is now the lead counsel to NFL legend Brett Favre. is currently embroiled in a welfare fund scandal in Mississippi. … A lawyer concluded Favre should not be indicted and offered convincing defenses if so. Herschmann stated that Brett tried enthusiastically to help his alma maternity, a public university that needed and wanted him’.
Dante Stewart, writes that “I played Division I football at Clemson University as a cornerback.” I am a former athlete who is competitive and knows how difficult it can be to see that sometimes a win for me means losing for others. (Brett Favre) Favre was aware of his power, but winning seemed to be his only focus. This is the problem for many athletes. Our psyches are so wired to chase success that we never get enough. Favre seems to have been willing and able to reach the highest levels of state government in order to complete his project, even if it meant neglecting the humanity that exists in one of America’s most marginalized regions. This scandal will shock those who believe the government only gives handouts to Black and poor people. It was instead a white millionaire football player who received the handout strong>
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