Minnesota – Michmutters

Tag: Minnesota

Categories
US

Ilhan Omar Narrowly Survives Democratic Primary in Minnesota

Ilhan Omar Narrowly Survives Democratic Primary in Minnesota

It was closer than she wanted, but progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) narrowly defeated centrist Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels in their primary matchup Tuesday night, winning on a margin that indicates a much shakier standing in her Minneapolis district than most expected.

Samuels ran largely on backlash to Omar’s leftist positions, including her support for defunding the police, which has become a hot-button issue in Minneapolis since the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The congresswoman is one of the most liberal members of the House Democratic Caucus, and she has occasionally bucked the party on major policy votes alongside the rest of the so-called progressive “squad.”

Although he ultimately lost, Samuels’ candidacy appears to have struck a chord with some voters’ distaste for Omar’s progressive approach. At the point the AP called her race, she was only about 2 percentage points ahead of her.

Leading up to the primary election, Omar remained seemingly unfazed. Not only did she have the benefit of incumbency, but she was backed by a number of high-profile progressive figures, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Samuels did benefit from some last-minute endorsements, including from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. But his challenge from him ultimately fell short—and he conceded the race to Omar around 10:30 pm EDT Tuesday night.

Omar isn’t the first member of the squad to survive a close primary challenge this year. Both Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) faced centrist primary challengers, though they both prevailed with more comfortable margins.

Omar has received primary challenges in years past—including lawyer Antone Melton-Meaux, who beat her by a healthy margin. But the close call Tuesday night may be an indication that another Democratic challenger could take her down in another primary.

Luckily for Omar, her district is heavily Democratic, meaning she likely has two more years to figure out her eligibility issues, as she faces little chance of losing re-election in the general election this November.

.

Categories
US

Minnesota 1st House District special election result

Minnesota 1st House District special election result

House Republicans added one new member to their number Tuesday as former Agriculture Department official Brad Finstad won a special election to serve out the term of the late GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer this past February.

Finstad, who emerged from a primary field of eight for the special election in Minnesota’s First Congressional district, led Democrat Jeff Ettinger by 4,920 votes with all precincts reporting.

In a victory statement released by his campaign, Finstad said the election was about the “direction of the country,” and he promised to fight the “extreme” agenda of President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Congress.

“I will work to slash inflation, get control of the border, restore American energy independence, and put our families first. You have my commitment that I will bring our Southern Minnesota values ​​to Washington, DC and work hard for you every single day,” he said.

Agriculture Department official Brad Finstad said he would focus on issues like inflation and supply chain shortages.
Agriculture Department official Brad Finstad said he would focus on issues like inflation and supply chain shortages.
Mark Zdechlik/Minnesota Public Radio via AP, File

While Finstad won the special election, the results of a separate primary election ensured he’ll face Ettinger again in November to decide who will represent the redrawn First District for a full two-year term.

Ettinger, the former CEO of Hormel Foods and a first-time candidate, expressed optimism that he would pull off a surprise win next time.

“We both knew going into this that there was going to be a rematch in November,” he said, according to the Star Tribune. “A November race typically gets four times the turnout of an August race in Minnesota.”

Former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger accused his opponents of focusing on President Biden and not the race.
Former Hormel CEO Jeff Ettinger accused his opponents of focusing on President Biden and not the race.
Mark Zdechlik/Minnesota Public Radio via AP

In the Republican primary, Finstad defeated state Rep. Jeremy Munson, while Ettinger beat financial CEO George Kalberer and attorney James Rainwater on the Democratic side. In the days before the special election, Finstad told Minnesota Public Radio that he will concentrate on issues close to regular Americans whom he says have been ignored by the Biden administration.

“Everywhere I go in southern Minnesota, I’m hearing the exact same thing,” said Finstad, who spent six years in the Minnesota legislature before working in the Trump USDA.

“It’s family pocketbook issues. It’s gas prices. It’s food prices. It’s grocery store shelves being half full. It’s disruption in supply chain things like baby formula and other necessities that we’re just not normal to have shortages with. And people are just frustrated with it,” he said to MPR.

Rep. Jim Hagedorn passed away from cancer in February.
Rep. Jim Hagedorn passed away from cancer in February.
Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Ettinger defended the Biden White House as it struggles with high prices caused by the global supply chain backlog, and wondered why Finstad is focusing on the national political environment instead of him.

“I feel like he’s apparently running against Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, and not me,” Ettinger told MPR.

He said voters he talked with are worried about the logjam in Congress.

“I’m receiving great feedback from Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans who are sick of the gridlock and hostility in Washington and recognize that I have a long track record of getting things done,” Ettinger said. “And that’s what they’re looking for.”

Finstad’s win means the House now has 220 Democrats and 211 Republicans, with four vacancies. Three of the vacancies will be filled by special elections later this month.

Voters in Indiana’s Second District will choose the replacement for Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash last week, on Election Day.

With Post Wires

.

Categories
US

What to watch in Wis., 3 other states in Tuesday’s primaries

What to watch in Wis., 3 other states in Tuesday's primaries

The Republican matchup in the Wisconsin governor’s race on Tuesday features competing candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump and his estranged vice president, Mike Pence. Democrats are picking a candidate to face two-term GOP Sen. Ron Johnson for control of the closely divided chamber.

Meanwhile, voters in Vermont are choosing a replacement for US Sen. patrick leahy as the chamber’s longest-serving member retires. In Minnesota, US Rep. Ilhan Omar faces a Democratic primary challenger who helped defeat a voter referendum to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety.

What to watch in Tuesday’s primary elections in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut:

WISCONSIN

Construction company co-owner Tim Michels has Trump’s endorsement in the governor’s race and has been spending millions of his own money, touting both the former president’s backing and his years working to build his family’s business into Wisconsin’s largest construction company. Michels casts himself as an outsider, although he previously lost a campaign to oust then-US Sen. Russ Feingold in 2004 and has long been a prominent GOP donor.

Establishment Republicans including Pence and former Gov. Scott Walker have endorsed former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefischwho along with Walker, survived a 2012 recall effort. She argues she has the experience and knowledge to pursue conservative priorities, including dismantling the bipartisan commission that runs elections.

With Senate control at stake, Democrats will also make their pick to take on Johnson. Democratic support coalesced around Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes beats in the race, when his three top rivals dropped out and threw their support to him. He would become the state’s first Black senator if elected.

Several lesser-known candidates remain in the primary, but Johnson and Republicans have treated Barnes as the nominee, casting him as too liberal for Wisconsin, a state Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020.

Four Democrats are also running in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat that opened up with the retirement of veteran Democratic US Rep. Ron Kind. The district has been trending Republican, and Derrick Van Orden — who narrowly lost to Kind in 2020 and has Trump’s endorsement — is running unopposed.

MINNESOTA

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz faces a little-known opponent as he seeks a second term. His likely challenger is Republican Scott Jensena physician and former state lawmaker who has made vaccine skepticism a centerpiece of his campaign and faces token opposition.

Both men have been waging a virtual campaign for months, with Jensen attacking Walz for his management of the pandemic and hammering the governor for rising crime around Minneapolis. Walz has highlighted his own support of abortion rights and suggested that Jensen would be a threat to chip away at the procedure’s legality in Minnesota.

Crime has emerged as the biggest issue in Rep. Omar’s Democratic primary. She faces a challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who opposes the movement to defund the police and last year helped defeat efforts to replace the city’s police department. Omar, who supported the referendum, has a substantial money advantage and is expected to benefit from a strong grassroots operation.

The most confusing part of Tuesday’s ballot was for the 1st Congressional District seat that was held by US Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died earlier this year from cancer. Republican former state Rep. Brad Finstad and Democrat Jeff Ettinger, a former Hormel CEO, are simultaneously competing in primaries to determine the November matchup for the next two-year term representing the southern Minnesota district, as well as a special election to finish the last few months of Hagedorn’s term.

CONNECTICUT

It’s been roughly three decades since Connecticut had a Republican in the US Senate, but the party isn’t giving up.

In the GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthalthe party has endorsed former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides. She’s a social moderate who supports abortion rights and certain gun control measures and says she did not vote for Trump in 2020. Klarides contends her experience and positions can persuade voters to oppose Blumenthal, a two-term senator who in May registered a 45% job approval rating, his lowest in a Quinnipiac poll since taking office.

Klarides is being challenged by conservative attorney Peter Lumaj and Republican National Committee member Leora Levy, whom Trump endorsed last week. Both candidates oppose abortion rights and further gun restrictions, and they back Trump’s policies from him.

VERMONT

Leahy’s upcoming retirement has opened up two seats in Vermont’s tiny three-person congressional delegation — and the opportunity for the state to send a woman to represent it in Washington for the first time.

Democratic US Rep. Peter Welch, the state’s at-large congressman, quickly launched his Senate bid after Leahy revealed he was stepping down. Leahy, who is president pro tempore of the Senate, has been hospitalized a couple of times over the last two years, including after breaking his hip this summer.

Welch has been endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and is the odds-on favorite to win the seat in November. He faces two other Democrats in the primary: Isaac Evans-Frantz, an activist, and Dr. Niki Thran, an emergency physician.

On the Republican side, former US Attorney Christina Nolan, retired US Army officer Gerald Malloy and investment banker Myers Mermel are competing for the nomination.

The race to replace Welch has yielded Vermont’s first wide-open US House campaign since 2006.

Two women, including Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and state Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, are the top Democratic candidates in the race. Gray, elected in 2020 in her first political bid, is a lawyer and a former assistant state attorney general.

The winner of the Democratic primary will be the heavy favorite to win the general election in the liberal state. In 2018, Vermont became the last state without female representation in Congress when Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate.

___

Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Doug Glass in Minneapolis; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn.; and Wilson Ring in Montpelier, Vermont, contributed to this report.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

.

Categories
US

Video catches teens crash stolen Kia, take off running on highway

Video catches teens crash stolen Kia, take off running on highway

Video from traffic cameras on a Minnesota highway shows a group of teenagers crash a stolen Kia and take off running.

It happened Saturday on Interstate 35E northbound, according to Fox 9. Footage shows a stolen Kia smash into a median after the driver attempted to avoid police stop sticks. Four teens then jump out of the smoking car, run and dodge traffic to get to the other side of the road where state troopers were waiting. All four were arrested: a 14-year-old boy and three girls ages 15-17.

Two of the girls had minor injuries and were taken to the hospital, authorities said.

The incident began around 5:30 pm when a rental car company contacted St. Paul Police saying they had a GPS tracker on a 2021 Kia Forte that had been stolen in Minneapolis and was headed to St. Paul, a police spokesman said.

“St. Paul Police requested assistance from a State Patrol helicopter, and the pilot used the coordinates from the GPS tracker to locate the car as it came to a stop on Portland and Dale streets in St. Paul,” Fox 9 reports.

The teens got back in the car as police squad cars approached. Officers stood back as the car traveled through a residential neighborhood, but the helicopter continued to track the Kia as the driver drove erratically down city streets and onto the highway, the police spokesman said.

The crash occurred roughly 15 minutes after the incident first began.

Law enforcement in the area have expressed concern about a nationwide trend this summer involving Hyundai and Kia thefts. A viral Tiktok video from the so-called “Kia Boys” shows thieves how to use a USB cable to steal rides.

Video captured the teens running away from the stolen car.
Video captured the teens running away from the stolen car.

The automaker is so familiar with the rash of thefts it has issued the following statement to media outlets, including Fox 29 Philadelphia.

“Kia America is aware of the rise in vehicle thefts of a subset of trim levels,” the statement read. “All 2022 models and trims have an immobilizer applied either at the beginning of the year or as a running change. All Kia vehicles for sale in the US meet or exceed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Kia customers with questions regarding their Kia vehicle should contact the Consumer Assistance center directly at 1-800-333-4542.

“Hyundai Motor America is concerned with the rise in local auto thefts. The safety and well-being of our customers and the community is and will remain our top priority. These vehicles meet or exceed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and engine immobilizers are standard equipment on all new Hyundai vehicles. Hyundai customers who have questions can always contact the Hyundai Consumer Assistance Center at 800-633-5151.”

.

Categories
US

Suspect identified in deadly mass stabbing on Wisconsin river

Suspect identified in deadly mass stabbing on Wisconsin river

A Minnesota teenager died and four other people were seriously hurt after being stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river, authorities said. St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said the victims and suspect, 52-year-old Nicolae Miu from Prior Lake, Minnesota, were all on the Apple River when the attack happened Saturday afternoon. Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other. They were tubing with two different groups that included about 20 people. “We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,” Knudson said. The knife attack happened on a difficult-to-access section of the river near the town of Somerset, Wisconsin, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Minneapolis. The suspect was arrested about an hour and a half later while getting off the river downstream. “Thank goodness a witness had taken a photo of him,” Knudson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Another witness located him at the exit of the tubing area, where he was taken into custody.” A 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minnesota, died. Two of the other victims were flown to a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and two others were taken there by ambulance. The sheriff’s office said Sunday that the condition of all four surviving victims _ a woman and three men in their 20s _ ranged from serious to critical. They suffered stab wounds to their chests and torsos. The sheriff’s office didn’t name the victims, but did provide a few details about them. The victims included a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin; a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota; and a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota; The name of the suspect wasn’t immediately released, but St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.

SOMERSET, Wis. —

A Minnesota teenager died and four other people were seriously hurt after being stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river, authorities said.

St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said the victims and suspect, 52-year-old Nicolae Miu from Prior Lake, Minnesota, were all on the Apple River when the attack happened Saturday afternoon.

Accused river stabber Nicolae Miu

St. Croix Sheriff’s Office

Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other. They were tubing with two different groups that included about 20 people.

“We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,” Knudson said.

The knife attack happened on a difficult-to-access section of the river near the town of Somerset, Wisconsin, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Minneapolis. The suspect was arrested about an hour and a half later while getting off the river downstream.

“Thank goodness a witness had taken a photo of him,” Knudson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Another witness located him at the exit of the tubing area, where he was taken into custody.”

A 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minnesota, died. Two of the other victims were flown to a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and two others were taken there by ambulance. The sheriff’s office said Sunday that the condition of all four surviving victims _ a woman and three men in their 20s _ ranged from serious to critical. They suffered stab wounds to their chests and torsos.

The sheriff’s office didn’t name the victims, but did provide a few details about them. The victims included a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin; a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota; and a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota;

The name of the suspect wasn’t immediately released, but St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.

.

Categories
US

17-year-old killed, 4 hurt in stabbings on Wisconsin river

17-year-old killed, 4 hurt in stabbings on Wisconsin river

SOMERSET, Wis. (AP) — A Minnesota teenager died and four other people were seriously hurt after being stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river, authorities said.

St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson the victims and suspect, a 52-year-old Prior Lake, Minnesota man, were all on the Apple River when the attack happened Saturday afternoon. Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other. They were tubing with two different groups that included about 20 people.

“We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,” Knudson said.

The knife attack happened on a difficult-to-access section of the river near the town of Somerset, Wisconsin, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Minneapolis. The suspect was arrested about an hour and a half later while getting off the river downstream.

“Thank goodness a witness had taken a photo of him,” Knudson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Another witness located him at the exit of the tubing area, where he was taken into custody.”

A 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minnesota, died. Two of the other victims were flown to a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and two others were taken there by ambulance. The sheriff’s office said Sunday that the condition of all four surviving victims — a woman and three men in their 20s — ranged from serious to critical. They suffered stab wounds to their chests and torsos.

The sheriff’s office didn’t name the victims, but did provide a few details about them. The victims included a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin; a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota; and a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota;

The name of the suspect wasn’t immediately released, but St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.

.