Hennepin County prosecutors on Wednesday said they charged conservative provocateur James O’Keefe and another man with felonies for unlawful voting and identity theft for filming themselves misrepresenting their identities to election judges during the Minnesota Aug. 11 primary.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said they were alerted by the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office that James O'Keefe, Cameron Higby and others were trying to undermine the state's vouching system.

Videos posted by O'Keefe’s operation show them wearing burkas outside precincts during the primary. Moriarty said the voter names they used included some residents who were dead and at least one who voted.

In the videos, O’Keefe, using an accent, asks workers at polling places if he can vouch for other voters. The election workers explain the law around vouching as one of his team members films and then his team walks out.

"Alright guys, it’s Election Day in Minneapolis. James O’Keefe and I are going to go around the city to different polling stations and we're going to see if they're going to allow us to vote without IDs and then we're going to see if they are going to allow us to vouch for other people who aren't even registered to vote,” Higby said in the video posted to YouTube.

Secretary of State Steve Simon later said the poll workers did exactly what they were supposed to do to protect the integrity of the election.

“I think it’s pretty clear they did not intend to vote. That’s not the question here,” Moriarty said Wednesday as she unveiled the charges against O’Keefe and Higby.

While neither man signed the oath to vouch for the other would-be voter — an act Moriarty said would have been felony perjury — “you cannot give somebody else’s name and misrepresent yourself as you go through the process.”

An initial court appearance for O’Keefe and Higby has been set for Nov. 16.

The state has several ways for unregistered voters to register on Election Day, including vouching. To vouch for someone, a voter who is already registered in the precinct goes with an unregistered voter to the voting precinct and signs an oath confirming the unregistered voter’s address. Under state law, a registered voter can vouch for up to eight people.

In a press release in August, O’Keefe’s group, which calls itself the “Justice League,” said the people in the video “did not cast ballots. The investigation was intended to test the limits of Minnesota’s vouching law and document how election workers apply it on Election Day.”

O’Keefe is known for making undercover videos. His videos have led to criminal charges against him in the past and he was caught by Washington Post reporters in 2017 for attempting to sell them on a false story.

“It is not against the law to be performative. It is not against the law to be offensive,” Moriarty told reporters. But “you cannot go into a polling place and misidentify yourself and use someone’s identity and say that to our election judges as you apply for a ballot.”

In a statement after the charges were announced Wednesday, Simon said “Minnesota’s enduring tradition of high voter turnout and excellence in elections administration is due in part to the work we all do to keep polling places as ‘islands of calm.’ ”

“Any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for holding these individuals to account,” Simon said.

MPR News reporter Peter Cox contributed to this story.

Use the audio player above to hear MPR News reporter Jon Collins explain this story on Minnesota Now.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Around noon on Oct. 19, Milton Saltos Velasquez was told he was being released from immigration detention per a judge’s order. He said he didn’t manage to get a foot outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building before he was immediately re-arrested.

Saltos told MPR News his worst fear had come true. He said other immigrants being held with him in county jail had warned him ICE was instantly re-arresting people this way.

Saltos was handcuffed and processed again. Then he was loaded into a vehicle, with other men he said had also been re-arrested, to drive the roughly two hours to Kandiyohi County Jail, which contracts with ICE.

They were well on their way to the jail when Saltos said a message came over the agents’ radio telling them to turn around.

One of the men was to be released again.

Saltos is one of seven instant re-arrest cases confirmed by MPR News, though immigration lawyers suspect there are more cases. ICE officials previously told an immigration attorney that their lawyers identify good candidates for re-arrest — usually people who were arrested without warrants or probable cause in the first place.

This tactic comes as the grounds for immigrants to challenge their detentions have gotten narrower. In March, an appeals court sided with the Trump administration's novel and controversial policy of holding immigrants in detention instead of giving them bond hearings.

‘I couldn’t stop crying’

Saltos, 45, has a pending asylum application. In 2023 an asylum officer in Texas wrote that Saltos “demonstrated credible fear of persecution or torture,” according to court records. Saltos told MPR News he escaped gangs in his home country of Ecuador after they attacked him and killed his brother. He said his children and the rest of his family are still in Ecuador. He oversees the treatment of his comatose father remotely, checking on him over video calls.

Saltos was arrested by ICE agents as he arrived at work on Oct. 6 and was held in detention in Freeborn County Jail in Albert Lea.

Speaking to an MPR News reporter in Spanish, Saltos said the worst part of being in detention was not being able to help care for his family.

“Pues me desesperaba porque yo quería ver a mi padre, quería verlo, quería estar pendiente,” Saltos said.

“I was getting desperate because I wanted to see my father, I wanted to be there for him.”

Saltos’ lawyer immediately alerted the judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, to the re-arrest.

In an order, Bryan wrote ICE “failed to release” Saltos “thereby violating” his release order. He wrote ICE must release Saltos “immediately,” or the government could face sanctions.

The agents bringing Saltos to the Kandiyohi County Jail were forced to turn around.

Saltos said when he realized he would truly be released, he cried the rest of the evening.

“No paraba de poder llorar a la vez de emoción, a la vez alegría, a la vez tristeza,” Saltos said.

“I couldn’t stop crying from the emotion, joy and sadness at the same time.”

Bryan, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden, has condemned ICE’s instant re-arrest strategy before.

When another man was instantly re-arrested on Sept. 9, Bryan ordered his release for a second time, writing that if such a re-arrest legally constitutes release, that “would render habeas relief meaningless.”

Saltos’ lawyer, Sherene Mostaghimi, said she was happy her client’s case was assigned to Bryan and she’s glad Saltos is home safe.

But she said these re-arrests are emblematic of the expensive, sometimes seemingly endless legal cycle immigrants are getting stuck in.

“It’s pretty abusive of the system,” Mostaghimi said. “It’s just wasting people's time.”

She said ICE didn’t provide a good reason for her client’s re-arrest other than claiming they had followed the release order when they first released him around noon.

“It’s just so ludicrous that to me, the government thinks they can get away with doing whatever they want,” Mostaghimi said.

When asked for comment about Bryan’s rulings against the government, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson wrote:

“ICE complies with all lawful court orders. When an illegal alien is ordered released by a judge, that does not immunize the alien from immigration enforcement for all time. Instead, if ICE does not appeal the ruling, it may seek to rearrest the alien in a way that complies with the judicial decision. To suggest that ICE cannot do this is nothing short of sabotage.”

Pending rulings

Other federal judges have been slower to take a position on the tactic, including Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud, a President Donald Trump nominee.

Tostrud is currently presiding over at least two instant re-arrest cases. Both men were re-arrested more than a month ago and are still in ICE custody.

Tostrud has ruled against the federal government in some cases involving ICE in the past year.

In February, he held the government in contempt for moving a detainee to Texas after he ordered ICE to keep him in Minnesota. This summer, Tostrud threw out the Department of Justice’s lawsuits against the state of Minnesota and local jurisdictions that sought to overturn their policies limiting cooperation with ICE.

However, it’s unclear how Tostrud will rule in the re-arrest cases.

Tostrud is presiding over the case of one of the first men MPR News spoke to when these re-arrests came to light.

“At least in Alejandro’s case, I think additional briefing and the production of evidence can make for a good decision,” his lawyer Daniel Suitor said.

Suitor said it makes sense that judges would take time to analyze the legality of these re-arrests because they don’t have appellate guidance to follow on the definition of “release” in habeas cases.

In an Oct. 1 order, Tostrud denied the other man’s request for an expedited decision and wrote “perhaps” the re-arrest had violated his order, but he needed more information to decide one way or another.

Attorney Stacey Rogers represents the detained man in that case and was taken aback by Tostrud’s “perhaps.”

“It really surprised me because I think as a judge, if you make a decision, you want that decision to be upheld and respected. So, at what point are we okay with that not being upheld or respected?” Rogers said.

Rogers said she fears these re-arrests could set a dangerous precedent for law enforcement because many of these cases hinge on warrantless arrests and due process violations. Due process means persons in the country, not just citizens, generally have the constitutional right to be told why they’re being detained and to have a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

“If we start to allow the Constitution to slip in one area, it's going to be very easy for the Constitution to slip in other law enforcement arrests,” Rogers said.

“The concern should be broader than just immigration.”

A new report from the University of Minnesota finds generative artificial intelligence has the potential to severely disrupt critical learning processes for students - especially those in elementary school.

“We have been extremely concerned by the public discourse around this topic and the approach to learning as if it is this monolithic thing, when, in fact… it’s quite complex,” said Panayiota Kendeou, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Educational Psychology and a lead author of the report.

She and other learning scientists surveyed experts about AI for their study and found there is a dearth of high-quality research on how artificial intelligence affects learning. But there was also wide consensus among experts that introducing AI to students in certain contexts could cause “severe and one-sided” disruption to critical aspects of learning.

“Casual, careless use of general-purpose GenAI can threaten the very learning processes necessary for committing new ideas to memory… and also the higher-order thinking needed to deeply understand and use these ideas in novel ways,” report authors wrote.

Kendeou said experts expressed extra caution when it comes to introducing AI to primary school students because of the skills being introduced and practiced at that age.

In writing, for example, Kendeou said students need to learn to put their thoughts in writing on their own before using a tool that does that task for them.

“First, give the student the opportunity to work independently so their ideas and their agency is preserved and they have opportunities to build the skills that we want them to build,” Kendeou said.

She added that once students have already learned critical thinking, writing and other foundational skills, experts suggested that generative AI could be used in helpful ways to stress-test ideas, expand on an argument and look for more resources.

“If I were a teacher, I would definitely not provide access to my students if my goal is for them to develop certain skills,” Kendeou said. “I would provide access to such tools for my students if they already have developed a certain level of those skills… and I want them to be able to practice…to test themselves to be more creative and so on.”

There are several parts of learning that experts warned were at risk: cognitive thinking, learning skills, collaboration, social-emotional development and human connections.

“With AI in education, we cannot afford to get it wrong, because education is all we have in terms of educating the next generation of citizens,” Kendeou said. “The only way of getting this right is if we center and prioritize our kids and our teachers. Once they become the center, a lot of decisions will fall into place.”

The Minneapolis City Council has moved forward a proposal to eliminate the city’s Office of Community Safety, which was created in 2022 to oversee 911 operations, alternative public safety programs, and city police and fire.

Council member Robyn Wonsley said the office has failed to show it's value during the last four years and has cost the city millions of dollars. She cited spending overruns in the Minneapolis Police Department and problems implementing the city’s court-enforced agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights on policing.

"Since its inception, it’s fueled deep skepticism about the city’s seriousness about advancing both public safety reform, as well as public safety beyond policing,” Wonsley said.

Council member Jamison Whiting urged his colleagues to give the office more time.

"We are removing the one piece of work, the one body that’s specific focus is to remove the public safety ecosystem outside of traditional law enforcement,” Whiting said.

Council President Elliott Payne said the change would move much of the office’s racial equity work into the Neighborhood and Community Relations department. The proposal would mean department heads would answer directly to the mayor.

“Nothing prevents the departments from appealing directly to the mayor to remove barriers to allow them to advance initiatives,” Payne said. “Nothing from this proposal prevents the mayor from being committed to comprehensive public safety.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey opposes eliminating the office. He said in statements to MPR News the city’s model has been praised by national experts and has effectively coordinated public safety resources since its inception.

“What came through loud and clear is that those who are bringing this proposal both don’t understand what it takes to run safety departments for a major city, nor do they have any plan for how these essential services should be delivered under their own proposal,” Frey said.

The council members voted 9-3 for the proposal, with one member abstaining. The full council will consider the proposal Thursday.

When Grace Gutlovics was 21 and newly employed as a paramedic, she experienced a “mental health crisis” that led her to spend 35 days at a treatment center for first responders.

At the time, Gutlovics had been working in emergency medical services for about three years, and needed help coping with the trauma associated with her job and deciding whether she could continue working in the field.

“I didn’t have a therapist, and mental health is relatively stigmatized within our field,” Gutlovics said. “A lot of people think that it's just part of the job … when you see something traumatic, that's just what you signed up for. But that doesn't mean that your brain was wired to process stuff like that.”

Through her union, she was referred to the International Association of Fire Fighters’ Center of Excellence, a behavioral health and recovery center for IAFF members. There, she found the support that shaped her priorities today.

“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the IAFF, truly,” Gutlovics said.

Now a paramedic serving the Brainerd Lakes region and also working part-time in the Park Rapids-Walker area, Gutlovics is involved in an effort to unionize about 650 emergency medical technicians and paramedics employed by North Memorial Health in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The campaign’s mission is to unify the company's ground and air ambulance workers under a single union.

Union organizers say they want a greater voice in staffing, training, equipment maintenance, employee benefits and workplace policies, along with resources to help paramedics and EMTs remain in a profession known for burnout and high turnover.

North Memorial Health said in a statement to MPR News that they are aware that members of the EMS team are considering union representation.

"Our EMS team plays a vital role in serving patients and communities, and we remain committed to supporting them and maintaining a strong workplace built on respect, communication and collaboration," a spokesperson wrote in the statement.

North Memorial’s ambulance service operates across eight regions in Minnesota and one in western Wisconsin, covering thousands of square miles. Organizers say it is one of the largest ground and air EMS operations in the Midwest and one of the few major services in the region without union representation.

“With that amount of employees, there is a lot of room for inconsistency and things to slip through the cracks, coming from the top down,” Gutlovics said. While acknowledging that the company has taken good care of employees, she said workers need a say in decisions affecting their jobs.

“When a service gets to this magnitude, it's almost non-negotiable that employees have the right to have a say in the working conditions and benefits and pay,” Gutlovics said.

A voice in workplace decisions

The organizing effort began in December 2025 with the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics. But Amber Liesse, a metro-area North Memorial paramedic and lead organizer, said the campaign needed a larger organization with extensive public safety experience to match the company’s size and geographic reach.

The organizers paused their initial effort to reconsider their approach. Since then, they have surpassed their goal of collecting union interest cards from 50 percent of North Memorial’s EMS employees and are preparing to petition the National Labor Relations Board for a union election under the IAFF, which represents full-time professional fire fighters and EMS workers across North America.

If employees vote to unionize, the next step will involve negotiating a first contract, a process that could be complicated by the service’s size and the geographic distances between its bases.

For Liesse, the most striking part of the campaign has been the nature of what workers are asking for. She recalled leaving one meeting surprised that employees were not primarily asking for higher wages.

“I'm proud, but I'm also a little embarrassed that people aren't asking for anything for themselves,” Liesse said. “They're just asking for the bare minimum.”

Across both metropolitan and rural areas, employees raised concerns about staffing, training and access to health care benefits. In Walker, Liesse said, workers are wanting adequate working hours, opportunities for skill development and sufficient ambulance coverage for their communities.

Staffing shortages are another pressing concern. Liesse added that when ambulances are unavailable, residents in remote communities can face long waits for emergency care.

“We're running short trucks in every single one of our regions,” Liesse said. “People aren't complaining about that because they're busy and tired; they're complaining about that because we live in the neighborhood that we serve.”

Finding their voice

Women have taken leading roles in the campaign, forming friendships and mentoring one another as they navigate a traditionally male-dominated profession. The group has informally become dubbed “the gals.”

Liesse said the organizing effort has connected employees who previously worked in different regions, providing them with a platform to compare policies, discuss workplace concerns and learn about their rights.

“It's something we've never seen before,” she said, describing how employees have helped one another understand workplace policies and Minnesota labor law, even when they had never met in person.

Support from the IAFF has also encouraged the women to speak openly about their concerns.

“It's nice not to be told to take a breath once in a while,” Liesse said.

Employees are also considering what a merger involving Sanford Health could mean for their jobs. Liesse said initial uncertainty made some workers hesitant to support the campaign, but organizers have stressed that union representation would give employees a way to negotiate workplace conditions regardless of ownership changes.

Liesse and Gutlovics said they enjoy working for North Memorial and want to stay. Their goal, they said, is to improve working conditions without losing what they value about their jobs.

“We’re not leaving,” Liesse said. “We just want to make it better.”

‘A thousand tiny paper cuts’

First responders regularly encounter traumatic situations, but the toll is not always tied to a single incident. The cumulative effects of repeated trauma and workplace stress can gradually impact mental health. Liesse described this buildup as “a thousand tiny paper cuts,” as workers move from one emergency to the next without time to process what they have witnessed.

First responders are two times more likely to die by suicide than the public, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Surgeon General’s office. For instance, career firefighters report lifetime suicidal ideation rates as high as 47 percent, while EMS personnel have a suicide risk that is ten times greater than that of civilians.

Gutlovics said early access to therapy can help workers recognize and manage stress before it becomes overwhelming. She encourages her colleagues to seek professional support and to maintain boundaries between their work and personal lives.

The organizers say they are motivated by a desire to protect their colleagues and sustain the profession, rather than to wage a campaign against their employer. Many enter EMS to help others, but burnout can drive them out within a few years, they noted.

For Gutlovics, unionizing presents an opportunity to make sure those who care for others also receive the support they need.

“We really do love this field, and we have a passion for it, and that’s why we’re doing this,” she said. “We want people to have longevity and security, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, because this field has constant turnover, and we want people to stay in it.”

A group of 174 bipartisan former judges has signed a letter defending seven Minnesota District judges who are the subject of a judicial misconduct complaint filed by the Department of Justice.

The Minnesota judges gave interviews to the New York Times published in September about ICE defying court orders.

The complaint alleges the judges' statements were unethical and partisan. U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche also called on the judges to recuse themselves ​from any case ​involving ⁠the Department of Homeland Security, alleging they had bias against the ​administration.

The letter, co-signed by several retired Minnesota judges including former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson, said the complaint is baseless and that the judges' statements were already made public in court documents.

“Instead of dealing with the government’s defiance of judicial orders, the government filed disciplinary charges against the Minnesota judges who lawfully called out their misconduct,” said Nancy Gertner, former United States district judge for the District of Massachusetts, in a statement released Tuesday by a nonpartisan group called Democracy Defenders Fund. “174 retired judges have signed this letter making it clear that there is no basis for those charges.”

In a statement to MPR News in September, Judge Patrick Schiltz said he was acting “well within the ethical rules that apply to federal judges in speaking to the New York Times."

The parents of Alex Pretti ripped the federal government Tuesday for its response to their son’s fatal shooting in January by federal agents in Minneapolis and called for the agents who shot him to be held accountable.

Federal officials “have ignored us, misled us and shielded Alex’s killers,” Michael Pretti told reporters.

Minnesota U.S Attorney Daniel Rosen, he said, has “stonewalled us for nine months, refusing to share a single update of any kind” on the federal investigation into Alex’s killing, adding that Rosen’s “only words have been, ‘I can't tell you.’”

“The federal government went on TV and lied about Alex. They tried to slander his memory to cover up their crime. Not only was it wrong, it was shameful, unfair and unacceptable,” Susan Pretti said.

“We don’t want to be on TV and we don't want to become political activists,” she added. “All we want is justice for Alex. We are here today to simply request the federal government to treat us with the dignity and respect our son deserved.”

The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that it did not have a comment on the Pretti family’s news conference.

The Justice Department defended its process.

"The timing is consistent with how these types of investigations proceed,” officials said in a statement. “As is standard practice, communications with family members, if any, come at a later stage of a case, such as indictment, initial appearance, plea, trial, or sentencing. Those communications do not typically occur during an investigation.”

‘Stop being the Department of Obstruction’

In January, days after Pretti’s killing, the Justice Department said it had opened a federal civil rights probe.

In March, Minnesota officials sued the Trump's administration for access to evidence they said they needed to independently investigate the killing of Pretti as well as the killing of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in January as federal immigration agents flooded the Twin Cities during Operation Metro Surge.

By July, state prosecutors said the federal government was turning over information.

In recent court filings, however, state officials said the federal government has stopped sharing evidence with Minnesota authorities investigating the killings of Pretti and Good.

“We are a family who love this country. We trust in the institutions of this country. We believe in the rule of law, and that people should be held accountable through that law. However, our experience with the Department of Justice has left us wondering how Alex will ever get justice,” Michael Pretti said Tuesday.

“No family should have to beg someone in the federal government to do their job,” Pretti family attorney Steve Schleicher told reporters. “Stop being the Department of Obstruction and begin being the Department of Justice.”

Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards needs an arthroscopic procedure to alleviate issues with his right knee and will miss several weeks, a person with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Timberwolves had yet to make any public announcements of Edwards’ plan to have the procedure.

Edwards has been listed on injury reports with a right knee issue, though it wasn't clear what the problem was. The Timberwolves had listed him as questionable for their game against Golden State on Wednesday, before the decision was evidently made to go forward with the surgery.

Edwards was off to a flying start this season, averaging 33.3 points and leading Minnesota to three wins in its first four games. He scored 45 points in the season-opening win at Miami, then had 47 points in a loss to Cleveland on Monday night.

If he is out for two months, that would essentially take him up until Minnesota's Christmas game against Oklahoma City. It would also mean Edwards would miss around 25 games, meaning he would fall short of the NBA's 65-game threshold for end-of-season awards like the All-NBA team and MVP.

Edwards was limited to 61 games last season, mostly because of knee-related issues.

The new opera “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr” was set to premiere on Halloween night. Now audiences may not see it until late 2027 or early 2028.

The Minnesota Opera announced the postponement this week amid continuing negotiations about cost-of-living wage increases with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, which have been ongoing for five months and resulted in a vote to authorize a strike earlier this month.

“It’s disappointing,” said Ryan Taylor, the Opera’s president and general director.

“We're not at a place where I feel like we are within striking distance of an agreement just yet,” Taylor continued. “We really couldn't imagine getting to a place where we were standing on opening night, and critical members of our team decided they couldn't perform, so in this case, we felt like the best thing for us to do is to move ‘Laila Starr’ to a time period where we are certain about our ability to present the show.”

Taylor said the union — American Federation of Musicians Local 3073 — rejected a “temporary no-strike, no-lockout agreement” that would ensure the orchestra receives retroactive pay increases once a new contract is reached.

“There would be no loss for the orchestra and no loss for the 214 or so other artists working on the show, and we would get to present a world premiere without interruption while we continued to negotiate on that contract,” Taylor said. “And the musicians declined that offer.”

Cellist Rebecca Arons, the chair of the negotiating committee, said the offer did not make sense for orchestra members because leadership has shown no willingness to consider wage increases.

“It is rather disingenuous,” Arons said. “You are saying that you can provide increases and you are offering exactly zero at the negotiating table — to then demand an agreement such as that is not anything that any one would think was reasonable.”

Arons said a central issue is management treating the orchestra members as “per-service” musicians. In other words, an orchestra hired for individual performances rather than a community institution in itself.

“It's about preserving the professional orchestra that has been the foundation of the Minnesota Opera's artistic excellence for 63 years,” Arons said. “There has been a trajectory of artistic growth, of trust, of shared vision between the orchestra, other creatives and the top leadership, and that has been eroded.”

The Orchestra will host a free concert starting 7 p.m. Sunday at the University of Minnesota’s Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis.

“It will be all of your favorite opera arias,” Arons said. “Regardless of how things are going for the negotiations, we need to do things to remind us, and in community with people who want to see live music, why we have dedicated our lives to this.”

Taylor said the Opera will pay all the artists, including the orchestra members, for their work on this season as originally contracted, regardless of the postponement. Ticketholders have the option to use their ticket next year, transfer it to a performance later this season or get a refund.

The Opera’s next scheduled production is “My Name is Florence” Jan. 8 and 9.

An extra hour of sleep is on the way for most Americans, though the “fall back” to standard time will bring darker afternoons, too.

One tip: Try to get outside for some morning sun — it’ll help your body clock reset faster.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 14, when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.

There’s a lot of grumbling about the twice-a-year time changes. An AP-NORC poll last year found that only 12 percent of American adults were in favor of it, while almost half opposed it. Lawmakers in Washington took up the issue yet again over the summer.

People often find the spring switch harder, losing that hour of sleep we allegedly recover in the fall. But many people also mourn fall's end of daylight saving time, when days already are getting shorter and moving the clocks can mean less daylight after school or work for exercise or outdoor fun. The poll found that, if forced to choose, most Americans would prefer to keep that extra hour of daylight in the evening.

But health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have long urged adopting standard time year-round. That's because it aligns more with the sun, which rises later in the winter, and with human biology, what's called the circadian rhythm. Brighter mornings and less light at night are key to keeping that rhythm on track, making it easier to wake up on time and stick with healthy sleep patterns.

Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do — mostly in North America and Europe — the date that clocks are changed varies. In the U.S., Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t change and stay on standard time.

Here’s what to know about the twice-yearly ritual.

How the body reacts to light

The brain has a master clock that is set by exposure to sunlight and darkness. This circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle that determines when we become sleepy and when we’re more alert. The patterns change with age, one reason that early-to-rise youngsters evolve into hard-to-wake teens.

Morning light is key to synchronizing that internal clock. By evening, levels of a hormone called melatonin begin to surge, triggering drowsiness. Too much light in the evening — whether from later time outdoors during daylight saving time or from artificial light like computer screens — delays that surge and the cycle gets out of sync.

And that circadian clock affects more than sleep, also influencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.

How do time changes affect sleep?

Even an hour's change on the clock can throw off sleep schedules because even though the clocks change, work and school start times stay the same.

Right after the spring change, darker mornings and lighter evenings make it harder to fall asleep on time. Those first few days have been linked to increases in car crashes and even an uptick in heart attacks.

During the fall and winter, some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight, often struggle.

Many people easily adjust to the clock switch, like how they recover from jet lag after traveling. But a time change can add pressure on shift workers whose schedules already are out of sync with the sun, or those regularly sleep-deprived for other reasons.

About 1 in 3 U.S. adults sleep less than the recommended seven-plus hours nightly, and more than half of U.S. teens don’t get the recommended eight-plus hours on weeknights.

Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to heart disease, cognitive decline, obesity and numerous other problems.

How to prepare for the time change

In both fall and spring, changing bedtimes by as little as 15 minutes a night in the days before the change can help ease into it.

But sunshine in the morning is critical to helping reset your circadian rhythm for healthful sleep. If you can’t get outdoors, sit by windows.

Will the U.S. ever get rid of the time change?

Every year, there’s talk about ending the time change. The nation even tried it in the 1970s, but it lasted less than a year after a public outcry.

The latest attempt came in July, when the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. President Donald Trump backs the idea and is pressuring reluctant senators to support it, even posting the cellphone number of Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, an opponent, on social media.

Shaunice Christmas-Miller and her wife, Kendall, have the flexibility in their jobs to work from home Thursday and watch Game 6 of the WNBA Finals despite the early tipoff on the West Coast.

That doesn't mean either is happy with the Golden State-Atlanta game starting at 9:30 a.m. PDT at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, several hours ahead of the Cavaliers-Hawks NBA game Thursday night. With the potential championship-clinching contest not being played in primetime, they know many other fans won't be able to skip work and watch a potentially historic day in women's basketball.

Shaunice Christmas-Miller, who works in human resources, wishes everybody involved had considered the various options further in advance to avoid such last-minute scrambling.

“They should have thought ahead for the whole seven-game series,” she said. “The women deserve primetime slots.”

Several of the WNBA Finals games have drawn record ratings, showing how much interest there is in the league, this series and its athletes. The Valkyries have sold out every game since they began as an expansion franchise last year.

“They would never make the men's NBA final happen at 9:30 in the morning,” said Kendall Christmas-Miller, an accounting manager for a medical tech company. “I'm glad that they found accommodations but there's still more work to be done when it comes to prioritizing women's sports, especially when they're performing at this level and getting the viewership.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr plans to tune in over breakfast.

“We’ll have a day off that day, so, yeah, I’ll be watching,” he said.

He will hardly be alone, according to Shaunice and Kendall. The couple from San Jose has attended every home playoff game this season at Chase Center — nicknamed “Ballhalla” for the raucous atmosphere created by Valkyries fans — and they believe the fan base will still show up Thursday.

“Absolutely, they will definitely find a way,” Shaunice said.

Other fans are frustrated, too

“MOVE THE HAWKS GAME WOMEN = PRIME TIME” read one sign at the arena Monday night, when the Valkyries moved within a victory of a championship by beating the Dream 64-55.

Others expressed their feelings on social media.

Rapper Flavor Flav posted Tuesday: “Thursday is a paid holiday. Because Flavor Flav said so.” Included in his post was a photo of a note directed to bosses everywhere as a permission slip of sorts requesting excused absences for employees, signed by Flavor Flav with dual titles beneath his name — “The World's Greatest Hype Man” and “Official Supporter of Women's Sports.”

Ole Miss women’s coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin sounded off.

“I’d rather play anywhere else than have a 12:30 tip for a WNBA FINALS game man! Not a good look! For fans and for the players,” she posted on social media. “Just my 2cents that no one asked for.”

Kendall Christmas-Miller said while the decision to start the game early is disappointing, “women’s sports fans are resilient and we’re going to keep pushing and keep finding a way to show up.”

Valkyries focus on what they can control

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase and her players have focused all along on what they can control, and this certainly isn't one of those things.

But there were some clever postgame offerings:

“Call in sick, I recommend it,” point guard Veronica Burton cracked.

“Yeah, right? Y'all know how to fake a cough, didn't we all do that?” teammate Kiah Stokes added.

Guard Kaila Charles has no doubt the Valkyries will adjust for the early tipoff.

“I think it’s a good thing that we’re able to play in a bigger arena so that they can have more people come and support women’s basketball,” Charles said.

Golden State hosting early morning watch party

Valkyries co-owner Peter Guber walked into Chase Center on Monday unconcerned about the franchise's devoted home crowd coming together when it matters most, despite the morning challenges such as commuter traffic to get into San Francisco for a watch party.

Supporters have been invited to gather outside at Chase Center's Thrive City viewing area beneath the big screen, which is 74 feet wide and 42 feet high.

“Whatever they do, they come where the action is and this is the action,” Guber said, insisting Golden State's faithful fans will all be “up and ready to go.”

Nakase has made public pleas to the fan base before, and she did so again.

“The beauty of Ballhalla, they’ll sacrifice,” she said. “They're going to sacrifice. They're going to open that app, they're going to open their phone, they're going to watch. I have no doubt that everyone who has been supporting us through this whole way — maybe we picked up fans within the Finals — everybody’s going to watch. ... That's what we do on Golden State, we sacrifice for the betterment of our team.

“So our fans, I ain’t worried about it, our fans are going to show up, show out, we play for them because they show up, show out. They don't ever miss a beat.”

And on Thursday, even over their morning coffee.

“We’ve got the best fans in the league,” Burton said, “so I’m sure they’ll be supporting us, whatever time.”

Social media videos believed to be produced with artificial intelligence and linked to Russia are misusing real people’s names and photographs to spread disinformation about two Democratic Senate candidates in the final stretch of midterm voting.

One of the targets is Sherrod Brown, who is running against Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio. The video, which appears to include some AI manipulation, depicts a newscast and includes pictures of Haya Akbik, who interned for Brown several years ago, and other former staff members.

It was appalling to Akbik, who told The Associated Press that any claims attributed to her in the clip are “completely made up."

“It’s my name, it’s my reputation, making this allegation, and it’s just completely false,” she said. “And it harms the senator, someone else, in the process. So, it’s just messed up.”

The videos demonstrate how foreign adversaries continue to use a familiar playbook to try to influence American voters who are deciding which party controls Congress next year. The threat could be magnified with AI, a powerful tool for fabricating damaging information that can sometimes appear very real.

Another target is James Talarico, who is running against Republican Ken Paxton for a Senate seat in Texas. The video, also believed to include some AI manipulation, is framed as a direct-to-camera confessional from a former student of Talarico.

“The most powerful people in the world know they can't beat James Talarico with the truth, so they're slandering him with AI deepfakes, foreign bots, and conspiracy theories to protect their broken, corrupt political system,” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement.

The social media company X has taken down the initial posts that shared the videos and suspended the users for violating the platform’s rules. However, copies could still be found online Tuesday — some with hundreds of shares — demonstrating how difficult it can be to contain disinformation that can proliferate in the final days of an election.

Experts see a resemblance to Russian clips from 2024

The videos resemble clips from a Russian network known as Storm-1516 that targeted former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, two years ago.

The new ones bear similar hallmarks and are likely products of the same network, according to Clemson University professor and media forensics expert Darren Linvill. He found that the accounts that shared recent material had also shared former content from Storm-1516.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has denied interfering in U.S. elections.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has publicly identified some videos as Russian disinformation in past election cycles, also didn't respond to a request for comment.

Hany Farid, a Dartmouth College professor who studies artificial intelligence deepfakes, said his analyses showed that videos targeting Brown and Talarico were likely either generated or manipulated using the technology.

He noted the video targeting Brown is a “fairly low-tech fake." The other one, targeting Talarico, is likely generated by AI and “it is consistent with previous disinformation campaigns released close to Election Day,” Farid said.

Akbik said the video featuring her shows the importance of Congress regulating “AI slop on the internet.”

“This is so damaging,” she said.

Kirill Kaprizov scored his NHL-leading 14th goal of the season and added an assist, Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Utah Mammoth 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Joel Eriksson Ek and Maxim Shabanov also had goals while Quinn Hughes had two assists for the Wild, who have won three straight and went 3-1-1 on a five-game road trip.

Utah's Logan Cooley scored with 1:21 to play to spoil Wallstedt's shutout bid.

Kaprizov scored on the power-play just 48 seconds into the second period to give the Wild a 2-0 lead. He has multiple points in three consecutive games and has scored a goal in eight of his last nine games.

Kaprizov is also tied with Alexander Ovechkin for the fifth-most goals scored in October in NHL history.

Eriksson Ek also scored on the power play with less than five minutes to play in the first period and has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last seven games.

Karel Vejmelka made 27 stops for the Mammoth, who have lost three of their last five games.

Wild: Return home to face the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Mammoth: Open a six-game road trip at Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers are the surprising last teams standing with a zero in either the win or the loss column.

The Vikings beat Indianapolis 16-10 on Sunday and are now the only undefeated team remaining after losses by San Francisco and Kansas City, while the Chargers are the last winless team after Miami beat the New York Jets.

That makes this season the first in the Super Bowl era, according to Sportradar, when the last undefeated team missed the playoffs the previous season and the last winless team made the previous postseason.

While the Vikings and Chargers are on opposite sides of the standings, they are tied in one statistic that shows just how unlikely this 6-0 start is for Minnesota. The teams are averaging 1.5 offensive touchdowns per game for the second-lowest mark in the NFL.

The Vikings scored five TDs on offense in the opener against Green Bay and have only four in five games since then but still keep winning. Minnesota has scored 125 points overall to tie for the second fewest for any 6-0 team in the last 90 seasons.

The Rams scored 116 in the first six games in 1978 on the way to a 12-4 record and a trip to the NFC title game. The Vikings also scored 125 points in the first six games in 1973 in a season that ended with a Super Bowl loss to Miami.

The fast start should bode well for Minnesota as the final undefeated team has made the playoffs every season since 2017. The last team to miss out were the Vikings in 2016 when they were the only undefeated team at 5-0 after six weeks before finishing 8-8 and falling short of the postseason.

Ravens blow another double-digit lead; 49ers fail to make a big late comeback

Three teams overcame double-digit deficits to win in Week 7, with one of the teams that blew the lead not a surprise.

Cleveland fell behind 14-0 early before beating Tennessee 27-24, Atlanta rallied from 14-3 down to beat San Francisco 29-20 and Cincinnati overcame a 13-0 halftime deficit to beat Baltimore 35-13. That gives the league 20 double-digit comebacks this season to tie for the third most through seven weeks in a nonstrike season.

The Bengals' comeback was particularly noteworthy as it marked the 10th time in the last five seasons that the Ravens lost a game after leading by at least 10 points in the second half. No other team has done it more than six times in that span.

But it's extremely rare for a team to fall behind by that much at halftime and win such a lopsided game. In fact, Cincinnati became the third team in NFL history to win a game by least 20 points after trailing by 13 or more at the half.

It last happened on Nov. 19, 1950, when the Giants came back from 20-7 down at the half to beat the first version of the Baltimore Colts 55-20. Those Colts folded after the season and a new version that now plays in Indianapolis started three years later. Only one other team has done it in NFL history with the Bears coming from 14-0 down at the half to beat the Eagles 49-14 on Nov. 30, 1941.

The Falcons built a 26-14 lead in the fourth quarter after their first-half deficit and that proved too much for San Francisco to overcome. The 49ers are 0-49 in 10 seasons under Kyle Shanahan, playoffs included, when trailing by at least eight points in the fourth quarter. Every other team has at least one win in that scenario in that span, led by the eight for Green Bay and Pittsburgh.

The comeback by Cleveland prevented Tennessee from winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2022. The Titans have gone 65 straight games without consecutive wins to tie the Browns for the longest streak ever at 65, according to Sportradar. Tennessee will set the record next week with a 66th game.

Tampa Bay did go 74 straight without winning consecutive games in a season in the 1980s but did win the final game in 1988 and the opener in 1989 to break up that streak.

Kickers struggling early in the season

The kicking revolution that took over the NFL last season after a change in the kicking ball has abated early this season with the most misses at this point in a season in five years.

There have been 98 missed field goals and extra points so far for the most in the first seven weeks since there were 102 in 2021.

The problem was especially costly for Green Bay last week. Trey Smack missed a 26-yarder in the first quarter and had a 35-yarder blocked in a tie game in the fourth quarter, contributing to the Packers' 20-17 loss to Detroit.

Smack became the first kicker to miss two field goals from 35 yards or closer in the same game since Mike Nugent did it for New England in a 27-13 win against Cleveland in 2019. It was the first time it happened in a loss of three points of fewer since Shaun Suisham did it for Pittsburgh in a 21-18 loss to the Raiders in 2013.

There has been only one other miss in 172 attempts this season from 37 yards or closer and that came in Week 2 when Chicago's Cairo Santos had a 23-yarder blocked in a 9-3 loss to Minnesota.

The Packers aren't the only team with kicking issues this season. The Rams released Harrison Mevis after he missed two field goals in a Week 5 overtime loss to Buffalo, Eddy Pineiro became the first 49ers kicker in 40 years to miss a kick in at least five straight games and Harrison Butker missed two field goals for Kansas City on Sunday night to give him an NFL-worst 15 missed kicks since the start of last season.

Seahawks shut down Mahomes and the Chiefs

Seattle's Dark Side defense proved to be too much against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Seahawks beat the Chiefs 20-3 on Sunday night in a win that was more dominating than even the score indicated. Kansas City failed to make it into the red zone even once in the game for the first time in 153 starts for Mahomes in the regular season and playoffs.

The Chiefs went scoreless in the first half for the fifth time with Mahomes at quarterback, tied their fewest points ever in a Mahomes start with a 27-3 loss to Tennessee in 2021 and finished with their second-fewest yards (213) and fewest first downs (11) in those 153 games.

In fact, the Chiefs only had one touchdown the previous week against the Chargers on a run by Kenneth Walker III, marking the first time a Kansas City quarterback started back-to-back without throwing or running for a TD since Alex Smith did it in 2013.

Milwaukee was three outs from its first World Series title when Junior Caminero started the bottom of the 12th inning with a grounder to third. Thousands of Brewers fans who trekked to Tropicana Field to witness the long-awaited moment started to cheer.

Not so fast.

Third baseman Joey Ortiz bounced the throw, and the ball glanced off first baseman Jake Bauers’ mitt for an error.

One of the most stunning rallies in World Series history started to unfold.

Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson followed with consecutive singles in a 15-pitch span against rookie Shane Drohan, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off elimination Tuesday night with a 4-3 win that forced Game 5.

“Sometimes the game tests you. Sometimes the game makes you want to dig deep,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “It’s all part of the journey, all part of the experience, and that’s part of our story.”

Milwaukee rookie Cooper Pratt hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th for a 3-2 lead, sending the Brewers sprinting out of the dugout in excitement as they sensed completing the first Series sweep since 2012.

Milwaukee's bullpen, led by seven outs from Aaron Ashby, had combined for seven straight scoreless innings, before Caminero reached against Antonio Senzatela.

Ortiz grimaced.

“I've got to make that play," he said. “Just no excuse about it.”

Caminero appeared to hurt his left foot but stayed in the game. Brewers manager Pat Murphy brought in Drohan, a 27-year-old left-hander who had not pitched since a one-inning start in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 15.

With Pratt shifted toward second for the left-handed batter, Hicks hit an opposite-field grounder through the vacated shortstop hole and into left field as Caminero slid headfirst into third.

“For just regular D, that's right at Coop,” Drohan said of the defensive alignment.

Pinch-runner Cedric Mullins replaced Caminero before DeLuca, who had made sparkling catches to deny Yelich in the third and William Contreras in the fourth, hit a grounder past the mound as Drohan tried in vain to make a behind-the-back snag. The ball bounced into center as Mullins tied the score at 3.

Nick Fortes ran at second for the slower Hicks. After missing a bunt attempt and pulling back another while taking a called strike, Simpson lined a single into center, loading the bases.

Sal Frelick moved in from left to form a five-man infield, with three defenders on the left side and everyone playing in.

Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 in the postseason, batted for Victor Mesa Jr.

"It’s what you dream of as a player to be in that spot,” Williamson said.

On the game's 367th pitch, he hit a chopper that kicked up chalk from the foul line 7 feet from home plate. The ball bounded high over Bauers and onto the grass in short right field. Fortes sprinted across the plate with the winning run, then headed toward first to join his jumping teammates in foul territory.

“That was totally what I told him to do,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said, drawing laughs.

Drohan walked off, his head bowed.

“Definitely hard. I’m human," he said softly. “I knew what I was walking into. I just didn’t do the job there.”

Tampa Bay became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, according to OptaSTATS, joining the 1912 Boston Red Sox, 1986 New York Mets and 2011 St. Louis Cardinals — who all went on to win titles.

“We've got a lot of fight in us. We’re never going to shy away," Simpson said. “We were going to keep fighting until the end — the last inning, the last out, the last play, the last pitch."

Game 5 in the best-of-seven matchup is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start for the Brewers. Cash said he hadn't decided on a starter yet.

Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4. The previous four lost Game 5.

Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, the only one that rebounded to win was the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series.

“It just shows the resiliency of this group,” Williamson said. “We continue to fight, and that’s been the motto this series and this full season, is just fight.”

Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base and hobbled off the field with an ailing left foot. But the All-Star slugger said he’ll definitely play Wednesday night.

“He’ll play tomorrow on one leg. I’ll make sure of it,” Cash said.

Tampa Bay ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were bidding to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series.

“I feel like today we’ve just been playing so free,” DeLuca said. “It’s a pretty cool position we’re in and it’s a special opportunity that we have."

David Hamilton also homered for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio had a single and double, improving to 10 for 20 in the Series.

“When you’re achieving something like this, it’s going to have its adversity,” Murphy said. “We had some things go our way yesterday. They had some things go their way today. That’s the way it is.”

Pratt, a 22-year-old who debuted in June, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour to become the first rookie to hit a World Series extra-inning homer. His go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win in Game 2 after Seymour allowed Frelick’s tying home run.

“Nobody said this was going to be easy,” Pratt said.

Milwaukee fans in the crowd of 40,514, many waving yellow towels and some wearing cheeseheads, brought a Badger State feel to Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay returned to its white home jerseys, a day after playing in Devil Rays throwbacks.

Simpson hit an RBI double off starter Dustin May in the second, but Milwaukee tied the score in the fourth against Griffin Jax when Frelick hit a two-out single and came around on Pratt's double.

Caminero singled leading off the bottom half to chase May and advanced on a groundout. DeLuca hit a hard grounder to Hamilton and Caminero twisted toward the grass to avoid the third baseman’s tag, then came home when Hamilton bounced his throw past Bauers for an error.

Hamilton, Milwaukee’s No. 9 hitter, drove an 0-2 fastball at the letters from Jax into the right-field seats for his second home run of the postseason — half his regular-season total and just his second since June 6.

Six scoreless innings followed before the late drama in a 4-hour, 20-minute game that ended at 12:28 a.m. with the first Series walk-off pinch hit in extra innings since Gene Larkin's single won Game 7 for Minnesota in 1991.

“You play Wiffle ball in the backyard with your friends and you’re dreaming of hitting a walk-off ball in the World Series,” Williamson said.

Maddie Robinson and Shay Scanlan, MinnPost

Randolph Avenue meets Shepard Road in St. Paul near the banks of the Mississippi River, hemmed in by railroad tracks still serving the industrial corridor. Beyond the intersection, nearing the river, a winding network of dirt paths and pitched tents have become a makeshift neighborhood — St. Paul’s largest encampment — for hundreds of people without permanent shelter.

Posted around the site are Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) “no trespassing” signs, many of them defaced by graffiti, warning of a stew of toxins in the soil, including lead, arsenic and mercury. The levels are so high, the signs say, that the area is listed as one of Minnesota’s permanent environmental priority sites.

The MPCA has tracked the toxins for years and has labeled the area that is now home to the encampment as a state superfund site, meaning it is eligible for state-funded cleanup. (The site is not a federally-designated Superfund Site.) But while the agency has included cleanup funds in its budget requests, they’ve been turned down by state lawmakers in favor of higher-priority projects.

The site has become a perfect storm — land never intended for human habitation has become a home for people who say they have no place else to go. And as St. Paul and Ramsey County authorities wrestle with how and when to rehouse the homeless individuals who live there, the health impacts mount.

Whose land is it?

Ownership of the land is murky, especially given that the encampment has no specific boundaries. An MPCA assessment from 2022 shows that at least part of the land is City of St. Paul parkland and public right-of-way. Adjacent portions are owned by Xcel Energy and Union Pacific Railroad.

The same assessment reports that from 1968-1989, the area was an automobile salvage yard whose operator filled the land with soil mixed with materials like asphalt, glass, wood and plastic in order to raise the ground level to prevent flooding.

Along with charred automobile parts, construction debris and battery casing fragments found on the site as deep as 16 feet underground, MPCA testing done in the early 2010s identified lead and carcinogenic chemical hotspots.

MinnPost gathered three soil samples at the Randolph encampment in late September and sent them to University of Minnesota biology researcher Emilie Snell-Rood, who co-leads a lab studying how urban contaminants move through the Twin Cities.

Of the three samples, one collected on the outskirts of the encampment did not show elevated lead levels and another, collected on a main pathway, showed lead levels at 355 parts per million (ppm). Chronic exposure to any level above 200 ppm is considered a health risk, Snell-Rood said.

The third sample, taken near the center of the encampment where some residents have lived for years, showed lead levels of 646 ppm, well over triple the safety threshold. At anything above 600 ppm, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends the removal of soil from residential areas.

Snell-Rood said she would be “very concerned” for people with daily interactions with the soil. “If there is exposed soil and people are walking on it and it gets dusty and they inhale that, or they’re sitting on the ground and touching it, and it gets on their hands or it gets in their mouth, those would be the exposure routes I would worry about,” she said.

The health risks posed by lead depend on factors such as a person’s age, how the lead is absorbed and how long a person is exposed. Snell-Rood said with long-term exposure, the human body can confuse lead with calcium and store it in the bones. This can lead to multiple serious issues with cognition, executive function, the cardiovascular and nervous systems and more.

Lead is particularly harmful to pregnant women, as it can enter the bloodstream and reach the fetus, increasing the likelihood for miscarriage, premature birth and developmental complications. Vanessa Rojas, a mutual aid worker who volunteers almost every day at the Randolph encampment, said she knows of six pregnant women currently living at the site.

Rojas, who has been visiting the encampment for about a year and is currently co-founding a nonprofit focused on homeless outreach, estimates about 50 residents were living at Randolph before St. Paul officials cleared the Pig’s Eye encampment in early August. Many of the people forced out moved to Randolph, bringing the population to over 400 people, Rojas said.

St. Paul has offered more conservative estimates of about 150 to 200 residents at any given time, but city spokesperson Matt Wagenius said in an email to MinnPost on Oct. 23 that the onsite city outreach team is “tracking work” with about 330 residents.

Health issues and distrust

Following the clearing of Pig’s Eye, the influx of newcomers carting their belongings and pitching tents kicked up dirt and brought deeper soils to the surface, Rojas said, leading residents to voice more health-related concerns.

Dan Campbell has lived at Randolph on and off for about 15 years. Known as “Luigi,” he is more familiar with the area than anybody, Rojas and other volunteers said, and has earned the respect of fellow residents.

Campbell needs back surgery and a hip replacement, but he blames the polluted land for contributing to his worsening respiratory system, swollen legs and feet injured by debris and irritants.

“My dog’s constantly licking their feet,” Campbell said. “Got something going on with them because of the soil, too.”

Tiffany Weber, another resident, has lived at the Randolph encampment on and off for 10 years. She told MinnPost she recalls several instances of vomiting after lying on the ground – a symptom she thinks could have to do with the soil health.

She expressed deep distrust of city and state officials, whom she said have turned a blind eye to people living on the polluted land while doing little to mitigate the environmental dangers.

“They know that it’s gonna make us sick or perhaps kill us,” Weber said.

St. Paul and Ramsey County officials pushed back, pointing out that MPCA’s warning signs are posted throughout the area and outreach workers have been onsite regularly connecting residents with available resources.

When asked about the contamination, Ramsey County spokesperson Casper Hill said via email the county knows about the pollution and has “implemented safety protocols for staff working onsite related to concerns about soil contamination,” as well as “focused on connecting encampment residents to benefits, services, and other resources that can improve their wellbeing and help get them out of the encampment and into shelter and housing.”

Wagenius said in an email to MinnPost that city outreach staff are onsite “nearly every day” distributing water, food and other basic necessities, as well as health supplies like drug testing strips and wound care kits. He added the onsite teams also help residents get approved for food and cash assistance programs, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), perform housing assessments and assist with clearing warrants.

City outreach staff are encouraged to wear protective gear such as face masks and disposable shoe coverings when at Randolph due to the soil conditions, Wagenius said.

“The contamination on this land is a main reason we urged people to use shelter space rather than move to this location,” the email said. “The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency posted warning signs around the site before the encampment formed.”

Competing funding priorities

Though numbers have swelled in recent months, evidence shows people have lived at Randolph for years. A 2014 Minnesota Department of Health health assessment sent to an MPCA hydrogeologist noted that a large tent was set up on the property during a site visit in late May of that year.

“… It is possible that a person(s) may be living there rather than just camping for the night. There was no signage to alert people to the contamination, nor was there signage or fencing to encourage people to stay off of the property,” the 2014 letter stated.

The City of St. Paul declined to comment further when asked when they became aware of people living at the site.

The site has been listed as a state superfund site since 1992, according to MPCA records, following its acquisition by the City of St. Paul through tax forfeiture. Under state law, polluters are required to pay for cleanup. But when, as at Randolph, the polluter is unwilling to cooperate or no longer exists, the state has access to a “remediation fund” to cover cleanup costs. Seven other St. Paul sites are on the same “permanent priority” list, including the Pig’s Eye Landfill which was home to the previous encampment.

In 2016, an EPA evaluation found that the Randolph site, officially called “St. Paul Levee Site,” needed short-term stabilization and cleanup. But the site has largely gone untouched since then aside from soil sample collections and the installation of groundwater monitoring wells. A 2022 assessment estimated that cleanup, including excavating the tainted soil, would cost about $4 million, said Dan Ruiter, an spokesperson for the MPCA.

The state’s remediation fund is sizable but not unlimited: In 2022, the MPCA spent just over $59 million on remediation projects, according to the agency’s enacted biennial budget. This jumped to over $111 million in 2024, and the enacted budget for 2027 is roughly $164 million. Other, smaller funds also are used for various land cleanup efforts. Ruiter said that MPCA prioritizes projects based on their risk to human health and the environment.

“The site at Shepard and Randolph does not have buildings or drinking water sources and has signage to warn people to stay off the property due to contamination. If followed, this reduces the risk at the site,” Ruiter said.

In addition to the remediation fund, agencies like MPCA can request additional dollars through the Legislature’s bonding bills. In 2024, the MPCA requested $7 million to finalize plans to “excavate, stabilize, and treat” the majority of the soil at the site. Cleanup for the Randolph encampment would have begun in 2025 and continued through 2028, but the funds did not become part of Gov. Tim Walz’s recommended budget.

Walz’s office did not respond in time to MinnPost’s request for comment.

Sen. Sandra Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), who chairs the Legislature’s Capital Investment Committee and whose district includes the encampment area, said that prior to the closure of the Pig’s Eye encampment, she was not aware people were living at Randolph Ave., nor of its soil conditions.

Oftentimes, she said, legislators learn of issues through advocates at the local level. City leaders, for example, might make a case to their legislators for remediation funding or cleanup funding included in the MPCA’s budget. Then, the legislators might take that request into budgetary discussions and dealings. In the case of the Randolph Ave. site, that didn’t happen, Pappas said.

“I certainly haven’t heard from them that, ‘We need help with this. Can you advocate to put money in the remediation fund?’” Pappas said. “It’s been kind of a neglected property.”

The City of St. Paul declined to comment when asked if they had requested funding or advocated for an encampment cleanup.

Council pauses possible closure

On Oct. 21, with winter fast approaching, the St. Paul City Council took up the question of how the city should respond to encampments. They unanimously passed a resolution to establish a 60-day pause on encampment closures and ensure a “navigation tent” onsite to assist residents. The resolution also established plans for a temporary, indoor shelter to operate during the winter months and a separate indoor, permanent shelter.

Dozens of people showed up to the Council meeting to advocate for a longer pause. Councilmember Saura Jost called the Council’s resolution a first step.

“We currently have hundreds of residents that are spending their nights sleeping on contaminated ground, and we know that our first responders’ time is also occupied with calls to that same site,” Jost said. “But our city’s encampment clearing in August plainly did not produce the results that anyone was hoping to see … The magnitude of this task does not excuse us from the responsibility of trying to solve it.”

Campaign finance reports released Tuesday show more than $55 million flowing into the two most competitive state-level races — with more being spent by outside groups than by the candidates’ own campaigns.

Much of the money is going toward TV ads blanketing the airwaves in the runup to the Nov. 3 election.

The reports filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board run through Oct. 19, so they don’t yet show the entire financial picture. State law requires the reports to be released one week before Election Day.

Governor’s race

Outside groups have spent more than $18 million so far in the race for the governor’s office.

The biggest chunk, more than $9 million, was spent by Restore Sanity, a GOP group that sprang up early this year to support Republican Lisa Demuth’s candidacy. It got most of its money from a national group largely funded by Wisconsin manufacturing magnate Richard Uihlein, according to outlets that have examined the group’s finances. Groups supporting Demuth also spent more than $5 million and groups opposing her spent more than $3 million.

But Democrat Amy Klobuchar’s campaign vastly outraised and outspent Demuth. Klobuchar raised more than $18 million, spent more than $16 million and still has around $2 million in cash.

Demuth’s campaign reported raising more than $5 million, including a $1.3 million public subsidy. She’s spent more than $5 million, with about half a million dollars left. Klobuchar chose not to abide by state spending limits, which meant her campaign didn’t receive a public subsidy and Demuth received a higher subsidy.

Four years ago, the total amount of spending in the governor’s race between DFL Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Scott Jensen was just shy of $36 million. This year’s race is already $3 million ahead of that, largely due to Klobuchar’s spending. In 2022, Walz raised just a third of what Klobuchar has raised so far and Jensen and Demuth raised roughly the same amount of money.

Attorney general race

In the attorney general race, outside groups have spent more than $12 million. That’s in addition to the amount raised and spent by the candidates.

Incumbent Democrat Keith Ellison’s campaign reported spending nearly $4.5 million, compared to Republican Ron Schutz’s campaign, which reported spending less than a third of that, nearly $1.3 million.

The attorney general’s race is expected to be among the most competitive statewide races this year. Ellison won his previous reelection campaign by less than one percentage point in a race that garnered nearly $16 million in outside spending in 2022.

Minnesota Legislature:

A handful of competitive state Senate races have topped $1 million in outside spending. DFLers are trying to hold on to their one-seat majority in the Senate.

Republicans are targeting DFL incumbents Grant Hauschild of Hermantown, Aric Putnam of St. Cloud and Rob Kupec of Moorhead as potential seats to flip. Outside groups have spent more than $8 million in those three races, with outside spending in Putnam’s race against Republican Bernie Perryman topping $3 million alone.

Democrats are hoping to pick up seats in the districts of Jim Abeler of Anoka and two open seats previously held by Republicans — Warren Limmer’s district in Maple Grove and Carla Nelson’s district in Rochester.

In the Rochester area, total spending in the race between DFL candidate Simon Glaser and Republican Nels Pierson is creeping towards $1 million. In Maple Grove, the total amount of spending has already surpassed $1.5 million as Republican Brady Hoag and DFLer Kristy Janigo vie for Limmer’s spot.

Following two hours of nonstop chanting and protests, the Hermantown City Council on Monday night postponed a series of votes on whether to give final local approval to a controversial proposed Google data center just outside Duluth.

It’s the latest indication of just how contentious proposed data centers have become in Minnesota and across the nation in advance of the midterm election, as tech giants rush to build the giant computer server farms that are needed to power artificial intelligence.

The drama began just before the council meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Hundreds of people had crammed into Hermantown’s city hall to attend the special meeting. Most couldn’t squeeze into the small council chambers and instead were routed to a large overflow room.

Dozens of people lined up to sign up to speak. But many were still in line when the sign-up ended before the meeting was scheduled to begin.

Nearly 100 people began chanting “Let us speak!” outside the council chambers. After a half-hour of nonstop chanting, protesters began shouting “Shut it down!”

They sat down on the floor, never stopping the chants. People began distributing water bottles and snacks.

After two hours, city leaders announced the meeting would be postponed until Tuesday, and they said people had 10 minutes to disperse or they would be arrested. Protesters erupted in cheers.

“It was really moving to see people so passionate about their communities, about their environment, about the public process,” said Sarah Lofald, a board member with the grassroots group Stop the Hermantown Data Center. “And it was really moving to see them practice their right to free speech and practice their right to peacefully protest.”

But others who were there to support the project spoke out against the disruption, including many union members advocating for the hundreds of construction jobs the data center would create.

“We support the ability for citizens to be heard but the behaviors that were displayed this evening were designed to close down the meeting,” said Jack Carlson, president of the Duluth Building Trades Council, and Kim Parmeter, Hermantown Chamber of Commerce president, in a joint statement.

‘Let the process move forward’

Hermantown assistant city administrator Joe Wicklund said city officials decided to postpone the meeting because they couldn’t guarantee a safe event.

“This has certainly been a polarizing issue, and no matter where folks have fallen on either side of it, we’ve had really neighborly meetings until this evening,” Wicklund said.

“There were a lot of new faces here tonight that certainly made this an unsafe, unneighborly environment,” he added.

Wicklund didn’t give details on what the city will do differently Tuesday night, but said he hoped a 24-hour pause would help ease tensions.

Over the past few weeks Google has made several changes to its proposed 1.7 million square foot data center campus in a rural corner of this small northeastern Minnesota city.

The company dropped its pursuit of up to $80 million in property tax breaks in exchange for making the investment. The first phase alone is expected to cost $650 million and take up to 8 years to build.

“It’d be like building three to four of the new Essentia hospital,” a billion-dollar project recently completed in Duluth, said Carlson with the Duluth Building Trades Council. “This is going to be able to carry our members for years and years to come.”

The city estimates it will receive $3 million annually in tax revenues from the project. St. Louis County will receive an estimated $4 million. The data center is projected to generate about $240 million in property tax revenues for the region over 20 years.

Google has also agreed to monitor groundwater in the area and find new water supplies for landowners if their wells are impacted by the development. The company has also committed to a plan to decommission the data center if it’s abandoned for any reason. Google officials say it would be the first agreement of its kind for the company.

Google has also pledged to pay for wind turbines and battery storage to help offset its electricity use. The project is expected to use about 500 megawatts of electricity.

For context, that’s enough electricity to power about 400,000 typical American homes, said Annie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota.

“That is as many households as the total number of households in Minnesota’s four largest cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Rochester combined,” she said. “So that is a mind-breakingly large number.”

Minnesota law requires data center developers to pay for the cost of their electric service. Levenson-Falk wants to make sure none of those costs are passed on to ratepayers.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission still needs to sign off on an electric supply agreement between Google and Minnesota Power. That vote is expected early next year.

Several lawsuits have also been filed against the proposal by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Stop the Hermantown Data Center and a private landowner. A hearing on one of those suits challenging the project’s environmental review was scheduled for Tuesday.

While opponents have raised a variety of concerns, ranging from impacts on wetlands and nearby trout streams to noise pollution to impacts on property values, many residents are most incensed by what they view as a secretive public process that helped hide the development during its early stages.

Several local officials signed nondisclosure agreements preventing them from discussing the issue. It only became public last year following public records requests.

The issue has inspired three candidates to run for Hermantown City Council in next week’s election.

Fourteen people signed up to give public comment at Monday night’s Detroit Lakes school board meeting. Most were there to voice their displeasure with the school board over its recent efforts to remove rainbow flags from school grounds. Some commenters said the board has been ignoring community feedback.

They may have said more, but they were cut off by a one-minute timer.

Board Chair John Steffl decided to enforce a rule Monday that limited the total time for public comment to 15 minutes, leaving each commenter one minute to make their remarks. The rule was included in previous meeting agendas but hadn’t been enforced.

Steffl said recent meetings had “just gotten to be too long.”

The packed meeting was another in a saga that began in July, when board member Sanford Nelson introduced a policy that would remove rainbow flags and stickers from school grounds. Some teachers display rainbow stickers to signal their classroom is a safe space for LGBTQ+ students.

Amid a legal challenge from the ACLU of Minnesota, the ban was eventually rescinded and the board began considering a broader policy revision regarding what teachers and students can display on campus.

But after pushback from school principals, a second reading of that policy has been postponed till next month. There was no action on the policy at Monday’s meeting.

The public comment portion of the meeting was short but tense and, at times, emotional. One speaker thanked board members Mary Rotter and Julie Smith-Yliniemi for their steadfast opposition to the rainbow sticker ban.

“Thank you for not bending while an intolerant wind blows,” Emily Buermann said. “The season is ending, and the wind will change. You are not alone.”

Rotter began crying as Buermann spoke.

Smith-Yliniemi said after the meeting she was grateful for everyone who came to speak. She also said she was grateful there were no surprises tacked on to the board agenda about the rainbow ban, as there had been in previous meetings.

“I don’t think anything was solved tonight,” she said. “But I didn’t feel like there was an uproar and confusion and all of these things that have happened the last few months.”

There was still some commotion. While most speakers were against the ban on rainbow stickers, the crowd overall appeared more evenly split.

When a speaker opposed the board’s action, there was, without fail, at least one voice yelling “time” as soon as the clock hit zero.

The same thing happened when proponents of the ban spoke, like Robert Koshnick.

He said he represents the Becker County Republicans and supports the proposed district policy revision that would change what teachers and students are allowed to display on campus. And he doesn’t think teachers should display rainbow stickers because he sees it as a form of “identity politics.”

“Identity politics, it has many different names: wokeness or DEI or critical race theory,” he told MPR News, “and the essence of it is people are grouped by particular traits, whether it be skin color or sexual preferences, etcetera, and these are not things that educators in public schools should really be promoting one way or another.”

‘We have to get our voices heard’

Before the board meeting, a group of community members who oppose the ban and other recent board actions spoke to reporters inside city hall. The event was organized by community member Terry Kalil.

“We got mad when the agenda came out and public participation got reduced from five minutes to one minute, per speaker,” she said. “Our reaction was, ‘We have to get our voices heard.’”

That group included teachers, activists and parents such as Nicole Hadding, who is suing the district and four individual board members over the ban alongside the ACLU of Minnesota. She identifies as LGBTQ+ and has a daughter in Roosevelt Elementary School.

“I’m proud of who I am,” Hadding said. “But this controversy has brought back feelings I thought I’d left behind. For the first time in years, I felt guilt and shame connected with my sexuality. I’ve worried about what people think of me and my family, and honestly, I feel a little sucker punched by the community I was so proud to come home to.”

Board members said they plan to again discuss the changes to district policy at meetings next month.

In the meantime, school board elections will take place next week. Three spots are up for election and two incumbents, Mary Rotter and Michelle Okeson, are running for reelection.

MPR News rolled out the blue carpet for the kids at the Minnesota Children’s Museum Halloween party. For over 25 years, the museum has hosted a party full of candy, music, learning and costumes.

Besides candy, costumes are the most iconic part of Halloween and these kids came ready with props, excitement and pizazz. With parent permission, we stopped by to ask attendees what they were wearing.

Carter J., 19 months, baby bear

Questions answered by Carter’s mom, Emily Jakes.

How did you pick his costume?

We were kinda last minute again this year so it was kinda Halloween on a budget.

How do you think he feels about Halloween?

I think he’s a little unsure. Definitely still figuring it out.

Athena W., 6 years old, Portuguese man o' war

How did you choose your costume?

It’s because they’re really cool animals and we just happened to have a popped yoga ball that we used to make tentacles. A fun fact about my costume is that Portuguese man o' wars are not actually jellyfish. They’re tiny organisms that join together to make a group.

What’s your favorite thing about Halloween?

Sorting all the different types of candy.

What’s your favorite candy?

Butterfinger.

Juniper W., 5 years old, ‘SuperKitties’ character

Which Super Kitty are you?

Juni (herself) with a mix of Sparks.

How did you choose that?

I like “SuperKitties” a lot. That’s how I chose it

Jolena H., 9 years old, mermaid

How did you choose your costume?

We were sorta at a store and then we just saw a mermaid tail and I was like ‘I wanna be a mermaid for Halloween’ and then we got it.

Favorite candy?

Rolo.

Naomie H., 6 years old, Belle from ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Why did you choose this costume?

I picked the outfit because I like Belle a lot and I’ve been wanting to watch the movie for a month.

Favorite candy?

Smarties.

Maya P., 18 months, dalmatian

Questions answered by Maya’s mom, Leslie Paredes.

How did you choose her costume?

Well it was probably because we couldn’t find the pink dinosaur.

If she could talk, how would she feel about her costume?

She loves it because she loves dogs.

How has her first Halloween been so far?

She’s starting to get the part where if you open the bag you get candy.

Kimiyah J., 2 years old, Little Miss Boo

Questions answered by Kimiyah’s mom, Nish Perry.

How did you choose her costume?

At Sam’s Club.

How does she feel about Halloween?

She loves it. She wants everyone to look at her dress.

Lazuli S., 9 years old, Pink from ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’

Tell me about your costume.

My mom made my costume for me. It took her a day and this is her first jacket she’s ever made.

Why Descendants?

I just really like “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” so it was pretty easy and Pink is my favorite character and I just think I just match her personality.

Favorite thing about Halloween?

Probably trick-or-treating and candy and sugar.

Favorite candy?

I really like all the candies but … Twix.

Aaliyah O., 8 years old, zombie

How did you choose a zombie?

My costume didn’t come in time! But I love it! It looks very silly. My original costume was a vampire.

Favorite candy?

Twix.

Anything else you’d like to say about Halloween?

At the Children’s Museum the Halloween parties are the best.

Brooklynn C., 13 years old, ‘Cardcaptor Sakura’ character

What is your costume and how did you choose it?

I’m supposed to be Sakura Kinomoto from “Cardcaptor Sakura.” She’s my favorite anime character.

Favorite candy?

Chocolate.

Jasper P., 3 years old, Spider-Man

What’s your name?

Spider-Man Jasper.

Do you like Halloween?

Yeah! I like pumpkins.

Tatiana T., 10 years old, Elphaba from ‘Wicked’

Tatiana did not answer questions.

Xavier K., 6 years old, werewolf

Tell me about your costume.

I’m meant to be a werewolf and I’ve got a bloody knife and I made my costume from real clothes and I’ve got a mask.

Favorite part of Halloween?

Probably trick-or-treating.

Valkyrie L., 7 years old, Supergirl

Why are you Supergirl?

Because I chose it! I like her powers and cape. I like to pretend and I like to fly!

Favorite thing about Halloween?

Eating the candy. My favorite candy is M&M’s.

Charlee D., 6 years old, Jessie from ‘Toy Story’

Tell me about your costume.

I like the gun. She’s my favorite one from “Toy Story.”

Favorite candy?

Twizzlers.

Asher D., 8 years old, ninja

Favorite thing about Halloween?

That you get to eat candy and you get to see scary stuff.

What's your favorite candy and scary stuff?

Sour and Michael Myers.

Roseland H., 11 months old, Woody from ‘Toy Story’

Questions answered by Roseland’s dad, Lonzell Hines Jr.

How did you choose Woody?

It was the thing that fit him at the Walmart that wasn’t a monkey.

If he could talk, how would he feel about his costume?

He wouldn’t know what it is. He’s so young. He got that s--- on though.

How is he liking his first Halloween?

He don’t know what it is. His momma is about to get all the candy in the world.

Zara B., 6 years old, Tinker Bell

Why did you choose Tinker Bell?

Because I thought it looked cool.

Favorite thing about Halloween?

It is to get lots of treats.

Charlie and Max M., 3 and 5 years old, osos (bears) from a Bolivian folk dance

How did you guys choose your costume?

Max: We saw hats that we could buy so we bought them and thought that we could dress up as them. And we’re Bolivian! It’s our favorite dance at the parades in Bolivia.

What's your favorite candy?

Max: Nerd Clusters.

Charlie: Skittles!

Jalani E., 5 years old, Miles Morales

Why did you choose Spider-Man?

Because I like Spider-Man. He shoots webs.

What’s your favorite candy?

Pop rocks.

In the northwest suburbs, Minnesota Democrats see a top target in a moderate Republican senator who has hung on to his Anoka area seat for four terms: Sen. Jim Abeler.

School principal Angela Nelson, Abeler’s challenger, hopes to swing the seat to DFL control. It’s one of a handful of competitive races that could decide control of the Minnesota Senate heading into 2027.

While Abeler represents the region in the Senate, two Democrats — Zack Stephenson and Kari Rehrauer — represent it in the House. And Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump here by three percentage points. In his last win in 2022, Abeler won by only 186 votes out of more than 34,000 cast.

“You are at ground zero of the battle for the control of the Minnesota Senate right here,” Sen. Nick Frentz, the Senate DFL campaign chair, told volunteers for Nelson ahead of a door knock Sunday in Coon Rapids. “And we are going to win it this time.”

More than $1.3 million in outside spending has been dumped into the district to influence voters’ views on the candidates. And with one week left until Election Day, both candidates have been phone banking and door knocking to sway voters.

As he biked door-to-door last week across the district that includes parts of Andover, Anoka and Coon Rapids, Abeler highlighted his bipartisan work in the Legislature. First elected to the Minnesota House in 1998, he said his willingness to break with his party has given him staying power here.

“I still care. Because I think Minnesota is in a real hard place these days, and experience does help. Institutional memory does make a difference,” Abeler said. “Whoever wins as governor, I can work with either one of them. … I'm eager to be part of the solutions to keep us moving to be truly the North Star state.”

Abeler said he hears from several groups at the door — Republicans and Democrats, Trump fans and foes, and a lot of disaffected folks looking for government leaders to get along.

“They want us to work together and get something done, and the best work is when it's done collaboratively, where you trade off ideas, where you come up with the best idea,” Abeler said.

Nelson, who is running for office for the first time, said the district is also looking for something different.

“They're really looking for change, a change in leadership. We've had the same leadership here since I was in high school, and that was quite a long time ago,” Nelson said. “So it's time for some new perspective, new energy, and people are excited about that.”

Nelson said her experience leading a school would help her in elected office.

“Part of my job is that I listen and I learn from folks. I get perspective, and then I make a decision that's based on what's best for the biggest number of people without harming others, and I would say, as a senator, one of your biggest jobs is using your vote as your voice,” Nelson said.

She said she’d support legislation placing new restrictions on firearms and federal immigration agents — bills Abeler voted against.

“You can't say one thing and then vote another way. I'm committed to being honest and transparent, and then using my voice in my vote for my community,” Nelson said.

Attack ads on the airwaves

The flood of outside money can be seen in TV ads and mailers. While it’s not the legislative contest with the biggest price tag, independent expenditures in the Senate contest are almost ten times more than either candidate has raised through Oct. 19.

Outside spending in the race exceeded $1.3 million. Meanwhile, Abeler’s campaign brought in $133,427 and Nelson has raised $142,712.

Ads targeting Abeler allege he passed policies that allowed him to enrich himself while in office. And those targeting Nelson aim to tie her to higher state government spending and fraud in state programs.

Nelson and Abeler said they — along with voters they talk to — are sick of the noise.

“People can see right through that — that I'm passionate about helping my community. I'm an award-winning principal at an award-winning school under my leadership,” Nelson said. “The fact that they're kind of using those things against me, I think, just shows how worried they are that I'm going to flip this seat.”

Abeler said there should be more of an enforcement mechanism to keep campaign smears based on falsehoods off the air.

“I'm kind of numb to it, but it's not good for the industry, the government. It's not good for politics and what serves people,” Abeler said. “Politics is a means to get good work done, and so it shouldn't be ugly and painful.”

Over the next week, the ads will keep rolling. But so will Nelson and Abeler — she’s on an e-scooter, he’ll be on his bike — making their way to every door they can before Election Day.

It’s been a contentious few months for St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.

In July, it was revealed that St. Paul police Chief Axel Henry filed a sexual harassment complaint against Her, leading to an investigation by an independent law firm.

In August, she directed the closure of an encampment near Pig’s Eye Park where the city says an estimated 140 people lived — a move some advocates pushed back against. Since then, many encampment residents have moved to one near Shepard Road.

In September, Henry sued Her, alleging unwanted touching, sexual comments and repeated attempts by Her to develop a closer personal relationship. Henry also alleged the city retaliated against him after he complained about her conduct.

In October, the city released the report from the independent investigation, which cleared Her of sexual harassment, but found she acted offensively and inappropriately.

Minnesota Now host Nina Moini asked Mayor Her about the city’s encampment response and Henry’s allegations in her first interview with MPR since these events.

Encampment response

Last week, the St. Paul City Council unanimously approved a resolution calling for 60 days of increased engagement before any future encampment clearings. It also calls for more low-barrier shelter options.

The non-binding resolution comes after the August closure of the Pig’s Eye Park encampment. The city had allocated $1 million toward expanding shelter bed capacity ahead of the clearing, but data from the city shows only seven of the estimated 140 people at Pig’s Eye Park opted in to shelter space.

Her said she supports the council’s plan, but contends much of what the council laid out is work the city is already doing when it comes to outreach and connecting people to resources.

Her said since August, the city and Ramsey County have been in contact with more than 300 people from the encampments.

Her announced in July a plan to eventually close down all encampments in the city, beginning with Pig’s Eye. Today, two encampments remain: one near Shepard Road, which has tripled in size since August, and another near a former Kmart.

Her said the city is working on both short- and long-term strategies, including looking for indoor shelter space for the upcoming winter season. However, the mayor said the city will still move forward with closing Shepard Road, but did not provide a clear timeline.

“We were told setting a date was not the right thing to do. And now we don't have a date, and now everyone says you need to set a date,” Her said. “It’s as if it doesn’t matter what it is that we do, we’re going to have criticism.”

Her said she’s balancing the needs of those living in the encampment and the surrounding neighborhood. She pointed to public safety concerns from nearby residents.

“As the mayor, I have to look at the perspectives of all of the people in the city, not just those in the encampments, but those also living near encampments,” she said.

Relationship with the police chief

Her declined to comment on the sexual harassment and retaliation allegations from Henry, citing the ongoing lawsuit against her.

The investigation called on the mayor to maintain professional boundaries, attend workplace conduct training and hire an executive coach at her own expense. When asked if she had taken any of those steps, she again declined to comment.

In response to a question about what her working relationship with the chief looks like, Her said First Assistant Mayor Erica Schumacher oversees communication with the police department. Her said this workflow is status quo and historically the police chief does not communicate “directly with the mayor.”

Her added the situation has “not at all” diminished her ability to carry out her responsibilities around public safety or other citywide matters.

Hear the full interview with St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her using the audio player above.

Comedian Chloe Radcliffe stood on a St. Paul rooftop last Friday, yelling about her unrequited crushes.

“Why won't you notice me?” she yelled, a few floors up from Black Coffee and Waffle Bar at the crossroads of Cretin and Marshall avenues.

Behind her is a billboard with a photo of her that says “Do you have a crush on me now, Tyler?” There are two more billboards just like this in Minneapolis, but they’re directed to “Matt” and “Seth.” Each has a Comedy Central logo in the corner.

“I guess there's no subtlety to it,” Radcliffe said, laughing. ”I'm really desperate that my old crushes finally notice me. They never paid attention to me when I was younger, and now I'm hoping that now that I have a Comedy Central special and a billboard in St. Paul, and two in Minneapolis, now they'll start noticing me.”

Based in New York, the Prior Lake native has performed on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and appeared in Bradley Cooper’s 2025 film “Is This Thing on?” — a film about standup. She also recently taped her debut comedy special, “Eyes Down Here,” which premieres at 8 p.m.. CDT Oct. 27 on Comedy Central, the first full-length special the cable channel has released in more than five years.

Her friend comedian Patrick Susmilch, who produced the special, is preparing a drone to get a shot of the billboard.

“Chloe told me about the billboard. I was like, absolutely, we should do that. That’s insane,” said Susmilch, who is from White Bear Lake. “And now we see it, and yeah, it's insane like we thought, and that makes it hilarious.”

The billboards tie into the themes of the special — dating, self-esteem and “how the way that we see ourselves affects the way other people see us.”

Radcliffe didn’t reach out to her past Minnesota crushes to alert them about the marketing stunt, but she says, through the internet and “friends of friends of friends,” she figured out the general vicinity of where they lived and placed the billboards there.

Radcliffe said she knew the three men from high school, college and one of her first jobs at Target Corp.

“I spent so long feeling like the truly hot, truly cool, attractive people would never be into me because I am weird, but mostly look weird,” Radcliffe said, pointing to the birthmark on her face. “I have a huge thing on my face that has hair on it, like there's no getting around it, you know. I spent so many years feeling insecure about that.”

And does that insecurity linger now that she has a special coming out?

“People go, ‘Oh, you're killing it,’ and I'm like, ‘Am I?’” Radcliffe said. “I don't know. Currently, I'm in my hometown begging a man who never paid attention to me to like me.”

Regardless, there is something to learn from all this, Radcliffe said.

“The lesson is: Ask for what you want, and you might not actually get exactly that thing, but you might get something close.”

Bonnie Garmus's debut novel, “Lessons in Chemistry,” published when she was in her 60s, hit the New York Times bestseller list and sparked a miniseries on Apple TV in 2023.

Garmus’ new novel “Peck & Peck” features characters who are equally single-minded about their passions, though the subject is not chemistry but poetry, said bookseller Kia White of Lake Country Booksellers in White Bear Lake.

“Peck & Peck” is set in 1980s New York City, where recent college grad Batter Gray has one real passion and skill: poetry. He lands what he thinks is his dream job at the prestigious poetry magazine “Peck & Peck,” where he winds up as a copy boy in the basement, which he refers to as the "bomb shelter." He quickly becomes embroiled in office drama. The magazine, for example, is run by twin brothers who hate each other.

White appreciated the “next level ridiculous” names of the characters, whom she describes as “both larger than life and super relatable.” Batter's mother, for example, is a typeface expert and designer.

“She treats her career and her passion so seriously, but also with so much joy, and I think that runs through the whole book,” White said. “There’s sort of humor in how seriously everybody is taking poetry and art, almost like they’re running it like a big corporate business. But also, the seriousness of that makes it all really beautiful.”

Left-wing livestreamer Hasan Piker and Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar joined DFL state Sen. Omar Fateh on Monday evening for an event some Democrats criticized as divisive.

Piker is a self-described democratic-socialist and popular figure with many younger progressives who feel unrepresented by the Democratic Party. He has backed Democratic candidates like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan.

Some Democrats, including governor hopeful U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, criticized Piker for past statements they deemed offensive and chided Omar and Fateh for appearing with someone they deem a polarizing figure on the eve of an election.

The event billed as “I’m the Host Now!” was held at the Theatre in the Round, a small venue with 245 seats in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis. The event was advertised as a curated conversation series hosted by Fateh and organized by a local group, Baddies 4 Progress, and communications firm Haus of C.

MPR News was invited to cover the event, then denied access at the last minute by Fateh, who said media was barred because of space concerns.

Erik Tanner, an event attendee from Mankato, said he used to not be politically involved until recently and believes democratic-socialism is the future of the party.

“We gotta move a little bit further over than where we're at, and the Democrats that are in charge right now don't really seem to be all that interested in doing that,” Tanner said.

Janette Corcelius, a Democratic Socialists of America member, said the condemnation from top Democratic officials was a “big mistake.”

“This is a really big election. The midterms can really turn the tide, especially as we're descending into fascism because of the Trump administration,” she said. “I think that they should have stood by him and Ilhan Omar and Omar Fateh and seen this as an opportunity to galvanize the youth and get the youth to vote for them.”

Before the event, Piker drew support in a surprise appearance at the University of Minnesota, driving around campus to give a ride to students to vote early.

Near the waterfront of Lake Bemidji, the sound of drum and song resonated. Indigenous community members and allies gathered as the sun set on Saturday. They held candles and signs with names and photos of loved ones who have gone missing or have been murdered.

Tamika-Jo Andy is with local group MMIW 218, which organized the gathering. She said the group gathered to acknowledge five years since Nevaeh Kingbird went missing and 10 years since Jeremy Jourdain disappeared.

“It's really important for families to know that the community has not forgotten about them,” Andy said.

A sign with Nevaeh Kingbird's photo was held at the gathering. Kingbird was last seen in a local neighborhood on Oct. 22, 2021. She was 15 years old.

Her mother, Teddi Wind, described her daughter as someone who “always tried to see the good.”

“I was thinking about Nevaeh, how she is and how easily she forgave people. How much she just loved everyone, good or bad. She was just a loving person,” Wind said.

Last week, the Bemidji Police Department renewed its call for information about Kingbird’s disappearance. Family and friends say she was wearing either a black zip-up hoodie or a red sweatshirt with a bull logo, jeans and black and red Nike sandals.

October also marks 10 years since Jeremy Jourdain went missing. He was last seen on Oct. 31, 2016, leaving a family member's home on foot. He was 17 at the time.

Theresa Jourdain, his mother, also spoke.

“I don't think there is a day that goes by that we don't think of him in some shape, either way, or something. Laughter, stories,” Jourdain said.

The group also honored 18-year-old Andrew Fisher, who died following an assault and stabbing in Bemidji on June 24, 2023. One man pleaded guilty to Fisher’s murder while two others pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting aggravated robbery.

Fisher’s mother, Donna Jones, stood in front of attendees at the vigil.

“My heart hurts for everybody here, whether your family member was murdered or if they're missing,” Jones said. “My baby's missing from our life and it hurts.”

The state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office says 732 Indigenous Minnesotans were reported missing in 2025.

Andy says vigils and gatherings raise awareness and educate the broader community.

“This isn't an issue that just affects the Indigenous community. It's an issue that affects kind of everybody, and we need allies,” she said.

Reward funds for information regarding both Kingbird's and Jourdain's disappearances have been set up with Minnesota's MMIR Office.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bemidji Police Department or Crime Stoppers of Minnesota.

Missing and murdered Indigenous relatives vigil

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MPR News senior visual journalist Kerem Yücel contributed to this report.

Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.  

Two Minnesota zoos are celebrating new arrivals this month — with three orphaned brown bear cubs from Alaska arriving at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley and two nyala calves born at the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul.

The three cubs are siblings — brothers Brooks and Dillingham, and sister Bristol — and are about nine months old. They were found in July near King Salmon, Alaska, with no sign of their mother for nearly a week.

“Unable to survive on their own, the cubs were rescued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and transferred to the Alaska Zoo in August. Although their mother was never located, one cub was treated for minor injuries consistent with a bear attack, suggesting the family may have encountered an adult male bear,” Minnesota Zoo officials said Monday.

The cubs arrived in Minnesota earlier this month. Their names are nods to the region where they were found. They’ll be kept behind the scenes to acclimate, before making their public debut next spring.

“The cubs are currently adjusting well to their new surroundings and caregivers at the Minnesota Zoo's Animal Hospital. They are enthusiastic eaters, enjoying fruits, vegetables and fish — including a pallet of salmon sent as a parting gift from the Alaska Zoo,” zoo officials reported.

The bear cubs’ arrival brings back memories of another trio of bears — Sadie, Haines and Kenai — that arrived at the Minnesota Zoo in 2008, becoming the first residents of the zoo’s Russia’s Grizzly Coast habitat. They also were found as orphaned cubs.

“It’s incredibly special to begin that journey again,” Diana Weinhardt, curator of the zoo’s Northern Trail, said in a news release. “These cubs have a bright future ahead of them, and we look forward to watching them grow while inspiring a new generation of guests to appreciate and protect bears in the wild.”

The zoo said that once the cubs make their public debut, they’ll alternate time in the habitat with Sadie, who’s now 21 years old.

Nyala calves at Como Park Zoo

The first of Como Park Zoo’s new nyala calves is Hubert, born to mom Stevie on Oct. 3. He was joined by a yet-to-be-named female calf, born to first-time mom Meadow on Friday.

“Nyala calves are absolutely adorable, with their big ears and beautiful striped coats, and having two arrive so close together makes this an especially exciting time,” senior zookeeper Jill Erzar said in a news release. “Visitors may now catch a glimpse of Stevie and Hubert in their indoor habitat, while we’re giving Meadow and her little one more time to bond behind the scenes.”

Hubert was named by guests at a Como Friends event last week. It was one of three options, each honoring the grandfather of a zookeeper. The other calf will be named by zoo volunteers at an event next month.

Nyala are spiral-horned antelope that are native to southern Africa.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m. on Highway 28 near Swanville.

The Polaris Ranger was navigating around a curve when it ran off the road, hit a driveway approach and rolled, the state patrol said.

The driver, 44-year-old Eric Spaeth of Long Prairie, was killed. His passenger, 45-year-old Nicole Spaeth, was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Neither one was wearing a seat belt or helmet, according to the state patrol.

It's been a deadly month for off-highway vehicle riders in Minnesota. Nineteen people have died in crashes across the state this year, including seven in October alone.

All-terrain vehicle use has surged across Minnesota, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of registered vehicles has been on the rise.

Side-by-side ATVs, also known as utility task vehicles, are becoming increasingly popular, but can travel at high speeds and carry a risk of rollovers. Riders can be ejected or crushed when they’re not restrained.

Safety experts urge riders to always wear helmets and seat belts, and ride on designated trails at safe speeds.

Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels each scored 15 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Orlando Magic 115-93 on Friday night.

Rudy Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves (2-0), off to their best start since winning their first two games five years ago.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and nine boards for the Magic (0-2), who held Edwards largely in check throughout the game.

Fresh off a 45-point effort at Miami Wednesday, Edwards nailed a 3 for his first points but then missed his next 10 field goals. He finished just 5 of 23 from the floor, including 2 for 9 from 3-point range.

But the Timberwolves didn’t need him. They hammered the Magic on the glass, outrebounding Orlando 60-43. Minnesota posted a 21-8 advantage on the offensive boards, which led to 17 second-chance points, and held the Magic without an offensive rebound over the game’s first 19 minutes.

Minnesota, which never trailed, put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 29-15 to build a 26-point lead. As a result, head coach Chris Finch was able to rest most of his starters, including guard LaMelo Ball, over the bulk of the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves never trailed and held Orlando to just seven points off seven turnovers, capitalizing on the Magic’s poor shooting. Orlando shot just 44% from the field, including a dismal 20.5% beyond the arc.

Orlando’s Franz Wagner (1 for 6), Desmond Bane (1 for 9) were a combined 2 for 15 from 3-point range. Wagner still added 18 points.

Paolo Banchero, who sat out the fourth quarter with right ankle soreness, had 14 points and six rebounds.

Seven people were arrested over the weekend after allegedly breaking in to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

“Early Saturday morning, the Basilica security system detected unauthorized persons inside the Basilica. Officers of the Minneapolis Police Department responded and, with assistance from our security team, located and arrested seven individuals for burglary,” Father Ralph Talbot, pastor and rector of the Basilica of St. Mary, said in a statement.

The incident happened just before 1 a.m. Saturday. Minneapolis police said the seven people arrested included three adults and four juveniles. They face potential charges of burglary, trespassing and fleeing police on foot.

There was no immediate word on what motivated the alleged break-in, and whether the suspects caused any damage. The incident remains under investigation.

The Basilica is in the midst of a multi-year major restoration project, which is slated to be complete next year.