Minnesota
For this Minnesota voter backing Biden, a fear of Trump is a motivating factor
In his younger days, Jimmy Kouba saw himself as aligned with Republican positions and cast ballots for some of that party’s candidates, including the first President George Bush.
These days, he’s firmly behind Democrats and the incumbent President Joe Biden. That’s driven partly by the Biden administration’s efforts to bolster the nation’s infrastructure and clean energy production, but also out of fear of what another four years under Republican Donald Trump could look like.
“Among many Democrats, he’s evil. I mean, you don’t go on national television and say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be a dictator for one day.’ No, you’re not going to be a dictator for one day; you’re going to be a dictator from that day forward,” Kouba said. “He’s going to be twice as ruthless this time around.”
For Democrats, the nervousness about the coming election is palpable. Biden is wobbly in polling, particularly in the swing states he relied on to push him past then-President Trump four years ago.
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There is unease among Democrats that some key voting blocs won’t show up. Some are upset over Biden’s posture toward the Israel-Hamas war, but pivoting too hard could cause a backlash among other Democratic voters. Polls show voters of color and younger voters aren’t as energized, either.
As Minnesota Democrats gather for their state convention beginning Friday in Duluth, they know they have their work cut out for them. Minnesota could be contested more strongly than it was four years ago when Biden won here by more than seven percentage points.
It’s a must-win state for Biden on his path to the minimum 270 Electoral College votes. No Republican has won Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes since 1972. That it’s even in the picture is a sign of how intense this campaign will be.
Ak Kamara is a Republican delegate for former President Donald Trump, CD-8, at the Minnesota Republican Party convention at the St. Paul RiverCentre on Friday, May 7, 2024. Matthew Alvarez | MPR News
AK Kamara, who will soon represent Minnesota’s GOP on the Republican National Committee, said Trump’s chances in the state hinge a lot on voter falloff on the Democratic side.
“They’re not gonna vote for Trump, but they’re gonna stay home,” Kamara said, pointing specifically to voters upset over the plight of people living in Gaza. “And if they stay home and Republicans turn out as they did in basically the same numbers as 2016 or at a higher level, then it’s gonna go to Trump.”
‘What we’ve accomplished’
During the state convention and beyond, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said it’s critical that his party amplifies what it sees as accomplishments of the Biden term: a hefty infrastructure package, a focus on climate mitigation and an economy that still shows low unemployment and strong consumer spending. That’s despite stubborn inflation.
“While the Republicans spent most of their time tearing down Democrats and our candidates, we’re going to spend our time talking about what we’ve accomplished both here in Minnesota and across the nation for the American people,” Martin said. “We’ve got a great record of accomplishment to talk about.”
DFL Chairman Ken Martin poses for a portrait at the MPR News building on March 1 in St. Paul.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News
Kouba is one of the voters MPR News spoke to at length for an occasional series about how voters of all philosophies perceive today’s political environment, the candidates and the election they’ll help decide. The series will delve into how their political opinions are formed and have evolved, as well as what, if anything, could influence their decision on who to vote for or whether they’ll vote at all in a contest between two generally unpopular party nominees.
Kouba, a 58-year old with long graying hair, a beard and a frequent smile, shared his views in a courtyard of an apartment complex where he lives in downtown St. Paul, up river from where he was raised in Winona.
It’s a public housing building for people with scarce incomes. Kouba’s chronic health struggles make it difficult to hold down jobs. He’s had numerous low-wage, service industry gigs, such as Taco Bell and Jimmy John’s.
He’s also worked as a caregiver. He earned a two-year medical assistant degree and last worked full-time drawing blood as a plasma center. He’s currently trying to unlock Social Security disability benefits because of health problems.
Jimmy Kouba, who lives in St. Paul, is backing President Joe Biden’s reelection bid.
Mark Zdechlik | MPR News
In addition to the public housing subsidy, he says he gets a little more than $200 a month from the government. He has nothing extra. Were it not help from the government, he worries he might not be alive.
“If it wasn’t for Medical Assistance, I wouldn’t be getting the care. I’m unemployed, and I have breathing issues like COPD, asthma. You could end up in hospital three, four or five times in a year,” he said.
“Today is a great day. But if it had been a couple of days prior I’d be going like that,” Kouba added, imitating the gasping for air that he deals with a lot.
He is also gay and is concerned about a retreat in LGBTQ rights if Trump gets back in the White House. He sees Democrats as generally more compassionate than Republicans, recoiling at the way the party vilifies immigrants in campaign rhetoric.
“The Republicans, all they care about is gas, oil and taking human rights away,” he said. “I’ve seen this happening over the years that they’re just not for the people.”
Crediting Biden
Kouba used to consider himself in the GOP fold.
As a young man, Kouba says his political ideology aligned with Republicans, especially in their opposition to abortion. He said that changed when his sister had the procedure.
“Because of the abortion, that allowed me to be more open, have my eyes open around see what’s going on? So yeah I’m pro-choice all the way. It’s a woman’s body,” he said. “No one has the right to tell a woman what she can and can’t do with her own body.”
Kouba credits the Biden administration for pushing through new investments in the nation, from the Infrastructure bill to the Inflation Reduction Act. Kouba thinks it will help position the U.S. for the long term.
He also reminds that Biden inherited the COVID-19 pandemic and its societal fallout from Trump’s administration.
“Biden had to turn around and clean up,” he said. “Then he has to deal with a bunch of Republicans in Congress, who for the past four four years, have been not helping.”
He’s extremely concerned about climate change and finds it dumbfounding that so many Republicans mock warnings about global warming.
“This is where government can come in and help. Is global warming going on? Yeah. Global warming is real,” Kouba said. “For our politicians it’s like, do they need to have the back of their head swatted? If we don’t take care of our planet, we’re not going to have much of a world.”
Editor’s note: This story is part of an occasional series by MPR News correspondent Mark Zdechlik on what influences the political opinions of Minnesota voters. In later installments, we’ll meet voters who are conflicted in their choices and people who are so fed up they might sit it out. He also spoke with a Republican voter earlier who misses the days of Trump in the White House.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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