Midwest
Minnesota Dem lawmaker defends Walz against 'radical' label from GOP: 'Couldn't disagree more'
Nick Frentz, a Democratic state senator from Minnesota, is coming to the defense of vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as he faces claims regarding his leadership and criticism over state policy.
Several Republican state lawmakers told Fox that Walz was “difficult” to work with during their time working alongside him in the legislature.
Frentz, who currently represents the city of North Mankato, painted a different picture, telling Fox News Digital that in his experience, Walz is “very straightforward and very easy to work with.”
“He was a high school teacher and football coach in the ’90s when he started his family in Mankato. He’s genuine, down to earth. He’s honest. He’s the kind of person that you can enjoy,” Frentz said in an exclusive interview. “His rural roots are real, and his commitment to everybody in the country, including rural America, is quite real. And I think his record says that.”
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Minnesota State Sen. Nick Frentz, left, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz fishing at Madison Lake. (Nick Frentz)
“We’ve passed legislation that’s had bipartisan support. We haven’t always agreed and so, if ‘difficult’ to work with means we don’t always agree, then I guess. But I think a better description would be he’s a Democrat governor in a state that leans Democrat, and while both Democrats and Republicans haven’t got what they wanted, I think the state as a whole has done very well,” he said.
Frentz also countered claims that Walz leans heavily to the left, a charge brought forth by Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann, who branded Walz as “far from a moderate,” and the Trump campaign, which has labeled Walz a “radical.”
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“We support biofuels — very important to our agriculture economy. He’s been a leader on that. We’ve supported water infrastructure that small towns and rural areas need very badly. And we support a tax policy, including cuts to Social Security taxes. So all of those things show a commitment to greater Minnesota. And as he used to say, ‘I don’t just represent greater Minnesota. I wake up there,’” said Frentz.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz awaits the arrival of Vice President Kamala Harris at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14. (Stephen Maturen)
The governor has also been heavily criticized for his handling of the 2020 riots that saw several local businesses burned down and the Third Precinct police station abandoned after the murder of George Floyd.
“What I criticize is that half the people that were arrested were not from the Twin Cities metro area,” Frentz said. “Every state leader has to stand for the proposition that Americans have the freedom to peaceably assemble. But it ends when they start doing damage to property. And I think Gov. Walz felt that way, too.”
Walz has “the right voice” for “not simply supporting policies and legislation that help rural America, but also opposing things that are not good for rural America,” he said.
“I have never heard him say a bad word about southern Minnesotans, whether they vote Republican or Democrat,” Frentz added. “I think that’s exactly the kind of leadership the country needs. ‘All in it together’ doesn’t mean we don’t disagree, but I’d want people to know this is someone who has visited farms with us, someone who has talked about rural issues, someone who cares about the agriculture, economy, and someone who is not just talking about it, but has passed bills and those bills that are in the interest of rural America.”
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STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – A 28-year-old man from Detroit has been arrested for the murder of two people in Tennessee.
Troy Hutchinson and Rodrell Jeter were shot and killed Nov. 16, 2025, outside Nashville, Tennessee. A third man was hospitalized with critical injuries.
Police believe four men were traveling from Detroit to Atlanta in a Ford Bronco when the fourth man opened fire on the victims before leaving in the vehicle. The Bronco was found abandoned in Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati in Ohio.
Jeter and the man who was hospitalized were both from Detroit, while Hutchinson is from Atlanta.
A motive for the shooting remains unknown.
In late November, police identified the suspect as Dashonn Moten. He was indicted on 17 counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and two counts of felony murder.
After nearly two months, Moten was arrested Friday, Jan. 10, in Sterling Heights and is awaiting extradition to Tennessee for his arraignment.
If convicted, Moten faces possible execution.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
See the aftermath of high-speed reckless driving in Milwaukee
Journalist James Causey and his wife narrowly escaped a high-speed chase and accident when an SUV ran past them and through an intersection, colliding with a Mercedes.
Milwaukee County will receive nearly $25 million in federal funding for 67 traffic safety projects along 10 of the county’s most hazardous roadways, according to a Jan. 12 announcement from County Executive David Crowley’s office.
That funding will support upgrades for pedestrian infrastructure, intersections and high-speed corridors in Milwaukee, West Allis, Glendale, Brown Deer, Shorewood and on multiple county highways.
Collectively, these projects could reduce fatal and serious injury crashes in hazardous areas by 26%–50% and save an estimated $1.2 billion in car crash costs over 20 years, according to the announcement.
Preliminary designs are anticipated to begin in 2027, with all projects completed by 2031.
The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant, which the county’s Department of Transportation applied for in 2025 as part of its Complete Communities Transportation Planning Project, an initiative to increase safety and reduce reckless driving across its roadways.
Already, the county has analyzed crash data, identified 25 “Corridors of Concern,” and reviewed potential project opportunities.
Milwaukee County’s award amounts to the third-largest grant in the federal program’s 2025 funding cycle. It will be managed by the county and distributed to the five municipal recipients.
The municipalities will lead the projects and provide a 20% local match to support costs.
More details about the projects’ locations will be posted on the transportation department’s website, according to the announcement.
The 65 infrastructure projects and two studies enabled by the grant aim to improve safety along 10 hazardous roadways the county has identified.
Pedestrian infrastructure upgrades will include high-visibility crosswalks, upgraded pedestrian walk signals, restricting right-turn-on-red options, and sidewalk network expansion.
Intersection upgrades will include traffic signal upgrades, better visibility for pedestrians, bump-outs, and select geometric realignments. High-speed corridor upgrades will entail traffic calming improvements that help drivers stay in their lanes.
One of the projects will also seek to reduce reckless driving on the 16th Street viaduct, the 27th Street viaduct and the 35th Street viaduct.
The grant will also fund a safety analysis study on West Lincoln Avenue between South 124th Street and South 52nd Street, which will issue recommendations for future projects. The grant will also fund a county Department of Transportation report assessing the county’s progress toward the Vision Zero goal.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
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