Minnesota

How Vance Pulled Off Jedi Mind Trick on Walz at the Debate

Published

2 years ago

October 3, 2024

Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance tried to “throw off” his opponent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate by greeting him with friendliness and cordiality, an aide to the Ohio senator said in a new report.

Walz was reportedly preparing to debate a much more hostile Republican nominee, sources told Axios—and was expecting “more MAGA mode given what [Vance has] been saying repeatedly on the stump.”

“The ‘MN nice’ dynamic played out more surprisingly and organically onstage than strategically, in a way maybe neither candidate expected,” a Walz campaign aide told the outlet.

Vance’s camp said: “We had an intentional strategy of not being overly adversarial and aggressive and jumping down Walz’s throat on every little thing,” a Vance aide told Axios.

It stands in stark contrast to the no-holds-barred image his Walz debate prep stand-in, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, gave reporters the night before the debate.

“No amount of Minnesota nice is going to make up for the fact that Walz embodies [Kamala Harris’] open-border and soft-on-crime” policy stance, Emmer told reporters on a call on Monday night. The GOP congressman predicted Vance would “wipe the floor” with his state’s governor.

But viewers tuning in to the actual debate were greeted with a different reality: Vance and Walz started and ended the debate with a handshake, and agreed with one another at multiple points throughout the evening.

When Walz spoke about his son, Gus, witnessing a shooting at a community center near his school in 2023, Vance offered him an apology:

“I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed the shooting,” the Ohio senator said. “And I’m sorry about that. And I hope, Christ, have mercy. It is awful.”

“JD’s focus on bipartisanship was intentional, because we knew it was a side of JD that the media has largely ignored,” the advisor told Axios. “The goal was to disarm the ‘he’s an extremist’ B.S. by positioning him in the populist center. Democrats may have mindf—ed themselves into believing the caricature they invented.”

Despite this, at least one response seemed only designed to appeal to the MAGA wing of the Republican base. When asked if he accepted the results of the 2020 presidential election, Vance deflected and said he was “focused on the future.”

Walz called the response a “damning non-answer.”

But some of Vance’s personality as the campaign’s “policy attack dog,” as the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week, did manage to shine at moments during the debate. After Margaret Brennan corrected the Ohio senator that most of the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio do have legal status, Vance spoke over the moderators and went on the offensive.

The CBS anchors eventually cut off both candidates’ microphones as they continued to argue about the legal status of the Haitian immigrants.

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Minnesota

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Published

5 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.

Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.

The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.

Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.

The incident is still under investigation.

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Minnesota

I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for $2.9M improvement project

Published

17 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for .9M improvement project

A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.

The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.

According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.

The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.

Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.

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Minnesota

UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Published

1 day ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?

Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.

While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.

UCLA’s Payton Brennan and his teammates are still undefeated in Big Ten play this season after sweeping Minnesota on Sunday. Ross Turteltaub

“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”

Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.

Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.

Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.

“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”

When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.

What it means

UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.

“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”

Turning point

Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.

That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.

Did you see that?

Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.

There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.

“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”