Minnesota
Minnesota conservation efforts interrupted by changes to AmeriCorps
MOORHEAD — The future of a statewide conservation organization’s work in Minnesota is uncertain due to changes to federal AmeriCorps programs.
Conservation Minnesota, a nonprofit organization that works to protect Minnesota from the effects of pollution and climate change, has been a host site for AmeriCorps Climate Impact Corps members since 2022. This year, it had 11 AmeriCorps members in cities across the state, including Moorhead, Duluth, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Rochester and Winona.
However, due to “changes in federal priorities,” Climate Impact Corps is ending by July, according to Conservation Minnesota. The 11 AmeriCorps members will be out of jobs.
The members living and working in communities organized community conservation efforts, allowing Conservation Minnesota to tailor efforts to each city’s needs and characteristics, according to BreAnna Bemboom, public engagement director for Conservation Minnesota. The organization is still determining how to reach greater Minnesota cities after the program ends.
“With these positions ending, we don’t really know what’s next and how we’re going to fill that need, but we’re still really committed on that local level of work, because that’s really what touches everyone’s day-to-day experience,” Bemboom said.
AmeriCorps is a federal agency that runs stipend and volunteer work programs that address issues like poverty, disaster relief, the environment and education. Climate Impact Corps focuses specifically on environmental efforts.
AmeriCorps has been one of the agencies targeted by cuts during the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. According to a
lawsuit filed by attorneys general in dozens of states
against the Trump administration in response to the cuts, around $400 million worth of grant funding was terminated and 85% of AmeriCorps staff were laid off.
In early June, states in the lawsuit, which included Minnesota, were
granted a preliminary injunction
that restored AmeriCorps programs terminated in those states, according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
Bemboom said the reasons for Climate Impact Corps ending are not clear. Ampact, the organization that manages AmeriCorps programs in Minnesota, told Conservation Minnesota that “federal priorities and the funding landscape” have led to the shutdown of Climate Impact Corps, she said.
“If you asked me, like, exactly what that means, I honestly don’t know,” Bemboom said.
Representatives from Ampact did not return calls or emails requesting comment.
In Moorhead, AmeriCorps members organized events to get community members interested in the outdoors and involved in improving natural areas. Events over the years included fishing and foraging tutorials for children, birdhouse and bird feeder building classes, trash clean-ups and invasive plant removal.
One member organized a glass recycling collection event at Harold’s on Main, a bar in Moorhead, to educate people about how to recycle glass in Moorhead since it
cannot be included in mixed recycling.
AmeriCorps members in Moorhead also organized an outdoor recreation table for organizations in the Fargo-Moorhead area doing outdoor recreation work to connect with each other.
“They started a get-together to just be able to collaborate a little bit more, share things that are happening, you know, get help, which just increases access to the outdoors for everyone,” Bemboom said.
AmeriCorps members at Conservation Minnesota declined to comment for this story since they were still a part of the federal government program.
Crystal Rayamajhi, an outreach specialist for the University of Minnesota Extension Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, collaborated with Conservation Minnesota AmeriCorps members on events in Moorhead. She said the members in Moorhead added capacity for different initiatives — spreading the word about events, tabling and organizing volunteers for activities.
“Communities need folks that can do boots on the ground work, getting things done, and that’s a huge asset that AmeriCorps is able to provide,” Rayamajhi said.
Bemboom expects to see other organizations affected by the end of the Climate Impact Corps program.
“In general, the conservation movement across the state is hurting a little bit,” Bemboom said. “This is just some added pressure to those organizations that are still in the community and doing similar work — they’re already strapped a little thin, and this just kind of makes that worse.”
The city of Moorhead hosts one AmeriCorps member. A spokesperson for the city declined an interview request, instead sending a written statement.
“While the position is hired and funded through AmeriCorps, the City serves as the worksite and provides valuable on-the-job experience,” the statement read. “The role is expected to stay active through the 2024-2025 program year.”
Minnesota
Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
Minnesota
Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
Minnesota
Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator
A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan.
The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition.
Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records.
In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025.
Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.
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