Minnesota
Amy Klobuchar’s campaign raises $4.8M for Minnesota governor bid
Amy Klobuchar launches run for Minnesota Governor
The four term Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar is launching her run for governor of Minnesota, emphasizing the need for leaders to find common ground.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has raised $4.8 million for her campaign since she launched her bid for Minnesota governor at the end of January, her campaign announced Wednesday.
Klobuchar’s total, amassed in just 62 days, suggests she’ll have a staggering cash advantage from now until November, compounded by outside spending by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and well-funded allies like Alliance for a Better Minnesota.
Over 90% of donors have given Klobuchar’s governor campaign less than $100, which means she can keep asking them for more as the contest heats up, and she has $3.4 million cash on hand. Klobuchar’s campaign said her haul is the most raised by any candidate for governor in its first two months. In 2022, Gov. Tim Walz raised just over $1 million in the first quarter of that year, according to Minnesota campaign finance data.
“(Klobuchar’s) grassroots donor base knows that she fights for people no matter the odds, and they stepped up the moment she announced her campaign for governor,” said Joe Radosevich, her campaign manager, in a statement.
Klobuchar, Minnesota’s senior senator and the state’s most accomplished vote-getter, has raised over six times as much as GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is a leading GOP candidate for governor. Demuth has raised over $730,000 since she launched her campaign in November, Demuth’s campaign said. Demuth raised about $226,000 in the first quarter.
Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and former health care executive, has raised $700,000 since he launched his campaign for governor last summer, Qualls’ campaign said. In the first quarter of 2026, Qualls raised about $123,000, according to his campaign.
Since launching her campaign on Jan. 29, Klobuchar has held no campaign rallies and has largely refrained from campaigning on social media, unlike her Republican opponents.
Klobuchar hopped into the race after Walz ended his campaign for a third term after intensifying scrutiny of fraud in safety net programs. Walz reportedly met with Klobuchar and urged her to run.
Other Democrats have stayed out of the race since then, no doubt deterred by Klobuchar’s electoral record, top-flight political operation and fundraising prowess.
Klobuchar is a heavy favorite to win in November against a field of Republicans who are unknown to most Minnesotans, aside from MyPillow mogul Mike Lindell. Republican candidates include Demuth, Qualls, and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.
The DFL Party and the Republican Party of Minnesota will hold their endorsing conventions next month.
Klobuchar has spent two decades in the U.S. Senate, where lawmakers primarily send out press releases, take lots of votes and manage constituent services.
The governor of Minnesota oversees an enterprise with more than 36,000 employees, an annual general fund budget of $33 billion and billions more in Medicaid and other federal dollars now under considerable scrutiny following the discovery of hundreds of millions in fraud in recent years.
As the Republican Party of Minnesota has noted, since she launched her campaign, Klobuchar’s campaign website lists no priorities, top issues or even a description of her. She also hasn’t conducted any interviews with Minnesota media outlets.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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.
At a press conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday, June 16, the Justice Department announced criminal charges against 15 people for allegedly conspiring to impede or injure an officer during the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immigration crackdown in Minnesota from about January to June of 2026.
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said the alleged conspiracy related to efforts by two Minneapolis-based antifa groups that violently opposed law enforcement. “Antifa” is a collective term for an assortment of groups in an anti-fascist movement, which President Donald Trump in September designated as a major terrorist organization.
“These defendants have been charged not for what they said, but for what they did,” Rosen said.
“They all joined an agreement, a conspiracy, to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations,” he added. “The conspiracy was not to interfere by their voice, but to do it by force.”
Lawyers for the defendants weren’t immediately identifiable.
An indictment unsealed June 16 alleges the defendants tried to halt immigration enforcement operations with “hard blockades” such as wood, leaf blowers and vehicles to impede officer movement, and with “soft blockades” such as homemade shields to resist and wedge between officers.
One defendant, Kyle Wagner, is also charged with soliciting another person to commit a crime of violence. During the June 16 press conference, Rosen played a video that he said was of Wagner.
“My name is Kyle, I’m antifa, and there’s so much rage in me that I’ve had to record this, like, 15 times, trying to get the message out,” the man in the video said.
“Not talking about peaceful protests anymore. We’re not talking about having polite conversations anymore,” the man said in the video, adding that he was speaking specifically to his followers.
“Get your f—— guns and stop these f—— people,” the man added.
Charges follow immigration crackdown and mass protests
In December, the Trump administration began a surge of thousands of federal agents to Minnesota as part of an immigration crackdown. That sparked heightened tensions in the state, with some locals organizing against the crackdown, including by using whistles to alert others to approaching immigration agents.
Interactions between federal immigration enforcement agents and protesters turned increasingly heated and even violent in January, after federal law enforcement shot and killed Minneapolis mother Renee Nicole Good while she was driving a car, and later shot and killed Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, after tackling him and discovering a gun that, in videos of the incident, appeared to be secured in his waistband.
On Jan. 16, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that the FBI was working around the clock to crack down on “violent rioters.”
In February, the Trump administration announced an end to the surge.
Since then, the Justice Department has brought charges against dozens of defendants for allegedly interfering with or assaulting federal agents during the surge, but about a third of those cases have been dismissed, according to an analysis by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Asked about cases that have been dismissed or failed in some way at the June 16 press conference, U.S. Attorney Rosen stood by the cases his office has brought.
“I don’t think any cases have failed in any way, but I will tell you, read the indictment and you’ll understand the full magnitude of this case,” Rosen said.
Minnesota
Severe Thunderstorms Expected Wednesday In Southern Minnesota With Large Hail And Strong Winds
UNDATED (WJON News) — A strong surface low-pressure system will move through the region on Wednesday and will be the driver of scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon/early evening hours.
Severe thunderstorms are possible across southern Minnesota, with the primary threat of large hail (~1.5″). Damaging winds and a few tornadoes are also possible.
St. Cloud has officially had 1.32 inches of rain so far in June, which is 0.53 inches below
normal.
Dry weather returns Thursday and most of Friday, but will be followed by storm chances for the first half of the weekend.
Humourous St. Cloud Sign
For over two years, the sign outside the St. Cloud Vacuum and Sewing Center has been bringing smiles to drivers on Division Street. Check out some of the creative and funny signs that have been brightening the mood of St. Cloud.
Minnesota
Rosemount vs. Champlin Park: Live Score Updates of 2026 Minnesota High School Baseball Class 4A State Championship
MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 2 Champlin Park Rebels (22-6) play the No. 4 Rosemount Irish (24-5) in the Minnesota high school baseball Class 4A state championship game on Monday at Target Field.
Neither team has won a baseball state championship in its history.
The Rebels have won both state championship games by one run. They defeated No. 7 Andover 3-2 in the quarterfinal before outlasting Edina 8-7 in extra innings in the semifinal. The Rebels are led by senior catcher Cal Ockuly, who was scheduled to be in San Diego on Monday for Marine Corps training, but he is allowed to play.
Rosemount won its two state championship games via blowout. They defeated No. 5 Monticello 11-2 in the quarterfinal, and they defeated No. 1 Farmington 11-1 in the semifinal. The Irish scored 12 runs the section final, so they’ve scored 34 runs in the past three games.
Junior outfielder Oliver Anderson had four RBIs in the semifinal win against Farmington.
High School On SI will have half-inning recaps and score updates throughout the game.
Rosemount vs. Champlin Park: Live Score Updates of 2026 Minnesota High School Baseball Class 4A State Championship
Refresh for the latest update.
Live score: Rosemount 0, Champlin Park 0 — Top 2nd
SECOND INNING
FIRST INNING — Champlin Park 0, Rosemount 0
Senior Evan Boll is pitching for Rosemount to begin the game.
Rosemount gets a runner two second base with two outs, but Vendel gets a strikeout for the final out.
Champlin Park’s Donovan Vendel throws the first pitch of the game, and we’re underway after a long rain delay.
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