Midwest

Christian colleges sue after being snubbed from Minnesota's dual enrollment program

Published

12 months ago

January 26, 2025

Christian colleges sue after being snubbed from Minnesota's dual enrollment program

Two Minnesota Christian colleges are challenging the state after a decades-long law was amended to exclude them from participating in the state’s dual enrollment program because they require students to sign statements of faith.

Since 1985, Minnesota’s postsecondary enrollment program allowed thousands of high school students, desiring to attend both private and public colleges, to enroll in a program and simultaneously receive high school and college credits for free. In 2023, the state amended the program law to exclude schools that require students to sign a statement of faith on the application, a decision that would single out Crown College and the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, according to legal representation. Now, the colleges are fighting the measure, saying it discriminates on the basis of religious exercise.

Fox News Digital spoke to Diana Thomson from the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools in the case against the state.

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A cross stands outside a church in Culhuacan in Mexico City, Mexico, on December 26, 2024, during the celebration of the patron saint San Juan Evangelista. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The Supreme Court has said over the last decade that, especially in the context of education, the government does not have to offer funding to private schools,” Thomson told Fox News Digital. “It runs public schools. It doesn’t have to offer funding to private schools, but once it does, it can’t exclude religious schools on the basis of their religious status, their religious exercise. So, there are cases around the country where governments are trying to get around this, what the Supreme Court said, and exclude religious schools from education programs. This is the only one I’m aware of that is a dual enrollment program.”

The court documents allege officials singled out the two colleges’ practices, going as far as calling the statements of faith “creepy” and “admitted that the Amendment’s purpose was to force Crown and Northwestern to abandon their faith statements.”

“One of the things that you heard from the lawmakers … in the discovery process. … was .. ‘These other schools don’t require a statement of faith. Why can’t Crown and Northwestern just do what they do? Why can’t they just adopt their religious beliefs?,” Thomson told Fox News, explaining the Constitution does not require schools to change their beliefs to receive public dollars.

“From proposal through passage, the Amendment targeted Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit alleges. “Staff admitted the proposal was motivated by objections to any admissions standards requiring students to be ‘actively practicing [their] Christian faith.’ (Ex. 21 at 1. ) MDE also wanted to eliminate any messaging that ‘may communicate to a potential student that they are not welcome to take a PSEO course … because of [the school’s] biblical worldview.’ (Reynolds.Tr.1 132:8-133:19.)”

Thomson said the law is not about the “separation of church and state, it’s about choice.”

“It’s about giving students a choice of where they want to go to school. Students have the choice to go to the University of Minnesota, to any public or private school in Minnesota that offers this program,” she said. “Some students want to choose schools that establish a community that allows them to carry out their faith. That’s what this program allows. It doesn’t establish a religion for the government to offer choice.”

If the provision passed, the lawyer says families that have sent all their children to Crown and Northwestern will now not have the same opportunities for their younger children who wish to obtain dual enrollment credits.

“I think it’s important for governments to understand that they can’t exclude religious schools and religious entities from participating in government programs just because of their religious exercise,” Thomson said. “Membership in religious organizations is a core constitutional right that is protected by the First Amendment. For the government to interfere in that is a blatant violation of the Constitution.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Minnesota Department of Education and the Commissioner’s Office. They did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

Published

1 hour ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

MONTREAL — The atmosphere at Bell Centre never disappoints, especially when two Original Six rivals meet on a Saturday night.

The Detroit Red Wings tuned out the “Go Habs, Go,” chants and turned in a fine road performance, avenging an opening night loss and evening the season series. The Wings came away from their only visit of the season to the home of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, in the second of three meetings.

Alex DeBrincat added a goal to his night when he was left wide-open to rip Patrick Kane’s pass into Montreal’s net 34 seconds into the third period. Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.

The Habs, who schooled the Wings, 5-1, back in the season opener in October, were denied on 27 shots by John Gibson as he earned his third shutout since Dec. 8.

Red Wings playoff position

The two points earned lifted the Wings (27-15-4) into first place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games). Next up, the Wings host Metropolitan Division leader Carolina on Monday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), with the Hurricanes visiting on the night the Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91.

Rough stuff in Montreal

The Wings incurred some bumps along the way, especially Mason Appleton, who took one stick near the eye area and another – by teammate Elmer Söderblom – to the lips. At one point in the third period, Gibson had to check his helmet for damage after getting dinged by a puck.

But what a win.

The Wings came out with good pace, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth early on. The Habs shot wide on Gibson until more than five minutes in, when Ivan Demidov set up Oliver Kapanen just outside the crease. Kapanen’s shot slid into the paint, but Gibson was able to glove it before it crossed the goal line.

The Wings went on a power play seven minutes in, and the unit of Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond and DeBrincat had such control of the puck they were out the entire two minutes – but the Canadiens did a good job getting in lanes to block shots.

Another man advantage materialized around the midpoint when Brendan Gallagher high-sticked Appleton in the face, but again the Habs prevented the Wings from generating shots on net.

Putting it in the net

Ninety-one seconds into the second period, the Wings were back on a power play. Larkin forced a save from Jacob Fowler on a doorstep shot, but the game was back at even strength when they made it 1-0.

Jacob Bernard-Docker had the puck at his own goal line when he sent a pass to van Riemsdyk (who arrived at Bell Centre dressed as Batman, for his 4-year-old son) along the boards. By the time he got to the red line, van Riemsdyk had two defenders on him, so he dumped the puck deep. But instead of going around the net, as Fowler thought it would as he skated behind his net to play it, the puck bounced off the end boards and out front, where Raymond turned it into his third straight five-on-five goal in the last three games.

The Wings built on their momentum just past the midpoint of the game when they converted during their fourth power play. Seider had the point up top and found DeBrincat along the left boards. DeBrincat made a short pass to Larkin, who took advantage of van Riemsdyk getting in Fowler’s line of vision to one-time a shot that gave the Wings a 2-0 lead.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee woman attacked inside her home, neighbors charged

Published

2 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Milwaukee woman attacked inside her home, neighbors charged

article

Tazjah Smith, Domonick Farmer

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County prosecutors accuse two people of attacking their neighbor inside her home earlier this month.

Charges filed

In court:

Court records show 22-year-old Tazjah Smith and 21-year-old Domonick Farmer are each charged with burglary and battery to an elder. Farmer is also charged with pointing a gun at the neighbor.

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Both Smith and Farmer made their initial court appearance on Thursday. Smith’s bond was set at $5,000, while Farmer’s was set at $2,500.

Neighbor attacked

The backstory:

It happened on Jan. 2. A criminal complaint said a 72-year-old woman said she was home when her upstairs neighbor, Smith, pounded on her door and accused her of “stealing groceries.” Smith then forced her way into the home and hit the victim in the face.

Court filings said the victim told police she was on the floor when she saw Farmer, who also lives upstairs, come in and tell Smith to “bear her a**.” The 72-year-old said Smith then hit her several more times before Smith and Farmer went upstairs.

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A witness said Smith also told Farmer to “get the gun,” and that Farmer came back with a gun that he “placed to the head” of the victim, according to the complaint. The witness said he told Farmer that it was “not worth it.” The witness also said Farmer demanded $20,000 and searched the home before they left without any money.

At the scene near 12th and Locust, court filings said police found “signs of a struggle” – including a cabinet door off its hinges, clumps of hair on the floor and a dented can of vegetables. The victim’s face and eye were swollen, and she was taken to a hospital.

Police found Smith and Farmer in the upstairs unit. Prosecutors said Smith “appeared to be covered in sweat with fresh scratches.” Officers searched the unit and found two guns, which matched descriptions provided by the victim and witness, and “small amounts” of methamphetamine and marijuana.

The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwauke County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsMilwaukee

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Minneapolis, MN

Buss: Response to Minneapolis shooting a moral failure

Published

2 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Buss: Response to Minneapolis shooting a moral failure

If another civil war were to break out in the United States, I imagine it would begin with an altercation similar to what took place in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

That’s what made the instantaneous and pejorative response to it by the Trump administration so jarring.

In an incident that recalls the National Guard shooting of student anti-war protesters at Kent State University in 1970, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and a mother of three. She had seemingly interjected herself into a major immigration enforcement operation that dispatched 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis at the direction of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

There is a dispute over whether the shooting was in self-defense, and the Trump administration has doubled down on defending the actions of the ICE officer, labeling Good a “domestic terrorist.” Vice President JD Vance alleged on Thursday that Good was part of a left-wing network.

But it’s hard to see the incident as anything other than a complete breakdown in moral clarity about responsibility and the limits of force by the government — and how it is discussed publicly before information could even be known.

Video shared online of the incident, allegedly taken by the officer involved, indicates the confrontation was already off to a bad start. Is filming, easily interpreted as a form of intimidation by law enforcement, standard training for ICE officers?

The ICE removal officer has been identified as Jonathan Ross, a former Army National Guard machine gunner and ex‑Border Patrol agent with extensive experience. He had been dragged by a suspect during a 2025 arrest.

Perhaps he should not have returned to active duty so quickly. The impetus is on law enforcement, whether police officers or ICE officers, to preserve life and contain an unruly and even reckless situation to the best of their ability.

Filming a potential suspect before a government-sanctioned interaction and then physically circling her vehicle to put oneself in danger calls his judgment into question.

Many questions remain about the confrontation, and no doubt instinctual psychology played a larger role in Good’s actions and in Ross’s than we will ever know.

But the immediate, callous response of Noem and Vance to this tragedy is part of a growing pattern of disregard for the collateral damage caused by implementing difficult, controversial policies. This cowboy culture that is causing serious division and violence on the nation’s streets needs to be called out and off.

Sometimes the government has to kill; it doesn’t appear that Good’s death was necessarily one of those instances. No death should ever be celebrated, or the victim castigated as a “deranged leftist,” as Vance called Good, an activist who was reportedly trained to aggressively confront ICE agents.

Despite the immediate escalation, it’s clear that while Good was driving in the opposite direction from Ross, the officer continued to shoot at her. Good lay in the driver’s seat, dying, while onlookers scream in horror.

Such a staunch and certain defense of the totality of his actions is indefensible.

No one — U.S. citizen or otherwise — should be gunned down on America’s streets this casually by agents of the government.

It also points to why perhaps immigration operations at the scale Noem directed in Minneapolis shouldn’t be deployed so provocatively. Such a confrontation was bound to occur.

Public safety requires restraint as much as it requires the enforcement of law and order.

When that restraint fails, it is the duty of the heads of government to call for patience, calm and the truth — and if necessary, take some responsibility.

Americans on all sides should demand accountability for Good’s death and a renewed commitment by the Trump administration to policies and practices that were written to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy.

Kaitlyn Buss’ columns appear in The Detroit News. Reach her at kbuss@detroitnews.com and follow her on X @KaitlynBuss.

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