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Minneapolis, MN

Biden Pardons 3 MN Prisoners In Largest-Ever Clemency

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Biden Pardons 3 MN Prisoners In Largest-Ever Clemency


MINNESOTA — President Joe Biden on Thursday commuted the sentences of 1,500 Americans who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned more than three dozen other people, including three from Minnesota.

The sweeping action was the largest act of clemency in a single day and includes 39 pardons for non-violent crimes, including drug offenses, for people who had “turned their lives around,” the White House said.

Those granted clemency had been serving longer sentences than would have been imposed under more recent laws and practices and were placed on home confinement during the pandemic, and are people who have successfully reintegrated into their communities, Biden said. The full list of those granted clemency can be found here.

Individuals from Minnesota who were pardoned include:

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Lashawn Marrvinia Walker – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lashawn Marrvinia Walker is a 51-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to non-violent drug offenses in her 20s. Ms. Walker received early termination of her probationary sentence for her exemplary probation record. Since then, Ms. Walker has worked in the healthcare field, is an engaged parent, and regularly assists others in her community, including during the holidays when she helps serve dinner at a retirement home. People in her community describe Ms. Walker as caring, good-hearted, and responsible. They also note her willingness to meaningfully help others.

Kelsie Lynn Becklin – Falcon Heights, Minnesota

Kelsie Lynn Becklin is a 38-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to a non-violent offense at the age of 21. After successfully serving her sentence, Ms. Becklin has furthered her education and recently completed a Ph.D. program. In addition to her graduate program research and academic writing, Ms. Becklin mentors previously incarcerated individuals who also seek to pursue higher education. She is also an active volunteer in her community. Friends and professors attest to her work ethic, dedication, and genuine care for others.

Sarah Jean Carlson – Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Sarah Jean Carlson is a 49-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to a non-violent offense. She received early termination of her probationary sentence. Since then, she has furthered her education and worked in addiction counseling at a faith-based rehabilitation center. Ms. Carlson also volunteers in her local community and at her church. Community members emphasize that Ms. Carlson goes above and beyond to help as many people in crisis as possible.

The commutations are for people who have served out home sentences for at least one year after they were released from prison. Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally kept by The Associated Press.

Biden, whose single term in the White House is drawing to an end, said in a statement that his administration will review other clemency petitions in the weeks ahead.

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“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said. “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

Clemency is the term for the power the president has to pardon, in which a person is relieved of guilt and punishment, or to commute a sentence, which reduces or eliminates the punishment but doesn’t exonerate the wrongdoing.

It is customary for an outgoing president to use the executive power to wipe away records and end prison terms. Even before Thursday’s announcement, Biden has granted more clemency requests than any other president at this point in his first term in recent history, the White House said. The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017.

Biden’s earlier actions include categorical pardons to people convicted under federal law of simple marijuana violations and former LGBTQ+ service members convicted of private conduct because of their sexual orientation.

Biden continues to face criticism for the blanket pardon earlier this month for his son, Hunter, despite previous pledges not to do so. The president’s action spared the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota weather: Gorgeous Sunday with a warmer Monday ahead

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Minnesota weather: Gorgeous Sunday with a warmer Monday ahead


A sunny and warm Sunday is in store for the Twin Cities, with even higher temperatures expected on Monday before a chance of rain and cooler air returns later in the week.

Sunday forecast

Local perspective:

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Sunday is starting with some cloud cover before sunshine moves in with highs near 70 degrees around the metro and southern parts of the state. 

Winds will be much lighter than Saturday, coming from the south at 5 to 10 mph with only occasional gusts up to 15 mph. 

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The Brainerd Lakes area will see temperatures in the 60s, while the North Shore will be cooler, which is typical for this time of year. 

Sunday’s weather is expected to be dry and pleasant.

Overnight, temperatures will drop to the upper 30s and lower 40s, with some clouds moving in ahead of Monday. 

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Extended forecast 

What’s next:

Monday could be the warmest day of the week, with highs in the lower 70s for the Twin Cities and some spots in southern Minnesota possibly reaching close to 80 degrees.

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Winds will shift from southerly to southeasterly and then easterly as the day goes on, but should remain light. 

After the warm start to the week, a cold front will move through on Tuesday, bringing a chance for a few rain showers in the early morning. 

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Temperatures will likely drop to the upper 40s by Wednesday and Thursday, with another front possibly bringing showers late Friday into early Saturday.

The rest of the extended forecast calls for temperatures close to or just below average, with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s.

The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.

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Minneapolis, MN

Man found dead in south Minneapolis house fire

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Man found dead in south Minneapolis house fire


Firefighters are investigating the Minneapolis’s second fire fatality of the year after a man died in a house fire Saturday afternoon. 

Fatal fire on 28th Avenue South

What we know:

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According to the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), fire crews arrived shortly after 1:00 p.m. and found smoke coming from the second floor of a single-family home on 28th Avenue South. Bystanders alerted firefighters that someone might be trapped inside.

Crews had to work through heavy debris to reach the upstairs area. It took about 40 minutes to fully put out the fire.

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During the primary search, firefighters found a man in his 60s dead on the second floor. No one else was found after searching all the floors.

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control took in a dog found outside the home.

Assistant Chief Wes Van Vickle said, “The department is grateful to the neighbors who alerted fire crews that someone may still have been inside, allowing them to act quickly.”

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Fire safety reminders and community response

What they’re saying:

“This afternoon’s tragic loss of life weighs heavily on all of us, and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Van Vickle.

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He also encourages the public to regularly check and maintain smoke detectors and fire extinguishers at home.

There were no other injuries reported. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is working to confirm the man’s identity.

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What we don’t know:

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the man’s name has not been released.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota serves as the flagship for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump

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Minnesota serves as the flagship for nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump


ST. PAUL, Minn. — Organizers of Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across the country are predicting that the protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration could add up to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, with Minnesota taking center stage.

Organizers say more than 3,100 events have been registered in all 50 states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate.

And they’ve designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as the national flagship event, in recognition of how the state where federal agents fatally shot two people who were monitoring Trump’s immigration crackdown became an epicenter of resistance.

Headlining that observance will be Bruce Springsteen, performing “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he wrote in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter. Springsteen’s Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, which has a “No Kings” theme, kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis.

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Minnesota organizers have told state officials they expect 100,000 people could converge on the Capitol grounds, where last June’s event drew an estimated 80,000 people.

The St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda,Sen. Bernie Sanders and a long list of other activists, labor leaders and elected officials.

The White House dismissed the nationwide protests as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.

“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of Indivisible, a group spearheading the events, said in an interview. Countries with constitutional monarchies call the protests “No Tyrants,” he said.

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For those unable to attend in person, another activist group, Stand Up For Science, is hosting a “virtual and accessible” event online.

National organizers told reporters in an online news conference Thursday that they expect Saturday’s protests to be larger than the first two rounds of No Kings rallies, which they estimate drew more than 5 million people in June and more than 7 million in October.

“This administration’s actions are angering not just Democratic voters or folks in big blue city centers – they are crossing a line for people in red and rural areas, in the suburbs, all over the country,” said Leah Greenberg, the other co-executive director of Indivisible. “The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,”

Two-thirds of the RSVPs have come from outside of major urban centers, Greenberg said, listing registration surges in conservative-leaning states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and Louisiana, as well in competitive suburban areas of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.

“Millions of us are rising up from all walks of life, from rural communities to big cities at No Kings,” said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, another major organizer. “And as we do so, we will send the loudest, clearest message yet that this country does not belong to kings, dictators, tyrants. It belongs to us.”

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Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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