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Minnesota AG sued for letting biological males play in girls sports amid trans softball player dominance

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Minnesota AG sued for letting biological males play in girls sports amid trans softball player dominance

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing a lawsuit for enabling trans athletes to compete in girls sports as the state faces an ongoing controversy involving a trans pitcher dominating the softball season. 

The religious law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the activist group Female Athletes United and three anonymous girls softball players in the state over the ongoing controversy. 

“Minnesota is failing its female athletes. The state is putting the rights of males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don’t deserve fairness and safety,” Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher told Fox News Digital. 

“By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions. Our client, Female Athletes United, is right to stand up for its members by challenging the state’s discriminatory policy and advocate for true equality in sports.”

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.  (Getty Images)

The defendants are Ellison, the Minnesota State High School League Executive Director Erich Martens, Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett.

Ellison’s office has released a statement responding to the lawsuit.

“In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people. You build friendships that can last a lifetime, you learn how to work as part of a team, and you get to feel like you belong,” Ellison said. 

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“I believe it is wrong to single out one group of students, who already face higher levels of bullying and harassment, and tell these kids they cannot be on the team because of who they are. I will continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers.”

Reports of the trans softball pitcher winning 14 straight games heading into the playoffs and earning first-team All-State honors rocked the state in recent weeks. 

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Former Vikings player Jack Brewer even spoke out about the controversy rocking his state’s high school sports scene. 

“In any sport — especially something like softball — people can get seriously hurt. A man hits the ball harder. A man throws the ball faster. So, the idea of allowing men to compete in women’s softball — especially now, when that sport has grown in visibility and opportunity — is insane,” Brewer told Fox News Digital. 

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Meanwhile, Ellison is suing President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice to ensure transgender athletes can continue participating in girls sports in the state.

After Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would defy federal law by allowing transgender athletes to continue playing in women’s sports.

Ellison then claimed at a press conference on April 22 that he received notice from the Department of Justice threatening legal action if the state did not follow the executive order, so the AG decided to sue first. 

“I’m not going to sit around waiting for the Trump administration to sue Minnesota. Today, Minnesota is suing him and his administration because we will not participate in this shameful bullying,” Ellison said. “We will not let a small group of vulnerable children who are only trying be healthy and live their lives be demonized.”

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The White House has responded to the lawsuit, condemning Ellison for taking legal action to enable trans inclusion. 

“Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women’s sports? This is creepy and anti-woman,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. 

Minnesota’s state legislature failed to pass the “Preserving Girls’ Sports Act” in early March, which would have stated that “only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls.”

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South Dakota

SD Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Dec. 20, 2025

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The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 20, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

08-21-30-41-47, Lucky Ball: 15

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Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

09-12-34-45-50, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-15-17-23-35

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
  • Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
  • Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
  • Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 20, 2025

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Wisconsin Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 20, 2025


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The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 20, 2025, results for each game:

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Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Midday: 0-8-4

Evening: 4-1-4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Midday: 0-8-8-6

Evening: 1-5-3-1

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning All or Nothing numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Midday: 01-02-03-04-06-07-09-10-12-15-17

Evening: 03-04-05-07-10-12-13-14-15-18-21

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Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Badger 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

07-09-10-15-30

Check Badger 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning SuperCash numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

01-02-03-16-21-33, Doubler: N

Check SuperCash payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Megabucks numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

02-10-15-27-32-45

Check Megabucks payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

  • Prizes up to $599: Can be claimed at any Wisconsin Lottery retailer.
  • Prizes from $600 to $199,999: Can be claimed in person at a Lottery Office. By mail, send the signed ticket and a completed claim form available on the Wisconsin Lottery claim page to: Prizes, PO Box 777 Madison, WI 53774.
  • Prizes of $200,000 or more: Must be claimed in person at the Madison Lottery office. Call the Lottery office prior to your visit: 608-261-4916.

Can Wisconsin lottery winners remain anonymous?

No, according to the Wisconsin Lottery. Due to the state’s open records laws, the lottery must, upon request, release the name and city of the winner. Other information about the winner is released only with the winner’s consent.

When are the Wisconsin Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Super Cash: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
  • Pick 3 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
  • Pick 3 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
  • Pick 4 (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
  • Pick 4 (Evening): 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
  • All or Nothing (Day): 1:30 p.m. CT daily.
  • All or Nothing (Evening): 9 p.m. CT daily.
  • Megabucks: 9:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Badger 5: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.

That lucky feeling: Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

Feeling lucky? WI man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot **

WI Lottery history: Top 10 Powerball and Mega Million jackpots

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This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Wisconsin editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Midwest

‘Schemes stacked upon schemes’: $1B public benefits fraud fuels scrutiny of Minnesota’s Somali community

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‘Schemes stacked upon schemes’: B public benefits fraud fuels scrutiny of Minnesota’s Somali community

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A series of sprawling fraud schemes involving hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from Minnesota taxpayers — from COVID-relief programs to housing and autism services — have placed the state’s Somali community under a renewed, intense spotlight, raising uncomfortable questions about whether some who found refuge here are robbing their new neighbors blind.

These swirling fraud cases — and claims that some ill-gotten gains were diverted to the Somali terrorist organization Al-Shabaab — have now prompted a House investigation, a Treasury Department probe and mounting political pressure on state leaders, including Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, over why Minnesota failed to safeguard taxpayer money.

The fraud revelations, combined with a string of violent crimes and revived terror concerns involving Somali-linked defendants, have shaken public confidence and raised urgent questions about why Minnesota failed to stop the schemes sooner. The developments have also deepened public unease and revived long-standing questions about assimilation, oversight and public safety in Minnesota.

INSIDE ‘LITTLE MOGADISHU’: MINNESOTA’S BELEAGUERED SOMALI COMMUNITY UNDER A CLOUD OF FRAUD AND TRUMP ATTACKS

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Two Somali women walk through a Minneapolis neighborhood as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appears in a split image. Lawmakers say the state’s oversight failures and political sensitivity around Somali-run nonprofits helped fuel the $1 billion welfare fraud scandal now under federal investigation. (Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital that the fraud scandal represents “a catastrophic failure of oversight” under Walz and characterized some of the culprits involved as a “Somali criminal enterprise crew.”

“People can focus on an ethnic group if they want, but the real issue is the lack of leadership and accountability in the state of Minnesota with Tim Walz and his administration. This wasn’t about Somalis; this was about government incompetence and lack of accountability,” Emmer said. 

“We have been trying to sound the alarm on this fraud… for more than three years.”

‘Schemes stacked upon schemes’

The centerpiece scandal is the Feeding Our Future case, where approximately $300 million intended to feed low-income children during the pandemic was siphoned away in what federal prosecutors describe as the largest pandemic-relief fraud scheme charged in U.S. history. Some of the shell companies and meal sites were operated by Somali Minnesotans, prosecutors say, though the alleged ringleader — Aimee Bock — is a White American.

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That sprawling case has now grown to at least 78 defendants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota. 

U.S. Attorney Andrew Luge, pictured in 2022, outlines federal charges against people accused of participating in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme that diverted child-nutrition funds into luxury spending, real estate and kickbacks. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Prosecutors say criminals also bilked millions of dollars from Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program — which pays for help finding and keeping housing — as well as the state’s autism-services program by billing for appointments, therapy and casework that never took place.

Former Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson described the scams as “schemes stacked upon schemes” that drained tens of millions of dollars from Medicaid. At least some of those defendants also have ties to the Somali community.

“It feels never-ending,” Thompson said in September, when announcing that eight people had been charged with defrauding the housing stabilization services program of around $8.4 million in total. “I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away. The fraud must be stopped.”

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Thompson said the eight were part of the “first wave” of prosecutions in the case. The fraudsters, in many instances, spent the cash on luxury cars, lavish lifestyles and purchasing property at home and in places like Kenya.

Riverside Plaza looms over the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis’ Cedar–Riverside neighborhood, a hub of Somali immigrants. Minnesota fraud schemes from COVID relief and social programs have intensified scrutiny of the state’s Somali community. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

State Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, the lead Republican on the state Senate’s Human Services Committee, told Fox News Digital he believes the Feeding Our Future scandal grew to historic levels because state leaders were afraid to investigate Somali-run nonprofits and unwilling to confront obvious fraud.

“Concerns of political correctness halted the Walz administration from doing the investigations they needed to protect Minnesota’s tax dollars,” Rasmusson said.

He said state DHS dysfunction “from the time that Gov. Walz took office” created an environment where criminals were able to exploit human-services programs for years.

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“The administration has been asleep at the wheel,” he said.

A widely circulated DHS whistleblower account alleged that staff who raised internal fraud concerns were ignored, reassigned or sidelined — which tracks with Rasmusson’s account.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for his handling of the widespread fraud. (Getty Images)

Feeding Our Future swindle unravels

Bock, the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, and Salim Said, a local restaurant owner, were found guilty of their roles in the scheme, with prosecutors stating that they splashed their cash on luxury homes and cars, as well as their lavish lifestyles.

They claimed to have served 91 million meals, for which they fraudulently received nearly $250 million in federal funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota. It’s unclear how many Somalis were involved in the scheme, as prosecutors don’t release the nationalities of defendants. 

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One witness reportedly claimed that Said disclosed a gang affiliation and threatened to kill that person if they reported the fraud to authorities, Thompson said. 

Additionally, five people were also charged with offering a cash bribe to a juror and preparing written arguments for the juror. One argument read, “We are immigrants: they don’t respect or care about us.”

In 2021, when the Minnesota Department of Education grew suspicious and tried to stop the flow of funds, Feeding Our Future sued, alleging racial discrimination. A judge ordered the state to restart reimbursements — a ruling prosecutors said enabled the scheme to escalate.

Prosecutors say Aimee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, and Salim Said helped orchestrate one of the largest pandemic-relief fraud schemes in U.S. history. Both were found guilty of diverting federal child-nutrition funds into luxury homes, vehicles and other personal spending, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

The lawsuit drew political support from Somali-American State Sen. Omar Fateh, who appeared at a community celebration of the ruling and later acknowledged receiving — and returning — campaign donations from individuals indicted in the case.

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While investigating the scandal, federal agents discovered that one scammer, Asha Farhan Hassan, had pocketed about $465,000 but was also operating a much larger scheme: defrauding the state’s autism-treatment program of roughly $14 million. Hassan billed Medicaid for fake therapy sessions, used untrained staff and paid parents $300 to $1,500 a month to keep their kids in the program. She sent hundreds of thousands of dollars abroad, including to purchase real estate in Kenya, prosecutors said.

The scale of program growth stunned federal officials. The Housing Stabilization Services program was projected to cost $2.6 million annually but paid out more than $100 million last year. The autism program’s budget jumped from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The unraveling fraud schemes intensified scrutiny of Walz’s administration, with critics arguing basic safeguards were ignored even as theft ballooned.

Crime and terror 

A recent City Journal article claimed some stolen welfare money has flowed to Al-Shabaab in Somalia through informal “hawala” networks. That report has intensified scrutiny and stirred old fears, given that about 20 young Somali-Americans left Minnesota in the late 2000s to join the terrorist group, with one, Shirwa Ahmed, becoming the first known American Islamist suicide bomber when he detonated a car bomb in Somalia in October 2008.

Rasmusson said he was concerned about money ending up with terrorists.

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“Because there’s more than a billion dollars that’s been stolen and a significant portion of those dollars have been directed overseas, there are concerns this money could be either directly or indirectly funding terrorist organizations like al-Shabaab,” Rasmusson told Fox News Digital.

Newly trained al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises south of Mogadishu, in Somalia, Feb. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

Former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, who testified before Congress about Somali-American radicalization, said Minnesota ignored early warning signs once before.

“We really got a wake-up call in 2010-11,” Stanek said. “Young people were going back to Somalia to participate in terrorist training camps and terrorist actions when they had no clear ties back to their culture. They were born here in the U.S. but felt a need or were radicalized to go back.”

“Minnesotans had no idea what was even going on until the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force stepped in.”

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He said the threat has declined but not disappeared.

“I’m not saying it still doesn’t happen, because I know it does,” he said.

Last year, Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan, 23, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS after twice trying to travel to Somalia.

Crime cases shaking public confidence

For many Minnesotans, the fraud cases are only the latest chapter in a longer pattern of violence and instability tied to small pockets of the Somali community. Public unease has also grown recently in response to a string of recent violent crimes tied to the community in the Twin Cities.

Somali national Abdimahat Bille Mohamedis, a man with two previous sex crime convictions, was charged this week with kidnapping and raping a woman at a hotel while on probation. 

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In July, Qalinle Ibrahim Dirie, a Somali migrant, was jailed for 12 years for sexually assaulting a child. The case sparked fury when a local mosque gave a character-reference letter praising the pedophile’s “good conduct” and urged leniency.

During a two-week stretch over the summer, a 15-year-old was killed in a mall shooting, while two high-school graduation ceremonies left a 49-year-old father with a head wound and a 19-year-old man injured. All three incidents involved members of the Somali-American community, according to reports, while Emmer said the incidents were gang-related.

Qalinle Ibrahim Dirie, who was jailed for sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl, and Michael Lual Nhial, who was charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of David Stuart Chant. (Minnesota Department of Corrections; Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)

In May, Michael Lual Nhial, who had a history of erratic and aggressive behavior, was charged with killing David Chant, a 59-year-old man who used walking sticks to get around and was found beaten to death at a park in Burnsville, a city 15 miles south of downtown Minneapolis.

Stanek said Somali-related violence began surfacing between 2005 and 2010, initially involving first-generation immigrants but later drawing in U.S.-born youth, with most shootings traced back to a small network of repeat offenders — young men cycling through probation and short jail terms.

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Groups such as the Somali Outlaws and 10th Street Gang were never tightly organized criminal syndicates but loose crews of young men whose crimes stemmed more from personal rivalries than organized criminal enterprises, he said. 

Minnesota does not track crime by ethnicity, and violent crime statewide has fallen, but the visibility of Somali suspects in these cases has amplified and revived old narratives about crime within Minnesota’s Somali community.

DEMOCRAT MAYOR BLASTED FOR VOWING TO MAKE MAJOR CITY ‘SAFE HAVEN’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 

A woman selling bottles of water near a street sign for “Somali St” with the Riverside Plaza towers in the background in Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Leadership and oversight failures

Rasmusson said Walz has “lost the confidence of Minnesotans and the legislature in his ability to lead,” given the size of the fraud and the administration’s repeated failure to intervene when irregularities were clearly visible.

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He pointed to one glaring example investigators missed.

“They were claiming to feed 6,000 kids a day, seven days a week, in a community of only 2,500 people,” he said. “And so you don’t need to be an FBI analyst to figure out that there’s probably fraud occurring.”

But community leaders are pushing back, saying Minnesota’s Somali population is overwhelmingly law-abiding and hardworking — and that a handful of offenders are being used to smear an entire community. They say the above incidents do not define them and that most Somali immigrants in the state are hardworking and deeply patriotic toward the United States.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR–Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that while the crimes are real and serious, he rejects the idea of collective blame for criminal activity. Hussein did not defend the crimes but placed their actions in the broader context of American immigrant history — drawing parallels to Irish and Italian communities once linked to organized crime.

“We have a history in this nation of identifying crime and associating it with communities — whether it’s the Italian mafia or Irish gangs,” Hussein said. “Crime is an individual act. It’s an act of betrayal of our trust. When someone steals money from food at a school, they’re not stealing from anybody else — they’re stealing from their own community, from children who need it. Especially in the Somali-American community, which is still a poor community.”

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A woman in a maroon abaya crosses the street near a mosque in Minneapolis’ Cedar–Riverside neighborhood. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

Rasmusson said the failures were so significant that Walz, who intends to run for a third term in 2026, may no longer be able to lead the state. 

“The Walz administration has failed and they’ve utterly failed to protect Minnesota taxpayers,” he said. “And I think he’s lost the confidence of Minnesotans and the legislature in his ability to lead as governor of this state.

“And I think that he should recognize the position that he’s in and that it will be very challenging for him to have the confidence of Minnesotans again.”

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