Midwest

Minnesota business owner tears into Walz for COVID, BLM riot leadership: A 'total and complete failure'

Published

1 year ago

August 10, 2024

Minnesota business owner tears into Walz for COVID, BLM riot leadership: A 'total and complete failure'

A Minnesota business owner who was forced to shut his doors after suffering financial devastation from the coronavirus pandemic and crime issued a scathing rebuke of Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., calling him an “evil person” for his handling of COVID-19.

“Walz is absolutely a total and complete failure,” Greg Urban said Wednesday on “America Reports.” “He’s an incredibly divisive leader. He shut down the state for almost two years. Anybody that would go against his rules, so much as opening a coffee shop, would end up in jail for long periods of time.”

WALZ’S FREEDOM MESSAGE CLASHES WITH RECORD ON COVID SCHOOL CLOSURES, INDOOR MASK MANDATES

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, before she delivers remarks at a campaign event, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Eau Claire, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Urban, the owner of Wild Greg’s Saloon, said he was forced to shutter his Minneapolis bar when it could not rebound after COVID-19 lockdowns eased.

Urban’s locations in Austin, Texas; Pensacola, Fla.; and Lakeland, Fla., bounced back relatively quickly, but “there was no road map ahead” for Minneapolis, he told Fox News’ John Roberts.

“Minneapolis was a failed city, and it really hasn’t gotten any better. We were losing money every single month, where every other city came back very quickly from COVID, and you can only lose money so many months in a row as a business owner before you have to pull the pin,” he said.

In his first term as governor, Walz oversaw Minnesota’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and favored heavy-handed restrictions, including lockdowns and mask mandates. Walz’s administration also set up a hotline to report residents who violated COVID-19 mandates, as FOX 9 Minneapolis reported at the time.

FIVE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE TIM WALZ, FROM DUI TO COVID FRAUD

“Walz was a complete dictator through that whole period. Really an evil person, more than a dictator,” Urban said. “He actually made it illegal for families to gather for Christmas and Thanksgiving. And so people, then, if they saw their neighbor carrying out a turkey leg on Thanksgiving, they could call the tip line and Walz could dispatch his COVID police to come take them to jail.”

Walz’s handling of the pandemic came under scrutiny after Harris, the Democratic nominee, named him her running mate in the 2024 election. Critics are also pointing to Walz’s response to the Minneapolis Black Lives Matter riots after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, calling it a failure and low point of his first term as governor.

Walz deployed the National Guard to stop the violence, which included the torching of a police station. But GOP lawmakers have said both the governor and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were too slow to act.

A building goes up in flames during the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis. (Getty Images)

“He stood by. He had every resource to end the riots very quickly, and he chose not to. He stood by. He let the burning, the looting, the protesting go for several days, and it was just a terrible thing for this city, and the city still hasn’t recovered.”

Urban said patrons were afraid to come downtown, further laying into Walz for letting rioters and criminals run rampant.

“They were scared because of the crime. A lot of people were getting mugged,” he said. “Their cars stolen, cars broken into, there were no police. You call the police, and unless there is a murder in progress, they might not even respond, or [it could] take an hour or two. It was a very troubling time, and Tim Walz refused to provide any state resources, state police, things other cities — such as maybe Austin, Texas, for example — had some help from the state. Here in Minnesota, Tim Walz provided no leadership to help Minneapolis.”

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He said he heard people compare Walz to Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., but he disagreed with the simplified characterization.

“I heard the comment yesterday that Walz is Newsom with less hair and wearing flannel. The reality is, Walz, I think, is more radical left than Gavin Newsom,” Urban said. “In a state of 5 million people, I think it slides under the radar a little bit, but Tim Walz was an absolute dictator.”

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Urban also called out Walz for a comment he made at Tuesday’s rally with Harris on the topic of personal freedoms.

“In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn’t make the same choice for ourselves, there’s a golden rule: Mind your own damn business,” Walz told the crowd.

Urban said Walz should have taken some of his own advice.

“The idea of ‘mind your own damn business’ sure did not happen with him,” he said.

Walz’s office did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown dealing with knee injury

Published

11 minutes ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown dealing with knee injury

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is dealing with a knee injury, though Lions coach Dan Campbell indicated he does not believe it’s serious.

St. Brown was listed as a non-participant on the Lions’ estimated practice report Monday, Dec. 22.

The Lions held a walk-through Monday in advance of this week’s game against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday (4:30 p.m., Netflix). Campbell said St. Brown showed up to the practice facility after the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and reported the injury.

“We’ll know more a little bit later but this is just something that just popped up when he came in today,” Campbell said. “So hopeful this is something [that’s] just some type of irritation from the game. That’s what I’m hoping.”

St. Brown leads the Lions with 98 catches, 1,194 yards and 11 touchdowns and needs two catches over the Lions’ final two games for his fourth straight 100-catch season.

Taylor Decker (shoulder) and Avonte Maddox (back) also were listed as non-participants on Monday’s practice report, and the Lions listed nine others as limited participants including starters Marcus Davenport (shoulder), Graham Glasgow (knee), Christian Mahogany (fibula), Alim McNeill (abdomen) and Amik Robertson (hand).

The Lions (8-7) must win their final two games and have the Green Bay Packers (9-5-1) lose their final two games to make the playoffs.

Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee daycare van stolen with kids inside; 27-year-old woman accused

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee daycare van stolen with kids inside; 27-year-old woman accused

article

MILWAUKEE – A 27-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of stealing a running daycare van that had four young children inside. The accused is Katelyn Librizzi – and she faces the following criminal counts:

Operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent
Abduction of a child

Case details

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police detective responded around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 to an abduction investigation near Appleton and Burleigh. A 911 call came from the owner of a daycare center indicating that a woman “jumped into her van and pulled off with her children inside,” the complaint says. That second person was later identified as Katelyn Librizzi, the defendant.

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A short time later, Milwaukee police conducted a high-risk traffic stop. The defendant was the driver and was arrested. The complaint says four young children were seated inside the van.

When police spoke with the daycare owner, she said she called 911 from the daycare because her personal cellphone was in the van that had been stolen.

Inside the recovered van, police found medical documents listed to the defendant, the complaint says. Investigators also used the daycare owner’s cellphone to get geolocation data, which showed the van’s path.

On Dec. 17, a detective interviewed the defendant who “indicated she had mental health issues,” the complaint says. The detective also reported Librizzi “was making statements and comments that are not typically mentioned in interviews,” the complaint says. Librizzi also told police “she had been driving and saw little kids in the back of the vehicle. The defendant also reported that the police pulled her over. She reported that the can had been running in front of a daycare,” the complaint says.

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What’s next:

Librizzi appeared in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Dec. 21. Cash bond was set at $10,000. The court also ordered Librizzi to undergo a competency examination.

The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access and the criminal complaint associated with this case.

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews

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Minneapolis, MN

Man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Minneapolis real estate agent

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Minneapolis real estate agent

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Lyndon Wiggins, the man convicted of plotting to kidnap and kill a Minneapolis real estate agent and mother on New Year’s Eve 2019, was sentenced to life behind bars on Monday without the possibility of parole.

Lyndon Wiggins sentenced

What we know:

In court on Monday, Wiggins faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder of Monique Baugh.

Before handing down that sentence, Judge Mark Kappelhoff told Wiggins he showed no regard for the lives of Baugh or her partner during the scheme that resulted in Baugh’s murder.

“Based on my view of the evidence, it’s clear to me that you are the criminal architect of a cold, calculated and cruel criminal scheme that led to the kidnaping and ultimately to the tragic, senseless and brutal murder of Ms. Baugh and the attempted murder of [her partner],” the judge said. “I guess I’ll never fully understand the full reasons behind that, but I don’t know that necessarily matters. Life is precious, but you showed no regard for the lives of Monique Baugh or [her boyfriend].”

Monique Baugh murder plot

Timeline:

Wiggins’ sentencing followed his second conviction in Baugh’s murder earlier this year.

Wiggins was originally convicted in 2021 for Baugh’s murder, but the conviction was overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2024 due to bad jury instructions during the trial.

In November, Wiggins was again convicted of aiding/abetting first-degree premeditated murder, aiding/abetting first-degree premeditated attempted murder, aiding/abetting kidnapping to commit great bodily harm, and aiding/abetting first-degree murder while committing the crime of kidnapping.

The backstory:

Wiggins was accused of being the mastermind of the plot to kill Baugh in 2019 with help from his romantic partner Elsa Segura, co-defendant Berry Davis and Cedric Berry.

The group lured Baugh to a home in Maple Grove for a fake home showing. There, Baugh was forced into a U-Haul truck and brought to an alleyway in Minneapolis where she was shot three times, execution style, at point-blank range.

Segura pleaded guilty to kidnapping in 2024 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Berry and Davis were both convicted by a jury and both sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Wiggins allegedly targeted Baugh because she was dating a man who Wiggins viewed as a rival drug dealer. Court records also suggest Wiggins and Baugh’s boyfriend had a falling out over a rap record label they were both involved in.

Crime and Public SafetyMinneapolisMaple Grove

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