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2024 election season in full swing, Minnesota preps for primary

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2024 election season in full swing, Minnesota preps for primary


ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The 2024 election season is in full swing. The GOP of Iowa selected Former President Donald Trump as its preferred presidential candidate on Monday. Now, Minnesota, along with other states, is gearing up to choose its preferred candidate.

Minnesota’s primary will be held March 5, also known as ‘Super Tuesday’. However, voting starts weeks before that. Absentee voting starts as early as January 19.

According to Olmsted County Election Manager Luke Turner, the final touches are being put on the ballot and the county is working on hiring and training election staff.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said this election cycle is going to attract the attention of many.

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“This is your chance to get in on the ground floor and help determine who the nominee of your party is going to be,” Simon said.

The ballots are being finalized, but before you cast your vote, you must declare your party. In Minnesota, that is either Republican, DFL, or the Legalize Marijuana Now party. Turner expressed the importance of doing your research before requesting a ballot.

“It’s also a way to express a preference about who ought to be on the ballot later on in November, when the really big decision will come. Not only in the presidential election, but in so many other contests as well,” Simon said.

In 2020, some were fearful of absentee voting and questions around validity spiraled. According to Turner, there are multiple checks and balances ensuring a fair election.

“We have judges from both political parties, Republicans and Democrats, on the ballot board coming back this January, every single ballot that comes in via the mail is reviewed by two election judges before it’s accepted and rejected,” Turner explained.

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Turner said ballot requests have rolled in and can be requested as late as March 5, but it’s better to be ahead of the curve.

“I’d encourage you to do it early just to make sure you have time for the mail to go to your house and back. Another option is absentee in person,” Turner said.

Once the ballot is finalized, it will not change. Turner advised staying up to date on candidates. Some could drop out of the race but will still show up on the primary ballot.

For more information about registration and voting, click here.

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Minnesota

USF football player killed in rollover crash in Minnesota

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USF football player killed in rollover crash in Minnesota


TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — University of South Florida football player Teigan Martin was killed in a rollover crash in Minnesota Monday morning.

The Carver County Sheriff’s Office said it received a 911 call about a crash on County Road 122 east of the intersection of County Road 21 in Hollywood Township.

Deputies said they found a black 2013 BMW M5 that had crashed in a ditch. The driver was identified as 20-year-old Teigan Martin.

Investigators said they determined that Martin was driving at a high speed, crossed over the westbound lane of traffic, entered the road ditch and rolled the vehicle.

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Deputies said Martin was wearing a seatbelt and speed may have been a factor in the crash. Investigators said it is unknown if alcohol was involved in the crash. Any autopsy will be completed by the Midwest Medical Examiners’ Office in Ramsey, Minnesota.

The Carver County Sheriff’s Office will continue to investigate the crash.

(USF)

Martin was a tight end for the South Florida Bulls. He joined the team in 2023 but did not start in any games.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Teigan Martin. We extend our thoughts and prayers to Teigan’s family, friends, and all who knew and loved him,” USF Football posted on social media.

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Minnesota’s fourth marijuana dispensary opens near Red Wing

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Minnesota’s fourth marijuana dispensary opens near Red Wing


Cannabis dispensary opens an hour outside the Twin Cities

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Cannabis dispensary opens an hour outside the Twin Cities

01:43

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PRAIRIE ISLAND INDIAN COMMUNITY, Minn. — Minnesota’s fourth marijuana dispensary is now open just about an hour from the Twin Cities.

Island Pezi, which means “grass” in the Dakota language, is on Prairie Island Indian Community land in Welch, owned and operated by the tribal nation.

“Being able to diversify our economy and bring in other revenue sources for our community that relies on these type of businesses to have our government function is very important,” said Blake Johnson, the president of Prairie Island CBH Inc.

Johnson says the money made from the dispensary will go toward healthcare and education for the tribe.

The shop employs about three dozen people.

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“We have a couple [tribe] members that have never had a job before,” Johnson said. “This opportunity gives them that, and they’re excited to be employed.”

The business has a quirk, though. The Prairie Island people don’t yet grow or cultivate marijuana on their own.

They’ve entered a unique business arrangement to stock their shelves. They buy flower from the White Earth Nation.

“Long time ago, tribes used to have intertribal agreements to trade goods,” Johnson said. “It helps support each other and be able to move in a way that is good for everybody.”

Minnesota’s Native American tribes have been first into this budding industry, and until the floodgates of competition eventually open, Johnson says they’re excited about being able to immediately supply Minnesotans.

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Island Pezi will have a grand opening celebration on Saturday.



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After months stuck in Brazil, Minnesota family arrives home with newborn

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After months stuck in Brazil, Minnesota family arrives home with newborn


Lori Tocholke waited nervously near baggage claim carousel 11 Tuesday afternoon at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, her heart “beating a thousand miles per hour.”

On March 12, Tocholke’s newest grandchild, Greyson Leo Phillips, was born, 2 pounds 2.6 ounces and 12 weeks ahead of schedule.

The premature birth was traumatic enough for Tocholke’s daughter, Cheri Phillips. Worse was the fact that Greyson was born while Phillips and her husband, Chris, were vacationing in Brazil.

Because of a technicality, Brazilian authorities refused to issue his birth certificate. Without a birth certificate, Greyson couldn’t get a U.S. passport. And without a U.S. passport, Greyson couldn’t go home to Minnesota.

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The family’s travails caused a storm in Brazilian media, held up as an example of how the country’s bureaucracy can tie up daily life for no good reason.

At the airport Tuesday, a half-dozen news cameras encircled the entry to baggage claim.

All Tocholke wanted?

To hold her newest grandchild for the first time, 105 heart-wrenching days after he was born. Tocholke told the other waiting family members she had first dibs.

The plane landed at 1:48 p.m., seven minutes early. Tocholke bided her time as Chris, Cheri and Greyson gathered their things from the plane and made their way from gate G19 to baggage claim.

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Suddenly, a stroller burst through the doors, then Cheri, then Chris: a happy, exhausted family, finally home. Applause erupted. Tocholke hugged her daughter, then she got down to the business at hand: That sweet baby boy.

Greyson’s silver-blue eyes peered up at his grandma as she scooped him out of the stroller and cooed. He cried a few times. “Oh, I know!” his grandma soothed. She snuggled him and jiggled him, and he quieted. She held him like a football, then passed him to another family member, who passed him to another, then another.

“Everybody’s here, everybody’s safe, my heart is full,” Tocholke said.

A few feet away, tears and sweat streamed down Chris Phillips’ face and chest, exhausted after three days of travel and months of uncertainty. The family had gone to Brazil to visit Chris’ 8-year-old daughter, who lives with her mom in the Brazilian coastal city of Florianópolis.

“It was an ordeal, and not something we ever expected,” he said. “We went down for 17 days, just to visit my daughter on her birthday. Along this entire process, it seems like every time we made one step forward, it was three steps back.”

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During their sojourn in Brazil, the family did interviews with a slew of Brazilian media outlets, focusing on the gaps in Brazilian bureaucracy. Their story resonated. Three days after Minnesota media first published the family’s story, two representatives from the Brazilian cartorio, like a public notary, came to their AirBnb with Greyson’s birth certificate.

“We love Brazil; this wasn’t us hating Brazil,” Chris said. “I go there three times a year. My daughter is half Brazilian. Now my son’s been born in Brazil. I feel part Brazilian. It’s a wonderful place. But what do I hope changes? I hope Brazilian bureaucracy is behind us, but for hundreds of millions of Brazilians, it’s not.”

Before they left the airport for the hour drive to Cambridge — to the new home they closed on remotely from Brazil — Cheri pulled out a bottle and fed Greyson.

“He’s been alive for three and a half months and never been home,” Cheri said.

“We’re home, bud,” Chris said, patting his head. “We’re home.”

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