Minnesota
Census: Minnesota farms are growing
Connor Danielson’s inspiration for farming was his grandfather, even though his grandfather had retired before Danielson was born.
“He kept some of his equipment, and I would always follow him around,” says Danielson, who is a student at Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minn.
He also spent a lot of time at his uncle’s hobby farm. “I kind of grew up out there, so that got me into farming,” he says.
Danielson started helping neighbors in the Atwater area, at first picking rocks. Then he helped another neighbor who needed part-time help through the summer with chickens, among other things.
That was in 2018, and that farmer said he would help Danielson farm some land if he could find some to rent.
Danielson went back to the farmer he originally picked rocks for to see about renting some land, “so he rented me 11 acres that year,” says Danielson, who used that land as the basis for his FFA supervised agricultural experience project that earned him a trip to the National FFA Convention.
Data from the 2022 ag census that was released in February shows Danielson fits into a couple of boxes, as Minnesota farms of all sizes grew from 2017, including those on the small size.
While many bemoan the loss of small farms, the number of farms with 1 to 9 acres grew from 1,974 five years ago to 2,189 in 2022. Farms with 500 acres or more grew from 2,183 in 2017 to 2,599 in 2022.
Farms with 10 to 49 acres grew from 4,365 to 5,672; 50 to 179 acres grew from 4,741 to 5,305; and the farms with 180 to 499 acres grew from 2,869 in 2017 to 3,149 farms in this latest census.
The average-sized farm in Minnesota is 388 acres in 2022, up from 371 in 2017.
Aging, but youth movement
While the Minnesota farmer continues to age from 56.5 in 2017 to 57.1 in 2022, and all age categories saw growth, there is also hope, as about 500 people younger than 25 were added to the ranks since the last census.
While Danielson may not be the stereotypical starting farmer in Minnesota, he shares the same dreams with many young farmer hopefuls across the Gopher State.
“If I could farm full time right now, I would do it,” he says, “but I don’t have that option at this point in time.”
Knowing full-time farming is not currently an option for him, Danielson is working toward an associate degree in ag mechanics as a fallback, but that also will serve him well on the farm.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands, working on the equipment, and I’ve always enjoyed putzing with my own equipment, so I decided to go to school for it, and then I could use this on the farm if I ever do get the opportunity to farm full time. … It’s almost impossible to get into because it’s really expensive, so this way I can live off this income, and I can use it to help me farm.”
Of the 114,000-plus total farmers in Minnesota, more than 68,000 worked off the farm, with over 45,000 working 200 days or more off the farm to supplement their farm income. Almost 64,000 producers considered off-farm employment to be their main occupation.
Minnesota
Minnesota investigators say child care centers captured in viral video were operating as expected
Minnesota
Game Recap: Kings 5, Wild 4 (S/O) | Minnesota Wild
Matt Boldy scored late in the third to tie it and ultimately send the game to overtime, helping the Wild (25-10-8) extend their point streak to six games (3-0-3). Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, Jake Middleton and Joel Eriksson Ek also scored, and Jesper Wallstedt made 34 saves.
It was the second game of a back-to-back for Minnesota, which is coming off a 5-2 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Wild and Kings will play again in Los Angeles on Monday.
“It was far from perfect of a game from us,” Faber said. “I thought we could have played better. With that quick turnaround, we’ll take the point. Now we need two in the next.”
Kempe put the Kings up 1-0 at 6:08 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot from close range off Anze Kopitar’s cross-slot pass from below the goal line.
Middleton tied it up 1-1 at 8:28, getting his first goal of the season in 36 games on a snap shot from the left circle set up by Mats Zuccarello.
“I think he thought I was Kirill (Kaprizov) in the slot there, so it was nice to get one,” Middleton joked. “I normally have a few goals before I take 35 games off from scoring, so this one was getting a little stressful but we got it out of the way.”
Perry gave Los Angeles a 2-1 lead at 16:57 of the second period when Byfield’s shot struck him in the wrist and redirected in for the power-play goal.
Eriksson Ek tied it 2-2 at 18:23 on the power play, taking Quinn Hughes’ stretch pass at the offensive blue line for a short breakaway, fending off defenseman Joel Edmundson and scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle.
Byfield put Los Angeles back in front 3-2 at 4:54 of the third period. He shot the puck caroming off the boards back into the crease, where Wallstedt lost it in his skates and it was eventually knocked in by a Wild stick during the ensuing scramble in front.
“Shouldn’t be, that was terrible,” Byfield joked when asked if he knew it was his goal. “No, it’s good. I think it’s two now that were liked that, so I’ll take them how they come.”
Minnesota
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the defensive as fraud allegations mount after viral video uncovered Somali aid scheme
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the ever-growing fraud allegations levied against him in the disastrous aftermath of a viral video where an independent journalist cracked open a crucial part of the alleged Somali aid scheme.
A spokesperson for Walz, a Democrat who frequently provokes President Trump’s ire, addressed a bombshell video posted by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley.
“The governor has worked for years to crack down on fraud and ask the state legislature for more authority to take aggressive action. He has strengthened oversight — including launching investigations into these specific facilities, one of which was already closed,” the spokesperson told Fox News.
The spokesperson added that Walz has “hired an outside firm to audit payments to high-risk programs, shut down the Housing Stabilization Services program entirely, announced a new statewide program integrity director, and supported criminal prosecutions.”
In the 43-minute video published on Friday, Shirley and a Minnesotan named David travel around Minneapolis and visit multiple childcare and learning centers allegedly owned by Somali immigrants.
Many were either shuttered entirely, despite signage indicating they were open, or helmed by staff who refused to participate in the video.
One of the buildings they visited displayed a misspelled sign reading “Quality Learing Center.” The ‘learning’ center is supposed to account for at least 99 children and funneled roughly $4 million in state funds, according to the video.
Shirley appeared on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show” on Sunday evening and boasted about his findings. He joked that the alleged scheme was “so obvious” that a “kindergartener could figure out there is fraud going on.”
“Fraud is fraud, and we work too hard simply just to be paying taxes and enabling fraud to be happening,” Shirley said.
“There better be change. People are demanding it. The investigation have been launched just from that video alone. So there better be change, like I said we work way too hard to be paying taxes and not knowing where our money’s going,” he added.
Many officials have echoed Shirley’s calls for change, with FBI Director Kash Patel even announcing that the agency surged extra personnel to investigate the resources doled out to Minnesota. He said this is one of the first steps in a wide-reaching effort to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”
Federal investigators say half of the $18 billion granted to Minnesota since 2018 could have been stolen by fraudulent schemes — amounting to up to $9 billion in theft.
As of Saturday evening, 86 people have been charged in relation to these fraud scams, with 59 convicted so far.
Most of those accused of fraud come from Minnesota’s Somali community.
Shirley’s mega-viral video cracked 100 million views Sunday night.
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Business1 week agoGoogle is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
Politics1 week agoMost shocking examples of Chinese espionage uncovered by the US this year: ‘Just the tip of the iceberg’
-
News1 week agoRoads could remain slick, icy Saturday morning in Philadelphia area, tracking another storm on the way
-
World1 week agoPodcast: The 2025 EU-US relationship explained simply
-
News1 week agoMarijuana rescheduling would bring some immediate changes, but others will take time