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DNC’s youngest delegates from Minnesota representing the youth vote

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DNC’s youngest delegates from Minnesota representing the youth vote


President Obama took center stage at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday. The 44th president was the fifth youngest to ever be commander in chief.

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As the Democratic Party pushes in a more youthful direction for this election, Minnesota is helping to lead the way with the convention’s two youngest delegates.

Youth of Today

As the youngest delegates at the convention, the two are high school seniors who will not be old enough to vote until the week before the election. 

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But they’re at the convention to represent a new generation of voters, and seeing the convention with completely fresh eyes.

They stand out together among the 93 delegates from Minnesota at the Democratic National Convention.

Beatrice Schierer and Isaac Winkler, both 17 years old, described the “vibe” of the second night as electrifying.

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“I’ve experienced just amazing energy, amazing, inspirational speeches,” said Beatrice Schierer, from Fergus Falls.

“It’s electric,” said Issac Winkler, of Hopkins. “I mean, everybody’s excited. You just heard us chanting ‘Walz’. We’re ready for this convention to get going.”

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They’re absorbing the flurry of activity around them — sharing the perspective of younger voters with older Minnesotans and political heavyweights like Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

Inspiration ahead

The two say they’ll take the experience home to inspire their peers.

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“I can’t even vote in the primary yet,” said Winkler. “But you can do something no matter. You know where you are or how old you are. You can make a difference.”

Both of the teens have fathers who are involved in Minnesota politics, but Tuesday night they were on their own for the first time at the convention, and they seemed to absorb every minute.



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Minnesotans faced with sticker shock over car tab renewals: “It’s just very expensive”

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Minnesotans faced with sticker shock over car tab renewals: “It’s just very expensive”



If you have a newer car, you may be in for some sticker shock when you renew your Minnesota license tabs. That’s because the formula for calculating fees has changed due to a 2023 bill.

If your car is less than five years old, you could even be seeing tab prices go up year over year.

Jeff Craig drives a Subaru Forester. He bought it used, but was shocked when he renewed his tabs.

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“We paid the tab on it for the first time and the next year it was more expensive,” Craig said.

The new formula means the average driver paid $178 in registration taxes this year — a 20% increase. Craig thinks it unfair.

“The car depreciates, but the tax goes up? Really? Is that how that’s supposed to work? I don’t thing so,” he said.

But the 2023 bill didn’t just change the state’s overall formula for calculating license tab fees; it also changed the way it calculates the depreciation of your vehicle.

The state calculates that your new car loses 5% of its value a year, so 10% over two years. The Kelley Blue Book estimates that over two years, the average new car loses 30% of its value. 

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GOP state Sen. John Jasinski has a bill to roll back the changes.

“People are frustrated. It’s just very expensive,” Jasinski said. “You’re paying a lot more up in the first couple years now, and it’s very expensive on a new car.” 

But the state says tabs for older cars are going down, and that many Minnesota drivers will pay less. And If you can hang onto your car for 11 years, your renewal cost is a flat $35 plus taxes and fees.

The bill to roll back the changes is moving forward in the GOP-controlled House, but it’s stalled in the state Senate.

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Minnesota lawmakers push to repeal César Chávez Day after allegations

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Minnesota lawmakers push to repeal César Chávez Day after allegations


DFL and Latine community leaders are pushing for the repeal of César Chávez Day in Minnesota after sexual abuse allegations against the late civil rights icon have surfaced.

The New York Times published a report on March 18 detailing several allegations of sexual abuse by Chávez, a farm labor activist, including the sexual abuse of two minor girls and the assault and rape of Dolores Huerta, who led the farmworkers’ movement of the 1960s and ’70s alongside Chávez.

“The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual,” Huerta, now 95, said in a statement. “Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”

State and local leaders have quickly responded, and an effort is underway at the state Capitol to repeal the quickly approaching March 31 “César Chávez Day.”

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The House passed a repeal late Monday afternoon. The Senate still have to consider it. It’s not clear whether the state would eventually designate the day with another person’s name or another farmer union-related title.

Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, how authored repeal legislation, said “it was gutting” to read the sexual abuse allegations.

“This legislation to repeal César Chávez Day out of the Minnesota Constitution marks one crucial step in a multi-faceted process. We acknowledge that this is merely the beginning. Constantly, we must advocate for numerous causes, recognizing that a movement transcends individual figures,” she said.

‘Drawing a clear line’

Emilia Gonzalez, executive director of Unidos Minnesota, said the repeal is about “drawing a clear line.”

“Repealing César Chávez Day is about drawing a clear line that no legacy, no matter how powerful, no matter how important, stands above the safety and dignity of our children and our community. We can honor farm workers, we can honor the movement, La Causa. We can honor the struggle of labor rights, but we don’t have to enshrine a single figure in a way that leaves no room for truth, complexity or accountability,” she said.

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Rep. Liish Kozlowski, DFL-Duluth, said accountability starts with the repeal of César Chávez Day.

“Our community is showing the nation how to respond to sexual violence and violence in all of its forms,” they said. “We are showing what it means to listen and believe survivors when they break their silence. We believe them, we stand with them, and we hold individuals and institutions accountable.”

A street in St. Paul

Minnesota also has a street named after Chávez in St. Paul, as well as a charter school, Academia César Chávez.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who was at the Capitol on Monday, didn’t provide a timeline for when the street name could be changed, but said she’s getting a group of stakeholders and residents together to discuss the issue.

Ramona Arreguín de Rosales, an activist who personally met Chávez and the co-founder of Academia César Chávez, said she has recommended that the Board of Academia César Chávez change the school’s name, but said she does not want to “diminish the good work that the movement has accomplished.”

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NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again

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NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again


The Sweet 16 field is halfway filled as the first weekend of the NCAA tournament starts to wrap up. There weren’t a ton of surprises on Sunday for the start of the second round, but we did get our first buzzer-beater.

Minnesota reaches Sweet 16 on buzzer-beater

After a buzzer-beater was called off on Saturday, we finally got one.

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Amaya Battle got her game-winner to fall on Sunday afternoon, which lifted Minnesota to what is its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005. Battle, with less than a second left on the clock, drilled a contested jumper from the short corner to push the Gophers past Ole Miss 65-63. Naturally, that sparked a massive celebration on their home court.

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