Minnesota
Exclusive | Hospital where George Floyd declared dead makes staff watch ‘N-word’ training video
The Minneapolis healthcare network that includes the hospital where George Floyd was declared dead is mandating thousands of employees sit through a woke training video that includes a flowchart explaining who can and can’t say the N-word.
The Hennepin County Medical Center, part of the largest public health network in Minneapolis, added the bizarre “language training” module to its mandatory education for its 7,000 staffers in January, a whistleblower at the center told The Post.
The internal video, obtained by The Post via the medical watchdog Do No Harm, dives headfirst into slur territory — focusing almost entirely on the N-word, its history, and its so-called “reclamation.”
Employees are told using the slur marks a “never event” in the workplace, even if they’re singing along to a song or given permission, and that violating the rule could get them fired, but only if the employee is “not black.”
“If you’re still wondering if you can say the N-word or not, allow me to simplify it even more with this point chart,” a narrator tells staff in the training video.
“If you are not black, you cannot say the word — not even if it ends with ‘a’ instead of ‘er,’ there’s no excuse. And if you are black, it is up to you, whether you choose to reclaim the word or not.”
The nearly 8-minute video is packed with political commentary and Black Lives Matter protest imagery.
It also lists several other words and phrases that are verboten, including “that’s crazy,” “pow-wow,” or “guru,” since they can be “historically stigmatizing” against certain cultural backgrounds or people with mental health conditions.
“Some phrases even have explicitly racist origins, such as ‘peanut gallery,’ which refer to the cheap seats in theaters often reserved for black patrons,” the narrator explains.
The whistleblower, who has worked at the Hennepin County Medical Center for years and requested to remain anonymous, said the video “felt like indoctrination.”
“This isn’t a workplace issue. Nobody’s using this language here. It felt like a political commentary, not professional training.”
The video is backed by the medical center’s “Health Equity Department,” which declares racism “an ongoing public health crisis that urgently demands more focused attention” and vows to bring “a DEI lens to patient care.”
Dr. Kurt Miceli, medical director at DNH, called the video “highly unorthodox” and said using a flowchart for who can and can’t say a racial slur is “inappropriate and misguided.”
“Racial slurs are ‘never events’ for all, not some.”
The training module concludes by asking employees to consider whether their words contribute to “healing.”
But for the whistleblower, the effect is just the opposite.
“This doesn’t reduce harm,” the person said. “It’s causing it. People are more anxious, more divided. We’re supposed to be helping patients, not policing thought.”
The training reflects a broader pattern in woke medicine.
Last July, staff at West Midlands NHS Trust in the UK were told to “admit they have white privilege” or risk being labeled racist in a mandatory hospital training. “If you say you don’t have white privilege, you’re racist,” one stunned employee recalled being told.
In 2023, DNH revealed that SUNY Downstate’s medical school in Brooklyn earned a “100% diversity score” and bragged about giving faculty stipends to attend “minority faculty development” conferences, part of what critics say is creeping critical race theory in medicine.
Many institutions have quietly scaled back or eliminated DEI initiatives after President Trump argued it is discriminatory and signed several executive orders aimed at “ending” it in the workforce.
“Hennepin Healthcare affirms its commitment to creating a safe, inclusive environment for all, which means that all employees are expected to use appropriate language in the workplace,” a Hennepin Healthcare spokesperson told The Post.
“We do not condone language that is divisive or rooted in racism or inequality, regardless of the speaker’s race or ethnicity. Such behavior is contrary to our values and will be addressed appropriately.”
BEMIDJI — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently announced over $1.4 million in child care economic development grants, including a $200,000 award to the
Northwest Minnesota Foundation
in Bemidji.
Split between 11 programs and organizations around the state, more than 80% of the awarded funds support programs in Greater Minnesota, with the aim of creating more than 1,100 new child care slots.
“Affordable, reliable child care is essential for a thriving economy,” DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in a release. “These grants are supporting working families by ensuring Minnesota parents are able to work knowing their child is well cared for by some of the best caregivers in the nation. We’re also helping employers retain talent and working together to establish the foundation for long-term economic vitality.”
DEED’s Child Care Economic Development Grant program provides funding to organizations and communities to invest in new or expanding child care businesses, including facility improvements, worker training, attraction, retention and licensing, and other strategies to address the child care shortage.
Since the office’s inception in July 2023, DEED has awarded over $13 million in grants to 56 organizations to fund child care startups or business expansions, resulting in over 4,000 new child care slots.
A new state evaluation found Minnesota’s voter registration system mostly works as intended, but some counties did not update their records accurately.
On Wednesday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor published a summary of new voter registration applications submitted in the summer and fall of 2024. The findings stated counties processed 96% of new applications within the legal time frames, but struggled to process applications when recieved within 20 days of an election.
The report also said counties did not always update voter registration records as required by law when the Office of the Secretary of State flagged possible disqualifying conditions, such as incarceration. Counties sent required notices within 10 days to 84% of registered voters whose incarceration or guardianship challenges they removed.
The report goes on to say counties followed the identity verification process correctly for 99.9% of applicants and followed the residency verification process correctly for 99% of applicants. But among applicants counties manually reviewed for residency, counties either inaccurately assigned voter statuses or failed to document their rationale in more than one-third of the cases reviewed.
The Secretary of State maintains the Statewide Voter Registration System, while counties are responsible for creating and maintaining their own voter registration records. As of January of 2026, nearly 3.8 million people were registered to vote in Minnesota.
Top officials respond
Reaction to the report from Minnesota leaders has been mixed, with some top Republicans saying Secretary of State Steve Simon is to blame for inactive voters being left on voter rolls.
However, Simon’s takeaway from the evaluation was mostly positive, saying, “the report found our office has established the appropriate procedures for counties and that counties have performed their work with a nearly perfect record of accuracy.”
Cory Kampf, president of the Minnesota Association of County Officers, said counties generally agreed with the recommendations but asked for more context. He added voter residency was verified in 99% of applications, following the correct processes.
Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Leader Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, full statement reads: “This voter registration audit exposes major loopholes in our system, including the thousands of votes that were allowed to register and cast a ballot on Election Day but couldn’t be verified as legal voters. It also showed that the Secretary of State does not follow the law for inactive voters, choosing to leave voters on the rolls years after they should have been deactivated. These are major problems that need to be addressed. Integrity in elections is paramount, and Minnesotans deserve certainty that only legal voters are deciding our elections.”
Minnesota
Minnesota Looks to Add 1,100 Child Care Slots, With Melrose Among the 11 Funded Communities
UNDATED (WJON News) — The city of Melrose is one of 11 communities and organizations sharing in the latest round of child care grants.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has announced more than $1.4-million in child care economic development grants that will create more than 1,100 new child care slots across the state.
DEED says more than 80% of the money is slated for outstate Minnesota.
Commissioner Matt Varilek says the grants help working families by ensuring parents are able to work. It also helps employers retain talent and establish the foundation for long-term economic vitality.
Since the program’s start in July 2023, DEED has awarded more than $13-million in grants to 56 organizations to fund child care startups and business expansions.
25 Board Games That We All Played in the ’70s
From well-known favorites like Clue to cult classics like Masterpiece, these 1970s board games bring a wave of nostalgia for a time when life felt simpler — and maybe even a little more exciting.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
LOOK: The Best Car Ads of the 1970s in One Nostalgic Gallery
From the Pinto to the Civic, get ready to relive the days of manual windows and two-door wagons as we flip through some of the most iconic car print ads from 1970s magazines.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
Summer Vacation in the ’80s: These Nostalgic Photos Say It All
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
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