Minnesota
Food benefits frozen for 20,000-plus families, primarily children, in Minnesota amid shutdown
The federal government shutdown has frozen money for another food assistance program in Minnesota, and the majority of people impacted are children.
Federal money for November food benefits under the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) has been halted as the shutdown continues.
Unlike the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), whose federal funding has also been frozen, MFIP was specifically designed for young families and pregnant women. It’s also temporary, and there’s more than grocery money bundled into it. There’s also a cash benefit to help families cover diapers, medications, school supplies, and more.
However, at least half of that money is designated for groceries, and that part of MFIP is frozen.
Tabitha Pannell is a single mother of two girls. While pregnant, Pannell said she found out her eldest child, now 3 years old, had congenital heart defects and required surgery starting at birth. That’s when she applied and was approved for MFIP.
“I knew that would be challenging, and at the time, I didn’t have a good enough job to sustain providing,” Pannell said.
“And with medical complexities, that’s kind of a scary road as a new parent alone.”
Now, the $650 a month the family of three counts on for groceries won’t be coming in.
“I know I’m not going to be able to make up that particular amount,” she said.
“If these parents, like myself, we don’t have a fallback plan, that gets really tricky.”
More than 23,000 Minnesota families use MFIP each month on average, according to information provided by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).
“Families are incredibly worried and concerned about how they will put food on the table. They’re worried about the long-term impacts that it might have on their children’s health,” DCYF Commissioner Tikki Brown said.
About $20 million in federal funds goes to these families, mostly young kids, every month, Brown said, adding that a large chunk of that, the grocery money, isn’t coming for November.
Earlier this week, the state committed an additional $4 million to food banks in anticipation of MFIP and SNAP benefits running out.
“A lot of food pantries and food shelves, they’re an option, but they’re going to be overwhelmed,” Pannell said.
$4 million seems like a drop in the bucket, even when it comes to MFIP, which is a much smaller program than SNAP, and Brown agreed.
“Correct,” Brown said. “Right, if this goes into December, I’m incredibly concerned about what Minnesotans will be facing.”
“That’s kind of what I’m bracing myself for,” Pannell said, asked about her family’s situation if the shutdown continues beyond November.
“You know, politics aside, there’s kids that are not being fed, and if that doesn’t infuriate anyone, than that speaks to a larger issue.”
State officials are looking, but have not come up with any additional places to pull money from, Brown said.
“It’s been incredibly discouraging to know that, despite our very best efforts, unless Congress acts, our hands are truly tied,” she said.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning.
How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday
By the numbers:
Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota:
- Hinckley: -20 degrees
- Bemidji: -20 degrees
- Ely: -18 degrees
- Brainerd: -18 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
- Hibbing: -17 degrees
- International Falls: -17 degrees
- Duluth: -16 degrees
- Alexandria: -12 degrees
- St. Cloud: -12 degrees
- Cambridge: -11 degrees
- Grand Marais: -10 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
- Red Wing: -6 degrees
- Morris: -6 degrees
- Hutchinson: -5 degrees
- Rochester: -5 degrees
- Mankato: -3 degrees
- Windom: 0 degrees
- Marshall: 0 degrees
Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday:
- Bemidji: -37 degrees
- Ely: -35 degrees
- Duluth: -34 degrees
- Brainerd: -32 degrees
- Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
- Hibbing: -31 degrees
- Alexandria: -29 degrees
- Hinckley: -27 degrees
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
- St. Cloud: -24 degrees
- Willmar: -22 degrees
- Cambridge-21 degrees
- Grand Marais: -21 degrees
- Hutchinson: -21 deegres
- Morris: -20 degrees
- Faribault: -18 degrees
- Mankato: -18 degrees
- Marshall: -17 degrees
- Red Wing: -16 degrees
- Owatonna: -16 degrees
- Windom-12 degrees
Cold continues Sunday
What’s next:
The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.
Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.
Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.
Minnesota
Minnesota Wild acquires NHL star Quinn Hughes from Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade
The Minnesota Wild made an all-in move for one of the NHL’s best players in his prime, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade — their boldest action yet toward ending a decade-long skid of playoff series defeats.
The teams announced the seismic move on Friday night, after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman had been the most talked-about trade candidate over the past couple of weeks. Minnesota sent center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft to suddenly rebuilding Vancouver to complete the deal.
The trade was the second major swap of the day, after two-time Stanley Cup Final runner-up Edmonton finally made a move for a goaltender, acquiring Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh.
Rossi (24), Ohgren (21) and Buium (20) fit the mold of the young talent the Canucks were speculated to be targeting if they were going to trade Hughes. Rossi (2020), Ohgren (2022) and Buium (2024) were all recent first-round draft picks by the Wild.
“Quinn played hard, led by example and did a lot of very good things for the Canucks,” Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Trading away a player of this caliber is never an easy decision to make, but it was one we had to do to make our team better. We are so excited to add a solid centre in Marco, a good young blueliner in Zeev and a versatile forward in Liam. This year’s draft is a strong one, so acquiring a first-round pick was also a big part of this deal.”
Hughes had no trade-blocking protection in his current deal that pays him an average of $7.85 million annually. Hughes, who is 26 and widely considered the best at player on the blue line behind only Colorado’s Cale Makar, is signed through the 2026-27 season before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
The Wild will not be allowed to extend Hughes until July 1, and it’s unclear if he would consider signing a new contract with them. There has been plenty of buzz around the league that Quinn wants to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, with the New Jersey Devils.
They could potentially be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team, either in February in Milan or in 2030. Wild general manager Bill Guerin runs USA Hockey’s management team.
The long-term outlook for Hughes can wait until next summer, though. The Wild are focused on challenging the two top teams ahead of them in the loaded Central Division, rivals that happen to also have the top two records in the NHL: Colorado and Dallas.
The season-long celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary would be a lot more meaningful if the Wild can finally advance in the playoffs, having lost nine straight series after a first-round victory over St. Louis in 2015. The Wild have passed the second round just once in their entire existence, when they were swept in the Western Conference finals by Anaheim in 2003.
Hughes is a significant upgrade to Minnesota’s blue line, anchored by captain and 16-year veteran Jared Spurgeon, smooth-skating 14-year veteran Jonas Brodin and young stalwart Brock Faber. The emergence of rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt this season has given the Wild a reliable tandem with Filip Gustavsson in the net, with star winger Kirill Kaprizov leading the attack after recently signing the richest contract in hockey history to stay in the “State of Hockey” through 2034.
After a rough start, the Wild are 14-3-2 since Nov. 1. They host Ottawa on Saturday and Boston on Sunday night, with the latter game likely the more realistic one for Hughes to debut.
Hughes had two goals, 21 assists and 32 blocked shots in 23 games this season with the last-in-the-NHL Canucks. When he won the Norris Trophy two seasons ago, Hughes had 17 goals and 75 assists, both single-season franchise records for defensemen and the most among all blue liners in the league. Drafted seventh overall in 2018 out of Michigan, the native of Orlando, Florida, spent time growing up in the Boston and Toronto areas while his father, a hockey coach, moved around.
This was Hughes’ third season as Vancouver’s captain, and his abrupt exit paves the way for more change 11 months since the trade of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and in the aftermath of coach Rick Tocchet’s departure.
“With the circumstances surrounding J.T. and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said. “They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”
KSTP/SurveyUSA poll results: Fraud in Minnesota
The first results of KSTP’s exclusive SurveyUSA poll on fraud in Minnesota have been released.
Our survey asked: Do you think fraud in state programs is the biggest problem in Minnesota?
From a group of 578 registered voters, 79% say it’s either the biggest problem or a major problem.
Another question asked was: Has Gov. Tim Walz done enough to stop fraud in Minnesota?
Fourteen percent say that he’s done enough, while 69% say he needs to do more.
The survey also asked if the Legislature has done enough — 11% say yes, and 74% say they need to do more.
Click here for KSTP’s full coverage on fraud.
You can view the results of the fraud-related KSTP/SurveyUSA results below:
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