Minnesota

Game Preview, 1/23: Utah Hockey Club vs. Minnesota Wild | Utah Hockey Club

Published

1 year ago

January 22, 2025

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Game Preview, 1/23: Utah Hockey Club vs. Minnesota Wild | Utah Hockey Club

WHEN: 6:00 p.m. MT

WHERE: Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, Minnesota

TV: ESPN+, Hulu | RADIO: KSL Sports Zone 1280 AM, NHL App

The Utah Hockey Club (20-19-7) continues a grueling stretch of games against top competition with a matchup tonight against the Minnesota Wild (28-15-4) at Xcel Energy Center. While Utah is four points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference after two straight wins, Minnesota is entrenched in second place in the Central Division with 60 points. Tonight is the first game of a back-to-back and the first of a three-game road trip for Utah. This evening also marks the second of three straight matchups against the top two teams in the Central Division (Winnipeg, Minnesota).

ONE-TIMERS

Logan Cooley has goals in four straight games.
Olli Määttä scored his first goal of the season on Monday against Winnipeg.
Barrett Hayton produced his first three-point night of the season on Monday and was named the game’s first star.
Utah’s Nick Bjugstad is a native of Blaine, Minnesota and played at the University of Minnesota.
Utah has scored nine total goals over its last two games.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

The Wild raced through the first part of the season, earning points in 21 of their first 25 games. Over the last two months, Minnesota has come back down to earth with a 7-7-0 record in December and a 5-4-0 record in January so far. A big reason for the downward trend has been the absence of Hart Trophy candidate Kirill Kaprizov since Dec. 23 due to injury. Kaprizov, who had 50 points (23G, 27A) in 34 games before injury, changes the dynamic of a game when he is in the lineup. Even without Kaprizov in the lineup, the Wild are a force to be reckoned with up front with talented forwards like Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, and Joel Eriksson Ek. In net, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury make up one of the stingiest goaltending tandems in the league with a combined save percentage of .913.

WHO TO WATCH

UTAH: #92 LOGAN COOLEY – Cooley has goals in four straight games, tying him for the longest goal streak of Utah’s season with Kevin Stenlund. The young center has 42 points (15G, 27A) in 46 games for Utah and ranks second on the team in scoring.

MINNESOTA: #12 MATT BOLDY – Boldy has been productive recently for Minnesota with five goals over his last eight games. He also has four multi-point games over the last eight contests and is second on the Wild in scoring with 41 points (18G, 23A) in 47 contests.

LOOK BACK

Utah tamed the top team in the Western Conference on Monday night at Delta Center with a 5-2 win over the conference-leading Winnipeg Jets. The game was scoreless until 36 minutes in, when Olli Määttä buried a slapshot from the blue line for his first goal of the season. Later in the second with just 18 seconds remaining in the period, Logan Cooley scored on a two-on-one to extend Utah’s lead. The line of Barrett Hayton, Josh Doan, and Matias Maccelli produced two more tallies in the third to cement Utah’s lead; Hayton netted a crafty setup from Doan off the rush, and Maccelli lit the lamp after a tic-tac-toe passing play involving the entire line. Winnipeg pushed back with two goals of their own in the third, but Clayton Keller scored the empty-netter to clinch the win.

LAST MEETING

Utah extended a winning streak to four and a road winning streak to seven with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Dec. 20. The Wild’s Mats Zuccarello led off the scoring in the middle of the first, but only a minute later, Dylan Guenther knocked in a rebound from a Jack McBain shot and tied the game. Guenther scored the game-winner and his second of the game later in the third period on the power play. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka was stellar once again with 28 saves on 29 shots. Utah’s penalty kill came up big with a five-for-five effort against the Wild.

CLAYTON KELLER

With a goal and an assist on Monday against Winnipeg, Clayton Keller now has multiple points in each of his last two games and three of his last four. During his current four-game point streak, the Utah captain has amassed nine points (2G, 7A), including a four-point night on Jan. 18 against St. Louis. The nine points is tied for the most in a four-game span that Keller has tabulated this season. The 26-year-old is off to the best statistical start of his career, and he currently leads Utah with 50 points (16G, 34A). He reached the 40-point plateau in just 39 games this season- five games faster than his previous fastest 40 points which came last season with the Arizona Coyotes in 44 contests. Keller is on pace for 90 points this season, which would be a new career high.

BARRETT HAYTON

Barrett Hayton registered his first three-point night of the season on Monday against Winnipeg with a goal and two assists. Monday also marked his first three-point night since the 2022-23 campaign, and the fifth of his career. Hayton has 23 points (9G, 14A) in 46 games this season, and he is tied for second on the team with a +7 rating. The centerman also tabbed two assists on Jan. 16 against the New York Rangers and now has five points (1G, 4A) over his last three contests.

LOOK AHEAD

Utah continues the road trip tomorrow with a rematch against the Winnipeg Jets. Tomorrow’s game at Canada Life Centre will be the third meeting of the season between the teams after Winnipeg defeated Utah 3-0 on Nov. 5, and Utah returned the favor 5-2 on Jan. 20. Tomorrow’s puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.

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Minnesota

Who’s the greatest Minnesota high school athlete of all time? Vote now in ‘USA 250’ poll

Published

57 minutes ago

June 27, 2026

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Who’s the greatest Minnesota high school athlete of all time? Vote now in ‘USA 250’ poll

Minnesota has one of the deepest talent pools of multi-sport stars in the country.

Think about it — where else do you have someone winning multiple gymnastics and diving championships? Where do you have a baseball star hitting .600 while throwing for 6,000 yards as quarterback? Where do you have NBA players who were football champions?

Minnesota’s talent is as deep as its lakes, and we are looking to answer a question: Who is the best all-time Minnesota high school athlete? Who best defines the state’s prep environment?

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY is launching its 250 for 250 series, looking to answer that question by celebrating the best athletes from each state.

From fans’ votes, five athletes will be selected to represent the state as legends who have defined high school sports.

With that in mind, here are the Minnesota high school athlete nominees. The 15 players (listed in alphabetical order) were all standouts at the high school level.

Paige Bueckers, Girls Basketball, Hopkins High School (Minnetonka)

“Remember the name: Paige Bueckers. 6th grade, think Diana Taurasi.” Maybe the most prescient analysis of a sixth-grader ever. By high school, Bueckers was a clear superstar, joining the Hopkins varsity team as an eighth-grader and eventually establishing herself as the best player in the class. She is Hopkins’ all-time leader in points (2,877), assists (795), and steals (574), and won a championship with the program.

Jessie Diggins, Cross-Country Skier, Stillwater Area High School

Jessie Diggins spent six years competing for Stillwater Area High School, winning the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) individual pursuit championship three times and helping her team win the state meet in 2008 and 2010. She won the U.S. Junior National Sprint title in 2009 and is today a four-time Olympic medalist.

Bailey DuPay, Girls Diving, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Northfield High School

Bailey DuPay’s resume is undeniable. She’s a multi-time champion in two different sports — the first gymnast to win three straight Class 2A all-around titles and a three-time one-meter diving champion. She competed on the swim & dive team at Minnesota State.

Mark Hall II, Boys Wrestling, Apple Valley High School

Mark Hall II was the first wrestler to win six individual state championships. In leading Apple Valley to six team titles, he also became the first wrestler to win 12 combined state championships. He went 277-4 over his career, had 171 consecutive wins, and had 189 career pins, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Maria Hauger, Cross Country, Track and Field, Shakopee High School

Maria Hauger was the first runner to win four Class AA state championships. For those efforts, she was a four-time Minnesota Gatorade Cross Country Athlete of the Year. The success didn’t stop there; she won four championships in track and field, including the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races, according to MSHSL.

Chet Holmgren, Boys Basketball, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis)

Part of an all-time Minnehaha dynasty alongside Jalen Suggs, Chet Holmgren helped the team win four championships and was named the National Player of the Year by several outlets as a senior, when he averaged 21 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.

Tyus Jones, Boys Basketball, Apple Valley High School

One of the greatest Minnesota high school boys basketball players of all time, Tyus Jones was a three-time Minnesota Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year and led Apple Valley to a state championship. As a senior, he averaged 25.6 points, 8.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.

Joe Mauer, Baseball, Football, Boys Basketball, Cretin-Derham Hall High School (St. Paul)

It’s tough to find a more accomplished high school career than Joe Mauer. He was the first athlete to be named USA TODAY High School Player of the Year in two different sports, which he did in football and baseball. Over two years on the gridiron, he passed for almost 6,000 yards and 73 touchdowns, winning two championships. In baseball, he struck out only once in his entire high school career, hitting .567 with 43 home runs. As a senior, he batted .605, hit a home run in seven straight games, and led his team to the championship.

Kevin McHale, Boys Basketball, Hibbing High School

The future NBA Hall of Famer had roots in Minnesota, where Kevin McHale was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball as a senior and led Hibbing to a championship game appearance. He had a 13-year career with the Boston Celtics, where he won three NBA championships.

Paul Molitor, Baseball, Boys Basketball, Boys Soccer, Cretin-Derham Hall High School

Paul Molitor was a versatile athlete, named to the all-state teams in baseball and boys basketball, and a champion in baseball, basketball, and soccer, according to SABR. He attended the University of Minnesota and played in seven MLB All-Star Games.

Gable Steveson, Boys Wrestling, Apple Valley High School

Gable Steveson dominated the wrestling circuit of Minnesota. He won four state titles and holds the highest winning percentage in state history, with a record of 210-3 (98.59%). According to the University of Minnesota, his final two championships lasted for a combined 28 seconds.

Jalen Suggs, Boys Basketball, Football, Minnehaha Academy

Jalen Suggs is known for basketball, but he was a star two-sport athlete at Minnehaha, becoming the first athlete in the state’s history to be named Mr. Basketball and Mr. Football in the same year, and was named the National MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year as a senior. He led the football team to a championship and the basketball team to three straight titles.

Whitney Taney, Girls Tennis, Edina High School

All Whitney Taney did in high school was win. That’s not an exaggeration — she went 166-0 over her career (150-0 in singles, 16-0 in doubles) while losing only two sets en route to five championships between singles and doubles play, per her University of Michigan bio.

Lindsay Whalen, Girls Basketball, Hutchinson High School

One of the most influential girls basketball players in Minnesota, Lindsay Whalen was a four-time All-Missota Conference player, a four-time honorable mention on the All-State team, and led Hutchinson to three conference championships. She scored 1,996 points in her career.

Dave Winfield, Baseball, Boys Basketball, Football, St. Paul Central High School

Dave Winfield excelled in three sports in high school, leading to his recruitment to play baseball and basketball at the University of Minnesota. He went on to be a 12-time MLB All-Star and Hall of Famer.

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Minnesota

Minnesota man accused in a $250M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN

Published

11 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota man accused in a 0M fraud scheme taken into custody in Somalia | CNN

AP —

Authorities say a Minnesota man charged with helping to orchestrate a $250 million fraud scheme has been taken into custody in Somalia.

Abdikerm Abdelahi Eidleh, 42, of Burnsville, Minnesota, was taken into custody Thursday in Mogadishu, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a news release. Court documents do not show if Eidleh has obtained an attorney, and he has not yet had an opportunity to enter a plea in the case.

Eidleh is one of dozens of people who were indicted in 2022 in connection with what prosecutors said was a massive scheme to defraud a federal meals program.

According to court documents, Eidleh was an employee of Feeding Our Future, an organization that claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic under a federal child nutrition program. But prosecutors say just a small portion of the federal money went toward feeding kids, with the rest laundered through shell companies and spent on property, luxury cars and travel.

Eidleh is accused of creating fake child nutrition program sites, falsely claiming they were feeding thousands of children a day and creating shell companies that purported to be meal vendors at the sites. The indictment charges him with 31 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said Eidleh was a central figure in “one of the largest fraud schemes in Minnesota history.”

“He not only stole taxpayer dollars, but he also robbed vulnerable children of critical resources they desperately needed. Rather than answer for his crimes in the United States, he fled to Somalia in a futile attempt to evade justice,” McDonald said.

President Donald Trump pointed to the fraud case as part of his justification for launching a massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota late last year.

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Minnesota

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races

Published

21 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota primary voting starts for major 2026 races

Madison McVan
| Minnesota Reformer

Early voting for Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began on Friday, 46 days ahead of the official Aug. 11 election.
Voters will decide on nominees for governor, an open U.S. Senate seat, and all state legislative positions.
Minnesotans can vote absentee by mail or in person at designated early voting locations.

Voting in Minnesota’s 2026 primary elections began Friday morning, 46 days before the official Aug. 11 Primary Election Day.

Minnesotans confront a hugely important midterm election in the fall, when all constitutional offices, an open U.S. Senate seat, a highly competitive congressional district and the Legislature will be on the ballot. Control of both state government and Congress are at stake.

Before then, however, the parties will choose their nominees in a bevy of competitive races that will shape the fall election.

We don’t have party registration in Minnesota, which means anyone can vote in the primary.

Following the sweep of a progressive slate in several New York primaries this week, political analysts will be closely watching voters’ preferences, which will set the stage for the second half of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Here’s what you need to know.

Which races are on the ballot in Minnesota?

Every Minnesota citizen will have the opportunity to vote for statewide offices including governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor and U.S. Senator.

For this primary election, you can only vote for candidates from one political party. Your ballot will have Democrats on one column, and Republicans on the other. Choose one! If you vote for candidates from more than one political party, your votes will not count. You decide when you vote which one of the parties you will vote for.

The governor’s race is wide open for the first time since 2018, when Gov. Tim Walz won his first term. Walz initially announced he would run for a third term before ending his campaign in early January following Republican attacks on his record on stopping fraud in Minnesota’s social safety net programs.

The Senate seat is open following Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement announcement last year. Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor, still occupies the other Senate seat. (If Klobuchar were to win the governor’s race and resign her Senate seat, she would appoint a successor to hold the position until a special election.)

The entire state Legislature is up for reelection in 2026, but not every race has a competitive primary.

Voters may see other local races on their ballots, including county commissioners, county attorneys and school board members.

You can use this tool from the Secretary of State’s Office to preview your ballot.

How do I vote in Minnesota?

Friday, June 26, is the first day of absentee voting. You can request an absentee ballot be mailed to you, which you can return in-person or through the mail.

Alternatively, you can vote “in person absentee” by going to your local early voting location, where you can request your absentee ballot, receive it, fill it out and submit it on the spot.

Starting July 24, you can vote in-person at the early voting locations in a process similar to that of voting on Election Day.

Who’s running in Minnesota?

There are several competitive primaries in statewide races that will determine the matchups in the general election later this year.

For governor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is expected to win the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination after winning the party’s endorsement on the first ballot, over a challenge from Kobey Lane, a 26-year old trans activist and former Republican legislative assistant.

The Republican primary is competitive; after Army veteran and former health care executive Kendall Qualls won the party’s endorsement in May, the other front-runners refused to drop out of the race, citing voting irregularities at the convention. House Speaker Lisa Demuth and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell round out the three-way race.

In the race to replace Smith in the Senate, two Democratic powerhouses are facing off: U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan won the endorsement after Craig dropped out of the endorsement process; Craig is gunning for votes outside of the party’s activist base.

On the Republican side, GOP-endorsed former Navy Seal Adam Schwarze will face off against former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, whose name recognition and well-financed campaign could boost her performance in a primary.

With Craig’s highly competitive south metro seat in the U.S. House coming open, three top-tier Democrats are vying to replace her: former state Sen. Matt Little, state Rep. Kaela Berg and state Sen. Matt Klein. State Sen. Eric Pratt is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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