Minnesota

In Minnesota, BlackRock Is Acquiring Vital Infrastructure

Published

9 months ago

October 12, 2025

In Minnesota, BlackRock Is Acquiring Vital Infrastructure

In a landmark case with national implications, Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s regulators have greenlit a private equity giant’s acquisition of one of the Midwest’s largest power companies.

Critics argue that the precedent-setting case opens the doors to a new wave of Wall Street behemoths buying up utilities across the country to cash in on skyrocketing electricity rates — and to drive those rates even higher.

For over a year, BlackRock has been battling to take over Minnesota Power, a utility company that keeps the lights on for more than one hundred thousand customers in northern Minnesota. As the Lever uncovered in an August investigation, the private equity behemoth muscled support from labor unions and so-called clean energy groups in Minnesota this summer to help push through the deal, despite widespread opposition.

On October 3, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, whose members were all appointed by Walz, voted unanimously to approve the $6.2 billion deal, in which BlackRock will acquire Minnesota Power’s parent company, Allete, taking it private.

Proponents of the acquisition have argued that BlackRock will provide the electric company the capital it needs to prepare for the climate transition, although this summer, a Minnesota judge overseeing the case disputed those claims, finding conclusively that such a deal could spike rates and harm Minnesota Power’s customers, and cast doubt on the conflicts of interest behind the deal’s backers.

Advocates say Minnesota Power’s acquisition by a global private equity firm is the first deal of its kind, but it likely won’t be the last. In recent months, BlackRock has been gearing up to acquire power infrastructure all around the country, all through its infrastructure investment arm, Global Infrastructure Partners. The firm is seeking to profit from the enormous energy demands of the AI boom, which have spurred data center construction nationwide and in turn led to higher electric bills for regular consumers.

Just before the Minnesota vote, news broke that BlackRock was also in talks to purchase Aligned Data Centers, a company that owns nearly eighty data centers around the world. Last week, the Financial Times reported that BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners was nearing a deal to buy up AES, one of the nation’s biggest power plant companies.

Already, electricity costs for ratepayers are spiking across the United States, in part because electric utilities, in many places, operate as monopolies that are effectively unaccountable to the customers they serve. But handing our power grid over to private equity — whose extractive business model relies on securing fast returns for investors — could make things much worse, advocates warn.“Private equity ownership of Minnesota Power will likely mean higher bills, less accountability, and more risk for Minnesotans,” Alissa Jean Schafer, the climate and energy director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a watchdog group, said in a statement following news of the deal. “BlackRock’s short-term profit model is simply incompatible with the long-term needs of a public utility.”

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Minnesota

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

Published

4 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

14 hours ago

June 26, 2026

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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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Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers

Published

1 day ago

June 26, 2026

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Children’s Minnesota doctor warns of Benadryl challenge dangers

Updated on: June 25, 2026 / 10:46 PM CDT
/ CBS Minnesota

A dangerous social media trend is circulating online, and Minnesota health experts are warning parents it involves allergy medication.

Doctors say the so-called Benadryl challenge involves teens taking large amounts of the medication and record themselves as the effects kick in.

“Our goal here at Children’s Minnesota is if a trend causes any sort of physical harm or mental harm to make sure that we’re taking care of our patients,” said Dr. Nita Gupta, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children’s Minnesota.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the trend first gained attention in 2020 when there were 184 reported cases tied to intentional misuse of the allergy medication. Cases continued to rise the years but dipped in 2024 and then more than doubled in 2025, reaching nearly 400 cases. Most of the cases involved teens ages 15 to 19.

Dr. Gupta believes the main draw is the hallucinogen aspect of it, but says there are so many other negative consequences that can happen.

Health experts say the allergy medication can become dangerous when taken in large doses. Symptoms can escalate quickly and may include agitation, blurred vision, seizures and in severe cases, death.

“The second the parent knows that their child consumed this is a reason to come in or at least call poison control, don’t even wait for the symptoms to start,” Dr. Gupta said.

Experts say the resurgence of this dangerous challenge shows how quickly trends can return, and they urge parents to talk to their children about what they are seeing online.

Dr. Gupta believes early conversations at home may help prevent serious injury.

The Minnesota Regional Poison Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for anyone with questions. The organization’s phone number is 1-800-222-1222.

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