Minnesota
Minnesota attorney general sues Trump over order halting funding for gender-affirming care • Minnesota Reformer
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and two other state attorneys general sued President Donald Trump in federal court Friday over his recent executive order aiming to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth younger than 19.
Trump on Jan. 28 signed a sweeping order to broadly limit access to gender-affirming care by halting funding via government-run insurance programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. The order also calls for federal agencies to cut off grants to hospitals and medical schools providing gender-affirming care to people under 19.
Ellison defended the health care in a statement: “Gender-affirming care is evidence based, provided by licensed and trained medical professionals, and provided with the consent of a young person’s parents or legal guardians,” Ellison said in a statement. “President Trump’s executive order is not only illegal, it’s mean-spirited and deeply hurtful.”
Major medical associations in the U.S., including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support the use of gender-affirming care for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
Ellison’s office said Trump’s executive order would also direct the Department of Justice to investigate states like Minnesota that have laws prohibiting the enforcement of another state’s law requiring a child to be taken from their parents for accessing gender-affirming care.
In 2023, the DFL-controlled Legislature passed a law making Minnesota a refuge for transgender people, protecting them from legal repercussions for traveling to Minnesota for gender-affirming health care. Last year, lawmakers also passed legislation to ensure gender-affirming care is covered by health insurance plans.
Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, and the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, in a statement said Minnesota will fight against attempts to discriminate against trans people.
“Transgender people do not deserve to be policed in our health care decisions or in our personal lives. Not by the president, the public or anyone else,” Finke said. “We do not need the president’s permission to live our authentic lives. In Minnesota, we will always fight for trans and nonbinary people, our health care access and all of our rights.”
Ellison, along with attorneys general from Washington and Oregon, argues in the federal suit that Trump’s executive order violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal-protection clause. The states are asking the court for an emergency order to block the executive order, as it will harm youth.
On Wednesday, Trump signed another executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. The president during his first days in office has signed a number of anti-trans executive orders, including one on his first day declaring that the federal government would only recognize two genders.
Minnesota
School bus company’s inspection history in question after kids hurt in Hamline University crash
Data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety shows the company that owns the school bus that crashed into a building Tuesday at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, has failed the majority of its inspections over the last three years.
Three students from the St. Paul charter school Higher Ground Academy and their bus driver suffered minor injuries when the vehicle crashed into the Robbins Science Center on Tuesday afternoon, according to the St. Paul Police Department. All four have since been released from the hospital. About a dozen students were on board at the time.
Police say the driver “did not exhibit any signs of intoxication or impairment.” Patrick Boyle, the attorney representing the St. Paul-based bus company Pride Transportation, says the crash was due to operator error, noting the driver — who was in the midst of their first week on the job — had accidentally stepped on the gas pedal instead of the break.
State records show vehicles owned by the company, also known as PTB Services, failed most of their recent inspections:
- 2024: 52 passed, 55 failed
- 2025: 40 passed, 47 failed
- 2026: 1 passed, 6 failed
Boyle insists those failures are often corrected and reinspected on the same day.
“We also want to clarify that the inspection statistics referenced in publicly available reports do not represent the entirety of our operating fleet nor do they indicate that vehicles remained in service after failing inspections,” Boyle said. “All buses currently transporting students for PTB Services possess the required inspection certification and comply with applicable state requirements.”
Police are still investigating the crash.
With family by his side, Dennis “Bud” Peterson went to be with the Lord on the morning of June 1, 2026.
He was born at Drake, North Dakota on April 2, 1932 in the home of his parents Nick and Helen Peterson. The family moved to Duluth at the beginning of World War II.
After graduation from Duluth Central High School Bud served in the US Army in Korea during the Korean War, and received an Honorable Discharge with the rank of Sergeant. He used his GI Bill benefits to attend UMD receiving an Associate Degree, and also earned his Commercial Instrument Pilot rating.
Bud was a longtime employee of St. Louis County retiring as Supervisor of Roads and Bridges. In retirement he served as Boiler Engineer and a do it all repairman for Duluth Gospel Tabernacle. He generously devoted his time and talents as a consummate do it yourself repairman to all of his family.
Dennis is preceded in death by his parents, Nick & Helen Peterson; brother, Robert Peterson; sister, June (Don) Kruger; and infant brother and sister, James and Delores Peterson.
He is survived by his sister, Carol (Eli) Miletich; and numerous nieces and nephews all of whom he loved dearly.
At Bud’s request, his family will be holding a private funeral service. Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home 218-727-3555.
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