Minnesota
Minnesota House candidates vie for 8A seat
DULUTH — The race to fill
former Rep. Liz Olson’s District 8A seat
in the Minnesota House heated up on Tuesday as the candidates answered questions in a debate hosted by the News Tribune and Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce at The Garden in Canal Park.
Both candidates leaned into their backgrounds in public service as evidence of their fitness for the office.
Pete Johnson
has been a firefighter for 23 years, 19 of those in Duluth. He’s been the union officer for the Local 101 firefighters union for the past 16 years. He said his experiences “responding to folks when they’re at their most vulnerable times” is a big driver for his political perspective.
Mark McGrew
is a lifelong Duluthian, born and raised in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood. He retired last spring after 28 years in law enforcement, 24 with the Minnesota State Patrol. He’s also a Navy Reserve veteran. He said he brings experience with “meeting people at difficult times,” and he’s running to “hold the government fiscally responsible” as his top priority.
Steve Kuchera / 2020 file / Duluth Media Group
“The Legislature last session spent $17.5 billion in a matter of five months,” McGrew said. “I think we need to be able to curb spending and bring it down, which will hopefully help with inflation.”
Johnson’s top priorities are to “focus on the core issues tied to housing, education, health care and paying jobs.”
“A lot of the things we get called to are rooted somewhere else. … They’re not something I can solve in a couple of minutes,” Johnson said. “I really feel focusing on those four key pieces will lift everybody out, including those who are in the middle class and folks on the margins.”
Both agreed that they could work to foster bipartisanship based on their experiences. Both served as negotiators for contracts with their public safety organizations and said the skills earned there would help them compromise as representatives. Both candidates were disappointed with the lack of a bonding bill from the last legislative session and said they’d support one in the next session.
Regarding education investment, McGrew stated he supported funding education, though not at the risk of seeing the state going into deficit, but that “we need to bring local control back to the school districts.”
“Let the local school boards handle that money and use it however they feel,” McGrew said.
Johnson agreed with funding education, which he said has been “chronically underfunded for decades.”
“Even with the investments made in the last few years, they’re still underfunded,” Johnson said.
Both candidates agreed on the existence of a housing crisis but cited different causes. Johnson served on the Center City Housing Corp. for nine years.
“It’s more than just units,” he said. “It’s the support that’s tied to those units, such as mental health, physical health support, child care, a controlled door for 24 hours. That has a huge impact on those folks remaining stably housed.”
McGrew said the issue is more closely related to the high cost of homes, high property taxes and over-regulation.
“I think we need to deregulate some of the housing things and move forward from there to let people buy cheaper houses,” McGrew said.
When it comes to population growth or lack thereof, McGrew said the state’s high corporate tax rates and mandates were pushing businesses away.
“If you’re trying to attract business, and you have the highest corporate tax rate, and you have all these mandates on different companies and businesses that want to come here,” McGrew said. “Why would they come to Duluth when they could go to Superior, Wisconsin, across the bridge, and maybe have lower tax rates and lower fees and all these other things?”
Johnson said having a highly trained workforce, access to child care and accessible housing would attract population growth.
“If workers here are highly skilled and motivated, they’ll draw those businesses here, regardless of the tax rates. If we can produce those best workers and keep them here, it’s going to be a huge piece of that,” Johnson said.
When it comes to allowing
copper-nickel mining,
Johnson said the issue was about building trust.
“The folks on the labor side don’t necessarily trust the corporations to take care of their workers and that their conditions will be safe unless they have contracts in place,” Johnson said. “The folks on the clean-water side are the same way in that they want things in place to make sure that it’s done safely and, if not, that there’s money set aside to make that cleanup possible.”
McGrew said he was “absolutely in favor” of copper-nickel mining but also wants it to be “environmentally safe.”
“I was out talking to door knocking, and I ran into somebody who brought up this, and I said, ‘Do you want to do that in Minnesota, where we have regulations, we have OSHA, and probably the highest working standards around?’” McGrew said. “Would you rather have that done in Africa or child workers being used and no regulation? The person said they’d rather see it done here where we can monitor it.”
McGrew said he did not support abortion and that he wished there was a Roe v. Wade standard in Minnesota.
“I think that where we’re at right now is that you have basically abortion … up until the point of birth. And I think that that is on the same level as North Korea and China. And I think we need to draw that back,” McGrew said.
Johnson took issue with McGrew’s statement on late-term abortions.
“The reality is that those late-term abortions make up a very tiny percent of abortions, and often when there is new information found,” Johnson said. “Such as fetal viability, the health of the mother or other issues which delayed getting treatment. I fully support everyone’s right to choose.”
Teri Cadeau is a features reporter for the Duluth News Tribune. Originally from the Iron Range, Cadeau has worked for several community newspapers in the Duluth area, including the Duluth Budgeteer News, Western Weekly, Weekly Observer, Lake County News-Chronicle, and occasionally, the Cloquet Pine Journal. When not working, she’s an avid reader, crafter, dancer, trivia fanatic and cribbage player.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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