ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota DFL Party is calling on the state’s Republican members of Congress to release an ethics report on former Florida GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz. 

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he will nominate Gaetz as his attorney general, making him head of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gaetz resigned his House seat hours later, and just two days before a House panel was set to release a report on sex trafficking and sexual misconduct allegations against him. Gaetz has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

In a statement released on Thursday, DFL Party Chair Ken Martin says two Minnesota GOP lawmakers — Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the House’s third-highest ranking member, and Rep. Michelle Fischbach, who sits on the House Ethics Committee — have a “unique position” in releasing the report.

“The fact that Gaetz’s abrupt resignation two days before the ethics report was supposed to be released raises serious concerns about what the report was going to say,” Martin said. “If Minnesota Republicans are confident that Matt Gaetz has the character required to be Attorney General, they should prove it by releasing this report.”

Martin also highlighted an X post that Emmer made congratulating Gaetz for the nomination. He’s the only Minnesota delegation member to have made any comment on the matter.

Rep. Brad Finstad has not made any statement about Trump’s nominations as of Friday morning. On Tuesday, Rep. Pete Stauber congratulated Tom Homan for his nomination as “border czar,” and on Wednesday Fischbach congratulated Emmer and fellow House Republicans Mike Johnson, Lisa McClain and Steve Scalise on their re-elections.

In February 2023, the justice department declined to file charges against Gaetz in connection to allegations of sex trafficking and subsequent obstruction of the investigation.

Gaetz likely faces a steep confirmation process in the U.S. Senate as many lawmakers, including several Republicans, have publicly stated they were surprised by his nomination to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.

“This one was not on my bingo card,” said Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “I don’t think this is a serious nomination for attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general.”

Sources tell CBS News it’s possible Gaetz could circumvent the need for Senate approval if both chambers “recess shortly after Inauguration Day,” leading to a temporary recess appointment.

WCCO has reached out to the Minnesota GOP for comment and is awaiting a response.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Taylor Heise and her Minnesota Frost teammates had the time of their lives celebrating the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League championship throughout the summer, taking the Walter Cup with them wherever they could.

“If someone hasn’t seen it,” Heise said, “they just weren’t in the right place.”

One of those outings was to the Minnesota State Fair, where the sterling silver trophy posed for pictures, saw the sights and even served as a receptacle for serving the group a margarita during a four-hour tour on a August afternoon.

“I had scrapes up and down my arm,” Heise said, flashing a mischievous smile: “That was my offseason lifting.”’

Goalie Nicole Hensley took the cup back to her native Colorado, including a visit to her favorite concert venue, the venerable Red Rocks amphitheater. Shipping from player to player was meticulously arranged via UPS so everyone had a turn.

“It was pretty cool,” Hensley said. “Door to door service.”

The entire team has more to carry when the PHWL’s second season begins on Nov. 30, with new logos and nicknames for every club after branding was largely skipped over in the hasty launch a year ago. Winning a title breeds fiercer competition, particularly in a six-team league with so much familiarity between players from their college and international careers.

“We have a spot on our back,” said Heise, who led the team with five goals in 10 playoff games. “Everyone’s going to look at us a specific way.”

There’s been no shortage of attention for this team. One week after the dramatic win over Boston in the finals last spring, Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz — an icon for women’s hockey in this hockey-rich state — was removed from her post by the PHWL. She was later replaced by Melissa Caruso. Ken Klee, who took over on the fly when the initial hire Charlie Burggraf resigned a week before the season began, was retained as head coach. The Athletic, citing unnamed sources within the league, reported there was a rift between Darwitz and Klee and thus between certain players who were supporters of each.

“For me it’s just about getting our group back together,” Klee said on Thursday after practice. “We’re focusing on the future. Pro hockey things happen, some unfortunate things and some things out of our control, and we’re just really looking forward and excited to get the season going.”

Neither PHWL officials nor Frost leaders or players have been willing to speak publicly about the situation.

“Those were league decisions,” said Frost forward Kendall Coyne Schofield, who was second on the team in scoring last season. “We’re here to play hockey.”

Whatever issues might’ve bubbled up in the aftermath of the championship were either nonexistent or tamped down in the leadup to the title.

“We had an unbelievable locker room. We had an unbelievable group, an unbelievable staff,” Klee said. “If we didn’t have those things, we wouldn’t have won.”

The PWHL is a centralized league that owns all six franchises and is financed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, with an eye on expansion for 2025-26. The Frost have relished the opportunity to lean into their new name and wear the new threads featuring several shades of purple and the “F” logo with icicle-like points on the lettering.

“Last year was a lot about building our league, building up our fan base, having all the little girls have the best time,” Heise said. “Now I think we can focus on that as well as focus on the ice and everything that we can do there. We want to bring a better team out every single time we come out there.”

The 2024 Minnesota high school football semifinals are here, and they will take place on Thursday, November 14 to Saturday, Noovember 16.

High School on SI will have scores, schedules and coverage throughout the 2024 MSHSL football playoffs.

How to watch the 2024 MSHSL football state tournament semifinals

You can watch every 2024 MSHSL semifinal game with a subscription to NSPN.tv.

You can also stay on High School on SI’s Minnesota football page to find live score updates of games throughout the semifinals.

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