Minnesota
Minnesota State Sen. Nicole Mitchell pleads not guilty to burglarizing stepmother’s home
![Minnesota State Sen. Nicole Mitchell pleads not guilty to burglarizing stepmother’s home Minnesota State Sen. Nicole Mitchell pleads not guilty to burglarizing stepmother’s home](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/05/08/64bb6fd3-83d5-4f71-8e34-d94039d0c8e1/thumbnail/1200x630/d2feb6678a9f5db4eb0f5c1b39c09c36/tue-raw-nicole-mitchell-050724-mears.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — A Minnesota state senator has pleaded not guilty to burglarizing the home of her estranged stepmother after her father’s death.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury, was charged in April. She told police at the time that she broke into the home in the northwestern Minnesota town of Detroit Lakes because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony criminal complaint.
In a joint court filing Tuesday, defense and prosecution attorneys said Mitchell was pleading not guilty, and was asking the court to schedule both a settlement conference and jury trial.
The two sides also agreed that prosecutors won’t be able to argue that Mitchell stole a laptop computer that police seized when they arrested her. Ownership of the laptop had been in dispute. The agreement says that prosecutors can, however, use evidence from the laptop if the case goes to trial.
Mitchell’s arrest roiled the 2024 legislative session, which came to an acrimonious end, and ethics proceedings against her remain on hold pending developments in her criminal case. She denied stealing and rejected Republican calls for her resignation. Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Party Chair Ken Martin also said she should resign, though her attorney said she intends to stay in office as her criminal case proceeds.
Mitchell was removed from her committee assignments and caucus meetings but remained the key vote for Democrats to pass their agenda in the latest legislative session with their one-seat majority, including many last-minute end-of-session bills.
Mitchell was dressed all in black and wearing a black hat when she was arrested, the complaint said, and it quoted her as saying, “I know I did something bad.”
Her attorney has said that her dispute with her stepmother arose out of a “fractured relationship” that was aggravated by age-related issues.
Mitchell’s father died in March 2023 at the age of 72, according to his obituary. He had been married to Mitchell’s stepmother for 40 years, it said.
Mitchell, who has also been a TV meteorologist and a commander with the Air National Guard, was elected in 2022 and is in her first term.
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Minnesota
Introducing the Minnesota Top 20, the Star Tribune’s new statewide high school football ranking
![Introducing the Minnesota Top 20, the Star Tribune’s new statewide high school football ranking Introducing the Minnesota Top 20, the Star Tribune’s new statewide high school football ranking](https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/startribunemedia/MMPW5UQ23CMXESVG43DWJUPST4.jpg)
It’s hard to imagine a first-year head coach stepping into a better situation than Maple Grove’s Adam Spurrell stepped into. The Crimson are bursting with talent, led by running back Charles Langama, quarterback Kaden Harney and wide receiver-defensive back Dylan Vokal and a lot of prime beef up front.
That’s just for starters, and that’s why Maple Grove is where we start the new Star Tribune Minnesota Top 20, a statewide ranking produced by football reporter Jim Paulsen. The Crimson get the nod as the preseason No. 1 based on the sheer volume of talent.
Edina, the 2023 Class 6A runner-up, is ranked second but can make a strong case for the top spot. After a 1-3 start in 2023, the Hornets coalesced around the passing of QB Mason West and the running of RB John Warpinski. They won eight in a row before narrowly losing to Centennial in the Class 6A championship game. Warpinski has graduated, but West, a 6-6, 200-pound junior with big-time collegiate potential, is a nice piece to build around. He has weapons to throw to in receivers Meyer Swinney and Trillion Sorrell.
No. 3 Lakeville South leans on the hard-to-stop Power-T running game and has the talent to make it scary. Expect RB Connor Cade to spend many a Friday night sprinting untouched through opposing defenses.
Here’s news: Eden Prairie is a top contender. Seriously, the real shock would be if the brawny Eagles were not one of the state’s best. Eden Prairie, ranked fourth, is led by senior RB Elijah Rumph, a downhill runner who can beat you with power or speed, but what makes the team formidable is its inevitable depth. Expect to see that depth pay dividends as the season goes on.
Don’t overlook Lakeville North nor Stillwater, two teams with high-end quarterbacks (Riley Grossman at Lakeville North and Nick Kinsey at Stillwater) who give their teams a chance to beat anyone on any given night.
Just as with the big-class schools, no clear favorite shows in Class 5A. 2022 champion Elk River will be back near the top thank to a dual backfield threat of RB Gavin Schmidt, a thumper between the tackles, and lightning-quick Brecken Keoraj. Defending champion Chanhassen doesn’t have the top-end skill players of a year ago, but plenty of talent returns.
Three teams from Greater Minnesota take their places on the Minnesota Top 20: perennial power Mankato West and two from the central part of the state that boast big names. Alexandria has 6-8 QB Chase Thompson and kicker Daniel Jackson, a Gophers commit, and Sauk Rapids-Rice trots out perhaps the best passing combination outside of the metro in QB Spencer Ackerman and WR Hudson Omoke.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Twins Have a Worsening Bullpen Problem. Will the Solution Come From the Rotation?
![The Minnesota Twins Have a Worsening Bullpen Problem. Will the Solution Come From the Rotation? The Minnesota Twins Have a Worsening Bullpen Problem. Will the Solution Come From the Rotation?](https://dtb3yzl0vm3pr.cloudfront.net/monthly_2024_08/DavidFestaBradRempel-USATODAYSports.jpg.1292d000adacef6a9243ad2819ff390e.jpg)
Is it possible that we’ve been looking in the wrong place for a solution to the team’s bullpen woes? The general expectation is that Louie Varland will be the knight in shining armor that emerges over the hillside to provide necessary reinforcement as the club pushes toward the postseason. If last season is any indication of what to expect, that could very well be the case. But the Twins have another arm that could provide a similar boost–only, he’s a little busy at the moment.
Rookie David Festa is currently holding down a spot in the starting rotation, and he’s mostly held his own since his debut in late June. Many are counting on him, along with fellow rookies Zebby Matthews and Simeon Woods Richardson, to continue finding success in a starting role through the end of the year. But each of those three young arms is quickly approaching (or has already surpassed) reasonable expectations for increases to their respective workloads. And while they certainly appear to be the team’s best options to continue starting games in the near term, should they look into transitioning Festa to a relief role as the postseason approaches?
It’s easy to shoot down the idea based on the rotation’s needs, and realistically, the Twins could very well feel the same way. However, Festa’s offerings are the building blocks that make a strong reliever, and after a few more starts in the coming weeks, it could behoove the Twins to seek a way to scale his workload back, while keeping him as a key contributor.
Festa’s three-pitch repertoire features a fastball that can touch upper-90s velocity, and two rock-solid secondary offerings that have underperformed at the MLB level thus far. Perhaps giving him shorter outings will allow for further success with his slider and changeup, since his opponents wouldn’t see them in multiple at-bats in a given game. That leads to the biggest talking point when discussing the effectiveness of a transition to the bullpen – his numbers the first time through the order.
When getting their first taste of Festa in a game, opponents have been held to an anemic .342 OPS, while striking out 30.2% of the time. Somehow, those numbers appear to be improving as he gets more exposure to the league. They’re testaments to his sheer nastiness.
Just this month, Festa has struck out 39% of batters faced when going through the order the first time, which is tied for fifth-highest among all starters, according to Inside Edge. He has also allowed a paltry .147 slugging percentage in those instances this month, which is third-best in baseball. He’s racking up plenty of punchouts, and limiting damage when opponents do make contact. That’s an excellent starting point for this type of transition if the Twins decide to explore this route, even before getting any theoretical boost from being able to empty the tank in a shorter outing.
Festa has also started to show increased effectiveness against left-handed hitters, which is a soft spot with the current crop of Twins’ relievers–given the fact that Caleb Thielbar is suddenly their lone lefty. Festa has struck out 37% (16/43) of lefties he’s faced this month, and they’ve only mustered a .621 OPS against him in that time frame. That’s more than passable as a medium-leverage arm, and it could be just what the bullpen needs as they head down the home stretch of the season.
Of course, the question then becomes who will take Festa’s place in the starting rotation, and why wouldn’t they just keep him as a starter and move one of these other options to a relief role? Beyond Varland, the options that are sitting in the Triple-A rotation include Randy Dobnak and Andrew Morris. The team also added Caleb Boushley to the big-league roster Tuesday, giving them a stretched-out arm with plenty of starting experience.
Dobnak has a career 6.82 ERA in 33 innings pitched as a reliever, and his stuff has been absolutely hammered to the tune of a .331/.364/.538 clip when opponents see him out of the pen. Boushley hasn’t inspired much hope since joining the organization, and he has a 4.97 ERA for the season with the Saints. Morris is an intriguing piece going forward, and he is yet another archetype in the Twins’ strategy of drafting starting pitchers in the middle and late rounds of the draft, then tweaking their mechanics to amplify their development. But it’s hard to imagine them pumping Morris through that development, then throwing him into a playoff bullpen when he started the season in High-A ball. Each of those three options might make more sense as spot starters at the big-league level, should Festa move to relief.
At the end of the day, the Twins may decide that moving Festa (or any of the three rookie starters) to the bullpen would be more trouble than it’s worth. But there are a couple of glaring question marks in the relief corps, and the club should do whatever they can to address them before it’s too late. That may include looking to their encouraging rotation pieces for answers.
Minnesota
Military Appreciation Day at the Minnesota State Fair honors spouses of those who served
![Military Appreciation Day at the Minnesota State Fair honors spouses of those who served Military Appreciation Day at the Minnesota State Fair honors spouses of those who served](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/27/d8d99a9b-78b3-4a7f-8852-6aebefdc25b0/thumbnail/1200x630/f176c60a30dc6f52bdc430c0cc7da276/6p-pkg-fair-military-da-wcco60v0.jpg?v=29ebd300d9a3cd24077d945a46991f72)
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Military veterans and their families filled the seats at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell for this year’s Military Appreciation Day at the Minnesota State Fair. This year’s theme honors military spouses.
It’s a day to honor the more than 285,000 veterans in Minnesota.
“The success of our military is dependent on the sacrifice and service of our military spouses and families,” said Commissioner Brad Lindsay.
Guest speakers talked about how a spouse’s service to our nation is through the support of their loved one in uniform.
One of those spouses being honored is Jessica Cook. She served in the Air Force for seven years.
She deployed to Iraq before getting out to start a family with her husband, Jeffrey Cook. He is currently an instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s ROTC program.
“I’ve deployed four times, three since we’ve been married twice since having kids,” said Jeffrey Cook.
With each deployment, Jeffrey Cook says he could focus on his mission knowing his spouse was taking care of the family.
“We often have to put our own lives and careers and education on hold while we fully support our spouse,” said Jessica Cook.
Mother of JC, Joshua, Judah and Jonah, Jessica Cook finished an associate’s and then a bachelor’s degree all while maintaining a household.
“Spouses don’t get recognized for all of the hard work that they put in when their significant other is either deployed or gone on a work commitment. We really hold together the family and the homefront,” said Jessica Cook.
Jessica Cook works to make sure spouses have access to programs offered by the VA.
She was able to secure a proclamation for Women’s Veterans Day on June 12. It’s just another feather in the cap of this incredible military spouse.
In honor of their service, the fair and many vendors are offering discounts. Dozens of military groups are at Dan Patch Park, honoring military families and promoting veterans programs.
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