MINNEAPOLIS — Lost in the overwhelming developments in the presidential race, including the ascension of Gov. Tim Walz to a vice presidential nominee, is the looming Aug. 13 primary. 

It’s an open secret that both the DFL and Republican state parties aren’t fans of the August primary because it’s a time when most voters are focusing on vacations, planning a Minnesota State Fair trip or even starting to think about getting back to school. In 2022, voter turnout was less than 30% statewide. 

Some key primaries include a rematch in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District between Rep. Ilhan Omar and former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. In 2022, Omar almost lost that race to Samuels. 

Omar says that last time she underestimated Samuels and she is not doing that this year.

“It’s a huge difference. Ilhan Omar has got a following. She’s got an organization that she’s been building over the last half dozen years or more, and it wasn’t really mobilized two years ago. Now, she is a presence in the district. She’s working hard, and Don Samuels has been unable to really match or exceed that,” said Professor Larry Jacobs with the University of Minnesota.

There is an unusual race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate between Royce White and Joe Fraser. The winner will take on Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.

In June, Republicans nominated White, a former Gopher and NBA basketball player who still plays in a professional three-on-three league. White has a controversial past and has seen major pushback from former Sens. Rudy Boschwitz and Norm Coleman as well as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. All three signed a letter endorsing the challenger Fraser.

Democratic strategist Abou Amara says this shows a divide in the Republican party.

“At the grassroots level, you’ve got Royce White, who’s endorsed by Steve Bannon and other kind of far extreme right-wing folks, but he won the endorsement. I think Joe Fraser represents kind of the Tim Pawlenty lane, if you will, of the Minnesota Republican Party. And so they’re on a collision course,” said Amara. “I do think Royce White presents deeper problems for the Republican ticket, whether it be the state house or the congressional seats because some of the things he said have been really out there, extreme stuff that I think the vast majority of Minnesotans would reject.”

Meanwhile, in the 7th Congressional District, Rep. Michelle Fischbach faces challenges from the right in Steve Boyd.

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump,  Fischbach faces criticism for her lack of presence in her congressional district.

“When your district starts to feel that you are not paying attention, it can, it can be problematic. I mean, we saw that Michelle Bachman had a very high national profile and was seen as too much, right? I think that that haunted Ilhan Omar in the last primary, where Don Samuels got very close because the district was feeling that Ilhan was not paying attention and mining business at home,” said Amy Koch, a Republican analyst.

Meanwhile, eyes will be on Minnesota’s closest congressional race with incumbent Rep. Angie Craig and the primary for her Republican challenger.  It’s an odd situation. While GOP-endorsed candidate Tayler Rahm has dropped out of the race, some Republicans are urging voters to still cast their ballots for him instead of the better-funded Joe Teirab.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minnesota man and more than a dozen people who allegedly worked with him have been charged as part of a drug trafficking ring that distributed methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding areas.

What we know

A total of 15 people have been charged in the Mexico-based operation that brought drugs to Minnesota with the intent of selling them.

According to court documents, on Jan. 4, 2019, Clinton James Ward was arrested at a Vadnais Heights motel with more than eight pounds of meth. At the time, Ward was selling drugs from his hotel room.

After his arrest, Ward fled to Jalisco, Mexico, where he established connections with drug traffickers that had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, the most dominant drug cartel in Mexico. Ward also had ties with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), authorities say.

From January 2019, until his arrest in March 2024, Ward established and operated his own cartel-sourced drug trafficking operation distributing thousands of pounds of meth to Minnesota through a network of traffickers, according to court documents.

Authorities say Ward would use several techniques to transport drugs into the U.S., including sending them through concealing shipments in semi-trailers crossing the border at various locations. Large shipments were later distributed into smaller quantities, and transported to Minnesota using private vehicles and semi-trailers.

More than 50 people with connections to Ward have been charged with meth trafficking and other drug trafficking offenses as part of an overarching investigation, a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) says. Law enforcement has currently seized more than 1,600 pounds of meth, four kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of fentanyl, 30,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills and more than $2.5 million in drug proceeds.

On March 11, 2024, Ward was taken into custody by Mexican authorities, and extradited to the U.S. for prosecution.

Who was involved?

13 people have been charged as part of the drug trafficking ring that Ward ran, and are currently in custody. All of them have made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court.

Below is a list of who was allegedly involved, and the charges they are currently facing:

• Shawnette Lynn Andreasen, 46, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
• Jonathon Beau Bailey, 33, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
• Vin Chanry, 37, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Perry John Coyle, 65, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
• James Joseph Graczyk, 51, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
• Benjamin DeWayne Johnson, 40, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
• Joseph Allen Pappenfus, 41, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
• Breezie Lynn Pena, 46, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
• Aaron Michael Teadt, 47, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
• Jimmy Thithavong, 38, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
• Peter Charles Watkins, 45, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.
• Nicole Marie Williams, 41, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.

BEVERLY SHORES, Ind. (WLS) — A 17-year-old boy is missing in Lake Michigan near Beverly Shores, Indiana, officials said.

Indiana Conservation Officers confirmed they are investigating after a 17-year-old from Eagan, Minnesota was reported missing in the lake Tuesday afternoon.

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The officials said their search efforts have been hindered by “dangerous water conditions.”

Beverly Shores Fire Department remained on the scene Tuesday evening, continuing their shore-based search throughout the night on ATVs.

Conservation officers will resume the search in Wednesday morning

No other details about the missing teen have been released. It was not known if he was with other people, or how many, at the time he went missing.

No further information was immediately available. Indiana Conservation Officers said more information is expected to be released later Tuesday night.