Minnesota

The Vatican’s investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is complete

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2024

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says the Vatican’s investigation into former Archbishop John Nienstedt is complete.

Eight years ago, Nienstedt resigned from his position amid allegations of covering up crimes of a pedophile priest at the church.

Current Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who assumed the role in 2015, released a statement Friday. Hebda says a Vatican investigation looked into all of the allegations and did not support finding that Nienstedt had committed any crimes. The Holy See deemed the allegations unfounded.

Hebda says he was told of several instances of “imprudent” actions from Nienstedt that were brought to light. He says the instances “either standing alone or taken together” did not warrant any further investigation or penal sanctions.

However, Pope Francis determined that several administrative actions would be imposed. These include Nienstedt not practicing ministry or living in the Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, which includes all of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Nienstedt will not be able to exercise ministry in any way outside of his diocese of residence “without the express authorization of the attendant Ordinary and only after the Dicastery for Bishops has been informed.”

“It’s just simply not enough,” said Mike McDonnell, executive director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests)

“The release of this information from the Vatican, it’s really a slap in the face to victims all over. It simply says that, you know, your pain really just doesn’t matter enough to us.”

In an exclusive interview with WCCO Friday, whistleblower Jennifer Haselberger called the lack of transparency “frustrating.”

“We have no information, no insight, no visibility into to anything. It’s really just a lot of broad statements,” she said . “Because it’s not an exoneration, either. And I think it leaves more questions than answers.”

One of those questions? What exactly were the “imprudent” actions, especially considering the severity of the claims against Nienstedt.

“If the results of a thorough investigation arethat he has done nothing wrong, then I would argue that he has the right for people to know that. So if that were the case, we’ve done a disservice to him,” she said, quickly adding “If, in fact, as it seems that some things have been substantiated, I would think that the people involved in making those accusations would like to know what was substantiated and what was considered to not be substantiated, and what were the standards?’

“Historically, this is what the Catholic Church has done in their playbook,” McDonnel said. “And that is to move them along, out of sight, out of mind, hope it goes away.”

Nienstedt said in a statement that he has “fully cooperated” with all investigations into allegations against him and answered every question honestly and to the best of his recollection. He said he has asked the Holy See to clarify the “imprudent” actions he allegedly committed.

“I will heed the direction given to me by the Holy Father, which I have been following for the past seven years,” Nienstedt said. “I am retired now so my ministry will continue to be limited. I am sorry for any pain experienced by anyone because of the allegations against me, and ask for your prayers for their healing.”

Haselberger is also thinking of the people impacted.

“People suffered one way or the other. The people that brought the accusations, whether it was imprudent behavior or if it was something that did fall into canonical crime, people were hurt. The church was hurt,” she said. “Let’s keep all of them in mind and look for more ways that we can improve our systems, put pressure on those in authority, and truly create the safe environment that we need.”

Allen Henry

Allen Henry is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who joined WCCO as a reporter in August 2022.

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Minnesota

NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again

Published

5 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

NCAA women’s tournament takeaways, Day 3: Minnesota drains buzzer-beater as LSU, Texas dominate again

The Sweet 16 field is halfway filled as the first weekend of the NCAA tournament starts to wrap up. There weren’t a ton of surprises on Sunday for the start of the second round, but we did get our first buzzer-beater.

Minnesota reaches Sweet 16 on buzzer-beater

After a buzzer-beater was called off on Saturday, we finally got one.

Amaya Battle got her game-winner to fall on Sunday afternoon, which lifted Minnesota to what is its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005. Battle, with less than a second left on the clock, drilled a contested jumper from the short corner to push the Gophers past Ole Miss 65-63. Naturally, that sparked a massive celebration on their home court.

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Minnesota

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

Published

17 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota United’s Drake Callender, Seattle’s Andrew Thomas duel to 0-0 draw

March 22, 2026 / 6:27 PM CDT
/ AP

Seattle’s Andrew Thomas finished with two saves and Drake Callender did likewise as the Sounders and Minnesota United played to a scoreless draw on Sunday.

It was the third straight and fourth shutout in five starts this season for Thomas. The 27-year-old took the starting reins from mainstay Stefan Frei — now in a backup role. He hasn’t allowed a goal since a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake in Seattle’s road opener. He also blanked the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the season opener at home. Thomas had the lone save of the first half.

Callender notched his second clean sheet in his first season with Minnesota United. Callender and Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire switched teams in the offseason. Callender made 92 starts for Miami beginning in 2022, but only five last season.

Jordan Morris saw his first action for the Sounders (3-1-1) since he was injured in the season opener. Morris entered in the 65th minute along with Jesús Ferreira and 18-year old midfielder Snyder Brunell.

Seattle was coming off back-to-back 1-0 road victories over St. Louis City and the San Jose Earthquakes.

Minnesota United (1-2-2) came in after being outscored 9-1 in two straight road losses to Nashville SC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Minnesota swept Seattle during the regular season last year and then eliminated the Sounders in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs, winning twice at home on penalty kicks after 0-0 and 3-3 draws in regulation. Seattle posted a 4-2 victory at home in the middle match.

Up next

Seattle: Visits the Houston Dynamo on April 4.

Minnesota: Visits the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 4.

In:

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Minnesota

Who’s Minnesota’s ‘Blanket Lady’? More than a superfan, she was a women’s basketball pioneer

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Who’s Minnesota’s ‘Blanket Lady’? More than a superfan, she was a women’s basketball pioneer

Minnesota is in a tough spot. The No. 4 Gophers are down 9 points to No. 13 Green Bay in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

They hadn’t been to March Madness since 2018. Not only that, but also the Gophers earned a host spot. They should win. But the pressure is mounting.

Luckily for them, the Gophers have something Green Bay doesn’t: Blanket Lady.

During a timeout with 6:01 left in the third quarter, the Blanket Lady begins her ritual. She raises the blanket, decorated with a Minnesota emblem, and she runs, waving the maroon and gold fabric as she goes, up the sideline and down the baseline. As she runs, the crowd cheers, louder and louder until she returns to her seat.

“I was saying in the locker room after the game, that’s probably the loudest it’s been, I think, the whole time I have ever been here,” senior Amaya Battle said. “It was a ton of fun. It was nice to have them rally around us.”

The timeout ends, but the energy hangs in the air. Minnesota responded with a 30-8 run, securing a comeback victory and a spot in the Round of 32 for the first time in eight years.

“I feel like we just won the NCAA Tournament,” the Blanket Lady says the next day.

You know who get this game turned around? BLANKET LADY.
She got this crowd on their feet when the #Gophers needed her most! pic.twitter.com/X6NzmSv85q
— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) March 20, 2026
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You can forgive the exaggerated excitement. She’s better known in The Barn by her Blanket Lady persona, but she’s really 81-year-old Elvera “Peps” Neuman. She’s a superfan who has been hyping up Minnesota supporters at home games since 2004. And she’s loved basketball long before the sport loved women back.

Neuman grew up on a farm in Eden Valley, Minn., with a basket attached to the side of her family’s barn. It was put there for her four older brothers, but Neuman took to the sport. She practiced shooting whenever she could, even when she was milking the cows.

“The milkers were supposed to be on the cows for like, three minutes,” she said. “Well, I thought I could go out there to shoot for three minutes. But sometimes it got to be five or 10 minutes. It probably wasn’t easy on the cows, but we got more milk.”

Neuman’s passion couldn’t be contained to her family farm. She wanted to play for her high school, but in the early 1960s, there were no teams for girls around her, and the boys wouldn’t let her play with them.

“Not to brag,” Neuman said with a laugh, “but I was better than most of the boys anyway.”

In an effort to stay close to the game, Neuman joined the pep club, supporting the same boys who refused to play with her. Then, a conversation with her English teacher changed everything. She told Neuman a team of women were coming to Paynesville, a town just 14 miles down the road, to challenge some of the local coaches.

Neuman went to the game and was in awe of the Harlem Chicks, a team of Black players. As soon as she got home, Neuman wrote a letter to the team’s promoter. She wanted to play for the Chicks. Segregation prevented that, so instead, Neuman joined the Texas Cowgirls barnstorming team. From there, her basketball career took off — at least as much as it could for a woman at that time.

Neuman played basketball until she was 44, and even founded her own barnstorming team, called the Arkansas Gems. Each season, Neuman played in around 140 games, traveling from town to town, sometimes driving 400 miles in one day. It was a grind, but it was all Neuman knew. And it was the only way she could play basketball.

“I loved it,” she said. “I absolutely loved it.”

Elvera “Peps” Neuman started her own barnstorming team when gender rules and segregation kept her from joining teams. (Courtesy of Elvera Neuman)

Every time Neuman walked on the court, she put on a show, once scoring 108 points in a game. That kind of vivaciousness doesn’t just go away, not even at 81 years old. Neuman still brings it to the court, only now, she’s on the sidelines.

“I get more attention from being the Blanket Lady than I ever did from playing basketball,” Neuman said. “That might upset some people, to not get the attention, or the money, but I’m just the opposite. I’m pulling for these girls at 200 percent.”

The Blanket Lady tradition started accidentally in 2006. Neuman serves as a caregiver for her friend and former basketball teammate, Vicky Nelson. Because Nelson is in a wheelchair, the duo sits courtside in an accessible seating section. The blanket was a gift from two other Minnesota fans who noticed that Nelson always draped her jacket over her knees in an effort to keep warm during games.

Overcome by the kindness of the gesture, Neuman held up the blanket to the crowd, and when she did, everyone cheered. Ever the showman, Neuman took the cheers and ran with it — literally — up the sideline. The Blanket Lady was born.

Elvera “Peps” Neuman brings the same energy she brought to the basketball court as a player to her Minnesota courtside seats. (Courtesy of Elvera Neuman)

Neuman and Nelson haven’t missed a Gophers home game since 2004, when All-America point guard Lindsay Whalen was a senior. They certainly won’t miss Minnesota’s March Madness second-round game Sunday against Ole Miss.

If the energy dwindles, Neuman will be ready.

She paved the way for the current Gophers during her barnstorming days, and she’s still doing everything she can to help them succeed.

“I’ll be there,” she said. “I’ll be there with the blanket and my Gophers gear. I love this team.”

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