>>Sanford-North Memorial Merger Moving Forward Under 10-Year Agreement
(St. Paul, MN) — The merger of Sanford Health and North Memorial Health will move forward under a 10-year oversight agreement with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. The health systems have committed to investing $600 million in North Memorial facilities, including $500 million for Maple Grove Hospital and $100 million for Robbinsdale Hospital. The agreement also requires core services, including the Level 1 trauma center at Robbinsdale, to remain in place for 10 years. The combined system will become Minnesota’s largest integrated urban-rural health system.
>>Minnesota, States Secure Temporary Restraining Order in Battle Over Mail Ballots
(St. Paul, MN) – Minnesota and a coalition of 25 states have secured a temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts blocking a new rule by the United States Postal Service that would have imposed requirements on vote-by-mail systems ahead of the November election. The order blocks USPS from requiring states to obtain the federal government’s approval of ballot and return-envelope designs, register for a new USPS portal for tracking voter information, input information for each of their state’s voters into the portal, and comply with other provisions. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “A court has once again rightly blocked another illegal attempt by Donald Trump to take over America’s elections so he can rig them in his favor.” Ellison vows to keep taking the president to court until he stops pursuing this with the November 3rd election.
>>Attorney argues to force government to release more surveillance records in ‘Minnesota 15’ case
(Minneapolis) – According to the Minnesota Reformer, a defense attorney in the conspiracy case against 15 Minnesotans asked a federal judge Thursday to order the government to release more documents related to the Department of Homeland Security’s wide-ranging surveillance campaign of anti-ICE activists, labor unions and nonprofits in Minnesota. Attorney Kevin Riach, who represents defendant Isaac Sant, asked U.S. District Judge David Schultz to order the federal government to turn over information including downloads of undercover agents’ phones and laptops; all reports related to surveillance of Minnesota unions, nonprofit organizations and activists; and communications between local prosecutors and their bosses in Washington, D.C., among other records. Riach argued that the additional discovery is necessary to determine whether the federal government has selectively, or vindictively, prosecuted anti-ICE activists, and to craft defenses for his client and the other 14 defendants. If granted, the discovery would also make public additional details of the federal government’s surveillance campaigns — potentially on a national scale.
>>ICE Officer Wanted in Minnesota Shooting Case Released from Texas Jail
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minnesota’s effort to bring an ICE officer back to the state to face charges in a Minneapolis shooting has hit another roadblock. Christian Castro was released from a Texas jail Thursday after a federal judge declined Minnesota’s request to keep him in custody while his extradition case continues. Castro is charged in connection with the January shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he will not extradite Castro unless Minnesota repays millions of federal dollars, he says were lost to fraud in the state.
>>Minnesota State Fair Breaks Opening Day Record
(St. Paul, MN) – The Minnesota State Fair kicked off its 12-day run by breaking the record for opening day attendance. Thursday 155,185 people passed through the gates breaking the previous single-day mark for the fair’s opening Thursday. The previous opening day record was 138,875 set in 2024. Thursday broke the record by more than 16,000 visitors. Last year, the opening day attendance was 137,148.
>>18-Year-Old Killed in Benton County Crash
(St. George Township, MN) — An 18-year-old Foley man is dead following a two-vehicle crash in Benton County. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 4:15 Thursday afternoon at in St. George Township. Investigators say the teen was driving a pickup that collided with a trailer being pulled by another pickup and then rolled. The State Patrol says the 18-year-old was not wearing a seat belt and died in the crash. His name has not been released. The two people in the other pickup were not hurt.
>>Fargo Man Found Dead in Car Pulled from Buffalo River
(Moorhead, MN) — A 24-year-old Fargo man is dead after a car was found submerged in the Buffalo River north of Dilworth Thursday. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office says someone reported seeing the vehicle in the river around 5 p.m. The caller had not witnessed the crash but noticed tire tracks leading from the road. Deputies found the man inside the vehicle, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released.
