>>Palestine supporters confront Walz at M-L-K celebration
(St. Paul, MN) — Black activists, allies with the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J), and the Free Palestine Coalition disrupted Minnesota’s 38th Annual MLK Celebration today (MON) at the Ordway Center, publicly confronting the event’s headliner, Governor Tim Walz. The rallying crowd chanted “Governor Walz, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” It comes after refusal by Walz and other top elected officials to pull nearly one billion dollars of Minnesota’s holdings from companies that do business with Israel. The group demanded Walz “not disgrace the anti-war stance of Dr. King by investing Minnesotan’s pension funds into the Israeli military.”
>>Sen. Smith, in Iowa campaigning for Biden, blasts GOP candidates’ stance on abortion
(Des Moines, IA) — Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, campaigning for President Biden today (Mon) in Des Moines, says regardless of who wins tonight’s Republican caucuses and who comes in second, “we know one thing for sure: Every one of these extremist candidates is attacking women’s freedom to make their own decisions about abortion. These extreme Republican candidates want a national ban on abortion, and that is what they will try to do if given the chance.” Pro-life groups respond Minnesota Democrats are the ones who are extremists, by passing a law in the last legislative session that allows abortion up to the moment of birth.
>>Billionaire investor backing Phillips’ challenge of Biden for Democratic nomination
(Undated) — Billionaire investor Bill Ackman says he’ll donate a million dollars to the presidential campaign of Minnesota 3rd District Congressman Dean Phillips, who’s challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party nomination. Phillips has gained little traction against the president, with latest polling averages by RealClearPolitics showing him at three percent among Democrats, versus 70 percent for Biden. But Ackman contends Phillips has a “credible path” to the nomination. He says if Phillips does well in New Hampshire, he has a chance of beating Biden, whose numbers “are only going to get worse as he ages.”
>>Lockdown at Fergus Falls schools after threat received, on-line statement cancels classes in Grand Meadow
(Fergus Falls, MN) — Public schools in Fergus Falls in west-central Minnesota went into a “code red” lockdown at about noon today (Mon) after two elementary schools and a secondary school received calls from someone threatening to shoot through the windows. Police, Otter Tail County deputies and state troopers responded to schools throughout the city. Superintendent Jeff Drake says students are safe but the district decided to release them early.
Meanwhile in Grand Meadow in southeast Minnesota, school was canceled because of a comment made to students during an on-line video game. The Star Tribune reports that Police Chief Jim Richardson said the comments were not directly threatening but officials decided to take them seriously. He said the person who made the comments was a juvenile from outside Grand Meadow and law enforcement planned to contact that person today.
>>Cold blast easing, warm-up expected next week
(Chanhassen, MN) — The National Weather Service says the worst of the cold blast will be over after today (Mon), with a slight relapse later in the week. Meteorologist Caleb Grunzke says Tuesday through Thursday, highs will be in the single-digits above zero and lows in the single-digits below — but then “Friday, looks like there’s a good chance of… at least another shot of some slightly colder air [with] highs around zero again.” Grunzke says a warm-up begins Saturday, with a good chance for highs in the low 30s by next Monday.
>>Klobuchar Continues Campaign For FDA Probe Involving Lead-Tainted Applesauce
(Undated) — Senator Amy Klobuchar is continuing her push for a federal investigation into lead-tainted applesauce that has made several children ill statewide. Klobuchar joined a mother Sunday whose young daughter became sick after eating applesauce from the tainted pouches. The pouches to look out for are sold under three different brands — Wanabana, Schnucks, and Weis. They have been removed from store shelves. Any that remain in kitchen cupboards or pantries should be discarded.
>>MN Gas Prices Stay Low Despite National Increase
(Undated) — Average gas prices in Minnesota have fallen 3.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.77 a gallon. This compares to the national average increase of point-six cents per gallon, to $3.04. Gas Buddy says last week was a bit of a mixed bag, with gas prices increasing early on but falling again as the situation in the Red Sea continues to drive market volatility.
>>UM Dance Team Goes Viral with Jazz Tribute
(Orlando, FL) — The University of Minnesota Dance Team not only won its 22nd national championship for its “pom” performance at competition in Orlando, Florida — but their jazz routine choreographed to Aerosmith’s “Dream On” has gone viral. It’s the same song the team performed to, when they took their very first double national championship in 2004.
>>Fargo-Moorhead effort nearly reaches goal of packing 10M meals for starving children
(Fargo, ND) — Volunteers in the Fargo-Moorhead area didn’t quite reach their goal of packing 10 million meals for starving children by the end of day Sunday, but they got very close at 9,712,224. Organizers say it is the largest meal pack in the history of Feed My Starving Children and will feed over 26-thousand kids every day for a year. Spokesman Dave Gunnlaugsson says over 27-thousand volunteers turned out over 10 days “to help feed kids, families and communities around the world.” The Fargo-Moorhead effort also holds the Feed My Starving Children record for the most meals packed in a single two-hour shift — over 985 thousand — and the most boxes packed at a single station — 85, by a team of 15 people.
>>Gopher men’s basketball team takes on Iowa in M-L-K Day showcase game
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Golden Gopher men’s basketball team is playing a showcase game on M-L-K Day today (5pm) against Iowa. Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson is excited about his team being in the spotlight. He says, “We look at it as a great opportunity to play in front of hopefully a ton of people, not only here at Williams Arena, but across the country, and get some national exposure that way. We talk about just a day of celebrating and understanding Dr. King’s belief and who he was and try make the world a better place and do your part.” Today’s game starts at 5 p-m and will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network.
>>MN PWHL General Manager Darwitz to Join IIHF
(Undated) — Natalie Darwitz, current General Manager of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Minnesota and Eagan native, is set to join the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in May. Before joining the PWHL, Darwitz represented the U.S. National Team from 1999 through 2010, achieving three gold medals and five silvers at the Women’s World Championship, along with two silvers and a bronze in three Olympics. She also played for the University of Minnesota, contributing to their national titles in 2004 and 2005.
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