VIRGINIA, MN – On February 21, 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Governor Mark Dayton and the State of Minnesota by seven Iron Range residents and the non-profit group Up North Jobs.

The lawsuit alleges that financial harm was caused to Minnesota residents by the governor’s executive order to deny access and leases to a potential underground copper-nickel mining operation.  

As Alpha News reported in March 2016, “Governor Dayton sent a letter to Ian Duckworth, Chief Operating Officer of Twin Metals Minnesota, informing the organization that the state would oppose its proposal to mine on state land near Ely, Minnesota.” In the letter Dayton said he had “directed the DNR not to authorize or enter into any new state access agreements or lease agreements for mining operations on those state lands [near BWCAW].” (Alpha News)

According to the Mesabi Daily News, Dayton’s executive order resulted in the federal government denying Twin Metals’ renewal of mineral leases in December 2016.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Gerald Tyler, Tom Rukavina, Mike Forsman, Nancy McReady, Jay Mackie, Dan Waters and David Johnson, along with Up North Jobs (a nonprofit group that promotes economic development and job growth in the region) are requesting a St. Louis County judge to declare Dayton’s actions intentionally interfered with the Twin Metals project and violated state statute.  They are asking that the executive order denying access to state lands be reversed.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are also claiming:

“Dayton’s executive order directing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to deny Twin Metals access to state lands was an overreach of power that will cost state residents millions of dollars through the school trust fund, 800 jobs connected to the project and another 1,440 jobs in related industries.

The lawsuit also claims that the governor violated the Minnesota constitution, state statute and the U.S. Constitution by taking away property, which they say is owned by the citizens, without a due process hearing.” (Mesabi Daily News)

The lawsuit comes as some mining jobs have returned to the beleaguered Iron Range region.  As Alpha News reported last week, the election of President Trump has resulted in US Steel promising to bring jobs back to the American steel industry.  One of the facilities located in Northern Minnesota, KeeTac, had been shut down for months resulting in layoffs of Minnesota steelworkers, re-opened in January 2017 with production resuming this month.

The post Iron Range Residents Sue Governor Dayton appeared first on Alpha News.

WASHINGTON — Twin Metals Minnesota is front and center in the latest Trump family news.

The Wall Street Journal reports Senior Advisor and daughter of President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are renting their multi-million dollar Kalorama home from Chilean businessman Andrónico Luksic.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Luksic, who owns Twin Metals Minnesota, filed a lawsuit against “the federal government for withdrawing mineral right leases from a proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota.”

The company states on their website, “The proposals [made by the U.S. Forestry Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management] are to withdraw from hundreds of thousands of acres from mineral exploration and mining development, all without on-the-ground studies and based on unsupported fears. If enacted, the withdrawal proposal will cause the state to lose the potential for thousands of mining jobs, and billions of dollars in future investment in Northern Minnesota.”  

Iron Range residents filed suit against Governor Mark Dayton in February. As reported, Dayton’s executive order “opposed the proposed mine on state land in Ely, Minn.” The order resulted in the federal government rescinding Twin Metals’ mineral leases.  

The mining industry has taken a huge hit in recent years. As reported by Alpha News, growing concern over the environment has led to job loss in northern Minnesota. “ Minnesota lost 337 jobs in the mining and logging industry in 2016. In 2015, Al Jazeera America notes, “projects that would bring much needed jobs [to the Minnesota boundary waters] could also ruin irreplaceable drinking water.”

While the Wall Street Journal notes neither Trump or Kushner have met with Luksic or discussed the mining lawsuit, her father campaigned on bringing mining jobs back to mining communities.

Minnesota Congressman Rick Nolan (MN-08) has been supportive of Trump’s initiative to return mining jobs to the people in his district. As reported by Alpha News, Nolan has asked the federal government to overturn the mining and mineral block in his district. “I support responsible mining and the rigorous, thorough environmental review process that each and every project proposal must go through…Denying any business activity before you know what it is – and what kind of pollution abatement technology they will use or how effective it will be – lacks common sense and subverts the good, thorough, and elaborate environmental review process we have in place.”

The $2.8 billion project is currently in limbo as the lawsuit continues. President Trump has already begun to reverse mining regulations in his first 100 days.

The post Ivanka Trump’s New Home Has Interesting Minnesota Ties appeared first on Alpha News.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli-American teenager was arrested Friday in connection to a series of bomb threats at Jewish Community Centers (JCC) around the world – including two evacuations of Jewish Centers in Minnesota.

The last bomb threat was called in to the St. Paul Jewish Community Center as reported by Alpha News in late February. The first surrounded the St. Louis Park Community Center in late January. Both bomb threats were part of a series of threats occurring around the world.

The FBI released a statement Friday morning, “Early this morning in Israel, the FBI and Israeli National Police worked jointly to locate and arrest the individual suspected for threats to Jewish organizations across the United States and in other parts of the world. The FBI commends the great work of the Israeli National Police in this investigation.”

According to Avi Mayer, spokesman for The Jewish Agency – a nonprofit advancing the future of Israel based in Jerusalem, the suspect is a 19 year-old male arrested by Israeli police. Mayer states the arrest was made in conjunction with an international investigation involving the FBI.

BREAKING: Israel Police arrests 19-year-old Israeli for calling in fake bomb threats to various institutions in Israel and around the world.

— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) March 23, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions also released a statement reiterating the Department of Justice’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will not tolerate the targeting of any community in this country on the basis of their religious beliefs,” Sessions said, “I commend the FBI and Israeli National Police for their outstanding work on this case.”

A New York Police official who spoke with CNN said, “Most of the bomb threats were believed to have been made by one person using technology to disguise his voice to sound like a woman’s, while the other threats likely were made by copycats.”

In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump condemned the JCC bomb threats and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries. Trump reiterated that hate had no place in the country.

According to The New York Times, the suspect has no connections to Juan Thompson, a former journalist for The Intercept, arrested last month in connection to half a dozen bomb threat calls to Jewish community centers, schools and a Jewish history museum.

The post Authorities Arrest Suspect Linked to MN JCC Bomb Threats appeared first on Alpha News.

DULUTH, Minn- An enormous property tax challenge by Enbridge Energy may end up costing several counties in northern Minnesota millions of dollars.

Clearwater and Red Lake counties could end of having to refund more money to Enbridge than they raise in an entire year from all property taxpayers, reports the Star Tribune. Enbridge has appealed five years of taxes claiming the Minnesota Department of Revenue unfairly valued its pipeline network in the state. This overvaluation resulted in much higher property tax payments argues the company.

“It’s scary for us,” Clearwater County Auditor Allen Paulson told the Star Tribune, “If Enbridge wins the appeal, the [tab for the county] will be $7.2 million, and our levy is $6.8 million.”

Thirteen counties in Minnesota contain pipelines owned by Enbridge. The pipelines transport crude oil from North Dakota and Alberta, Canada to a terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.

The effect on counties would spill down to the local government and school district levels as well. These governmental bodies receive portions of tax collections form counties. The drain on county budgets by Enbridge’s potential tax returns would likely preclude some payment to the lower levels.

“We have always paid our fair share, and we expect tax increases,” Jennifer Smith, an Enbridge spokeswoman in Duluth told the Star Tribune, “These [appeals] are about the amount of the increase,” which ended up being 24 percent in 2012 due to a change in valuation methodology by the state.”

According to Smith, in 2012 the state changed how it weights certain financial inputs into the property tax assessment equation. Up until then Enbridge’s property taxes in Minnesota were in line with other states where the company has pipelines, including Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Michigan. Enbridge has appealed the taxes it has paid from 2012 through 2016

Minnesota Tax Court filings show the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s 2015 evaluation of the pipeline system’s value was $7.13 billion. Enbridge’s evaluation totalled only $4.25 billion according to the Star Tribune.

Red Lake County has a population of just over 4,000 people. Last year it had a total levy of $2.6 million. If Enbridge wins their case, the county could owe them $3.5 million.

The post Enbridge Tax Lawsuit Could Exceed Entire Budget of Minnesota Counties appeared first on Alpha News.

MOORHEAD, Minn. — As lawmakers in Washington kick-off their Easter break, Rep. Collin Peterson hosted a town hall on healthcare in Moorhead, according to Kim Hyatt of Inforum.

Peterson asked the crowd if they had a magic solution saying, “I would love to hear it. We need to do something to help these people who are hurting.”

“We need to get to a point where we have buy-in from both parties…How we get there, I’m not sure I have the answer to that,” he told supporters

Peterson, who won re-election by five points in November, is already facing re-election pressure just four months into his 13th term in Congress.

He also spoke of rural farmers who could no longer afford their healthcare according to MPR.

“Ordinary people that make $50,000 a year cannot be paying $1,500 a month,” Peterson said. “Before they were paying $500 maybe. That was still tough. It wasn’t easy, but they could do it.”

Alpha News reported in March on a farmer from Northern Minnesota, invited by Senate Republicans to explain how tax relief could help farmers.

“Two years ago, young farmers out there had to decide whether to pay for health care or pay the taxes to keep the farm,” Jerry Nordick of Breckenridge, MN said, “That’s how serious this is.”

Peterson, who acknowledged that he receives insurance through Medicare, said, “it works.”

He also said that the United States already has universal healthcare. According to Inforum, Peterson spoke of a 1976 law passed that made it impossible for emergency rooms to turn people away who need medical attention, despite their insurance status.

MPR reports, Peterson, who opposed both the American Health Care Act (AHCA) pushed by Republicans in 2017 and the Affordable Care Act pushed by former President Barack Obama seven years ago, welcomes the idea of Minnesota going back to its original health care system.

The post Peterson Talks Healthcare During Easter Break appeared first on Alpha News.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Construction season has officially arrived in Minnesota. On Thursday morning, MnDOT Transportation Commissioner Charlie Zelle announced a $1 billion road and bridges project for 2017.

Zelle announced a total of 211 projects will take place around the state to improve infrastructure.

“While this year’s program is comparable in dollar value to last year’s, we are seeing fewer projects,” Zelle said, “In the coming years, we will also see the funding that is available to invest will decrease because of inflation and flattening revenue streams.”

Some major projects highlighted include completing the St. Croix River Crossing between Stillwater, MN, and St. Joseph, WI. According to MnDOT, the total cost is of the project more than $20 million between fiscal years 2017-18.

Construction on I-94 between Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center will cost more than $43 million as workers resurface and repair concrete and sidewalks. They will also repair 53 bridges amongst other smaller projects in FY 17-18.

MnDOT expects to spend $29 million in 2017 to resurface and repair I-94 between St. Paul and Maplewood.

Landscaping along highway 100 between 36th street and Cedar Lake Rd is expected to cost the state $250,000 in 2018, or approximately $10,417 per 1/10 of a mile.

Construction on 169 is expected to cost approximately $5.5 million dollars. Work started in January and is expected to continue through October.

Crews will also be constructing the largest bridge in Minnesota while relocating highway 53 near Virginia, MN, a project that is expected to cost $20 million in 2017.

“The transportation system is a key to Minnesota’s economic success,” Zelle said. “With more than half of our state roads older than 50 years, and 40 percent of our bridges more than 40 years old, the need is outpacing available resources. It’s important that legislators work together to find a long-term, sustainable funding solution this year so the transportation system does not continue to degrade.”

MnDOT is asking drivers to be cautious over the summer as construction projects ramp up. Speeding fines are doubled in work zones.

MnDOT also announced more than $47 million in projects dealing with airports, transit, ports, and rails for 2017.

The post $1 Billion Construction Season Underway in MN appeared first on Alpha News.

VIRGINIA, MINN – In the wake of recent actions by the Trump Administration, a group of parents and students voluntarily ended their lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and a Minnesota school district over a transgender student sharing locker rooms.

According to a press release from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the families who filed the suit, “positive actions that the two federal agencies and the district have taken to respect the privacy, safety, and dignity of all students in intimate changing areas, such as locker rooms,” prompted the withdrawal.

In the court document filed on Thursday, the group said it was voluntarily dismissing the suit without prejudice.

Alpha News reported last October, a Virginia MN transgender high school student’s use of the girls locker room triggered the lawsuit which made the Minnesota town the focus of a national debate over transgender rights.

The group of parents, called “Privacy Matters,” filed the lawsuit in September arguing that allowing transgender students into facilities puts the other students at risk when a biological male student uses a locker room alongside their biological female students. Ten families in the school district comprised “Privacy Matters.”

“No student should be forced to use private facilities at school, like locker rooms and restrooms with students of the opposite sex,” said the lawsuit.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the transgender student stating a student should be allowed to use restrooms that are in line with their gender identity and have a right “to access facilities consistent with her gender identity on a nondiscriminatory basis.”

In February, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos revoked federal guidelines over the rights of transgender students to use public school restrooms that match their gender identity. As Alpha News reported, Minnesota Senator Al Franken joined five other senator’s expressing outrage over DeVos’ decision.

“By revoking the transgender guidance, you have put the safety and well-being of transgender students at risk,” the senators wrote to DeVos.

In 2016, The Obama administration issued a letter to schools providing guidelines on Title IX protections to transgender and gender nonconforming students. Title IX is the federal law which bans sex discrimination in education, but questions remained if the law’s protections include a person’s gender identity. DeVos’ department announced it was rescinding that letter of guidance to schools in February because it violated federal anti-discrimination laws, reported the Washington Post.

According to the press release from ADF, various actions by Minnesota’s Virginia Public Schools to protect and accommodate student privacy prompted the families, through their ADF attorneys, to file a voluntary dismissal with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota that leaves open the option to refile the case if the need ever arises again.

ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb said in a statement, “School policies should respect the bodily privacy rights and safety of every student. By rejecting the prior administration’s directive that imposed a meaning on Title IX that it simply doesn’t have, the federal government has again recognized that school officials shouldn’t be forced to intermingle he sexes in private facilities like locker rooms. For that reason, and because the school has taken steps to protect our clients’ privacy, we are voluntarily ending the lawsuit. We will, of course, monitor the situation to ensure that the rights of these young students will continue to be respected.”

The post Minnesota Parents Withdraw Lawsuit Over Transgender Student appeared first on Alpha News.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — During what many Christians and Jews refer to as Holy Week, members of the faithful gathered outside Minnesota’s Planned Parenthood Headquarters in St. Paul to voice their displeasure with the organization’s support of abortion.

The event, which has been held by pro-life advocates for several years, was peaceful. Clergy members came to speak out against abortion leading the attendees in prayer and singing hymns like “Amazing Grace.”

Several pro-life attendees told Alpha News the event was held on Good Friday to acknowledge the grace and forgiveness of Christ and to share their opposition to the death of children.

Meanwhile, pro-choice advocates held a counter-rally just feet away from the pro-life event. Many held signs, provided by Planned Parenthood, showing their support for the organization. Many attendees wore pussy hats and pink clothes. Pro-choice organizers even hired a jazz band that played throughout the event, drowning out the singing of hymns by pro-life supporters and prayers offered by Christian clergy.

Some attendees of the pro-Planned Parenthood rally told Alpha News they were in attendance to support the organization. One woman said she woke up after seeing a picture of President Donald Trump with only men surrounding him signing legislation that would affect women. She said you’d never see a woman president surrounded by other women. When asked about an all-male Supreme Court ruling for abortion rights in Roe v. Wade, she just kept saying, “it goes so far back.”

Planned Parenthood Minnesota was well prepared for the event, making sure volunteers were set up to direct those attempting to use Planned Parenthood services and those looking to support the non-profit.

The organization hired a security team that appeared to work in tandem with St. Paul police. Two mounted St. Paul police officers sat on the perimeter of the event, while the security team lined the fenced-in areas. One member of the security team told Alpha News that his company was contracted by Planned Parenthood and was just trying to ensure everyone was safe.

Advocates were separated by a fenced barricaded with a “no-go zone” in the middle. Security members kept everyone, including members of the press, out of the no-go area.

Even as the rain began to pour, advocates from both sides marched in circles within their confined areas. Pro-choice supporters held up their signs showing it to the other side as they marched along the barrier. Pro-lifers carried around a cross, similar in fashion to the “Via Dolorosa” – where Christians in Old Jerusalem carry a wooden cross to symbolize the path Christ took to the cross.

One man held a large crucifix just behind his own barrier, while one young man and a young woman kneeled to the ground saying the Rosary.

The event went on without disruption and remained peaceful. The rally was held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The post Opposing Sides Rally on Good Friday appeared first on Alpha News.

MINNEAPOLIS — With six days remaining before delegates congregate in St. Cloud to choose the Minnesota Republican Party’s next Chairman or Chairwoman, a memo sent last week to members of the State Central nominations committee and select others made its way around various MNGOP circles.

Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey sent the 32-page memo on April 21, detailing faults with his Deputy Chair Chris Fields.

The 2-page memo and the 30-pages of attachments that follow show a side of Fields many party insiders have already seen.

“Given the nature, extent, and duration, these facts have a direct applicability to the role of Party Chair, and are presented to the Nominations Committee for your consideration,” Downey writes.

Fields’ concentration is unaffected by the memo.

“I’m focused on talking to delegates. Everything has been known and they [delegates] are happy with me,” Fields told Alpha News.

Downey cited several instances where Fields’ actions made it into the press. Including his comments against U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis before the CD2 endorsing convention, and a social media rant documented by WCCO and City Pages about Fields’ comments about the death of Robin Williams. He also notes Fields’ comments at the 2016 MNGOP state convention, “We may hate each other, but let’s hate them more,” which Downey described as “contradicting to the unifying message of Donald Trump’s surrogate, Congressman Kevin Cramer, ND, and no surprise, his was the only quote from a Party Officer reported by the press after the convention.”

Downey included an email sent by Fields in recent weeks asking the outgoing Chair to not get involved in the current Chair’s race. Fields shared a quote by Gen. Mattis by email which reads,  “I come in peace, I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes; If you f— with me, I’ll kill you all.” Fields goes on to state, “I am not threatening acts of violence,” before “pleading” with Downey and MNGOP Treasurer Bron Scherer to not get involved in the chair race, asking them to, “Try having confidence in other people even if you don’t agree with them.”

“No one is perfect. Everyone gets to have a voice,” Fields told Alpha News, “That’s what I like about our country, we get to participate. I won’t tell people how to participate.”

Fields notes Downey has had his bad days in the press as well, noting the forced removal of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Michelle MacDonald from the MNGOP State Fair booth and not getting Trump on the ballot, both of which, Fields states, cost the party in legal fees.

The brooding discontentment and overall tumultuous relationship between chair and deputy chair has been an underlying topic within Republican circles since Fields and Downey were paired together in 2014. Downey’s memo references some of the underlying tension stating, “other issues which could be construed as a difference of opinion and not objective fact have not been included.”

“I would have preferred if Keith [Downey] had just endorsed [David] Hann or [Rick] Rice,” Fields told Alpha News, “At least we would have known what side he was on. It would have been more positive that way.”

Downey also takes aim at Fields record at fundraising, writing in one email, “$35,000 a year is spent on a largely unproductive effort,” in reference to Field’s performance. Some on social media note fundraising is the responsibility of the Chair, not Deputy Chair. However, Fields contests the legitimacy of these statements.

“I have generated $160,000 for this party,” Fields told Alpha News, “In Duluth [2016 State Convention], I showed I raised $96,000 in the Deputy Chair’s report, and that was accepted. Since then I’ve brought in $65,000.”

Downey’s memo came to light on Saturday when Crystal City Councilman, Jeff Kolb, was a guest on Brad Carlson’s show on Northern Alliance Radio.  

While on the show Kolb discusses Downey’s attempts to remove the salary position from the Deputy Chair role. A statement Downey reiterates in one email attached to the memo where he wrote, “Our debt could literally be $100,000 lower right now if my recommendation 3 years ago to not compensate our Deputy Chair had been adopted.”

But Fields claims he holds no ill will towards the outgoing chair.

“I understand he [Downey] wishes to run for Governor. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” Fields said, “If I’m the chair and he wins the endorsement, he can know that I will do everything I can to push him across the finish line.”

Requests for comment by Downey and the Republican Party of Minnesota were not returned in time for publication.

The post Turmoil Erupts in MNGOP Chair Race Days Before Election appeared first on Alpha News.

MINNEAPOLIS – Mumps has hit six students at the University of Minnesota according to a campus wide email sent out Friday.

This comes at the same time as an outbreak of measles hit Minneapolis’ Somali community, which was linked to the absence of vaccination for the disease amongst Somali children. Both measles and mumps have been considered largely eradicated within the United States, and both are vaccinated against by using the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Dr. Gary Christenson, Chief Medical Officer at Boynton Health clinic, the primary health clinic at UMN, told Alpha News there was likely no connection between the outbreaks.

“The demographics between the two cases simply don’t line up,” Christenson said, “For one, the victims of the measles outbreak in the Somali community are all young children who have not been vaccinated; while five of the six people at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have been confirmed vaccinated, and all are experiencing much milder symptoms of the virus, indicating that all of them are probably vaccinated.” 

Furthermore, UMN has a vaccination requirement for students which includes both doses of the MMR vaccine.

Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann explained the way in which the vaccine works, and how the mumps virus could occur in a largely immunized population.

“The vaccine is about 88 percent effective for persons who have had two doses,” Ehresmann said. “So there are bound to be ‘break-through’ cases in vaccinated persons. And there may be some waning of vaccine-induced immunity for some individuals at the University.”

This means that while the vaccine works most of the time, vaccinated people can potentially still contract the mumps virus. The outbreak on campus is by no means normal however.

“I’ve been at Boynton Health for 20 years and we have not had this situation before,” Christenson told CBS News.

Outbreaks of mumps happen most frequently at college campuses when they do occur. Recently, outbreaks have occurred at University of Albany, Tufts University, and the University of Iowa.

Looking more closely at these outbreaks around the country, the Texas Department of Health Services released a statement on April 12, which connected 13 cases of mumps around the country to people who visited the resort town of South Padre Island between March 8 and March 22.

Spring break at the University of Minnesota goes from March 8 to March 17, and the first case of mumps broke out around late March to early April according to Christenson. That being said, Christenson believes that more research would have to been done in order to make a definitive connection between spring break trips and the mumps cases at UMN.

Transmission of mumps occurs mostly through coughing and sneezing, or the sharing of items such as cups or eating utensils. Symptoms include; fever, headache, tiredness, and swollen and tender salivary glands. Students and faculty have been cautioned if they do come down with such symptoms to “please stay home, isolate yourself from others, and make an appointment at Boynton Health or another clinic for an exam and testing. Staff and faculty with symptoms should contact their primary clinic.”

The post Mumps Breaks Out at the University of Minnesota appeared first on Alpha News.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in all 50 states, but Minnesota, and some other states, still allow parents to transport their children elsewhere in the world to have the controversial procedure done.

State law defines female genital mutilation as when someone “knowingly circumcises, excises, or infibulates, in whole or in part, the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris.” A CDC report notes the practice occurs in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These countries are known to have high muslim populations. Equality Now states that the act is performed to “control women’s sexuality” and “to make a girl more acceptable in the community and increases her eligibility for marriage.”

According to a criminal complaint filed with the US District Court, Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, 44, of Detroit, was charged by the Justice Department last week for performing an female genital mutilation procedure on two young girls from Minnesota between the ages of 6-8 years-old.

Two more people were arrested on Friday with conspiracy to commit female genital mutilation in Detroit. The Justice Department arrested Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife, Faida Attar, 50, in connection to an underground female genital mutilation operation located at a local Detroit hospital ran by Nagarwala.

On April 14, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, in conjunction with the Anoka County Attorney filed child protective orders for the two young girls in question according to WCCO.

The state of Minnesota makes it a crime for doctors to perform female genital mutilation procedure for anyone, with the exception of medical purposes related to labor or birth.  

However, according to Minnesota Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), parents are not held accountable.

“[The] Minnesota statute is silent on parental participation,” Franson told Alpha News.

State statute 609.2245, which criminalizes the act of performing female genital mutilation, briefly touches on parental consent stating, “consent to the procedure by a minor on whom it is performed or by the minor’s parent is not a defense to a violation of this subdivision.” The law, however, does not criminalize the parent(s) for their consent or the act of forcing their child to participate in female genital mutilation procedures.

Even more interesting, Minnesota is one of many states throughout the country that does not criminalize what is commonly referred to as “vacation cutting,” or the act of transporting girls out of the United States for female genital mutilation procedures.

While it is a federal crime to perform female genital mutilation procedures on minors, or move them out of the country for purposes of female genital mutilation procedures, many states have not adopted the criminalization of vacation cutting.

Minnesota is one of the few states in the country that has a high population of women at risk for female genital mutilation procedures. Minnesota has one of the largest Somali populations in the country. According to Fox News, Minnesota has at least 40,000 people of Somali descent, though the number is thought to be higher.

A 2012 report from the CDC indicates that 513,000 women are at risk to undergo female genital mutilation procedures. That number could have grown significantly within the last five years with population growth in the community. The report notes that 90 percent of young women in Somalia between the ages of 15-19 are subjected to the female genital mutilation procedure.

Preliminary data from 2013 shows Minnesota having the third largest at-risk population in the country. The Population Reference Bureau shows Minnesota having more than 44,000 women who are potentially at risk of undergoing the procedure, with more than 17,000 girls under the age of 18.

Requests by Alpha News to the CDC in Atlanta and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for specific data on Minnesota data turned up empty. The CDC referred Alpha News to MDH stating, “At CDC, we don’t collect state-specific data on this topic [sic].” MDH told Alpha News that they did not have state-specific data on female genital mutilation.  

While it is still unknown how the Minnesota legislature will proceed, Franson made one thing clear, “I think the mom needs to be held accountable,” she said.

The post Minnesota Law Unclear on Criminalization of Female Genital Mutilation appeared first on Alpha News.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) says the current measles epidemic has climbed to 32 confirmed cases.

The latest number measles cases surpasses the last measles outbreak in Minnesota in 2011 with 26 confirmed cases. In just two weeks, from April 14 to April 28th, the number of cases in this outbreak quadrupled from 8 to 32.

According to the MDH, 30 of the 32 cases are in Hennepin County, with one case confirmed in Stearns County and now one case has been confirmed in Ramsey County. The cases of the outbreak range from zero to five years in age. Of all the cases, 31 are confirmed to be unvaccinated, while only one of the cases had 1 MMR vaccination.

The MDH website said 28 of the confirmed cases involve Somali Minnesotans.

MDH recommends that all Somali Minnesotan children statewide who have already received their first dose of MMR vaccine get their second dose now.

“We expect to see more cases,” MDH Communications Specialist Doug Schultz told Alpha News earlier this week, “How many more it is hard to say.  There is a long incubation period for measles. People can be infectious, but not know it.”

According to MDH Infectious Disease Director, Kris Ehresmann, some of the children involved in this epidemic have been hospitalized.

The MDH warns that measles is a serious disease that can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, even death and can spread easily among unvaccinated people. The MDH website stresses the importance of its vaccine recommendations, which protect children and adults during outbreaks. They recommend all Minnesota children 12 months and older who have not received a measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine should get it now. The MDH also recommends that adults who have never received the MMR vaccine and have never had measles should get vaccinated immediately.

Measles symptoms include a high fever, runny nose, cough, and watery eyes, followed by a rash that starts from the head and spreads to the rest of the body. It is highly contagious and can be spread by coughing, sneezing, or being in the same place with someone who has the disease.

Somali activists have been posting videos on Facebook urging families to get their children vaccinated.

Abdirizak Bihi, an activist for the Somali community told WCCO, “Next few weeks, few days, our Imams, our healthcare providers will be assembling quick meetings to really get the word out and urge the community to get the vaccinations.”

“The number of childcare facilities involved in the outbreak is expanding,” Schultz told Alpha News.  Initially, the outbreak involved two daycare centers and is now up to five, according to Schultz. The daycare centers serve primarily Somali children.

In addition to the measles epidemic, the University of Minnesota sent out an email last week confirming six cases of mumps on campus.  Dr. Gary Christenson, Chief Medical Officer at Boynton Health clinic, the primary health clinic at UMN, told Alpha News there was likely no connection between the outbreaks.

Earlier this year, Alpha News reported St. Louis Park High School and Eden Prairie’s Central Middle School had cases of active tuberculosis (TB), another disease that is highly contagious and extremely rare in the United States. In October 2016, Alpha News reported that the number of active TB infections in refugees living in Minnesota between 2010 and 2014 is ten times higher than any other state.

The post UPDATE: MN Measles Epidemic Keeps Climbing – 32 Confirmed Cases appeared first on Alpha News.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that they have arrested more people in the last three months under President Trump, than in the last two years under President Obama.

Reports coming out of ICE show that the St. Paul office, which serves Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, and Nebraska, has arrested more than 620 illegal immigrants in 2017. This is already an 80 percent increase over the same period of time in 2016.

While ICE has greatly increased arrests in the amount of illegal immigrants without criminal backgrounds, Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman for the St. Paul ICE office said in an interview with the Star Tribune that, “Being in the country illegally is a crime….we don’t target people who don’t have criminal records, but we can’t ignore them either.”

Many of these changes have been the result of a shift in priorities. The Obama administration’s instructions to immigration enforcement to focus only on illegal immigrants with felonies or multiple misdemeanor convictions has largely been overturned.

The significant increase in the use of detainers is another major policy change within ICE. Detainers are requests that ICE makes to local authorities to hold inmates until ICE agents can collect them. While 130 detainers were issued during the time period of January 20, 2016 to March 13, 2016, 460 detainers have been issued in the same time frame in 2017.

In addition to these changes in the operation of ICE, the Trump administration has created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE.) VOICE will assist victims of crimes committed by criminal aliens. Services provided by VOICE include:

• Local contacts to help with unique victim requests;
• Access to social service professionals able to refer victims to resources and service providers;
• Assistance signing-up to receive automated custody status information; and
• Making additional criminal or immigration history available about an illegal alien to victims or their families.

Reports from ICE offices around the country would indicate that the arrest numbers coming out of the St. Paul office mirror national trends, and perhaps even exceed them.

However, one statistic that has not significantly increased either nationally or out of the St. Paul field office is the number of deportations. These numbers have remained relatively stagnant, which at least in Minnesota is accounted for by a shorthanded immigration court. Currently, there are over 5,300 cases waiting to be heard by the Twin Cities immigration court. This situation is expected to be somewhat relieved by a new judge arriving in June, however.

As Virgil Wiebe, a University of St. Thomas immigration law professor told the Star Tribune “This is a significant ramping back up over last year. There’s definitely a shift.”

The post Illegal Immigration Arrest Increase in the Short-term under Trump appeared first on Alpha News.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Jennifer Carnahan became the first female, and first minority, chair of a major political party in Minnesota as hundreds of delegates congregated in St. Cloud for the Minnesota Republican Party’s 2017 State Central Convention.

Delegates, lawmakers, activists, and hopeful candidates arrived late Friday and early Saturday morning to listen to yearly party officer reports and most importantly, vote for new party leadership.

As reported by Alpha News, the State Party Chair’s race took a nasty turn when outgoing Chair Keith Downey sent a 32-page memo detailing what he believed to be job failures of Deputy Chair Chris Fields, who was running for State Party Chair.

House Speaker Kurt Daudt gave a rousing speech encouraging attendees to take the fighting off the floor and to strap on sumo wrestling suits. Daudt told delegates that they could challenge him if they choose.

Daudt spoke about the happenings in St. Paul, telling delegates, “Republicans will give you your money back.” The Speaker also spoke about budget issues between Governor Mark Dayton and Republican leadership this cycle.

“We have a 1.65 billion surplus, don’t ever let the Governor take credit for that,” Daudt said. “Dayton would have us in a $3 billion deficit.”

Candidates for MNGOP Chair, Fields, Carnahan, former State Sen. David Hann and Committeeman for Republican National Committee Rick Rice had seven minutes to convince delegates to vote for them.

Rice was eliminated during the first round. “Thank you for supporting me as your RNC Committeeman,” Rice told the crowd in his concession speech.

Hann was eliminated during the third round. Hann, who received a standing ovation, told delegates that he hoped to continue working in the party, but did not specify what role he wanted to take.

In the fourth round, Carnahan won the state party chair’s race, beating Fields by more than 15 points.

In a press conference immediately after her win, Carnahan expressed her excitement to tackle the job of Chair. “All districts are important,” Carnahan said when asked about the 2017 mayoral races in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

In the first round of the deputy chair’s race, David Pascoe, former Chair of CD5, lead the vote totals and no one was eliminated by convention rules. However, Andy Aplikowski conceded before the second round.

Pascoe won the Deputy Chair’s race with 62 percent against Jennifer DeJournett.

“I’m honored to be elected by the delegates,” Pascoe said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, I’m excited to get into the office and start working for the activists and turning Minnesota red in 2018.”

MNGOP Secretary Barb Sutter was re-elected. She ran unopposed.

Republicans also added the Somali Republican American Affiliate. One delegate spoke out against the measure stating, “this would be the approval of Islamic/Sharia affiliate.” A majority of delegates loudly opposed the delegate making the motion, and gave Faisal Deri, a Somali delegate, a standing ovation for his speech on being a Republican and an American.

The transition of Chair and Deputy Chair roles with happen on Monday May 1, 2017.

Read the Alpha News profile on Jennifer Carnahan HERE.

The post MNGOP Elect New Leadership appeared first on Alpha News.

WASHINGTON – The timber industry in the Midwest is quite supportive of the Trump administration’s plans to implement a tariff averaging 20 percent on certain types of lumber imported from Canada.

The industry in both Minnesota and Wisconsin has struggled since 2008 when the housing crash sharply decreased demand for lumber, reports the Pioneer Press.

Reviving a dispute dating back to the 1980s, the Trump administrations said that the Canadian federal and provincial governments charge below market rates for harvesting timber on public lands. This is tantamount to a direct subsidy that puts U.S. lumber producers at a disadvantage.

The Pioneer Press reports that Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said that the tariffs will hurt people in both countries, including American homebuyers who will pay more for wood. Canada denies that its lumber trade practices are unfair.

Previously the United States and Canada had an agreement limiting the amount of lumber that could be imported from Canada. That agreement expired in 2015, resulting in an unfettered flow of wood into the United States. Regional industry organizations are welcoming the tariffs as a result.

“It’s about time. This will be good for Minnesota and the timber industry. It’s been frustrating to the timber industry for years to see full rail cars heading south from Canada,” Scott Dane, executive director of the Gilbert-based Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota, told the Pioneer Press.

Dane told the Pioneer Press that Minnesota has seen seven major mills close up shop since the 2008 housing collapse. Now less than 1,500 people work directly in the logging industry, down 20 to 30 percent.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday that the tariffs will range from three percent to 24 percent depending on the manufacturer, reports the Pioneer Press. With the U.S. importing an estimated $5.66 billion worth of softwood lumber from Canada, the tariffs will come to over $1 billion.

The post Timber Tariffs Welcomed by Midwest Loggers appeared first on Alpha News.

BEMIDJI, Minn. – A driver ran a stop sign and hit a school bus filled with elementary students, sending the bus into a ditch where it rested on its side.

One student was airlifted and five others left the scene in ambulances, reports The Bemidji Pioneer.

Sanford Bemidji Medical Center told The Bemidji Pioneer that a hotline has been set up for parents to call for information. The number is (218) 333-6040. All students involved in the crash will be transported to the center for evaluation regardless of the severity of their injuries. Once cleared they will be transported to their schools.

The car was heading east on South Movil Lake Road, when it ran the stop sign and hit the bus which was heading south on Irvine Avenue Northwest. The driver of the car sustained serious injuries.

The Bemidji Pioneer reports that the bus in question was Bemidji School District Bus No. 25. School district staff said the bus was headed for Northern Elementary. Students on board were mostly from Red Lake Nation.

First responders on the scene used hatches and the rear entrance to remove students from the bus, reports The Bemidji Pioneer. While some students required more serious medical attention, most of the students sustained only minor injuries.

The post Students Injured in Bemidji Area School Bus Crash appeared first on Alpha News.

BENSON, Minn. – A power plant that is the region’s largest employer and taxpayer may soon shut down in an Xcel Energy move they say will lower their customers’ rates.

The West Central Tribune reports that Xcel Energy is negotiating a purchase of the Benson Power facility. Xcel is hoping to close the 55-megawatt biomass plant, possibly as early as the summer of 2018.

Closing the plant would result in 45 workers losing their jobs directly. Benson City Manager Rob Wolfington estimates that another 50 jobs would be lost from area trucking companies that transport the biomass, the plant burns, reports the West Central Tribune.

The plant primarily burns turkey litter and wood pulp. The litter is provided by Jennie-O Turkey Store, Lango Farms, and a number of smaller independent turkey producers. Wood pulp comes to the plant from logging in northern Minnesota by way of the Laurentian Energy Authority.

In addition to the jobs loss, the tax revenues paid by the plant itself will also hit Benson and the surrounding communities hard. Benson’s entire property tax levy last year was $1.6 million, the plant paid $402,000 of that according to the West Central Tribune.

Xcel’s use of the plant started as a way to fulfill a legislative mandate to produce green energy. The mandate came in 1994 in regarding Xcel’s continuing storage of nuclear waste at its Prairie Island plant, reports MPR. Xcel says biomass fuel now costs up to 10 times more than new wind power does.

“It’s good policy to do away with the biomass mandate, but we can’t let good people be hurt by good policy,” Sen. Andrew Lang (R-Olivia) told the West Central Tribune.

Lang’s state goal is to look out for the people affected by the closing. However, he told the West Central Tribune that the savings Xcel could pass on to its customers presents a compelling case for the Benson plant’s closure.

Xcel claims that the closure of the plant will save its customers between $667 million and $775 million over the remaining 11 years of its contract with Benson power. The company does intend to honor all contracts it has with its vendors, in order to minimize the harm done by the plant’s closure.

“We recognize a plant closure impacts employees, suppliers and the community and we’re committed to working with them through this transition,” Xcel said in a statement.

Xcel will be providing up to $20 million in incentives in an attempt to bring new industries to Benson to make up for the loss of jobs and tax revenue, reports MPR. This is part of an agreement the city of Benson approved on Monday.

The post Benson Power Facility Could Shut Down in 2018 appeared first on Alpha News.

FOREST LAKE, Minn. – One week after voting to disband the city’s police department, the Forest Lake City Council voted 4-1 to approve a new law enforcement contract to the cheers of the assembled crowd.

Washington County withdrew their offer for Forest Lake to contract law enforcement through the county. As a result, the city council unanimously voted to reject the contract process, to the applause of the crowd. The city council then immediately proceeded to discussion, and a vote on the two contracts for patrol officers and separately for sergeants.

“There’s still issues with this contract, it does not establish local control,” City Council Member Mike Freer said, “There are still serious issues that I have with the agreement and unfortunately we are not able to discuss it at this point. So just know that I’m voting against it because it does not give the chief the local control he needs to run the position.”

Council Member Ed Eigner and Forest Lake Mayor Ben Winnick were the two members to change their votes and decisively approve the new contract by a 4-1 majority.

“Is everybody planning on staying through the rest of the meeting?” Winnick asked the crowd after applause died down. The question was met with laughter.

“You can learn about the pickleball court!” said Council Member Sam Husnik.

The contract was agreed to Wednesday following a walkout by about 1,300 Forest Lake students, and community petitions in support of the Forest Lake Police Department. One petition calling for Winnick to resign eclipsed 2,500 signatures.

The police department is now under contract through 2019. The deal includes a two percent pay increase in 2017 and 2018, and a three percent increase in 2019. Health care benefits for current and retired law enforcement officers are also preserved under the deal.

Video of the city council meeting is available on Forest Lake’s website.

The post Forest Lake Approves New Police Contract appeared first on Alpha News.

BRAINERD, Minn – A student comment published in the 2016-2017 Brainerd High School school yearbook has caused an uproar on social media.

The page titled, “Trump 2k17-2k20? How do you feel about him?” displays comments made by students regarding their feelings about President Donald Trump.  One student is quoted saying, “I would like to behead him. I do not like him.”  

Photos of the yearbook page were posted on Facebook, generating outraged comments by community members and others.  

Parents of current and former Brainerd High School students went to the school today to question the administration’s decision to allow the comments in the yearbook.  Stephanie Tougas, Mary Tuomi and Bobbi Thiesse told Alpha News that the issue was not a political one, “They allowed it (the statements) to happen.  They need to own their actions – that’s what we teach our kids, the ‘adults’ need to do the same.”

On Friday afternoon, Brainerd School District ISD 181 released a statement addressing the issue on the school website (http://isd181.org/#article2). In the statement, the district said the administration was unaware of the statements and that it does not support or endorse them.  It goes on to say the district is investigating the incident and will be “reviewing the process to ensure that this type of unacceptable situation does not occur in the future.”

According to the ISD 181 District Policy 512-IIA, “Expressions and representations made by students in school-sponsored publications and activities are not expressions of official school district policy.  Faculty advisors shall supervise student writers to ensure compliance with the law and school district policies.”  Yearbooks are included as “official school publications.”  

The yearbook is compiled by BHS students who are supervised by Yearbook Advisor and Art teacher, Joe Wagner. Wagner has received messages from angry people on his Facebook page, with many expressing disgust over him allowing the statements to be published. 

A graph on the controversial yearbook page shows more students with a negative view of Trump than a positive one.  The poll does not show the numbers of students questioned for their views, and contradicts the results of the BHS mock election held last fall.  As the Brainerd Dispatch reported, BHS students overwhelmingly voted for Trump – 688 to Hillary Clinton’s 397 votes.  Crow Wing County, where BHS is located, voted for Trump by almost two to one: Trump won Crow Wing County with more than 62% of the vote, beating Clinton by more than 11,000 votes, 22,287 to 10,982.  

Last week, a North Carolina high school recalled their yearbook after school officials saw a senior student’s quote that read “Build the Wall”.  Richmond Early College High School’s yearbooks were recalled because some students on social media considered the quote to be racist and hurtful to classmates, reported the Associated Press. Since it was too late to reprint the yearbook, students were given refunds.  No students were disciplined over this incident.

If you have tips about this story, please send them to contactus@alphanewsmn.com.

The post Minnesota Student Threatens Trump in High School Yearbook appeared first on Alpha News.

WASHINGTON- U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-MN 8) reached out to the Trump administration last week to ask for the removal of environmental protections within his Congressional district.

The restrictions in question relate to copper mines in Northeastern Minnesota and came at the end of the Obama administration, which found that the area’s ecological attributes warranted special protection by the federal government. This special protection spread across 234,000 acres that surround the Boundary Waters.

While iron mining has been around for decades in Northern Minnesota, the type of mine which the company hopes to build, a sulfide ore-mine, has never been built in that part of Minnesota.

Environmental activists are concerned about the tendency of sulfide mines to leach toxic metals, and how this may affect local streams. By placing the restrictions, no company will be able to go through the usual review process in order to receive the rights to operate a mine in the area, a process which takes environmental and ecological concerns seriously within its determination.

The company hoping to initiate building of the mine, Twin Metals Minnesota, is a subsidiary of a Chilean mining company, which holds two expired mineral leases to the area. The leases were originally reviewed for renewal in 2012. However, this process was largely stalled following strong condemnation from Gov. Mark Dayton and the above mentioned environmental restrictions.

Following Obama’s placement of these restrictions, Twin Metals sent out a statement of disapproval, stating, “If allowed to stand, [these restrictions] will have a devastating impact on the future economy of the Iron Range and all of Minnesota, eliminating the promise of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions of dollars in investment in the region.”  The statement went on to say, “this unprecedented decision is contrary to the overwhelming majority of local and regional citizens and communities who support mining and believe mining can be done responsibly in this region.”

Nolan certainly seems to agree with this sentiment, making a statement to Star Tribune in which he said, “As long as the world needs iron ore and precious metals for a whole wide range of purposes … we need to be open to both the exploration to see what we have and the consideration of projects once they’ve been proposed.”

Many on the left seem keen to criticize Nolan over his lack of support for the environmental justice movement. A local paper, the Ely Timberjay, recently posted an opinion piece which called out Nolan, stating, “This latest incident is just more evidence of a troubling development with our Eighth District congressman. On this issue, and others affecting the environment, Rep. Nolan has lost perspective and is risking a precious national resource in the process.”

Nolan was one of the legislators who helped pass the protections for the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. He has stated numerous times that he does not support mining within these protected areas.

The post DFLer Asks Trump to Remove Obama Era Environmental Rules appeared first on Alpha News.