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MN Senate passes gender-affirming care, abortion protections
The bills passed the Democratic-controlled House earlier this session, and Gov. Tim Walz has vowed to sign them into law.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Democratic-led Minnesota Senate followed their counterparts in the House by passing bills Friday to make Minnesota a refuge for youth seeking gender-affirming care, out-of-state abortion patients and providers seeking protection, and to ban so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.
All three bills passed the Democratic-controlled House earlier this session. While Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, bill sponsors were confident heading into the emotional debate. First up was the conversion therapy ban, which passed 36-27 with two Republicans voting “yes.” The abortion refuge bill passed 34-29 on a party-line vote, and the trans refuge bill won similar approval 34-30.
The conversion therapy ban and trans refuge bills now go straight to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. Meanwhile, the bill expanding abortion rights was headed back to the House for its agreement with adding pharmacists to the list of shielded medical providers.
“The through-thread in all of these, of course, is people should be free,” Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble, of Minneapolis, author of the conversion therapy ban, said at a news conference ahead of the debate.
“People should have the liberties that are guaranteed in our constitution,” Dibble said. “People should have the right to self-determination, and in Minnesota, people should be free from the laws of other states that would impact and negatively affect all of those basic American rights and freedoms.”
Democratic Sen. Kelly Morrison, of Deephaven, the author of the abortion bill, said the three pieces of legislation collectively “say to Minnesotans that you are safe here in Minnesota, and to people who are forced to flee their home states because they are not safe there, we say, ‘Welcome and you are safe here in Minnesota.’”
Walz has already signed an executive order to protect young people and their families who come to Minnesota for health care from states where it’s illegal to seek gender-affirming care. But the bill will etch those protections into law. Similarly, the conversion therapy ban builds on another Walz executive order.
The abortion bill is designed to protect people who come to Minnesota for abortions from legal repercussions in states where abortion is banned or sharply restricted, such as lawsuits, subpoenas and extradition. Minnesota courts would be prohibited from enforcing out-of-state subpoenas for medical records or judgments against patients or providers.
Opponents of the conversion therapy ban argued that it would impinge on religious freedom and the ability of families to seek counseling for children who they say need help sorting out their sexual identities.
GOP Sen. Paul Utke, of Park Rapids, argued against the abortion bill, saying Minnesota should not protect doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who have intentionally violated the abortion laws of other states.
“We need to uphold and honor the rules and laws of our neighboring states, and states across the country,” Utke said during the debate.
The author of the trans refuge bill, Democratic Sen. Erin Maye Quade, of Apple Valley, filed an ethics complaint this week against Republican Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, of Glencoe, over a link to a video that he emailed to Democratic senators, with a note saying it documented “mutilating transgender surgeries on minor children. Extremely graphic and disturbing.”
Maye Quade said at the news conference that it would be “wildly inappropriate” for senators to send videos of genitalia to their colleagues. She said she wanted “to draw a very bright line in the sand of what is and is not appropriate behavior and conduct. … This crossed the line.”
Experts testified as the bill went through committee hearings that gender-confirmation surgery is very rare for minors, and that gender-affirming care for them normally ranges from changes in dress and hairstyles to counseling and hormone therapy.
Gruenhagen clarified that what he shared was actually a video created by doctors at the University of Louisville Medical School as a tutorial for gynecologists to familiarize them with gender transition surgery. The introduction to the video does not disclose the age of the patient.
“I’m disappointed that Sen. Maye Quade choose to take this matter public before … approaching me with her concerns,” Gruenhagen said in a statement, in which he claimed the complaint was without merit. “I’m sure we could have found some resolution as colleagues.”
Maye Quade told reporters that senators can maintain strong opinions without sharing such imagery. She was backed up by Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke, of St. Paul, the first trans person elected to the Minnesota Legislature.
“Trans people are not mutilated. Trans people are whole,” Finke said. “We are wholly ourselves. … They are obsessed with our bodies and genitalia in a way that is absolutely horrific.”
“The forces of hatred and bigotry are on the march in states across this country. But let’s be clear: In Minnesota, that march stops at our borders,” Gov. Walz tweeted on Friday afternoon. “When the Trans Refuge Act reaches my desk, I’ll be proud to sign it into law.”
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Little information is being made public as police investigate a homicide.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Police in St. Paul are investigating a fatal stabbing in the city Friday night.
Little information is made available at this time, but police are calling it a homicide.
It happened on the 200 block of E 7th Street, police said.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Gov. Tim Walz took a break from the campaign trail to watch his old football team in action.
MANKATO, Minn. — People poured into Blakeslee Stadium on the Minnesota State Mankato campus Friday to see a clash between crosstown rivals Mankato West and Mankato East. Added to the mix was an appearance by Governor Tim Walz, who came to take a stroll down memory lane.
“I was lucky enough to have both Mr. Walz and Mrs. Walz as teachers,” Jimmy Baker, a Mankato West alum told KARE. “They started at West my freshman year, so they just as much a part of this place as I am.”
Baker played linebacker and running back on the Scarlets’ 1999 state championship team, with Tim Walz as his defensive coordinator. Walz was a social studies teacher at the time and his wife Gwen taught English and literature.
“He just really loved football, and he really felt passionate about the gameplay, and he gets really pumped up by good plays, and he was really good at redirecting and getting everyone on the same page,” Baker recalled.
Baker was one of the Mankato alums who took the stage wearing their Scarlet jerseys during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It was part of the DNC’s overall effort to reinforce the “Coach Walz” theme for their vice-presidential candidate.
“I don’t really follow politics as closely as some, but it was very surreal to be there on that stage,” Baker recalled.
“It was pretty amazing to do that and also be able to do it with some of my oldest friends was probably the best part.”
As soon as Walz joined the Kamala Harris ticket in early August many former students of Gov. Walz and First Lady Gwen Walz have come forward to share their stories with the media of what it was like to be in their classroom decades ago.
At a State Capitol press conference, former student and football player Nate Hood from the Class of 2002 said Walz made a point of ensuring second-stringers got some playing time.
“Coach Walz brings me over and he was like, ‘Hood, what’s’ the score?’ I said, ‘Zero to 34, we’re down.’ He goes, ‘Alright! You can get in there!”
Walz taught social studies at Mankato West for nine years and served as defensive coordinator and assistant coach for the Scarlets until retiring to run for Congress in 2006.
Not everyone was thrilled with Walz’s appearance at Friday night’s game. Former Rep. Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal said the Secret Service security measures would be inconvenient for families looking to enjoy the game.
“It’s upsetting to a lot of the parents to have this turned into a political event, by bringing the Secret Service, and I understand that’s the position he’s in as a candidate he has to have that security.”
Munson and others have commissioned a plane to fly over the stadium before the game with a banner that read “Bench Coach Walz – Trump 2024.”
The plane never made it to its destination. Munson later explained that the plane with the banner took off but was instructed by the control tower to return to the airport a few minutes later.
Jimmy Baker, who now has children of his own at Mankato West, said he thinks it’s great to see Mankato’s big game in the spotlight. He said he believes Gov. Walz and the First Lady have every right to see the big game.
“They’re as much a part of the community as anyone else. Whatever they’re at, or whatever they’re doing, they absolutely belong here!”
Wendell Epps and Charles Hallman agree Thursday’s game was unlike anything they’ve ever seen… or covered.
MINNEAPOLIS — A security camera inside Minneapolis’ A Bar of Their Own looked as if it would fall from the ceiling on Thursday night, as Minnesota Lynx fans erupted in celebration during the team’s historic comeback in Game One of the WNBA Finals.
It was one of several fan reaction videos that spoke to the joy and pandemonium that unfolded in the final seconds of regulation and throughout overtime, as the Lynx clawed back from an improbable 15-point deficit with less than six minutes to play in regulation.
That joy wasn’t just coming from fans.
Wendell Epps, the 23-year-old, first-year play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Lynx Radio Network, had some of the best seats in the house for all the unforgettable plays, and his selfie-style recording of his final calls captured the chaos that unfolded in New York.
“It was absolutely insane,” Epps said. “I mean, this is my first, big-boy play-by-play job and to have that opportunity was really cool and it was a surreal experience. I loved it.”
Just thinking about it made Charles Hallman, a Hall of Fame sportswriter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, laugh.
“That young man… just think, this is his first year calling WNBA games and he’s in the Finals,” Hallman said, with a loud laugh.
Charles Hallman is on the other end of the spectrum… the basketball writer says it’s also one of the best games he’s ever seen… and he had to watch from his living room.
Charles Hallman: “I watched on an easy chair and I was on the edge of my seat.”
Kent Edahl: “I’m guessing you were NOT at the edge of your seat after that shot by Courtney Williams.”
Hallman: “Haha, no, I fell backwards! I fell backwards like she fell when she got fouled.”
Though he is no stranger to covering the Lynx in the WNBA Finals, Hallman said this run has stood out.
Hallman: “If they win this, this will be a very unique, unique championship.”
Erdahl: “What do you think makes this run special?”
Hallman: “This team, literally, just came together this year, that just shows you the great coaching job of Cheryl Reeve, who don’t get a lot of credit for what she does, and how these players grasp on to her. The chemistry of this team is just… for professional sports is very impressive. They just love to play together.”
“I just think we have a lot of players who have kind of flown under the radar,” Epps said. “Even Napheesa Collier, our best player, is probably the most underrated superstar in any professional sports league.”
And the fact that the Lynx were able to bite back in the Big Apple makes it even sweeter.
“Literally, every time out I would see a different celebrity pop up on the jumbotron,” Epps said.
“I’m glad that America got to see the Lynx play if they haven’t seen them play all year, that was a fantastic, an instant classic,” Hallman said. “I mean, to see the Lynx on the front page of the paper today. You don’t see that very often. For somebody that’s been covering the sport for as long as I have. That’s something that I love to see, and I’d love to see that more because women’s sports deserves to get that kind of praise.” added Epps.
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