Star Tribune
Felony charge dropped, ex-KFAN personality Jeff Dubay admits to misdemeanor count after drug arrest
Jeff Dubay, a former longtime sports radio personality in the Twin Cities, pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced after the latest of his many drug-related run-ins with the law.
Dubay, 56, admitted in Todd County District Court to a misdemeanor count of driving while under the influence of an illicit drug after a state trooper pulled him over in West Union on March 8. In exchange for his plea, a felony count of third-degree drug possession and a second misdemeanor driving under the influence count were dismissed.
Judge Johnathan Judd sentenced Dubay to 90 days in jail but set aside 80 of those days for two years and gave him credit for the remaining 10 days. Judd also put Dubay on two years’ probation. Terms include undergo a comprehensive assessment and follow all recommendations for care, no alcohol or illicit drug use and submit to random chemical testing.
Dubay, now living in Grand Forks, N.D., could not be reached to explain why he chose to plead guilty to the one count. He told the Star Tribune last week that “the police report is full of misinformation and horrible assumptions.”
A state trooper saw an SUV traveling erratically before stopping in the West Union Catholic Church parking lot. The SUV then left the parking lot, prompting the trooper to pull the driver over.
Dubay explained he was heading to Fargo and got off the freeway in order to get the Minnesota Gophers hockey game on his cellphone. Dubay was beneath a blanket and naked. He was restless, sweaty and speaking rapidly.
As Dubay got out of his SUV to perform sobriety testing, he was covered in vegetable oil that came from a bottle he had with him. Drug smugglers have been known to use various cooking oils to conceal meth.
A law enforcement search of his vehicle turned up methamphetamine. While at the jail, Dubay acknowledged using meth that morning.
Dubay had been a longtime co-host with Paul Allen on KFAN Radio, the Twin Cities’ leading sports talk outlet. He was fired after his arrest in 2008 for cocaine possession.
Dubay returned to the airwaves on 1500 ESPN Radio (KSTP-AM) but let go after a year in a 2014 cost-cutting move.
In 2010, he was ordered to spend 87 days in the Ramsey County workhouse after admitting he used cocaine in May of that year. In August 2016, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years’ probation for drug possession.
In March 2018, he was put on probation for five years for beating a woman during an argument. And in November 2021, he was sentenced to probation after Bloomington police found methamphetamine on him during a traffic stop.
“This is an area that swings back and forth depending on the election cycle, and it’s an area that really can deliver those decisive votes for candidates in a statewide election,” said Anthony Chergosky, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor. “If the Harris-Walz ticket can develop a brand that helps them stop the party’s slide in rural Wisconsin, then that will massively help their path to victory.”
Both presidential campaigns have spent considerable time in Wisconsin. Trump recently visited the state four times in a span of eight days. Harris held rallies in La Crosse and Green Bay earlier this month, and Walz made stops in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Madison. Walz told a crowd gathered at a “Students for Harris-Walz” event in Eau Claire that “it’s very realistic to believe that this race will be won going through Wisconsin.”
Though both campaigns have made frequent visits to the Badger State, their stops appear to be geared toward shoring up their respective bases, retired GOP strategist Brandon Scholz said.
“I think Tim Walz’s job right now in Wisconsin, from what he’s saying and where he’s going and what he’s doing, is, ‘let’s make sure 99 percent of our voters turn out, because we need every single one of them because of how close Wisconsin is,’” Scholz said. “To date, neither he nor Harris have communicated a message to bring in those undecideds, ticket splitters.”
Ryan O’Gara is one of those undecideds. The 47-year-old Christian conservative lives in the village of Downing, some 20 miles northwest of Menomonie and home to about 230 people. O’Gara said he sees mostly Trump signs around his town, but he isn’t a fan of either nominee and likely will sit out this election.
Asked what he thought of Walz, O’Gara referred to him as “far-left.” He said he disagrees with allowing gender-affirming health care services for minors. Walz signed a bill into law last year making Minnesota a refuge for people seeking gender-affirming care.
But then, they were Lutherans.
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“It’s time for a hostage deal and cease-fire that ensures Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” Walz said on this year’s anniversary of Hamas’ 2023 attacks on Israel.
Polls indicate Minnesota will likely break for Harris, but in states where margins will be much tighter, some protest voters are choosing to vote for Harris despite their reservations.
Roman Fritz of Oconomowoc, Wis., voted early for Harris on Wednesday, he said, even though he remains deeply frustrated with her stance on the war.
Neither he nor Engelhart want to see Trump win. The Uncommitted National Movement has been trying to carve out a middle ground between opposing Trump and supporting Harris, with leaders saying a Trump presidency would be worse for Palestinians, and warning that votes for third-party candidates could result in a win for Trump. But the group declined to offer its endorsement to Harris.
Similarly, Fritz said, he did not feel he should talk his friends into voting for Harris, especially Palestinian American friends who have lost loved ones in Gaza.
“I do want her to win,” Fritz said, but, “I’m not going to campaign for her.”
