Star Tribune
Summer camp at St. Paul airport seeks to inspire future first responders
Several years ago, Steve Hurvitz helped launch The Learning Jet program at downtown St. Paul’s Holman Field to inspire young people to seek careers in aviation. Thousands have answered the call, learning about air flight careers from pilots to mechanics.
In 2022, he figured, why not use the same idea to entice teens to consider careers as first responders?
“We need them,” Hurvitz said of the emergency personnel who answer the call every day. “I thought, ‘Why not show the kinds of great thing they do every day?'”
The 2024 First Responders Camp will run June 24-28, based at the Learning Jet’s renovated hangar classroom at the St. Paul airport. But this is not a classroom camp. The 24 students will see demonstrations by firefighters, SWAT team members, crisis negotiators, water rescue squads and air rescue units. Each participant in the free camp will even get a chance to go airborne.
Lt. Craig Benz is chief pilot with the Minnesota State Patrol flight section. He jumped at a chance to participate in the camp, he said.
“It’s important for the younger generation to see what first responders are all about and the career opportunities that are out there,” he said. “Often, they see only what movies show, or what’s in the news media.”
Benz, who has worked in the flight section for 14 years, has participated in a range of community events for seven or eight years, with the idea of fostering better understanding of what goes into what he considers a dream job.
“To mix law enforcement with aviation is a blessing,” he said.
Last year, Hurvitz said, officials canceled the camp because too few students signed up. He blames not getting the word out early enough. “This year, we attacked it pretty hard,” he said. Eighteen students are already registered. If enough students are interested, Hurvitz said, the camp rolls could increase from 24 to 30.
Students may apply to the camp through their high school counselor or the Boy Scouts Explorers program, he said. Or they can contact the Learning Jet online at thelearningjet.org. Applications must be submitted by May 31.
According to its Facebook page, “The Learning Jet is the first of its kind in the nation for engaging students in STEAM subjects and activities by incorporating hands-on activities in the classroom, cultivating enthusiasm for learning, relating it to real life experiences and fostering a long-term interest in continued learning in science, technology, engineering and math.”
Dean Gale is a believer in building student interest in careers through experiential learning. The business manager for St. Paul Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 34 was part of a crew of trade union volunteers who renovated an airport hangar into the Learning Jet’s classroom several years ago. He’s on the Learning Jet board.
“This is about renewing interest in people serving our communities,” Gale said.
Star Tribune
Winona-area House seat — one of the last DFL rural holdouts — could be key to legislative control
Rep. Gene Pelowski retired from the Legislature earlier this year, creating a must-win seat for DFLer Sarah Kruger and Republican Aaron Repinski.
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Saroya has had a turbulent term on the council, representing the 1st Ward in southern Blaine since the beginning of last year. And now she faces a tough contest from retired Rochester fire Captain Chris Ford.
Earlier this month, the council censured Saroya for violating the city’s code of conduct regarding working with city staff. That came after two employees filed formal complaints, substantiated by an outside investigator.
One complaint stemmed from Saroya speaking during public comments at an April planning commission meeting about an apartment proposal. At the meeting, she echoed resident concerns, and also accused officials and staff of “rubber stamping” such items and ignoring neighbors. City rules advise council members not to attend commission meetings, or only do so as an observer, due to concerns about using their position to influence decisions.
At a later meeting, some on the council disagreed with the way she addressed staff. Saroya defended herself, arguing she has been repeatedly retaliated against for voicing concerns. She called on residents from the dais to vote out the council unless they want more “apartments, car washes and all this junk in our city.”
Saroya’s supporters appreciate that she has been a vocal critic of council actions and frequently raised questions about transparency, conflicts of interest and spending. But others argue her approach is harming relationships and could lead to turnover at City Hall.
Saroya, the council’s first Muslim member, views the censure as a “badge of honor.”
WASHINGTON — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.
The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher, contains several indications that it was manipulated, said the official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Analysts identified clues that linked the content to Russian disinformation operations, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the office of the director.
Digital researchers had already linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement is the first time federal authorities have confirmed the connection.
The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation seeking to undermine the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, her running mate. Russia also has spread disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division ahead of voting, officials said, and may seek to encourage violent protests after Election Day.
Last month, analysts at Microsoft revealed that a viral video that baselessly claimed Harris left a woman paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was Russian disinformation. More recently, a video surfaced featuring a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s who accused the candidate of sexual misconduct years ago. Private researchers at firms that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, already have concluded the video was fake and that the man in the footage isn’t who he claimed to be.
Some researchers have also suggested the video may contain evidence that it was created using artificial intelligence, but federal officials stopped short of the same conclusion, saying only that the video contained multiple indications of manipulation.
China and Iran also have sought to influence the U.S. election using online disinformation. While Russia has targeted the Democratic campaign, Iran has gone after Republican Donald Trump with disinformation as well as hacking into the former president’s campaign. China, meanwhile, has focused its influence efforts on down-ballot races, and on general efforts to sow distrust and democratic dissatisfaction.
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