Star Tribune
Minnesota DFL senator to shift to remote work as she battles long COVID
DFL state Sen. Lindsey Port told her legislative colleagues on Monday that she’s switching to work mostly remotely as she struggles with worsening — and at times dangerous — symptoms of long haul COVID.
Since contracting COVID in 2020, the second-term senator from Burnsville has struggled with ongoing symptoms, including extreme fatigue and neuropathy in her hands, arms, feet and legs, which causes both numbness and pain and has forced her to walk with a cane.
That feeling has intensified, causing sudden paralysis in her legs. Two weeks ago, she fell at home and suffered a concussion.
“Knowing that I could be doing longer-term damage to my brian made me really realize that I needed to change how I interact at the Capitol,” Port said in an interview on Monday.
Port, the chair of the Senate’s Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee, carried a number of major bills through the chamber last session, including the proposal to legalize marijuana in the state. She informed her colleagues in an email that she will participate remotely in committee and floor work as a default and “join you in-person on the most important occasions, like presenting bills on the floor.”
She’s the second DFL senator to move to largely remote service this session, following former DFL Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic’s announcement earlier this year that her cancer had reemerged. Dziedzic led the narrowly divided chamber last year as Democrats pushed through a historic agenda, serving part of the session remotely as she recovered from a major surgery.
Port said Dziedzic set an example for how “we can show up in different ways.”
“Seeing her leadership helped me realize it’s OK to show up differently, in a way that maybe the Legislature is not used to,” Port said. “Tons of people all over Minnesota are working remotely right now, and we can do that too.”
The chamber is controlled by Democrats by a single vote, and at least one Republican senator has pushed this year to limit voting remotely after the practice was established and widely used during the pandemic. Minnesota still allows remote voting for legislators in certain circumstances.
Port said eliminating remote participation is an “outdated and unsympathetic” way to look at the Legislature, which now includes many younger members with families. Legislators in both parties have had to cast votes remotely over the last four years during unexpected health or family emergencies.
Port caught COVID early in March 2020, before Minnesota had confirmed its first COVID-19 death, and wound up in the emergency room. She’s opened up about the ways the virus continues to change her life, from asthmatic attacks and kidney stones to her struggles with the numbness and paralysis in her legs.
Neurological issues, difficulty breathing, brain fog, extreme fatigue as well as eye and throat issues are common signs of long COVID, symptoms that can last weeks, months, or even years after an initial infection. Research suggests that 1 in 5 people between the ages of 18 to 64 has had at least one medical condition following a COVID infection. That increases to 1 in 4 in people 65 and older.
“While for me it feels hard to ask for help and to say I need an accommodation, it is also really empowering to know that I can do great work for my district and great work for the people of Minnesota and I don’t have to give up any of my bills,” she said. “I can show up in a different way and still be a really strong legislator.”
Star Tribune
Twin Cities man gets 5 years in prison for romance scheme that raked in more than $2M million
A Brooklyn Park man received more than five years in prison Tuesday for perpetrating with others a nationwide romance fraud scheme for four years and pulling in more than $2.1 million.
Dodzi K. Kordorwu, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to a 5¼-year term after pleading guilty to the online ruse that targeted dozens of primarily older people.
Judge Eric Tostrud also ordered Kordorwu to be under court supervision for three years after his release and to make full restitution of the money he stole.
The FBI says about 24,000 victims in the United States reported losing about $1 billion to romance scams in 2021. Researchers say romance scammers prey specifically on seniors, some capitalizing on the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic to find lonely victims.
Ahead of sentencing, prosecutors argued in a court filing for Kordowu to be given a sentence of nearly seven years in prison.
While taking on the persona of “Dr. Carmen Williams” to interact with one victim, Kordowu “directly expressed his love [and] promised to never leave them,” the prosecution filing read.
Upon receiving a monetary shipment, Kordorwu followed up with “‘thank you so much my sweet and beautiful wife. I love you, and I will always love you,’” the filing continued. “The deeply personal connections forged by these overtures is what made the fraud scheme so potent.”
The defense proposed in writing to the court for a sentence of probation, contended that he had a limited role in the scam, the crime was nonviolent in nature, and “Mr. Kordorwu is the sole person being held responsible for the offense.”
The Brooklyn Park City Council has extended its censure of Council Member Boyd Morson in response to claims that he continues to disrespect staff and display inappropriate behavior online.
The council at its meeting last week declined to remove the censure, Morson’s second in the past couple years, which was put in place this spring after a staff member filed a complaint. Fellow council members say Morson, who is seeking reelection on Nov. 5, violated city code, citing concerns that he has posted disparaging messages on social media criticizing the city manager and council members, including calling a fellow member “corrupt.”
In next month’s election, Morson faces a challenge from Amanda Cheng Xiong to represent the city’s eastern district.
Morson isn’t the only Brooklyn Park council member under censure, a usually rare, official reprimand by a governing body. Earlier this year, the council censured Council Member Maria Tran for violating the code of conduct. And last week, council members said they want Tran to receive a mental health evaluation, claiming she had made several concerning comments, including that city leaders were plotting to have her killed and expressing an interest in bringing a gun to meetings.
That means one-third of the six-member council is now censured.
Morson did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.
When the council censured Morson this past spring, members agreed to evaluate the decision every three months and determine whether to remove the action. But last week, the council agreed Morson had failed to follow the conditions imposed, which include having no communication with staff other than the city manager and economic development director.
Minneapolis police and SWAT negotiators are on the scene in contact with a man reported to have fired shots from an apartment building in the heart of the Lyn-Lake neighborhood.
Police were called shortly before 1 p.m. to the building at 2904 Lyndale Ave. S., where the man fired shots from the balcony and had threatened to shoot himself and others. The person remained in the apartment as police shuttered the busy intersection and surrounding blocks from 28th to Lake streets in the commercial and residential neighborhood. A SWAT vehicle was on scene and negotiators were in contact with the man.
In a statement posted to X shortly after the incident unfolded, Minneapolis police said no one was hurt and encouraged people to stay away from the area.
This is a breaking news story. Come back to Startribune.com for more details.
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FBI investigating classified documents leak on Israel’s Iran attack plan
Twin Cities man gets 5 years in prison for romance scheme that raked in more than $2M million