AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas’ Minister of Culture has spoken!

In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, longtime Longhorn fan Matthew McConaughey spoke out against fans throwing trash onto the field after a controversial play call during UT’s Saturday night loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

McConaughey, who graduated from the University of Texas in 1993 and is a regular at Longhorn games, directed his statement to all Texas fans but specifically called out the DKR student section.

McConaughey started complimentary, saying the fans created a great home-field advantage with their passion, but got down to brass tacks about the trash-throwing incident.

“But let’s get real about the bottle bombing the field glitch we had,” McConaughey wrote. “Not cool. Bogey move. Yeah, that call was BS, but we’re better than that.”

McConaughey, who was named UT’s Minister of Culture in 2018, emphasized the importance of showing up as a fan while maintaining class.

“So, going forward let’s clean that kind of BS up and leave that behind us for good,” McConaughey wrote. “Next up, November 9th, when the Gators come to town let’s make sure they feel the heat, can’t hear the play calls, and burn their timeouts—but remember, nothing hits OUR field except that Texas fight.”

Outside of McConaughey’s disapproval, fans who threw trash could face real consequences. The SEC slapped UT with a $250,000 fine Sunday. 

It also tasked the university with using “all available resources” to find the fans who threw things onto the field and ban them from any Longhorn athletic events this academic year.

The University of Texas also issued a statement, saying, “We do not condone the unsportsmanlike conduct that was exhibited by some individuals throwing objects onto the field during last night’s game and sincerely apologize to the University of Georgia players, coaches, and fans, as well as the Southeastern Conference and officiating crew.”

MINNEAPOLIS — The process of retrying the man convicted of murdering a talented North High School student-athlete begins in earnest Tuesday, with a hearing in the case of Cody Fohrenkam. 

Fohrenkam was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to more than 38 years for the shooting death of 15-year-old Deshaun Hill following a random encounter on a north Minneapolis sidewalk back in February 2022. Prosecutors said the two accidentally brushed shoulders while walking opposite ways on a Glenwood Avenue sidewalk, and Fohrenkam pulled a handgun and shot the teen. 

The convicted shooter’s defense team appealed, and in May 2024 the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that videotaped statements Fohrenkam made to police were obtained while he was illegally detained. His defense attorneys argued that those statements were instrumental in the murder conviction. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty took the appeals court decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. She vowed to retry Fohrenkam, a process that begins with Tuesday’s hearing. 

“Deshaun Hill was an honor roll student and beloved quarterback at North High, and his tragic death due to gun violence shocked the entire community,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty earlier this year. “We will prosecute Mr. Fohrenkam to hold him accountable for the murder of Deshaun Hill.”

Hill was out of school on the day he was killed as North High’s principal allowed students to leave school to take part in a protest. The teen’s family agreed to a $500,000 settlement with the Minneapolis Public Schools after alleging he would still be alive if not for the principal’s decision. 

ST PAUL, Minn — There was chaos and confusion Monday night at a St. Paul charter school board meeting as it discussed its financial crisis. 

STEP Academy is on the brink of shutting down as its finance director announced it’s now exponentially further in debt. 

On top of that, two board members resigned at the meeting, including Rahima Ahmed and Abdulrazzaq Mursal.

That board also, unexpectedly, appointed five new members. They then called for a special session for Thursday, leaving some people confused and angry – including teachers, none of whom would go on camera.

STEP Academy’s latest board meeting showed it had 117 fewer students enrolled than planned, leading to them being $775,000 over budget. In efforts to cut costs, teachers and other staff have been let go.

RELATED: St. Paul charter school at risk of shutting down if budget cuts aren’t made

STEP Academy serves a significant part of the Somali community in the Capital City and works to reach students who are underserved by traditional schools and underrepresented in STEM fields. Superintendent Mustafa Ibrahim is accused of improper management practices and the nonprofit overseeing the school for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Innovative Quality Schools (IQS) says the school is in financial crisis. 

Sources had told KARE 11 Ibrahim was expected to resign, but it’s unclear if that happened. He wasn’t at Monday’s meeting, but his supporters call his leader “excellent”.

Other parents are concerned about the future.

“With this nightmare that’s happening, I want to know one thing, what are we going to do as a community,” said Aliyo Jama, whose children attend STEP Academy.

Some parents are also critical of IQS, accusing it of racial bias. Every one of the state’s 180 charter schools is overseen by an authorizer like IQS. In a statement, IQS says it oversees 30 charter schools and that it exists to “safeguard quality educational opportunities for students and maintain public trust and confidence.” 

Its chair, Steve Kelley, also maintains that any claims of racial bias are unfounded, writing, “IQS and its leadership team have acted professionally and impartially. I am optimistic that as the STEP Academy board carries out the letter and spirit of its agreements with their authorizer, the school will continue to independently provide its academic program that is both responsive to and highly valued by its students and families.”

IQS has confirmed to KARE 11 in past reporting that STEP Academy is in this position, in part, to its newest campus in Burnsville. And that it overestimated its enrollment projections and spent too much on renovations. 

At Monday’s meeting, STEP Academy’s finance director said the operating budget deficit has now more than doubled to $2.1 million. 

The school is proposing a new budget to try and fill the financial hole. It includes $325,000 in reductions at the St. Paul campus, $225,000 in cuts at the academy’s Burnsville site and a $225,000 reduction in operations/office staffing. 

STEP is also working to add $600,000 from renegotiating building leases at both locations and its transportation contract.

If STEP Academy closes, MDE data shows it would be the 11th charter school to close this year – the most in several years. 

Charter school enrollment has been growing. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, charter school enrollment increased by 9% from 2019-20 to 2022-23, adding over 300,000 students.