Star Tribune
Waseca and Good Thunder mayors win reelection after pleading guilty to misdemeanors
Two mayors in south central Minnesota will return to office after winning their races this week, after both recently submitted guilty pleas to gross misdemeanor charges in separate cases.
Randy Zimmerman of Waseca earned about 58.8% of the vote to beat challenger Milton Madson, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State. The margin came down to about 750 votes.
Zimmerman, 49, pleaded guilty to perjury under oath in October. He admitted to writing on a voter registration application in 2022 that his address was within Waseca, instead of his actual residence outside the city limits, as part of a plea on Oct. 4 that dismissed two felony perjury charges.
He said he trusted that voters in Waseca, a city of about 9,200 people about 30 minutes east of Mankato, could make an informed decision.
Robert John Anderson, the mayor of Good Thunder since 1992, also won re-election this week. Anderson, 68, pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charge in October. He admitted to having a personal financial interest involving his family trucking company receiving money to haul gravel for a street project. His plea deal led to dropping the three felony counts of embezzlement and theft against him; the remaining charges against him are to be dismissed within a year.
Anderson won after running unopposed in Good Thunder, which is 20 minutes south of Mankato and has a population of about 500. However, almost 17% of votes counted were for write-in candidates.
There are a few things Minnesota is known for around the country: hot dish, cold winters and, as it turns out, voting.
Minnesota recorded strong voter participation in the 2024 election, the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday. Around 76% of eligible voters in Minnesota cast a ballot. The figure is not final, the secretary of state’s office added, until the results are certified.
Voter turnout this year beat 2016′s turnout of 74.72% but failed to reach the record-breaking 79.96% turnout in 2020, according to the secretary of state.
“All over the state, we heard about voters excited to get out and make their voices heard before and on Election Day,” Simon in a statement. “Minnesotans proved once again that we are committed to our communities by showing up at the polls.”
Votes are still being tabulated across the country, but initial results point to Minnesota competing for the top spot this year. The University of Florida’s Election Lab ranked Minnesota’s turnout rate as the highest in the nation, followed by Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Democratic nominee for president has won Minnesota every election cycle since Jimmy Carter in 1976, with Richard Nixon in 1972 being the last Republican nominee to win the state.
Star Tribune
Minnesota trauma patients could be enrolled without consent in study of blood loss drugs
The new federally funded study is known as CAVALIER, an acronym for CAlcium and VAsopressin following Injury Early Resuscitation. The drugs in the research are potent but have established safety profiles, so earlier use is unlikely to present complications or side effects, Puskarich said. But paramedics and emergency room doctors are busy in trauma cases, he said, so the key question is whether earlier drug usage will improve outcomes or just serve as a distraction that slows treatment teams down.
The Twin Cities has been a regular participant in trauma research through studies by Hennepin, but also the University of Minnesota Medical Center and Regions Hospital in St. Paul.
Other emergency studies have similarly gained waivers from the usual process of gaining prior consent from patients. They include the HOBIT trial, underway at Hennepin Healthcare and collaborating hospitals in Iowa and Nebraska, to see if hyperbaric oxygen therapy can reduce the damage of traumatic brain injuries. The U hospital, along with M Health Fairview’s Southdale Hospital in Edina, are participating in the national FASTEST trial to study whether a medical treatment of brain bleeding can improve outcomes after a stroke.
Party control of the Minnesota House was uncertain heading into Tuesday’s election, and now it’s clear that two districts are heading to an automatic recount. Detailed precinct maps of each district, 14B in St. Cloud and 54A in Shakopee, show where each candidate had strength and where they were close to tying. If both current leaders prevail in their recounts, the House would be evenly divided with 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans.
This district, which includes central St. Cloud and surrounding Minden and Haven townships, saw 19,486 votes cast across 20 precincts. DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott leads GOP challenger Sue Ek by 28 votes before the recount. Wolgamott’s support and largest margins came in the area near downtown St. Cloud. He prevailed in several St. Cloud precincts, but his margins were smaller. Ek, by comparison, drew substantial support in Minden and Haven townships, with margins nearing 50 percentage points or more. But those areas have fewer voters. She also saw strong support in two precincts in northwest St. Cloud.
In Shakopee, the race was even tighter. Just 13 votes separate DFL Rep. Brad Tabke and Republican challenger Aaron Paul here, where 21,895 votes were cast in 13 precincts. While Paul won in many precincts, his margins were small. Tabke had a nearly 11-point margin in northeast Shakopee and a 14-point margin in one precinct north of Shakopee High School. In one precinct near Canterbury Park, the two candidates were separated by a single vote.
Two other very tight races were called for the Republican candidates: District 3B north of Duluth and District 48B in Chanhassen and part of Chaska — the area just north and west of Shakopee’s tight contest.
In 3B, DFL challenger Mark Munger did predictably well in west Duluth and the precincts immediately on the outskirts of Duluth, while Republican Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar posted larger margins in Hermantown and several townships. She also posted an 18-point lead in Fredenberg Township, where both she and Munger reside. In the end, 160 votes separated the two across the district.
In 48B, there was a slightly larger vote margin between the two candidates. DFL Rep. Lucy Rehm notched 225 more votes than GOP challenger Caleb Steffenhagen. Steffenhagen prevailed in a few precincts in north and southeast Chanhassen, but posted his biggest margins in one Chaska precinct. Rehm had more votes in all the others, with a 10-point margin in the northeast corner of Chanhassen.
