Star Tribune
Columbia Heights can proceed with recall election of embattled City Council member
An Anoka County judge has ruled that Columbia Heights may continue with plans to hold a special election to recall City Council Member KT Jacobs.
Jacobs sued the city in an effort to halt the proceedings, arguing that a petition submitted by a citizens group seeking to have her removed from office was “procedurally defective” and behavior she is accused of fell “woefully short of malfeasance,” a requirement needed for a recall election.
But judge Karin McCarthy denied Jacobs’ request for relief “in its entirety.” A recall election set for Feb. 13 may proceed, according to McCarthy’s ruling filed Nov. 20 in Anoka County District Court.
Jacob’s lawyer, Gregory Joseph, immediately filed an appeal.
“There is more than enough here to reverse the lower court holding on multiple grounds,” Joseph said in a email statement. “We look forward to vigorously litigating this case, whether at the Minnesota Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals.”
Jacobs has been in the hot seat since 2022 when she allegedly made a racist phone call to a council candidate. Jacobs repeatedly denied making the call and said a relative used her phone without her knowledge.
But an investigator hired by the city to look into the July 24 call found the call came from a phone number Jacobs uses for City Council business. The investigator’s report also found that Jacobs had not been truthful during the investigation, that “she failed to conduct herself in accordance with the City Council Code of Conduct” and that she “failed to meet the City’s reasonable expectations regarding respectful and professional communications.”
Over the past year, the council has passed two resolutions calling for Jacobs to step down, but she has refused. That led a group called Concerned Citizens of Columbia Heights to submit a petition, leading the City Council to vote 4-1 in July to proceed with a recall election.
In her lawsuit, Jacobs contended that the petition did not meet nine requirements needed for a recall as laid out in state law. But McCarthy said those requirements apply only for elected state officials, not City Council members. Furthermore, McCarthy said requirements for recalling an elected officer of Columbia Heights fall under rules outlined in the city’s charter.
“Since the requirements under sections 47-50 of the Charter have been met, the Court finds that the recall petition is not procedurally deficient,” McCarthy wrote in her 14-page judgment.
McCarthy also wrote that Jacobs’ actions met the three factors that constitute malfeasance. Those included being censored and removed from boards and commissions based on her conduct, that her removal from those assignments had an adverse effect on the rights and interests of her constituents and that her actions were “the doing of that which one ought to not do.”
“Based on the record submitted by the parties, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s actions are sufficient to constitute a finding of ‘malfeasance,’ ” McCarthy wrote.
The next court action has not been scheduled.
“The basic rule in Minnesota is you cannot preemptively post law enforcement at a polling place,” he said. “A city can’t say, ‘Wow, Precinct Two, there’s a lot of intensity there, let’s just put a cop at the door.’”
Simon doesn’t go deep into the details on security, though. “I don’t want to give a total road map to the bad guys,” he said.
But testimony at the Capitol last year on behalf of the new law bolstering protections for election and polling place workers indicated there’s room for concern. One election worker was followed to her car by an angry voter; the head of elections in another county was called repeatedly on her home phone during off hours, and an official was lunged at by an aggrieved voter, forcing her to call the local sheriff.
Those who violate the law could now face civil damages and penalties of up to $1,000 for each violation.
The Brennan Center survey indicated more than four in 10 election leaders were concerned about recruiting enough poll workers due to threats of harassment and intimidation. This includes doxing — publishing a person’s personal information online in a threatening manner — and swatting, fake emergency calls that result in an armed response being sent to someone’s home.
“Election officials are working to prepare for everything right now,” said Liz Howard, director of partnership engagement at the Brennan Center. “More than 90% of election officials have made improvements to election security since 2020.”
Star Tribune
Daylight saving time ends next weekend. This is how to prepare for the potential health effects
The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark as a pocket by late afternoon for the next few months in the U.S.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time next Sunday, Nov. 3, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again ”spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.
That spring time change can be tougher on your body. Darker mornings and lighter evenings can knock your internal body clock out of whack, making it harder to fall asleep on time for weeks or longer. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes right after the March time change.
”Fall back” should be easier. But it still may take a while to adjust your sleep habits, not to mention the downsides of leaving work in the dark or trying exercise while there’s still enough light. Some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter, may struggle, too.
Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology.
Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do — mostly in Europe and North America — the date that clocks are changed varies.
Two states — Arizona and Hawaii — don’t change and stay on standard time.
Here’s what to know about the twice yearly ritual.
Star Tribune
Harris and Walz will visit all the battleground states in the campaign’s closing stretch
WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will crisscross the United States to visit all seven battleground states in the coming days, part of a final blitz before the Nov. 5 election.
Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will spend Sunday in Philadelphia, attending church services in the morning and visiting a barbershop. The vice president also plans to stop at a Puerto Rican restaurant and a youth basketball facility.
On Monday, Walz, the Minnesota’s governor who is Harris’ running mate, will campaign in Manitowoc and Waukesha, Wisconsin, before a joining Harris for a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the singer Maggie Rogers is scheduled to perform.
Harris will be in the nation’s capital on Tuesday to deliver what her campaign calls her ”closing argument” in a speech from the Ellipse, a grassy space adjacent to the National Mall. It’s the same place where then-President Donald Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021, when the Republican called on his supporters to march on the Capitol.
Walz is scheduled to campaign Tuesday in Savannah and Columbus in Georgia.
Harris plans to visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Wednesday. The event in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to feature musical performances by Mumford & Sons and others.
Walz willbe in Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina, that day.
On Thursday, Harris will be in Nevada for rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, and in Phoenix. The band Maná will perform in Las Vegas and Los Tigres del Norte will perform in Phoenix.
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Transcript: Sen. JD Vance on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 27, 2024
CBS News Harris-Trump poll has closer look inside gender gap as Trump, Harris draw even
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