Star Tribune
Abortion debate plays out at St. Paul Planned Parenthood as VP makes historic visit
The Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Paul has drawn anti-abortion demonstrators for years on a near daily basis. That was no different Thursday, with Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit a signal that President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party intends to highlight the administration’s support of reproductive rights in the 2024 election.
Demonstrators and supporters lining nearby sidewalks numbered about a dozen each. Brian Gibson, director of Pro-Life Ministries, said most demonstrators didn’t even know Harris would be visiting Thursday, or only found out a bit earlier. Supporters were mostly people from nearby who had also just learned of the visit.
Scott Pike of Falcon Heights said he’s been protesting in front of the clinic for a decade. He demonstrates, he said, because he believes life begins at conception and considers abortion to be murder.
“If I were still in the womb, I would have value,” Pike said. “Everything was there to make me who I am today.”
Crystal Alan of Kenyon, an hour south of the Twin Cities, also regularly demonstrates in front of the Planned Parenthood. She didn’t know Harris would be in town until she got the clinic Thursday for another round of protesting.
“It explained all the cops,” Alan said.
Ramsey County deputies and St. Paul police blocked traffic on Vandalia St. between University Ave. and Charles Ave. in front of the clinic. They ordered protesters and onlookers alike to stand on the sidewalk across the street from the facility. Most did, although a man carrying a sign that said “complicit in genocide” kept approaching the clinic as law enforcement officials ordered him away from the building.
Some on hand were just there to catch a glimpse of the VP.
Asha and Scott Rysdahl, who live nearby, came out hoping to catch a glimpse of Harris, noting her status as the first Black and Asian woman to hold the country’s second highest political office.
“It’s really cool to have a person like that in the White House,” said Asha Rysdahl, who is also of Indian descent.
The Rysdahls were two of about a dozen supporters who turned out to Planned Parenthood Thursday morning. About as many protesters, many of whom had already planned to demonstrate against the clinic before they knew Harris would be there, were also present.
Patrick Westerlund and Jessie Rasmussen, who live in St. Paul, were among the crowd with their eyes trained on the clinic hoping for a glimpse of Harris.
“We were excited to show our support for the vice president,” Westerlund said.
Star Tribune staff writer Rochelle Olson contributed to this story.
The only debate between DFL U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and GOP challenger Royce White started Sunday on the street outside WCCO Radio.
As White approached the building, he loudly called some two dozen flag-waving and cheering Klobuchar supporters a “whole lot of commies.” The 33-year-old provocateur and podcaster also told them to thank Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney — who endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — because there was “no chance in hell” that Harris would defeat Republican former President Donald Trump on Nov. 5.
Klobuchar, 64, had arrived moments earlier, smiling and wishing “good morning” to her supporters. Once inside, the two took questions for an hour from moderator Blois Olson. Their tone was generally polite with White often interrupting a Klobuchar response with, “rebuttal,” indicated he wanted to respond.
The senator repeatedly raised White’s claims on X, formerly Twitter, that “The bad guys won in World War II” and that there were “no good guys in that war.” She called that stance offensive to veterans.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar arrives at WCCO Radio for a debate with Royce White in Minneapolis on Sunday, Oct. 27. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii)
Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth six-year term, portrayed herself as a pragmatist. She opened by saying that we live in “incredibly divisive times politically” but that she has listened and worked with Republicans to bring down shipping costs, drug prices for seniors and to help veterans and push for more housing and child care.
“Courage in this next few years is not going to be standing by yourself yelling at people,” she said, her opening allusion to White’s rhetoric, which she said is often vulgar.
White, a former NBA player, is a political novice, but a close ally of Steve Bannon, the jailed former chief strategist for Trump and right wing media executive. Last summer, White won the state GOP endorsement to run against Klobuchar.
“Our country’s coming undone at the seams. I think we can change that,” White said in his opening statement. He said he threatens the status quo, decried the “permanent political class” and referred to the two major parties as the “uniparty.”
Other buildings destroyed at Khojir and Parchin likely included buildings where Iran used industrial mixers to create the solid fuel needed for its extensive ballistic missile arsenal, Eveleth said.
In a statement issued immediately after the attack Saturday, the Israeli military said it targeted ”missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”
Destroying such sites could greatly disrupt Iran’s ability to manufacture new ballistic missiles to replenish its arsenal after the two attacks on Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees the country’s ballistic missile program, has been silent since Saturday’s attack.
Iran’s overall ballistic missile arsenal, which includes shorter-range missiles unable to reach Israel, was estimated to be ”over 3,000” by Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, then-commander of the U.S. military’s Central Command, in testimony to the U.S. Senate in 2022. In the time since, Iran has fired hundreds of the missiles in a series of attacks.
There have been no videos or photos posted to social media of missile parts or damage in civilian neighborhoods following the recent attack — suggesting that the Israeli strikes were far more accurate that Iran’s ballistic missile barrages targeting Israel in April and October. Israel relied on aircraft-fired missiles during its attack.
However, one factory appeared to have been hit in Shamsabad Industrial City, just south of Tehran near Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country’s main gateway to the outside world. Online videos of the damaged building corresponded to an address for a firm known as TIECO, which advertises itself as building advanced machinery used in Iran’s oil and gas industry.
Some take him up on it and fret when he’s not around.
“It is nice to be missed and be part of the school’s culture,” Arzola said. But mostly, he added, he wants kids to know that police aren’t around just for when the bad stuff happens. He’ll hand out his stickers and bracelets, even a trading card bearing his image. Then, they’ll talk about dogs and family.
School resource officer Al Arzola talks to students in his office at John Adams Middle School in Rochester on Oct. 11. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Two months ago, Rochester played host to a three-day training session for new SROs from across the state — an event organized by the Minnesota School Safety Center. On the final day, the 26 officers learned about surveillance challenges at the other school where Arzola works: Dakota Middle School.
It is a beautiful building with a scenic view. There is a lot of glass, too. Arzola, handling the role of instructor and tour guide, took the group outside and noted how one could look straight through the entrance to the large groups that gather inside. There were no curbs in front, either.
“There is nothing stopping any vehicle whatsoever from going through my front doors,” Arzola told the officers. “Law enforcement wasn’t talked to before this building was made. It was kind of like, ‘Here it is. You’re the SRO. Do what you do.’”
He showed them his office, too, which is separate from the main office and near those of other school support staff members. That makes sense, said Jenny Larrive, SRO coordinator for the Minnesota School Safety Center, given than SROs spend more time connecting with youth than on actual law enforcement.
