Star Tribune
Bayport opts to lower U.S. flag for statewide days of mourning in addition to federal ones
The city of Bayport will lower flags to half staff for statewide days of mourning in addition to national ones, joining more cities in Washington County that recognize both. The change was prompted by the tragedy in Burnsville last month that took the lives of three first responders.
“We felt it is important to honor these local events as well,” said Mayor Michele Hanson, who along with the other members of the City Council said she’d like to make the change permanent.
The city formerly lowered the U.S. flag only when the president ordered it for days of national mourning, such as Memorial Day, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor or the deaths of prominent leaders. That was the original protocol going back to the 1954 proclamation by President Dwight Eisenhower that outlines the protocol for lowering the U.S. flag.
After the shooting deaths of Burnsville police officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, police officers and firefighters in Bayport asked that the city’s 13 U.S. flags be lowered out of respect, said City Administrator Matthew Kline. The flags were lowered, but Kline took it a step further and researched the city’s protocols to figure out why some cities lowered flags for statewide days of mourning and others, like Bayport, did not.
One consideration was that the U.S. flag, being a national symbol, should fly at half-mast only when the president orders it, said Kline. But many cities already follow the governor’s orders as well as the president’s, including cities near Bayport like Stillwater, Lakeland, Oak Park Heights, Woodbury and Afton.
The City Council reached consensus during a March 4 workshop session on recognizing statewide days of mourning. The policy takes effect immediately. Kline said no vote was taken on the policy change, but if city staff deems it necessary, a formal vote can be scheduled.
It came down to a simple idea: “I support the decision and feel strongly that it should be lowered whenever a police officer, firefighter, correctional officer, or paramedic is killed in the line of duty,” said Bayport Police Chief Jay Jackson.
Eisenhower’s proclamation spells out when and for how long the flag should be lowered, from 30 days for the death of a U.S. president to fewer days for the deaths of other high ranking federal officials, as well as certain significant days such as Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15) and September 11. The president may also order flags flown at half staff for tragic events.
Last year, for example, President Joe Biden ordered the flag lowered 10 times for reasons including the deaths of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, several memorial days and to mark victims in three mass shootings: one in Nashville; one in Allen, Texas; and a third in Lewiston, Maine.
The Minnesota governor typically orders flags flown at half-staff whenever the president does, plus days of local mourning such as a first responder’s death.
Gov. Tim Walz ordered flags lowered 17 times last year, including for the death of former Gov. Al Quie; for Maj. Jeffrey T. Hoernemann, a Minnesotan killed in a training flight near Yakushima, Japan; Sgt. Cade Michael Wolfe, a Minnesotan killed in a helicopter crash over the Mediterranean Sea; Minnesota National Guard Sgt. and Fargo police officer Jake Wallin, who was shot by a gunman; and Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Owen, who was shot while responding to a domestic violence call.
Northern State 35, Concordia (St. Paul) 34: Wyatt Block’s 2-yard TD run and the PAT with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Wolves past the host Golden Bears. Block’s touchdown capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive by the Wolves, who trailed 24-7 in the second quarter. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire’s 34-yard field goal with three minutes, 32 seconds remaining gave the Golden Bears a 34-28 lead.
Winona State 31, Bemidji State 28: Cade Stenstrom rushed for two TDs and passed for 150 yards and a TD to help the host Warriors outlast the Beavers. Stenstrom’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 31-21 lead. The Beavers responded with an 11-play, 93-yard drive to pull within 31-28 with 18 seconds remaining but the Warriors recovered the ensuing kickoff.
Div. I-AA
North Dakota State 59, Murray State 6: The top-ranked Bison built a 42-3 lead in the first half and went on to defeat the host Racers in Murray, Ken. CharMar Brown ran for 97 yards and three TDs for the Bison.
South Dakota State 20, South Dakota 17 (OT): Amar Johnson’s 3-yard TD run in overtime lifted the host Jackrabbits to the victory. The Coyotes opened the OT with a 40-yard field goal.
Youngstown State 41, North Dakota 40 (OT): The host Penguins went first in OT and scored and then stopped North Dakota’s two-point conversion to hold on for the victory. The Penguins sent the game into OT on a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining.
Div. III
Augsburg 35, St. Olaf 34 (OT): The host Auggies stopped a two-point conversion in overtime to outlast the Oles. The Auggies went first in the overtime and scored on a 25-yard pass from Ryan Harvey to Tyrone Wilson. It was Harvey’s fifth TD pass — the fourth to Wilson. After the Auggies’ PAT, the Oles scored on a 25-yard TD pass from Theo Doran to Braden Menz. But the Oles’ pass attempt for the conversion failed.
After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Wolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, specifically the start of the game and most of the third quarter, were enough to carry them against a shorthanded Raptors team that was without RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley.
Julius Randle had 24 points while Anthony Edwards had 24 on 21 shot attempts. Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench. Nickeil Alexander-Walker left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return, though he was in the bench area for the final minutes after going to the locker room briefly.
The Wolves’ starting lineup had its best stretch of basketball on the season after that unit started off sluggish in the first two games. Mike Conley, who was 3-for-16 to open the year, hit two early threes to set the tone, though Conley would finish 2-for-8.
Donte DiVincenzo replaced him at point guard halfway through the quarter and continued the hot shooting from the point guard slot with three threes of his own. The Wolves forced five Toronto turnovers and had a 32-18 lead after one.
Coach Chris Finch toyed with some different lineup combinations in the first half as he had Conley and DiVincenzo begin the quarter together while having Joe Ingles run the point later in the quarter. It led to an uneven second, and the Wolves led 56-44 at halftime.
But the Wolves played inspired coming out of the break. Jaden McDaniels, who didn’t take a shot in the first half, had nine points in the opening minutes of the third. Edwards hit a pair of threes as they pushed their lead to 22. The Wolves weren’t sharp closing the night, and the Raptors had the game within right inside of two minutes, but the Wolves had built enough of a cushion.
Rudy Gobert. Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds and was the beneficiary of some lobs from his teammates like Edwards, Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles. Gobert also finished with four blocks.
Gobert had two blocks on one possession in the fourth quarter that got the crowd off its feet and Gobert pounding his chest. Gobert blocked D.J. Carton and Jamison Battle.
Star Tribune
Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan’s largest city
NOVI, Mich. — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
”I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is ”great,” but he thinks it ”needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the ”whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump’s stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan’s importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During his rally, Trump spotlighted local Muslim and Arab American leaders who joined him on stage. These voters ”could turn the election one way or the other,” Trump said, adding that he was banking on ”overwhelming support” from those voters in Michigan.
“When President Trump was president, it was peace,” said one of those leaders, Mayor Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights. ”We didn’t have any issues. There was no wars.”
While Trump is trying to capitalize on the community’s frustration with the Democratic administration, he has a history of policies hostile to this group, including a travel ban targeting Muslim countries while in office and a pledge to expand it to include refugees from Gaza if he wins on Nov. 5.
