Star Tribune
Minnesota DFL senator to shift to remote work as she battles long COVID
DFL state Sen. Lindsey Port told her legislative colleagues on Monday that she’s switching to work mostly remotely as she struggles with worsening — and at times dangerous — symptoms of long haul COVID.
Since contracting COVID in 2020, the second-term senator from Burnsville has struggled with ongoing symptoms, including extreme fatigue and neuropathy in her hands, arms, feet and legs, which causes both numbness and pain and has forced her to walk with a cane.
That feeling has intensified, causing sudden paralysis in her legs. Two weeks ago, she fell at home and suffered a concussion.
“Knowing that I could be doing longer-term damage to my brian made me really realize that I needed to change how I interact at the Capitol,” Port said in an interview on Monday.
Port, the chair of the Senate’s Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee, carried a number of major bills through the chamber last session, including the proposal to legalize marijuana in the state. She informed her colleagues in an email that she will participate remotely in committee and floor work as a default and “join you in-person on the most important occasions, like presenting bills on the floor.”
She’s the second DFL senator to move to largely remote service this session, following former DFL Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic’s announcement earlier this year that her cancer had reemerged. Dziedzic led the narrowly divided chamber last year as Democrats pushed through a historic agenda, serving part of the session remotely as she recovered from a major surgery.
Port said Dziedzic set an example for how “we can show up in different ways.”
“Seeing her leadership helped me realize it’s OK to show up differently, in a way that maybe the Legislature is not used to,” Port said. “Tons of people all over Minnesota are working remotely right now, and we can do that too.”
The chamber is controlled by Democrats by a single vote, and at least one Republican senator has pushed this year to limit voting remotely after the practice was established and widely used during the pandemic. Minnesota still allows remote voting for legislators in certain circumstances.
Port said eliminating remote participation is an “outdated and unsympathetic” way to look at the Legislature, which now includes many younger members with families. Legislators in both parties have had to cast votes remotely over the last four years during unexpected health or family emergencies.
Port caught COVID early in March 2020, before Minnesota had confirmed its first COVID-19 death, and wound up in the emergency room. She’s opened up about the ways the virus continues to change her life, from asthmatic attacks and kidney stones to her struggles with the numbness and paralysis in her legs.
Neurological issues, difficulty breathing, brain fog, extreme fatigue as well as eye and throat issues are common signs of long COVID, symptoms that can last weeks, months, or even years after an initial infection. Research suggests that 1 in 5 people between the ages of 18 to 64 has had at least one medical condition following a COVID infection. That increases to 1 in 4 in people 65 and older.
“While for me it feels hard to ask for help and to say I need an accommodation, it is also really empowering to know that I can do great work for my district and great work for the people of Minnesota and I don’t have to give up any of my bills,” she said. “I can show up in a different way and still be a really strong legislator.”
The state Department of Corrections and local law enforcement are investigating the death of an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault.
Around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 21, an inmate was found unresponsive at the prison, according to department spokesman Aaron Swanum. Staff provided medical aid including CPR and the use of a defibrillator as an ambulance was called for. At about 1 p.m., medical responders pronounced the person passed away.
No further details about the inmate and how they died were available Monday.
Star Tribune
Deputy injured when vehicle struck his squad while at a crash scene on a central Minnesota highway
A deputy was seriously injured Sunday night after a vehicle collided with his squad car on a central Minnesota highway while he was responding to another crash.
On Sunday just before 10 p.m., deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to assist the Minnesota State Patrol on a report of a crash on westbound Interstate 94 near Evansville. The initial accident involved a vehicle that had slid off the road and struck cable barriers in the median. The Minnesota State Patrol reported snow and icy road conditions.
While deputies were on the scene, another westbound vehicle crashed into a parked sheriff’s office squad car from behind. A deputy was in the car when it was struck. The squad car had its lights activated and several flares had been placed in the roadway to warn drivers.
Both the deputy and the driver of the second vehicle were taken to Alomere Health Hospital with serious injuries. The second crash caused significant delays in westbound traffic. The incident is under investigation by the Minnesota State Patrol.
Star Tribune
Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
The tariffs, if implemented, could dramatically raise prices on everything from gas to automobiles. The U.S. is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent Census data.
Trump made the threats in a pair of posts on his Truth Social site Monday evening in which he railed against an influx of illegal migrants, even though southern border crossings have been hovering at a four-year low.
”On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” he wrote, complaining that “thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” even though violent crime is down from pandemic highs.
He said the new tariffs would remain in place ”until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country! ”
Trump also turned his ire to China, saying he has ”had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail.”
”Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” he wrote.
It is unclear whether Trump will actually go through with the threats or if he is using them as a negotiating tactic before he takes office in the new year.
