Star Tribune
Ex-deputy Bidal Duran wins tight northern Minnesota House race against homeless advocate Reed Olson
A former sheriff’s deputy and a homeless advocate in Bemidji went head to head to represent a state House of Representative seat in northern Minnesota, with fewer than 1,000 votes determining the winner.
In the tight race, Republican Bidal Duran secured 52% of votes over DFL opponent Reed Olson to maintain GOP control of the state House of Representatives 2A seat. The margin came down to 850 votes, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.
Olson, 48, a restaurant owner and homeless shelter director in Bemidji who served on the city council and Beltrami County Board of Commissioners, hoped to flip the seat blue for the first time in a decade.
Rep. Matt Grossell, R-Clearbrook, also a former sheriff’s deputy, did not seek a fifth term to represent the district that covers Lake of the Woods County, portions of Beltrami and Clearwater counties and the Red Lake Reservation.
Duran previously told the Minnesota Star Tribune that law enforcement should have a bigger voice at the Capitol. But Olson and his supporters were concerned about Duran’s law enforcement experience.
As a Bemidji police officer, Duran fatally shot a Red Lake man during a 2018 traffic stop. He was cleared of criminal charges. As a sheriff’s deputy, Duran’s truthfulness was called into question after a judge admonished him for lying on a search warrant. The sheriff also terminated Duran in the midst of his campaign and previously reprimanded him for turning off his body-worn camera while talking with citizens.
Duran said he had been pursuing early medical retirement for the past nine months, and after exhausting his medical leave, he was terminated.
The election season is finally over, but voters who displayed their support for candidates and issues with a plastic yard sign shouldn’t just throw them away.
Signs backing Donald Trump or Kamala Harris or the local school levy are recyclable. But not in the typical curbside bin.
Instead, several counties and cities in the Twin Cities metro are providing drop-off locations for residents to recycle political signs.
Keep in mind, some candidates and political parties will pick up their signs and use them again. But if that doesn’t happen, recycling is the way to go.
Angie Timmons of Hennepin County Environmental Services says several drop-off locations will be available from Nov. 12 through Nov 26.
“This work is in response to the many inquiries we would get this time of year,” Timmons said, noting it was one of the first ways the county was expanding the collection of hard-to-recycle items. “This is a small, but meaningful effort that aligns both with our priority actions to reinvent the solid waste system and address community concerns about plastics.”
St. Paul is accepting signs Saturday and the Washington County Environmental Center in Woodbury also takes them. Metal stakes should always be removed from the signs and can be recycled separately at scrap metal drop offs.
Cities and counties typically send the signs they collect to Choice Plastics, an industrial scrap plastic recycler and broker. The company was founded in 2001 and has an 80,000 square-foot facility in Mound.
Maple Grove has reached an agreement with Life Time to take over its athletic club building and use it to expand the city’s community center. In exchange, the city will acquire land for the fitness chain to build a new facility.
City officials on Thursday announced the deal, which includes Maple Grove purchasing 17.5 acres of land for Life Time’s new athletic country club and other mixed-use development, south of Hwy. 610 at the intersection with Interstate 94. The land is part of the broader 100-acre Minnesota Health Village development, anchored by Maple Grove Hospital and medical offices.
Under the agreement, the city would acquire Life Time’s existing 70,000-square-foot building, which is connected to the Maple Grove Community Center. City officials plan to use nearly $11 million in capital funds to complete the deal. Life Time is seeking tax incentives for its new development, which would bring the city’s cost to $17.5 million.
City Administrator Heidi Nelson said the acquisition will add to the city’s $104 million, years-long plan to renovate its community center. The first phase, which is now underway, includes adding a third sheet of ice and expanding parking. Construction is expected to begin next year to renovate the aquatics area.
Voters in 2022 approved a local option sales tax to fund $90 million of the project, with state bonds and private contributions helping pay for the rest.
Nelson said the city could use the Life Time space for its teen center, a gymnasium and fitness equipment. The community center and Life Time already share indoor and outdoor pools. She said once the deal is approved, the city would enter into the design process for the space and finalize more details.
“We are excited to bring the fullest vision of the Maple Grove Community Center project to life,” Mayor Mark Steffenson said in a news release.
While Life Time constructs its new facility, the company would lease its current space so residents can continue using the fitness center. The company has yet to provide details on its plans for a new health club in the Minnesota Health Village area, which will be considered by the Maple Grove Planning Commission at its Nov. 25 meeting. The City Council would then consider the real estate agreement and tax abatement request on Dec. 2.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Royce White said Thursday that he is likely to run for the office again in two years, when Democratic Sen. Tina Smith’s term runs out.
White first posted his latest plans on X, formerly Twitter. Asked for confirmation by phone, White said it’s “very likely” he will run against Smith, but said he is not ready to make a formal announcement. “I’m going to get a good 24-month run at Tina Smith,” White said.
A spokesperson for Smith did not return a call seeking information about her 2026 plans. An email to the Senator’s office was not returned Thursday.
Klobuchar beat White by more than 15 points, but it was the smallest margin she’s received in her four Senate campaigns, and White was also able to flip 29 rural counties that Klobuchar carried in 2018. Klobuchar beat GOP Jim Newberger by more than 24 points during her last run in 2018, Republican Kurt Bills by more than 34 points in 2012 and Republican Mark Kennedy by more than 20 points during her first run in 2006.
White said he is also considering running for governor in 2026. Gov. Tim Walz, who was part of Tuesday night’s losing presidential ticket, and whose term also ends in two years, has not yet revealed his plans.
“We’ll see how things shape up,” he said.
