Star Tribune
President-elect Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever hold the influential role.
Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.
She was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it.
”Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement. “It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — during his first administration, part of record-setting personnel churn in his administration.
Successful chiefs of staff serves as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends their time and whom they speak to — an effort Trump chafed under inside the White House.
The chief of staff is ”absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book ”The Gatekeepers” details how the White House chief of staff role shaped and defines a presidency. ”At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”
Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Star Tribune
Maple Grove remains undefeated with an exclamation point, routing Edina 35-0 in Class 6A high school football playoffs
Consider the question answered. Perhaps not officially, but as close as it gets.
The question: Can anyone beat Maple Grove? After the Crimson pummeled Edina 42-12 in Thursday’s Class 6A quarterfinal at Park Center, it appears the answer is no.
Edina seemed positioned to challenge the No. 1-ranked Crimson’s dominance, but Maple Grove took control of the game early.
The Crimson scored 21 first-half points on an 18-yard run by Charles Langama, a 29-yard pass from Kaden Harney to Oliver Walseth and a 1-yard run by Harney and led 21-0 at halftime.
Maple Grove cemented its victory with a pair of Bo Draheim touchdowns early in the third quarter. He followed a 1-yard scoring run with a 30-yard reception for a TD and a 35-0 lead.
Edina made the score a little more respectable in the fourth quarter with touchdowns by Chase Bjorgaard and Meyer Swinney.
Maple Grove improved to 11-0. Edina fell to 8-3.
”If we leave the conference room after a meeting and somebody leaves trash on the table, Susie’s the person to grab the trash and put it in the trash can,” said Chris LaCivita, who served as campaign co-chair along with Wiles.
Another of her three posts on X this year was in the closing days of the campaign, clapping back after billionaire Mark Cuban remarked that Trump didn’t have ”strong, intelligent women” in his orbit. After Wiles’ selection as White House chief of staff, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Trump backer, quipped on X that the president-elect had chosen a ”strong, intelligent woman” as his chief of staff.
She can control some of Trump’s worst impulses
Wiles was able to help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it. At one point late in the campaign, when Trump gave a widely criticized speech in Pennsylvania in which he strayed from his talking points and suggested he wouldn’t mind the media being shot, Wiles came out to stare at him silently.
Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his ”best-run campaign.”
”She’s incredible. Incredible,” he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month.
Star Tribune
Prolific record-breaking angler Art Weston, with help from Minnesota’s Nolan Sprengeler, caught 54-inch muskie on Mille Lacs
To that Sprengeler yelled back, “I know!”
After netting the fish, the fishermen looked at each other and Weston remembered shouting in excitement, “It’s long!”
In similar fashion, Sprengeler responded, “I know!” telling Weston “I think this is the one.”
After measuring and taking photos, the massive muskie was released safely.
Sprengeler, who didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday, is no stranger to huge muskies. In November 2021, Sprengeler, of Plymouth, landed a massive muskie of his own on Mille Lacs that measured 57 3/4-inch and weighed 55 pounds and 14 ounces. For that catch, Sprengeler and two friends had to break the ice for about 100 yards to get his boat into open water on the lake’s west end.
The weather was more cooperative during the most recent trip.
