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MN Senate passes gender-affirming care, abortion protections
The bills passed the Democratic-controlled House earlier this session, and Gov. Tim Walz has vowed to sign them into law.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The Democratic-led Minnesota Senate followed their counterparts in the House by passing bills Friday to make Minnesota a refuge for youth seeking gender-affirming care, out-of-state abortion patients and providers seeking protection, and to ban so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.
All three bills passed the Democratic-controlled House earlier this session. While Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, bill sponsors were confident heading into the emotional debate. First up was the conversion therapy ban, which passed 36-27 with two Republicans voting “yes.” The abortion refuge bill passed 34-29 on a party-line vote, and the trans refuge bill won similar approval 34-30.
The conversion therapy ban and trans refuge bills now go straight to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. Meanwhile, the bill expanding abortion rights was headed back to the House for its agreement with adding pharmacists to the list of shielded medical providers.
“The through-thread in all of these, of course, is people should be free,” Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble, of Minneapolis, author of the conversion therapy ban, said at a news conference ahead of the debate.
“People should have the liberties that are guaranteed in our constitution,” Dibble said. “People should have the right to self-determination, and in Minnesota, people should be free from the laws of other states that would impact and negatively affect all of those basic American rights and freedoms.”
Democratic Sen. Kelly Morrison, of Deephaven, the author of the abortion bill, said the three pieces of legislation collectively “say to Minnesotans that you are safe here in Minnesota, and to people who are forced to flee their home states because they are not safe there, we say, ‘Welcome and you are safe here in Minnesota.’”
Walz has already signed an executive order to protect young people and their families who come to Minnesota for health care from states where it’s illegal to seek gender-affirming care. But the bill will etch those protections into law. Similarly, the conversion therapy ban builds on another Walz executive order.
The abortion bill is designed to protect people who come to Minnesota for abortions from legal repercussions in states where abortion is banned or sharply restricted, such as lawsuits, subpoenas and extradition. Minnesota courts would be prohibited from enforcing out-of-state subpoenas for medical records or judgments against patients or providers.
Opponents of the conversion therapy ban argued that it would impinge on religious freedom and the ability of families to seek counseling for children who they say need help sorting out their sexual identities.
GOP Sen. Paul Utke, of Park Rapids, argued against the abortion bill, saying Minnesota should not protect doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who have intentionally violated the abortion laws of other states.
“We need to uphold and honor the rules and laws of our neighboring states, and states across the country,” Utke said during the debate.
The author of the trans refuge bill, Democratic Sen. Erin Maye Quade, of Apple Valley, filed an ethics complaint this week against Republican Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, of Glencoe, over a link to a video that he emailed to Democratic senators, with a note saying it documented “mutilating transgender surgeries on minor children. Extremely graphic and disturbing.”
Maye Quade said at the news conference that it would be “wildly inappropriate” for senators to send videos of genitalia to their colleagues. She said she wanted “to draw a very bright line in the sand of what is and is not appropriate behavior and conduct. … This crossed the line.”
Experts testified as the bill went through committee hearings that gender-confirmation surgery is very rare for minors, and that gender-affirming care for them normally ranges from changes in dress and hairstyles to counseling and hormone therapy.
Gruenhagen clarified that what he shared was actually a video created by doctors at the University of Louisville Medical School as a tutorial for gynecologists to familiarize them with gender transition surgery. The introduction to the video does not disclose the age of the patient.
“I’m disappointed that Sen. Maye Quade choose to take this matter public before … approaching me with her concerns,” Gruenhagen said in a statement, in which he claimed the complaint was without merit. “I’m sure we could have found some resolution as colleagues.”
Maye Quade told reporters that senators can maintain strong opinions without sharing such imagery. She was backed up by Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke, of St. Paul, the first trans person elected to the Minnesota Legislature.
“Trans people are not mutilated. Trans people are whole,” Finke said. “We are wholly ourselves. … They are obsessed with our bodies and genitalia in a way that is absolutely horrific.”
“The forces of hatred and bigotry are on the march in states across this country. But let’s be clear: In Minnesota, that march stops at our borders,” Gov. Walz tweeted on Friday afternoon. “When the Trans Refuge Act reaches my desk, I’ll be proud to sign it into law.”
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The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way.
WELCOME, Minn. — Nine students were injured Wednesday morning when a truck crashed into a bus in southern Minnesota.
The crash occurred at 8:15 a.m. in Welcome, Minnesota after the bus driver failed to yield to the truck, which had the right-of-way at the intersection of County Road 7 and 280th Street, according to the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office. In a press release, officials say the nine students sustained “minor injuries” and were transported to a nearby hospital.
The initial investigation indicates that the truck, an F550, was traveling north on County Road 7, while the bus, which was providing service to the Wabasso Public School District, was traveling east on 280th Street. The news release says the truck had the right-of-way at the intersection.
“We are grateful that no serious injuries happened to our students, the driver or the other driver, however, nine students were transported to area hospitals for follow-up treatment,” Superintendent Jon Fulton said in a letter to parents. “… The District and 4.0 bus transportation company is praying for a speedy recovery for the students and families involved.”
Several fans said this team has inspired them to pursue a career in sports.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Lynx is inspiring the next generation of athletes regardless of whether they win or lose.
Sophia Witkowski went to the game with her mother, Christy, to watch Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
“For her to see all her idols it’s just so fun,” Christy said.
“I like it because women’s sports aren’t that popular. Now the WNBA is really popular,” Sophia said.
They weren’t the only mother-and-daughter duo at the game. Amanda Williams took her 10-year-old daughter Abby to watch.
“It’s really awesome to have my daughter here to see great role models from the team and the fact,” Amanda said.
“I think that it’s super cool that they get to do what they want to do, and they get paid for it too,” Abby said.
Maggie Niska with Her Next Play, a nonprofit working to empower the next generation of female leaders through sports, said their visibility is everything.
“I think it gives these girls someone to look up to, and it gives them something to aspire to, and by having them in the community it makes seem a little more reachable too,” Niska said.
She said the Lynx Academy put on a basketball clinic for some of her girls in Hopkins Tuesday night. Niska said all of the professional women’s sports teams in Minnesota show girls they can have a future in sports.
“I just think that any visibility these girls can get to women competing at sports at a higher level, hearing these women speak, and seeing them succeed, and getting insight into their lives and what they do to compete at this higher level, I think all of that serves as a great inspiration to these girls,” she said.
It’s something Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve understands well.
“For young girls to see the opportunities for them to play in any sport and then also more in sport, jobs in sports that sports can be a career,” Reeve said.
Sophia Ritter and Taylor Tool drove hours to see the players in action.
“We traveled from Aberdeen, South Dakota and the Northern State women’s basketball team took two vans,” she said.
Ritter and Tool both said it was a cool opportunity for them to see two great teams play on the professional level.
“Growing up, WNBA wasn’t really a big a thing and something that everyone was watching and now that it’s growing it’s really nice to see,” Ritter said.
“It’s really fun seeing all the support and seeing how many people come to watch the games like it’s really cool to see all the fans in the stands filling up and it’s growing,” Tool said.
Gophers’ Shoot Guard Mara Braun went to the game with her team after practice.
“These women out here are just amazingly talented and they play with this toughness that I think we’re really trying to embody as a team,” Braun said.
She knows young girls are looking up to her and her teammates just like they are with the Lynx.
“Especially growing up, you know, you want to play college basketball, and the next level is WNBA or overseas or whatever it is, so for me this is obviously a dream and something I’m working towards to be able to see it,” she said.
Braun dreams of playing in the WNBA and watching the Lynx and the Liberty in the finals makes that dream feel like it could be her new reality.
The department is the only one in the state to start a non-fatal shooting unit that launched in January.
ST PAUL, Minn. — The City of St. Paul has seen a number of deadly shootings recently, but often it’s the ones that aren’t fatal that don’t get as much attention. And for police, they can also be harder to solve.
The department, though, is trying something new to try and reverse that trend.
“The amount of guns that are on the street right now,” St. Paul Police Commander Nikkole Peterson said about the biggest change she’s seen in the 22 years she’s been a cop. “It’s jaw-dropping.”
Commander Peterson is now in charge of the department’s non-fatal shooting unit that launched in January focusing only on those crimes.
It’s the only department in the state implementing something like that, after it saw success with the police department in Denver, Colorado doing something similar.
“If there’s a shooting, it doesn’t matter what time of night that happens or time of day, that sergeant will get called in to begin the investigation immediately,” said Commander Peterson.
The crime used to fall on the homicide unit that’s already burdened by heavy case loads. There’s also usually little victim cooperation which can stall solving non-fatal shootings.
“A lot of times we wouldn’t investigate it any further or the prosecutor wouldn’t charge those crimes and we knew that something different had to be done,” said Commander Peterson.
The unit is now treating non-fatal shootings like homicides and making them a priority. The investigators also rely more heavily on evidence and devote just as many resources, from forensics to video management and even SWAT teams.
“We are utilizing all these different resources to help solve these crimes,” said Commander Peterson. “We’re chasing down every lead that we can.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said there have been 86 non-fatal shootings compared to 99 this same time last year. But two years ago, there were 170, putting the city’s solve rate around 60%.
“Anything above 50% is just incredible and so we’re really happy with where we’re at right now,” said Commander Peterson.
Commander Peterson also credits the city’s ASPIRE program that focuses on intervention, particularly with youth. She also points to the Office of Neighborhood Safety that partners with local organizations working on prevention, saying this cooperation is ultimately what will reduce crime.
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