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Minneapolis eyes turning burned-out Third Precinct into elections office

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The city of Minneapolis is contemplating converting most of the burned-out Third Precinct police station into a city elections office.

Nothing is definite, and City Council members on Tuesday emphasized that they and their constituents have their own ideas about the future of the building that was overrun by a crowd of demonstrators and set ablaze days after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.

According to a presentation to council members Tuesday from the city’s property services division, about three-fourths of the building could be used for the city’s office of Election and Voter Services, while the remaining portion could be used for some type of community space.

Council members, meeting as a committee Tuesday, took no action on the idea. Several said they were skeptical and would need the endorsement of the community to get behind the idea. But it remains unclear if that matters; the council may have limited power over what could be considered an administrative decision on how to use existing city property.

But this isn’t just any existing property, several council members said, recalling the traumatic events of 2020, from Floyd’s murder to the uprising and violence that followed.

Public ideas for the former station at 3000 Minnehaha Av., which remains cordoned off by razor wire, have ranged from a center for democracy to a re-opened police station — an idea rejected by the council earlier this year in favor of buying a nearby building and renovating a portion of it for a police station.

City staff considered several possibilities for the site: a farmers market, a new animal control and adoption facility, and several public works-related facilities. However, city zoning regulations prohibit most of those uses, and opening an elections office there would save money by allowing those operations to move out of a space that is currently leased, officials said.



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With a coin flip, Lucie Skjefte appointed to the Minneapolis school board

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The Minneapolis school board on Tuesday night appointed Lucie Skjefte, chair of the district’s American Indian Parent Advisory Committee, to fill the vacant District 3 board seat in the city’s center.

Her selection ultimately came down to chance.

Skjefte emerged from earlier ranked-choice voting in a tie with Fatimah Hussein, and the two then deadlocked, 4 to 4, in a live board vote before a coin was flipped in Skjefte’s favor.

They were among four finalists to succeed Faheema Feerayarre, who resigned in September, too late for the seat to be placed on the November ballot.

The move throws two new members into the mix as the school board works to erase an anticipated budget deficit and dig into a “transformation process” that could include closing and merging schools.

Greta Callahan, a former president of the teachers chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, won election last week to the District 6 seat.

During an appearance before board members last Thursday, Skjefte, who is a Red Lake tribal member, spoke of her work as an Indigenous graphics designer and as director of operations for the Mni Sota Fund, a community development group that seeks to empower Native people.

She said she’d aim to “reach out and create spaces for every voice, especially for those from historically marginalized communities.”



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What to know about Forest Lake’s Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to serve as defense secretary

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In picking Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, President-elect Donald Trump has selected a military veteran and popular conservative media personality with a large following of his own.

Hegseth, 44, has developed a close rapport with Trump, who also reportedly considered him for a post in his first administration. Hegseth has lobbied Trump to release service members accused of war crimes.

Here are a few things to know about Hegseth.

He’s a Fox News personality and author

Co-host of Fox News Channel’s ”Fox & Friends Weekend,” Hegseth has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He developed a friendship with Trump through the president-elect’s regular appearances on the show. In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson complimented Hegseth’s military knowledge, saying his ”insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers.”

He’s also written a number of books, several for the network’s publishing imprint, including ”The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.” In announcing Hegseth’s nomination, Trump complimented that book, noting its ”nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.”

Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience.



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More than half of Minnesota county election offices receive bomb threats since Nov. 8

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Election offices in more than half of Minnesota’s counties have been targeted with emailed bomb threats since Nov. 8, the office of the Secretary of State said Tuesday.

The threats come as election workers are still in the process of verifying the results of the 2024 election.

In a statement, Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office is coordinating with local, state and federal partners to “ensure that our election officials can complete this important work and that those responsible for these threats are held accountable.”

“Threats of violence against election workers, aimed at disrupting our democracy, are absolutely unacceptable,” he said.

Turnout was high in Minnesota in 2024, but it was lower compared to the 2020 presidential election.

Unofficial 2024 results show about 76% of registered voters cast a ballot, down from the record-breaking 79.96% turnout in 2020, the office of the Secretary of State said last week.

The unofficial results, however, are higher than the 74.72% turnout recorded in 2016.



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