Star Tribune
Foundations invest $6 million into new fund to support local journalism in Minnesota
Some of Minnesota’s largest foundations are backing a new local news fund that’s collected $6 million so far in a five-year effort to bolster local journalism across the state.
Press Forward Minnesota, which launched last January, has raised $6 million in donations so far from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, the Bush Foundation in St. Paul, the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group in St. Paul and the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation.
Mukhtar Ibrahim, who is a consultant on the initiative, said Friday he hopes to get more foundations to support the fund.
“We want to keep the momentum going,” said Ibrahim, former CEO of the Sahan Journal in St. Paul and a former Star Tribune reporter.
The effort is part of a national Press Forward coalition that started last year, aiming to invest $500 million in newsrooms nationwide. Other regions have their own chapters, including Chicago, which has raised about $10 million.
Since 2005, more than 2,000 newspapers have closed in the U.S. — almost a third of all newspapers — with Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota losing the most newspapers per capita between 2005 and 2023, according to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
That’s leaving a growing number of communities without any local news source. Research has shown that, when local newspapers close down, fewer people vote or run for local office and cities approve higher bond spending. In Minnesota, eight weekly newspapers closed earlier this year, some after operating for more than a century.
Minnesota’s fund will be administered by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, which will start accepting grant applications this fall. Ibrahim said it’s too early to say how much grants will be, but for-profit and nonprofit news organizations statewide will be eligible to apply.
“This will benefit the whole state,” he said. “We need to see journalism as essential [to fund] as much as public works … it affects the health of a society.”
Star Tribune
Trump’s campaign says candidate is safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity in Florida
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s campaign says he is safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity Sunday afternoon in Florida.
The campaign did not immediately provide any additional details.
The news comes roughly two months after the Republican presidential nominee was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
A man died after being found unresponsive in a Faribault manhole Friday.
The Faribault Fire Department and law enforcement responded to a call of a person unresponsive in a manhole on the 1900 block of Second Avenue Northwest in Faribault around 7:30 a.m. Friday, a Faribault Fire Department news release said.
Firefighters entered the manhole and gave the man oxygen before removing the man and taking him to a waiting North Ambulance helicopter, the release said. The manhole had high levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide, as well as low oxygen levels, tests found.
“This is a tragic event and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the individual,” Fire Chief Dustin Dienst said in a statement.
The Faribault Fire Department and Faribault Police conducted an investigation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified.
Her white house sits on a busy street not far from Lake Superior. She has limited mobility and enjoys the frequent passers-by, some of whom comment on the sea of blooms she’s packed into her tiny yard.
Flowers show up inside, too, with forget-me-nots on hallway wallpaper and roses on curtains. Last week, jewelry, décor and other odds and ends were stacked around the home as she prepared for a “fire sale” to clear some belongings ahead of her looming surgery. In the next month, she expects to undergo an unusual procedure at the University of Minnesota. Volz said her diaphragm has effectively “disintegrated” and her stomach is pressed against her heart and lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
It’s the latest in a lifetime of bad luck, said Volz, who has struggled with depression and spine, hand and ankle injuries. She receives a Community Access for Disability Inclusion waiver, one of many federally funded waiver programs the state uses to support people with disabilities, older adults, those with brain injuries and the chronically ill and medically fragile.
Direct support professional Blaire Alyssa Frost, left, helps Victoria Volz inside her home in Duluth on Tuesday. (Leila Navidi)
Her waiver covers a range of services, including occasional nurse visits and 30 hours a week of help from a support professional, which can include everything from shopping for groceries to going up and down stairs with laundry. A document Volz received from St. Louis County breaking down her waiver costs includes $53,000 for a year of services from the personal care assistant company.
She likely owes roughly $600,000 for the years of services she’s received since turning 55, Volz’s attorney Malcolm Davy estimated.
Trump “safe” after gunshots fired in his vicinity in Florida, campaign says; Secret Service investigating
Trump’s campaign says candidate is safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity in Florida
Donald Trump says “I hate Taylor Swift!”
Trump “safe” after gunshots fired in his vicinity in Florida, campaign says; Secret Service investigating
Trump’s campaign says candidate is safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity in Florida