Star Tribune
Taylor Swift endorses Harris-Walz ticket, MN governor reacts on live TV
Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president Tuesday and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, seemingly learned about it during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
In her endorsement, posted on Instagram, Swift said she was particularly “heartened and impressed” by Harris’ decision to choose Walz as her running mate, writing that the governor “has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Swift urged her fans and followers to make their own choice and signed the statement as a “childless cat lady.”
Walz seemed taken aback as Maddow read the statement in full before offering his gratitude.
“I am incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift,” Walz said. “I say that also as a cat owner, a fellow cat owner … That was eloquent. And it was clear. And that’s the type of courage we need in America to stand up.”
He then likened Swift’s endorsement to the activism among much of the Democratic coalition in recent weeks, including Republicans who spoke at the Democratic National Convention and women who have shared their stories about accessing abortion and reproductive health care since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out, making that very clear,” Walz said.
Swift said she made her decision in part because of the proliferation of AI-generated images of her backing former President Donald Trump. Trump recently shared an illustration of Swift dressed as Uncle Sam captioned “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”
A 10-year-old boy has been arrested after police say he recklessly drove a stolen vehicle across a crowded Minneapolis school playground, narrowly missing multiple children.
The boy was booked Thursday into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree assault in connection with the incident on Sept. 20 outside Nellie Stone Johnson Community School in the 800 block of N. 27th Avenue, police said.
Police records indicate that the boy, whose identity is being withheld by law enforcement because of his age, has at least 30 entries dating to May 2023.
He has been arrested at least twice before for auto theft related crimes, according to police. He’s also listed as a suspect in more than 12 cases that range from auto theft to robbery to assault with a dangerous weapon. The remaining entries are mostly related to cases involving running away, police said.
The boy was identified as the driver of a stolen vehicle that went on the grass and sidewalk between the school and the playground. Surveillance video shows school staff frantically trying to move children off the playground and out of harm’s way.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the 10-year-old’s family is cooperating with police and have asked for help to keep the boy or anyone else from being injured or killed.
“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has been involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention,” O’Hara said. “Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior going forward must act now to help this child and his family.”
Star Tribune
Edina man arrested and charged with murder in Redwood Falls, Minn., after allegedly setting up ambush to kill police officers
REDWOOD FALLS, MINN. — Police say a man armed with a rifle set up an ambush that aimed to kill first responders, in a scheme ultimately foiled when his weapon jammed.
Christopher Mark Covert, 27, of Edina, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and first and second degree assault after police said he tried to kill peace officers. He also faces a felony charge for possessing ammunition capable of penetrating body armor.
According to the criminal charges against Covert:
Police said they received two calls about a possible suicide in Redwood Fall’s sprawling Ramsey Park around 9:43 p.m. on Aug. 28.
After arriving at the park, police said they found a car registered to Covert. Inside they discovered camping supplies, a Bible, a crucifix, and Narcan — medicine that rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
As police and a search dog scoured the 256-acre park and its miles of hiking trails, they called out into the darkness, “Christopher, it’s the police, we are here to help you!”
They said they saw a man run from them toward a walking bridge by the city’s power plant.
As the man ran away, he allegedly dropped a black rifle case. Inside the case was an AR-15 rifle with an altered trigger and a red dot optic, and 10 loaded magazines with about 300 rounds — some of which were armor-piercing, police said
“People often say, ‘Who is your senior pastor?’ They can’t tell, and that’s exactly what we want,” said John Alexander, the church’s executive director of creative arts. “We resist as much as possible the potential for celebrity.”
Tim Fischer and Amy Hall chatted with Mark Hennessy after attending an Eagle Brook Church service in Baxter on Sept. 8. (Richard Tsong-Taatariii/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The Lino Lakes lobby began to fill a half-hour before services. Parents checked in kids: Kid-O-Deo for kindergarteners and younger, Elevate for elementary-aged kids, replete with popcorn machines, a climbing wall and Minecraft on PlayStation 4s. When the kids’ service began, about 60 elementary-aged kids watched an Eagle Brook-produced skit on talking to God when you’re afraid. They scribbled down their fears then tore up the papers and gave them to God.
A two-hour drive north, the new Baxter location also filled with young families. Dawn Wicklund, the female pastor, stood unassuming in a flannel shirt, skinny jeans and Nikes. Her Eagle Brook story is like many other congregants. Thirteen years ago, Wicklund was at rock bottom. She’d married her high school sweetheart at 19 when she was five months pregnant. On her first Mother’s Day as a mom, Wicklund’s 17-year-old brother — her closest friend — was killed by a drunk driver. At 25, an overwhelmed mother of three, her dad died of cancer.
That Easter, someone invited her to Eagle Brook Church. She went hesitantly. She’d grown up Christian, but life’s tumult made her angry at God. She wept through the service.
“It just wrecked me,” she said. “… From the moment I sat down, it was just like I knew that Jesus was there, present, and had me there for a reason.”
Congregants have similar stories. Brian Horn lives a two-hour drive from the Lino Lakes campus, on a cattle ranch near Pillager, but he wakes up at 4 a.m. Sundays to drive here for church. He started coming six years ago in search of a new, exciting church experience.
