BLAINE, Minn. — A youth gymnastics coach is charged with criminal sexual conduct after police claim he exposed and rubbed his genitals in front of children at a park in Blaine. 

Prosecutors detail the charges against 26-year-old Kyle Anthony Pekula in a criminal complaint filed in Anoka County District Court this week. 

Blaine police officers were dispatched to Carrara West Park at 1495 132nd Ave. NE just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 20 on reports of a man exposing himself. The mother of a 12-year-old boy told police that a man – later identified as Kyle Pekula – walked up to a picnic table where a number of children were, sat down and began talking to them. 

During the conversation, the boy told police Pekula took his genitals out of his shorts and began rubbing himself with a Cheeto and then placed the food on the table. 

At one point, the witness said, Pekula invited the children to attend his gymnastics class if they got permission from their parents, and proceeded to walk towards Jam Hops Gymnastics studio. Police went to the studio and met with Pekula, who matched the witness description.

The criminal complaint says Pekula admitted to being at the park and talking with children but denied exposing himself. Police then collected his clothing and found orange coloring like the kind used on Cheetos inside the defendant’s boxer shorts, the complaint stated. 

Brenda Nolby, President of Jam Hops Gymnastics Studio, sent a message home to families informing them of Pekula’s arrest, and saying the coach had been fired and barred from entering the facility or making contact with students.  

“This incident is deeply troubling. We know this has shaken trust and created concerns among parents and the community, and we are heartbroken this happened. Jam Hops was founded on a passion not only for gymnastics and dance, but also for inspiring kids to be life champions,” the statement read. 

Nolby said Jam Hops is cooperating with Blaine police on the investigation and has reported the incident to SafeSport, the safety governing body that oversees gymnastics. She also told parents that Pekula was subject to a background check, which the studio does every two years. 

Fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $3,000 fine. 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Urban League Twin Cities is offering a chance to connect with local leaders, support a good cause and get dressed up fancy – a Unity Ball. 

The time-honored community group advocates for African descendants to access employment, education and wealth accumulation opportunities in the area. 

As for the ball, the event will be held at the JW Marriott at the Mall of America in Bloomington. Proceeds will go to fund the Urban League’s programs and advocacy. 

Tickets are $250 and can be purchased at this link. For those interested in sponsoring the event, there are a variety of donation options ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. 

As of Sept. 27, the Unity Ball had raised $19,600. 

NEW YORK — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio are meeting Tuesday for their first and only scheduled vice presidential debate.

Walz, who is Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, and Vance, who is on the Republican ticket with former President Donald Trump, will make the case for their respective candidates five weeks before Election Day. They have been crisscrossing the country to introduce themselves to voters, paying special attention to the handful of battleground states that will determine the winner.

Here’s how to watch the debate:

The 90-minute debate will start at 9 p.m. EDT on Oct. 1. It’s being moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

CBS News is airing on its broadcast network live and will livestream it on all platforms where CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ are available. It’s also being made available for simulcast, and other networks will likely air it.

The vice-presidential debate is taking place in New York City.

Often the scene of fundraising events for candidates in both parties, New York has been considered a reliably Democratic state in the general election. But Trump, a native New Yorker, has insisted he has a chance to put it in the Republican column this year, despite losing the state in his two earlier bids for the presidency, and has held events in the South Bronx and on Long Island.

Harris, meanwhile, has announced she’s skipping this year’s Al Smith dinner, a Catholic Charities benefit event held in New York City that is typically used to promote collegiality and good humor. Rather than attend the Oct. 17 gala — at which Trump will now be the sole featured speaker – Harris’ campaign said she would stump in an important battleground state instead.  

Walz and Vance will meet for the first time in person on the biggest stage of their political careers. Both have been engaged in preparations for the debate with stand-ins used for their opponents.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been playing the role of Vance in the Walz debate prep, which has been taking place at a downtown Minneapolis hotel, according to a person familiar with the preparations. The person said Buttigieg was chosen because he’s a sharp communicator, and the campaign believes that Vance will be a formidable opponent.

On the Republican side, a person familiar with Vance’s preparations said GOP Rep. Tom Emmer — who, like Walz, hails from Minnesota — will be standing in for the Democrat in a similar fashion. The people speaking about both candidates’ plans spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door preparations.

CBS is expected to release more information about the debate rules in the coming days.

No additional presidential or vice presidential debates are scheduled, but that could always change.

After Harris and Trump’s presidential debate on Sept. 10, Harris said she’d be open to debating the former president again. She said she would “gladly” accept an Oct. 23 invitation from CNN and hoped Trump would do the same.

Trump, however, has said that date, less than two weeks ahead of the November election, would be “too late.” Early voting is already underway in several states.

But that proposed timeline would be roughly in line with the last two presidential cycles. Trump’s last debate with President Joe Biden in 2020 was on Oct. 22, and the third and final debate he had with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 occurred on Oct. 19.

Presidential nominees typically debate each other more than once per cycle, but this year is different in several ways. Debates are being orchestrated on an ad hoc basis by host networks, as opposed to the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, through which debate rules were previously negotiated privately. 

Trump and Biden debated each other once this year, but Biden’s disastrous performance in that June meeting is one of the factors that led to his decision to shutter his reelection bid, making way for Harris to become the Democrats’ nominee.