Star Tribune
Voter anxiety over the economy and a desire for change return Trump to the White House
WASHINGTON — A disaffected electorate wanted former President Donald Trump to return to the White House, a blatant rejection of Vice President Kamala Harris and her nearly four years with President Joe Biden.
The Republican’s victory came from a public so put off by America’s trajectory that they welcomed his brash and disruptive approach. About 3 in 10 voters said they wanted total upheaval in how the country is run, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Even if they weren’t looking for something that dramatic, more than half of voters overall said they wanted to see substantial change.
Both nationwide and in key battleground states, the Republican won over voters who were alarmed about the economy and prioritized more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. Those issues largely overshadowed many voters’ focus on the future of democracy and abortion protections — key priorities for Harris’ voters, but not enough to turn the election in her favor.
Trump’s victory, however, wasn’t a total mandate. Even as Trump prevailed in the electoral college, there were concerns about how he could wield his power. Most voters said they were very or somewhat concerned that electing Trump would bring the U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leader has unchecked power. Still, more than 1 in 10 of those voters backed him.
Voters gave Trump the edge on their top concern: the economy
Anxiety about inflation was high nationally, and voters broadly believed that Trump would be better equipped than Harris to handle the economy and jobs. The key swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin largely mirrored the mood of the nation.
The share of voters who said their family’s financial situation was ”falling behind” rose to about 3 in 10, up from roughly 2 in 10 in the last presidential election. Many voters were still reeling from inflation that spiked to a four-decade high in June 2022. About 9 in 10 voters were very or somewhat concerned about the cost of groceries, and about 8 in 10 were concerned about their health care costs, their housing costs or the cost of gas.
Trump eroded Democrats’ traditional advantage among key groups
Richfield voters approved a half-cent sales tax to raise $65 million for a new community center, updates for Veterans Park, and a new educational facility at Wood Lake Nature Center.
But in Roseville, results were split: Voters approved a half-cent sales tax for one of two city projects on the ballot, saying yes to a $64.2 million facility for the public works and parks departments but no to a $12.7 million license and passport center.
Voters in Cottage Grove rejected a half-cent sales tax for 25 years that would have funded three projects: $17 million for improvements to Hamlet Park to include a new building, play equipment, a skateboard park and other amenities; $13 million for improvements to the 33.3-acre Mississippi Dunes Park; and $6 million for improvements to the River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center that would include pickleball courts, indoor multi-sports simulators a winter mountain biking course and other amenities.
Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey said the city tried to make it clear that the half-cent sales tax would cover all three projects, but some voters may have thought that each required its own tax. The projects remain part of the city’s long-term capital improvement plans and may be picked off one by one as funding allows. The Hamlet Park skateboard park, for example, is planned for construction in three years, Bailey said.
The Mississippi Dunes riverfront park may be eligible for state or federal funding, so the city will start looking for other options to move that piece forward, he added.
Greta Kaul and Liz Navratil contributed to this story.
Star Tribune
No prison for man whose drunken Lake St. crash severely injured counterculture character who later died
Case suffered numerous injuries from the crash, among them: trauma to his brain, a shattered spleen and numerous broken bones.
Judge Burns explained in his verdict filing that Nieves was not charged with criminal vehicular homicide, because “it is unclear from the record as to whether the victim died as a result of this accident or other issues. The court notes that [Nieves] is charged with criminal vehicular operation as a result of the injuries sustained by the victim, not based on his death.”
As a hippie, he fully embraced a drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. His counterculture adventures and misadventures ranged from getting kicked out of the Army, painting water towers across the Midwest, riding a motorcycle across Europe, living in Copenhagen and driving across the country with a collection of old brass beds to sell in San Francisco.
After he sobered up, he even achieved a degree of respectability. His passion for going to concerts with a camera, talking his way backstage and hanging with the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead resulted in a book he co-authored and published in 2019: “When the Stones Came to Town: Rock ‘N’ Roll Photos from the 1970s.”
According to his online obituary, Case “never stopped collecting — vinyl records, vintage toys, metal signs, rock posters, you name it. Also collected were friends. Everywhere he went, Fred’s jovial nature, infectious sense of humor, and boundless font of fascinating stories drew people to him.”
Star Tribune
A judge put a Kandiyohi County sheriff’s deputy on probation for on-duty crash while drunk
A Kandiyohi County sheriff’s deputy has been put on probation for being drunk when he crashed his squad vehicle while on duty.
Christopher Todd Flatten, 40, of Atwater was sentenced Tuesday in District Court after pleading guilty to fourth-degree drunken driving in connection with the wreck on July 18 east of Willmar in Gennessee Township.
Judge Amy Doll’s sentence includes two years’ supervised probation and sets aside a 90-jail term. Flatten also was ordered to pay $415 in fines and fees.
The deputy, who joined the Sheriff’s Office in late April, was put on “critical incident leave” at the time of the crash, a statement from Sheriff Eric Tollefson read. There has been no follow-up from Tollefson about Flatten’s job status since he was sentenced.
According to the criminal complaint:
Two State Patrol troopers were sent to County Road 4 near the intersection with E. 1st Avenue and saw the squad SUV in a field and a uniformed Flatten unresponsive and behind the wheel. Flatten was removed from the squad and taken by air ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital.
Soon after the crash, a trooper went to the hospital with a court order to collect a sample of Flatten’s blood to test for drug or alcohol impairment. However, Flatten refused to allow the blood draw to occur. The trooper did detect an odor of alcohol coming from Flatten and noticed that the deputy’s speech was slurred, and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy.
