Star Tribune
Joe Biden turkey pardon today saves two Minnesota birds
Every Thanksgiving week, the governor of Minnesota welcomes turkeys to the Capitol — but not for a pardon. A “presentation.” Minnesota does not pardon turkeys. Minnesota would, in fact, like everyone to eat more turkeys. Minnesota turkeys generate more than $1 billion in economic activity and account for tens of thousands of jobs, according to the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.
So this Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz will welcome a pair of somebody’s dinner to the Capitol and, in keeping with tradition, withhold pardons from them. The birds were raised by Jake Vlaminck, president of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, on his farm in Lake Lillian. Paisley VonBerge of the Hutchinson Future Farmers of America chapter, did the work of socializing the young turkeys and getting them camera-ready.
In Washington, Biden ended his final turkey pardon on a wistful note. He and his wife, Jill, were heading to Staten Island for a Friendsgiving with members of the Coast Guard, in memory of their late son. He urged the country to hold in their hearts all the families with empty seats at the table this season.
Being president has been “the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” Biden said. “Remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.”
Not much remains today of Camp Snoopy, the woodsy indoor theme park where Charlie Brown and the gang once came to life inside the Mall of America.
Curious Minnesota recently did a dive into what happened to the beloved theme park and how Nickelodeon Universe came to be.
The giant red dog bowl where groups met up, the Snoopy bounce house, the whimsical fountain — all were replaced years ago by the characters and branding of Nickelodeon Universe.
But Camp Snoopy still conjures nostalgic memories for the people who grew up visiting this unique attraction. People at the mall can still experience pieces of the original park, like the Log Chute.
Submit your photos and/or videos below for a chance to be featured in an upcoming video.
Star Tribune
Mankato police and city officials meet with Muslim community at Islamic Center of Mankato
MANKATO – City and police officials attempted to reassure members of the Muslim community of Mankato recently after concerns about a suspected arson at a mosque.
“Every single Mankatoan has value and should feel safe,” said Jeremy Clifton, Mankato’s recently appointed director of public safety, before a gathering of about 40 attendees at the Islamic Center of Mankato on Friday.
Last week, members at the mosque said a man attempted to set part of their mosque on fire as part of a “brazen” act on Sunday afternoon. The Mankato police, however, said the Islamic Center of Mankato had not faced any threat, and a man was simply lighting firecrackers.
Clifton on Friday said the man who lit firecrackers near the mosque apologized.
The public safety director added that he will have better communication with leaders in the Muslim community in the future.
The man, who was not identified, has been cited for sale, possession and use of prohibited fireworks, a misdemeanor, the Mankato Department of Public Safety said in a statement last week.
People gathered at the mosque for Friday prayers said they felt Mankato police had downplayed their concerns. Abdi Sabrie, a co-founder and board member of the mosque, said many in the Muslim community in Mankato worry about their safety after the reelection of Donald Trump. He said the president-elect’s first term led to an increase in anti-Muslim vandalism attempts in Minnesota.
In 2016, a shirtless man attempted to tear down the Islamic Center’s sign, and in 2021, two vandals spray-painted slurs on a car owned by a member of the mosque.
There is “no known connection” between an employee who was stabbed in the neck at a Fleet Farm store in Carver over the weekend and the man who attacked her, officials said Monday.
The stabbing occurred about 2 p.m. Sunday at the Fleet Farm just off Hwy. 212 near the Jonathan Parkway exit, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office said.
The employee, a 17-year-old girl from nearby Jordan, was taken by ambulance to HCMC, where she was last reported to be in stable condition, the sheriff’s office said. Her identity has yet to be released.
The suspect, a 31-year-old man from Kansas City, Kan., was arrested about an hour later during “a high-risk traffic stop” in Chanhassen, according to the jail log and the sheriff’s office.
Charges have yet to be filed. The Minnesota Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
“There is no known connection between the suspect and the victim,” read a statement from the sheriff’s office, which did not offer a motive for the attack.
