A U.S. House panel that decides committee assignments has recommended Rep. Angie Craig serve as the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Agriculture Committee.

The House Steering and Policy Committee’s decision to back Craig was made on the first ballot. The Minnesota congresswoman was locked in a tight three-way race with incumbent ranking member Georgia Rep. David Scott and longtime California Democrat Rep. Jim Costa. A source familiar with the race said Craig received 34 votes, Costa 22 and Scott just 5.

“I am humbled to have earned the recommendation of the Steering and Policy Committee to serve as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture. I’m ready to help us win back rural Americans, and with them, a strong Democratic Majority. I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues across the full Democratic caucus tomorrow,” Craig said in a statement.

Though the House Steering and Policy Committee has made its recommendation, the contentious ranking member race is not over yet.

The full House Democratic caucus will need to vote on committee leadership elections, a vote that is expected to take place on Tuesday. The full caucus can vote differently from the House Steering and Policy, but Craig’s strong support from committee gives her an advantage.

Heading into Monday’s panel vote, some members of the House Agriculture Committee said Craig was a strong contender and had been working hard behind the scenes to earn their support.

Republicans will remain in charge of the House Agriculture Committee in the next Congress, as the GOP retained control of Congress in the November elections. The current chair of that committee is Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania. Scott is the first African-American to lead the committee, but he has been plagued by health issues.

Reporter Christopher Vondracek contributed to this report.

The vehicle on Emerson was occupied by a man and a woman, and they were taken by emergency medical responders to a hospital with critical injuries.

Lolo Samuelson told the Star Tribune she was walking to the store when she came upon the crash scene moments after impact.

She said one of the vehicles slammed into a Metro Transit bus stop, while the other ended up in a yard at the intersection. On the pavement was someone who was at the shelter when it was struck, she said.

Samuelson, 18, said she approached the station and saw a vehicle was on fire with one person inside “who wasn’t moving or anything like that. A lady, she was making noises, so I knew she was alive.”

Samuelson said she didn’t hesitate before going up to the burning vehicle.

“In that type of situation, you just want to make sure people are going to be OK,” she said. “Just give me a sign that you’re still responsive, that you’re still here.”

A 17-year-old has admitted that he fatally shot a 16-year-old boy in a New Hope home with a “ghost gun” and was sentenced as a juvenile to a state facility for three years.

Anthony Freebird Wirtjes pleaded guilty in Hennepin County District Court to second-degree manslaughter stemming from the shooting of Keair Marquis Reed, 16, of Chaska, on Sept. 18 in Wirtjes’ home in the 6000 block of N. Quebec Avenue. Reed, who was shot in the eye, died on Sept. 24.

Wirtjes will be housed at the Minnesota Correctional Facility for juveniles in Red Wing until Jan. 9, 2028, when he turns 21.

Cary Reed said in an online fund-raising effort on behalf of the family that his son “did not deserve to have his life taken at such a young age. He had goals and dreams to become a architect. He was fun-loving, protective and a very respectful child [who] leaves behind four brothers and a sister.”

A police firearms examiner tested the 9-millimeter firearm, called a ghost gun because it lacked a serial number and was assembled with parts bought together in a kit or in separate transactions, according to the charges. The examiner found it had a “binary trigger,” meaning it fired when the trigger was squeezed and also when it was released, effectively doubling the rate of fire.

In June, Gov. Tim Walz signed legislation addressing gun violence that included a ban on binary triggers. It takes effect on Jan. 1.

The felon who killed three Burnsville first responders and wounded another in February had a large arsenal in his home — allegedly purchased by his girlfriend as a straw buyer — that included a .300-caliber semiautomatic firearm equipped with a binary trigger.