Star Tribune
Man admits robbing letter carriers in Edina, Brooklyn Center
Social media accounts showed him with counterfeit checks, large amounts of cash, according to court documents.
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Star Tribune
Walz-Flanagan partnership on ice since governor’s failed vice presidential bid
Multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Walz team was not pleased with steps Flanagan had taken to assume the governorship.
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Star Tribune
Rochester school district faces federal complaint over diversity hiring programs
The complaint from Parents Defending Education, a grassroots organization self-described at the “forefront of the fight against indoctrination in the classroom,” comes at a precarious time for districts that promote diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to take away funding from schools that offer programs not aligning with his views on DEI or transgender rights.
Star Tribune
Klobuchar ascends to top spot on Senate Ag
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee in the next Congress, after a vote of support from her colleagues on Wednesday.
Klobuchar becomes ranking-member on the powerful committee, which will oversee the next farm bill, a day after Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democratic counterpart, became ranking member for the House Agriculture Committee.
Klobuchar won her fourth term in the U.S. Senate earlier this year. With the retirement of current Ag Committee chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, Klobuchar had largely been expected to ascend to her party’s top spot on the committee.
“When I first came to the Senate, my number one request was to be on the Agriculture committee,” Klobuchar said, in a statement. “From working across the aisle to strengthen our defenses against animal disease outbreaks to bolstering our ability to produce home-grown fuel and supporting conservation efforts, the work of the Agriculture Committee touches every aspect of our lives.”
Republicans won the U.S. Senate in November’s elections, and Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas will chair the committee for the GOP. But the committee, as in the House, will operate within a closely divided chamber where the minority party will maintain limited but important leverage over the steering of farm policy, environmental programs and nutrition funding.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers were advancing a proposal to extend the current farm bill through March, with an additional $10 billion in aid for farmers and ranchers.