Star Tribune
What Rep. Ilhan Omar actually said in viral speech
Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing scrutiny and criticism from Republicans based on a flawed translation of a speech she made at a gathering to commemorate recent elections in Somalia.
Republicans led by U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, also from Minnesota, have criticized an alleged translation of a speech to a room full of Somali supporters in Minneapolis last weekend, with Emmer calling it “anti-American” in a post on X. Omar said the translation accompanying a video of the speech that went viral on the social media site formerly called Twitter was “slanted,” and “completely off.”
The speech was held at an event at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Minneapolis on Jan. 27 to celebrate the recent election in the region of Somalia known as Puntland. Omar’s comments turned to a recent port deal between landlocked Ethiopia and the breakaway republic Somaliland that’s left the entire Horn of Africa on edge.
In the wake of the port deal between the northern region of Somalia and Ethiopia, Omar said in the speech that she’s fielded calls from concerned people who want the United States government to intervene in hopes of nullifying the 50-year agreement.
Omar’s office pointed to a more accurate translation of her speech posted online. A Star Tribune reporter who speaks Somali listened to the speech and reviewed the transcript, and found it matched Omar’s actual comments. It said:
“My answer was the U.S. government will do what we tell the U.S. government to do. We as Somalis should have that confidence in ourselves. We live in this country. We pay taxes in this country. It’s a country where one of your own sits in Congress. As long as I’m in Congress no one will take Somalia’s sea. And the United States will not support other people to rob us. Rest assured Minnesotans. The woman you sent to Congress is aware of you and has the same interest as you.”
The translation now under dispute characterized Omar’s comments this way: “The U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia … together we will protect the interests of Somalia.”
Emmer, other Minnesota Republicans, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders have called for Omar’s resignation. On Wednesday, Emmer requested an Ethics Committee investigation into her comments based on a claim made in coverage of the speech by some local and national outlets contending that Omar pledged her allegiance first to Somalia when she allegedly said she will protect their interests in Congress.
Emmer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of the ethics complaint.
Omar provided a prepared statement Tuesday that said she rejects the attempt to question her character and her loyalty to America, her home.
“The attacks being lobbed against me are not only completely false, they are rooted in xenophobia and Islamophobia. This is a manufactured controversy based on an inaccurate translation taken entirely out of context,” Omar said. “I’m no stranger to these types of misinformation campaigns targeting Muslim elected officials.”
The congresswoman said she supports a unified Somalia, which aligns with longstanding U.S. policy favoring a one-Somalia approach.
At the event, Omar said that “As long as I’m in Congress no one will take Somalia’s sea and the United States will not support other people to rob us.”
The video was originally circulated by Ambassador Rhoda J Elmi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of Somaliland on X. The ambassador was critical of Omar’s comments, calling her language divisive and unbecoming.
Star Tribune staff writer Faiza Mahamud contributed to this report.
Star Tribune
Long Prairie, MN school board dismisses its superintendent, the latest controversy in this small town
LONG PRAIRIE, MINN. — The school district superintendent dressed up as the school mascot, Thor, on football nights. He read the graduation address in both English and Spanish. He even set up office hours in the cafeteria, granting easier approachability to students.
But now, two months into the school year, Daniel Ludvigson is gone. Or, rather, “on special assignment,” according to the terminology of the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School Board, which voted 4-3 earlier this month to remove him as superintendent. The move came weeks after voting to not renew his contract, which expires at the end of the school year in June.
Four board members — two of whom voted to oust Ludvigson, including Board Chair Kelly Lemke — are up for re-election next week.
The dismissal is the latest blow in this central Minnesota community on the edge of the prairie. Over the last nine months, the town of 3,400 residents and seat of Todd County has lost its mayor, a city manager, two school board members, and now its superintendent.
Students walked out earlier this month in support of Ludvigson. Signs in support of Ludvigson can be seen across town on the lawns of apparent Democrats and Republicans alike. And last week, hundreds packed the American Legion off Hwy. 71 to eat beef sandwiches and sign support letters for Ludvigson, who only swung by to pick up his child for hockey practice.
In a time of great divide in America, this fight has nothing to do with politics.
“You’ve got Harris buttons and Trump hats side-by-side, arm-in-arm,” said Amanda Hinson, a former local newspaper reporter who is concerned the board is not being upfront about why they placed Ludvigson on special assignment. “We want transparency in our government.”
Lawn signs around Long Prairie, Minn., now include people weighing in on the dismissal of Superintendent Daniel Ludvigson by the school board. (Christopher Vondracek)
School board members say Ludvigson has repeatedly shown he is not ready for the prime time of a school district bigger than the one in central North Dakota he arrived from two years ago. They have twice disciplined Ludvigson, but did not state the reason for placing him on “special assignment,” beyond insinuating that staff are fearful to raise official complaints.
Rain and potentially heavy snow are on tap Thursday around the Twin Cities, just before families set out for Halloween trick-or-treating.
Temperatures were expected to drop throughout the day, creating conditions for flurries. A winter weather advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. covering the Twin Cities metro area and parts of south-central Minnesota. Steady rain drenched the Twin Cities on Thursday, making for a soggy morning commute.
“As colder air begins to move in this morning, the rain will transition to heavy snow from west to east with snowfall rates of an inch per hour at times into early afternoon,” the National Weather Service in Chanhassen said in a weather advisory.
The Twin Cities and surrounding areas could get between 2 and 4 inches of snow, according to the weather service. The winter weather advisory is expected to affect Anoka, Chisago, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Washington and Le Sueur counties.
It’s unclear how much of the snow will actually stick, with warm surface temperatures likely leading to melting on contact in many areas.
“Exact totals will depend on snowfall rate, surface temperatures, and melting — which increases uncertainty with the snow forecast,” the weather service said in an early Thursday briefing.
“Thundersnow possible!” the weather service emphasized.
The good news for Halloween revelers is that the snow and rain are expected to wrap up in time for trick-or-treating, though temperatures will remain in the 30s with a sharp windchill.
An off-duty Washington County sheriff’s deputy caused a head-on crash while under the influence of alcohol and injured a couple in the other vehicle, officials said.
The crash occurred about 10:40 a.m. Sunday in Afton on Hwy. 95 at Scenic Lane, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings, was heading north in his Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a southbound Ford Expedition, the patrol said.
Blair and the other vehicle’s occupants, 38-year-old Erik Robert Sward and 36-year-old Heather Lynn Sward, both of Lake Elmo, were taken to Regions Hospital with non-critical injuries, according to the patrol.
The patrol noted the alcohol use by Blair was involved in the crash.
Blair, who was driving a private vehicle at the time of the crash while off-duty, has been a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2020 and is currently assigned to our Court Security Unit.
The Sheriff’s Office has been asked for reaction to the crash involving one of its deputies.
