Star Tribune
Hennepin Board candidates Edelson and “tarantula-tosser” Simonetti square off
Edelson served three terms in the Legislature as a DFLer representing Edina in the House. Previously, she worked as a therapist and said mental health services would be a top priority for her as commissioner.
Heather Edelson responded to a question at Wednesday night’s forum for the candidates in the Hennepin County District 6 race. (Jeff Wheeler)
Simonetti later acknowledged that she works as an OnlyFans model, under the pseudonym Jennie Kennedy, and previously worked as an escort. She has said she had to make a plan for her and her son to escape an abusive relationship. and that she now has “considerable wealth.”
Edelson made a passing mention to Simonetti’s work under her alias, saying: “There are not two versions of me. With me, you get what you see.”
The District 6 special election in May drew just 11,386 of more than 126,000 registered voters in the district, which includes Edina, Greenwood, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Shorewood and Wayzata. Nearly 98,000 District 6 voters cast ballots when the seat was last on the general election ballot in November 2020.
District 6 isn’t the only Hennepin County district to feature a competitive board race.
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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