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State settles lawsuit with former DHS employee
Aaron Norgren claimed religious discrimination and retaliation when he was denied a promotion following his complaint regarding mandatory training videos.
MINNEAPOLIS — Aaron Norgren, a security officer at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in St. Peter, was required in 2020 — like all Department of Human Services employees — to watch several training videos.
They included including one titled “How to be Anti-Racist,” which included a full minute of silence for the murder of George Floyd and centered on the teachings of teachings of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, who wrote a book called “How to Be an Antiracist.”
Norgren opposed that as well as another training video called “Understanding Gender Identity and Expression: Moving Beyond the Binary,” which DHS says aimed to “educate employees on… the experiences of transgender and nonbinary employees and clients”
Doug Seaton, an attorney for the conservative Upper Midwest Law Center, explained Norgren’s opposition to that training.
“What Aaron objected to is he was being asked to affirm and essentially endorse views of human gender and sexuality that were antithetical to his Christian faith. That was the core problem he saw here,” Seaton said.
Norgren filed a complaint, then after he didn’t receive an interview for a promotion, he filed a lawsuit — claiming religious discrimination and retaliation — based on his prior opposition to the training topics.
DHS claimed Norgen did not meet the job’s qualifications.
A federal district judge initially dismissed the lawsuit, but a court of appeals revived it and ruled Norgren made enough of a case regarding retaliation that it could proceed. Before a trial or judgment occurred — the state agreed to settle, paying a total of $15,000, which Norgen and his attorney consider a victory.
“It’s a good outcome for him. And it’s a good outcome for Minnesotans. Because we now have the state on notice that they can’t simply cavalierly override objections that employees have raised to what they believe are anti-family, anti-Christian, anti-American, so-called training imposed on them unrelated to their jobs,” Seaton said.
But attorney Christy Hall from the nonprofit Gender Justice says the dollar figure on the settlement is an insignificant amount.
“It’s going to be less expensive for the state to settle the claim than it is for the state to litigate the claim,” Hall said.
Hall said the most important takeaway to anyone who supports those types of training in the workplace is that the court of appeals found no First Amendment issues with the training material itself or making the training mandatory.
“There is certainly nothing in the resolution of this lawsuit or in the 8th circuit’s decision from earlier that forbids the state from doing that or even discourages the state from doing that,” Hall said.
Norgren is no longer a state employee.
The Department of Human Resources did not provide a response or answer questions for this story.
The ball will take place at the JW Marriott at the Mall of America.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Urban League Twin Cities is offering a chance to connect with local leaders, support a good cause and get dressed up fancy – a Unity Ball.
The time-honored community group advocates for African descendants to access employment, education and wealth accumulation opportunities in the area.
As for the ball, the event will be held at the JW Marriott at the Mall of America in Bloomington. Proceeds will go to fund the Urban League’s programs and advocacy.
Tickets are $250 and can be purchased at this link. For those interested in sponsoring the event, there are a variety of donation options ranging from $1,000 to $25,000.
As of Sept. 27, the Unity Ball had raised $19,600.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio are meeting Tuesday for their first and only scheduled vice presidential debate.
NEW YORK — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio are meeting Tuesday for their first and only scheduled vice presidential debate.
Walz, who is Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, and Vance, who is on the Republican ticket with former President Donald Trump, will make the case for their respective candidates five weeks before Election Day. They have been crisscrossing the country to introduce themselves to voters, paying special attention to the handful of battleground states that will determine the winner.
Here’s how to watch the debate:
The 90-minute debate will start at 9 p.m. EDT on Oct. 1. It’s being moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan of CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
CBS News is airing on its broadcast network live and will livestream it on all platforms where CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ are available. It’s also being made available for simulcast, and other networks will likely air it.
The vice-presidential debate is taking place in New York City.
Often the scene of fundraising events for candidates in both parties, New York has been considered a reliably Democratic state in the general election. But Trump, a native New Yorker, has insisted he has a chance to put it in the Republican column this year, despite losing the state in his two earlier bids for the presidency, and has held events in the South Bronx and on Long Island.
Harris, meanwhile, has announced she’s skipping this year’s Al Smith dinner, a Catholic Charities benefit event held in New York City that is typically used to promote collegiality and good humor. Rather than attend the Oct. 17 gala — at which Trump will now be the sole featured speaker – Harris’ campaign said she would stump in an important battleground state instead.
Walz and Vance will meet for the first time in person on the biggest stage of their political careers. Both have been engaged in preparations for the debate with stand-ins used for their opponents.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been playing the role of Vance in the Walz debate prep, which has been taking place at a downtown Minneapolis hotel, according to a person familiar with the preparations. The person said Buttigieg was chosen because he’s a sharp communicator, and the campaign believes that Vance will be a formidable opponent.
On the Republican side, a person familiar with Vance’s preparations said GOP Rep. Tom Emmer — who, like Walz, hails from Minnesota — will be standing in for the Democrat in a similar fashion. The people speaking about both candidates’ plans spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door preparations.
CBS is expected to release more information about the debate rules in the coming days.
No additional presidential or vice presidential debates are scheduled, but that could always change.
After Harris and Trump’s presidential debate on Sept. 10, Harris said she’d be open to debating the former president again. She said she would “gladly” accept an Oct. 23 invitation from CNN and hoped Trump would do the same.
Trump, however, has said that date, less than two weeks ahead of the November election, would be “too late.” Early voting is already underway in several states.
But that proposed timeline would be roughly in line with the last two presidential cycles. Trump’s last debate with President Joe Biden in 2020 was on Oct. 22, and the third and final debate he had with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 occurred on Oct. 19.
Presidential nominees typically debate each other more than once per cycle, but this year is different in several ways. Debates are being orchestrated on an ad hoc basis by host networks, as opposed to the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, through which debate rules were previously negotiated privately.
Trump and Biden debated each other once this year, but Biden’s disastrous performance in that June meeting is one of the factors that led to his decision to shutter his reelection bid, making way for Harris to become the Democrats’ nominee.
The 15-year-old was last seen on Sept. 21 and has not been in contact with friends or family.
MAPLE LAKE, Minn. — The Wright County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing 15-year-old girl who left her home on Sept. 21.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Madison Allen is believed to have left her house on her own. Since then, family and friends have been unable to contact her.
Investigators say Allen previously lived in western Wisconsin and may have returned to that area. She is 5 feet 5 inches, 115 pounds, and she has hazel eyes and long hair that is dyed red.
The BCA said in a release that Allen likes to wear black clothing and frequently wears her hair in braids. The teen also has braces and a small heartbeat tattoo on her right hand near her thumb.
Anyone who has seen or knows the whereabouts of Madison is asked to contact the Wright County Sheriff’s Office at 763-682-7600.
