The Appleton Detention Facility — you know, the one that was offered to the state for $75 million a year before the federal government paid half a billion dollars for it — is now open and currently housing detainees. An ICE statement touted the prison as fulfilling the “American people’s mandate for mass deportations,” which, okay. Opponents are planning a vigil and news conference for Saturday.
In more ICE news, the St. Peter nurse who was arrested by ICE while observing immigration enforcement activities has sued the federal government. While individual officers cannot be sued, the government can be sued for torts, acts of civil wrong that incur loss or harm. The government has 60 days to respond.
In even more ICE news, Aliya Rahman — who was pulled from her vehicle by ICE agents last January during Operation Metro Surge — is also suing the federal government, also under a tort claim. Rahman has said she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when she got caught in a traffic jam caused by enforcement activities, and continues to suffer mental and physical pain.
Lynne Russo grew up in Minnesota and went to the U of M, but she settled in North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in 2024 and spurred Russo to action raising funds to help those impacted by the hurricane. She turned that community-minded momentum into a run for a state House seat and now she will take office next year after flipping a seat that hasn’t been held by a Democrat since 1959.
A decade ago, St. Paul Public Schools had 39,000 students, but that’s down to 32,000 now and falling birth rates are likely to push that number ever lower. As a result, the district is considering school closures and beginning the process of evaluating schools while seeking input from families.
The blue wave in last week’s election set a new milestone for the U.S. House of Representatives where for the first time, 100 Democratic women will be legislators. That number includes Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar and (for now) Kelly Morrison from Minnesota. On the Republican side, Michelle Fischbach represents the 7th District.
A Burger King customer in Faribault has filed a formal discrimination charge with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after an employee at the drive-thru window delivered food in blackface on Halloween. In a video of the incident, the employee explains to the customer, who is Black, that she thinks it’s okay to wear blackface if you have a good heart, later responding to the question “Do you know the struggles that we go through as Black people?” with “Yes I do … I mean, no I don’t,” which seems like something straight out of a “30 Rock” episode.
And finally in your Minnesota news roundup: The owner of Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store is going full send on it after being charged with selling candy containing alcohol without a license. Robert Wagner has temporarily renamed the store Minnesota’s Most Wanted Candy Store.
“If I thought for a moment that I couldn’t legally have this candy, I wouldn’t have this. If I thought that I was going to be breaking the law, I wouldn’t put it on a shelf for 650,000 customers to walk by and view,” Wagner said. “If I’m going to sell fentanyl, I’m not going to put it on the front porch with a sign that says fentanyl. I’m gonna put it in the basement.”
No word yet on whether they’ve checked his basement.
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