By Max Nesterak | Deputy Editor
Good morning, Reformers.
President Donald Trump told the United Nations on Tuesday he faces a “big decision” in Iran: make a deal or "annihilate" the country.
“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?” Trump asked during a 37-minute speech. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly … Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”
At least 19 Americans have died and the war has cost the United States $40 billion. About 830 U.S. soldiers have been injured. Thousands of Iranian civilians have been killed, and the United Nations found reasonable grounds to believe the United States was responsible for an attack on a primary school that killed more than 150 people.
Let’s also not forget the astronomical price of gas and diesel, which will probably weigh the heaviest on voters’ minds in the midterms.
Diesel hit a new high Tuesday, reaching a national average of $6.52 per gallon, according to AAA. Gasoline hovered at $4.47 a gallon.
To the Reformer.
(Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
By Lauren McCauley
Family members of those killed by federal immigration agents told Democratic members of Congress Tuesday that they’ve been victimized twice over by the Trump administration’s pattern of obstruction and lies about the shootings — and about the victims themselves.
The shadow hearing, which was held in Washington, D.C., sought to draw attention to the lack of justice given the victims of the many questionable shootings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Stella Carlson, a community activist who filmed the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, told the lawmakers that she felt like she “witnessed two assassinations, the first was the literal assassination of Alex and the second was the attempted assassination of his character.”
By Maya Betti
Former Gov. Mark Dayton recently began a book tour following the release of “Perseverance,” a memoir reflecting on his nearly five decades in Minnesota politics.
Dayton has rarely been seen in public after retiring from office in 2019. In revisiting the people and experiences that influenced his career, however, he’s sought to offer some insight into the current political landscape ahead of November’s elections.
As Dayton approaches 80, the “L” word is hanging over him: legacy, especially how future generations — including his five grandchildren — view his public life.
“I wanted to write something that they could remember me by, and something that hopefully the next generation will take to heart,” he said.
By Sue Abderholden
Sue Abderholden, former executive director of NAMI Minnesota, urges parents to watch for signs of depression and anxiety in their children: changes in eating, sleeping, friendships and mood.
Thankfully, schools have become effective institutions for addressing mental health needs. Minnesota was the first state in the country to require teachers to receive continuing education on the early warning signs of mental illnesses in students. Schools are also required to educate students grades 4-12 about mental health and mental illnesses.
Still, she says, more work and more funding are needed for school staff, who see children every weekday and are, beyond family, best placed to spot mental illness symptoms and intervene early.
By Forrester Pack and Lucid Thomas
Housing justice advocates Forrester Pack and Lucid Thomas argue that Minneapolis needs a stronger tax on property owners who allow rental units to be vacant for months while the city faces a housing shortage.
“A stronger vacancy fee would ensure that housing units under corporate property or landlord management receive timely repairs and upkeep, since the vacancy fee incentivizes them to keep their units occupied,” they write.
IN OTHER NEWS
The FBI anti-corruption squad was circling Susan Collins — until Trump got in the way | Reformer via ProPublica
It’s hard to predict who will be suicidal. It’s easier to ensure people can’t shoot themselves. | Reformer via KFF Health News
An army of paid creators is carpeting the web with political content | New York Times
OH BY THE WAY
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers, who writes the Platypus Economics substack, gathered up studies from around the world showing that strong local journalism measurably increases political competition, reduces corruption and supports strong economies.
I know I don’t have to convince any of you about the importance of local journalism since you’re reading the bottom of a Wednesday newsletter from the Reformer, but the concrete examples are fascinating nonetheless. Here are a few:
In the 1930s, counties with stronger radio signals received more federal New Deal dollars.
In Brazil in the early 2000s, corrupt mayors who were exposed before the election were far less likely to be reelected where there was local radio.
After the Cincinnati Post shuttered in 2007, fewer candidates ran for local office in the Kentucky suburbs. Turnout fell and incumbents were more likely to win.
Wolfers’ news hook for his piece is the Trump administration’s latest assault on the press in kicking CNN, MS Now and Politico journalists out of the White House. He just as well could have used artificial intelligence, which I think poses an even greater threat by decimating pageviews that drive critical ad revenue for news organizations. While yours truly is gratefully unencumbered by click counts, philanthropy and paying subscribers simply won’t make up for lost advertising revenue. See: the last 20ish years.
Axios published a graph recently showing U.S. web traffic for top news sites in freefall due to the AI summaries that obviate the need for people to go to actual news sites to read articles.
Tech companies are acutely aware of the effect they’re having. A Microsoft document unsealed in the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft warns that a “doomloop” has already begun.
“It is highly unusual that an end-product threatens the economic foundations of its essential suppliers, but that is the situation we have created for our LLM business with respect to its ‘content supply chain,’” the document says.
AI is killing its golden goose, which is sure to have devastating effects on local government and economies as local news is further eroded.
Correspond: [email protected]
A correction from Monday: Kamala Harris won state Sen. Judy Seeberger’s district 41 narrowly.
And a programming note: Patrick had to cancel his appearance at a League of Women Voters event in Duluth Thursday as he recovers from foot surgery.
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