By J. Patrick Coolican | Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers,
Reminder: Saturday, I’ll be with the national confab of the group “Drinking Liberally” at 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis, which meets from 6-9. I’ll be there by 7.
I’ll host a panel sponsored by the League of Women Voters called “Trusted Elections: Stronger Together” in St. Paul Oct. 8 and Mankato Oct. 22. Sorry I had to miss the first of these in Duluth last night. We’re trying to maintain and — where need be — restore people’s faith in election administration. I won’t be able to make it but check out similar League of Women Voters events coming to the Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes, Friday Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. And, in New York Mills, 3 p.m. also Oct. 2, VFW Post 3289.
Everywhere you look there’s some healthy introspection going on in left-of-center spaces about the past decade. From dysfunctional schools in New York City to dysfunctional lesbian bars in Greenfield, Mass., there seems to be some recognition that the plot was lost.
The most constructive thinking, however, came from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani:
“If you are staring at an example of social disorder or social inefficiency, and the left refuses to explain either why it has happened or how they will fix it, then the right gets to point at someone in the immediate area and say, ‘That’s who did it.’”
The subtext is that blue states and cities have a particular responsibility to govern well, lest they become fodder for right-wing narrative.
As former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger argues, this is Nixon going to China, i.e., only a strident anti-communist like Richard Nixon could restore diplomatic relations with China, and so only a left-wing hero like Mamdani can speak these truths.
And speaking them he is.
To the Reformer:
Lisa Demuth attends her campaign’s watch party at Burger Moe’s in St. Paul on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Demuth, center left, with Ben Golnik, center at computer, monitor results. (Photo by Tony Nelson/MinnPost)
By Michelle Griffith
House Speaker Lisa Demuth has had several defining moments in her campaign for governor thus far. She lost the Minnesota Republican Party’s convention endorsement in May after 10 ballots, though her team successfully raised doubts about the tabulation process to dampen the endorsement of Kendall Qualls.
Later, after missing out on what had been considered a must-have endorsement of President Donald Trump, she went on to win the Republican primary for governor.
On the convention floor and on primary night as the returns came in, Demuth had at her side a GOP operative and lobbyist who is well known at the Minnesota Capitol, but less so to the general public: Ben Golnik.
Golnik has made something of a comeback: He was the Capitol’s most prominent GOP operative for a five-year stretch about a decade ago until he decamped for lobbying, including for Big Pharma and the nicotine industry.
By Alyssa Chen
International human rights organization Amnesty International has called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a new report alleging human rights abuses in the Trump administration’s immigration operations.
The report focuses on documenting human rights violations in ICE operations in the Twin Cities, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington, DC, including racially discriminatory immigration enforcement; unjustified use of force by federal agents; unlawful killings by federal agents; repression of protests through tear gas and pepper spray; unlawful surveillance; and inhumane detention conditions.
It’s the first time the organization has called for the abolition of ICE. Amy Fischer, Amnesty’s director of refugee and migrant rights, said it’s rare move for the organization to call for an agency to be fully abolished, but that the report shows the agency has reached a tipping point after decades of “mass impunity.”
By Chad Maschke
Our Emmer correspondent checks in on the majority whip:
“In January 2024, Emmer said no one, not even the president’s son, is above the law. A Republican senator is now asking Congress to apply Emmer’s stated standard to both a Republican and Democratic president’s sons.
Does the majority whip still think it applies when it’s the son of the president of his own party or does it only apply to people across the aisle?”
IN OTHER NEWS
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to permit quick third-country deportations | Reformer via States Newsroom
Millions of dollars of waste found in Trump administration push for immigration detention | Reformer via States Newsroom
Amid huge cuts at the U … Some Minnesota State campuses likely to close | Star Tribune gift link
A quiet ICE surge that unfolded ‘everywhere all at once’ this summer | New York Times gift link
OH BY THE WAY
Last week I wrote about some nice words in New York magazine about Minnesota’s youth hockey program, especially compared to the private equity-fueled morass of youth sports these days. The basic idea is that we keep hockey relatively affordable and encourage kids to play locally.
“I'm a big proponent of community youth sports, but have boiling contempt for privatized leagues that pull kids out of their community — especially at a young age before puberty changes all their bodies and all the coordination/skills/comprehension that make the difference later. I'll never forget the high school basketball coach stopping to ask the 6'8" kid in the hallway why he wasn’t on the team, and he said it was because he couldn't do the travel teams in junior high.”
A Wisconsinite says Minnesota is doing a better job than the cheeseheads: “Most Minnesota kids still stick around and play high school hockey for their schools, when nearly all their elite peers in other states billet with families across the country to play junior pro before going to college. There are ugly sides to the game, of course — petty personal politics, outrageous controlling and delusional parents, and high-end gear that’s too much money — but at its core, the game is still in a good place.”
Finally, someone who works at the Dakota County Historical Society, which had a women’s hockey exhibit earlier this year, says, “The Minnesota hockey model is really a thing: It was a huge element that emerged over and over again during our research, and something everyone we interviewed brought up repeatedly.”
She notes legal gambling helps pay for it: “Pull tabs are a big part of how those free first seasons happen, as are the very beloved Hendrickson Foundation and a long history of community events like equipment exchanges.”
Seems like we should extend our youth hockey model to other youth sports, though not sure about using gambling proceeds to do it.
Have a great one! JPC
Thanks for reading Daily Reformer. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.