By J. Patrick Coolican | Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers.
Sleeper race this fall: Republican U.S. Rep Brad Finstad’s former campaign chair has endorsed his Democratic opponent Jake Johnson, who is running an excellent race in the 1st Congressional District. These are the wave races that people tend not to see coming.
Moving on: Imagine what the political atmosphere would be like if evidence emerged of a Democratic administration going undercover into anti-abortion groups to spy on them. Weeks of high-profile congressional hearings, weeks of investigative followup from the national media, Democrats forced to condemn the administration.
This is the Great Inurement, so I guess we — and especially Republicans — just accept the government spying on organizations that oppose regime policy, which was revealed in court documents last week.
Now, MPR reports that the operation, dubbed “Operation Puppet Master,” may have violated a federal court injunction barring the government from enforcing civil immigration laws on church properties.
University Baptist Church in the Dinkytown area is part of the Alliance of Baptists and the American Baptist Churches USA, which both won the temporary injunction in the District of Massachusetts in February forbidding the feds from “arrest, seizure, search, interrogation, questioning, interview or investigation” on the property.
Breaking a court order: Nothing new for this administration.
I blame Democrats, in part, for the enfeebled response. Sen. Amy Klobuchar had to be coaxed into a response by the Reformer’s Michelle Griffith Friday. She’s on the Senate Judiciary Committee! There should be immediate hearings.
As governor, Klobuchar will have to be the tip of the spear in our resistance to an administration violating our constitutional rights.
To some news:
(Getty Images)
By Max Nesterak
Thousands of workers will receive raises with the new hourly wage floors across four job categories: $22.50 for certified nursing assistants, $23.50 for trained medication aides, $27 for licensed practical nurses, and $19 for all other nursing home workers. The hourly wages will increase another $1.50 per hour across all job categories on Jan. 1.
The minimum wages are the culmination of a yearslong campaign by the Services Employees International Union — representing nearly 50,000 Minnesota healthcare and long-term care workers — to increase pay across the entire nursing home sector despite fierce resistance from industry leaders, who warn tight margins keep them teetering on the brink of closure.
By Amanda Watford
The changes come amid growing scrutiny of a surveillance network that Flock says has more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and serves thousands of law enforcement agencies and communities.
The cameras photograph passing vehicles and record information including license plates, vehicle characteristics, location and time. Police can search the resulting data during investigations, sometimes across jurisdictional lines.
More than 50 agencies or communities have canceled, suspended or rejected a Flock contract or deactivated their cameras since the beginning of 2026, according to DeFlock, a grassroots group that tracks license plate reader deployments. Cameras have also been vandalized in communities around the country.
By Nazra Ahmed
Nazra Ahmed, a Somali home care worker, was initially terrified of the federal immigration crackdown. Then, as she witnessed the bravery of other Minnesotans, she felt emboldened and started checking in on her neighbors. That included a man whose wife is undocumented and was arrested. She connected with members of her community to start paying his rent.
“He and his wife are very hard-working. They don’t ask anyone for help. They’re proud. I could see that he was feeling shame about accepting help. But I told him: We’re family. He started crying, and he was saying he will never forget us. I told him: That’s why we’re here. We’re here for each other. We are all God’s children.”
IN OTHER NEWS
‘Hidden homicides’: Families push states for more scrutiny of domestic violence deaths | Reformer via Stateline
Why are Texas muni bonds so expensive? Climate. | Bloomberg gift link
OH BY THE WAY
Thanks to the good people at YMCA Camp Miller, where our 4-year old learned to ride a bike and our 9-year old shot a bulls-eye on the archery range during ‘family camp.” Both boys did a scary zipline thing and went swimming and kayaking and roasted marshmallows and did their best with the, uh, Upper Midwest cuisine and learned a little about consideration when living in close quarters and waiting your turn and taking the plunge.
I’m unclear if there’s a connection to this past weekend, but 30 years ago yesterday, some friends picked me up at the Albany bus station and we drove to a de-commissioned Air Force base in Plattsburgh, New York, where 70,000 people gathered to see six sets of Phish, as well as art installations and aerialists at a festival dubbed “Clifford Ball.” (Here’s a bit of lead guitarist Trey Anastasio blissing out during “Reba.”) I’m in a group chat of these same friends, and it’s called simply, “The Ball.”
An apt song: Faces’ “Ooh La La.”
Have a great day all! JPC
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