By Madison McVan | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
Today marks five months since the start of the U.S.-Iran War.
Eighteen Americans have died and another 624 have been injured so far. One of the dead was a Minnesotan.
More than 7,800 people have been killed in Iran and Lebanon since Feb. 28 as a result of the war, including at least 1,460 civilians.
Iran is icing out President Donald Trump, though Trump said this morning on Fox News that “they just came out and said we are talking.” Iranian regime: Not so much.
New York Times headline: “Trump backs new Iran talks but it’s unclear what he hopes to achieve this time.”
An average gallon of gas in Minnesota costs $4.02 today. U.S. strategic oil reserves are at their lowest point since 1983 as the Trump administration drains the reserves to keep supplies flowing and tamp down costs.
To the rest of the news:
Gov. Tim Walz, who ended his bid for a third term under intense scrutiny over fraud, has not endorsed Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan's bid for U.S. Senate. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
By Max Nesterak
Republicans have a one-word message for voters in 2026: fraud.
As Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan battles Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic primary race for Senate, Flanagan’s ties to the administration of Gov. Tim Walz mean she’s battling the same political attacks over fraud in social services that tanked Walz’s campaign for a third term.
This is the counterpart to Max’s profile of Craig, published yesterday.
By J. Patrick Coolican
A federal judge halted a new Minnesota law aimed at stopping the massive expansion of gambling via prediction markets on sites like Kalshi and Polymarket.
The two companies and the Trump administration sued Minnesota to invalidate the new law, and federal Judge Katherine Menendez granted a preliminary injunction to stop the law from taking effect during the ongoing litigation. She determined the companies and the federal government were likely to prevail and face "irreparable harm” should the law — the first of its kind in the nation — go into effect.
By Michelle Griffith
Michelle rounded up the key points in the debate between Craig and Flanagan hosted by MPR yesterday.
Craig and Flanagan agree on most issues, from providing undocumented immigrants a path to legal status, banning corporate campaign contributions and ending the president’s war in Iran.
But they traded familiar barbs on immigration, fraud and corporate money.
By Alison Davys
Alison Davys, who has worked in the clean energy and transportation sectors for 12 years, writes that climate change activists can take a page from the playbook used against Big Tobacco in the fight for clean air.
“We can’t let frustration mutate into despair that prevents us from taking the actions we can. We can still use a hammer when our nail gun is missing and continue building structures while we save up for a new nail gun,” Davys writes.
IN OTHER NEWS
Trump administration sustains defeat on vote-by-mail order in federal appeals court | Reformer vis States Newsroom
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations | St. Louis Public Radio
45 restaurants that shaped Twin Cities dining | Star Tribune
OH BY THE WAY
Here’s a song for your Tuesday. Have a great day!
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