By J. Patrick Coolican | Editor-in-chief
Good morning, Reformers,
It’s party convention weekend.
Amy Klobuchar has announced her running mate: Former Fergus Falls mayor, former restaurateur and father of five Ben Schierer.
Who? He’d been a candidate for state auditor until today. Perhaps Klobuchar met him on one of her many treks to all 87 counties.
Here’s our quick writeup.
From his website:
“Ben Schierer grew up in Fergus Falls, Minnesota—a community that has always shaped his values and commitment to public service. Fergus Falls is where Ben and his wife, Tessa, are raising their five children, and where together they built two Main Street businesses from the ground up. It’s also where Ben served two terms as mayor, earning reelection as a rural progressive in one of the reddest parts of the state. That experience taught him how to bring people together across divides, get results, and prove that small towns can be places of big ideas.”
Most importantly: He won’t upstage the candidate.
Michelle Griffith and Nicole Neri will be with the Dems in Rochester, and Alyssa Chen and Glen Stubbe will be in Duluth with Republicans. Please say hello and lend them a hand.
Here’s our convention preview ICYMI.
Opining about the endorsement process is the local equivalent of opining about Israel-Palestine: No one cares what I think and it’s never constructive, so I’ll save us the trouble.
That said, it was Minnesota interesting that presumptive DFL nominee for governor Klobuchar wouldn’t tell Axios reporter Torey Van Oot whether she’ll back the endorsed DFL candidate for Senate, who will be Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan after this weekend. Flanagan will have a primary against Rep. Angie Craig.
We’ll have some clarity after this weekend, especially as regards the Republican effort to break a two-decade losing streak in statewide races. Both GOP frontrunners Kendall Qualls and House Speaker Lisa Demuth have pledged to abide by the party endorsement in the governor’s race. Broke pillow mogul Mike Lindell will go to the primary.
Retired sportscaster Michele Tafoya will also go to the primary in the event retired Navy Seal Adam Schwarze is endorsed for U.S. Senate this weekend in Duluth. Republicans have a history of backing endorsed candidates in their primaries.
To today’s Reformer:
Residents confronted federal agents following the shooting on Jan. 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
By Max Nesterak
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who faces charges in Minnesota for shooting a man in the leg during Operation Metro Surge and lying about it was arrested on Friday in Texas, local prosecutors announced.
Christian Castro, 52, was charged earlier this month in Hennepin County with four felony counts of second-degree assault as well as a misdemeanor charge of falsely reporting a crime for shooting through the front door of a north Minneapolis home on Jan. 14 and striking Venezuelan national Julio Sosa-Celis.
He was arrested by agents from the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General and Texas Rangers with investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension present on the scene, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
By Ashley Murray
The Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has attracted scrutiny for its corruption potential, even splitting congressional Republicans who rarely confront President Donald Trump’s decisions and policies.
Among the top concerns: Could pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, riot defendants who assaulted police officers claim a slice of the pie and essentially be rewarded for committing political violence?
Advocates are also legally challenging the fund’s structure that will conceal details from the public, including claimants’ names and amounts paid out.
By Sue Abderholden
Our leading expert on mental health policy traces the shortage of treatment beds to the 48-hour rule, which prioritizes people deemed incompetent to stand trial and who have been committed to be admitted to state hospitals.
“In 2013, 46 people were in jail waiting for a state-operated bed. By 2024, that number was 424. Clearly people couldn’t be moved within 48 hours — there simply weren’t enough beds. State operated services, such as Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center, are now filled with people coming from jails. This is true in Minnesota and across the country.
Meanwhile, there are people with mental illnesses in community hospitals who need this level of care but can no longer access it because the 48-hour rule winds up prioritizing people in the jails.”
IN OTHER NEWS
GOP candidates for gov had a debate; they all love Trump | Star Tribune
Kwik Trip dominates THC drink market, but here comes Target | Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, h/t Strib Nuggets
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A recommendation from my vacation:
After visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, walk to the Washington Monument and then the World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. There’s a lot of construction in Washington, under the benighted gaze of Donald Trump, but with a little mindfulness, you can still feel reverence for pioneers of flight and space exploration, for the men and women who sacrificed so much to defeat fascism, for leaders who struggled with the great moral and political questions of their times.
Correspond: [email protected].
Have a great weekend all! JPC
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