http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/mn/ en-us Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:49:31 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045457/posts NEW ULM, Minnesota, JULY 14, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named Father John LeVoir as the bishop of New Ulm, Minnesota. Bishop-designate LeVoir, 62, succeeds Archbishop John Nienstedt. Archbishop Nienstedt was named coadjutor for the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis in April 2007 and became the archbishop there last May. John LeVoir was born in 1946 in Minneapolis. In 1981, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. The Diocese of New Ulm has some 66,000 Catholics served by 58 priests, 60 religious and three permanent deacons. ZNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2045457/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:49:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028945/posts Minnesotan Jim Johnson, the disciplined, discreet and obsessively meticulous vice presidential vetter for Barack Obama, is a stalwart of the Washington establishment. In the mid-1990s, he headed up a power trifecta: mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Brookings Institution, one of the city's most prominent think tanks. At various times, political insiders have floated his name in Democratic administrations for White House chief of staff, Treasury secretary and president of the World Bank. His circumspect ways - rare in a town known for its shameless attention seekers - have helped make... pioneer press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2028945/posts#comment Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:09:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024205/posts Speaking at the close of the Minnesota Republican Party convention, the former adviser to President Bush painted Democrat Barack Obama as someone 'far out of the mainstream' and he urged the GOP to go after undecided voters. Legendary Republican strategist Karl Rove rallied the party’s troops this afternoon to bring the curtain down on the GOP’s state convention. In a 45-minute speech to convention delegates, he mockingly dismissed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s policy positions and campaign missteps, saying the Illinois senator is someone “far out of the mainstream” who “doesn’t necessarily have the same view of America that you... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024205/posts#comment Sun, 1 Jun 2008 00:59:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023576/posts Ron Paul continued his push for a speaking role at the Republican National Convention with an address Friday to supporters outside the Minnesota state convention. Paul has continued his presidential bid despite Sen. John McCain's status as the presumed nominee. With state GOP leaders refusing to allow him to speak inside the convention hall, Paul told about 400 supporters he was more concerned about spreading his libertarian message than preserving party unity. "The campaign that is going on right now is the campaign for the freedom revolution, which is going to be going on for a very long time," Paul... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023576/posts#comment Fri, 30 May 2008 16:23:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022702/posts It's easy to understand how Minnesota National Guard soldiers deployed overseas would miss lots of things about home. Things like sitting down to a simple Sunday dinner with family. A number of years ago, that notion struck St. Paul City Councilman Pat Harris as he sipped a beverage at Mancini's Char House on West 7th, and he decided that an overseas dinner was do-able. Harris didn't have to go far for help. Mancini's, Cossetta, O'Garas, Skinners Pub, are among the familiar names on St. Paul's restaurant landscape that power and help fund an effort called 'Serving our Troops.' It's a... KARE11.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022702/posts#comment Wed, 28 May 2008 23:57:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022258/posts A group of Muslim workers allege they were fired by a New Brighton tortilla factory for refusing to wear uniforms that they say were immodest by Islamic standards. Six Somali women claim they were ordered by a manager to wear pants and shirts to work instead of their traditional Islamic clothing of loose-fitting skirts and scarves, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil liberties group that is representing the women. The women have filed a religious discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "For these women, wearing tight-fitting pants is like being naked," said Valerie... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022258/posts#comment Wed, 28 May 2008 02:35:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020048/posts Minnesota Republicans unleashed one of their harshest piece of opposition research yet on Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken, pointing out a 2000 column, including graphic sexual descriptions, written by Franken for Playboy magazine. The Minnesota Republican Party on Thursday circulated a letter from GOP women calling on Franken to apologize for the piece. The public airing of the column coincided with Republican objections to Playboy CEO Christie Hefner throwing a fundraiser for Franken. In the column, titled “Porn-O-Rama!” and clearly intended to be humorous, Franken describes visiting a fictional sex institute where he participates in sex acts with machines and... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020048/posts#comment Fri, 23 May 2008 02:20:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018739/posts An act of bravery to defend a co-worker has cost a Minnesota gas-station attendant his job. Mark Beverly, an overnight shift supervisor at a SuperAmerica in Roseville, Minn., was fired in March after he jumped on a masked robber who he believed was attacking a fellow employee. SuperAmerica said fox http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018739/posts#comment Tue, 20 May 2008 17:56:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016448/posts A man opened fire into a crowd of people Wednesday night, hitting a woman holding her 2-year-old granddaughter and the woman's 18-year-old male relative in St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, police said today. The 49-year-old woman and the man were each shot in the leg and had non-life-threatening injuries, said Peter Panos, police spokesman. A fight between juveniles had broken out in the street near the woman's home in the 700 block of Conway Street about 6:30 p.m., Panos said. The woman went to get her granddaughter from the yard, he said. "As she started to walk back to the... pioneer press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016448/posts#comment Thu, 15 May 2008 18:55:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011690/posts The Belle Plaine man who fatally shot his 8-year-old son while turkey hunting last month had alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time of the incident, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Sibley County. Anthony Klaseus mistook his son, Hunter, for a wild turkey last month and shot him in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun, according to police. When officials arrived at the scene, they smelled alcohol and asked Klaseus if he had been drinking. Klaseus stated he had consumed one beer several hours earlier in the day and agreed to take a preliminary breath... KSTP.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011690/posts#comment Tue, 6 May 2008 00:19:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011419/posts Election day is exactly six months from Sunday and Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race will be one of the most closely watched in the nation. DFL candidate Al Franken jumpstarted his campaign with a rally the day before Republican Norm Coleman officially announced his reelection bid. Since then, headlines have not been kind to Franken. First, a $25,000 fine for not paying workers’ compensation insurance in New York. Then he revealed he is paying $70,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest to 17 states. In the latest SurveyUSA poll about Franken's tax troubles, 500 people were polled. Of those people, 59... KSTP.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011419/posts#comment Mon, 5 May 2008 14:23:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2009848/posts DOVER, Minn. — A southeastern Minnesota woman is accused of hitting her brother-in-law with a hatchet in a dispute about cows. Brenda Kay Shorter of Dover faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to Olmsted County prosecutors. The alleged attack happened last week in Dover Township. Shorter, 35, told deputies she "just lost control" and struck the man on the head, court records said. A current phone listing for Shorter wasn't available. The alleged victim told officers he had a dispute with the woman over how he treated his cows. pioneer press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2009848/posts#comment Thu, 1 May 2008 18:54:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007426/posts <p>Al Franken's career as an entertainer made him famous and rich and positioned him to run for the U.S. Senate.</p> <p>But now, just as he appears on the verge of securing the DFL endorsement to take on Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, Franken could be tripped up by missteps in the way his show business enterprise was run.</p> Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007426/posts#comment Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:55:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006989/posts DETECTIVES: Chris Jenkins murder connects dozens around country Could there be a calculated, cross-country plot to kill young college men, including some in Minnesota? It seems a little hard to believe, but two New York detectives say, they can prove it. Now, they are revealing years of their evidence for the first time to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS... University of Minnesota college student Chris Jenkins was found in the Mississippi River in February of 2003. Minneapolis Police began investigating the case, which also caught the attention of two retired NYPD detectives. Turns out, Jenkins' death was the missing part of the... KSTP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006989/posts#comment Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:45:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2001948/posts From the Winona Daily News: When Winona Bishop Bernard Harrington talks about Kathy Redig, he speaks of her great heart. He regards her as a “great Christian person.” Harrington praises her work as a chaplain at Community Memorial Hospital.And when he thinks of her upcoming ordination in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement — a largely excommunicated group of women ordaining other women to the priesthood — his mood changes. He calls the situation “very, very sad.” And pauses momentarily. “She has chosen to make this decision, and I have to respond,” Harrington said. “My responsibility is as a shepherd... Cafeteria is Closed http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2001948/posts#comment Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:32:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999224/posts The way Olga Franco tells it, she was a passenger the afternoon of Feb. 19, heading toward work in Cottonwood and arguing with her boyfriend, who was behind the wheel, when she saw the school bus. She yelled at him to be careful, but the van's brakes weren't working well, she said, and they went through the intersection and into the bus. Franco is now charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the deaths of four schoolchildren who were on the bus and has become a flashpoint in the debate on undocumented immigrants. Speaking publicly Tuesday for the first time, Franco,... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999224/posts#comment Wed, 9 Apr 2008 23:11:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998918/posts < snip > Now, however, an eyewitness has stepped forward. Amanda Getz of Bloomington is a substitute teacher. She worked as a substitute in two fifth-grade classrooms at TIZA on Friday, March 14. Her experience suggests that school-sponsored religious activity plays an integral role at TIZA. Arriving on a Friday, the Muslim holy day, she says she was told that the day's schedule included a "school assembly" in the gym after lunch. Before the assembly, she says she was told, her duties would include taking her fifth-grade students to the bathroom, four at a time, to perform "their ritual washing."... Star Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998918/posts#comment Wed, 9 Apr 2008 13:06:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997502/posts This is a very short article. But on the left side there is a picture one can hit and get percentage of subprime mortgages in your area as well as the percent foreclosed. For Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota 9-12% of all mortgages are subprime. Of these 17% are now in default. New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997502/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 11:28:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995264/posts A pending bill on the floor of the Minnesota House and Senate will strip citizens of genetic privacy and DNA ownership rights. Today, a state genetic privacy law requires informed parent consent for government testing, ownership and research on the DNA of the newest Minnesota residents. The Minnesota Department of Health wants to eliminate the informed consent requirements. A bill to remove consent requirements for government ownership and genetic research will soon be voted on by the Minnesota House and Senate. Thus far, the state of Minnesota has illegally collected and claims ownership to the DNA of 780,000 children (soon... Citizens' Council on Health Care http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995264/posts#comment Wed, 2 Apr 2008 02:01:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992866/posts Concern for "student safety" was a primary reason that the Forest Lake School District canceled a visit by touring military veterans to its high school, says a newly issued statement today from Superintendent Lynn Steenblock. Police said today, however, that those concerns, weren't relayed to them. "At no time was student safety mentioned to the chief of police or to our assigned liaison officer at the high school," police Sgt. Greg Weiss said this afternoon. Steenblock this afternoon said that the safety concern was not passed on to police because it was alleviated when the event was scrubbed. He said... StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992866/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:47:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982677/posts Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) -- named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain -- is a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Its approximately 300 students are mostly the children of low-income Muslim immigrant families, many of them Somalis. The school is in huge demand, with a waiting list of 1,500. Last fall, it opened a second campus in Blaine. TIZA uses the language of culture rather than religion to describe its program in public documents. According to its mission statement, the school "recognizes and appreciates the traditions, histories, civilizations and accomplishments of the eastern world (Africa,... startribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982677/posts#comment Sun, 9 Mar 2008 00:58:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980172/posts A janitor at a Lino Lakes middle school has been jailed after the mother and a neighbor of a 15-year-old girl in a rural Kansas town worried about the teenager talking on the phone with strange older men. William Peter Foxley, 44, a night maintenance worker at Centennial Middle School, was arrested Thursday at the school after an investigation that began in the small community of Sabetha, Kan., about 70 miles northwest of Kansas City, Mo. According to a Ramsey County search warrant, police in Sabetha were alerted in mid-February by a woman who worried that her neighbor's 15-year-old daughter... pioneer press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980172/posts#comment Tue, 4 Mar 2008 14:47:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980154/posts Representative Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) came up one vote short on an amendment to a bill that would have taken local aid away to cities that prohibit their law enforcement officers from inquiring about the legal status of people detained by police. Currently, Minneapolis and St. Paul disallow their police officers from inquiring about the status of people detained for violations of the law. Reports of illegal aliens using the two cities as "safe harbors" have come to light since the cities adopted the ordinances some years ago. "Something needs to be done to bring sanity to this insane system," Seifert... email http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980154/posts#comment Tue, 4 Mar 2008 14:18:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976005/posts Al Franken is a serious comedian. He has sincere intentions to better the lives of Minnesotans. Some locals are even starting to believe this. A Rasmussen poll released last week showed Franken with a slight lead over incumbent Senator Norm Coleman, 49-46. That's good news for Franken, but he still has serious problems that he must overcome to unseat Coleman in one of the three most watched Senate races in the country. Franken has enjoyed a reputable career as a Saturday Night Live writer and actor, authored several bestselling screeds, and hosted the flagship radio show on Air America. Though... American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976005/posts#comment Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:53:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974213/posts COTTONWOOD, Minn. -- Authorities have confirmed that the the driver of the van that struck the school bus that killed 4 students on Tuesday is an illegal alien. Officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement are checking to see where she came from and how long she's been in Minnesota. FOX 9 has also learned that the name she gave to police, Alainiss Morales, is an alias. FOX 9 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974213/posts#comment Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:07:52 GMT