The Department of Justice has appointed attorney Nathan Hansen, a known right-wing conspiracy theorist, as Minnesota’s newest immigration judge, Minnesota Reformer reports. Hansen, a formerly prolific X user who endorsed and spread debunked conspiracies including Pizzagate, birtherism and racist claims about Haitian immigrants pushed by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, will begin hearing immigrants’ cases this week from Fort Snelling Immigration Court, which is housed inside the Whipple building. Hansen deleted “roughly 100,000” social media posts prior to running for office and his X account has now been set to private, according to the Reformer. “Nothing in Hansen’s publicly-available biographical information suggests he has experience in immigration law.”
Minnesota lawmakers say prediction market sites like Kalshi and Polymarket have bypassed state gambling laws and are looking to ban these sites where users can wager money on a multitude of world events in real-time, MPR News reports. Lawmakers say prediction markets operate in a legal grey area where instead of making direct bets, users buy shares of various predictive outcomes.
The Minnesota Air Rescue Team rescued DNR Officer Annette Schlag, who was found lying on the ground in the woods after falling 20 feet while dismantling an illegal deer stand, WCCO-TV reports. The DNR shared video of Schlag’s helicopter extraction and rescue by St. Paul Fire Captain Brian Buxton.
The Minneapolis City Council is once again clashing with Mayor Jacob Frey. In a close 7-6 vote on Thursday, the council rejected the renomination of Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette, after concerns were raised about his management of budget overruns and public safety programs, The Star Tribune reports. In response to the vote, Mayor Frey said he will veto the council’s move to oust Barnette.
And ICYMI from MinnPost
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