Federal disaster aid for farmers affected by last year’s heavy rains, visible progress for a five-year-old hero, and Ramsey County squares off against federal immigration agents.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP … FARMERS ARE CLEARED TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL DISASTER AID ... WE’LL TELL YOU HOW...
--HOCKEY MOMS ASHKAN FUNDRAISER--
BUT FIRST... VISIBLE PROGRESS ... AS A SMALL IRON RANGE TOWN RALLIES FOR A FIVE-YEAR-OLD HERO …
[KAYLA SWANSON: I THINK THEY’RE VERY TOUCHED BY THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT.]
IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA, HOPE IS RISING FOR FIVE-YEAR-OLD ASHKAN THIBODEAUX.
ON EASTER SUNDAY, ASHKAN RISKED HIS LIFE TO SAVE HIS LITTLE BROTHER FROM AN ICY CREEK … BUT COULD NOT RESCUE HIMSELF.
NOW, AFTER MORE THAN A WEEK IN INTENSIVE CARE AND SURGERIES ... HIS FAMILY SAYS ASHKAN HAS REACHED MAJOR MILESTONES.
HE OPENED HIS EYES AND MOVED HIS LEGS AND TOES … AND ANSWERED QUESTIONS WITH YES-OR-NO HEAD MOVEMENTS.
DOCTORS SAY HIS LIVER FUNCTION IS ALMOST ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT — A HUGE TURNAROUND FROM JUST DAYS AGO.
THE HOCKEY MOMS OF ASHKAN’S HOCKEY TEAM ... THE GREENWAY MINI-MITES... ARE DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO LIFT UP ASHKAN AND HIS FAMILY ... AND ASK EVERYONE TO KEEP PRAYING.
[KAYLA SWANSON: I THINK THEY’RE VERY TOUCHED BY THE OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT BY OUR COMMUNITY AND EVEN THE BROADER STATE AS A WHOLE … BUT I ALSO THINK THERE’S A LONG ROAD AHEAD. AND SO WE NEED TO HELP THEM LIFT THEM UP IN THIS TIME.]
THE GREENWAY HOCKY MOMS ARE SELLING “STICK TOGETHER FOR ASH” T-SHIRTS THROUGH FRIDAY — AND MAYBE LONGER. THERE IS ALSO GOFUNDME FOR THE FAMILY.
WE’LL POST ALL THE INFORMATION ON THE NORTH STAR STORIES FACEBOOK PAGE.
--RANSOM WARE ATTACK AT SPRING LAKE PARK SCHOOLS--
IN SPRING LAKE PARK, NORTH OF MINNEAPOLIS, SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED AGAIN TODAY AFTER A SUSPECTED RANSOMWARE ATTACK HIT DISTRICT COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
CHILD CARE AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS ARE ALSO CANCELED.
OFFICIALS SAY AN OUTSIDE ACTOR GOT INTO SOME SYSTEMS OVER THE WEEKEND, FORCING STAFF TO SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN MONDAY.
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SHUTDOWN COMES JUST A WEEK AFTER WINONA COUNTY NEEDED MINNESOTA’S NATIONAL GUARD CYBER TEAM TO HELP WITH ITS OWN CYBER ATTACK.
BOTH INVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING.
--RAMSEY COUNTY KIDNAPPING CHARGES FOR ICE AGENTS--
[RAMSEY COUNTY SHERIFF BOB FLETCHER: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY FOR FEDERAL AGENTS.]
RAMSEY COUNTY OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING WHETHER FEDERAL AGENTS COULD FACE KIDNAPPING, BURGLARY OR FALSE IMPRISONMENT CHARGES AFTER THE JANUARY DETENTION OF A HMONG AMERICAN CITIZEN IN SAINT PAUL.
OFFICIALS SAY FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS BATTERED IN CHONGLY “SCOTT” THAO’S DOOR WITHOUT A WARRANT … PULLED HIM FROM HIS HOME IN FREEZING WEATHER IN ONLY UNDERWEAR, SANDALS AND A BLANKET... PUT HIM IN THEIR CAR AND QUESTIONED HIM FOR AN HOUR.
[JOHN CHOI: WE BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS NO LEGITIMATE LEGAL REASON FOR THE FEDERAL AGENTS TO ENTER THAT HOME.]
RAMSEY COUNTY ATTORNEY JOHN CHOI SAYS OFFICIALS ARE ACTIVELY INVESTIGATING TWO CASES INCLUDING THAO’S … AND LOOKING INTO THREE OTHER POSSIBLE CASES.
HE SAYS HIS OFFICE FORMALLY DEMANDED RECORDS FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES … AND MAY PURSUE LEGAL ACTION IF THEY DON’T COOPERATE.
COUNTY ATTORNEY CHOI IS URGING PEOPLE WITH A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE TO REPORT IT TO LOCAL POLICE.
HE SAYS HIS OFFICE WILL CONNECT PEOPLE WITH LEGAL AND SUPPORT SERVICES.
IN A STATEMENT TO NORTH STAR STORIES... ICE SAYS IT DOES NOT KIDNAP PEOPLE … THAT AGENTS TOOK THAO BECAUSE HE WOULDN’T SUBMIT TO FINGERPRINTING AND FACIAL IDENTIFICATION … AND CALL THE INVESTIGATIONS A POLITICAL STUNT TO DEMONIZE ICE AGENTS.
IN LATE MARCH … THE MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL, HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY, AND BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION SUED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR REFUSING TO COOPERATE IN INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE KILLINGS OF RENEE GOOD AND ALEX PRETTI … AND THE NON-FATAL SHOOTING OF JULIO CESAR SOSA-CELIS.
--MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS--
MONDAY MARKED THE SECOND ANNUAL MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS DAY ON THE HILL.
ADVOCATES, FAMILIES AND STATE LEADERS GATHERED AT THE STATE CAPITOL TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE DISPROPORTIONATE VIOLENCE BLACK WOMEN FACE … AND HONOR MORE THAN 80 BLACK WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED IN MINNESOTA DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES SINCE THE 1980s.
BLACK WOMEN MAKE UP ABOUT 7 PERCENT OF MINNESOTA’S POPULATION … BUT ACCOUNT FOR 40 PERCENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS... ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL STATE DATA … AND THEY ARE NEARLY THREE TIMES AS LIKELY TO BE MURDERED THAN WHITE WOMEN AND GIRLS.
MINNESOTA’S OFFICE OF MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS DIRECTOR KALEENA BURKES SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO HOLD SPACE FOR IMPACTED FAMILIES.
[KALEENA BURKES: OFTENTIMES WITH BLACK AND WOMEN, BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS THIS IT FEELS LIKE THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THIS CRISIS AND THEY'RE INVISIBLE, BUT THIS GIVES THEM A MOMENT TO BE RECOGNIZED, TO LET THEIR FAMILIES KNOW THAT WE STILL CARE AND LET THEIR NAME LIVE ON.]
--CHASKA PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING--
THE CITY OF CHASKA’S NEW PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY IS NOW OPEN… THAT’S ABOUT AN HOUR SOUTHWEST OF THE TWIN CITIES.
THE NEW BUILDING CONSOLIDATES POLICE AND FIRE SERVICES INTO ONE BUILDING AFTER OUTGROWING FACILITIES BUILT IN 1996.
CITY LEADERS SAY THE PROJECT IS THE FIRST MAJOR PIECE OF A BROADER FACILITIES PLAN BACKED BY THE 2023 TAX LEVY.
--COUNTY DISASTER AREAS --
AND FINALLY…
NEARLY A YEAR AFTER DAMAGING SUMMER STORMS … FEDERAL AID STARTS TO REACH MINNESOTA FARMERS.
THE U-S FARM SERVICE AGENCY DECLARED CARVER, KANDIYOHI, AND POPE COUNTIES DISASTER AREAS …
FARMERS IN THOSE AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LOW-INTEREST EMERGENCY FEDERAL LOANS TO REPLACE DAMAGED EQUIPMENT AND LIVESTOCK … OR REFINANCE CERTAIN DEBTS.
FARMERS CAN APPLY THROUGH DECEMBER FIRST FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE … THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IS ALSO EXTENDING ITS DISASTER RECOVERY LOAN PROGRAM.
TO APPLY ... GO TO THE AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT’S WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.