The fight between Cass County’s Sheriff candidates goes public, Mesabi Mines Iowa steel plant plan isn’t yet iron clad, and statewide symphonies “band together.”
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP …
LONG LINES ... AND HIGH SPIRITS FOR EARLY VOTERS..
[EBOUN WILBURN: EVERYBODY’S LIKE, “WE’RE EXCITED FOR DEMOCRACY.]
PLUS ... THE PRESIDENT TOUTS AN IOWA STEEL MILL USING MINNESOTA ORE
[PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: THEY’VE ALREADY STARTED BUILDING.]
BUT CONSTRUCTION HAS NOT STARTED.. WE HAVE THE LATEST...
BUT FIRST...
[DEPUTY AARON AMMERMAN: I’M PREPARED TO MAKE THESE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.]
--CASS COUNTY SHERIFF LATEST--
JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE VOTERS PICK A NEW SHERIFF IN NORTH-CENTRAL MINNESOTA’S CASS COUNTY … THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES FIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO CANDIDATES IS HEATING UP AND GOING PUBLIC.
CURRENT SHERIFF BRYAN WELK IS RUNNING AGAINST COUNTY DEPUTY AARON AMMERMAN.
IN JANUARY... AMMEMAN FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE COUNTY AND SHERIFF’S OFFICE… ACCUSING WELK OF IMPROPERLY SHARING NUDE PHOTOS AND JAIL VIDEOS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAD NO WORK-RELATED REASON TO SEE THEM.
AMPERS MEMBER STATION K-A-X-E OBTAINED A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT AFTER THE COUNTY REFUSED TO MAKE IT PUBLIC. THE INVESTIGATION ITSELF HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED.
EACH CANDIDATE HAS RELEASED A NEW VIDEO STATEMENT …
WELK IS NOW CALLING THE ALLEGATIONS FALSE.
[SHERIFF BRYAN WELK: I'VE NEVER INAPPROPRIATELY DISCLOSED PROTECTED INFORMATION TO PEOPLE WHO DID NOT NEED TO KNOW.]
WELK SAYS DATA PRIVACY LAWS PREVENT HIM FROM SAYING MORE ABOUT THE COMPLAINT OR THE COUNTY’S INVESTIGATION INTO IT.
IN HIS DIRECT RESPONSE TO WELK … AMMERMAN SAYS HE’S RUNNING FOR THE JOB BECAUSE OF ALLEGED RETALIATION FROM WELK AND THE COUNTY ATTORNEY AFTER HE FILED HIS COMPLAINT.
THE DEPUTY SAYS HE’S WILLING TO PUBLICLY RELEASE THE COMPLAINT AND HIS STATEMENT TO INVESTIGATORS … AND CALLS THE WAY THE COUNTY HANDLED THE COMPLAINT “TROUBLING.”
[DEPUTY AARON AMMERMAN: I BELIEVE THE VOTERS DESERVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE FACTS AND REACH THEIR OWN CONCLUSION, RATHER THAN SIMPLY TAKING ANYONE'S WORD FOR IT.]
AMMERMAN AND WELK ARE THE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR SHERIFF ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT...
--EARLY VOTING NUMBERS INCREASE--
THE UPCOMING MIDTERM ELECTION IS BRINGING MANY VOTERS OUT EARLY...AND... MANY PRECINCTS HAVE LONG LINES ALREADY.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS MORE THAN 200-THOUSAND BALLOTS WERE ACCEPTED… BY MAIL OR IN PERSON VOTING…AS OF MONDAY.. IN THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS OF EARLY OR ABSENTEE VOTING.
THAT’S UP MORE THAN 17-PERCENT FROM THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS OF VOTING IN THE 20-22- MID-TERMS.
EARLY VOTER EBOUN WILBURN SAYS SHE LEFT ROSEVILLE’S LIBRARY MONDAY AFTER BEING TOLD THE WAIT WAS TWO HOURS...
SHE RETURNED YESTERDAY MORNING/TUESDAY... AND WAITED MORE THAN AN HOUR... BUT VOTERS WERE IN HIGH SPIRITS..
[EBOUN WILBURN/EARLY VOTER: EVERYBODY IN LINE WAS SO KIND AND EVERYBODY WAS JUST CHATTING AND WE WERE JUST SHARING STORIES AND JUST VERY EXCITED.]
EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING CONTINUES THROUGH NOVEMBER SECOND... ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER THIRD.
--WINONA & MOORHEAD ENROLLMENT GROWTH--
WHILE FIVE OF MINNESOTA’S SEVEN STATE UNIVERSITIES LOST STUDENTS THIS FALL … WINONA STATE AND MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD BUCKED THE TREND … EACH GROWING ENROLLMENT ABOUT SIX PERCENT.
OVERALL ENROLLMENT ACROSS THE MINNESOTA STATE SYSTEM REMAINED FLAT … MOSTLY DUE TO STUDENT GROWTH AT TWO-YEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS.
--DIGIKEY EXPANSION--
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA’S DIGIKEY IS INVESTING A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS TO SHIP MORE ELECTRONIC PARTS FROM THIEF RIVER FALLS.
THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTOR PLANS TO ADD AUTOMATED EQUIPMENT AT ITS EXISTING DISTRIBUTION CENTER OVER EIGHTEEN MONTHS.
IT SAYS THE MACHINES WILL RETRIEVE AND PACK MORE ORDERS... HELPING IT KEEP UP WITH DEMAND FOR SAME-DAY SHIPPING.
--IOWA STEEL PLANT--
MESABI METALLICS’ PROPOSED IOWA STEEL MILL WOULD USE MINNESOTA IRON ORE … BUT THE FIFTEEN-BILLION-DOLLAR STEEL-DEAL STILL IS NOT IRONCLAD…
DESPITE WHAT THE PRESIDENT AND COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK SAID AT THE WHITE HOUSE LAST MONTH:
[HOWARD LUTNICK: THIS DEAL IS DONE — THEY'VE ALREADY WORKED IT OUT, THAT'S WHY WE'RE ALL WITH THE PRESIDENT. THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER UNLESS IT'S DONE DEAL.]
THE PROJECT HAS TAKEN STEPS FORWARD IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS...
KOBE STEEL CONFIRMED MONDAY THAT ITS SPECIAL INDUSTRY-FOCUSED TECHNOLOGY WAS SELECTED TO PROCESS PELLETS FROM NASHWAUK … ON MINNESOTA’S IRON RANGE.
AND IOWA’S GOVERNOR HAS SIGNED OFF ON NEARLY ONE-AND-A-HALF-BILLION-DOLLARS IN POTENTIAL TAX BREAKS.
[IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS: WE’RE CLEARING A PATH FOR MESABI METALLICS TO MAKE IOWA THE FUTURE HOME OF THE LARGEST STEEL INVESTMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY.]
BUT A FINAL CONSTRUCTION SITE HAS NOT BEEN PUBLICLY CONFIRMED.
AND IOWA’S DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IS STILL REVIEWING THE COMPANY’S PRELIMINARY AIR-PERMIT FILING… AN EARLY STEP TOWARD SETTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTROLLING THE PLANT’S AIR POLLUTION.
--LET’S BAND TOGETHER EVENT--
AND FINALLY...
FOUR MINNESOTA CONCERT BANDS ARE PUTTING THE ‘UNITY’ IN COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA …
THE MINNESOTA WIND ENSEMBLE’S ANNUAL “LETS BAND TOGETHER” FESTIVAL BRINGS TOGETHER WIND … STRING … AND HORN ENSEMBLES FROM AROUND THE STATE UNDER A GUEST COMPOSER. YOU’RE HEARING A CLIP FROM LAST YEAR’S PERFORMANCE.
THIS YEAR … MINNESOTA COMPOSER SHRUTHI RAJASEKAR (RAH JAH SAY KER) IS WIELDING THE BATTON.
SHE’S SPENT THE WEEK RUNNING REHEARSALS WITH STUDENTS FROM SIX HIGH SCHOOLS … AND IT ALL CULMINATES WITH A CONCERT THIS SATURDAY AT EDINA HIGH SCHOOL … WHERE FOUR GROUPS WILL PERFORM HER WORK … INCLUDING TWO WORLD PREMIERES.
THE EVENT IS FREE … BUT ATTENDEES ARE ENCOURAGED TO DONATE WHATEVER STRIKES A CHORD.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.