Frederick Melo, Reporter (TwinCities.com, Pioneer Press)

“Now we have incident after incident after incident of American citizens being detained and being injured at the hands of ICE, people with no criminal record at all. We are hearing more of those cases than actual situations where someone had a criminal record.” www.twincities.com/2026/02/08/a...

A month of learning, advocacy, frustration for St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her St. Paul’s first refugee mayor now presides over a city where ICE agents have gone door to door looking for immigrants, including members of her own ethnic group.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is little more than a month into office, and oh what a month it’s been. Is anything not ICE-related getting done at all? Will she keep the department heads she has or make changes? We sat. We talked. Here’s what she told me… www.twincities.com/2026/02/08/a...

Guests at the funeral of the woman remembered affectionately as Head Nurse Choua Thao include St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.

Remember this innocent man? He buried his mother today, a Hmong war hero nurse who tended to countless American soldiers in Laos, as well as the wounded Hmong soldiers who came to their aid when their aircraft was shot down. www.twincities.com/2026/01/19/s...

THE @xanderosier SPEAKS FRAUD: MN's Department of Human Services is combing through state agencies to see where they can find 168 site inspectors to visit high-risk Medicaid programs. They currently have 6 inspectors -- statewide. Read that again slowly. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/a...

Audit: Changing procedures may safeguard $1 billion in MN Medicaid programs Minnesota’s Department of Human Services on Friday released an initial report on fraud vulnerabilities in 14 programs it considers high risk.

THE @xanderosier.bsky.social ON FRAUD: A third-party audit by Optum Health found tweaks that could safeguard up to $1 billion over the next 4 years from MN's high-risk Medicaid programs. No guns or deportations involved. Just good old fashioned accounting/paperwork www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/a...

CORRECTION: Council Member Yang is helping get the word out about this event, but she's not the main organizer. She's in delegate meetings all day. East Side residents are doing this one on their own...

Securian, Bush Foundation invest $30M in downtown St. Paul fund The fund has already helped administrators acquire rights to five distressed properties, including Alliance Bank Center and the Empire Building.

Who funded the nonprofit St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation's acquisition of Alliance Bank Center, Capital City Plaza parking, the Empire Building, the U.S. Bank Center bank note...? ANSWER: Securian and the Bush Foundation. There's a fund for that. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/s...

St. Paul: Lake Phalen event seeks to shine light over ICE Residents plan to spell the words “MN > ICE” with a Hmong heart across the lake.

City Council member organizes event tonight (Saturday) to create a Hmong heart over Lake Phalen. Residents plan to spell the words “MN > ICE” with a Hmong heart symbol across the lake shortly after sundown. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/s...

St. Paul City Council passed a resolution calling for a state study of passenger rail service to Fargo/Moorhead, as well as a potential “TC to KC” route to Kansas City, Mo. Both corridors are already listed as rail priorities in the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s state rail plan.

A St. Paul to Kansas City passenger train? St. Paul City Council urges a go St. Paul is asking the Minnesota Legislature to direct MnDOT to submit a grant application to the Federal Railroad Administration.

St. Paul to Kansas City by Amtrak. Could happen. St. Paul is now officially on board... and MnDOT seems open. How about them feds? www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/a...

At issue: Who will administer grants of $7,000-$9,000? No city dept seems to have capacity beyond St. Paul Police, but with public safety costs jumping 40% in a couple years, some festival organizers have objected to having to apply for subsidies from same organization they accuse of price-gouging.

St. Paul City Council still debating how to support street festivals Council Member Bowie objected to Council President Noecker’s plan for $155,000 subsidy to be administered by St. Paul Police.

CINCO DE OUCH!: St. Paul City Council set aside $155,000 for 2025 to help community festivals with rising, crippling public safety costs but never spent it. Now, dueling proposals from Council President Rebecca Noecker and Anika Bowie have led to another delay. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/s...

Twin Cities child care centers on edge, parent patrols watch for ICE As the operation draws into its second month, some child care providers wonder how long they’ll have to keep doors locked or run practice safety drills showing kids where to hide from federal agent…

Who is guarding the child care centers from federal agents? In the Summit Hill neighborhood, it's elders from St. John's Episcopal Church. It's aunty and grandma. Because Jesus would do it. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/t...

St. Paul: Owner of Grand/Fairview site — former Grandview Grill — courts developers David Abbott said Abbott Paint and Carpet could remain an anchor tenant of a future development.

David Abbott of Abbott Paint and Carpet is open to selling the vacant restaurant space that was Grandview Grill at Fairview and Grand. His dad's 81-year-old home decor supply shop could stay on as an anchor tenant. Just drop some housing on top. You game? www.twincities.com/2026/02/05/s...

Securian, Bush Foundation invest $30M in downtown St. Paul fund The fund has already helped administrators acquire rights to five distressed properties, including Alliance Bank Center and the Empire Building.

Who funded the nonprofit St. Paul Downtown Development Corporation's acquisition of Alliance Bank Center, Capital City Plaza parking, the Empire Building, the U.S. Bank Center bank note...? ANSWER: Securian and the Bush Foundation. There's a fund for that. www.twincities.com/2026/02/06/s...

You just made me laugh out loud when no one else could

St. Paul: Owner of Grand/Fairview site — former Grandview Grill — courts developers David Abbott said Abbott Paint and Carpet could remain an anchor tenant of a future development.

David Abbott of Abbott Paint and Carpet is open to selling the vacant restaurant space that was Grandview Grill at Fairview and Grand. His dad's 81-year-old home decor supply shop could stay on as an anchor tenant. Just drop some housing on top. You game? www.twincities.com/2026/02/05/s...

No need for sweary words. The council says, and the article says, and the AI further reinforces, and the links in it show, that you can indeed be disconnected in winter. Avoiding a disconnection is a process. You have to proactively work through that process by contacting your utility provider ASAP

Untrue.

Nick Shirley's work is shoddy, but the failure to stop fraud is what got us here • Minnesota Reformer A stopped clock is right twice a day.

BIG TIME FRAUD: A former MN fraud investigator offers the most balanced piece I've read on what got us here. Yes, he says, Dems looked the other way after being faced with uncomfortable politics of race and religion, but crap reporting on the right isn't helping minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/20/s...

During immigration enforcement surge, St. Paul Council introduces ordinance barring officer face coverings They also are moving an ordinance forward requiring officers’ uniforms to say where they work.

The St. Paul City Council approved a ban, similar to what Minneapolis did last December, keeping ICE off city property, and ordinances are in the works that would require federal agents to lower their face masks and keep badges on their outermost layer of clothing. www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/n...

They noted the 55106 zip code, which covers much of St. Paul’s East Side, had the highest rate of utility shut-offs in all of Xcel Energy’s customer area even before Operation Metro Surge began. www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/s...

Interstate 94 east of downtown St. Paul to close for the weekend — for real this time The weekend closure had initially been planned for early January.

From Friday night into Sunday evening, I-94 is closing -- for real this time! -- east of downtown St. Paul. www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/i...

St. Paul to state leaders: Freeze evictions, utility shut-offs Many residents are unable to leave home or out of work during Operation Metro Surge

St. Paul calls on Walz, state leaders to freeze evictions and put a moratorium on utility disconnections. Xcel Energy says in St. Paul and Minneapolis, no one will be unplugged through the end of February: www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/s...

Mostly just businesses

WHERE TO GIVE: St. Paul and Minneapolis Chambers of Commerce have joined economic development partners to launch WeLoveTC.com, a listing of orgs collecting donations for small business grants+similar relief efforts. Step 1: I'm buying a burrito... www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/h...

SURVIVAL MODE: Julian Ocampo’s family shuttered all 8 of their restaurants Jan. 7. After a month hiatus 5 will be open this week, though some for take-out only. The governor has declared February “Shop Local” month and ethnic biz owners pray the public is listening www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/c...

Campaign launched to support immigrant-owned businesses and neighborhood shops impacted by ICE surge St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her recently joined other leaders to promote the governor’s “Shop Local, Stand Together” campaign.

SHOP LOCAL: If you’ve ever had a hankering for a burrito, hesitated to try Hmong food or thought about ordering a piñata, now is the time. Some surveys show 44% of immigrant-owned businesses have at least temporarily closed, and 9% are looking at “exit strategies.” www.twincities.com/2026/02/04/c...

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her has been cooking egg rolls for protesters: www.facebook.com/share/v/1CsL...