Adam Uren at Bring Me the News reports former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek has scrapped his bid for the GOP nomination for governor, while state lawmaker Jeremy Munson is still set to challenge in the 1st District despite failing to get the GOP endorsement. On Tuesday, Stanek said he decided he will not challenge the endorsed GOP candidate, Dr. Scott Jensen, in the August primary.
Briana Bierschbach at the Star Tribune is reporting third-party candidate for governor Cory Hepola ended his bid on Tuesday. Hepola’s bid for governor struggled from the start, facing backlash for his ill-defined policy positions in his campaign rollout. His videos posted to social media got little attention or engagement, and he was unable to raise significant funds to support his bid.
Tom Crann and Megan Burks at MPR News have a follow-up on the recent Minneapolis Fed report on housing discrimination. The starkest gap noted in the report was between Black and white Twin Cities applicants, with 4.3 percent of Black applicants denied, compared to 1.7 percent of white applicants. Crann interviews Alene Tchourumoff, senior vice president of community development and engagement at the Minneapolis Fed, on the findings.
Mia Laube at KSTP is reporting thousands of Minnesota nurses are holding informational pickets across 11 hospitals on Wednesday. The picket, which the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) says is not a work stoppage and won’t affect hospital operations, is in response to what the MNA called a “crisis” in Minnesota hospitals. Nurses are calling for changes like higher wages, increased diversity and inclusion initiatives, and more retention efforts, MNA said.
Danny Spewak at KARE-11 has a story on students and parents at the University of Minnesota expressing alarm about violent crime on one of the busiest stretches of University Avenue near campus, following reports of shots fired, robbery and assault in the past two weeks. A university spokesperson confirmed that the concerns focus on a specific property on that block, owned by an independent affordable housing provider named “Students Cooperative, Inc.” The Co-op is trying to evict at least five people from the property, according to court records.
Mara Klecker at the Star Tribune reports members of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers have reelected Greta Callahan to lead the union. Callahan, president of the union’s teacher chapter since May 2020, won about 82% of the vote, according to the union’s website. Her opponent, Alexis Mann, received nearly 18% of the votes.
Via WCCO, Minnesota Department of Health officials say they’ve confirmed a case of hepatitis A in Minnesota amid a multi-state outbreak linked to organic strawberries. The outbreak has been linked to fresh, organic strawberries branded as FreshKampo or HEB between March 5 and April 25.
“Ill-defined policy positions” being a genteel way of saying “no discernable reason why he would want to run for Governor.” For that matter, drawing a lot of criticism for acting like a spoiler with no plausible chance of winning could not have helped his candidacy.