HUH?

The New York Times ties components in the U.S. Tomahawk missile that killed children at the elementary school in Iran to Ball Aerospace Technologies in Boulder.

going through my stories from 2025 for awards submissions and i think this interview with khaled hosseini may have been the highlight of my year

I've been thinking about the Rangers' decision to display One Riot, One Ranger, and what it says about who this team is for. So I wrote about that. It's a big ol' bummer. www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/...

today in the newsletter -- The Paragraph returns (subscribe: minnesotareformer.com/subscribe/)

"She frequently reported on stories critical of ICE for Nashville Noticias, the Spanish-language outlet." www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...

Shohei Ohtani's grand slam, as called in Japan:

US Attorney Daniel Rosen defends himself, again, in contempt hearing for ICE order violations minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/05/u...

Kristi Noem is out at DHS, and Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin is in.

this is kinda like when the bears made matt eberflus do a press conference right before firing him. but worse

I’m here are Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring) near the Whipple Federal Building, where the National Parks Service, at the request of nine tribal nations, has ordered a Native prayer camp to leave by noon today.

I profiled Jason Chavez, the Minneapolis city council member who has been embedded in community efforts to combat ICE. “To leave your constituents to face off with a racist fascist regime on their own, without having someone that has some power…I could not let my constituents be out there alone.”

maybe i have amnesia but when was the last time trading for a CB1 worked out? sauce, sneed, lattimore...is it literally just jalen ramsey who has been worth it over the past 6-7 years?

Last year Melvin Carter got publicly told off by the St. Paul delegation for making this ask without going to local lawmakers first. It was DOA

It’s no longer a secret. Google is behind the massive and controversial data center in Hermantown. It just last week announced it is proposing another data center in Pine Island.

Sen. Ann Rest's swan song — a bill requiring Minnesota students to learn how to write in cursive. via @michellemgriff.bsky.social

the early estimates of economic damage from the surge are based on some broad assumptions and back-of-the-napkin math. a more complete picture will emerge over the next year or so — but @aaronrosenthal.bsky.social says lawmakers can't wait that long to send relief.

really enjoyed this data piece from my colleague @alyssachen.bsky.social digging into the early estimates of the economic impact of operation metro surge: minnesotareformer.com/2026/03/02/m...

Congrats to those in the $53M Polymarket trade for when the US would bomb Iran.

our sister outlet in kansas has excellent, comprehensive coverage of the new laws impacting trans people there and how they came to be

A federal judge in Minnesota has ordered U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen to appear before him and explain why federal officials shouldn’t be held in contempt for violating orders in 28 immigrant detention cases minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/26/f...

A reminder that Minnesota as a whole sends more revenue to the federal government than it gets back, and on a per capita basis Minnesotans contribute more revenue to the federal government than residents of almost every other state in the nation. www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/mapped-u-...

Our small staff of four reporters has brought distinctive stories about Operation Metro Surge this year, for free and without advertising. Your generous support is what makes that work possible. If you're willing and able, please help us keep it going. minnesotareformer.com/donate/

Angie Craig says DHS told her there are fewer than 500 ICE agents in Minnesota — and that she’s taking everything DHS says with a grain of salt. There were around 150 ICE agents here prior to the surge.

The DFL has introduced bills that would: -allow Minnesotans to sue federal agents over Constitutional violations -ban agents from wearing masks -ban agents from schools, hospitals, child care centers and courthouses None are expected to pass given the tied House. via @michellemgriff.bsky.social

The DFL has introduced bills that would: -allow Minnesotans to sue federal agents over Constitutional violations -ban agents from wearing masks -ban agents from schools, hospitals, child care centers and courthouses None are expected to pass given the tied House. via @michellemgriff.bsky.social

excellent reporting by my colleague @maxnesterak.bsky.social on the volunteer army of attorneys filing petitions to free people who are illegally detained by ICE — and how government lawyers can't keep up

if you’re involved in rapid response/mutual aid in MN, i’d love to hear what ICE activity has looked like in your neighborhood over the past week. please DM me (or ask for my signal) trying to hear from as many people on the ground as possible, especially in the suburbs

story: minnesotareformer.com/briefs/house...

DFL has the gavel for the first House housing committee meeting of the year. Rep. Liish Kozlowski introduced the first bill, which would allocate $50 million in one-time funding for emergency rent assistance (via FHPAP, if that means anything to you). Bill failed on a party line vote.

while i'm footballposting: i have to admit that when the ice surge started, i decided it was time to pull out the last-resort coping mechanism i've been saving. i purchased a ps5 and NCAA26 and have been playing nonstop in my free time for weeks.

being a cowboys/bengals fan and regular listener of TAFS is a particular kind of pain. just being reminded by @robertmays.bsky.social every three months that my two favorite teams have the cheapest, least innovative owners who are perfectly happy being mediocre forever 💔

I went to DC with a bunch of Minnesotans who are asking Congress to defund ICE, and to make sure what happened here doesn’t happen anywhere else.

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stump week

“SOS” still visible when descending into MSP.

friend asked me my opinion on how texas has managed the transfer portal this offseason, and for the first time in many years i had nothing to say. testament to the extent to which the ICE surge has taken over my brain since december

This happened multiple times while I was in the car with observers. In one case, agents led an observer to her own home. When they drove away, she continued following them. Minutes later, more agents showed up at her house and banged on the door. Her wife, terrified, pretended she wasn't home.

The Paragraph has evolved

Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar stopped by to address the coalition of Minnesotans in DC ahead of a vote on DHS funding. Both say they will vote no. (Or “hell no,” to quote Smith)

I’m in Washington DC, where a coalition of Minnesotans affected by the ICE surge are holding a press conference and meeting with lawmakers to oppose continued DHS/ICE funding.

Border Czar Tom Homan announces end to Operation Metro Surge, claiming success minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/b...

We’ll continue reporting on the streets to see how this plays out in real life. But this is significant.

Homan in Minnesota: "I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue."

A 76-year-old veteran and nurse was tackled and detained at the site of Alex Pretti's killing. Agents told him his phone was evidence in an investigation into him assaulting an officer. “I didn’t assault an officer. I got assaulted by three officers." minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/w...

In the Twin Cities, churches have become lifelines for their immigrant congregants. As immigrant families hide at home, their pastors and fellow church-goers bring them groceries and gather money to pay their rent. I wrote about it:

@jayboller.bsky.social this is the story i teased on the racketcast lol

wrote about a guy in south minneapolis who is installing security cameras on neighbors homes (with permission!) to monitor ICE activity. but he doesn't want it to stop there — he sees this as the new frontier in "neighborhood watch"

The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building looms in the background of the camp at Coldwater Spring, or Mni Owe Sni, at Fort Snelling along the Mississippi River — where the U.S. government in the mid-1800s killed hundreds of Dakota people and imprisoned more than 1,600 in a concentration camp.