“Not Ruling Out Imprisonment”: Judge Escalates ICE Dispute with Minnesota U.S. Attorney; Wild Owner, St. Paul Mayor Push $600M Arena Deal

You're listening to Four Things to Know, a WCCO Daily News podcast. Today is Tuesday, March 3rd. I'm Maria Lysignoli. And I'm Johnny Connor. Thanks for listening to Four Things to Know. Our first thing to know today. As of this recording, a federal judge in St. Paul is threatening to hold Minnesota's U.S. attorney in contempt of court. This stems from people detained by ICE during Operation Metro Surge. Judge Jeffrey Bryant says the state is not returning detainees' possessions when they're released. At issue are 28 cases where the judge says it didn't happen. Today in court, Minnesota U.S. attorney Daniel Rosen told the judge that the possessions were returned in 26 of the 28 cases. He says the other two are lost. At one point, Judge Bryant said, quote, I am not ruling out imprisonment. Now, we do have a crew in the courtroom today and will bring you the very latest online at WCCO.com. Number two today, Senator Amy Klobuchar had some strong words for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. It came as Noam testified at a Senate hearing about the ICE surge in Minnesota. This is one exchange we want to play for you about the killing of Alex Prattie. One of the most hurtful things they could ever imagine was said by you about their son. Do you have anything you want to say to Alex Prattie's parents? We were relying in the hours after that incident that was so horrific. on information we were getting from the ground from our agents. I just asked if you had anything you wanted to say to the parents or to the family of Renee Good after you called them domestic terrorists. I can't even imagine what they have gone through in the loss of their son and the loss of their family members. But how about specifically calling them domestic terrorists without any evidence of that? Sir, ma'am, I did not call him a domestic terrorist. I said it appeared to be an incident of. I think the parents saw it for what it was. Amy Klobuchar also asked Kristi Noem about how many ICE agents remain in Minnesota. Kristi Noem said close to 650. Those include investigators working on fraud allegations as well. Number three, a massive makeover could soon be coming to downtown St. Paul. City leaders say they've got a $600 million renovation plan for its arena. Grand Casino Arena may have a new name, but it has a long history with the city. The arena's been home to the Minnesota Wild for 25 years, and now city leaders say it's time for an upgrade. The project comes at a high dollar, but those behind the blueprint say this plan is sustainable, keeps St. Paul competitive, and ensures the buildings are up to date. St. Paul Mayor Kaleeher, wild owner Craig Leopold, and others announced the details this morning. It's a $600 million project that would improve critical infrastructure, tech, and more across the Grand, River Center, and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

St. Paul and the Minnesota Wild are teaming up to fund the makeover, each contributing $162.5 million. Mayor Hur says St. Paul will finance its half by using an extension of the half-cent sales tax. If their plan is approved by the state legislature, Minnesota taxpayers would cough up $200 million to make it happen. Here's more from the Wilde owner and the mayor. Grand Casino Arena is beyond its planned competitive lifespan. Roy Wilkins is an auditorium, is 94 years old, built before the internet, before television, or even FM radio. It's an exciting time in St. Paul right now. March is the busiest month for our capital city. This project will help attract additional investments, events, and visitors to our downtown, which in turn will expand our tax base. A key feature of the agreement is a dedicated fund for ongoing maintenance so that we won't need to return to the capital every decade for more funding. Now, a majority of the funds will go toward the Grand Casino Arena, and one-third will help improve the River Center complex. Last year, the team and the city proposed a very similar but more expensive proposal at the Capitol. Ultimately, it was denied, but folks here are hoping things will be a little different this time around. Number four today, we're following what's going on at the state capital regarding Waymo. Back in November, the company announced it had begun testing self-driving cars in Minneapolis. Waymo is testing its taxis in the Twin Cities with drivers for now. State law will have to change before driverless rides can happen, though, in Minnesota. This morning, legislators, rideshare drivers, and union leaders talked about the risk to jobs and public safety that they feel autonomous vehicles bring to Minnesota. Here's what DFL State Senator Aaron Mayquade had to say about it. I refuse to accept an autonomous car that can commit crimes with no accountability. When someone does get hurt and they will, because it has happened in other states, we need a clear path to hold corporations accountable for the way they design and operate their technology. Our legislation would establish an independent advisory board and require a comprehensive study so we can evaluate what autonomous vehicle deployment would actually mean for our state, not just in theory, but in practice. Senator McWade says more than 100,000 Minnesotans have professional driving jobs. She says her bill requires an independent economic analysis to understand and plan for the ripple effect of autonomous vehicles on families, small businesses, and local economies. Those are your four things to know today. Now let's check in on our next weather forecast. I'm meteorologist Mike Augustinac on this warm afternoon. We'll see temperatures make it into the 50s. But that's nothing compared to what comes late this weekend and early next week. I think he'll be reaching for the shorts. But before that, a handful of us will be reaching for the shovels. A big spring storm on Friday. What you need to know is online now. And now here's more to know.

We want to get to another story from the Capitol that we're following today. As of this recording, we expect a bill to be introduced that will attempt to change licensing and inspections to child care centers. The bill follows the death of 11-month-old Harvey Mucklebust at a facility in Savage. A woman was arrested in connection to his death after police say she confessed to suffocating the child. Harvey's grandmother, Julie Mucklebust, spoke when the arrest was announced. Harvey, every day we ask ourselves why it had to be you. Every day we live with the pain of what happened to you. But we promise that every day we will say your name. We expect to hear from Harvey's parents this afternoon ahead of the bill's introduction. Look for coverage tonight on WCCO News and online at WCCO.com. Now to Immigration Enforcement Operations in Minnesota. We now have a response from the Department of Homeland Security after Governor Tim Walz demanded answers from DHS following weeks of silence over federal agents detaining children here in the state. This includes a five-year-old preschooler who has taken into federal custody last month. Yesterday, the governor sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asking to receive detailed information, including health status, children and other individuals detained or arrested by federal agents in Minnesota who were being held in detention facilities. Walls said yesterday that he has not received a response to February's letter. This morning, Homeland Security officials responded in part, quote, saying ICE does not target children or schools. That is not how it works. ICE keeps families together. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration's immigration enforcement, close quote.

That was what it sounded like when the head of U.S. Border Patrol threw tear gas in a Minneapolis park during the height of Operation Metro surge. Now, Gregory Bovino could possibly face criminal charges for it. This is just one of 17 incidents involving federal agents that the Hennepin County Attorney's Office is now investigating. It launched a new online portal yesterday where the public can submit evidence of possible ice-related crimes. Here's more from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. There is no absolute immunity for federal agents. And we must be fully prepared to litigate these issues before filing a charge in state court. Make no mistake, we are not afraid of the legal fight. And we are committed to doing this correctly. The feds also face a deadline today to turn over evidence in the deadly shootings of Renee Good and Alex Preddy. As of this recording, we have not heard of any evidence turned over. Moriarty says she's prepared to sue if that doesn't happen. Sticking with politics now, we learned about new charges after a woman made threats towards Minnesota's House Speaker. According to the complaint, a Hugo woman is charged with threats of violence against House Speaker Lisa Demuth. A statement of probable cause says the woman began leaving voicemail messages to two representatives. But the messages to Damath started to get threatening as they went on. Damath petitioned to obtain a harassment restraining order against the woman and State Patrol petitioned for an extreme risk protection order against her. Right now, the woman is not allowed to have guns, dangerous weapons, or have contact. with Dameth. She will also need mental health screening and GPS monitoring. New speed cameras in Minneapolis appear to be working, so the city plans to add more. Late last year, the city installed traffic cameras at five locations, and a new report finds speeding dropped at all of them. There was a nearly 70% drop in violations over the first three months. Thousands still got caught, though. Nearly 30,000 drivers got a warning. More than 4,300 were fined, totally nearly $23,000. The city says it anticipates adding nearly a dozen new speed cameras along with red light cameras as early as this spring. Maria, let's get to sports. The Wild and Wolves, both in action tonight. The Wild host Tampa at 8.30. The Wild have lost two in a row, though. Meanwhile, the Wolves host the Grizzlies tonight at 7, and they're coming off a big win Sunday in Denver. So a busy sports night on tap. And believe it or not, we're just one month away from seeing the Twins at Target Field. Their home opener is against the Tampa Bay Rays. It's set for April 3rd, which is a Friday, and it'll be an afternoon game with a start time of 310.

The twins start their season a week earlier, March 26th against the Baltimore Orioles. Get this. That's the earliest scheduled traditional opening day in MLB history. I was going to say March for the opening of bait. That, that is crazy. It's got to be cold up in Baltimore, right? That's true, right? It's going to be probably cold here, too, even on, what is it, April 3rd. Cold weather, cold beer. Hey, what more could you ask for? Since it's an afternoon game on April 3rd, we should get some of the morning crew together and go right after work. Let's walk over there. Go to the Twins game. That would be so fun. That would be super fun. I'm in. Let's do it. And last thing in sports, Boys State Hockey Tournament starts this week. Rosemount, they're making its long-awaited return to the action. The Irish beat St. Thomas Academy in the section final to earn their first state tournament birth since 1990. The history has not gone unnoticed around town. That's what senior forward Gavin McNeil and coach Ricky Sainty have to say. I mean, looking on social media and all the teachers and staff at the school, it's just like everyone knows and everyone wants to see us go as far as can. And it's a great feeling for everybody. Our kids are in that moment, going to St. Paul, but don't get enthralled in it. Don't be there for the experience. Be there to do some damage. It's time to take a breath with your daily bright spot. Runners, listen up. Registration opened for the 26 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend Events. So you can check out the website where you can register for the marathon, half marathon. 10 Mile, 10K, 5K, family events and challenges. And this year is the 45th anniversary of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon weekend. So the events are still seven months away. They're October 3rd and 4th. So, Johnny, plenty of time to train. Well, and you signed up today, didn't you know? I did. I did. I signed up for the 10 mile. This will be my third year doing it. Wow. And you're a big fan. It's so much fun. It's horrible. I mean, it sucks. It's so hard. It's horrible. And also I don't train for it. Something I'm going to do this year. I think you said that last year. I think I said the same thing last year. Oh, but just the energy and the people waiting in line, especially down at the Capitol when you're like crossing that last. Hill to the finish line. So that's where you finish with the 10 mile or the merit. They finish the same spot? Uh-huh. It's such a magical feeling. Johnny, are you going to sign up? Well, last year, people are going to tell me to get a life, but I was thinking of signing up, and then the Vikings played in London. That's right. It was like an 8.30 a.m. kickoff, and you know, I'm not going to miss a Viking game. That's true. Maybe this year, I kind of want to wait until the schedule comes out. But I think they're going to be out of spots by that. I don't know. I remember. I think you have maybe a couple months to still sign up. But even this morning when I signed up right at 10 a.m. when it opened, I was still in line for like 20 minutes. So people love this race. You're on top of it. They lie. I'm on top of it. Yes, I am. Oh, well, thank you so much for joining us here on Four Things to Know. With Johnny Connor, I'm Marie La Zignoli. We're here with the news you need every weekday afternoon by 3 o'clock.

Listen to Four Things to Know, a WCCO Daily News podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Maria Lizignoli, and this podcast comes to you from the WCCO Podcast Studio. I'm Johnny Connor, and this is where you'll find the latest news of the day with us on Four Things to Know. I'm Mariel Mose, and I bring you the stories behind the female athletes redefining the game on women and sports. I'm Adam Dux. Join me for a deep dive into faith in what it means to Minnesotans around the state on bigger than belief. Stay in the know, on the go with the WCCO podcast studio. Go to WCCO.com slash podcast. us.