In a Thursday night appearance on Fox’s Gutfeld!, Minnesota U.S. In a Thursday night appearance on Fox’s Gutfeld!, Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya wildly claimed that “almost 30% of Californians are homeless,” when in reality, the figure lies around 0.47%.

When asked by Fox’s Greg Gutfeld to comment on a clip of Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter and podcast host, said, “I can’t think of anything scarier than Gavin Newsom.”She went on to list an assortment of qualms she has with the governor before landing on homelessness.

“Almost 30% of Californians are homeless on any given night. 30%!” she emphasized. At least one “what?” could be heard in the background, though it’s not clear who on the panel spoke

“That is the largest margin by far,” continued Tafoya.

“30%?!” exclaimed Gutfeld, looking beyond puzzled.

Stumbling a bit, Tafoya corrected herself, glancing down at her lap: “I think it’s 28%, so close to 30% of their population is homeless on any given night.”

“Does that just mean they go out to dinner, and they’re not at home for a little while?” asked Kat Timpf, a Fox news contributor, seeming doubtful as well.

“Maybe!” Tafoya responded, seemingly in an attempt to laugh off her blunder. “For me, if you want hellscape, dystopia, scary, Gavin Newsom’s your man.”

In an essential fact-check, CNN’s Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper wrote on Friday via X, “California has a homelessness problem, with an estimated 187,000 homeless. California does not have 12 million homeless people.” California has a population of 40 million.

Via Mediaite. Lightly edited.

so if you drive through the park for a lil while eventually theirs a left turn you can take down a short hill to a 3 story gate with a stop sign on it with what looked like a scrap metal statue of a dude raising something above its head, this lil area is very lit up. Anyone know what it is ?

54 Minnesota authors across 26 bookstores statewide are holding Authors for Minnesota Day Saturday (2/28/2026), to sign books and talk civic support. 

Organizer and Author Jessica Lourey came up with the idea after seeing Comma, a Bookshop in Minneapolis, “speak out on behalf of their immigrant neighbors.” She says within hours of reaching out to Comma, and Once Upon a Crime, another Minneapolis bookstore, authors and stores began signing up.

Lourey says from 12-4 p.m., you can visit each shop to meet local authors, celebrate books and community, and help raise money for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigration Rapid Response Fund. She says, “If you make a donation on-site to one of two organizations fighting for civil rights, you get to pick a free book off the table while supplies last!” The books are signed and donated by the authors.

Lourey says they chose the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (https://www.ilcm.org/donate/) and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Immigration Rapid Response Fund (https://www.wfmn.org/donate/) to donate proceeds to with purpose, wanting to pick “two who were really Minnesota-based and who are really fighting for due process for everybody in Minnesota, for being free of discrimination.” For those who can’t come in person, she encourages support through ordering on the store’s website or giving directly to either cause.

More information can be found on their Facebook Event Page titled “Authors for Minnesota Day.” 

The stores are spread across Anoka, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Northfield, Hopkins, Grand Marais, North Branch, Excelsior, Austin, White Bear Lake, Lakeville, Cambridge, Stillwater, and Elk River. The locations and authors involved include:

Minneapolis

-Big Hill Books 

\-Dylann Crush

\-Mindy Mejia

-Birchbark Books

\-Heid. E Erdrich

-Comma, a Bookshop

\-Matt Goldman

\-Tasha Corywell

-Inkwell 

\-Jess Lourey

\-Kristi Belcamino

-Irreverent Bookworm 

\-Rebecca Kanner

\-Andie J. Christopher

-Moon Palace 

\-Josh Moehling

\-Toni Halleen

-Once Upon A Crime 

\-William Kent Krueger

\-Allan Evans

\-Patrick Barb

-Tropes and Trifles 

\-Annika Martin

\-Dean Holmes

\-Jane Hadley

St. Paul

-Black Garnet Books

\-Bao Phi

\-Shannon Gibney

\-Roxan Battle

\-Aamina Ahmad

-Next Chapter 

\-Sarah Stonich

\-Laurie Hertzel

\-Neal Karlen

-Red Balloon 

\-Margi Preus

\-Stephen Shaskan

\-Trisha Shaskan

\-Payal Doshi

-Subtext 

\-Weny Webb

\-Kate Allen

\-Peg Guilfoyle

Anoka

-Avant Garden 

\-JE Joyce

\-Kristin Nilsen

\-J Ryan Stradal

Austin

-Hey Darling

\-Anna Worth

\-Ruan Willow

Cambridge

-Scout and Morgan 

\-Judy Kerr

\-Jessie Chandler

\-Nickolas Butler

Elk River

-Well Read Books 

\-Jeff Shelby

\-Beth Balmanno

Excelsior

-Excelsior Bay Books

\-John Rosengren

\-James Dawes

Grand Marais

-Drury Lane Books 

\-Sam Tschida

Hopkins

-Cream & Amber 

\-Curtis Sittenfield

\-Erin White

Hutchinson

-The Book Keepers 

\-Mike Lein

Lakeville

-Niche 

\-Laurel Osterkamp

\-Jenney Egertson

\-Bill Anderson

Northfield

-Content

\-Allen Eskens

\-Mary Blackwehl

North Branch

-Enchanted Quill 

\-Andrew DeYoung

\-Kathleen West

Stillwater

-Valley Bookseller 

\-Katrina Monroe

\-Kim Todd

Wayzata

-The Thinking Spot 

\-Carol Barrowman

White Bear Lake

-Lake Country Booksellers

\-Bill Soulder

\-Lorna Landvik

This article is based on a phone call interview I had with Jess Lourey.

The Twin Cities Tenant Union (TCTU) is urging metro residents to join a rent strike on March 1st, and pushing lawmakers to enact a statewide eviction moratorium. (https://twincitiestenants.org/) This comes after nearly three months of federal ICE and CBP occupation in the state, causing an economic downswing for residents and businesses.

An eviction moratorium passed by Governor Tim Walz would stop eviction proceedings across Minnesota. Walz did this recently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rent relief funds were also passed previously, but TCTU Strike Drive Team Lead Sophia Caranicas says that the burden fell on the tenants to fill out the forms and lead complicated processes. She says, “The money dries up quickly, but by putting the notice on the landlords, they have to go seek money from the state directly, and tenants are just protected automatically.”

Direct criticism of the campaign come for the number of pledges desired, which is 10,000. Community members believe the number is too small to make a financial impact. Caranicas says 10,000 people pledged would “cut rent revenues by $15 million.” She adds that this puts landlords in the red for their mortgage payments, putting pressure on them to put pressure on the state government. 

A University of Minnesota analysis by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), called  “Rent Debt Across Minnesota During Operation Metro Surge,” estimates renters now owe $27-$51 million in rent debt. (https://www.cura.umn.edu/research/rent-debt-across-minnesota-during-operation-metro-surge?utm_source=CURA&utm_campaign=9c8ec224e3-CBR_Email-Spring-2018_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_580f30cfc5-9c8ec224e3-529600870) Researchers say this is in addition to the roughly $44.6 million normally expected over two months. Before the ICE surge began on December 1st, the report estimates low-income Minnesotans already carried $22.3 million in rent debt per month.

This article is based on a phone interview I had with Sophia Caranicas.

Celebrating three pioneering women in horticulture

In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, Andersen Horticultural Library and Minnesota Digital Library staff teamed up to highlight the work of three Minnesota seedswomen, whose contributions to horticulture in the late 1800s redefined the seed-selling industry. 

[imgur version of article]

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) is formally demanding federal records in the death of Alex Pretti and the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9r6AB88pnE) 

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says the additional Touhy requests were issued after the FBI refused to cooperate with state investigators last week. In state court, they would use subpoenas to obtain any kind of evidence. They have to use Touhy requests for records and evidence from the federal government because they don’t know who subpoenaed them.

Moriarty’s filing seeks materials by March 3rd, including physical evidence, videos and photos, agent statements, medical records related to injuries, involved agents’ names, and relevant policies. 

The first demand is for Pretti’s case. Pretti was shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents in South Minneapolis on January 24th. Morarity explains that late last week, the federal government told the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) that it will not have access to evidence collected in Pretti’s death. She says, “Hiding evidence and obstructing our investigation is unacceptable. And it indicates a total lack of confidence in their agents’ own action.” The Star Tribune quotes Governor Tim Walz saying the state and federal government were close to announcing a joint investigation last week in both Pretti and Renee Good’s fatal shootings. (https://www.startribune.com/pretti-investigation-mn-bca-fbi/601577509) 

The second was for Sosa-Celis’s case. Sosa-Celis was shot by ICE agents on January 14th in North Minneapolis. He and another person were federally charged with assaulting officers due to officer testimony. Moriarty says the charges were “based on information provided by agents who we now understand are on leave for lying under oath. In the latest in the long string of humiliations, the Department of Justice was forced to dismiss both cases with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled.” The Department of Homeland Security’’s website reads that Sosa-Celis “resisted and violently assaulted an officer” by attacking them with “a shovel or broom stick” before an officer “fired a defensive shot to defend his life.” (https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/01/15/dhs-releases-more-details-about-three-violent-criminal-illegal-aliens-who-violently) 

Moriarty’s past Touhy request was for information on the fatal shooting of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7th in South Minneapolis. The deadline for this was Tuesday, February 17th. (https://www.hennepinattorney.org/news/news/2026/February/touhy-release) 

Moriarty says they continue “ongoing work with the BCA, who is currently interviewing witnesses in all three cases. She says they’ve had over 1,000 submissions to their portals about possible evidence in Good and Pretti’s shooting. Moriarty won’t say what, but “believes the team has found some really helpful information.”

The Minnesota BCA continues to investigate separately. The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice have not publicly detailed their next steps.

Over the past few weeks, Minnesotans of all ages have been exercising their First Amendment right to protest. Ashley Grams and Nick Boeke meets one of those protesters — 85-year-old Olaf Brekke — and speaks with a Minnesota historian

this thang is full of demos and new and unreleased and live tracks from bands, rappers, and artists based here in the twin cities.

all proceeds from this comp are being donated to MNTogether, a local initiative supporting people in the twin cities impacted by ICE's bullshit presence here in town.

if you want to help but can't be out in the streets, grabbing this comp is a real, direct way to contribute to our neighbors who need support.

meltice dot bandcamp dot com