Stories from March 4, 2025

Venezuelan Minnesotan chef, newly approved for asylum, will star on ‘Chopped’
After years of immigration limbo, Soleil Ramirez, who owns Crasqui, a fine dining Venezuelan restaurant in St. Paul, achieved two dreams. She was granted asylum and had a chance to compete on the Food Network show “Chopped.”
A major winter storm is forecast to bring blizzard conditions to southern Minnesota from Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon. And a Canadian official Tuesday announced his intentions to impose a 25 percent export tax on electricity to Minnesota.
Highways reopening in southern Minnesota after closures due to blizzard; Walz activates National Guard
With shovels, snowblowers and snowplows, Minnesotans got to work Wednesday digging out from a major late-winter storm that walloped southern and eastern parts of the state with heavy snow, howling winds and blizzard conditions.
Read NPR’s annotated fact check of President Trump’s address to Congress
President Donald Trump vowed to keep up his campaign of “swift and unrelenting action” in reorienting the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign policy as he delivered an unyielding address Tuesday night to Congress and the nation. Democratic legislators registered their dissent with stone faces, placards calling out "lies,” and one legislator’s ejection.
Fired federal workers are among the guests invited to Trump's speech to Congress
The Trumps and lawmakers from across the aisle have invited guests to Tuesday's joint address, representing some of the administration's top priorities. Here's a look at some of the names on the list.
Minnesota joins lawsuit against construction company for rape, assault allegations
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is joining a lawsuit against Absolute Drywall for violating the state’s human rights law. The construction company allegedly failed to investigate an employee’s reports of sexual harassment and rape and fired the employee who came forward.
Amazon data center planned for Minnesota sparks environmental debate
Minnesota’s rules on power consumption are being put to the test after a clash with the tech giant Amazon. The company has plans to build a data center in Becker, Minnesota. State utility regulators pumped the breaks.
Stripper Awards Gala in Minneapolis spotlights sex workers, decriminalization efforts
The event for sex workers and their allies praised the best in the business while advocating for stronger labor protections for dancers and sharing the importance of decriminalized sex work.
Trudeau slams Trump's tariffs, says U.S. is appeasing Putin while launching a trade war against Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs “very dumb.” Trudeau also called out Trump for appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin while launching a trade war against Canada.
NASA's two stuck astronauts are finally closing in on their return to Earth after 9 months in space
NASA's two stuck astronauts are just a few weeks away from finally returning to Earth after nine months in space. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spoke with reporters Tuesday from the International Space Station.
Pope Francis no longer requires mechanical ventilation after respiratory crisis
The Vatican says that Pope Francis has stabilized enough after two respiratory crises to resume using a nasal tube for oxygen, rather than a ventilation mask. The 88-year-old pope has pneumonia and had part of one lung removed as a young man. The Vatican said he woke up Tuesday after sleeping through the night. 
Wild GM Guerin believes injury-thinned group is good enough to get by until injured standouts return
The injury-thinned Minnesota Wild could use a boost in their push to return to the playoffs. Their margin for making it has slimmed down following a strong start. The Wild more than likely will have to find that spark from within as the NHL trade deadline approaches.
Attendance and scoring are up two-thirds into PWHL’s 2nd season with expansion plans on horizon
The PWHL is enjoying a jump in attendance and scoring two-thirds of the way into its second season. The six-team league is drawing more than 7,300 fans per game, up from 5,500 last year, and expects to break the one-million attendance mark within the next month.
The Minnesota House voted down a bill Monday that would have prohibited transgender athletes from participating in girls sports. And voting ends next week for the special election that will determine whether Republicans have a majority in Minnesota House or if the chamber will be tied.
Target posts strong Q4 profits and sales, but warns of cautious spending as tariffs take hold
Sales and profits slipped for Target during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending and the company said there will be “meaningful pressure” on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs.
Rain turns to snow Tuesday night
We should be prepared for anywhere from 4 inches on the low end in the Twin Cities to as much as 8 or 9 inches on the high end with parts of southeastern Minnesota potentially approaching 6 to 10-plus inches.
Swing state Sen. Elissa Slotkin to deliver rebuttal to Trump's speech to Congress
Michigan's first-term senator, Slotkin — a centrist with deep national security credentials — will deliver the Democrats' rebuttal to President Trump's first speech to a joint session of Congress.
In polarized times, these Minnesota legislators want to restore civility at the state Capitol
This year’s legislative session started with a lot of vitriol between DFLers and Republicans. But a bipartisan group of legislators is trying to get both sides to be more collaborative and civil.
‘We may have become the mob’: Feeding Our Future leader’s texts revealed in trial
In text messages that Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock wrote to others charged in a $250 million conspiracy to defraud taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs, she discussed scorched-earth tactics for dealing with critics of her nonprofit.