madi mcvan
@madisonmcvan.bsky.social
reporter @ minnesota reformer covering immigration and more. posting about sports sometimes too. texan in st. paul. eng/esp
thinking of mauricio henriquez serrano, who told me that after being deported to honduras he feared he'd be a target for robbery because he'd recently been deported from the U.S.
DHS Is Hiring Bounty Hunters to Find and Photograph Deported People’s Homes Abroad
Homeland Security told immigrants that leaving the US would wipe out fines it claims they owe. Now it wants private investigators to find them in their home countries and collect.
wired.com
Nathan Hansen, the right-wing poster and conspiracy theorist turned immigration judge, has announced his resignation. My story on Hansen from April: minnesotareformer.com/2026/04/09/r...
"The group warned the markets could create financial incentives for arson and criticized what they described as profiteering from disasters affecting vulnerable communities." (gift link)
As Oregon burns and gamblers bet, lawmakers push back against wildfire betting markets drawing millions
Wyden and Merkley are urging federal regulators to crack down on prediction markets that allow users to wager on how long wildfires will burn and how much damage they will cause
oregonlive.com
i’m impressed with the NYT’s revamped vote count/projection dashboard. can tell a lot of thought went into making the models more transparent — that’s one way journalists can combat election disinformation/distrust
Primary Elections Live Updates: Close Race in Democratic Primary for Michigan Senate Seat
nytimes.com
went down the rabbit hole and learned that in 1994, the Duluth Police Department was considered the model for handling domestic violence situations, by implementing a policy requiring the mandatory arrest of people accused of misdemeanor assault
When Men Hit Women (Gift Article)
nytimes.com
HABEAS UPDATE: The Trump administration’s push for mass deportations has now resulted in more than 67,000 challenges in federal court from immigrants claiming their detention is illegal. There’s been a recent uptick in cases with 8,478 reported in July. projects.propublica.org/habeas-track...
cool story about a minnesota state-moorhead grad who went undrafted — then ended up as the falcons' starting quarterback for training camp after injuries to all three guys ahead of him on the depth chart. (gift link)
Meet the Falcons’ undrafted rookie from Division II who opened camp as the starting QB (Gift Article)
After a series of injuries, the Falcons opened training camp with UDFA rookie Jack Strand starting at quarterback. Now, can he stick?
nytimes.com
ICE will pay CoreCivic more than half a billion dollars over five years to reopen a defunct 1,600-bed prison in rural western Minnesota as an immigrant detention center.
ICE, CoreCivic to open Appleton immigrant detention center this year • Minnesota Reformer
Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pay private prison company CoreCivic more than half a billion dollars to reopen a defunct 1,600-bed prison in rural western Minnesota as an immigrant detention...
minnesotareformer.com
Immigrant groups are advancing a novel argument to preserve Temporary Protected Status after a Supreme Court decision narrowing grounds for legal challenges. The homeland security secretary never had the authority to terminate protections under the program, they claim.
Migrant Groups Try New Legal Strategy in Fight to Preserve TPS
The secretary of Homeland Security never had authority to void humanitarian protections shielding people from more than a dozen countries from deportation, immigrant groups are now claiming in multipl...
news.bloomberglaw.com
gov. tim walz is allegedly staying out of the DFL senate primary but first lady gwen walz filmed an ad for angie craig 👀
First Lady
North Star Dawn PAC started airing this Positive ad about Craig for MN Senate on 08/04/26 in the MN Senate 2026 Primary election.
host2.adimpact.com
🚨ALERT🚨: new @cingraham.bsky.social in @minnesotareformer.com
Minnesota's most aggressive drug prosecutor keeps getting overruled. He’s running unopposed (again). • Minnesota Reformer
Elections are the primary check on prosecutorial power, but in Minnesota and elsewhere that check is largely theoretical.
minnesotareformer.com
playing hooky (using PTO) to catch the vikings’ first padded practice of training camp
The immigration law named after a murdered Georgia college student boosted the administration’s immigration powers. Eighteen months later, some Democrats are answering for it.
46 Democrats Voted for the Laken Riley Act. For Some, It’s Now a Midterms Liability.
This story was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay of The 19th....
talkingpointsmemo.com
Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano survived a violent arrest in St. Paul. It still haunts him. via @minnesotareformer.com
Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano survived a violent arrest in St. Paul. It still haunts him.
The morning of Jan. 11 began for Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano with an ominous warning: The gas light on his Jeep Cherokee was glowing yellow on the dashboard.
newsfromthestates.com
Today in @minnesotareformer.com: the story of Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano, whose violent arrest by Border Patrol agents at a St. Paul Speedway went viral in the early weeks of Operation Metro Surge. You may have seen the video of him losing consciousness — and his breath seeming to stop.
Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano survived a violent arrest in St. Paul. It still haunts him. • Minnesota Reformer
The morning of Jan. 11 began for Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano with an ominous warning: The gas light on his Jeep Cherokee was glowing yellow on the dashboard. He didn’t want to go to work at the r...
minnesotareformer.com
“Government lawyers said …information provided since the indictment of David Hearn shows that the damage was the result of a ‘flawed installation by the contractor’ as well as ‘the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration …’”
LoriPerkinsRAB@loriperkinsrab.bsky.social · 5d agoJustice Department drops criminal case against ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool apnews.com/article/refl...
Judge: "xAI filed the motion... nearly three months after the law was signed, and only three days before the law is set to take effect. Such a delay in bringing the action and the motion suggests that harm is not immediate.”
Nudification law to go into effect Saturday after judge denies delay request from Musk’s AI company • Minnesota Reformer
A new Minnesota law banning the use of technology that creates sexually explicit images or videos of a person without their consent will go into effect Saturday after a federal judge rejected the requ...
minnesotareformer.com
wrote about trump blaming minnesota for cyber attacks on local water systems. his own intelligence officials say iran — who we're at war with! — is likely behind the attacks
Blaming the victim: Trump faults Minnesota for cyber attacks experts say came from Iran • Minnesota Reformer
American intelligence agencies believe Iran is behind a cyber attack on more than 30 Minnesota water systems — plus an unknown number in other states — which came five months into the U.S.-Iran War, a...
minnesotareformer.com
NYT reports that 29 of the 40 people indicted in the cities church protest have been offered plea deals with downgraded charges — and the defendants aren't taking them.
Missteps Mount in Justice Dept.’s Case Against Minnesota Anti-ICE Protesters (Gift Article)
The problems plaguing the case have not only hurt the government’s chances, lawyers say, but have also undermined the bonds of trust that prosecutors have traditionally enjoyed in court.
nytimes.com
Trump: "We heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack and they blame it on Iran. I don't think so. I blame it on Minnesota because they're grossly incompetent. Iran's got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota."
Reformer reporter Ria Gupta asked every leading candidate for governor where they stand on data centers. Here's what they said — if they responded at all.
Where do the candidates for governor stand on data centers? • Minnesota Reformer
Opposition to data centers has become a familiar scene across Minnesota, in small communities and big cities, ruby red and indigo blue alike.
minnesotareformer.com
pearson's in st. paul is closing and laying off all its workers
WGN posted a meme of Kyle Shanahan as Mitch McConnell when reporting on his car accident.
A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screenshots and posted them online. www.reuters.com/world/africa...
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screen...
reuters.com
