MaryJo Webster
@maryjowebster.bsky.social
Data journalist at the Minnesota Star Tribune. Mom to teenagers and two dogs. Passionate about investigative reporting & access to public data. #journalist #watchdog. www.maryjowebster.com Send tips via Signal: maryjowebster.88
www.startribune.com/minnesota-wa...
Walz wants legislators’ emails to be public. But it’s not up to him.
As the governor faces scrutiny over his administration’s handling of Medicaid fraud, he says the Minnesota Legislature should be subject to the same transparency requirements as his office.
startribune.com
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said state prosecutors and law enforcement have gathered enough evidence to consider charging decisions against the federal agents who shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Moriarty: State ‘in good shape’ to consider charging federal agents in slayings of Good, Pretti
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office continues to pursue federal evidence that is being kept from state investigators, but Mary Moriarty said there’s “no mystery” about how Renee Good and Alex Pretti died.
bit.ly
www.startribune.com/minnesota-so...
Minnesota released a report about social services fraud. Most of it is blacked out.
The Department of Human Services said the redactions are to protect trade secrets and security information. Lawmakers looking for answers to state government’s fraud problems are frustrated.
startribune.com
If my followers have been inspired by the fierce resistance the Twin Cities has put up to ICE, you should make it a point to take a trip here (April through October 😬), enjoy the wonderful things MN has to offer and support our small businesses. It continues to be a really tough time for them.
The Minnesota Star Tribune has identified 17 instances of federal officials violating judicial orders related to people detained in Minnesota.
Star Tribune analysis: Feds disobeying judicial orders on immigration detainees
The federal government cites a glut in cases and low staffing as reasons for violating court orders.
bit.ly
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 27, 2026
The day all of these monsters finally leave MN I feel like the most Minnesotan thing to do is have the biggest potluck in state history. Bars as far as the eyes can see. The power grid being strained by the collective energy being used by a million slow cookers. A Hamm’s pony keg on every corner…
“We are starting to build a huge ICE OUT sign on Lake Nokomis [in Mpls.] 100 foot letters for MSP flights to see. By day snow letters, by night we’ll light w/ candles in white paper bags Send this widely. Tonight will get it outlined. Tomorrow night we’ll light it up and keep it going all week.“
Hundreds of Minnesotans protested in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday a day after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in the city. Demonstrators called for an end to the federal immigration operation in the state following two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens. 📷️: Jeff Wheeler
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 25, 2026
Protesters flooded the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and W. 26th Street in south Minneapolis, near where Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents Saturday morning. Video by Aaron Lavinsky, Genevieve Ross, Kyeland Jackson and Louis Krauss.
The reporting I've seen from @startribune.com over the last few days is a great endorsement of the need for quality local journalism, which is suffering from fiscal setbacks across the country.
ICE thinks Minnesotans will eventually give up, it’s like they’re unfamiliar with Vikings fandom
in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today
So proud of how my newsroom is taking on this massive news story, esp. since we are all a bit burned out from covering 2 other massive news stories in past 6 mths. If you don't already subscribe, please help us out, even for 1 month. Or donate to Local News Fund. www.startribune.com/essential-re...
Minnesota Star Tribune@startribune.com · 8mo agoTomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
344 unlawful detention petitions filed in Minnesota since Dec. 1st -- 288 of them just since Jan 1. The filings dwarf everything that came before. During Trump’s first term: avg 5.5 cases per month; Biden presidency: avg 1.5 cases per month www.startribune.com/wrongful-det...
Wrongful detainment complaints spike during ICE surge
The number of immigrants suing for wrongful detention jumped as federal agents deployed to Minnesota.
startribune.com
This video filmed by Ben Luhmann shows the moment a federal agent sprayed chemical irritants directly into a man's face in south Minneapolis. Three agents already had the man pinned to the ground when a fourth agent walked up and sprayed the irritants.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino is seen deploying a gas canister at Mueller Park in south Minneapolis this afternoon. Video by Ben Luhmann.
SNL cast member Tommy Brennan, who grew up in St. Paul, poked fun at ICE in a segment only released online. “Minneapolis is a city of immigrants and that’s what makes it great,” he said. “I grew up playing on all-immigrant soccer teams, and let me tell you, it is not easy to catch those guys.”
‘Saturday Night Live’ tribute to Minnesotans gets zapped at last minute
NBC has made Tommy Brennan’s editorial available online.
bit.ly
An observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
The next few days in Minnesota will be interesting. This is EPIC cold that's coming. The kind we don't get super often. The kind that even us die hards struggle with. www.startribune.com/minnesotans-...
Cold as ICE: Subzero cold bears down on Minnesota protests
Cold as ICE: There is such a thing as bad weather, and Minnesota has the forecast to prove it.
startribune.com
too many people seemed to learn the wrong lesson about minneapolis from the George Floyd uprising–— that it is just a bad, place with racist cops. the real lesson should have been that people in minneapolis actually care about their neighbors and are willing to do something about injustice.
The woman killed by ICE was Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year old who was the mother of a 4-year old child whose father already died a few years ago. The Star Tribune talked to her mother. www.startribune.com/she-was-an-a...
Did you sign up for our new newsletter yet? MNOG's newsletter aims to warn you about dangers to public access in MN & to spotlight occasional victories. Check out the first edition here: minnesotans-for-open-government.beehiiv.com/p/mnog-news-...
MNOG News: Appeal in ‘coaching’ lawsuit; legal fight over 911 call transcript
Read more about what Minnesotans for Open Government is doing, including a free webinar next week on how to use the DPA.
minnesotans-for-open-government.beehiiv.com
MuckRock's latest guide explains how to use FOIA requests to track opioid settlement funds in your state.
How are opioid settlement funds being spent in your state? You can use FOIA to find out
Over the last six months, MuckRock teamed up with a class of investigative journalism students at West Virginia University to request opioid settlement spending documents from all 55 counties in West…
muckrock.com
Minnesota friends: Are you wondering how this year's snow stacks up to years past? We've got you covered: www.startribune.com/minnesota-sn... This updates every day -- all winter!
Minnesota snowfall tracker: Track daily snow totals this winter
Compare snowfall across the state to past seasons.
startribune.com
Today is Give To the Max day in Minnesota. Please consider donating to this small, but mighty, organization!
Minnesotans for Open Government@mncogi.bsky.social · 10mo agoAre you passionate about transparency in local govt? If so, please consider donating to Minnesotans for Open Government. This is Minnesota's all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit that is working to ensure we don't lose access to government records & public mtgs. www.givemn.org/organization...
