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The St. Francis City Council voted Jan. 20 to formalize a resolution directing the city to fly Minnesota’s 1957 state flag rather than the current official flag flown at the Minnesota State Capitol. The resolution was approved 5-0 and states the city’s opposition to flying the current state flag. The vote followed earlier council discussion in which Mayor Mark Vogel described the move as a statement opposing actions taken at the state level in adopting the new flag, which was chosen through a legislative redesign process and made the official state flag in 2024. ...

Columbia Heights resident Ed Higgins was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Feb. 5 and transported to the Whipple Federal Building before being released later that evening. In a written statement posted Feb. 5, Higgins said he was driving through Sunnyside Mobile Home Park at approximately 2 p.m. when he saw three vehicles he believed belonged to ICE agents. He said he identified the vehicles based on what he described as prior confirmations from community members over the previous two weeks and sounded his horn to alert residents. ...

Columbia Heights said in a Facebook post that Xcel Energy is implementing temporary protections for customers affected by recent events. According to the post, the company extended a suspension of service disconnections to all seven metro-area counties through the end of February, effective Feb. 5. Customers do not need to contact the company to receive disconnection protection, but bills will continue to accrue during the suspension. The post stated that customers seeking flexible payment arrangements or energy assistance can call 800-895-4999. ...

At the Feb. 9 meeting, Fridley residents continued to urge the council to take action in response to ongoing immigration enforcement in the city. Concerns included the public safety department’s use of Flock cameras and requests that the council declare Fridley a sanctuary city, adopt an ordinance restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating on city-owned property and follow steps taken by neighboring suburbs. Public Safety Director Ryan George reiterated his earlier statement on the department’s immigration policy and said Fridley was not sending any Flock camera data to the federal government. ...

The Columbia Heights City Council unanimously approved a resolution Feb. 9 calling for an end to nationwide surges by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection and urges Congress to withhold additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security without what it describes as stronger oversight and enforcement limits. Council Member Rachel James read the resolution aloud as written. It states that the administration of President Donald Trump is carrying out an “assault on communities in the name of immigration enforcement” that is “eroding our constitutional rights and endangering residents.” ...

Sam Darnold won the Super Bowl after the Vikings let him go. At this revelation, Elliot Steeves—watching the Big Game on his phone after missing it live due to a flight back from Puerto Vallarta, where he had been vacationing amid beaches and the Lindo Mar resort—proceeded to hurl a giant bottle of Mexican tequila directly at the screen, damaging it in true football-fan fashion. Darnold went from slinging passes to Justin Jefferson to hoisting a Lombardi Trophy with Mike Macdonald’s Dark Side defense—an annihilator of entire galaxies—alongside Kenneth Walker III and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who, for the record, is not as good as Justin Jefferson. All of this happened while Kevin O’Connell, now alleged rather than proven quarterback whisperer, turned to the impish gremlin known as Nine the Terrible to guide him to the classic 9-8 Minnesota Mediocre record, followed by a general manager getting fired for being really, really bad at drafting players not named Dallas Turner or Jordan Addison. ...

Pancho’s Taqueria in Circle Pines posted to Facebook on Feb. 9 that an employee who had been detained by federal immigration officers was back home with his family. According to the post, the employee had been in the country legally with a valid work visa. Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, captured on video, followed him to a back storage area before restraining and detaining him as he yelled for help. ...

Fridley has made a website detailing immigration resources for residents in the city, including guidance on what the police department can and cannot do, as well as a list of frequently asked questions that residents can click for more information. Fridley police do not enforce immigration laws, and also cannot ask about a person’s immigration status, conduct stops and action based solely on race, ethnicity or national origin or share records with federal authorities, the website states. ...

Fridley Mayor David Ostwald sent a letter to multiple state and federal officials calling for a meeting with the City Council to address what he described as a crisis in the community related to federal immigration enforcement. The letter followed a City Council meeting Jan. 26, during which residents spoke about heightened immigration enforcement activity in the city. A summary of that testimony was included with the letter. Ostwald said in a Facebook post that many of the actions residents requested fell outside the city’s jurisdiction, but that he relayed those concerns to the appropriate authorities. ...

The Andover City Council unanimously approved a resolution Jan. 20 expressing concern over state fiscal management and its potential impact on local services amid Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandal. Mayor Jamie Barthel said misuse of state funds can ultimately shift financial burdens to cities that rely on state aid to provide services. Barthel referenced a letter circulated by Cross Lake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst and signed by hundreds of mayors statewide, saying it reflected the views of those who chose to sign on. ...