Reason for hope

UMLC adds two ‘W’s to the conservative win column.

The country is experiencing a radical season of conservative wins, and it seems Minnesota got in on the action, too. This spring, the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) secured a string of exciting victories. Here are two notable examples.

One step closer to answers on Senate burglar’s arrest

Sen. Nicole Mitchell (DFL-Woodbury) was arrested April 22, 2024, in Detroit Lakes, Minn. for felony first-degree burglary at a private home owned by her stepmother. The police report said she was wearing all black, entered the house through a basement window, and was caught with two laptop computers in her backpack; during the arrest, she reportedly told officers she “did something bad” and was “clearly not very good at this.”

After the arrest, though, Mitchell took to Facebook to deny any wrongdoing. She claimed she didn’t steal anything and was simply checking on a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s and associated paranoia. Her post directly contradicted the events laid out in the police report, begging the question: What really happened?

Given Mitchell’s position, it’s a weighty question. Despite calls to resign, Mitchell remains in office to this day and apparently plans to serve out the remainder of her term. She even felt it appropriate to cast the deciding vote on a motion to expel her from the Senate. (Can you guess how she voted?)

And unfortunately, Mitchell’s status as a sitting Minnesota senator has thus far protected her from trial — and vice versa! Immediately after her arrest, DFL members of the Senate ethics committee successfully opposed taking action against Mitchell on the grounds that she had not yet been convicted. Nearly a year later, her trial was delayed by a district court judge so as not to interfere with the legislative session. It’s a catch-22 highly beneficial to Sen. Mitchell… and not-so-beneficial to voters who demand answers, accountability, and respect for the office she holds.

Enter UMLC and Alpha News, who wanted the Becker County District Court to authorize the release of the body- and dash-camera footage from Mitchell’s arrest. Police video has regularly been released when police officers themselves are accused, so it seemed a natural request. And given Mitchell’s public comments contradicting her police report, several important public figures — including Gov. Tim Walz — had called for answers, fulfilling the requirement laid out in Minnesota Statutes, section 13.82, subdivision 7, which says body- and dash-camera footage may be released “if the public benefit of disclosure outweighs the harm to the public or the person identified in the data,” according to an April UMLC press release.

The district court initially denied UMLC and Alpha News’ request. But on April 7, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed that decision, which means the lower court must return to Alpha News’ request and evaluate it correctly.

“The District Court got it wrong by disregarding the important public benefit Alpha News seeks to provide,” said UMLC trial and appellate counsel Allie Howell. “Minnesotans cannot hold their elected officials accountable without the information necessary to evaluate their actions. We look forward to continuing this fight for transparency.”

MDE Pays $7,000 to American Experiment for stalling data request

In the summer of 2024, American Experiment policy fellow Catrin Wigfall was closely following the development of an ethnic studies framework by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). The working group responsible for the framework — ostensibly led by Brian Lozenski, a critical race theorist who publicly called for the overthrow of the U.S. government — was supposed to open its draft to public feedback from Aug. 9 to 22. But after Walz joined the Democrats’ national ticket as a vice presidential candidate on Aug. 6, 2024, the feedback period never happened.

“Parents, teachers and the public are still waiting for guidance from the Department of Education on how to implement the new ethnic studies mandate,” said Wigfall. “It appears MDE is embarrassed by the current draft, and they should be. This framework represents a radical form of ethnic studies that fundamentally changes teaching and learning in Minnesota.”

On Oct. 2, 2024, American Experiment formally requested MDE release the draft document under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. After waiting 56 days with no word from MDE, UMLC filed a lawsuit on behalf of American Experiment challenging MDE’s failure to comply with the government transparency law.

MDE’s lawyers at the Minnesota Attorney General’s office finally provided the framework document on Dec. 6, 2024. A few months later, MDE settled with American Experiment to the tune of $7,000, with half going directly to American Experiment and the other half to UMLC for legal fees.

“Instead of simply emailing us a document everyone knew existed, the Department of Education chose to protect Gov. Walz by stonewalling our request until after the 2024 election,” said John Hinderaker, president of Center of the American Experiment. “Citizens shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to access information from their government that is clearly public in the eyes of the law.”