In Minneapolis, Abdulrahman Hashi, 60, prepared to preach at Dar al-Hijrah mosque about the danger of extremist violence even after learning that his stepbrother, Adan Ibrahin Dirie, had been injured in the attack and his stepbrother’s son had been killed. He said grief would not stop him from leading prayers for his community, which includes many Somali immigrants. “We are still doing our worshiping, and we’re not stopping that,” he said.

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Contributed Reporting

Asked Friday about the controversies, several Somali Americans in Minneapolis came to Omar’s defense, particularly in light of a poster discovered this month at the West Virginia Capitol that featured an image of her underneath one of the World Trade Center towers in flame on Sept. 11.

“Ilhan has nothing to do with that. That’s not what America stands for,” said Abdi Ali, 40, who runs the Barwaaqo Juice and Coffee shop in Minneapolis’s Midtown Phillips neighborhood.

Of the criticism Omar faces, Ali said: “I think Ilhan is a soft target because of her background — being Muslim, black, immigrant.”

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As voters in two southwestern Minnesota school districts prepare to decide on Tuesday whether to build new schools, the Worthington and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton school districts have been contending with a man some call the "bond buster."

The release was coupled with Patterson’s first court hearing, in which he appeared by video in an orange jumpsuit from the county jail, shaking his head affirmatively and saying “Yes, sir,” to the judge’s questions. He was visibly unmoved as charges against him were read. Judge James C. Babler set Patterson’s bail at $5 million.

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Jose is hoping to graduate about this time next year. He'd love to attend graduate school and to have a job at 3M one day. But his future beyond this year is in the hands of federal courts, Congress and, ultimately, the president.

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Rosenberry has spent decades trying to ask the right questions about Shingobee Lake. At 40 years old, the research at Shingobee has become one of the longest continuing projects in the nation that shows how an entire watershed is impacted by climate change.

But the future of all that research hangs in limbo. The Shingobee research station's funding might be cut off in the next USGS budget year, as the agency's finances stagnate.

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