The Weekly Scramble

We hope we are wrong but a very bleak future awaits the state of Minnesota after Election Day 2026
More than 2.8 million Minnesotans voted in the midterm election, a record number for a non-presidential year, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.
The results were historic in several regards but also have the potential to bring sweeping changes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and the U.S. at large.
Voters cast their ballots in Minnesota’s general election Tuesday. This is who won major statewide races, including governor and Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat and control of the Minnesota Legislature.
Most races have been called as of Wednesday morning, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar winning the race for Minnesota governor. However, the race in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District between Democrat Jake Johnson and Republican Brad Finstad remains too close to call.
Find the latest election results below.
As of Wednesday morning, the race between Democrat Jake Johnson and Republican Brad Finstad remains too close to call, with Johnson holding a narrow 324-vote lead.
Minnesota's First Congressional District includes nearly all of southern Minnesota, including all or part of Blue Earth, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Jackson, Martin, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Rice, Rock, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Watonwan and Winona counties.

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As a life long resident of Minnesota it is becoming increasingly difficult to try and stay positive.
Nearly 1 million Minnesotans cast absentee or mail ballots before Election Day, the most ever before an election in a non-presidential year, the secretary of state's office said.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, local election officials had accepted 983,558 ballots. Of those, 699,815 were cast in person and 283,743 were returned by mail. Absentee ballots arriving Tuesday are expected to push the total past 1 million.
Rain did not deter voters Tuesday, with a steady turnout at Alice Smith Elementary in Hopkins at midday.
Secretary of State Steve Simon cast his ballot in Hopkins on Tuesday morning with his family. Simon told WCCO his main goals are high turnout and low drama.
"I have every expectation that we're going to deliver an election that is secure," Simon said.
In Minneapolis, about a dozen people were in line outside Lake Harriet Methodist Church before polls opened. One voter said there may never have been a more important election than this one, and that many people feel they can't make a difference. "But you really can," the voter said.
Polling places are open until 8 p.m., and anyone in line by then can still vote. Every voter is assigned to a specific polling place, which can be found at mnvotes.gov/pollfinder. A sample ballot is available there, too. Voters who are not registered can sign up at their polling place, but they need proof of residence, such as a driver's license or a TV bill.
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Ferg's, a popular St. Petersburg sports bar near Tropicana Field, rolled out far more barrels of beer than expected as the many visitors wearing blue and gold apparently consumed a month's supply of beer Monday, Oct. 26.
Talk about being thirsty for a ring.
Why has Governor Walz not been seen publicly campaigning for other DFL candidates in Minnesota?
The Halloween do's and mostly don'ts.
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The New York Knicks have faced criticism after sending employees an email promising complimentary NBA championship rings that turned out to be a cybersecurity exercise.
Staff members who accepted the invitation were reportedly required to complete cybersecurity training instead of receiving jewellery commemorating the franchise's historic victory.
The incident involved workers at Madison Square Garden, where expectations of receiving championship memorabilia had already grown following the team's successful season.
The deceptive message circulated in late September, offering recipients personalized jewellery supposedly manufactured by the same company responsible for producing players' rings.
Employees could select between two advertised designs, Championship Gold and Garden Classic, before following a link to register their preferred choice.
However, the invitation was actually part of an internal security assessment intended to identify workers susceptible to fraudulent messages and credential theft.
Those who followed the instructions were reportedly assigned compulsory cybersecurity lessons, although the organization has not disclosed how many employees were affected.
Joe Vardon, a senior NBA journalist at The Athletic, reported that several individuals familiar with the situation verified the exercise's purpose.
The report also raised questions about whether the invitation contained recognizable warning signs that might have helped employees identify the deception.
Such exercises commonly use suspicious addresses or misleading website links, although the specific indicators included in this particular message remain unknown.
The controversy followed the Knicks' first NBA championship since 1973, making the promised jewellery particularly significant for employees celebrating the achievement.
Receiving commemorative jewellery was also a reasonable expectation because NBA organizations commonly distribute less expensive versions to personnel outside their playing squads.
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Police were called to the home of Terry Ward, 64, on Sunday, October 11, and arrested the man, charging him with “abduction” and misdemeanor assault and battery against a family or household member for forcibly restraining his wife by duct-taping her to a chair in the couple’s home.
“When I arrived on scene, [the wife] stated that her husband had tied her to a chair with tape in the basement,” a police report reads, according to WTVR-TV. “Terry stated that he did indeed tie his wife [name redacted] to a chair and place[d] her down in the basement.”
Officers also noted that the woman said she was trapped in the chair for nearly an hour and had bruises and contusions on her arms from being restrained in the chair.
The reports added that Ward told officers that he restrained his wife in the basement so he could watch the game in peace upstairs.

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