Good morning. And thanks to all those who came out to see us last night in Minneapolis!

Two conservative online influencers are facing felony charges in Hennepin County. James O'Keefe and Cam Higby posted videos on social media around the time of Minnesota’s primary election in August, saying they planned to go to Minneapolis polling places to attempt to vote without an ID. Now they face consequences. As Jon Collins reported, the Hennepin County Attorney’s office charged the two with felony counts of identity theft and unlawful voting for the stunt. Even though the two didn’t actually vote, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said they violated Minnesota law by misrepresenting their identities when applying for a ballot or attempting to vote. The videos posted by O'Keefe’s operation show them wearing burkas outside precincts during the primary. Moriarty said the voter names they used included some residents who were dead and at least one who voted. In the videos, O’Keefe, using an accent, asks workers at polling places if he can vouch for other voters. “It is not against the law to be performative,” Moriarty told reporters Wednesday. But “you cannot go into a polling place and misidentify yourself and use someone’s identity and say that to our election judges as you apply for a ballot.” O’Keefe and Higby are due in court next month. 

Candidates and campaigns shift to GOTV mode. With less than a week to go before Election Day, volunteers and organizers from both political parties have been knocking on doors, writing letters and making phone calls in a final attempt to convince their fellow Minnesotans to vote. Ellie reports that the state DFL Party says volunteers have already knocked on more than two million doors, and Democrats and Republicans are both launching get out the vote bus tours this week. From a DFL rally at First Avenue to a letter writing event at a St. Paul brewery, campaigns are looking to convert support into votes.

The Department of Justice opposes unsealing court documents in its investigation into U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. After federal agents searched Omar's D.C. home two weeks ago, several news organizations petitioned in court to see the search warrant. Estelle Timar-Wilcox reported that in a heavily redacted court filing , U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the judge should not make that warrant public. She said the warrant hasn't been fully carried out yet, and that unsealing it would jeopardize the ongoing investigation. The Associated Press reports that federal authorities are investigating potential rule violations in Omar's immigration paperwork. Omar has denied any wrongdoing. A federal judge hasn’t ruled on whether to unseal the warrant. 

Republican state Senate candidate Austin Peterson of Hawley was injured in a rollover crash on Tuesday night. Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval reported that Peterson, who’s challenging Sen. Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead, said in a Facebook post that an oncoming vehicle entered his lane on a state highway. He said he swerved toward the ditch, his truck rolled over and his seatbelt jammed, trapping him inside. He said a good Samaritan stopped to help him get out of the vehicle and he was taken to a hospital. Peterson is running in one of the most competitive legislative races, where outside groups have spent nearly $2.9 million, according to the latest reports filed this week.

Feeding Our Future fraudster gets a 30-year sentence. Matt Sepic reports that U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel on Wednesday sentenced Salim Said, the co-owner of the former Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis and a major player in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, to 30 years in federal prison. “You took more than taxpayer money to enrich yourself,” Brasel told Said. “You took the reputation of our state down with you. It’s my hope that one day the words ‘Minnesota’ and ‘fraud’ won’t be spoken in the same sentence, but I fear that day is a long way off.” In 2025, a jury convicted 37-year-old Said of 21 felony counts including wire fraud, bribery and money laundering. The same jury also convicted Aimee Bock, 46, of leading a scheme to steal several hundred million dollars from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs by filing fraudulent reimbursement claims replete with phony invoices, falsified meal count forms, and rosters listing the names offictional children. In May, Brasel sentenced Bock to nearly 42 years in prison.