Report Ryan Faircloth and Dave Orrick at the Pioneer Press: “Republican attorney general candidate Doug Wardlow’s record of opposing some gay rights dates back years. For Ryan Durant, a former high school classmate, Wardlow’s views aren’t just a question of policy. They’re personal. Durant remembers Wardlow as a high school bully who repeatedly harassed him for being gay — and as the person who mocked him after he attempted suicide in the 10th grade. … In an account corroborated by several other students, Durant, 39, alleges that Wardlow, who is now 40, bullied him for years because of his sexual orientation. … Wardlow, in an emailed statement to the Pioneer Press, denied ever doing “anything remotely like the things alleged.’”

KSTP-TV’s Beth McDonough reports: “For the Jewish community in Minnesota, the shooting 900 miles away in Pittsburgh hit close to home. Especially for a Minnetonka couple, Barb and Brian Herstig. They were part of the 1,500 people who attended a gathering of ‘Solidarity and Hope’ at Temple Israel in Minneapolis Sunday. … The Herstigs became emotional when they realized how many people were in the room, singing together. Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman looked around the packed sanctuary, with people standing along the walls, filling the balcony and an overflow room and said, “We are here, the entire Jewish community is here, and every other perspective.”

At MPR, Martin Moylan reports, “The state of Minnesota wants to know how fast your internet connections are — and it’s launching a new online tool to gather that information. It’s part of an effort to see if Minnesotans get the internet speeds that are supposed to be available to them, and to identify gaps in broadband coverage around the state. The Department of Employment and Economic Development has launched the online tool to run speed tests; it’s at checkspeedminnesota.com.”

For the Strib, Jessie Van Berkel writes, “Jeff Howe is an abortion opponent. So is Joe Perske. Jeff Howe wants to protect the Second Amendment. So does Joe Perske. Jeff Howe wants to reduce health insurance costs. So does Joe Perske. It is hard to distinguish between Republican Howe and Democrat Perske on many of the issues that matter to voters in this state Senate district that curves around St. Cloud, extending north, south and west into farm territory. It’s a piece of the state that will have an outsized impact on the balance of political power at the State Capitol in 2019.”

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From Brad Schlossman in the Grand Forks Herald: “Rhett Gardner saw the odds at the Orleans Casino sportsbook. He knew UND was a big underdog in its U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game against rival Minnesota. ‘We were joking that hopefully Grand Forks will be a rich town after the weekend,’ Gardner said. ‘And I think they might be.’ UND delivered yet another signature win at another destination game — arguably the biggest to date —by knocking off rival Minnesota 3-1 in front of 7,412 exuberant fans in Orleans Arena.”

Says Paul Walsh of the Strib, “A Minnetonka man who flies for Twin Cities-based Sun Country Airlines was arrested after trying to get a loaded handgun through security at a Florida airport, according to authorities. Brian A. Machtemes, 54, was arrested Friday night at the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers and booked in jail on suspicion of having an unlicensed firearm, a felony. … TSA regulations allow for pilots to have a firearm in the cockpit, but it must be transported in a locked case when not on the flight deck, according to the agency.”

This from the AP, “A Twin Cities high school football player was placed in a medically induced coma after collapsing Saturday during a playoff game. Hill-Murray senior lineman Zach Zarembinski took himself off the field during Hill-Murray’s 28-0 loss to St. Paul Johnson in Saturday’s Class 4A, Section 3 semifinal and collapsed. … According to a post on his CaringBridge page, Zarembinski ‘suffered an injury resulting in a brain bleed on his left side. He was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital where he received an emergency craniotomy to remove the left side of his skull to allow his brain to swell. He immediately responded positively.’”

John Croman at KARE-TV reports, “Former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, were in Minnesota Friday and Saturday, as part of their national campaign to prevent gun violence. They’ve been traveling the nation in support of candidates who favor reforms such as universal background checks, gun violence protection orders and public health research on the shootings. … Rep. Tim Walz, who is running for governor and served in Congress with Giffords, said the NRA of today is not the same organization of hunters and outdoors enthusiasts that it used to be. Other endorsed contenders on hand were congressional candidates Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips, who said the influence of big money is distorting the issue in Washington.”