From the op-ed:
Finally. Legal accountability has begun for the Trump administration’s crimes in Minnesota during the past year.

For more than three bitterly cold months last winter, ICE agents and other federal immigration officers engaged in a reign of terror and lawlessness in Minnesota. Acting in the name of the people of the United States, wielding the power of the national government, and operating under the direction and with the full support of Trump administration officials, federal agents engaged in a persistent and systematic pattern of flagrantly unconstitutional, indiscriminately abusive and frequently criminal acts during “Operation Metro Surge.”

At its height, more than 3,000 federal officers invaded Minnesota – to date, the Trump regime’s largest deployment of ICE and other federal agents to a single state.

Lest we forget, this hostile federal force wreaked havoc on Minnesota residents – U.S. citizens and immigrants (including many lawfully present) alike. Federal agents made countless false arrests and improper detentions, violating constitutional due process rights as well as performing illegal searches, seizures and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Federal immigration officers broke down doors, smashed windows, invaded homes, indiscriminately seized and detained innocent persons without judicial warrant, denied legal process, separated families, mistreated detainees, imprisoned people in poor and overcrowded conditions and illegally flew dozens of men, women and even young children out of state without notice, hearings, access to legal counsel, or other required procedural protections.

Hosted at St. Thomas by the Racial Justice Initiative, the traveling exhibition is presented by the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public Oct. 5-Nov. 5 at the Iversen Center for Faith on the St. Paul campus.

Recounting the history of enslaved people sold by Jesuits in a sale that helped pay debts at what is now Georgetown University, the exhibit’s 28 panels feature archival records, historical photographs, interactive media, and testimony from both descendants and Jesuits. Visitors will be able to choose one of three ancestors to follow through the exhibit and will learn how descendants have worked to recover and reclaim their family histories. 

“My ancestors in this exhibit were enslaved and sold by Jesuit priests,” said Monique Trusclair Maddox, president and CEO of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. “Because the world that enslavement helped build is the world we all live in, ‘What We Inherit’ isn’t a Black story or a Catholic story – it’s the story of our American inheritance.”

Maddox previously visited St. Thomas in March 2025 for the School of Law’s Mission Roundtable, moderated by Father Daniel Griffith. At the roundtable, she discussed her family, Jesuit slaveholding and restorative justice. She also received the school’s Iustitia et Lex award.

Dr. Yohuru Williams, distinguished university chair, professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at St. Thomas, said the 'What We Inherit' exhibition goes beyond the sale itself to examine its aftermath and the work descendants and Jesuits are doing together today. 

“You can't simply tell the story and leave it there,” Williams said. “You've got to deal with the ramifications. You've got to deal with what came after. This exhibit creates a powerful space for that encounter – one grounded in memory and truth, but ultimately directed toward dialogue, human dignity and the common good.” 

The conversation will continue Nov. 2 with “Facing History: Memory, Reconciliation, and the Common Good,” part of the university's Finding Forward speaker series. Trusclair Maddox and Williams will discuss the legacies of the 314 enslaved people and how descendants and Jesuits are confronting that history and moving toward reconciliation. St. Thomas President Rob Vischer will moderate the discussion. 

Father Timothy Kesicki, SJ, chair of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation Trust and former president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, will deliver opening remarks. 

The Finding Forward event will take place from 7-8 p.m., Nov. 2, at the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center auditorium on the St. Paul campus, with a reception to follow. A livestream option is available.

Williams and Kendi will discuss Kendi’s new book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, including the historical forces explored in the book, where those ideas may lead and what they mean for democracy today.

The conversation is part of MinnPost’s annual festival featuring discussions about politics, policy and issues shaping Minnesota and the nation.

The event reunites Williams and Kendi, who last appeared together in Minnesota at St. Thomas in 2021. Williams hosted a fireside chat with Kendi following his keynote address at the university’s Equity in Action: Cultivating Antiracist Universities conference.

Kendi is director of Howard University’s Institute for Advanced Study and the inaugural Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History. Williams is a Distinguished University Chair and professor of history at St. Thomas whose scholarship and public work focus on civil rights, race, democracy and social justice.

“I enjoyed seeing how much thought goes into what initially appeared to be relatively straightforward contracts,” Hillman said. “Every agreement involved balancing legal concerns with business objectives, and it was fascinating to watch attorneys, business professionals and counterparties’ counsel work together to reach practical solutions.”

Norwest Equity Partners is a Minneapolis-based company that manages $2.7 billion in assets and invests in middle-market companies primarily across the business services, consumer products and services, and industrial growth sectors. Hillman earned academic credit for his internship through St. Thomas Law’s Legal Externship Program.

“My primary responsibility was to review, revise and negotiate nondisclosure agreements or NDAs used in connection with potential acquisitions and other business transactions,” Hillman said. “Working closely with the legal team, I reviewed contract language, identified legal and business risks, suggested revisions and communicated with counterparties’ counsel regarding proposed changes. The experience showed me how attorneys support business decisions throughout the deal process.”

Though new to the world of private equity investment, Hillman has previous business and professional experience. He spent 14 years as a residential real estate appraiser in Duluth, Minnesota, before attending law school. Hillman says his previous career provided him with a unique perspective and practical experience that he can bring into a legal setting.

“Private equity and transactional legal work were new to me, so there was definitely a learning curve, but that was also one of the most rewarding parts of the experience,” Hillman said about his externship. “The biggest surprise was realizing just how nuanced contract review can be. Even documents that appear straightforward often involve subtle judgments about risk allocation, business priorities and negotiation strategy.”

While he is still unsure what area of the law he will ultimately practice, Hillman says his experience at Norwest Equity Partners, which has asked him to stay on beyond the summer, has helped him better understand his career options.

"The internship gave me a much clearer picture of transactional practice and reinforced my interest in business and real estate law. I’ve really enjoyed working with the team at Norwest, and it has been a great place to learn and gain practical experience,” he said. “It has also given me a much greater appreciation for how much attorneys continue learning throughout their careers.”

Dr. Aura Wharton-Beck ’99 Ed.S., ’15 Ed.D., associate professor in the School of Education at the University of St. Thomas, and her family were honored at the 29th Annual 100 Hispanic Women National, Inc. Gala in New Rochelle, New York. The 100 Hispanic Women National Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to promote inclusion in government and corporate America and to improve Hispanic representation.

Wharton-Beck is the daughter of Edith Brinn whose story contributed to the honor awarded the Brinn family. The Brinn Family was honored both for their journey from Puerto Rico to the U.S.A. and for a legacy left behind by generations of strong women.

The stories and experiences from her mother’s life are also what inspired Wharton-Beck’s documentary “Government Girls: African American Women Who helped Build the Federal Government.”  The focus of the documentary is on the stories and contributions of Black women in the federal service during and after World War II.

From the conversation:
Alix Kendall: OK, so you mentioned there are some upsides and downsides. Let’s hear what some of them are.

John Abraham: Well, you were great in that lead-in. You mentioned some of the upsides. It’s harder to be against data centers when they’re not in your backyard. They’re not taking up the water that your town needs or the energy that your town needs. Think about solar panels. I’ve got solar panels at my house, and they get about 25% of the energy that comes from the sun. But if you’re in space, you can point those solar panels at the sun 24 hours a day. You get a lot more power. So solar power is much more efficient in space.

Now you’ve got to get the things up there. I get it. You have to pay for the launch fuel and the launch vehicle and all that. But once you get them up there, solar power is pretty darn easy to get. One of the issues that they’re going to deal with is can you get these chips to survive the rigors of a launch? There’s a lot of acceleration and vibration that happens, and that’s one of the things that they’re going to be testing.

The other thing they have to test is can you get rid of the heat? These computers and data centers generate a lot of heat, and you don’t have air, and you don’t have other places to dump the heat in space. So that’s going to be a real challenge. But they’re not taking up space. They’ve got plenty of solar power. So those are some of the benefits, and we’re going to see if they outweigh the cons.

From the story:
Washington County also increased the valuation rate of homes there by 4.1%. Franke said the city is budgeting for less than that, which reduced the tax bill.

Economist John Spry of the University of St. Thomas said smaller towns typically have smaller payrolls and provide fewer services. 

He said slower spending growth can also help keep levy growth down.

“If your spending growth is slower, your property levy growth doesn’t have to be as high,”  Spry said.

What happens next?

Spry said a lower rate can also help local governments if residents approve of what leaders are doing. He said that can show up in elections and in home values.

“If people like what the local government is doing, then you should not only see that local officials are doing well in elections, but you also see that’s helping home values,” Spry said.

From the story:
Still, Dr. Kevin Sauter, a professor emeritus at the University of St. Thomas who specializes in political communication, said he believes debates still have a role to play.

“You go back to one of the most famous debates in Minnesota history when Skip Humphrey, Norm Coleman and Jesse Ventura debated. If it wouldn’t have been for that debate I don’t think Jesse would have had any chance to run to the governorship,” Sauter said. “These are important moments and can really propel someone forward. How much do they move the needle on races? It’s generally pretty limited unless we find something that really stands out, like someone switches a position, someone says something wrong.”

With the current social media culture, the stakes can be extremely high, with one misstep or misspoken word leading to a viral moment that can undo a campaign. At the same time, a strong performance or viral takedown of an opponent can still raise a candidate’s profile, even if consumed through a clip rather than on linear television.

Dan began his career at the University of St. Thomas in 1976, joining the Economics Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. Over the next 39 years, he taught more than 5,000 students. He was an international macroeconomist whose teaching and scholarship reflected his deep knowledge of and enthusiasm for the field.  He served as the department chair and was instrumental in expanding St. Thomas' international related courses.

And, of course, Dan was known for his bow ties and wore them with great style.

“Dan will always be the colleague whose office was right next door to mine for 15 years,” said Professor Monica Hartmann, the current chair of the Economics Department. “Dan was a wonderful colleague, a generous listener, and a genuinely kind person. I feel very fortunate to have had him as a colleague and friend for so many years.”

He is survived by his brother David and sister Barbara, as well as his children Jennifer, Matthew and Samantha. Dan received great joy from his 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at Roselawn Cemetery Chapel, 803 W. Larpenteur Ave., Roseville, Minnesota.  A gathering will be held at 9 a.m. with a celebration of life following at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Dan’s honor to Union Gospel Mission, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyls substances, or PFAS, include substances such as PFOS, PFOA, and TFA and accumulate in our environment and water supplies. Some of these chemicals can affect health at certain concentrations, but all pose an existential threat of irreversible environmental accumulation. Over the last five years, countries all over the world have been developing models for guidance and regulations on how much PFAS is acceptable in drinking water.

Not all countries develop these regulations with the same regulatory priorities and risk assessments, she said. Ling references a previous analysis of four European Union countries with different approaches to setting PFAS limits in drinking water: Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden.

Ling expands the study from four countries to other EU countries as well as western countries, such as the United States and Australia. She finds that many countries regulate with a 'total PFAS' number when measuring water samples, however, there remains no actual method to measure total PFAS.

She concludes her findings with a new approach to regulations: combing source control with risk-based prioritization across drinking water priorities. Ling suggests that instead of prioritizing the same contaminants everywhere, there should be a shift to a localized approach that maintains infrastructure and targets containments that most impact health in each geographical area.