Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Local Countertop Mogul Wanted Trump to Void Election
Like many rich people, Cambria CEO Marty Davis has both a tenuous grasp on reality and disproportionate access to elected officials. This weekend, Talking Points Memo’s exhaustive survey of Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ text correspondence revealed just how obsessed Davis was with imaginary election fraud in 2020, and how determined the longtime Republican supporter was to convince Trump to stay in office despite his loss. Davis offered to take Meadows hunting goose in Saskatchewan or pheasants in South Dakota in exchange with some face time with Trump. And it worked! He got time to share his crackpot opinions about Dominion voting machines and improperly gathered ballots in Minnesota, while gifting Mrs. Trump with a blanket.
When TPM followed up for the story, Davis confirmed that he and Trump did discuss the theory, advanced by right-wing misinfo peddlers Project Veritas, that Rep. Ilhan Omar was somehow involved in an illegal “ballot harvesting” scheme. He also confirmed that he gave Melania a blanket. In light of this, maybe it’s worth mentioning again that just before leaving office, former Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo spoke to Cambria execs in hardly nearby Le Sueur about “important issues facing our community.”
Drunk Driving Ex-County Commissioner Pulled a “Do You Know Who I Am?”
Do you know who Mike Opat is? Sounds like the cop who pulled him over last fall didn't, despite Opat's attempts to get out of a DWI arrest through his local celebrity. Dashcam video of the incident has been released this week, and features a whole lot of name dropping and a little bit of groveling. According to Opat, via the dashcam, he was Hennepin Co. Commissioner for 28 years. When he was pulled over last October for failure to completely stop at a stop sign, the officer reported that Opat had red, watery eyes, smelled of alcohol, and waffled on taking a test, but eventually blew a .09, just above the legal limit. In the vid you can hear Opat tell the cop, “I’m not confident in your performance here," and, "undue embarrassment is not exactly what your job description includes." Opat also asks to call the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department. “Consider having a little humanity here. I’m not a threat to anything. There’s no reason to take me to the Adult Detention Center," he told the cop. Opat pled guilty in December to fourth-degree driving while impaired and was sentenced to a stayed sentence of 30 days in the workhouse and two years’ supervised probation.
Hastings School Cafeteria Workers Authorize Strike
Don't mess with lunch ladies. That's our unsolicited advice to Hastings Public Schools, the suburban district that has been unable to reach a contract with 35 workers organized under the SEIU-affiliated union called Hastings Independent School District 200. On Monday, 92% of 'em voted to authorize a strike if the district "refuses" to provide better wages, better hours, and better insurance, according to a press release from SEIU Local 284. Before any strike action, the union would have to first issue a 10-day strike notice, so this is more of a declaration that negotiations are getting tense. “As a team, we all work great together, even with the short-staffed environment. We always strive for quality food, and we never want to cut corners for our kids," Julie Clark, a Hastings High School food service worker, says in a statement. "With that said, coworkers are becoming increasingly sick because we are overworked and extremely underpaid compared to school districts nearby. That makes it impossible to get people to sign on to work with us.”
RIP Amanda the Orangutan
We’ve never met Amanda the Orangutan or, if we’re being honest, any orangutan. But that didn’t stop news of the beloved Como Zoo primate’s death from packing a Kong-size emotional wallop. The 46-year-old cutie had developed a lump near her tummy, one that caused her “discomfort, lethargy, and inappetence.” It was too complicated to remove the lump, zoo PR officials report, so the sweet girl had to be euthanized on Saturday. “Amanda was curious, mischievous, engaging, and smart. We lost a beautiful soul,” primate zookeeper Megan Elder said in a statement Monday. “It’s crushing for me, my co-workers, and all that knew her, cared for her, and loved her. It’s no exaggeration to say she inspired generations. It’s hard to imagine Como without her.” Jesus… Amanda arrived at Como Zoo from Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, when she was just three years old. Orangutans live to around 30 years in the wild, the zoo says, though in captivity they’re beginning to hit 50. Anyway, we love you Amanda and will honor you on this day, which St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has officially decreed Amanda the Orangutan Day. Let's take on last look at that beautiful ape, courtesy of Jackie Scherer Photography:
