Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
DeWayne Davis Campaign in Limbo
Reverend Dr. DeWayne Davis has hopes of being Minneapolis’s next mayor, but whether or not he will continue his campaign is uncertain. Davis announced Tuesday via Twitter that his mother, Delcia Davis, died over the weekend at 97, and that he'll be putting his campaign on pause to focus on family matters.
“I have supported and ministered to many people who have lost loved ones, but nothing can prepare you for being at the center of that grief,” he writes. “My mother was a gift to the world, and I miss her dearly.”
“In order to make space for grieving and ensure my family’s affairs are in order, I have decided to temporarily suspend my campaign operations,” he continues. “There may be a time for conversations about whether and how to continue, but now is not that time.”
Davis is currently lead minister at Plymouth Congregational Church in downtown Minneapolis, and was elected chaplain of the Minnesota Senate in 2023—the first Black gay person to take on that role.
Angie Craig Is Cool With ICE
If you’re not watching closely, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) might seem like an ideal DFL politician: out and proud, a background in journalism, always handily winning her House seat in Minnesota’s purplish Second Congressional District. But if you look at her voting record... well, yikes.
Take for example, the passing of HRS 488, a resolution “denouncing the antisemitic terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado.” At face value, a wonderful thing to denounce. But once you get past the one (sadly hypocritical) point condemning violent attacks on peaceful protestors, the bulk of the resolution is an anti-immigrant rant followed by a thank you/fealty pledge to ICE:
(2) affirms that free and open communication between State and local law enforcement and their Federal counterparts remains the bedrock of public safety and is necessary in preventing terrorist attacks; and
(3) expresses gratitude to law enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland.
Craig was one of 75 Democrats to vote “yea” for the resolution, and the lone Minnesota Dem to do so. Other times she voted across the aisle include The Laken Riley Act, which mandates the detention of certain immigrants even if they've only been charged with (not convicted of) theft. There’s also a failed bill that would have granted the U.S. Treasury power to revoke the status of any nonprofit deemed pro-terrorist (she later switched up her vote after learning Trump might use the bill to censor critics).
Anyway, just something to note as Craig throws her hat into the ring to replace Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
So About That Special Session…
This year’s legislative session? Super messy! We had a missing ballot lawsuit, a death, Democratic boycotts, criminal charges for burglary and soliciting (undercover agents posing as) minors for sex, and a lot of hubbub over the legality of eating beavers. So it’s no wonder that 2025's final budget and bills came down to a 21-hour special session—cramming isn’t just for college students, folks!
So, what do we have here? A two-year, $66 billion budget and 14 bills that no one seems that happy with. “We are here today not because we agree with this budget,” said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks). “Minnesotans deserve much, much better.”
There are some things the average Racket reader might actually be happy about: Paid family and sick leave is staying mostly the same, despite Republican wishes to kill it with fire. The bonding bill passed, which means that $700 million will be spent on improving roads, better access to clean water, and housing projects. The e-bike rebates are back for folks with disabilities and low-income families, while data centers will face more environmental regulations.
There are, of course, some things that suck. That includes cutting $270 million from disability and elderly programs, as well as booting adult undocumented immigrants from MinnesotaCare, a state health insurance program. “The role of the church—the role of people of faith—is to care for our neighbors. Yes,” Rep. Isaac Schultz (R-Elmdale Township) said of that last issue. “But not in this instance, specifically.” Jesus Christ.
NY Times Checks in With MN Baker Abby Jimenez
At one time, Abby Jimenez, owner of Nadia Cakes in Maple Grove and Woodbury, may have been best known as the creator of the viral (and super pretty!) vagina/geode “vageode” cake. These days, however, she’s getting more attention for her best-selling romance novels. This cute profile (gift link) from Elisabeth Egan in the New York Times shows how this Minnesota transplant is a self-made Renaissance woman, from working in fast food to owning a bakery chain to winning Cupcake Wars to writing books.
So far, Jimenez has written eight novels, and she is working on her ninth. Her debut 2019 work, The Friend Zone, was a USA Today best seller, and her other books, all in the romance genre, have garnered over a million downloads. “They’re both pleasant ways to escape and fun to share,” Jimenez says. “Writing and baking are activities for introverts.”
Correction: This original version of this piece inaccurately stated the scope of the Laken Riley Act.
