Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Putting the 'Pee' in 'Professor'
A Macalester College student has accused her chemistry professor of pissing (“urinating,” to use the legal term) on her backpack last December, reports the Mac Weekly. That prof, identified in a police report regarding “fourth-degree intentional damage to property” (well that really removes a lot of the nuance from the incident), is Paul Fischer, who is no longer a Mac employee.
In a February email sent to students, Macalester chemistry professor Keith Kuwata said Fischer “is not authorized to be anywhere on campus” and acknowledged that it had been “an unsettling time for many of you.”
Upon searching Fischer’s profile on RateMyProfessor.com, the PiPress’s Frederick Melo learned that the allegedly leaky chemist has also been accused of urinating in other people’s water bottles. Anyway, this is fucking gross, you (alleged) creep.
Let’s Complain About a Different Mayor for a Change
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her will not authorize an independent investigation into the police response during an November 2025 immigration raid, Georgia Fort reports. A request came from the Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission; this is the first time in its 11-year existence that the civilian review board has asked for such an inquiry.
On November 26, 2025, Racket asked “What the Hell Happened in St. Paul yesterday,” and… well, we’re still not totally sure. (Hence the need for an investigation.) As I wrote at the time, “the internet was flooded with photos and videos of St. Paul cops leveling weapons at protesters, spraying protesters with chemical irritants, and firing ‘less-lethal’ rounds.” The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists said three local photojournalists struck by such rounds claimed they were specifically targeted by St. Paul police.
The mayor’s office said an independent inquiry would interfere with the department’s ongoing investigation. At the time of the incident, Her expressed “deep concerns over what we witnessed yesterday.”
Trump's Forever War on Somalis in Minnesota
It’s an understatement to say that Minnesotans of Somali descent have had a grueling 2026, thanks to viciously targeted “immigration enforcement” actions. Now here’s a report from Madison McVan from the Minnesota Reformer noting that cases involving Somali immigrants are being “fast tracked,” apparently as part of an effort to deport as many of them as possible as quickly as possible. Attorneys told McVan that “immigration courts have created an expanded docket solely for Somali nationals.”
And here’s Atra Mohamed, also at the Reformer, reporting on how the Trump administration has imposed new taxes and regulations on money transfers from the U.S. to Somalia.
OK, Time for a Great Big Old-Fashioned ICE Roundup
- Homeland Security officials were parked illegally near City Hall in Minneapolis earlier today, but… don’t worry, I guess? “We have confirmed this is not immigration-related,” the City of Minneapolis tweeted on X, the Everything App. Whatever the feds were here for, city residents had a bit of fun with our scofflaw visitors, calling a tow truck. As Council Member Aurin Chowdhury posted, “The HSI agent ran up to the tow, tripped on the chain, and then was scolded. It was a win for the people of Minneapolis today.”
- Lawyers are good now? That’s the gist of this story from Sarah Thamer at MPR news, which notes that there have been a thousand cases filed in support of Minnesotans who’ve been arrested and detained by immigration agents, and volunteer attorneys have been instrumental in getting these clients home safely.
- MPD Chief Brian O’Hara tried to explain what it actually is that cops do at a Community Commission on Police Oversight meeting on Monday. He was not successful. The chief acknowledged three shootings by the feds (two fatal) but explained that "there were no police officers that were there when the shootings happened.” You can’t expect cops to arrest people for crimes they didn’t see happen. “The reality is the police department did not become the issue, which certainly could have happened,” O’Hara boasted. So… the best thing the police can do is stay out of everyone’s way? Well worth the $5 million we paid them so far in 2026.
- Was there “compelling and troubling” evidence that the feds racially profiled Somali and Latino Minnesotans over the past few months? Indeed so, a federal judge has determined. Can we stop that? Well, it’s kind of too late for that, the judge said, noting that Operation Metro Surge is purportedly winding (ever-so-slowly) down. The judge did however authorize a class action suit of those racially profiled to continue against the federal government.
- Yes, Minnesotans are still in hiding, Kirsti Marohn and Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval report for MPR News. They spoke with a Nicaraguan family that lives in the town of Cold Spring and has applied for asylum. They are currently dependent on volunteers for groceries. "We give thanks to God for being here, because finally, we have our own little home,” the father says. How many times can your heart break, exactly?
- And speaking of Cold Spring, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who reps that town, expressed a shocking lack of sympathy for folks like those profiled in the MPR story. Yesterday the state Senate passed a $40 million rental assistance bill, but Demuth plans to sink it in the House. “Assistance due to people making choices to either not go to work or do other things, there is not an appetite in the House Republican Caucus for that,” Demuth said, just coherently enough to make her point. Remember, she’s running for governor.
- ICE tried to recruit snitches during Operation Metro Surge, reports Spencer Ackerman at Forever Wars. Ackerman spoke with teacher Brandon Siguenza, who was detained at the Whipple Building for eight hours in January. Siguenza told Ackerman “his ICE questioners seemed to believe there was a command structure in place. They wanted to flip him to get to his imaginary bosses.”
