What’s the Deal With Cities Church, the St. Paul Church Whose Pastor Is an ICE Leader?

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

One of These Churches Is Not Like the Others

One day after ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good in south Minneapolis, an inter-denominational group of clergy and faith leaders gathered at the site of the shooting to demand accountability and an end to federal immigration activity in the Twin Cities. Local faith leaders are behind Friday's "Day of Truth and Freedom” protest.

I haven't stopped thinking about this North News story about Pastor Victor Martinez, whose congregation has dwindled and whose role has changed amidst the ongoing federal invasion of Minnesota, or this MPR News story about Iglesia Dios Habla Hoy, which delivered 12,000 boxes of groceries to immigrant families over the span of six weeks.

In general, religious leaders and congregations throughout the state have reacted to the ongoing invasion by protecting their neighbors, whether by organizing food drives or calling loudly for the end of ICE activity.

And then there are the nasty fuckers at Cities Church in St. Paul.

Sorry, sorry, that wasn't very Christian—maybe we'll call them "spiritually challenged" fuckers. Here's a bit about the Summit Avenue church's origins, from Religion News Service:

The church also has ties to Bethlehem College and Seminary, a school started by John Piper, a bestselling author and pastor, and Joe Rigney, an author and professor known for his belief that empathy is sinful and his critique of “woke” Christians.

On X on Monday, Rigney called himself a founding pastor of Cities Church. He is now a pastor at Christ Church DC, where Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends, a congregation “which faces weekly protests by vile leftwing activists.”

Activists interrupted Sunday's church service at Cities Church, too, after they found out one of its pastors, David Easterwood, works as the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office. (Here's a gift link to the Strib story on that protest.)

Now, reports Regina Medina for MPR News, Cities Church is considering legal action over that protest, during which about three dozen people chanted “ICE out” and “Renee Good." (The Department of Justice has already opened a civil rights investigation into the action.) The church has released a statement about Sunday's "disruption," in which they "call on local, state, and national leaders" to do something and note that they are "evaluating next steps" with legal counsel.

Awful Boundary Waters Bill Passes House

For a little change of pace, here's some terrible news not related to ICE: The very bad bill that would pave the way for mining near the Boundary Waters just passed the U.S. House of Representatives. If it passes the Senate, Chilean-owned Twin Metals could be granted federal leases to mine around the federally protected area.

”Today, those who voted in favor of HJR 140 voted to sell out American public lands to foreign interests,” Ingrid Lyons, executive director of the nonprofit Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement. “This bill sacrifices America’s most visited Wilderness for the benefit of a Chilean company that sends its concentrates to China. Now, we look to the Senate to protect the Boundary Waters, precedent, and public lands across the country.”

Friends of the Boundary Waters, another nonprofit, is calling on people to contact their senators in a "last chance" effort to preserve the pristine wilderness area:

Welcome to the Resistance, "Exploding Trees"

Ent-like, our trees are rising up to fight ICE. 

At least that's what we hoped to write after reading this Patch post about a meteorologist's warning of "exploding trees," a phenomenon possible during extreme cold weather like the Arctic blast that'll hit the Twin Cities later this week. But in classic meteorological fashion, the phrase is a bit excessive.

"Also known as 'frost cracking,' the term does not mean trees literally explode, but rather that extreme cold can cause trees to crack or split abruptly," Patch's William Bornhoft writes.

Hm, OK, so a little less exciting and certainly less revolutionary. Nevertheless, the phenomenon—which occurs when tree sap freezes and expands or when wood contracts rapidly—can "sound like a gunshot or small explosion," according to Patch, so... something else to keep you on edge during these times!

This Year's Local James Beard Award Semifinalists Are...

Ten local chefs and restaurants have been named 2026 James Beard semifinalists.

Travail Kitchen & Amusements' Mike Brown, Bob Gerken, and James Winberg are nominated in the Outstanding Restaurateur category; Ann Ahmed of Khâluna and Alex Roberts of Alma are both longlisted for Outstanding Chef. Bar La Grassa gets a nod for Outstanding Restaurant, and Kyle Lussier of The Pines—the Grand Rapids restaurant beloved by locals like beyond beurre blanc food critic/Racket food and drink contributor Kirstie Kimball—is a semifinalist in the Emerging Chef category.

St. Paul's Joan's in the Park is on the longlist for Outstanding Hospitality, and the Best Chef: Midwest list of semifinalists includes Shigeyuki Furukawa (Kado No Mise), Yia Vang (Vinai), Diane Moua (Diane’s Place), and Gustavo and Kate Romero (Oro by Nixta).

Last year was a big'un for Minnesota chefs: Karyn Tomlinson from Myriel won Best Chef: Midwest, and Kingfield's Bûcheron was recognized as the nation's Best New Restaurant.